#three stupid russian kids

[nikakura]

There’s something soon….

[arlana-likes-to-write]

Happily Never After

Part 2 of Holiday Compromise

Summary: With your company expanding and dealing with your parents trying to get a hold of you, your plan to purpose to Wanda has been put on hold.

Note: Their will be MAJOR spoilers in the warnings.

Warnings: implied sex, nudity and non sexual nudity, drinking, stalking, threatening message, kidnapping, reader is a simp for Wanda and the boys, Vision is a decent man, talk of past trauma.

Word Count: 9.7k

"Have you asked her yet?" You looked up from your computer to see Natasha enter the conference room. Her arms were filled with her travel mug, breakfast, and laptop. She sighed when everything was out of her hands. She opened the brown paper bag, pulled out a breakfast sandwich, and handed it to you. You thanked her with a smile, but her question caught up with you.

"If I asked her to marry me, wouldn't you be the first to know?" You opened your food and took a bit, moaning at the taste. "That was stupid," it was a little muffled from the bagel in your mouth. Your comment received a quick slap to the back of your head. "Ouch," you whine, mouth full of food. You slapped her back, and she was quick to attack.

"Children," Yelena warned as she entered the room, followed by Shuri and Bucky. "Enough," Natasha mumbled something you missed in Russian and angrily sipped on her coffee. You laughed at her dramatic behavior and felt a little bad for Yelena. The blonde had to deal with you and Natasha as kids. Nine times out of ten, it ended up in a fight. "Can I see the ring?"

You smiled, took it out of your pocket, and slipped it across the table for the blonde to see. You bought it two days after the vacation with the family of three while Wanda was at work and the twins were at Vision's. It was a three-diamond ring from Tiffany's. The stones were pear-shaped. The ring was simple but flashy. You wanted to woo her. That was three months ago, and it was almost May.

Once Yelena was done, she handed it to Shuri. "I'm surprised you haven't lost it," Shuri teased and gave it to Bucky.

"Not a bad ring boss," he tossed it back to you and caught it. But Shuri is right," he said, taking his usual spot by the door. "You better pop the question before you lose it, or she finds it." Your team laughed.

"Why are you all picking on me?" You groaned. "I can fire all of you." Natasha chuckled.

"Please, your name is on the building, but everyone knows we run this company," you said, flipping the redhead off.

"Right, just remember I sign your checks each week," you deadpanned. "Let's go over any last-minute changes and questions we want to ask them." Your team was meeting with Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, and Bruce Banner of Stark Industries. When the holidays were over, an email from Pepper was in your inbox looking to form a business deal and collaborate with you. It was a dream come true to work with the Starks, and you wanted everything to go smoothly, which is one of the reasons why the ring was still with you and not on Wanda's finger. You were busy; if this meeting went well, you would be even busier.

You loved your job—making high-tech wearable devices like smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart clothing. But at the end of the meeting, you were hoping to create a new line with Stark's AI system—FRIDAY. Wanda was supportive through it all, making you love her even more. She would ensure you were eating, drinking enough water, and spending time away from your desk. All of her actions made the ring feel heavier each day.

*

A gentle knock on your home office's door pulled you away from your paperwork. Much needed to be done since the deal was made with Stark Industries. It was Wanda, wearing one of your button-up shirts, and the sleeves were pushed up to her elbows. You were pretty sure she was speaking, but the only thought in your head was how good she looked. The shirt was barely long enough to cover her red underwear. Her bare feet closed the distance between you and her. Carefully, she maneuvered onto your desk and sat down on the space. She could have ruined months of work, but it wouldn't have mattered to you. "Darling," she cupped your face in both her hands. "I was talking."

"And I wasn't listening," you admitted and grabbed her right foot, digging your thumb in the soul as you kissed her ankle. "I was thinking how beautiful you are, but how sexy it would be for my bite marks to cover your thighs," you bite down on the inside of her thigh. A hiss turned into a quiet moan left your girlfriend's lip. "Tell me what you were saying, baby."

"The boys are finally asleep," you continued your assault, littering her thighs with hickies. "Maybe," a quiet moan left her lips so she wouldn't wake the twins. "Extreme ice cream sundaes on a school night was not a good idea," you smirked. That was your idea, wanting to celebrate the deal with them.

"I'm sorry," you stood up slowly, undoing the shirt's buttons. Groaning when you saw she wasn't wearing a bra. "Tell me how to make it up to you," you loved the goosebumps that covered her skin. She was so sensitive, you loved it. When she didn't respond, you kissed her cheek and down the column of her throat. A sharp bite sent her hands to grip your hair. "Tell me, baby, I won't ask again."

"I need," her voice shook. You could feel heat radiating off her skin. "I need you to make me cum." It was the consent you needed. You pulled her hips to the edge of your desk and knelt between her lips. The paperwork that the team required tomorrow was no longer important. All you wanted -no, all you needed was to make your woman cum. Over and over again.

*

You splashed the cold water on your face to clean off the face wash. You were trying to be quiet as Wanda was asleep in bed. She tried to stay up with you as you finished the rest of your work, but it was a battle you knew she wouldn't win. She fell asleep on the couch, and once you were done, you carried her to bed and got ready. You were exhausted. Your work was terrific and essential, but some days, it felt like your brain was melting and dripping out of your nose. Sighing, you pulled back the covers and were about to join your sleeping girlfriend until your phone rang. You quickly silenced it, jumping at the sound. Luckily, Wanda remained asleep. "Fucking hell," you whispered and looked at the caller ID.

It was a number you hadn't seen in a long time—three years, to be exact—your father. You felt frozen; all you could do was watch the call and go to voicemail. "Sweetheart," Wanda's voice brought you back to reality. Are you coming back to bed?"

"Yeah," you said, silencing your phone and plugging it back into the charger. When you lay down, Wanda immediately placed her head on your chest.

"What's wrong?" Her accent was always deeper when she was tired. You thought it was cute. "Your heart is racing." Dammit. You hated how much your family affected you.

"It's because I'm in the presence of a goddess," she pinched your side and moved to rest her chin on your chest. You seemed to get lost in the green of her eyes. "I'm okay, baby. Just got a lot on my mind at work." She squinted her eyes at you.

"We are a team, remember?" You smiled and nodded.

"I remember," she kissed you softly and placed her head in the crook of your neck. "Sleep, baby. I promise I'm okay."

*

There was only one knock on your door before it opened to reveal your secretary, Sarah. "You have a visitor," you glanced at the clock. It was around lunch, and Wanda texted you this morning to say she wanted to spend it with you. You waved her in and focused on the phone call with Tony.

"Look, all I'm saying is we could partner with Odinson and Laufeyson and cut the cost of materials. It's a win-win" It was innovative thinking, and expanding both companies with New Asgard would be amazing. You watched Wanda walk, still in her uniform and a food bag. “Brunnhilde owes me a favor. She could set up the meeting," your girlfriend sat in front of your desk. You put up one finger to tell her you were almost done. She nodded and pulled out the food she brought.

"Yeah, it's a smart idea," you glanced at your calendar. The twin's birthday was marked on it, and it was coming soon. You made a mental note to order their birthday presents so they would arrive on time. "See if you can do it in a few weeks. I'm a little swamped at the moment." you chuckled.

"I've been telling you, kid. You need to delegate and hire some interns," you rolled your eyes and pulled the phone away from your ear, sending a playful glare to Wanda as the billionaire went on a tangent. It's fair. It was on your to-do list. Wanda giggled.

"Tony, I love you and hear you," you cut him off. "But my girl is here and I want to have lunch with her. Can we table this for another time?" You liked the blush that covered Wanda's cheeks. The man laughed.

"Enjoy, kid. Remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do, which isn't saying a lot," you chuckled. The billionaire was insane, but he was also a great business partner.

"Bye, Stark," you hung up before he could say anything else. "Sorry, I think the man likes to hear himself talk." You opened the sandwich she brought for you.

"It's fine," Wanda smiled. "How's your day been?" So you told her about your day; the endless amount of meetings and phone calls was taking a toll on you. She suggested taking another short vacation, just you and her. "It would have to be after the twin's birthday. You know that is coming up, right?"

"How could I forget? It's marked in my calendar." You showed her your calendar. You wrote it in red and circled it so it would stand out, and you wouldn't forget.

"I have something to ask you," you hated her tone and the way she played with the rings on her finger. "It's on behalf of the boys." It made you feel a little better.

"Baby," you reached for her hand and squeezed it. "You can ask me anything."

"The boys want to have their birthday party at their father's house," that made sense. His house was bigger; he had a yard and a pool. It was the perfect spot for a middle school birthday party. You figured this was about spending their birthday on a different day. "They want you to come to the party," you dropped her hand in shock. They wanted you to attend a party at your current girlfriend's ex-husband's house with his girlfriend. Fuck no. Hell no. "I know it's a lot, and you do not need to make a decision now. I told them it may make you uncomfortable?"

"Does Vision know they want me there?" Wanda sighed.

"He does and," you gave her a look to continue. "He was okay with it as long as you are." You blinked at her a few times, mouth opened slightly.

"Come again. That man has not liked me from day 1." You weren't looking for his approval, but you wanted things to be civil. Unfortunately, he was the twin's father. Wanda took your hand.

"I think he's starting to realize you aren't going anywhere," Damn straight. You were here to stay. "It helps that the boys like you, and we may have had our differences, but he loves them." That you knew was true. A small part of you, the younger you, was jealous that Wanda and Vision could still be parents to the twins through their divorce. Their main priority was Billy and Tommy, unlike your parents, who prioritized themselves.

"I'll think about it," if they wanted you there, then you could consider it, but God, it would be awkward. You hated awkward situations.

"Thank you," she helped you clean up and walked her to your office door. "Are you staying late?" You nodded. She brought her fingers to your temple and rubbed them. You moaned and fell into her. Her laugh made you feel lighter. "Don't stay too late, okay? You need sleep."

"I know. I'll text you when I'm done," you kissed her softly. "I love you." It was such a simple three-letter word, but it made your heart soar every time. You wondered if you said it enough.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Please take care of yourself," she said, fixing the collar of your shirt. "The boys and I need you," you said, cupping her cheeks and brushing your nose against hers.

"I need you too. Always."

*     

It was late. So stupidly late that you were annoyed with yourself that you couldn't keep your promise to Wanda. There was one thing left to do on your to-do list. All you had to do was sign the contract Pepper sent over and send it back. However, your mind was so focused on what Wanda asked you that the words blurred today. So you opened a bottle of whiskey and poured yourself a glass. Soft jazz music played from the record player that Melina got you. "What the hell are you still doing here?" Natasha opened and closed your door. "Don't you have a woman keeping your bed warm?"

"I guess I could ask you the same thing," you said, grabbing an extra glass and filling it. "Instead of a woman, it's more like two strong and muscular men," she said, taking the full glass you offered.

"Are you jealous?" you cringed. Dating and sleeping with men were not your thing. "Come on, tell Mama Nat all of your troubles and how she can help," she sat down on your couch and flopped on the spot next to her.

"You can never say that in my presence. Keep that in the bedroom," the redhead threw her head back in a laugh.

"Come on, boss, what's going on?' You joined her on the couch with the bottle and your glass."

"My mind is all over the place. With the deal with Starks, Wanda asked me something, and-" You took a sip of your drink, stopping yourself from telling her about the phone call from your father.

"What happened between you and Wanda?" You sighed.

"The twin's birthday is coming up. No, you can not get them anything," she pouted in protest. "I'm still apologizing for the Christmas mess," she shrugged. "The party is at Vision's house, and they want me to go."

"Oh," Natasha let out a slow breath. "Shit," you laughed, finished your drink, and poured yourself another one. "So, do the boys want you there or Wanda?"

"The boys asked Wanda to ask me," you simplified. The redhead nodded. She was biting the inside of her cheek and moving the liquor in her glass.

"So you go," she shrugged. Your jaw dropped. Was she serious? She knew you hated awkward situations; you avoided them like the plague. "Look, it's huge. The boys want you there. It speaks volumes that they want you there to celebrate with them. You go for them."

"You make it sound so easy," you groaned, throwing your head back.

"Because it is," she flicked you on your cheek. "The twins love you. Everyone sees it. It's no surprise they want you there. Besides, if Vision gets on your nerves, throw him in the pool," she tried to hide her smile in her glass. "He uncanny acts like a robot; it may short-circuit his motherboard or something." You laughed hard. It made your stomach begin to hurt. The red joined in, and you fell against each other. Natasha always knew how to make you feel better. You were grateful for her.

Your phone ringing caught the laughter between you and your friend. "It's probably the misuses," you fished the phone out of your pocket as Natasha picked up the two dirty glasses. It was not Wanda. Oh, how you wished it was. "Who is it?" You forgot Natasha was still in your office. She ripped the phone out of your hand when you refused to answer. That snapped you out of it. "Your fucking mother. What the fuck does that cunt want?"

"I don't know because I didn't answer it," you deadpanned. She ignored the call and threw it on the couch next to you. You caught it before it bounced off.

"How long has seen been trying to reach you?" Her green eyes turned stormy, and you felt yourself shrink under her intense stare. It was impossible to lie to her. You used to joke that she was a Russian spy in her past life.

"Not long," you mumbled. "My father called me a few days ago. It's the first time she's called me," she huffed and threw her arms up, then on her hips.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's not that big of a deal," your phone beeped, and you saw she left a voicemail. "Nat, you know how they are. They call when they need money. I ignore them, and when they find the money through someone else, they stop calling. It's the same way every time."

"I'm calling Melina."

"No!" You said suddenly and stood up. She raised an eyebrow at you with her phone in her hand. "I do not need the Russian mob going after my deadbeat parents. It will blow over."

"My parents aren't in the mob," you weren't 100% sure you believed her. Alexei had tattoos that would make any criminal go running. But she placed her phone back in her pocket. "I don't like this." You knew she wouldn't. It was another reason why you didn't tell her. She was very protective over you when it came to your parents. She had to mend a lot of the broken pieces caused by them.

"I know," you stood up, walked over to her, and placed your hands on her arms. "But they can't hurt me anymore." Natasha sighed, pinching the bridge of her noise.

"Promise me you will not give them anything. They don't deserve it," you nodded. "And promise me, if you don't feel safe, you call Maria or Melina." You nodded again. "I need to hear you say it."

"I promise." You knew they wouldn't intentionally hurt you, but to ease her nerves, you made the promise. Natasha pulled you into a hug, and you slumped against her. You felt safe. You felt like everything was going to be okay."

*

"Now, where are you off to?" Sarah asked when you stepped out of your office.

"I'm going to surprise Wanda at work," you smiled. "Can you transfer all calls to my personal? Oh! Do you want anything? I know you like their Ruben." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and get me a slice of their cheesecake." Now that was a brilliant idea. She reached for her purse.

"If you hand me money, so help me, woman, I will slap you," she threw a piece of paper at you. Before you could retaliate, your phone rang. You stuck your tongue at her and answered it. "Hey, Wands, I was about to come see you."

"Actually," your smile dropped, and you stepped away from Sarah. "I need a favor." You hated how fast your heart started to beat. "Tommy and Billy have a half day that Vision and I forgot about. Can you pick them up? Vision will get them from you when he can."

"Of course. Jeez, you almost gave me a heart attack," she laughed. "I'll leave right now. I love you. See you tonight?" You questioned.

"Yes, and I love you too," you smiled and hung up. You faced Sarah.

"Duty calls," you gave her a salute. "I'll get you food whenever the boys want to go." Sarah laughed with a wave of her hand.

"Enjoy your time with them. We'll hold down the fort here."

Picking up the twins was always a walk in the park since your name was on the approved pickup list. The only annoying thing was the receptionist, who liked to flirt with you. You clarified that you were seeing someone, but she didn't care. The twins loved to tease you over it, much to Wanda's dismay.

You brought them to The Western Flavor for lunch. "Okay, we need to establish some rules," you said as they opened their menus. "Real food first, then desserts or your mother may break up with me." Billy laughed.

"It would take a lot for Mom to leave you."

"Yeah, I think you are stuck with us." You were more than okay with that. As you decided what to order, the twins updated you on all the school gossip. You forgot how crazy it was to be in middle school. Once the waitress brought your food, you noticed a change in their behavior. "Alright," you took a sip of your drink. "What's going on? Why are you acting weird?"

"Puberty," Tommy answered. You glared at them both. Billy rolled his eyes.

"Has Mom asked you about our birthday party?" Shit. Wanda asked you three days ago; the party was in a week.

"She did," you answered slowly.

"And?" Billy asked.

"Boys-," you sighed.

"Please, we really want you there," Tommy pleaded. "You are the only adult who will play with us in the pool." You laughed at that. He wasn't wrong. The weather was in that weird phase of not spring but winter. You looked at the weather for next week, and it was supposed to be in the mid-70s to early 80s.

"Plus, we asked Dad, and he said it was fine." Billy took a French fry from your plate. "Well, we didn't ask Tiffany, but it's not her house, so her opinion doesn't matter." Tommy nodded along with his brother. The twins' clear dislike of their father's girlfriend made you snort, which caused them to laugh at you.

"Okay, fine, I'll go," they cheered, and you couldn't help but smile at how excited they were. "However, if I find myself in one awkward encounter with him, I will use you two as my decoy."

"Aye, aye, captain," Tommy said.

"Sir, yes, sir," you rolled your eyes and threw your straw wrapper at them. They discussed everything that was going to happen at their party. You made a mental note to ask Wanda how you could help. You groaned when your phone started to ring. The boys laughed at your displeasure. Glancing at it, you saw it was your mother. They could not take a hint. You silenced the ringer and focused on figuring out what milkshake you wanted.

"Who was that?" Billy asked.

"No one important," you answered and stole a look at the twins. They were staring at each other. It reminded you of Wanda's look when she didn't believe the story the boys tried to spin. It was a little uncanny how similar the look was. "It was my mother. We don't have the best relationships?"

"Is that why you spend holidays with us instead of your mom and dad?" Billy asked with a slight tilt of his head.

"Yes, before you guys, I would celebrate them with my coworkers or Natasha and Yelena." You spent a lot of Christmas and Thanksgiving at the Russian household. The last holiday you spent with your parents was when you were 11.

"Why don't you like them?" Tommy questioned.

"You don't have to answer that," Billy quickly added, glaring at his brother. You smiled. Kids were curious by nature, but it was okay. Besides, you've spoken about your relationship with your parents in therapy. It was easier.

"My parents divorced when I was around your age, but unlike your parents, they don't care about me," Billy frowned at your confession. "So they only call me when they need money or something from me."

"Parents shouldn't do that," you agreed with Billy, but sometimes, that wasn't the case. The waitress came by to collect your plates and asked if you wanted dessert. The twins wanted a milkshake, and you got a fudge sundae. She left with your order.

"Tiffany says that about mom," Tommy said. "That she is just with you for the money."

"Tommy," his brother hissed, slapping his brother under the table. So it was supposed to be a secret. You wanted to have a few words with Tiffany.

"You know that's not true, right?" They nodded.

"Trust me, we know," Billy said. "If mom were with you for the money, we wouldn't still live in our small apartment." You laughed, shaking your head.

"I don't like Tiffany," Tommy cringed, twitching his nose like Wanda when she said or tasted something she didn't like.

"Tommy!" Billy said again.

"What? Stop trying to be all high and mighty. You don't like her either," you smiled as Billy slumped in the booth.

"Your secret is safe with me," you promised.

"She's just so-" Billy groaned, unable to find the right words. "There is something about her we don't like." The waitress brought you the desserts.

"Maybe because she's dating your dad," you suggested and ate a spoonful of ice cream. It was weird; you liked the feeling of the brain freeze. Tommy shook his head.

"You are dating our mom, and we like you," he said. It was always nice to hear that. Anyway, what are you getting us for our birthday?" You laughed. You loved these boys so much.

*

"Pop a squat, boys," you told them when you entered your office after you dropped off Sarah's food. "Your dad will pick you up when he's done with work. So homework than video games."

"Awe, come on," Tommy whined. "Aren't you supposed to be the fun parent?" Parent. He called you the fun parent. It was so strange how that single word could fill you with butterflies.

"Homework while I do my job, then we can play Mario Kart," you compromised. They seemed content, and they got to work on your couch. You figured you had 45 minutes to tack your to-do list. So you followed their lead and got to work. You were 15 minutes off, and 30 minutes later, they were standing in front of your desk with their homework done. You glared at the boys and ignored the smiles on their faces.

"You promised," Billy said. Sighing, you reorganized the papers on your desk.

"Come on, boys. It's time for me to kick your butts in Mario Kart." They cheered and followed you to the conference room. You kept a few game consoles set up in there. So you set up the game and began to play.

You loved this time with the boys. When you first started dating Wanda, you were worried about the twins not liking you. They were a little standoffish, but you bonded with them over video games.

You were gifted an early copy of "Edge of Vengeance: Retribution," the second game in the franchise, by the developers. The first one was okay but not your favorite. So when you were at dinner with Wanda and the boys, you overheard the twins talking about it. You gifted it to them the next day. The smile on their face was something that would stick with you forever.

"No fair!" Tommy wined and dropped the controller onto the table. "You have to be cheating." You crossed the finish line, once again in first place.

"I'm sorry, little man, I'm just better than you," you teased and dusted off your shoulders. Billy laughed. He gave up trying to beat you a few rounds ago. You laughed as the door opened. It was Sarah.

"Their father is here," she told you. You nodded and paused the game.

"Alright. Grab your stuff," they put their controllers away without asking them.

"I almost beat you in the race before the last one," Tommy said. You stood between them as you walked to the elevator and into the lobby. "It was so unfair you used that shortcut." You smiled.

"Then you should have said we couldn't use short cuts," you said as the door closed and descended. "It's your fault." Billy laughed.

"She's got you there,"

"You are supposed to be on my side, jerk," Tommy lunged for this brother, but you grabbed his backpack and pulled him back.

"Enough," you told him. "The last thing I need is for you to break the elevator." The doors opened, and you walked out with your arms around your shoulders. "You'll get me one day, buddy; just don't give up." You found Vision as soon as you entered the lobby. Dressed in a suit and his arms crossed, he seemed a little out of place.

"Hi, Dad," Billy walked over to him and hugged him.

"Hello, boys. Did you have fun?"

"We did!" Tommy smiled. "Y/n, let us play Mario Kart." Their father looked at you.

"I made sure they did their homework first," you weren't completely useless when it came to kids.

"Thank you for picking them up. It slipped our minds."

"It's no big deal," you told him and shrugged. "I know my schedule is more flexible, so whenever you guys need me to pick them up, I can," he nodded.

"Dad, dad," Tommy pulled on Vision's arm. "She said she'll come to our birthday party."

"If that's okay," you added on quickly. "I don't want to intrude." The man must have given himself whiplash on how fast he looked at you and his son.

"You won't be," he said, even though his voice sounded strained. "You are always welcome." Your jaw almost dropped. What was happening right now? "Come on, boys. Let's get out of her hair. You can be quite a handful," he teased and ruffled their hair. The boys said goodbye, and you waved after them, unable to find any words after that bizarre encounter with your girlfriend's ex-husband.

"Are you okay, boss?" Bucky asked, walking over to you from his post.

"I think I need a drink after that," the veteran laughed.

"You are so dramatic," he said. You stuck your tongue at him and walked back to the elevator. After a few more hours of work, you will be home with Wanda. 

*  

"Smells good," you smiled over your shoulder as Wanda entered the kitchen after her shower. Once Wanda's shift ended, you met her at the diner and drove you back to your house. While she showered away the day, you started on dinner. "Do you need help?" You shook your head.

"If you want to pick a wine to go with this, go right ahead," you had a pretty impressive wine collection and knew Wanda loved pairing a bottle with whatever dish. When she quit the diner, you would push her to culinary school. Once you placed the food, you carried the plates to the table, and Wanda brought the wine. She thanked you for cooking with a kiss. You spoke about nothing and everything. She caught you up on the latest drama at the diner and you gave her updates on work. Most of the time, you ate in a comfortable silence. It was one of your favorite things. There was no need to talk and fill the silence.

"So," you sipped on the wine. "I talked to the twins about their party." She nodded slowly and poured more wine from the bottle into her glass. "I will be going," you watched the relief wash over her. "If you wanted me to go so bad, you should have said so," you chuckled.

"I didn't want to put you in a situation you weren't comfortable in. I can deal with Vision. I don't like Tiffany," her nose scrunched in disgust. You laughed. Mother like son.

"What do you need help with?"

"Nothing," you glared at her. "I'm serious," she laughed. "Vision hired a catering service so I don't have to cook, and he rented extra chairs and tables from a party company. I may decorate the backyard, but everything is taken care of," your eyebrows went to your hairline. "I was shocked too, but all you have to do is show up," she stood up and picked up the dirty plates. "And look hot while you swim." You laughed and joined her in the kitchen. She was rinsing the dishes and placing them in the dishwasher. You wrapped your arms around her waist.

"Are you ready for all the horny moms to eye fuck me the entire time?" Your girlfriend tensed up. You chuckled and pushed her hair out of the way to attack her neck with your lips. "Don't worry, baby. I only have eyes for you," you moved your hand underneath her shirt and felt goosebumps that appeared on her skin. "So sensitive," you teased. She dropped the plate in the sink and spun around quickly. Her lips attached to yours.

"You are mind," she mumbled against your lips. You picked her up with your hands underneath her things. The dishes could wait a little longer.

*

"When are you going to be home? I miss you." You chuckled. "What? Can I not miss my girlfriend leaving me alone in a cold bed."

"That bed is not cold because you like the house at 79 degrees," your girlfriend huffed. "Not even an even number when you know I hate odds," the woman had the audacity to laugh at you. "I miss you too, by the way. You know I'd rather be there with you than here."

"I know," she sighed. "How much longer are you going to be?" You looked at the stack of mail on your desk Sarah brought in before she left.

"30 minutes, an hour tops," you answered and pinched the bridge of your nose. "I have a headache," you whined.

"Drink some water and wear your glasses," you groaned. "I'll try to stay up and wait for you."

"Don't worry about it, baby," you leaned back in your chair. You need your sleep. I'll try not to wake you when I get home." Wanda was pulling a double shift tomorrow, and the ring on your desk seemed to tease you.

"I love you, sweetheart," you smiled at Wanda's sleepy voice.

"I love you too, baby," you said as you hung up and picked up the jewelry box. You were so busy. Thor and Loki agreed to work with you and Stark Industries, so that meant more paperwork, deadlines, and headaches for you. You wanted to get as much done before the birthday party as possible before the short weekend getaway you and Wanda planned.

You didn't have enough brainpower to plan a proposal. You wanted to involve the boys, but that's all you had figured out.

Sighing, you put the box down and picked up the stack of mail. A lot of it was junk, a few letters from organizations thanking you for your donations and a magazine subscription you don't remember signing up for. However, an envelope caught your attention. There was no return address and no postage mark as if someone had just dropped the letter off. Carefully, you opened it up and pulled out the letter.

Your stomach dropped immediately. The letter was created by cutting out maginze letters and gluing them together. It was something you saw out of an actual crime show. It read: 'Pay us what you owe, or they will get it.' A snake wrapped around your heart. It was difficult for you to breathe. You ran your hands over your face. As your hands shook, you picked up your phone and called an old friend.

"Why do I smell trouble?" Maria answered on the second ring. "Do I need to bail you and Natasha out of jail again?" You could have laughed if bile wasn't forming in your throat.

"Maria, I need you to come to my office," you said. "It's an emergency." Could she hear the shake in your voice? Fuck, your heart was pounding against your ribs. You were going to have a panic attack. "Ria, I need you."

"Shit," you heard movement on her side. "I'll be right there. Do I need to stay on the phone with you?"

"No," you said. "I'll be fine. Just hurry, please."

"I'll be right there. Do your breathing exercises for me, okay? You're no use to me if you pass out," she managed to make you chuckle.

"Thanks, Ria. I'll see you soon," she hung up. You stood up and walked away from your desk. You needed to get away from that letter. So you paced—5 steps one way, turn around 5 steps the other way, and repeat and repeat. It helped lessen the tension in your chest, and you began to breathe normally. It was going to be okay. You kept repeating that mantra in your head.

* 

You opened the door before Maria could knock. "I heard you," you answered your unasked question.

"If you didn't sound so flustered on the phone, I'd joke about how creepy that is," she got you to smile. "Alright, what is it?" You waved her over to your desk and pointed to the letter. She put gloves on and picked it up. She read it over a few times. "Has anyone else touched this?" You shook your head.

"I was the only one to touch the letter, but Sarah may have touched the envelope." She nodded and placed the letter in an evidence bag.

"Okay, your fingerprints should still be in the system, so we can cross-reference yours on the letter," you rolled your eyes.

"You get arrested once, and it's all anybody talks about." The agent smirked.

"If I remember correctly, it was four times, and Fury was the first one to arrest you." You smiled and sat down on the couch.

"How's the big man? Still causing you headaches." Maria sat beside you, throwing her feet on the small table.

"Always. He misses you. Had to handcuff him to his chair when I told him you called and needed something." Now, that would have been a sight. You missed the man, too. There was a part of your childhood where you rebelled; not even Natasha's family could ring you in. It was a desperate attempt to get your parent's attention. Instead of getting their attention, you got the attention of Nick Fury. The man arrested you for breaking into an abandoned building and vandalism. You liked tagging buildings when you were younger. Since it was your first offense, you were sentenced to community service, which Fury oversaw.

He saw something in you that not a lot of people did. A young girl who was looking for someone to believe in. So when his agents brought you in three more times, he kept it off your record and became a mentor to you. If it wasn't for him and Natasha's family, you would not be the CEO of your own company. You owed them a lot.

"So, who do you owe money to?" You gasped at the accusation. "Look, you know I have to ask and look at every angel." You knew that but still it hurt.

"I don't own anybody anything," your headache was coming back full force.

"When was the last time you spoke to your parents?" You sighed, crossing your arms.

"3 years ago, almost 4. It was about the boat incident on Oneida." Maria nodded. "They've been calling me the past week, but I've ignored them."

"I will get a judge to sign off on your phone records and security camera. Hopefully, we can catch who dropped this off," she placed her hand on the back of your neck and squeezed it. "We'll figure out who did this," she promised. "It could also be a competitor. The deal you made with Stark has made headline news. Do you want me to assign agents to Wanda and the boys?" You shook your head.

"I don't want to worry them. I'll," you sighed and rubbed your hands across your face. I'll talk to them about it." She nodded, and you rested your head on her shoulder. Maria was similar to you. Her home life was not ideal, and it seemed Fury had the tendency to adopt strays and keep them underneath his wing. Unfortunately, she had to bail you and Natasha out of trouble every once in a while.

"How long have you been here?" She softly asked. You closed your eyes.

"I got in around 9," you answered. It would have been earlier, but Wanda held you hostage in bed, and it was very hard to say no to sleepy Wanda.

"You realize it's 11:30, right?" you groaned and nodded. "Go home, bean," she said. "Go home to Wanda and the boys. We'll take care of everything." You believed her. She was the deputy director and the leader of an impressive team. You trusted her with your life.

*    

When you closed the door to your house, you felt the weight on your shoulders leave. It felt easier to breathe. You threw your bag on the couch, took off your shoes, and made sure to set the house alarm. Walking to your room, you checked on the boys, who were fast asleep. Good. You kept walking and found Wanda fast asleep. Her hair framed around her head. The blankets were pulled up to her chin. The sight made you smile, and you stripped out of your clothes and climbed into bed beside her. Usually, you would shower and change into pajamas, but you wanted to be in the safety of your shared bed.

Trying to avoid waking her, you pulled back the covers and laid yourself next to Wanda. Your head in the crock of her neck, inhaling her sent. She smelt of lavender and soothed your throbbing headache. On instinct, she wrapped her arms around you. Most nights you held her, you loved the feeling of her in your arms. Sometimes you needed to be held. "My baby," she mumbled, still clearly asleep. You smiled and kissed her shoulder.

"Yours, my love," you whispered. "Yours now and forever." You weren't going to let anyone hurt your family.

*  

Oh, you were going to throw up. You desperately wanted to arrive with Wanda, but a video call with Tony, Shuri, and Thor was scheduled, and you could not reschedule it. The party officially started in two hours, but you wanted to show up early and help. Pumping yourself up, you knocked on the door with your free hand. The presents for the twins were in one hand, and your swimsuit, change of clothes, and a bottle of wine were in your backpack. The door opened. "Y/n," Vision said. Was he smiling at you?

"Vision," you forced a smile of your own.

"You're here!" You heard the thundering footsteps of the twins racing towards you.

"I'll take these," he took the presents right before Billy and Tommy threw themselves at you. "They've been on a sugar rush all morning." The man looked fondly at his sons, who were crushing you. Damn, where are they always this strong? They may break a rib. "Alright, boys," Vision chuckled. "Let her breathe." What the fuck was happening? Did you walk into a different timeline? Billy let go of you first, but Tommy kept hugging you.

"Happy birthday, boys," you ruffled Tommy's hair. "Are you excited for the party?"

"Yes!" Tommy said. "Let's go swimming." He grabbed onto your hand and began to drag you to the pool.

"Tommy," the boy froze at his father's tone. "You promised to help Tiffany in the kitchen. Go help her with your brother, then you can go in the pool." Tommy groaned and headed towards the kitchen, dragging his feet behind him. Billy rolled his eyes and followed his brother. Vision sighed. "They may send me to an early grave," There was a smile on his face.

"Oh, I can take these back," you reached for the presents, but he shook his head.

"I can take these to the table. Wanda is outside," you stared at the man as he left you in the entryway. You shook your head and walked over to the back door. Vision was right. Wanda was putting together a banner. Her back was to you. Quietly, you opened the door and walked over to her. She jumped when you wrapped your arms around her waist. The smell of her perfume helped you relax. Soon she relaxed in your arms.

"Hi baby," you whispered and kissed her cheek.

"How was the meeting?" She asked as she worked on the banner. You sighed.

"It was okay," you threw your bag in a chair and began to help her. "I think Thor has more energy than Tony." Wanda chuckled. You continued to place the letters together to spell 'Happy Birthday' in silence. Until a question was burning on your lips. You glanced at the house. "Is Vision okay?" You asked slowly. "He's acting strange, like Tommy hit him in the back of the head with a football." A smile slowly crept onto Wanda's face.

"No," she laughed. "He's been in a good mood since I got here," she shrugged. "I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth." You narrowed your eyes at the house. Something strange was happening here.

You hated to admit how much fun the party was. You spent a lot of your time being dragged around by the twins and involved in whatever game they wanted to play. They somehow convinced their father to play a game of chicken with you in the pool. You learned that the man would do anything to make his boys smile. It was annoyingly adorable.

The only issue you had was Tiffany. She cornered you in the kitchen when you made another pitcher of lemonade. Well, corned was a strong word, but she was interrogating you about your work and family.

Besides that, you enjoyed spending time with Wanda and meeting the parents of the twins' friends. It felt like you were part of the family. You sang Happy Birthday, ate cake, watched them open presents, and cuddled with Wanda while you watched Tommy and Billy run around with their friends.

Once the party was over and the last guest left, you grabbed a trash can and began picking up the backyard. It wasn't long till Vision joined. You held open the bag for him as he picked up bottles that missed the trash can. "You made their day by coming," he said, breaking the silence. I think they'll be talking about it all year." You stared at him, eyes squinting. Did I say something?"

"Vision, what the fuck is going on?" He seemed startled by your sudden outburst. "This is the most you've spoken to me since Wanda and I started dating." The man sighed. He walked over to the cooler and opened it. Returning to you, he handed you a beer. You watched him open it and offer you the bottle. You hit yours against his and opened it. You've never seen this man drink before. You really were in a weird timeline.

"I did not like you when you first started dating Wanda," you chuckled. Everyone with eyes knew that. "It was mostly my fault our marriage fell apart. I became complacent and did not realize what I had, and then she was gone." You frowned. Vision took another sip from the bottle. "And Billy and Tommy loved you. On my weekends, they would not stop talking about you." You understand now.

"I'm not here to steal your family, Vision," the man sighed.

"Well, I know that now," he said. "Billy helped me realize how unfair I was treating you. You always thought that boy was wise beyond his years. "So I am sorry. I hope one day you can forgive me." You weren't one to hold grudges, especially when the person was open and vulnerable with you.

"Water under the bridge, Vis," you said. "But thank you for being honest with me." He smiled and began to take down the remaining tables. Since it was a day full of confessions, you had one of your own. You took a sip of your beer. "I have a hypothetical question," he glanced at you while he laid the table on the grass. "How difficult is getting an Order of Protection in New York?" The man froze. "Hypothetically," you said again. Vision was a lawyer and part of the team for the district attorney. If anyone knew the process, it would be him.

"Am I that bad?" He joked. You rolled your eyes and mumbled, 'Jackass.' He chuckled and sipped his beer. "Hypothetically speaking, it can be filed in a criminal case or family court. Would this hypothetical order of protection be against a family member?" You crossed your arms.

"Hypothetically, yes," he sighed, watching his eyes look you up and down.

"Then hypothetically, you would need to file a petition that tells the judge and respondent what you would want," you nodded and took a step forward. "This hypothetical order of protection," you rolled your eyes. "Are Wanda and my sons in danger?"

"No," he gave you a look that he wasn't convinced. "No," you repeated. "Nothing will happen to them. I promise."

"Have you spoken to Wanda about this hypothetical order of protection?" You looked at the house and saw Wanda trying to get the twins to help clean up and put their toys away. She caught you staring, and she waved, but you saw the question in her gaze; 'Are you okay?' You nodded and waved back.

"I have not," he hummed.

"A little advice," you looked back at the man. "Tell her. She hates being lied to. She rather know the truth no matter how bad it is," you knew that. Sighing, you rang your hand through your hair. You felt his hand on your shoulder. "You are good for her."

"Thanks, Vis," you smiled. He nodded and began the original task of cleaning up. You finished your beer and threw the empty bottle in the trash. You placed your hands on your hips and looked around the backyard. Today was good. You hated to ruin it with your family bullshit.

*

"I am tired," Wanda slumped on the couch, not bothering to take off her shoes. You smiled, dropped your bag, and toed off your sneakers. Sitting by her feet, you unclipped her heels and dropped them to the floor. You massaged her calves and thighs. She groaned and flipped onto her back, letting her hair down from the ponytail braid.

"You did good, mama," you whispered. "A successful party if I say so." Wanda climbed onto your lap, her hands behind your head, playing with the hair. It was relaxing, and you felt your eyes closed.

"What were you and Vision talking about?" Your eyes snapped open, and you cringed.

"Can you not say your ex-husband's name while on my lap and the less-than-PG thoughts running through my head?" She laughed and rested her head in the crook of your neck. You ran her hand down her back, and she slumped against you. "I wanted some legal advice regarding my parents." The mention of your parents caused your girlfriend to tense up. She leaned back to look at you.

"Why ask Vision and not your lawyer?" Well, your lawyer was Melina, and you did not want to tell her what was happening. For the company, it was Carol. You learned very early on that mixing business and personal was messy.

"Because I was just looking for advice," she narrowed her eyes at you. "They've been calling me a lot."

"Why didn't you tell me?" You hated her tone. It made you feel like you were in trouble. You winced.

"They do this all the time when they want money," you said, feeling major deja vu when you were having a similar conversation with Natasha. You laid her down on the couch and hovered above her. "And I didn't want to worry you," Wanda sighed.

"What do you tell me all the time?" It was your turn to sigh.

"We are a team," you mumbled, kissed her cheek, and rested your forehead against hers. "I'm sorry."

"Are you okay?" Her eyes filled with worry and concern. You nodded. It was the truth. You were okay. "Is there anything else?"

"No," you said right away. The lie felt bitter on your tongue. She put her arms around your back and pulled you closer. When she first did this, you worried you would crush her. But she loved having you close. It was a physical reminder that you were hers, and she was yours. You kissed her shoulder. This was perfect. The little bubble of peace you both created was everything to you. You wouldn't change it for the world.

*    

"Wanda," she looked up from her notepad while she took her table's order. It was her manager, while another server was walking over to her. "It's your son's school," Wanda's heart plummeted. She apologized to her table and walked to her manager's office.

"Hello," she said once she was alone.

"Hi Wanda, it's Amanda." Oh, Wanda knew who she was. It was the receptionist who kept flirting with you. "Billy and Tommy haven't gotten picked up yet. We tried calling Vision, but it went right to voice mail."

"They are still at school," Wanda said slowly as if Amanda spoke a foreign language.

"Yes, ma'am. They are in the office, perfectly safe. Will you be in to pick them up, or will you send in someone else?" Wanda didn't miss her flirtatious tone but she was so stuck on the fact her sons weren't picked up from school on the day you said you would do it.

"I'll be right there," she told her and hung up before Amanda could respond. What was going on?

*   

When she frantically walked into the building, Wanda knew her boys were behind her. Bucky raised a questioning eyebrow but buzzed her through. It was rather comical when she ran right into Natasha. The collision caused the redhead to drop all her papers. "Wands, where is the fire?" She chuckled. "Isn't this how you fell in love with the boss? I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I'm spoken for." The memory always brought a smile to her face, but it tugged at her heart. Wanda and the boys helped pick up the papers. "Wait, I thought it was Y/n's day to pick up the little gremlins." She winked at the boys.

"It was, and clearly she didn't," Wanda handed her the papers she had picked up. So where is she?" Wanda hoped you forgot—that you got dragged into another meeting. Natasha's green eyes said something different. Her green eyes flickered to the trio in front of her and then to Bucky, who joined the group.

"She left about 45 minutes ago," she looked at Bucky, who nodded to confirm her story.

"Her phone is going right to voicemail," Billy added. Wanda watched your best friend's eyes turn stormy.

"Nat, what's wrong?" Natasha let out a shaky breath.

"Why don't we take the boys to the conference room?" she smiled. "I think the switch is still hooked up." The twins cheered and walked towards the conference room, leading the way. Natasha pulled out her phone and began to follow her sons, but Wanda stopped her.

"Who are you calling?" She glanced at the twins, who Bucky was now following.

"Maria Hill. She's-"

"An agent over at SHIELD," you spent one drunken night recanting all your stories with the agent and the red head. At the time it was funny but hearing Natasha say the agent's name made Wanda realize something terrible was happening. "Nat, what's going on?"

"I don't know," she put the phone to her ear. "But Maria will be our best bet." Oh, darling, what have you gotten yourself into?

* 

It was the pain radiating from your neck and the side of your head that woke you up. Black dots covered your Vision, and you blinked a few times for them to disappear. You were bound to the chair in a room you didn't recognize. You yanked at the restraints, but they weren't moving. "I'd save your strength," the voice came from the corner of the room. You knew that voice.

"Tiffany," your throat was so dry. "What the fuck?" Vision's girlfriend walked out of the corner. She looked different from the party. Her hair was pinned up in a bun. No hair seemed to be out of place. Instead of her dress at the party, she wore black slacks and a red body suit. You remembered her face was dolled up with makeup, not bare. She gripped your chin and forced your head back. You winced. "What are you doing?" You hated how much your voice shook.

"How good is your Greek mythology?" Was she speaking with an accent? It felt like there was cotton in your eyes. "What is the mythological creature that is a serpent with nine heads?" You racked your brain for the answer. "Come on, sweetheart. Do you need another hint?" You tried to swallow, but you couldn't. Fuck, you needed water. "If you cut the head off two more, grow it back." It clicked. Tiffany smiled. "Say it."

"H-HYDRA," you whispered.

"Say it louder," she demanded, nails dug into your skin.

"HYDRA," you said. She dropped her hand, and your head fell forward. "What do you want with me?" You kept your head down.

"In due time, darling. Rest. The real fun will begin soon."

-

Don't worry Part 3 will be out next week :D

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Eddie hated the idea of it, but he couldn't stop himself. He needed to help them. He cut the rope and ran outside to buy them more time, ignoring Dustin's screams. Just as he ran out there, he saw a light coming towards him. It was running at him. He realized it was Steve, holding a flaming torch above his head. When got to the trailer, he slammed the torch into the ground.

"I knew you were going to do something stupid," Steve said.

He walked over to him, kneeling at his stomach and tossed Eddie over his shoulder like a bag of flour. Eddie shrieked, but he wasn't going to complain about the view. Eddie looked up awkwardly as Steve started to walk into the trailer.

"Steve! The bats are dying!" Eddie yelled.

"See? You didn't have to do anything," Steve said.

Once he he walked in, he set Eddie on the ground but kept a hand firmly on him.

"What about Robin and Nancy?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, me and Robin are telepathically connected," Steve replied. "Yeah, they're on their way back."

"What?! How are you - ?!"

"Russians," Steve explained as he started to tie the rope back together.

"Yes, because that explains everything," Eddie said sarcastically.

"Get your ass back through the gate," Steve told him, his hands on his hips.

Eddie's cheeks turned red. Damn it. He liked that. He swallowed and climbed through the fate where Dustin was waiting for him with his arms crossed.

"You scared the shit out of me," Dustin said.

Steve climbed back through the gate, landing safely on the other side. He stood with his hands on his hips, staring at Eddie and ready to give him a talking to.

"Sit," Steve said, pointing towards the couch.

"Yes, Daddy," Eddie said, not missing the way Steve’s eyes darkened.

"Eddie! That's not how you use that sarcastic remark like that. It's 'yes, dad'," Dustin scoffed. "Daddy is what three year olds say."

"My bad," Eddie smirked.

"Your room now!" Steve exclaimed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You are in so much trouble," Dustin laughed.

Steve pushed Eddie into his room and slammed the door behind them.

"So, how did you know that I would do that?" Eddie asked.

"Because it's what I would have done. It's what I did. The first time I got involved, I ran, but then I turned back and faced down a full-grown demogorgon. Later, I used myself as bait to protect the kids. The point is that I did all that because I felt guilty about Barb, and I know that's probably what you must be feeling. I mean, I know that it wasn't my fault and that I have nothing to prove. Eddie, it wasn't your fault what happened to Chrissy, and you have nothing to prove to anyone," Steve said softly.

Eddie smiled at him, his eyes soft and his cheeks pink. He raised his hands and cupped Steve’s face, brushing his thumbs across his cheekbones. Eddie kissed him softly. Eddie froze when he didn't feel him kiss back, and he thought that he screwed up for a moment. Steve slid his arms around him and started kissing him back, deepening the kiss. Eddie grinned when Steve slipped his tongue into his mouth. Eddie broke the kiss.

"Guess you really liked it when I called you Daddy?" Eddie whispered in his ear.

"Shut up," he hissed.

When they finally came out of Eddie's room, their hair was messed up and their lips were swollen.

"Oh, man, your face looks so red, Eddie. Steve must have chewed you out really good," Dustin laughed.

"Oh, yeah, he gave me a good tongue lashing," Eddie grinned.

"Seriously?" Steve asked.

Suddenly, Robin and Nancy were falling through the roof, the gate closing behind them.

"Hey, I don't appreciate the pornographic images you put in my head, Steven," Robin said. "Think about the ladies when I put up my shields!"

"Pornographic images? When would he have - " Dustin said, and then his eyes widened in realization. "Oh my god!"

[7s3ven]

ATHENA'S GIRL. luke (pjo) - pt 3

trailer > part 1 > part 2 > part 3

( master list )

IN WHICH... Luke has to finally acknowledge his growing fondness for Y/N while she does the opposite and pushes her feelings down in order to fit her mother’s expectations.

"Have you forgotten to turn off your heart? This is not you. I see you changing from how I've designed you. Have you forgotten your purpose?"

Warnings : Y/N swears a lot

—

Y/N was the talk of the town after Athena oh-so dramatically claimed her. She didn’t even have to spend a single hour in the rowdy Hermes cabin.

The H/C-haired girl turned her head, looking around at her surroundings. Her heart almost did a leap of joy when her gaze landed in the rows of books that seemed to fill the cabin up to its capacity.

“Excuse me, which bed should I take- Oh. Okay. You’re walking away. Yeah, just act like you don’t hear me. It’s fine.” Y/N watched as the young girl brushed past her without a single word, ignoring her question. Judging by the state of some of the beds, Y/N assumed the neater mattresses were the ones available.

She set her things down on the squeaky floorboards, sighing. She didn’t have much with her; only a novel and some spare change as well as her school textbooks. It looked like she wouldn’t be needing this anymore.

Y/N sat in the edge of the mattress, pressing her lips into a thin line when she felt a spring break. “Man, I hate it here already.”

Y/N felt even lonelier at meals. None of her so-called siblings wanted to associate themselves with her. She could feel their envious stares on her as they constantly whispered how they could’ve easily solved a murder case. Finally, Y/N had enough.

She placed her silverware done, tensely smiling while clasping her hands together. “Are you guys familiar with Nabokov’s work?” She piped up, catching the attention of everybody at the rickety wooden table. They each turned to each other, confused.

“He’s like… a German poet, right?” A boy replied, furrowing his eyebrows together as if Y/N’s inquiry were stupid.

She shook her head. He was the stupid one. “I found a clue in one of his books. And the nationality of the writer helped quite a bit in unpacking it. But none of you seem to know Nabokov so I doubt you could’ve solved the mystery. I solved a crime in under an hour, slayed a dragon, and easily killed a happy. What have you guys done? Made friendship bracelets?”

One of the kids hid their untidily made bracelet, thickly gulping as if he was self-conscious.

Y/N was about to turn back to her food before someone else spoke up. “Vladimir Nabokov was a Russian author, best known for his work Lolita. Or rather, infamously known because it’s quite a controversial piece.”

Y/N’s eyes flickered to the kid with pretty brown eyes and long, braided hair. “Three movie adaptations were made, all of them equally hated to no one’s surprise.” The younger girl added, causing Y/N to smile.

She stabbed a string bean as she shrugged, “It’s always the Russians pulling some sort of weird crap.”

“Language.” Another teenager uttered. Y/N turned her head to stare at the boy, unimpressed. She raised her brows in an almost pocking sort of way.

“Fuck… off.” Y/N tauntingly smiled, causing Annabeth to lightly snort. “Don’t you guys fight monsters? I’m sure you can take a bit of swearing. Can't you?" She leaned forward, "Listen here, you little bitch. I dealt with Castellan's shit for months. You think I can't take you and your stupid ass now?"

"Colorful language you've got there, writer. As always. You gonna use it in your next global article?" Luke placed a heavy hand on Y/N's shoulder as he quietly chuckled. "Hey, Akut," The Hermes boy turned his attention to the teenage boy, "I wouldn't mess with this one. She's fierce. And she was best friends with Clarisse for a while."

A flash of fear crossed Akut's face at Clarisse’s name. “I was only teasing. Jeez.” He grumbled to himself, shrinking back. “She doesn’t have to be such a whiny bitch about it.”

Luke clicked his tongue, knowing exactly what was coming next.

“A whiny bitch? Oh, I’ll give you a whiny bitch, punk!” Y/N grabbed her plate that still had a decent amount of food on it and slammed it into Akut’s face. “How’s that, huh?!”

“She could be Ares’ kid with that anger.” Chris whispered to Luke.

“She’s probably still adjusting to camp… you know how it is.” Luke’s gaze stayed glued on Y/N as she whacked Akut across the place with a goblet. His eyebrows raised in partial surprise but he did nothing to stop her. Akut was asking for it anyway.

Luke felt Annabeth tug on his sleeve and he slightly leaned down to listen to her over all the shouting because some other Athena kids were trying to pull Y/N off Akut. “I like her.” Annabeth murmured, “She reminds me of Thalia… a little bit. Thalia never had such strong rage, though.”

Luke chuckled under his breath as he ruffled the young girl’s hair. “Guess it’s time to finally stop this before she ends up killing poor Akut.” Luke grasped the back of Y/N’s orange shirt, pulling her back. “Chiron and Mr D are gonna have a mean jab at you, writer.”

Y/N merely scoffed as she wiped away the blood smeared across her chin. Akut had blindly punched in her direction and landed a lucky shot. “He deserved it.” She muttered, eyes flickering to Akut’s bruised face.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get you cleaned up before Chiron whoops your ass. You, get Akut some nectar.” Luke sternly pointed at a nearby Ares kid before he dragged Y/N towards the infirmary. He had patched up Annabeth enough to know what he was doing.

Y/N was silent as Luke wiped her lip with a towel soaked in alcohol. She quietly winced but that was the only noise she made. Luke gently dabbed the cloth against her split skin, being mindful of how hard he pressed.

“What? Not gonna snap at me this time? I’m waiting for you to tell me that I’m holding the towel wrong.” Luke joked but Y/N simply shrugged and let him continue.

Luke’s gaze raked over her suddenly soft and deer-like features. In this moment, she almost seemed peaceful. He had seen many different versions of Y/N. The stressed one, the annoyed one, and the bloodied one. But never calm version until now. Without the biting remarks and sharp tongue, Luke couldn’t deny that she was beautiful.

He heard Y/N clear her throat. She raised her brows, as if questioning why his actions suddenly halted. “Y/N… you’re pretty. Did you know that?” He found himself accidentally whispering his thoughts but the look of shock swirling around in Y/N’s eyes made it worth it. Her eyes softened slightly before she looked away.

“Are you just gonna stand there like an idiot, Castellan?” She asked, glancing at him again.

“You’re just too good-looking, writer.” Luke teasingly uttered before going back to cleaning Y/N’s small injury. “You better behave yourself after this, though. Chiron will end up punishing you for attacking Akut, even if he started it with words.”

“He just got on my nerves. Everybody does. They all whisper and say they could easily do the stuff I did, knowing fully well they probably couldn’t.” Y/N’s lips curled into a scowl, “I just got ripped away from my life, from my school, and probably from my dream of attending Harvard. How did you think I’d react?”

“To be honest, I thought you’d be less violent. Must’ve been all your pent up rage.”

Y/N’s angry eyes turned to Luke and for a moment, he was scared she’d attack him. But they softened and suddenly, Luke was aware of how close they were. He could easily lean down and kiss her.

The duo were interrupted when Annabeth walked through the open door. She took in Luke’s wistful expression and Y/N’s slightly flushed cheeks but didn’t comment on it.

“I thought I’d come and introduce myself.” She uttered, “I’m Annabeth. You’re pretty good at fighting, did you know that?”

“The orphanage was run by a strange woman… she taught us how to fight and all sorts of crazy things.” Y/N clicked her tongue.

“Well, anyway, I think what you did was your quest was impressive. Rarely any newbies can say they slaughtered a monster, let alone two.”

Y/N lightly smiled at the young girl. “Thank you.”

Luke pouted, poking Y/N’s shoulder. “How come you aren’t this nice to me, writer?”

“Because you’re an idiot, Castellan. And you merely existing annoys me.” She sent Luke a pointed look while Annabeth muffled a snicker. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Y/N hopped off the bed, “I’m going to finish Akut or whatever his stupid, hideous name is.” She walked out of the infirmary before Luke could grab her.

“Are you going to stop her?” Annabeth questioned, raising her eyebrows.

“… Nah, I kind of what to see how this ends.”

It did not end good. Akut ended up needing stitches and Y/N was dragged into Chiron’s office while Mr D and a few Ares kids betted on who would win in a fight; Y/N or a random Aphrodite girl. The answer was obvious.

Y/N lay in her bed, half asleep yet half conscious. She rolled over, hitting her forehead on the wall next to her but she didn’t bother to open her eyes.

She wasn’t sure when she ended up in a temple made entirely out of white marble with pink veins running through the slabs of stone. Fluffy clouds floated around and Y/N waved them aside to see who the two figures standing in the distance were. She instantly recognised Athena but the short woman with beautiful locks of curly blond hair standing next her was unfamiliar.

“Mom?” Y/N carefully called out, causing Athena’s head to turn.

“Back so soon, my dear?” She asked in that calming, silky voice.

“Where are we?” Y/N questioned, furrowing her eyebrows. Athena didn’t get the chance to reply because her companion, whose blond hair was now brown and pale skin tanned, answered for her.

“You’re in my temple, of course!” She joyfully clasped her hands together while Athena kept her calm composure.

“It seems you are unfamiliar with the goddess of love, my dear.”

Everything seemed to click in Y/N’s mind. “Aphrodite.” She breathed.

“That’s why she’s your daughter and not mine, even with how pretty she is.” Aphrodite let out a giggle, gracefully grinning and showing off her pearly white teeth. In the beautiful goddess’ presence, Y/N felt inferior.

“Um… if it’s not crossing a boundary, I’d like to ask why I’m here.” Y/N piped up as she stepped closer to the deity duo. “Every time I fall asleep, I end up in different places.”

“Something seems to be troubling you. Oh, is it love problems? Because I can solve anything!” Aphrodite, as gleeful as ever, beckoned Y/N forward. “It’s that Hermes boy, isn’t it! Aw, I knew you two would end up in a thrilling and cute romance!” Aphrodite jumped around as she gushed over what Y/N and Luke could possibly become.

Y/N stole a small glance at her mother only to flinch at Athena’s furious facial expression. “Aphrodite, some privacy please.” Athena uttered, lifting a hand that seemed to hush the goddess of love.

“Oh…” Aphrodite seemed to hesitate before she nodded, “Of course.” Her body faded away into a mass of pink glitter and Y/N was left alone with her mother.

“So, you and this Hermes boy?” Athena quirked an eyebrow which made Y/N shrink back.

“We’re nothing, mother. I don’t even like him that much. To be honest, he’s annoying and he talks too much.”

Yet, Athena was not convinced. “I have created a clear pathway for you, my dear. Annabeth is a bright girl but I want you to be my star pupil. However, if you choose not to follow in my footsteps, then you will merely be only another disappointment.”

Y/N stiffened. Failure was her worst fear, whether it be within a school exam or being unable to meet someone’s expectations. She had never failed and she was not about to start now. With reluctance, she turned to Athena. “What do I have to do?”

Y/N quickly opened her eyes, quietly panting. She found herself back in the cabin and a sigh of relief slipped past her lips. She lay awake in her bed for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling. She could hear light snores coming from her siblings and while the crackling sound of fire was supposed to calm her nerves, it didn’t. Eventually, Y/N rose.

She made an effort to keep quiet as she slipped past the cabin’s front door and into the chilly night air.

“Can’t sleep, huh?”

Y/N almost let out a loud shriek when she turned around only to almost crash into a certain Hermes boy. He had oh-so coincidentally been standing on the Athena’s cabin porch.

“What are you doing here?” She quietly hissed, on edge from both her dream and seeing the very boy her mother despised.

“I had a feeling you couldn’t sleep. The first few days are always the worst. You’re homesick and you’re also stuck with the realisation that you probably won’t ever go back.” Luke’s grin was visibly in the dim light coming from his lantern. “If I’m being honest, I was just on patrol duty and you happened to step out while I passed by.”

Y/N fidgeted with her fingers as she slowly sat down on the squeaky porch, wincing as it creaked. “What was the first night like for you?” She slowly questioned, staring up at Luke.

He shrugged. “Hard. I missed my mom and my friends and, well, Thalia.”

Y/N tilted her head to the side at the mentioning of Thalia’s name. “Who’s that?”

Luke paused before he glancing over at the lonesome tree on the hill. “This is going to sound stupid to you but she’s that tree. She was my friend while I was on the run from monsters. We then found Annabeth. Our satyr guide led us here but we were being chased by monsters. Thalia fought some of them off but there were too many… she would’ve died if it were for her father, Zeus, saving her.”

“He turned her into a fucking tree.” Y/N deadpanned.

Luke quietly groaned, “That’s the same ready Percy had as well. Why did the king of the gods turn his daughter into a tree of all things to save her life? I don’t know. I ain’t Zeus. Yeah, a tree is stupid but hey, at least she’s not dead.” Luke sarcastically smiled while Y/N remained unamused.

“I would rather die than become a tree.” She replied, “Imagine all your leaves falling during winter. You’re basically bald then.”

“If you were a tree, I’d cut you down.” Luke snapped back before he could still himself.

“So, Thalia. Tell me more about her.” Y/N abruptly switched topics.

“She was a little fiery and prideful but that’s expected of Zeus’ daughter. To be honest, she was a little bit like you. She seemed to have a soft spot for Annabeth. I think she preferred Annabeth over me.”

“Wow, what a shocker. I prefer Annabeth too.”

“I was young back then but I’m pretty sure I had a crush on Thalia. She could get me to do anything with one look.” Luke slowly trailed off while Y/N bit the inside of her cheek. Her heart felt unexpectedly heavy and for a moment, she thought she was sick.

“I should go to bed now. I’m feeling tired.” She stood up, stretching her stiff limbs. “See you later, Castellan.” Y/N walked back into her cabin before Luke could reply. He watched her disappear, leaving him standing alone in front of the porch.

He sighed. “Good night to you too, writer.”

Y/N was in the bathroom, washing her face tired face, when somebody else entered. They awkwardly stood behind her for a few moments before clearing their throat.

Y/N opened her eyes and wiped away the beads of water that dripped down her chin.

“You did some mean damage on Akut.”

In the mirror’s reflection, Y/N could see a pretty Ares girl with long, curled hair and a camp t-shirt a size too big. She was shorter than Y/N, not by much, but the H/C-nette still had to look down.

Clarisse had changed a lot but Y/N could still recognise that familiar glimmer in her old friend’s eyes.

“So this is where you disappeared off to?” Y/N questioned as Clarisse stepped closer. The brunette was now standing beside Y/N, leaning against the sink next to her with her arms folded over her chest.

“I never thought I’d see you again.” Clarisse uttered, her gaze looking Y/N up and down, “You’ve grown… a lot.”

“So have you, Clari. You look good.”

“You look better. You might turn me lesbian. It’s a shame you like Luke.”

Y/N paused and furrowed her eyebrows. “I don’t like Luke.” She said, but it was mainly to reassure herself. She heard Clarisse laugh.

“He’s all you look at. For a daughter of Athena, you aren’t too smart on this topic.”

Y/N remained stone-faced as she calmly turned to look at Clarisse. “I don’t like him.” She repeated, this time firmer.

Clarisse hummed as if she wasn’t convinced. “He’s always looking at you, by the way. You being claimed means he sees you less and I think he misses you. But you shouldn’t care. You don’t like him.” She teasingly smiled as she applied a heavy layer of gloss onto her lips.

Y/N said nothing as she looked away, splashing another handful of cold water onto her face.

“You probably remind him of Thalia. Headstrong and stubborn.”

Y/N let Clarisse’s words sink in before she opened her mouth. “I’m not Thalia.” She quietly muttered. “I remind Luke of Thalia. I remind Annabeth of Thalia. But I’m not her. My identity is not tied to Zeus’ half-blood daughter.” Y/N clenched her hands into fists. “It was nice catching up, Clari. Next time we talk, we should tell each other about our lives after we parted.”

Y/N dabbed her face with a soft cotton towel as she walked back to the Athena cabin, almost groaning at the sight of Luke. “What are you doing here? Again?” She demanded, kicking his ankle.

“Woah! Hey, I’m waiting for Annabeth. I’m not here to annoy you. Yet.” Luke grinned as he leaned against a wall. Or he tried to, at least. He underestimated the distance and ended up falling.

“Smooth, Castellan.” Y/N sarcastically said as she towered over him.

“Thanks, writer. I try.” Luke coolly played his embarrassing mistake off while Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Luke, what are you doing?” Annabeth pushed open the door, arching an eyebrow at the boy who was sprawled across the floor.

“Y/N pushed me.”

Y/N scoffed, “I did not. You fell by yourself, Castellan. Like an idiot, might I add.” She brushed past Annabeth.

“You like her.” Annabeth blurted out as soon as Y/N was out of earshot. It was more of a harsh statement than anything else.

“I do not.”

“You do. What about Thalia? Why don’t you like her anymore?”

Luke furrowed his brows as he glanced at Thalia’s tree. “Thalia’s a tree, Annabeth. I have to move on at some point.”

Annabeth clenched her hands into fists as she glared at Luke. “I don’t want you to move on!”

Luke was confused as to why Annabeth was acting this way. He knew she missed Thalia but she had never burst into a fit. “Annabeth… I have to. You said you liked Y/N.”

“I do… but she’s not Thalia.”

Y/N woke up covered in a thin layer of sweat. She quietly panted. Her dreams were all the same now and depicted Athena ruthlessly lecturing her over and over again to the point where Y/N felt a little scared.

She heard someone shift in their bed. “Are you okay?” Y/N heard Annabeth whisper from across the room.

Y/N gave herself a moment to catch her breath before she sighed. “Yeah… just a bad dream, you know? I’m going outside for a bit.” Y/N kicked the covers off her body, shakily standing up.

“Thalia wouldn’t do that.” Annabeth muttered, “She doesn’t like going outside after nightmares.”

Y/N bit back an annoyed huff. “I’m not Thalia, Annabeth. I never will be her. You and Luke should let it go.” She walked out of the cabin, resisting the urge to slam the door.

“Oh, wow. This is just creepy. Are you sure you aren’t stalking me?” Luke grinned while Y/N sarcastically smiled. She sat down on the steps.

“Does Annabeth always go around and comparing people to Thalia?” She was straight forward and blunt. Luke clicked his tongue as he took the spot next to her.

“Not really… no.“

“Do you see me as Thalia?”

“I see Thalia in you but I know how to tell the difference between you too. Listen, Annabeth was attached to Thalia. And with new things coming to light, she’s on guard.”

Y/N turned to look at Luke, gazing at him in confusion. “New things?” She questioned.

“New… feelings.”

“… New feelings for Thalia the tree?”

Luke held his face in his hands as he groaned. “How are you a daughter of Athena? I’m giving you all the hints, writer.”

Y/N only raised her eyebrows. “I see no hints. All I see is your infatuation with a tree that was once a girl.”

“I like you.” Luke blurted out, unable to withstand any more of her obliviousness. “I don’t like Thalia. Maybe I did before but like I told Annabeth, I have to move on.”

Y/N was silent. She stared ahead while Luke awaited her reaction. Finally, Y/N said something. “You can’t like me… you don’t know me, Luke.”

“But I do! I know your favourite food and I know your favourite book. I know when people ask what your favourite colour is, you say it’s stupid to have one but your favourite colour is actually (insert)! I know you hate parties but you also want to feel like a normal teenager. And I know your favourite drink is (insert) yet the best one you’ve tried is in that cafe across from the school. I know things you didn’t know that I knew”- Luke cut himself off with a small sigh. “My point is I know you!”

“Did you mean you know things I didn’t know you knew about me?”

“Yes!” Luke quietly hissed, not wanting to be too loud in case he woke up the Athena kids. They wouldn’t be too happy about that. “And I know that you like correcting people’s grammar because the only paper you scored a B on was because you made grammar mistakes. You think you’re helping people but they think you’re a know-it-all. Though, when you explain your intentions, they realize you were only trying to help.”

Y/N stared at Luke with her lips parted. “Are you stalking me?” She murmured.

“No… yes? It was part of my quest, writer. I had to.”

“Well, that’s not creepy at all.”

“Are you even listening to what I’m saying? I just said I like you and you called me creepy.”

“You are for knowing all that information about me!”

“Okay, okay.” Luke held his hands up in surrender, “Truce. I really do like you, writer.”

“And here I thought you hated me. What was up with all our bickering then?”

“It was the only way to get your attention. And, I must admit, I did feel a little jealous of you. You were so good at everything… and I’m only good at swinging a sword around.” Luke’s gaze flickered to the ground. He thickly swallowed before lifting his head again. He quickly realized how close he was to Y/N, their foreheads almost butting against each other.

“Do you really like me, Cast-Luke?” Y/N quickly corrected herself. Luke could feel a grin stretch across his lips. Y/N had never called him by his first name before. It was always Castellan this, Castellan that.

“I do. I like you, Y/N. I really, really like you.”

“Okay.” Y/N whispered, slowly leaning forward. She was afraid of what her mother would say but when her lips met Luke’s, suddenly she didn’t care.

All that mattered were Luke’s hands trailing up to grab her waist and the smile that spread across his face like gleeful wildfire.

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[findafight]

Ohhh fic where Steve and Robin and Dustin and Erica all casually make funny little haha jokes with each other about getting tortured/almost caught by the Russians under Starcourt because they all have that shared trauma and had many a long late night calls reassuring each other they're alive and playing dnd together and fulfilling lifetime supply of icecream obligations.

They do this because sure the rest of the party knew there were Russians under Starcourt but everything they went through in that basement was sorta...forgotten in the aftermath of literal flesh monster. And with Hopper dead and the Byers moving, there's so much happening that whatever happened to Steve's face (lost another fight...) and why he and Robin went from mildly antagonistic co-workers to codependent goobers who couldn't go literally a day without seeing the other or what made Dustin always ask if Erica was going to come for party hang outs are all sort of brushed under the rug. Not a big deal, really. Bigger things happening after everything.

And they cope together and scoops troop is a weird little section of the party no one but them really understands. Robin and Steve are attached at the hip and to a lesser extent so are Erica and Dustin (but they'll never admit it), and they all have mini gatherings together.

So, the casual mentioning of starcourt and specifically what went down with the Russians is commonplace for them. (Erica is quick to remind them she saved their asses, and are they so lame they need her help again? but she smiles and Steve and Robin just laugh and give her a big hug.) And somehow, they forget that not everyone really knows what went down before July 4th 1985.

And I want them to do it in front of everyone. I want them to have their stupid "this was so fucked up but we're alive and we got through it so now we have to laugh or we may never stop crying about it" banter at a big "we saved the world again!" Barbecue. I want the rest of the folks there to go silent and them not to notice.

I want someone to mention Steve not getting a black eye this time, congrats! and Robin going "the only reason why I didn't get one last time was because the Russians said-"

And Steve, who is lying with his head in her lap, reaches up to gently cup her cheek and says in a terrible Russian accent "don't worry, we will not ruin your pretty face!" (everyone is quiet around them, they do not notice)

She laughs. "And punched me in the gut a few more times. I peed blood for like, three days."

Steve goes "ewwww" only to be pinched by robin.

"you peed blood too, dingus. You got it worse than me and my pretty face."

He giggles and opens his hand up for a high five "pissing blood buddies, hell yeah!" And shifts in her lap. "But they bruised my pretty face. Rude."

"aww. It's okay, Stevie, your face is still so pretty. Prettiest boy in Hawkins."

"thanks Robin."

"at least Dustin and Erica got us out before they started ripping out fingernails." She shudders.

"or used the bonesaw"

"mmm. Unfortunately not before we got funky truth serum drugs though."

He leans up, looking at the two "y'all couldn't have been a bit faster?" But he's smiling, teasing. A well worn joke.

Dustin and Erica respond simultaneously with "I'm missing bones, Steve, what do you want from me?" And "I was ten and my legs were short as shit. Beggars can't be choosers." Respectively.

It is at this point an Actual Grown Up butts in.

"what. What do you mean ripping out fingernails?"

Robin and Steve look towards Joyce, who asked.

"like. To interrogate us? Because we just kept saying we worked for scoops even with the truth serum."

"because they thought we had to be superspies to get into their creepy lair and not a bunch of kids."

"mmhmm"

Hopper jumps in "wait. You were tortured by them?"

Robin and Steve give him eerily similar looks that express how obvious the answer to that is.

"yeah, duh."

"I don't go looking to get brain damage every year, you know."

Hoppers eye twitches. "Why didn't you say anything?"

[fruity-mega-coconut69]

Movie & Dinner

[pairings]: Jenna Ortega x Fem!Reader x Emma Myers, Fem!reader x Mason Gooding (platonic)

[Summary]: You have had a crush on Jenna and Emma ever since you met them, little did you know, they were already head-over-hills.

[warnings]: Swearing, kissing, bad writing bc it's late, not proof read

---------------------------------------------------------------

When you first got the call from the director of the new Scream movie, that you would be playing the character of Danny Brackett’s sister, you literally almost had a heart attack. You had applied to the role not only because it could be your big breakthrough, but because of your love for the Scream movies.

During the time you were shooting, you got closer with everyone in the cast. Especially Jenna and Mason. Which also meant that you guys hang out even after the last wrap-up and after the movie was released. 

You hung out with Jenna the most, only because Mason got sick for a long time. After a while of just hanging out at Jenna’s or your apartment, she decided to introduce you to her lovely girlfriend, Emma Myers. The two of you instantly clicked and soon it was either you, Jenna and Emma who hung out or you, Jenna, Mason and Emma. For a while it was fun, but then…….you started catching feelings. At first, you brushed it off as just a silly crush on two of your best friends, but then the constant nervousness and overthinking around them started. Things like, ‘ is this outfit going to be good for our movie-night’ went through your head or whenever one of them gave you a hug and your heart started racing and your face heated up,-which you tried to hide- you knew it was not just a little crush, it was a big, fat one.

But of course, Jenna and Emma weren’t stupid. They picked up on your behavior. And in all honesty, they were fucking amused. The main reason Jenna wanted you to meet Emma was because of her own ‘silly, little’ crush. After two-three months of hanging out with you, they were both fucking wiped.

Mason, obviously, knew about your crush. He always told you to talk to them about it, but you were too much of a coward to do so.

And of course, Jenna and Emma had someone that knew about theirs too. For Jenna, it was Melissa, who knew about her and her girlfriend’s crush. For Emma, it was her sister, Izzy. Obviously, they talked to each other about it too. Having a complete melt-down everytime they do so. 

Also, that is the reason they’ve decided to call you over tonight for you guys’s usual movie & dinner night. Only, they are planning on finally telling you about their feelings.

You are walking up the stairs to get to their apartment with your headphones on and an audio book playing through them, just some russian learning ones. It has been your passion to learn as many languages as you can, ever since you were a kid. But anyway, you arrive at Jenna and Emma’s door and simply let yourself in. Turning off the audiobook and taking off your headphones. You looked around and saw the light on in the cozy living room, deciding to walk in. 

And there they were. Sitting on the couch, cuddling. 

You walk in further and when you are close enough, you clear your throat in a way to get their attention. Which you got pretty quickly. They turn around and as soon as they see you, the both of them smile in usion.

“Y/N! Hey!” Jenna squeals in excitement as she gets up and goes over to you, giving you a warm hug. Emma did the same.

“Heyyy, so what are we watching?” You sat down on the couch and they followed you, Jenna on your right and Emma on your left. You felt your cheeks flush as they scoot closer.

“Uhm, we were thinking ‘The Grown Ups’?  That good for you?”

You gasp and smile. “Of fucking course! I love that movie! “ They laugh at your excitement and turn to the TV to put on the movie.

— —

It was nearing the end of the movie and you couldn’t wait for it. Basically, the reason for that is, you are really flustered. Jenna has her arm around you while Emma’s hand is resting on your knee in a comforting manner. All that was making your heart beat out of your fucking chest. You are only hoping that they can’t hear how loud it is.

As the movie comes to an end, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding until now. “Uh, I'm going to get a drink.” You state, getting up and squeezing yourself out from between the two lovers.

Walking into the kitchen, you head straight to the sink to wash your face. When you’re done, you take a glass and fill it with water. As you are drinking it, Emma and Jenna appear in the entrance. Jenna walks ahead her girlfriend and up to the counter you are leaning against.

As she looks at you, there is a sickeningly cute grin on her face that you can’t help, but admire until she speaks up.”God, I don’t know how they let you graduate acting school. “She giggles as your eyebrows furrow. “You are so obvious!” Jenna pauses for a moment to look back at her girlfriend who is smirking, leaning against the wall of the entrance. “ C’mon, we know you like us. “ At that, you feel your face burning up once again as your mouth opens and closes like a fish, trying to find something to deny it.

“Hey. It's okay. We are not mad. “ Emma speaks up and walks over to the two of you.

“Y-you’re not? “ They both shake their heads and you let out a sigh. 

“However, “ Jenna starts, looking back at you and stepping closer. “ We have to tell you something. “And your heart once again races, not only because she is centimeters away from your face, but also because of what she and Emma have to say. “But, I’d rather show you.” Jenna smirks at your red face as she takes your chin in her right hand and tilts it down a little. Then she turns her head to the side and leans in and finally, her soft, red lips meet yours.It’s a little rough, but still endlessly hot. The kiss doesn’t last long as you hear Emma whine and soon her footsteps come closer. 

Jenna steps aside a little as Emma settles in-front of you. Smirking, she cups your face and pulls it closer to hers. When your lips meet, you immediately note that her kiss was softer than Jenna’s, more gentle. But good nonetheless. After a couple of seconds, she pulls back with a smile on her face and lets go of your face.

You were still blushing and trying to process when Jenna speaks up. “ Soo, are we throuple now or something? Is that what it’s called?” Emma laughs and nods at her girlfriend.

“Sure, Jen. But we still have to ask, don’t you think?”  She gestures towards you, who is just standing there.

“Right. Right.” Jenna turns to you and chuckles at you frozen state. She grabs your shoulders and shakes you lightly. “Hellooo, earth to Y/N!”  You finally look up at her.

“Uh, huh?” 

They both smile and glance at each other then back at you. “Would you like to be our girlfriend? “ They say at the same time with a little bit of nervousness in their voices.

You just stare at them for a couple of seconds, but before their smiles could disappear, you speak up. “I-I…Yeah, sure. I mean….yes. Yes!” They both smile and take each of your hands and lead you back into the living room. 

— —

The next morning after you arrive home, you just drop your stuff and call Mason immediately. “Oh.My.God! Mason! You won’t believe what fucking happened!” 

You heard shuffling in the background. “What?What? What is it?”

You grin as you take in a deep breath. “Me, Jenna and Emma are fucking together! Can you believe that shit?” 

“Wait, Really?! “ You nod but soon realize that he can’t see you so you speak up. 

“Yes! It happened last night. We even kissed and everything! “ Mason smiled as he heard the happiness and excitement in your voice.

“Oohh, wait! Don’t tell me the juicy parts just yet! I’ll be over in 15. “ You laugh. “What? I want to be there so you can see my reactions.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be waiting. “

---------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Sorry, it's short :/ I have a lot of studying to do.

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 04

PREVIOUS

I really gotta figure out a name for this kid but it’s not today. I lean towards no one, aside from Wymack, actually knowing what his first name is. Dan’s the one that recruited him to be her replacement dealer so his first name has been lost to time.

They all refer to him by his last name which is, of course, something incredibly nondescript and boring. It’s Smith. He has brown hair and brown eyes, his hair isn’t scraggly or especially stylish, he’s perfectly average in height and BMI. Andrew is irritated that someone he regularly hangs out with of his own free will is so boring looking.

But he kind of respects how Fluent Freshman just flat out says no when Andrew says he should dye his hair something interesting. Doesn’t get irritated or say any reason why he’s not going to do that. Just a No. Andrew drops it because of course he does.

He doesn’t know that Fluent Freshman spends 20 minutes looking at hair dye the next time he goes to the near by CVS for his Pepto Bismol and the prescription that Abby referred him to go get. He looks at all the colors and is like “I cannot possibly dye my hair. I would look stupid / all the other foxes have the hair colors I wouldn’t look stupid in and they’d think I was COPYING their look.” He goes to the aisle where his Pepto is but it’s completely cleared out.

He, very bravely, does not just burst into tears. He gets his prescription and walks up to cash out and the girl is the usual one who helps him. She sees him and goes “OH, I kept some Pepto behind the counter for you. Do you want a bottle?” she asks. Fluent Freshman is the Pepto Bismol guy, his purchases so noticed and embarrassing that they saved some for him when they ran low. He says yes and swears to never come to this CVS again.

Fluent Freshman sees Captain Neil coming up unexpectedly while he’s doing some leisure reading of a Russian novel and Fluent Freshman has never moved so quickly in his entire life to stash it into his backpack pull out some gen-ed math assignment.

Captain Neil stops at his table and asks him how his ulcer is the next time they  and FF considers the merits of a trade school. Out loud he says “It’s fine.”

Neil gives him a look.

FF is pale and his eyes are darting rapidly between Neil and something in the distance (the OPEN backpack next to the seat Neil is in with the RUSSIAN NOVEL. AN AMATEUR MISTAKE) and Neil thinks he finally understands why his teammates hate when he says he’s fine when he’s obviously not.

He decides it’s not something to tackle right now and passes along some probiotic yogurt that Andrew had given him to pass onto Fluent Freshman when Neil had said he was going to hang out with him while Andrew was in class. Fluent Freshman takes it and then Neil helps him with his math homework while he helps teach Neil Spanish.

NEXT

And since you requested it:

@i-have-three-feelings

[qqueenofhades]

Is it normal that I’m legitimately so scared of saying pretty morally tame things like “I don’t want to talk about genocide because it makes me severely uncomfortable” or in general expressing my political opinion.

Like i’m not even kidding when I say that all my drafts are just my possibly offensive (probably not) political takes i’m just so scared of everyone leaving me it’s not even funny.

Anyway i also think that if you talk about Palestine but not Ukraine you are a victim of Russian Propaganda™️

I’m sorry I don’t know why i did this have a nice day ok baiiiiiii

Here's the thing. You and every other average social media user should not have to masquerade as a sudden in-depth expert on every single social, political, humanitarian, etc. crisis that we are dealing with in this wretchedly miserable excuse for a timeline. It should not be a baseline expectation on you that when you log onto your little social media in your little average life, you have to come up with The Correct Opinions on everything and if you don't, you're "perpetrating oppression" by not vigorously spreading misinformation, instead of simply admitting that you don't know what to do, you as an average citizen are not in a position of making this change and therefore don't actually have to spend every waking minute obsessing about it, and that maybe, just maybe, you'd like to spend more time informing yourself until and/or IF you decide you want to talk about it. This is the same as the Instagram Activists (TM) who traumatize themselves to the point of PTSD by constantly consuming torture and/or war porn and/or graphic content about murdered children because they "don't have the right to look away." Actually, you do. You are able to make choices to control your personal social media use and to set boundaries as to what you do and do not want to do and/or see, rather than insisting that the only moral choice is to literally mentally destroy yourself with all the weight of human suffering in the world and then expected to act as a de facto expert on all of it, on pain of being Cancelled. This is a stupid, irrational, unhealthy, and generally idiotic expectation. You should not have to take part in it. Nobody should.

Likewise, I think that this is a large part of why people are so scared to voice any opinion that goes against the Prevailing Groupthink: they are afraid of losing friends, of having nasty bad-faith internet trolls say mean things about them, being accused of being a "bad person," or otherwise being guilt-tripped, shamed, and blamed for not centering their entire existence around something that they cannot actually do anything about. Once again, people think the only way you can be Known to Oppose Something Problematic (tm) is if you post on social media about it all the time. Forget whatever you might be doing offline, in your real life, or otherwise; it "doesn't count" if you don't make a big virtuous display of your Rightthink, or you will be viciously harassed. Now, look, I am old and/or tired enough that I don't give a shit what stupid internet users say about me, but I can tell you that I sure did when I was younger, it was incredibly painful to be on the end of those kinds of attacks, and it's (again!) not something you should just have to expect as a baseline level of gaslighting and harassment. As I have said. This is Tumblr. It is a stupid blue website mostly for fandom and/or three in-jokes. This is not a platform where we are expected To Do Social Justice all the time, nor should it be. As for Elon Musk's Twitter: yeah. No.

Also: yes, if you do spend all your waking moments obsessing over Palestine, but say nothing whatsoever about Ukraine and/or openly support Russia, you are in fact very much a victim of Russian Propaganda and you 100% support genocide when it's done by an "anti-western" state that you support for that reason alone. You only care because you can use the cause to make yourself look morally superior, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with opposing genocide on a basic, universal, or fundamental level. The end.

(I hope you have a nice day too. The anger in this is not directed at you. I support everything you've said here and hope that you're able to set healthy boundaries and protect yourself.)

[artiststarme]

Don't Call Me Stupid

Can I make you cry four times in one day @pyrohonk? I hope you guys like it and please leave your thoughts in the comments!

Now with a Part 2!

~*~*~*~

Steve was used to being the dumb one. He was the kid in class that would ask stupid questions that the other kids and sometimes even the teacher would laugh at. He never quite understood what teachers were saying in class or what the words written on the board were supposed to mean with their squiggly letters that jumped around. Eventually he learned not to raise his hand at all. Better to be confused than embarrassed, right?

Nancy, when they were dating, would always call him an idiot. He brushed it off at the time but looking back, it made him wonder. If he was a little bit smarter, a little more astute, would things have gone differently? Would Nancy have sought comfort in him instead of running off to Jonathan? Would he have noticed Barb’s disappearance from his yard that started all of this in the first place? He had to wonder but even that wouldn’t change anything. 

His stupidity was also a highlight point for his parents to focus on. He once was the popular jock, an airhead but one that was popular and good at sports. Now, he was just a deadbeat that barely graduated high school and certainly couldn’t get into college. He was a loser working at a dead-end job that was going nowhere in life. Ah, what pride he brought to his parents now. He could only grieve the life he used to lead every time he saw his parents staring at him in disdain. At least he had the Party… right?

It was a well known fact throughout the Party that Steve was a little slow. His brain worked at a different pace than the rest of them, a concept woefully apparent to everyone. His brain was focused on the music underlying the Russian code and the Black Widows underneath the floorboards. He was the last to connect the dots and truly only helped the Party by taking hits to the head. They only kept him around to take the hits after all. 

Even Robin, his best friend in the world, his platonic soulmate with a capital P, called him a dingus on a near hourly basis. Sure, it was affectionate now but it started as a derogatory term to poke fun at his intelligence, or lack thereof. He was a fool in her eyes, affectionate or not. Even still, he was just the dumbass that slept around with half of Hawkins, a sassy soundboard for her to bounce lesbian crushes off of. 

He was used to being called stupid but it still hurt every time. 

So in the first fight he and Eddie have as a couple, it really hits a sore spot when Eddie hisses, “what are you, stupid?”

All of the fight drained out of Steve in an instant leaving a broken, empty shell in its place. His anger melted away to reveal the hurt hidden underneath. “You should go.”

“What? No, we’re talking this through,” Eddie shook his head, giving him a look of confusion. 

“I probably won’t understand anyways since I’m so stupid. So you should go, save your breath. Whatever you think is probably right anyways.” With that, Steve walks up the stairs to his bedroom and locks the door behind him. He pulls his old Walkman over his ears and lets the sad tones of Queen’s All Dead, All Dead wash over him. 

He was sick of being treated like trash by everyone he talked to. Everyone that was supposed to love him; his parents, Nancy, Robin, Eddie, the kids. They all thought he was a dumbass. He’d tried so hard to be better, to be smarter, to be more useful to everyone else. But in his quest, he lost everything that he once was. He lost his charisma, he lost his old friends, and his hobbies to become this loser who still no one liked. 

So, he ignored his boyfriend’s knocks on his door, turned up his tunes, and planned his move away from Hawkins. If he wasn’t appreciated here, maybe he would be anywhere else.

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[weskers-boytoy]

steve and eddie r just chilling out and the tv randomly spurts some random period-typical 'commies are coming!' stuff and there's just something inside steve's head the snaps.

he's staring at the screen. not out of anger. or patriotism. or even remote interest.

but out of fear.

his mind spirals back to that summer. in his stupid uniform, the stupidly painful migraines that followed that night. the stupid doctor.

it gets a bit too much, he sits back on the sofa, pinching his nose. he'd rather not lose his façade. but it crumbles just slightly, and eddie notices. he switches the TV off, reaching out toward steve but his hand is swatted away almost instantly.

wayne is sat nearby, watching dutifully. as always, he never quite trusted the harringtons and didn't plan to now. so when steve just asks them to call robin, to let him out the trailer, he has no quarrel.

"wayne, wayne, please, he's not right. he's fucked up, something's going on."

"yeah he's fucked up, he's a harrington."

eddie grovels, storming out after him, slamming the car door and cupping steve's face between his hands, staring at his eyes.

"what's going on?"

"i just need to go home."

he awkwardly shifts in his position, "besides i've taken up enough of you and wayne's morning."

eddie steps back.

"i'll ask robin."

"about?"

"whatever the fuck russian propaganda has to do with you throwing a hissy fit?"

steve bites his lip, closing the car door and sitting on the stairs to the trailer. eddie sits beside him as he slowly, but surely recounts what he remembered from that night.

wayne was listening from the doorway, gravely listing the shit he could hear the kid say in his mind. he couldn't imagine a high school sweetheart being tortured by russians. though a russian base under starcourt, a gate? he had no clue what the kid was on about, it sounded almost like one of eddie's little games.

the way he recounted the experience made him believe it well enough.

so he set three mugs on the counter; pouring them each a coffee. he brings a blanket out and wraps it around the two as they huddle in the morning sun.

wayne hasn't quite warmed up to steve, understandably so, they had been quite cold to one another. but some things took time to heal.

steve harrington needed time to heal.

[lavenderstobins]

In you opinion, what would have happened if dustin and erica were captured by the russians alongside steve and robin?

To begin with, I think Steve essentially offers himself up immediately, trying to claim that the other three don’t know anything. Thing is, Dustin would also immediately start loudly protesting, so it would just be a mix of shouting until they’re separated.

They’re interrogated separately at first. Erica is a kid, so they’re not too interested in her — mainly, they’re trying to get answers by talking to her like she’s five, which… doesn’t work. Erica’s loud and cocky, talks back to them like they’re dumb, but she doesn’t really realise the extent of the situation until the screaming starts.

Dustin is in a similar boat, but old enough for them to not treat him like he’s stupid. He’s being loud and uncooperative too, and he intends to stay that way, until…

Well, until he hears what’s happening to Steve and Robin.

Because when Steve and Robin were captured, alone, they were hopeful that Dustin and Erica got out. That was enough for them. They figured they’d die down there, but at least Erica and Dustin would be safe.

In a scenario where Erica and Dustin got captured with them, though? That’s out the window. They’re not cooperative. They don’t care what happens to themselves, all they care about is ensuring Erica and Dustin’s safeties.

Steve is tortured, same as in the show, and the Russians don’t believe him when he says it was just him, that it was an accident. He hangs on as long as he can, trying to convince them that the other three were just dragged along for the ride.

Robin’s doing the exact same thing. So, there are conflicting stories already. Because Robin’s trying to bring the blame onto herself, saying she was bored at work and cracked their code, it was her, the other three are just her coworker and some kids he babysits who got stuck with her. Remember in the show how she was uncooperative with them, calling them bastards and spitting at them, up until the point where they start trying to pull Steve’s fingernails? If Dustin and Erica are involved, she’s in that mentality from the beginning.

Dustin and Erica are mainly left alone, all in all, but their captors have made it so that they’re able to hear both Steve and Robin getting tortured. That’s the catch for them. If they tell the truth, their friends don’t need to get hurt, yes?

(It’s also at this point that both Dustin and Erica realise they’re in over their heads. Neither will admit it, but they’re both terrified.)

Robin and Steve, I think, would then be interrogated together, because their stories aren’t aligning and both have taken blame, and the intent is that if they see how beaten up the other is then maybe they’ll crack. They kinda do, they kinda don’t. Steve once again tries to pull the blame to him, and I think Robin would get desperate and start shouting that it was obviously her, he’s just her stupid coworker, he wouldn’t understand a code at all, let alone crack it.

Because in both their respective minds, they’re at fault. Robin cracked the code, so she thinks she dragged them all into this. Steve let Dustin try and crack the code to begin with instead of brushing it off, so he thinks he dragged them all into this. And I think there’s this mutual understanding of let me take this, let me save you. Steve knows that Robin doesn’t know anything about the Upside Down, so she has no idea of that danger, but Robin not knowing about that is half the reason she’s so desperate to take the blame. She has no idea that there’s more to it than the cracking of the code.

Ultimately, I think they’d believe Robin. She’s a convincing liar, for one, and for two, Steve hadn’t mentioned the code once. He’d stuck to the ice cream job, where Robin had stuck to being bored and deciphering a code for fun.

So Steve gets shut up in a room with Dustin and Erica, who have had no idea what’s been happening for hours, and Dustin sees the state of his face and freaks. Steve’s frantic because he needs to get them out of there and save Robin, and he’s terrified because he knew what they did to him already, and he knew she’d already been hurt.

I think Steve, Dustin and Erica would manage to break out of their room and make a run for it, starting the subplot of Dustin and Erica’s rescue from the show. Dustin and Steve fill Erica in on things and find the cattle prod and green goo etc etc.

The three of them use it as a distraction and are able to break out Robin, same way Dustin and Erica do in the show. I think Robin would’ve been drugged, but she’d have been alone instead of drugged with Steve. Steve would’ve gotten into a fight with the doctor and Dustin would’ve still jabbed the doctor with the cattle prod (and killed him).

From there, things would mostly play out the same way except it’s only Robin that’s loopy on drugs, with Steve taking charge of the situation. I also think Steve would’ve scooped up Robin to run rather than tug her along by her wrist (since he’s obviously stronger than Dustin and Erica) which would’ve made Robin complain but she wouldn’t fight it. I do think she’d make some comment about “Tammy would be soooo mad at me… she might TALK to me…” while giggling, but the other three aren’t really paying attention to what she’s saying because she’s clearly out of it.

Steve would refute them hiding in the cinema, so I think the four of them would go with Dustin to try and get the radio to work. Robin keeps complaining that she’s thirsty so Steve takes her to get some water while Dustin and Erica try to reach the others.

The bathroom confession wouldn’t happen right then (because Steve hasn’t been drugged) so I think Robin would still dash to the bathroom to throw up and Steve would wait outside the stall (doesn’t want to leave her unattended).

Everything after that would play out the same as the show, minus Steve giving away Dustin’s name etc.

In this scenario I think Robin would come out to him after everything, either that night or sometime over the next few days, because Steve wouldn’t have confessed to being in love with her in the bathroom. Maybe they get drunk together after Starcourt, maybe they have a bathroom confession in the Harrington house. She’d come out to him before the s3 epilogue for sure though.

Sorry, this is probably a much longer answer than you were expecting, but this was fun to think about!

[nikakura]

A little W.I.P of my Greetings to Ranfren "vsratoASK" for my OC, Pepper cutie, I say so 👊



[violetsteve]

A companion piece to the makeout fic (though both can be read as stand alones). Also posted on AO3 here!

If someone would’ve told Robin three years ago that not only would Steve “the hair” Harrington be her very best friend, but she would also go on to fight evil Russians and demonic bats with him and live to tell the tale, she would’ve laughed in their face.

Actually, she probably would have given a very obnoxious, very nervous laugh, and then ran in the opposite direction because obviously that person was either insane or under the influence of something very bad.

Still, they would have been right. Steve is her very best friend. She would move mountains for him. She would walk into the fiery depths of the upside down to pull his sorry ass out. She wouldn’t even hesitate.

But goddamn is she tired of seeing his stupid fucking turned on face.

***

Robin admits that she enjoys DnD nights more than she thought she would—which is to say she thought she wouldn’t enjoy them at all.

The truth is, though, they’re fun. It’s the one time where they can all get together and just be. They don’t all play DnD, but all of them are typically clustered in the same room, strewn over couches and scattering about the floor, all just spending time in the same space without the pressure of the impending end of the world hanging over their heads.

Plus, it’s kinda fun to watch the nerds play DnD. Eddie gets so into it, and in turn so does the rest of the table. Robin has to admit that Eddie is good at this—dragon mastering or whatever.

She’s not entirely sure what he’s making the kids battle right now—thinks maybe it’s a goblin army—but Eddie is perched with his feet on his chair, crouching down and making slight growling noises as his goblins attack the kids. He’s got his fingers curled into claws and when he speaks he sounds ridiculous. It’s embarrassing, is what it is. His voice is somehow growly and squeaky, high pitched as he bares his teeth at the group clustered around the table.

Eddie looks so much like a gremlin in this moment that it makes Robin cackle. Eddie is being an absolute weirdo, and she turns to share in her delight with Steve, only—

Jesus fuck does she regret looking over at him. Steve is very obviously paying attention to Eddie’s actions right now, just like Robin had been, but there’s a very definite difference to the kind of attention Steve is paying.

Steve’s eyes are already hooded and slightly unfocused when Robin looks over, his bottom lip tucked between his teeth as his index and middle finger tap a staccato rhythm against his thigh and—

“Steve, gross,” Robin whispers harshly, her whole body recoiling.

Steve’s gaze cuts to hers, a slight look of confusion clouding his face.

“What?” He whispers back, but Robin can tell he’s only half in the conversation. He’s got his head turned towards her, but his gaze keeps drifting back towards Eddie—pulled almost as if by magnetic force.

Robin wants to throw herself off the nearest tall surface.

“Do not tell me you are turned on right now. If you tell me you are turned on by Eddie doing that—” Robin gestures to where Eddie is still crouching on his chair, his fingers now forming dancing hooks in the air in front of him as he speaks in that warbling, growly tone, “—I will gouge my eyes out with my own fingernails, I swear to God.”

Steve’s fingers still against his thigh, his posture going rigid. Slowly, so slowly, he brings his gaze to meet Robin’s head on. He seems to debate something with himself before he says—

“Do you want to go shopping for sunglasses before or after you’re blind?”

Robin shrieks.

Steve laughs the entire time the rest of the room tries to assure that Robin is not dying. To be fair, she’s not entirely convinced she’s not.

***

Robin and Steve are ¾ of the way through their shift at Family Video when Eddie strolls through the door, promptly making Steve forget he’s at his job—making him forget that despite what it might look like to the outside viewer, they do have things they have to get done before they can leave.

“Eddie!” Steve crows, and the smile on his face is so big that Robin forgets to be annoyed for a second. It’s just, God she’s so happy for them. They’re disgustingly cute, and she’ll never forget how supportive Steve was when she started dating his ex. He deserves just as much support in his relationstion.

Plus, she just likes seeing him happy. Though if anyone ever asks, she’ll never admit it. She’d dove into a creepy lake to pull his ass back through a hell dimension portal, but admit that she has a vested interest in his happiness? Gross, absolutely not.

Eddie makes his way to the counter where they’re processing returns, or, more accurately, where they were processing returns. Steve isn’t doing anything except staring at Eddie like he was the one who put all the stars in the sky.

She’s so going to make fun of him for it later.

“Hey, Stevie,” Eddie says, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the counter, effectively putting himself in Steve’s space.

It’s like Robin doesn’t even register. Has Robin mentioned how gross they are?

“I have something for you,” Eddie says, removing an arm from the counter to dig around in his pocket. After a moment, he makes a little victorious noise. He pulls his hand out, something grasped in his fist, and holds it out to Steve. Steve hovers his own hand under Eddie’s, palm up.

Robin watches as something small and shiny drops into Steve’s hand. It looks like gold, but Robin knows that’s ridiculous.

What she doesn’t know, however, is what it actually is. She reaches out to take it from Steve, saying, “What even is that?”

Only, her hand barely even stretches across the counter before Eddie is hissing at her. Full on teeth bared, hissing.

She lets out a startled yelp, yanking her hand back to her side as she looks up at him with wide, surprised eyes.

For a moment, everything is silent and still. Robin is just about to comment a very polite ‘what the fuck,’ when Steve blurts—

“Baby, no offense, but what the fuck?”

Eddie looks up at Steve with wide eyes of his own. “That was really weird, wasn’t it? Sorry, Robin.”

And the thing is, Robin can tell Eddie is genuinely asking. She can tell that in Eddie’s head, it isn’t even something he thinks could be weird, just something he does—instinctive. Robin, however, has literally never been hissed at like that by a human.

It’s so, so weird, and Robin turns to Steve, naively thinking that Steve is going to patiently explain it to Eddie—explain that Robin is curious by nature and they share everything and Eddie shouldn’t hiss at her. She gets one look at his face and realizes that that is very much not the case.

Steve has both lips tucked between his teeth, his mouth a firm line of consternation, and a flush in his cheeks. He’s very clearly dismayed, but Robin can’t figure out why. Is he embarrassed of Eddie? Robin immediately dismisses the thought. Steve is hard to embarrass in general, and she’s never seen him be embarrassed because of something weird Eddie has done, animal noises included. In fact, normally he’s—

“Steve,” Robin whines when she puts it together. Steve isn’t embarassed, he’s fucking horny from Eddie’s little display. Robin hates him so, so much.

“Sorry,” Steve croaks, and Christ he’s blushing. He’s refusing to meet her gaze and he’s blushing. There’s a flush making its way up Steve’s neck, slowly filling out his cheeks and Robin hates him.

“Oh, my god,” Robin mutters. “You are unbelievable.”

Robin can see Eddie’s gaze darting between the two of them in her peripheral vision, obviously trying to work out what’s happening—what silent conversation is passing between them.

Steve lets out a small squeak that might, in some languages, pass as a feeble ‘yeah,’ before he’s reaching across the counter and fisting a hand in the front of Eddie’s shirt. Eddie lets out a startled squawk as Steve starts tugging him along the outside of the counter—arm extended across it as he walks down one side and pulls Eddie down the other.

“Gonna take 15, Rob.” Steve doesn’t even look at her when he says it. He has a single minded focus on getting himself and Eddie to the break room as fast as possible.

Robin’s too busy plotting her own murder to remember that Steve already took his break. She didn’t even get to see what Eddie gave Steve. She hates everything.

***

Steve and Robin are in the middle of a conversation when the most baffling thing happens.

Well, it’s baffling to Robin. Steve doesn’t even seem phased. Or, well, he does, just in a vastly different way.

She’s in the middle of lecturing him about the proper way to flip pancakes, Steve rolling his eyes—it’s like she serves raw pancakes one time and suddenly she’s banned from the stove forever, nobody even got sick!!—as he continues to flip with a spatula.

Seriously, Robin is so sure if he just twisted his wrist in the right way it would do a sick flip in the air and land right back in the pan. What’s the point of him playing all those sports if he can’t display some basic hand eye coordination?

Anyway, her point is, she’s in the middle of lecturing Steve about the correct way to flip pancakes when Eddie walks into the kitchen, waltzes right up to Steve, and just bites him. Completely unprompted. Like his whole purpose of walking in the kitchen was to sink his teeth into Steve’s bicep.

Steve lets out a startled yelp, the spatula swinging dangerously close to Robin's face as he spins around.

Robin waits for the “what the fuck,” maybe even anger. She’d probably be mad if someone bit her. She waits, but it never comes.

Instead, she watches as Steve stares at Eddie, his face weirdly intense. Eddie states back, a wide eyed, falsely innocent look stealing over his features.

The air in the kitchen is so still for a second Robin is sure she could hear a pin drop from three rooms away, and then—

Steve reaches out, fists the hand not still gripping a spatula in the front of Eddie’s shirt, and tugs. He tugs hard enough that Eddie goes stumbling forward, catching himself on Steve’s chest and oh god his lips.

Robin is forced to witness Steve sticking his tongue in Eddie’s mouth. She has to watch with her own eyes as Steve slots his mouth over Eddie’s, apparently not wanting to waste any time before he shoves his tongue past Eddie’s lips.

Robin lets out a high pitched, disbelieving laugh. She cannot believe them. She feels like she’s going insane. Why does this keep happening to her?!

And the worst part? Robins isn't sure if she’s more upset about the burnt pancakes, or that this is the third time she’s seen Steve stick his tongue down Eddie’s throat in less than two days.

***

“I just think it’s fascinating.”

“Robin, please. Not this again.”

Robin gives Steve a mean look from her seat across the booth. Honestly, sometimes she cannot believe him.

“Steve. Steven. Listen to me. I have had to witness your horny face—” Steve’s face twists up at this, a displeased turn to his lips, “—more times in the last three weeks than I have the entire time I’ve known you. Do you realize how insane that makes me feel?” Robin throws her hands out, gesturing at the general air around them because she needs Steve to see her point. She needs him to pay attention right now.

“Do you realize how insane it makes me feel to hear you talking about my horny face?”

Robin reaches across the table and flicks Steve’s nose. Steve lets out an irritated noise, but his face otherwise remains relatively level.

Robin would like to know why he’s being so stoic on the topic. She feels totally certifiable.

“Steve, I’m being serious.” She’s whining again, she knows, but she thinks maybe if she whines enough Steve will give in. He’s always been a sucker for a particularly good pouty face. “I want to talk about it. If you’re going to keep forcing me to witness it, I deserve the answers I so crave.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Nobody is forcing you to witness it, Robin.”

Robin snorts. “You literally are. Like, you’re doing it right in front of me with no warning. One second I am just standing there, minding my own business, and the next you’re giving Eddie your come hither eyes.”

Steve makes that face again—the one where his mouth twists up—and flicks a fry at her. She fumbles with it, but eventually manages to catch it and throws it in her mouth.

“Gross,” Steve says, but she can tell he’s trying to fight a smile. “Do not ever say—” Steve drops his voice a couple octaves, “—come hither to me again.”

“Okay, fine,” Robin gives easily. “But only if you give me details. Is it a honeymoon phase thing? Are you just constantly on the cusp of ripping Eddie’s clothes off all the time because it’s new and exciting?”

Steve bites his bottom lip, averting his eyes. He’s clearly embarrassed, which Robin thinks is so weird. Her and Steve have basically zero secrets. They’re worryingly codependent, and hardly ever get embarrassed around each other.

Sure, sometimes Steve annoys the shit out of her, but she also went to him for sex tips. Eddie makes jokes about them being the twins from The Shining and they both laugh because it’s not exactly false.

So, it’s a little startling to see Steve acting so timid, so demure, but she’s pretty sure she knows why. She has a theory.

“It’s a weird thing, isn’t it?” She asks before Steve can try and change the topic like he so clearly is gearing up to do. He doesn’t say anything in response, but that’s okay. Robin has always been able to talk enough for the both of them.

“It’s like…Eddie does something weird and you like it, right?” Steve’s cheeks are growing redder by the second, and Robin’s first instinct is to crow in victory—she’s absolutely nailed it—but she holds back. “I think I’ve figured that bit out, but what I can’t figure out is why that embarasses you, why you’re ashamed of being into Eddie’s quirks.”

Steve huffs. “That’s not it,” he says, running a hand through his hair, messing up the artful swoop he had it in that morning. “I’m not, like, embarrassed by being into Eddie or the weird things he does. I actually really like them, as you’ve been so obvious about pointing out. I just…” Steve trails off, looks away from Robin.

He’s thinking, clearly weighing something is his mind. The more he ponders it, the more Robin can see him working himself into something truly upset.

“I like them because it’s Eddie, I think. He’s always so unapologetically himself, and that makes me—” Steve cuts himself off, seems to cut that whole train of thought off as he plants his elbows on the table and buries his face in his hands.

Steve mumbles something into his hands, his shoulders a tense line of misery. Robin almost feels bad about forcing him to talk about this. Almost.

“Steve, babe, I have no idea what you just said.”

Steve lifts his head, his miserable eyes meeting Robins. “Do you remember about five weeks ago at Family video, how you accused me of being past crush territory? Verging on love?”

Robin nods. She does remember. She had been mostly joking, but she has a feeling that maybe she wasn’t entirely off the mark, even back then.

“Well, you weren’t exactly wrong. Rob, I am. I’m so in love with him I don’t know what to do with it. I think I fully accepted it that night I kissed him, and it’s been scaring me ever since.

“God, Robin. I’m terrified. I’m constantly on the verge of telling him I’m in love with him. Every time he does something that’s just so unapologetically Eddie I want to fucking scream ‘I’m so in love with you it makes me act stupid.’” Steve buries his face in his hands again after his little rant.

“So, just curious…what’s stopping you?”

Steve’s head shoots back up and he gives her an incredulous look. “Robin, we’ve been dating for three weeks. Don’t you think its a bit fucking soon?”

Robin contemplates this. It is fast, but honestly she’s seen the two of them together. It’s disgustingly domestic already. Plus, she doesn’t think Eddie is the type of person to reject Steve’s feelings even if he isn’t quite there himself yet.

Robin tells Steve as much.

“Robin, I need you to understand that I love Eddie when I say these next words, okay?” Steve waits until she nods before he continues. “Eddie is a runner.”

Robin goes to cut him off because yes, he was, but he’s not anymore—he’s gotten so much better about it—but Steve holds a hand up to halt her interruption.

“He is. He’s gotten better about it, absolutely, I won’t deny that.” Steve runs a hand through his hair, his expression contorting with a pain that Robin is sure is entirely emotional. “But his flight or fight response still tends to tick more towards the flight, and if I tell him I love him after three weeks, I—” Steve cuts off, runs a hand through his hair again.

Robin isn’t sure she’s ever seen him this distressed, not even at the end of the world. Steve’s always been eerily level headed in bad situations—at least in the time she’s known him—so this is a bit startling for Robin.

“Robin, he’s terrified of getting too attached and I’m desperate for love. It’s a deadly combination.” Steve closes his eyes for a moment, pausing. Robin doesn't interrupt—she can tell he’s building to something.

“Did you know he’s run away from home three times? Like,” Steve waves a hand around, “before all the upside down stuff.”

Robin shakes her head no. She’d had no clue.

“Twice, when he was still living with his dad. Once with Wayne. Do you know Wayne knows he likes boys? Knows he’s currently dating a boy?”

Robin shakes her head no again, but Steve is jumping topics so fast it’s making her head spin. It feels like he keeps opening loops and forgetting to close them. She has no idea how one question relates to another.

“Well, he does. Wayne just accepted that. Just accepted Eddie completely, without hesitation.” Steve rubs a hand over his mouth. Robin can tell he’s shaking his leg under the table in a very un-Steve like way—the whole table is shaking with it. “Robin. Wayne accepted Eddie completely. He-he loved every part of him, and he still ran away from him. He ran away because it doesn’t hurt as much when you’re the one leaving instead of being the one left behind and he’s been left behind so many times.”

And oh, okay. Robin gets it now. Steve is slowly closing the loops, allowing her to realize what’s happening in his head.

“Robin he makes me so fucking happy. He makes me feel like I have a-a shot at a good fucking life, no matter how plain it turns out to be. I’m terrified I’m going to push and push, a-and take and take and he’s going to realize that he’s in way over his head with me and that I’m too much and then it’s—” Steve cuts himself off again with a sound achingly similar to a dry sob. Robin regrets cornering him in a crowded diner.

She's not a particularly touchy feely person, never has been, but sometimes she knows that’s what Steve needs. She knows that she would take on the world for him, so a little physical affection has never been difficult for her when it comes to comforting him, and she wants nothing more than to wrap Steve up in her arms right now, provide any comfort she can because she knows that, ultimately, what Steve is saying is true.

Steve has never been blind to his own flaws. In fact, he’s always been acutely aware of them. She thinks that’s why it was so easy for him to grow, to learn once he distanced himself from the expectations of his father and his shitty highschool friends. He’s always known where his weak points are, and they both know he used them as daggers in highschool. Used them to twist himself up into something he wasn’t in order to hide them. He’s different now, wears his flaws as a badge of honor instead of a reason to cause harm, but they both know he’s still startlingly aware of them. They’re both aware they twist Steve up inside, cutting him like the barbed words he used to use.

Steve is desperate for love. It’s in the way that Steve blooms under compliments, it’s in the way he’s always trying. Over and over. Even when they all dog him for messing up, for saying something stupid, he still tries.

It was in the way he tried so hard to encourage Robin to pursue Vickie, even if that ended in heartbreak. It’s in the way he supports Robin dating his ex. It’s in the way he leans into every casual touch, in the way he seeks out constant company.

And it’s in the way he is with Eddie, now. Once she’s removed the layer of fond disgust, she can see what’s been there the whole time.

Steve loves Eddie. He loves him with a desperation that’s bordering on obsessive because that’s just the way Steve loves. Nobody ever taught him moderation—nobody took the time to tell Steve that loving someone with your entire heart and more is just a direct pipeline to getting your heart broken.

Robin knows that Steve has only loved one other person like this, and that the end of that relationship rocked his very foundation.

Steve confessed to her, once and only once, that losing Nancy had quietly devastated him. In hindsight, he realized that they both had unrealistic expectations for each other and he’d been clinging on to a fractured relationship way before they finally shook apart, but Robin will never forget the tone of Steve’s voice when he told her that Nancy Wheeler had broken his heart.

Robin’s long since talked to both Nancy and Steve about the subject—didn’t quite believe Steve when he’d said he was over her, back when Robin had been harboring her own shameful crush—and knows that Steve and Nancy had had their own discussion on the break up, that they’d made their own amends and knew the fault didn’t lie with just one party.

Still, Nancy’s voice was eerily similar to the quiet devastation of Steve’s when she admitted that Steve had told her he loved her so much he hated her. Robin would be lying if she said that didn’t break her heart.

Robin’s point is: she knows Steve is desperate for love, but she’s never seen him run from it. She knows he’s only ever been in love like this once before, knows it took him years to get over Nancy Wheeler, but it’s never stopped Steve from trying.

Robin can put a lot of the pieces together, but she just can’t figure out why Steve is hiding—why he’s holding himself back so much when he’s always loved so openly before—but maybe it’s the thought of Eddie running from that love that scares him. Sure, Nancy didn’t return the love, but she didn’t turn tail and run from the way Steve loves. She eased him out of it, and Robin can admit to herself that seeing someone actively run from the love you’re giving them is much different from them simply not returning it.

“It’s what, Steve?” She prods gently, focusing her thoughts back on the present, on Steve’s turmoil playing out in front of her.

“It’s like what do I do with myself at that point? I’m not—“ Steve bites his lips, squeezes his eyes shut for a second before blinking them back open, “I’m not good at a lot, Robbie, I know that. And one of those things is holding back. I-I don’t know how to make myself less. How to make sure Eddie doesn’t feel so suffocated by me that he runs.”

Steve’s eyes are suddenly desperate when he says, “how do I make myself less, Robin? How do I not scare Eddie off?”

Robin‘s heart breaks all over again. She reaches across the table, taking one of Steve’s clenched hands into both of her own. How does she make Steve see that Eddie won’t do that. She doesn’t know how she knows, but she just does.

“Steve, that’s not—look, you don’t have to change yourself for Eddie. I’ve seen the way that boy looks at you. I’ve seen the way both of you light up when the other walks in the room. Quite frankly, it’s gross.” Robin squeezes Steve’s hand, making sure he’s looking at her when she says this next part.

“Steve Harrington, I have been forced to witness your reactions to the weird, weird things Eddie does and the way Eddie just blooms under that attention. I have watched that boy turn into a gooey mess when you show him the slightest bit of attention.

“Steve, talk to him. I can almost guarantee it’ll turn out better than you think.”

Steve’s eyes drop to their clasped hands, his shoulders still tight and impending heartbreak still clearly on his mind.

“Yeah, okay,” Steve murmurs, “I’ll think about it.”

***

It takes five days for Robin to realize that Steve took her advice and talked to Eddie. Five days spent in ignorant bliss.

Five days where she didn’t have the sight of Eddie and Steve having some very nerdy private time seared into her retinas.

Jesus Christ, was Steve wearing armor? What the fuck was that voice Eddie was using?!?

Robin hears Eddie’s dreamy ‘god I love you so much’ and Steve’s very enthusiastic response as she high tails it out of the house.

On her way down the porch, she wonders if there's such a thing as bleach for your senses. Eyes, ears, whatever. Anything to scrub her mind of what she just witnessed. Almost considers seeing if that Russian scientist is still wandering around with some kind of memory wipe serum.

She would buy the whole lot of it.

[dreamwatch]

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson | Rating: Mature | WC: 6988

Tags: Angst, Mental health issues, Depression, Cotard’s syndrome, mental institutions, protective Steve Harrington, Angst with a happy ending, recovery, caretaker Steve Harrington (full tags here)

Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Wayne Munson, Robin Buckley, Max Mayfield, Dustin Henderson

Summary: Nobody has seen Eddie for weeks, and nasty rumours are spreading through Hawkins. When Dustin can't get any answers from Wayne Munson he turns to Steve for help.

(Read on AO3 - excerpt under the cut)

Steve’s not friends with Eddie Munson. 

Honestly? After spending four years of high school with him, he’d say he was a bit of an asshole. Eddie thought it was funny to add a ‘t’ when pronouncing Miss Cunliffe’s name. He made a spectacle of himself in the cafeteria while people were trying to have their lunch. He’d sit in the bleachers and make stupid buzzer noises every time someone on the basketball team missed a shot. Steve had actually been on the receiving end of that a couple of times himself; birds were flipped, horns were raised, it was pathetic. 

But then Henderson, Sinclair and Wheeler started high school, and it turned out that Eddie was a safe space for them. He was a walking deflection; no one gives a fuck about some nerdy freshman when Eddie’s standing in their lunch. 

And then there was the Upside Down, where Steve was proclaimed a ‘good dude’, while Eddie pushed him toward Nancy because he thought he could see a flame still burning. He was wrong, but it was nice that someone cared.

So, Eddie Munson: not really an asshole, as it turns out. Or as far as he can tell; Steve hasn’t seen him in months.

Thing is - neither has anyone else.

For a while, they thought Eddie had left Hawkins. But Max has seen him peering out from behind the curtains in his trailer, so everyone knows he’s there. Dustin stopped knocking on the door of the Munson’s trailer weeks ago, but he still calls hoping that Wayne will finally say ‘Sure, he’s right here’ instead of the usual ‘Sorry, he’s busy’. It’s a wonder the kid hasn’t been arrested for stalking.

It gets worse, because of course it does.

The new school year brings new rumours, nastier than the ones before. And Dustin, with his carbon-copy hair, and carbon-copy rings, isn’t letting them out into the world unchallenged.

The story goes that the cops got called to a ‘disturbance’ at Roane County Cemetery, and found Eddie at Chrissy’s grave trying to dig her up. No one with an ounce of sense would believe it, which means that in Hawkins it’s practically gospel.

Of course, when shit hits the fan Dustin has a way of always making it Steve’s problem. He makes Steve promise to talk to Eddie. Steve promises to try; he’s not committing to anything else. 

Max still lives in the trailer park, and the Munson’s new trailer is close to hers. She has an eagle-eye view of the comings and goings from that place. 

He drops her off one night, but she doesn’t immediately get out of the car, so he kills the engine giving her time to talk.

“I’ve seen the cops dropping him off at three o’clock in the morning, Steve. More than once. He looked awful. Like, really skinny. He was like a zombie, like he didn’t even know where he was.”

It’s not his responsibility. But going back for Nancy and Jonathan wasn’t his responsibility, and protecting the shitheads in the tunnels, or in the Russian bunker, or in the Upside Down wasn’t his responsibility. It’s never been his responsibility. But he did all those things anyway because he cared. Still does.

[ladywaffles]

Dearest lamby what about icemav + 1 for the drunken love confessions if it inspires?

i am so sorry this is literal months late but i hope you enjoy!

“I like your stupid face. It’s so stupid. It’s so… I like it. Can I touch it?”

Slider is the first of them to get married.

He’s the last of them to settle down.

Merlin and his girl have done everything but the big white wedding; Maverick, who despite all evidence to the contrary, is a good, Church-going boy, looked like a cartoon character with his eyes bugged out when he realized that Merlin and Sandra had been together for the better part of two decades and hadn’t gotten married. They’re on their third kid and second house, and they have no intention of tying the knot any time soon.

It had become clear sometime around the time the Berlin Wall fell that Ice and Maverick were never going to have a formal wedding ceremony.

At least, it appeared that way to Slider. Ice and Maverick were circling in a stupidly elaborate mating dance that involved constantly competing on their hops and calling each other dumbass and denigrating their respective ability to operate a jet, while also glaring down any aviator who ever jumped in on the conversation—even just to tease!—as if to say, No, you fucker, you are not a part of this. You do not get to call this man lesser-than just because I can, you are not me, you have not earned the right to look at us.

It took a while, but Mav and Ice finally got their shit together (thanks in no small part to Slider and Merlin’s meddling, you’re welcome, asshats), and sure, they can’t get married in any way that the government would recognize, but somewhere along the line they turned into boring DINKs who doted on Bradshaw’s kid when they were stateside.

So Slider’s the first one to get married, and therefore the first one to get a bachelor party. They’re well into their mid-thirties, and it’s the first bachelor party they’ve ever thrown.

Well, except for Maverick, who was one of only two witnesses to Nicholas and Carole Bradshaw’s elopement, and who loved both the bride and groom so much that he wasn’t going to let the occasion go by without a Maverick-sized bang.

So God help him, Slider puts his fate into Maverick’s hands. It’s not the first time in his life, and it certainly won’t be the last, but giving Maverick free rein still sends a chill down his spine. He’s not a bad guy—Slider never would’ve let Ice get tangled up with him if he weren’t—but there’s something about him that could make even the most hardened naval aviator flinch.

They start off the night at a respectable Navy bar. Maverick buys them all a round of shots, and with a smirk, breaks out one of the three phrases he knows in Russian (To our health!) and downs the shot in one go. Slider, Ice, and Merlin follow suit. He has to fight a grimace when he comes back up. The asshole bought them vodka, even though the only one of them who still has a taste for it is Ice.

Typical.

Three hours and two bars later, Slider has regrets. He can’t remember how many drinks he’s had, and he hasn’t seen Merlin in at least forty-five minutes. He wants to be concerned about that, but he can’t bring up the energy to care. Mitchell’s all but killed his liver.

He stumbles through the crowd towards the bar, because he thinks he remembers seeing Ice’s stupidly-spiked, gelled hair around there. God, he hopes he still has his wallet on him somewhere. He crashes into a stool and hoists himself up, flagging down a bartender for a glass of seltzer, and she doesn’t charge him for the service. He must be really shitfaced if that’s the case.

He lifts his head when he hears Ice’s voice through the din.

“Mav, Mav!” he laughs. He slurs over the a just a bit, and oh, Ice must be really out of it if he’s tripping over his words.

Slider turns his head slowly to get Ice’s attention, and instead is treated to the image of Mitchell’s shortstack frame trying to support all six-foot-oh of Ice against the bartop.

“I like your stupid face,” Ice says, staring Mitchell down with all the intensity of a bird of prey. “It’s so stupid. It’s so… I like it. Can I touch it?”

Ice lifts a hand but is too uncoordinated to follow through. Slider snorts, drawing Maverick’s attention.

“Slider! Hey, buddy! How was your night?” he asks cheerfully, holding onto Ice’s waist.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to kill me,” Slider returns.

“Aw, but that’s how you know I care! C’mon, we gotta get the Iceman home before he ralphs in the bathroom. You know he’d hate to do that.”

So Slider helps his pilot and his wingman into a taxi at the end of the night and falls face-first into the couch in Ice’s living room like he’s still the twenty-something he was when they met, while Maverick wrangles Ice into bed.

And if he hears Maverick’s overly-loud whispering and Ice’s grunted responses from down the hall in the darkest hours, just before dawn, “Do you know what you said at the bar? I wanted to laugh, but you were so sincere, Ice. God. You really can’t hold your alcohol like I can anymore. Benefits of teaching TOPGUN! I like your face, too, Ice. I’ll always like your face. It’s a good face. I love you, Ice,” well…

Perhaps he’s too drunk to remember it in the morning.

[thatonewatching]

My creepypasta/marble hornets head canons (SFW)

Hoodie/Brian

Black coffee No cologne Picks at his skin or taps his foot Likes big dogs but feeds the stray cats Scar going down his chest from a fight w/ Masky Good friends with E.J. Likes kids, and wishes he could have them Won't have kids because of his line of work Closed off Selective mutism Anger issues but relatively calm Insomniac Scary dog privilege Hates being a proxy Refuses to take his mask off around the others Keeps camera on him at all times Loves literature Very smart Limited interests Majored in literature Sarcastic Low self esteem Listens to punk rock Hopeless romantic Speaks another language (Russian probably) Mature but can be petty Fatherly Plays piano Is very skilled at playing piano Cannot cook to save his fucking life Can sew Wakes up so damn early Lanky bitch Has no taste in fashion or decor Apartment is practically empty Honest Chews a lot of gum

Masky Stubborn Chubby Hairy motherfucker Intimidating Pours milk before cereal Will now refuse cheesecake (y'all ruined it) Black coffee favorite food is grilled cheese and tomato soup Basic bitch Loves AC/DC Classic rock Aerosexual Good at math Petty Strongly opinionated Bad at reading Needs glasses but refuses to get them Anger issues Can't cook

Toby

Clingy Manipulative attachment issues Likes chocolate milk Pyro Diet consists of milk, energy drinks, and random chips and snacks he can find Underweight but scarily strong Doesn't like spicy food Drools Nightmares Sleep paralysis Panic attacks Loves rodents Hates waking up early but he does because of his job Restless Draws on himself Lots of self-inflicted marks (IYKWIM) Ambidextrous Pyro Thinks about Lyra a lot Bites his nails when no one's around because he has to pull his mask down Listens to Mindless Self Indulgence, My Chemical Romance,  Get Scared, Avril Lavigne, Theory of a dead man, Paramore, Sleeping with Sirens, Crown the Empire, Linkin Park, System of a Down, Panic! At the Disco, Melanie Martinez, Green Day, Black Veil Brides, Arctic Monkeys, McCafferty, Mother Mother, Fall Out Boy, Pierce the Veil, Falling in Reverse, Bring Me the Horizon, Three Days Grace, Korn, Slipknot, etc. (I had to) Hums to himself Dyslexic Likes abandoned areas Very fast when running Great aim Band T-shirts Taps foot Energy drinks

Eyeless Jack

Gentle giant Doesn't like being called "Eyeless Jack" Goes by E.J or Jack Loud breather in his mask, completely silent without Doesn't take his mask off unless he's alone Sweet Scared of himself Goes through heat Trust issues Good fashion but can't wear most clothes because of his size Has Brian sew/adjust/make him clothes for money or whatever Honest Has seen every single Disney movie Hums and sings along to the songs Fatherly Slender's second favorite Mature Scars Human food tastes bad to him Only drinks water Can and will pierce your body if you ask Misses icecream

Jeff

Energy drinks and soda cans all over his room Band T-shirts Emo Slender's favorite Plays with Ben (gaming) Sore loser Likes to burn things Caffeine addiction Stupid teenager shit 13 (in my hc) Ribs are visible Pierced body; nipples, ears, cartilage, nose Fights with everyone Dyes his hair regularly

Not Proofread