#also nobody ask me where the ice cream went

[writereleaserepeat]

This last month I've been enamored by @sowhumpshaped's interactive whump story, "Stray." It came to a beautiful end just a few days ago, and I was inspired to come out of the woodwork long enough to write a little fanfic. Make sure to go read their story before continuing here! It's a lovely work of art and I had so much fun seeing where it went. I miss the daily updates already!

This story is set twenty years after the main storyline of "Stray," and ten years after total pet liberation. It takes place in I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Disneyworld, and it features our MC (you!) meeting a ghost from their past.

CW: mentions of pet whump, second person POV, swearing

WC: ~2250

You run your tongue along the mountain of sweet vanilla cream, savoring its delicate flavor as it slowly melts in your mouth. With how much this ice cream cost, you were determined to enjoy every moment of its blissful respite from the summer heat. The mouse might know how to mark up its sweets, but it wouldn't steal away your enjoyment of this day, not even with an ice cream cone that cost an arm and a leg.

You're pulled from your thoughts by the sight of the ride coming to a halt beyond the fence. The harnesses begin to release and the children start pouring towards the exit, all smiles and laughters as they rush to find their parents on the other side. Your daughter is easy to spot, a tall girl - god, when did she get so tall? - with a glowing, gap-toothed smile.

Much to your surprise, she comes to greet you with another girl in tow, a child whose face reminds you of someone you can't place, their eyes sparkling with a hint of familiarity. A celebrity, maybe?

You don't have any more time to ponder before your daughter begins talking. She holds the other girl’s hand, a child who couldn’t have been a year older than her, and all but pulls her up to greet you.

"This is Delaney, we were on the ride together! She's so nice," Libby speaks in that same pleading tone you're never able to resist. "Please, please, please can we go to the next ride together?"

“I don’t know, sweetheart,” you say as sympathetically as you can, putting a palm on Libby's head. “We need to ask Delaney’s grown-up first.”

“My dad will say it’s okay,” Delaney says with a vigorous nod, “he’s right over there!”

She points towards a man striding in your direction, his hair long, but his gait familiar. As he brushes the hair from in front of his eyes, you freeze. You know those eyes. You’ll never forget those eyes, even if they’re set deeper in wrinkles now.

The world stops. For one painful moment, you don’t even feel your heart beat. It’s like all the air has been sucked out of your lungs.

But it wasn’t. You draw a breath, a deep breath that pushes hard against your ribs. You’re free. All the pets are free now, and they have been free for ten years. It had been another ten years before that since you’d last seen Rayan.

He recognizes you too, you can tell in the way his jaw slackens, dumbfounded. That glitter of recognition continues as he finally stumbles into earshot and his tongue begins to work.

“Thirt-"

“Not in front of my daughter,” you hiss, leaning in towards his ear as you do so. “Not in front of my fucking daughter.” You keep a smile on your face, only just, so your child doesn’t have to see you fall apart before her eyes.

He seems startled, startled enough to shut up for one moment. But silence had never been his strong suit, you could remember that much, the way he'd ramble on and on after his volunteer shifts. You'd always let him talk - not today. The dynamic had shifted. Today, you look him in the eyes as an equal.

“I’m sorry, I-“

“Papa!” Delaney interjects, cutting Rayan off a second time. “I met this girl on the ride, her name’s Libby, she’s super fun, and super nice, and we want to go on another ride together.” She tugs on Rayan’s arm, but he doesn’t look down.

“Actually,” you say, pulling your daughter close to you, “I think we need to go catch up with Libby’s little brother and my partner.”

“Please?” Libby pleads again, staring at you with those doe eyes that always melt your heart. “Just one ride. It can be this one, we can do it again, we don’t even have to walk anywhere.”

Fuck.

What was almost twenty years of therapy worth if you couldn’t stand next to Rayan for another five minutes? You’d imagined talking to him a thousand times over, you’d thought painstakingly about what you’d say to him if you ever could, you'd prayed to his memory as much as you'd cursed it. But now, all you want is to walk away and never look at him again.

No more running. You'd promised yourself that almost two decades ago, and hell if you couldn't carry through with that promise today, especially with a family that needed you.

“Okay,” you concede, forcing a smile at Libby. She would never see you falter, not now, not ever. “You can ride this same ride one more time, just once, and only if you use your QuickCard to skip the line. We don’t want to get too far behind the rest of the family.”

“Sure,” Rayan says, voice measured. He smiles down at Delaney as well, but you can tell it's forced. “You can go too. Don’t forget, you only have three more taps on your QuickCard.”

“That’s okay!” Delaney chirps, already pulling Libby towards the line. “We’re going to have so much fun!”

And as the girls run in a tangle of limbs and laughter back into the ride's entrance, you’re left alone next to Rayan. The silence weighs heavily on your shoulders, and you feel the ice cream beginning to melt between your fingers. Then it's just you and Rayan, alone.

Not literally alone. You two are the furthest from alone you ever could be, stood next to a swinging steel pirate ship, amidst a park milling with tens of thousands of other people. But you can hardly hear the screams, the voices, the mechanical groans of the rides. Rayan’s presence next to you is suffocating.

You say nothing yet. What is there to say? You’ve said it all a million times before. To the shower walls, to your therapist, to the darkened skies in the early dawn. But none of it had ever compared to what you feel right now.

Something like hope begins to itch in your chest. Maybe this would give you closure, real closure, not the metaphorical closing of a book at the end of a therapy session. You've craved closure for so long. Could Rayan finally be this holy grail?

“I’m sorry,” Rayan says. If you didn’t know better, his voice sounded on the verge of breaking. “I’m sorry for everything.”

His swallow is louder than even the most cacophonous thunderstorm. He continues, tripping over his words, falling over himself with every syllable.

“Look, I was just doing my best. I mean, you were a kid, and I was basically still a kid too, and I was doing what I thought was best, just trying to help, you know? It’s been twenty years and I’ve never forgotten your face. And I mean, look at you now, here with your kids, this is what all the freed pets wanted, isn’t it? The chance to live like this?”

In that moment you know what you need from Rayan. It's what you've needed from him all along, even if you couldn't name it before now.

“Say it,” you mumble, struggling to find your voice. That hope for closure, god, you can feel it, you need it, and-

“What?”

“Say it,” you growl, more firmly this time. “You know what I need you to say.”

“Look, thir- whatever name you chose, I don’t know what you want from me.”

You finally look him in the eyes again.

“Say that I’m a person. Tell me that I’m a person.”

“Of course you are,” Rayan begins, and you watch him hold up his hands as he fights against his tongue's knots. “That’s what the Decree says. All pets had their legal status changed to reflect their unequivocal personhood.”

“That’s not what I asked. I know my pet lib history - likely better than you do. I want you to tell me that I, me, the living being standing in front of you, is a person.”

That nervous look in Rayan’s eyes tells you everything you need to know. The pregnant pause that follows is just painful confirmation. There would be no closure here for you today.

“Pathetic.” It takes all of your strength not to slap him in the face. “Twenty years and you haven’t learned a damn thing. The rest of the world has moved on from that nonsense and you can’t take five seconds to pull your head out of your ass.”

“Look," another swallow as Rayan wrings his hands. “Yeah, it’s been ten years, and still, there’s these studies, right? I'm sure they taught you to read in the, uh, the rehabilitation classes. There's studies that shows the pets that were liberated, they just aren't adapting to society as people do, you know? They don't excel at their jobs, they don't succeed in forming traditional family units, they engage in crime and anti-social behavior at much higher rates..."

You scoff and roll your eyes. All you can feel is the bile thick in your throat. Those studies, those lies, that propaganda, it would never stop. And people like Rayan would never stop feeding on it. You knew this, hell, you taught about it, at your community college's pet lib program. There would always be someone with an interest in the tyranny over 'pets,' be it emotional or financial, and it would succeed as long as people like Rayan were stupid enough to buy it.

"Look," Rayan says, putting his hands on the nearby railing as he looks away from you, "all I'm saying is, if you're a good- as good a soul as I think you are, you'd want what's best for your daughter, right? And, and maybe, well, maybe what's best for your family is how things used to be. You don't know for sure that things are better now. What if you're denying your family the chance to be taken care of, to truly thrive? What if they're not meant to be taken care of by, ah, by something like you?"

For a moment you think about striking him. You think about taking him to the ground, right there in the middle of the theme park, and pummeling him senseless. You want to beat that nonsense right out of his skull.

But that would prove his point, wouldn't it?

No. You know you can't do that. You can't wait for your daughter to come back and see your knuckles bloodied, this stranger choking on his own teeeth, your face contorted into an unfamiliar visage of rage. You weren't going to be a monster.

"You disgust me." The words are stickier than honey on your tongue. "Your vapid platitudes mean nothing. Your saviour complex has kept you stuck in the past while the rest of society is growing and learning from our sins. I'll always be grateful that you dragged me out of the trash that one day, and I'll always be grateful that you kept a roof over my head long enough for me to find my liberation. But I owe you nothing, not now, not ever again. I have my personhood - I always have. It's a shame you aren't using yours for something more meaningful."

You see a flash of pink out of the corner of your eye. Libby was coming back, running hand-in-hand with Delaney, that same joyful smile on her face. The smile of a child who had never seen the tyranny of the system you'd oncee been subdued by. The smile of a child who would learn just how important their personhood was, and always would be.

"Libby, darling, we need to go," you say as she comes within earshot. Your tongue is dry and sticky in your throat, and you need a drink of water. Your partner has water, wherever they are in the park now. You want to go to them now, seek the affirmation of everything you'd built in the time since you'd left Rayan behind all those years ago. You want to feel their comforting touch, something to ground you, to remind you of who you are. Who you've always been.

A good person.

Libby seems to wilt a bit, dejectedly dropping Delaney's hand from her own.

"Aw, but-"

"No buts. It's time to see what your brother is up to, and we have a lot of rides to catch before the day is over."

She pauses for a moment, and you can see her thinking it over. After another second she nods, seemingly convinced.

"Okay, as long as you promise to come on the next roller coaster with me."

"I promise," you say, reaching out a pinkie towards her. She hooks her pinkie in yours, and you take the opportunity to pull her close to you, away from Rayan, and away from the child he will undoubtedly raise to think just like him.

"Bye, Delaney! We're friends forever, okay?" Libby shouts over her shoulder as you begin to walk away.

"Bye Libby! Forever!" Delaney replies, giggling as she waves.

Your eyes meet Rayan's one last time. They're clouded with emotion, his lips pressed in a thin line. In spite of yourself, you smile at him once, and turn away.

"Alright, sweetheart," you speak to your daughter as the door to your past slams shut behind you. "Let's go have some more fun. We've got the whole day ahead of us."

#if you can't tell I wanted to grab rayan through the screen each and every installment #SUCH a good kind of 'caretaker' in these stories #really interesting to see his reactions to stuff like idk biting him #ANYWAY thanks for the cool story love you whump community keep being awesome #whump fanfic #whump #whump community #pet whump #also nobody ask me where the ice cream went #it was all MC was focusing on at the beginning then they ignored it #you still have the ice cream but it's melted all over your fingers it's sticky you're miserable #also if you see an error in tense - no you don't

[callsign-mayhem]

heartbreak feels so good (part 1)

Pairing: Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x Reader Word count: 8081 CW: Shitty boyfriends, angst, fluff, slow burn.

Your boyfriend's callsign is Viper, which is fitting. Bradley doesn't know how much longer he can watch this man destroy you, but luckily for him, he doesn't have to wait too long.

Use of Y/N, but no description of reader. THIS IS A MULTI-PART FIC.

After another day of having your feelings totally ignored by your boyfriend, you were looking forward to some alone time. Elijah was so hot and cold that you felt as though you were in a constant state of fight or flight, just waiting for him to either make your day or ruin it completely. Most of the time, it was the latter, and although good days with him were few and far between, they were enough to make you stay. See, you didn’t half-ass anything—least of all relationships—so when you were in something, you were in it. You told Elijah that much after your first date. You’d been sitting in the front of his beemer eating ice cream, having the first of many deep talks. Between sweet, sticky kisses, you’d told him that you were dating to marry. He told you he was, too. 

He said, ‘I’m yours if you’ll have me, Y/N.’ And that was that.

And it was almost a year ago. You’d survived a somewhat tumultuous winter with him, desperately trying to cling on to the version of him he’d been during the summer. As time went on, he stopped putting his mask on, secure enough in your relationship that he no longer felt the need to pretend to be caring and considerate. The days were starting to get longer, and the weather was warming up again, but Elijah was so far from the man he was at the start that you might as well have been in a relationship with a different person. Every morning, you woke up with no idea what personality to expect that day, whether or not he was going to take all his personal drama out on you, even though you only ever loved and supported him. 

Today had been one of those days, and as you finished up with the F-18 engine currently in pieces in front of you, you silently prayed that he wouldn’t text you asking to come over. He was also a naval aviator, but you were working on different parts of the base today. Thank God. Elijah’s callsign was Viper, fitting since vipers prey on small animals by envenomating them and watching them die slowly. 

Coyote appeared behind you, helmet tucked underneath his arm.

‘Hey, we’re all heading to The Hard Deck for beers,’ he told you. ‘You comin’?’ You grabbed a rag and made an attempt to wipe some of the oil off. ‘I don’t know,’ you sighed. ‘I want to, but then I’ll have to bring Elijah, and I don’t really wanna see him tonight.’ ‘Why do you have to bring him?’ Coyote frowned. ‘He’s a lousy drunk and never lets you have any fun.’ ‘If he finds out I went out with all you guys, he’ll think I’m up to something.’ ‘Like gettin’ with me?’ He joked, wiggling his eyebrows. ‘Probably,’ you laughed. ‘You or one of the others. Or maybe he’ll accuse me of getting with all of you if he’s in a particularly bad mood.’ ‘Listen, if you wanna come, you’re welcome. We’ll just make sure nobody posts about it, and we’ll get you a fake moustache or somethin’.’

It broke your heart to think about all your closest friends having a fun night without you. Over the past year, you’d lost count of the amount of experiences you’d missed out on because you didn’t want to make Elijah upset or angry with you. The worst part was it was a double standard. He went out without you all the time, didn’t tell you where he’d gone or who he was with, and expected you to be okay with it. If you weren’t, you could kiss your peace goodbye; he’d spend the next week making your life a living hell, ignoring you entirely until you apologised to him for being hurt by his actions.

‘You know what Javy? Count me in.’ He grinned. ‘Thatta girl.’ 

It was hard to regret coming out when you felt this good. It had been months since you’d gone on a night out without Elijah, which was to say it had been months since you last enjoyed yourself. As you sipped your second sex on the beach, you mused that some kind of higher power must have been looking out for you because you’d yet to receive a single text from your boyfriend. Most of the time, when you spent the night apart, he’d call you incessantly. It was annoying, sometimes bordering on obsessive, and you didn’t need him to tell you he was checking on you, or rather, checking that you were alone in your apartment. That much was obvious. 

Dating an insecure man was not for the weak.

You were sat at one of the high tables next to the window watching Jake, Mickey, Javy, and Reuben play pool. Nat was opposite nursing a beer, glowing in the golden light of the evening. Her phone buzzed, and she picked it up, smiling at the notification. 

‘Rooster’s on his way,’ she told you. ‘He wasn’t gonna come out tonight, but I told him he didn’t have a choice. It’s not every day Y/N Y/L/N leaves the comfort of her apartment.’ You scoffed. ‘That’s not exactly how I’d put it.’ ‘No?’ Nat raised a brow. 

You hadn’t drunk in months, and despite only being on your second drink, the booze had loosened your lips significantly. 

‘No. It’s not that I’d rather stay home, it’s that staying home makes my life easier because then I don’t have Elijah breathing down my fucking neck.’

Little did you know, Javy had told everyone about your conversation earlier. Not because he was a gossip but because he was worried about you. It was rare for you to open up to the squad about your relationship, but it wasn’t hard to guess what happened behind closed doors. They all worked with Viper, for one, and they were familiar with his temperament. Not only that, but you dropped off the face of the Earth a few months after you started dating him, and it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. 

‘I don’t know why you’re still with him, Y/N. He’s an ass.’ ‘I know,’ you sighed, frowning into your drink. ‘It’s just not as straightforward as just leaving. I still love him. If I can make this work, I don’t have to start all over again with someone else.’ Nat nodded in understanding. ‘I get wanting to make it work, but at what cost? You don’t see your friends, and he uses you as an emotional punching bag. You can’t even come to the beach with us without him checking on you every five minutes,’ she reached over the table and took your hand. ‘He’s killing you.’

This was the first time someone had spoken their mind to you about the situation. While you already knew all of it, hearing it from one of your best friends hit home. Vodka made you emotional, and if not for Bradley, you would have broken down there and then. 

He walked up to the table and engulfed you in a hug, practically pulling you off your stool. You pressed your face into his shirt, inhaling the scent of clean cotton and sandalwood. Half expecting Elijah to spring out and catch you in the act, you reluctantly pulled away. 

‘Hey, Bradley.’ ‘Hey yourself, stranger. Can’t believe you’re gracing us with your presence.’ ‘I know, it’s been a while.’ ‘A while? Try six months,’ he glanced at your almost empty glass and Nat’s empty bottle of Heineken. ‘Can I buy you lovely ladies a drink?’ ‘Do you even have to ask?’ Nat retorted.  ‘What’re you drinking, darlin’?’ He asked you. You smiled sheepishly. ‘Sex on the beach.’  ‘I can make that happen.’ He smirked.

Luckily, you didn’t have to come up with a response to that remark because he turned around and headed to the bar. You locked eyes with Nat, and both of you burst out laughing.

Just like that, all the negativity you’d been feeling dissipated like rain against hot tarmac. 

Bradley came back with the drinks, and the three of you took the opportunity to catch up while the others finished their pool game. You shouldn’t have been as surprised as you were to find out that you’d missed a lot. Bradley had started dating one of the medics, but the relationship had crashed and burned almost immediately. He hadn’t bothered trying to meet anyone else since. Nat, after watching all her friends have such bad experiences in the dating world, had decided she was better off alone. 

‘Honestly, I don’t blame you.’ You told her. ‘You should dump Viper,’ she said with a devilish grin. ‘And we can have a hot girl summer.’ Bradley laughed. ‘Can’t say I ever imagined you saying that, Nix.’  ‘Isn’t that what it’s called now? We can’t be that out of touch, surely.’ ‘I don’t wanna think about how old I am.’ You said, picking up your phone to see if you’d missed any texts from Elijah. You hated to think what kind of argument missing one of his calls would start.  Nat and Rooster shared a knowing look. ‘It rings, you know? Out loud.’

Being this transparent was embarrassing. 

‘I think I’m going to confiscate this for now.’ Ignoring your protests, Bradley swiped your phone and tucked it into his pocket. ‘If he calls or texts, I’ll let you know.’

You were tipsy enough not to try and take your phone back but not tipsy enough to be unbothered by the idea of Elijah calling and you not picking up.

‘If he calls, I need it back straight away,’ you told him sternly. ‘If I don’t pick up, I’ll never hear the end of it.’

Bradley rolled his eyes, but you knew it wasn’t aimed at you. He hated Elijah the most of all your friends. Perhaps sensing some tension, Nat slid off her stool and grabbed your arm, practically yanking you off yours.

‘Let’s go pick a song,’ she suggested. ‘We can get more drinks on the way back.’

Since it had been so long since you last visited The Hard Deck, she let you choose. You picked Rebel Yell by Billy Idol, your mum’s favourite. Admittedly, you’d been missing your home town a lot more than usual lately, perhaps because you were in such a weird place mentally. Things must be worse than you thought if you were considering running home with your tail between your legs. 

As the night went on, you got drunker and drunker. Bradley watched with a bemused grin as you dragged Bob off to the jukebox again, since he was the easiest person to coerce into doing things. How Bradley wished it was him you were clinging to. Not that he was jealous of Bob—because that would be like being jealous of a puppy—he just desperately wanted to be the object of your affection. 

While you and Bob went to change the music, Bradley struck up a conversation with Natasha and Reuben, who erupted into laughter when you pulled Bob’s arm so hard he almost toppled over. 

‘It’s nice to have Y/N out, huh?’ He observed. Nat looked at him like he was the biggest dickhead in the world. ‘Come on, Bradshaw. He might be an ass, but she’s got a boyfriend.’

Bradley sipped his beer, desperately trying to come up with a believable response. Reuben smirked knowingly, which only made Bradley more annoyed.

‘I don’t have a thing for Y/N.’ ‘Whatever helps you sleep at night, man.’ ‘Come on, Payback. You too?’ Reuben shrugged. ‘Doesn’t take a genius to work it out. You look at her like she’s God’s gift.’

The reason Bradley looked at you like you were God’s gift is because you were, but nobody was supposed to know that. 

‘Why do women stay with guys that treat them like shit?’ Bradley asked. ‘Depends on the woman,’ Natasha started. ‘But if you mean Y/N, it’s because she can’t do anything halfway. She told me earlier that it’s because she doesn’t want to start over with someone new, but I don’t think that’s it. She just loves so hard, and it takes a lot out of her. Why would she wanna start the process all over again if she already has someone?’ Bradley was incredulous. ‘Erm, I don’t know, maybe because he’s emotionally abusing her.’

You and Nat were close. In a way, she knew you better than you knew yourself, so she was the best person for Bradley to ask about things. Now, however, he was kind of regretting opening his mouth. Knowing why you were staying with a guy who treated you so badly didn’t make it easier to accept like Bradley thought it would; it only filled him with white-hot rage. 

‘It’s not as easy as just leaving. She has to come to it on her own.’ ‘Yeah,’ Reuben chimed in. ‘You can’t convince Y/N of shit.’ Natasha scoffed. ‘Yup, and believe me, I’ve tried.’  ‘So what, we just sit around and watch him ruin her?’ ‘Y/N’s a smart cookie and one of the strongest people I know. She’ll come to her senses, and when she does, we’ll be here.’ ‘You know, I read somewhere once that you can’t save anyone. You can only hold their hand while they save themselves.’ Nat raised a brow. ‘Damn, Payback. That might be the wisest thing you’ve ever said.’ ‘Hey, why do you sound so surprised?’ ‘You really want me to answer that?’

Bradley had a lot to think about. Realistically, he knew there was nothing he could do. His only option was to let things unfold naturally and have faith that things would work out exactly the way they were supposed to. The only problem was, that sounded too much like ‘sit back and do nothing,’ which didn’t feel right either. 

Bradley needed another drink. 

In fact, he was just about to head to the bar when you came bounding over, dragging poor Bob behind you. 

‘Roooooooooster.’ You cooed.

His heart just about melted when you started batting your eyelashes at him. 

‘What’s up, Y/CS?’

Everyone else was watching the interaction expectantly, waiting to hear what you were going to say next. 

‘You’re really pretty.’ Bradley laughed, hoping you were too drunk to notice the blush he could feel creeping across his cheeks. ‘Thank you. You’re really pretty, too.’ Nat, sensing the need to intervene, came around and gently grabbed your arm. ‘Hey, let’s get you a glass of water, huh?’ ‘But I need to tell Roo how pretty he looks.’

Bradley’s heart fluttered at your use of the pet name. He really didn’t want you to leave, but Nat was right. You needed some water and probably your bed. 

‘You told him already, Y/N. And when you get back, you can tell him again.’

She started leading you away, and Bradley immediately missed your presence. 

A very flushed-looking Bob took Nat’s empty stool. ‘That girl is somethin’ else.’ He murmured, pushing his glasses back up his nose. ‘I don’t think you should let her drink anymore.’ ‘I’m not her keeper,’ Bradley responded. ‘Can’t stop her from doing anything.’ Bob shrugged. ‘Maybe so, but you’re all she talked about. You and the fact that there’s no Fall Out Boy in the jukebox. Pretty sure she called it a ‘fucking tragedy.’’  Bradley leaned forward. ‘What did she say about me?’ ‘You know,’ Bob waved a hand dismissively. ‘You’re pretty. Her boyfriend is gonna kill her if he finds out she’s here with you because he thinks you have a thing for her.’ Bradley was at a loss for words. Reuben, however, was grinning like a fool. ‘What was that about not having a thing for her? Even her boyfriend’s caught on, man.’  ‘How many times do I have to say I do not have a thing for-’

An annoyingly loud ringing sound interrupted Bradley’s sentence. It didn’t sound like his ringtone, but the noise was coming from his pocket. It took him too long to remember that he had your phone in his pocket, and that it was probably Viper calling. Sure enough, when he took out your phone, he was greeted by a sickeningly sweet photo of you and your boyfriend on the beach. You and Nat were still at the bar, and he knew he should just let it ring so you could call him back later. 

But something had a hold of Bradley, and he answered the call and pressed the phone to his ear before he could really process what he was doing. 

‘Y/N’s phone.’ 

A beat of silence, then some of the most colourful language Bradley had ever heard in his life. 

‘Who the fuck is this, and why the fuck have you got my girlfriend’s phone?’  ‘Y/N can’t come to the phone right now. She’s at the bar with her friend, gettin’ another round of drinks, and I just know hearing your voice would ruin her night. It’s ruined mine, that’s for sure. If you want, I can take a message, and she’ll get back to you in the morning.’

Reuben was nearly on the floor, trying desperately not to laugh in case Viper heard him. Bob had paled significantly, like he’d seen a ghost—or worse. 

‘That you, Bradshaw? I just knew something was going on-’

Bradley hung up. The severity of the situation was beginning to hit, and despite the sick satisfaction he’d felt when he picked up the phone, he was regretting his decision already. 

‘Y/N is gonna kill you, Rooster.’ Bob told him. 

Nat made the sensible decision to cut you off, but she said you could stay out with them until closing if you promised to keep drinking water and stop fucking around with the jukebox. That was how you ended up in the corner of a booth with Bradley next to you to stop you from escaping.

Not that you’d want to escape. 

Mickey had joined, and the guys were playing cards while you and Nat talked. She was catching you up on her life, and it made a change to think about someone other than Elijah for once.

That’s when it hit you.

You hadn’t checked your phone in hours, and you dreaded to think how many texts and calls you’d missed. 

‘Bradley, can I have my phone?’

He set his hand of cards down on the table and reached into his pocket. When you reached out to take it, he pulled away.

‘Before I give this to you, I need to tell you something.’

A wave of nausea hit you. 

‘What? What’s going on?’ ‘Viper called about an hour ago. You were at the bar, and I didn’t know what to do, so I answered it.’ Reuben leaned forward in his seat. ‘Oh, this is about to be good.’

You thought you knew what panic felt like, but up until this very moment, you had no idea. Bradley was lucky you didn’t throw up in his lap from the nerves.

‘What?’ ‘I’m sorry, Y/N. I wasn’t thinking-’

You snatched your phone from him, ignoring the kicked-puppy expression he was sporting. A slew of angry text messages that were borderline abusive greeted you. You skimmed them quickly, not wanting to read too many in case you started crying in front of the entire squad. 

What started out as the best night you’d had in a while quickly turned into the worst. Your boyfriend's hateful messages reminded you why you never went out and why this was the biggest mistake you could have made.

The worst part was you saw it coming.

‘Move,’ you said, grabbing your bag. ‘Bradley, let me out now.’ ‘You can’t drive like this, Y/N. Let one of us take you home.’

Bradley sounded destroyed. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. 

‘Move.’

He nudged Bob, who stood up so Bradley could climb out of the booth. You were close behind him, and when your feet touched the floor, you nearly keeled over. Bradley reached out to steady you, but you shook him off.

‘Y/N. You can’t leave like this. How are you gonna get home?’

Ignoring his pleas, you made a beeline for the exit. Nat shoved Reuben into Mickey, trying to hurry them out of the booth so she could follow you, but you were surprisingly fast for a drunk person. Bradley was right about one thing: there was no way you could drive in this state. You ducked around the corner so Nat couldn’t see you and sank to the floor. Hot tears prickled behind your eyes as you did the one thing you didn’t want to do, but the only thing you could do.

You called Elijah. 

He didn’t answer the first, second, third, or fourth time. 

Half an hour passed, and you didn’t move. At one point, you heard Bradley, Nat, and Reuben talking around the corner, coming up with a plan for where to look for you. They knew you were on foot because your car was still in the lot, and since you’d disappeared so quickly, you couldn’t have gotten far. If the situation weren’t so tragic, it would’ve been funny that you were hiding ten paces away, and none of them could find you. 

It was getting very late. People were getting in their cars and leaving or jumping into Ubers. Soon, your Jeep would be the only car left. You couldn’t face the daggers, and you couldn’t drive home, so you picked yourself up and took a slow walk down the beach to where the water met the sand. 

What a beautiful night to have your heart broken. 

There was no way Elijah would ever forgive you for this, no way you’d ever be able to 

convince him that nothing had happened between you and Bradley. The sane part of you knew that it was crazy to feel guilty for simply enjoying a night out with your friends, but the sane part of you rarely won these days. The part of you that loved Elijah was always loudest and knew this could never have gone any other way. 

You were just about to resign yourself to calling a cab when you heard someone yelling your name from the top of the beach. 

You either had the best or worst luck in the world because it was Bradley. 

He made short work of the distance, giving you no time to come up with something to say. He looked otherworldly in the pale moonlight. His hair was slightly mused, and the same insane part of you that loved what it loved was whispering at you to run your fingers through it. 

‘We’ve been looking all over for you, Y/N.’ He sounded very concerned as he pulled out his phone and texted the others to let them know you were safe. ‘I’m sorry, I just needed to be alone.’

You hadn’t even realised you were shivering until Bradley draped his Levi jacket over your shoulders. 

‘You needed to be alone, or you needed to call Viper back?’ The tears threatened to make another appearance. ‘It’s none of your business.’ ‘What makes you think it’s not my business? I care about you and don’t want to keep watching you get hurt.’ ‘Then stop watching!’

Bradley recoiled, and you immediately felt awful. How Elijah spoke to you like that day in and day out without feeling guilty was a mystery to you. 

‘I’m sorry, Bradley,’ you sighed, pulling his jacket tighter around you. ‘I didn’t mean to snap. I’m just very drunk and very emotional right now.’

He softened immediately and seemed torn about whether he should let you stand there freezing or pull you close. You hoped he wouldn’t try to pull you close because you didn’t think you’d have the guts to tell him no. Good feelings had been so incredibly hard to come by as of late.

‘Why are you still with him, Y/N?’ Bradley asked almost pleadingly. 

Wow. He didn’t waste any time getting right to the point. 

‘That’s a loaded question.’ ‘I need you to explain it to me because it’s killing me.’

You thought about it for a moment, and Bradley waited with bated breath to hear what you had to say.

In the end, it was this: ‘I guess we accept the love we think we deserve.’ 

Until you said it out loud, this phrase held little meaning to you. Now that it was out in the open, it was very heavy. In the last few months you’d tried coming up with a decent explanation as to why you were staying with Elijah, and you fell short every time. Turns out all you needed to do was get drunk and have an honest conversation to figure it out. 

Coming to the realisation that what you’d just said was true felt like being in freefall. Everything in your life was changing shape to fit around this ugly truth. The good things in your heart shied away in the face of this monstrous fact. 

You didn’t think you deserved a healthy love. 

Somehow, Bradley was more hurt by this than when you’d snapped at him earlier. He was staring at the ground, unable to meet your eye like you’d just told him he wasn’t worthy of love.

‘You don’t think you deserve to be happy?’

Hearing him say it was somehow even worse.

‘Apparently not.’

You were both quiet for a moment, and then, for whatever reason, you laughed. 

‘This is news to me too.’

The waves crashed loudly, water lapping at your feet as the tide came in. You couldn’t stand out here having epiphanies all night. 

‘Listen, Rooster, I need to go home. I’m sorry for snapping.’ ‘I’ll take you home,’ he said quietly. ‘But we should talk tomorrow when you’re sober. Maybe we could get coffee.’ You shook your head. ‘After tonight, I don’t think that’s a smart idea. I’ll probably be spending tomorrow trying to salvage what’s left of my relationship.’ ‘You’re not serious.’ ‘I am.’

He opened his mouth to protest but then appeared to change his mind. You watched as all the fight he had left in him dissolved. There was nothing left for him to say, and he knew it. 

The irritating birds that constantly chirped right outside your bedroom window woke you up. It was too damn early, and your head felt as though it was splitting open. When you sat up, you were hit by a wave of nausea so strong that you had no other choice but to sprint to the bathroom, smashing into the corner of your chest of drawers on the way. 

Which was to say, it was a bad morning. 

After you had puked up the entire contents of your stomach, you jumped straight in the shower, brushed your teeth, and did your skincare. At least if Elijah showed up at your front door, you wouldn’t look like you got super drunk last night, even though he’d probably already guessed. 

When you checked your phone, there were still no notifications from him, and when you called, there was no answer. This wasn’t unlike him, but it had been almost twelve hours since Bradley picked up your phone, and you would have thought he’d have something to say by now. 

To distract yourself from your impending doom, you threw open all the windows in your apartment, made your bed, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher—all the usual morning tasks. It seemed a shame to waste such a beautiful Saturday, but you doubted you’d enjoy any of your hobbies when you were this anxious and hungover. 

With nothing else left to do, you set about making some breakfast. 

Just as you put your bagel in the toaster, somebody knocked on the door. 

Your stomach twisted itself into an impossibly tight knot. You were rooted to the spot, unable to move until whoever it was knocked a second time. 

You looked through the peephole, expecting to see Elijah standing there with his dark eyebrows knitted together in frustration. It was the only scenario that had crossed your mind, so when you saw Bradley standing there, you were very surprised. 

You took a deep breath and opened the door, greeted by the warm scent of sandalwood once again. 

‘Bradley?’

He was holding two iced lattes, which you were betting were vanilla—your favourite. Elijah hadn’t done that for you since the first week of your relationship.

‘Hey, Y/N. Thought you could use this.’

He wasn’t wrong. You ushered him inside, and he headed to the kitchen, where he 

perched himself on one of the stools at your kitchen island. This morning, he was sporting one of his more toned-down Hawaiian shirts and dark jeans. His eyelids drooped, and you wondered if he’d slept at all. 

‘I was just about to make bagels. Want one?’ ‘Sure, thank you.’

You busied yourself, putting bacon and eggs into a pan while he sipped his coffee, eyeing

you with the curiosity of someone who had come over to check you were all in one piece. Once he was satisfied that you were, he relaxed slightly. 

‘Thank you for bringing me home last night. I really appreciate it.’ You told him earnestly.  ‘You don’t need to thank me. You’d have done the same thing.’ ‘True, but still. And I’m sorry for snapping at you.’ 

Last night was gradually coming back to you in flashes, like a supercut. Each time you remembered a new detail, you cringed internally. 

‘You also don’t need to apologise. Has he called you?’ 

While the eggs and bacon were cooking, you toasted another bagel for Bradley and buttered yours. Even though you’d known him for years and been quite close until you got into a relationship, you were struggling to admit that you were pretty much being ghosted. It was already hard to walk around on base knowing that everybody was aware of how Elijah treated you. When you didn’t respond, Bradley took that as a no. 

‘Well, that’s his problem,’ he spat. ‘You did absolutely nothing wrong. Maybe if he were less of a control freak, you would have felt like you could tell him you were out with us rather than hiding it, and then he wouldn’t have found out the way he did.’

The toaster popped, and you jumped. It felt like somebody had run a cheese grater over your nerves. Bradley ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath, clearly trying to reign in his anger.

‘I should apologise too,’ he continued. ‘I shouldn’t have answered your phone. It was a dick move, and I regretted it the instant I did it.’ 

You buttered the second bagel, put one egg on each of the bottom halves, and stacked two pieces of bacon on top before adding the top part. You didn’t say a word the entire time, and Bradley was starting to get antsy. 

‘Y/N. Please talk to me.’ ‘I don’t know what to say, Roo. I’m struggling even to think straight right now. He knows it drives me fucking crazy when he’s having a go at me and doesn’t respond. I don’t understand why he does it, knowing how it makes me feel.’ Bradley sighed. ‘Because he doesn’t give a shit how you feel. He doesn’t give a shit about anything other than himself and how he feels.’ 

This wasn’t news to you, but again, it was more impactful to hear someone else say it out loud. Really, how long could you keep this up? Whether you thought you deserved it or not, you were starting to wonder if you might be better off alone than with someone who made living feel like walking next to a cliff with your eyes closed. 

You pushed Bradley’s plate across the counter and picked up your bagel. Eating felt impossible, but getting through the day with this headache would be excruciating if you didn’t at least try. 

‘Come and sit down,’ Bradley said. ‘It’s not good to eat standing up.’ Despite everything, you managed to laugh. And this time, it was a real laugh. ‘Why?’ A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. ‘I don’t know. My mum used to say it all the time.’

You did as you were told, and you walked around the island, taking the seat next to him. The two of you ate in companionable silence, periodically taking sips of your coffees. This was how easy it should have been with Elijah. 

When you were both finished, Bradley put your plates, pan, and utensils into the dishwasher. You were too tired to tell him to stop. 

‘Thanks for breakfast.’  You smiled. ‘Thanks for being you.’

Bradley’s smile mirrored your own. Unsaid words hung in the air, but you didn’t know what to say. His leaving didn’t feel right, but if he stayed and Elijah made an appearance, he’d most definitely break up with you. 

But wasn’t this radio silence all the confirmation you needed that things were pretty much over, anyway? You were starting to wonder if this weekend had all happened exactly the way it was supposed to. Your eyes were indeed open, that was for sure. Of course, you’d known that the relationship wasn’t healthy, but this weekend had really driven the point home. 

‘Do you wanna go for a walk along the beach?’ You asked, hopefully. ‘We could grab some ice cream at that little place next to the arcade.’

Bradley didn’t just look happy. He also looked relieved that you weren’t asking him to leave. 

‘I’d love to.’

It was a beautiful Spring day, perfect walking weather. Honestly, it was the last thing Bradley expected you to suggest, so he jumped on the idea before you could change your mind and send him home.

Because he really didn’t want to go home. 

He’d sensed that you didn’t want to talk about Viper, and you’d yet to bring up your conversation on the beach last night. Bradley was beginning to doubt that you even remembered everything you said—all that nonsense about not deserving a healthy love. Bradley didn’t take you as a liar, which meant you believed that you weren’t deserving of happiness. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt quite so sad and also angry at the same time. So many emotions were warring for the top spot in his heart, and as a result, his brain was incredibly foggy.

A walk along the beach with you was perhaps the only cure.

‘Did you hear about Hangman?’ Bradley assumed you hadn’t. ‘No?’ ‘He’s getting deployed. He’s leaving next month.’ ‘How long is he going for?’ ‘Six months.’ You whistled lowly. ‘Damn.’ ‘I know. I think he’s looking forward to it, though. I sure am.’ ‘You know, I don’t think you hate him half as much as you say.’ Bradley chuckled. ‘Maybe not, but being nice to him wouldn’t feel right. Even after everything that happened on the mission.’ 

The two of you walked down the beach, chit-chatting about anything that came to mind. You were about halfway to the ice cream place when your phone pinged. Bradley guessed it would be Viper, but he never could have guessed what the message said. 

It was a photo of you and Bradley walking down the beach, taken from behind. The picture had been forwarded to you from someone else. 

E<3: always knew you were a slut.

You inhaled sharply, obviously hurt by the words on the screen. Not two seconds later, he sent another text. 

E<3: PS: we’re fucking over.

The two of you had stopped walking. Bradley watched over your shoulder as you furiously typed a reply and deleted it again. You turned to face him, and his heart just about broke when he saw the tears streaming down your cheeks. You didn’t need to say a word. He pulled you close to him, wrapping you tightly in his arms. You stayed that way for a while, sobbing into his Hawaiian shirt as he rubbed your back soothingly. When you eventually pulled away, the first thing you did was apologise. 

‘There’s nothing for you to be sorry for, sweet girl. He’s the one who should be sorry.’ You sniffled. ‘I don’t know what to reply.’ ‘Leave it for now,’ he said. ‘We can go get ice cream, take a slow walk back to yours. Then I’ll help you think of something.’ ‘I don’t know if I feel like ice cream anymore.’ ‘Well, that’s too bad because I do. Ice cream is the best remedy for heartbreak.’ ‘Did your mum tell you that too?’ ‘She sure did.’ 

It turns out Bradley was right about ice cream being the best remedy for heartbreak. The two of you sat on the wall, watching the waves while he munched on a mint chocolate chip cone and you butterscotch. It was hard to tell whether it was the best ice cream you’d ever had or if it was because you were with Bradley. If you remembered correctly, you’d had ice cream from this same place with Elijah before, and it hadn’t been this nice.

Thinking back on your memories with him only made you want to cry, so you did your best to shove them to the back of your mind. Despite the fact that he was actually a very shitty person, he’d been a dream at the beginning, and that didn’t just go away. The happy moments didn’t just suddenly turn to ash, as much as you wished they would. 

‘What are your plans for the rest of the night?’ Bradley asked around his ice cream cone. ‘I don’t know, Roo. I’m kinda working on a minute-to-minute basis right now.’ Bradley nodded. ‘Okay, well, what would you say to junk food run and a movie night?’ ‘With you?  ‘If you want to. I just don’t think it’s good for you to be alone.’ ‘I don’t want you to feel like you have to babysit me.’ ‘Is that what you think this is?’ ‘No, but I don’t want to be a burden. Or a charity case.’ ‘Y/N, you’re none of those things. I always want to spend time with you. Just so happens I have a good excuse today.’ You frowned into your ice cream. ‘Okay. As long as you’re sure.’ 

The two of you finished your ice cream and took a slow walk back to your apartment. When you got in, the first thing you noticed was a framed photograph of you and your now ex-boyfriend on the side table in the hallway. When your bottom lip started trembling, Bradley picked up the photo, put it face down, and then proceeded to run around your apartment and take down any others. It didn’t feel like the same place you’d left a few hours ago. It was haunted by memories that would never look right in the light of day. Even the happiest ones from the start were tainted with the ugliness of his cruel words and actions. 

‘This place is so depressing.’ You grumbled.

Bradley stood in front of you with a stack of photos and one of Elijah’s t-shirts. 

‘It’s not. It’s your home, Y/N. We just have to pack away his stuff and put it all in a box.’ ‘An ex-boyfriend box.’ Bradley smiled sadly. ‘Yeah, exactly. It might be over, and he might be a dick, but it was still a big part of your life, and it’s important to keep the memories safe in case you wanna look back on them someday.’ ‘Or in case I wanna burn them.’ ‘That too.’ Bradley chuckled

So you helped him gather all the mementoes from your relationship and put them in an old Dr Martens box. It all looked pretty pathetic, packed away in a shoebox.

‘I found one of his hoodies and a few other things.’ You called from your bedroom. ‘Can you grab me a bin bag from the top of the fridge?’

You heard shuffling, and then Bradley was standing in the doorway holding out the bag you requested. 

‘Damn, he doesn’t even get one of the nice Trader Joe's bags?’ ‘No,’ you giggled. ‘He gets a trash bag because his stuff is trash, and he’s trash.’

You weren’t really at the stage where you believed that just yet, but saying it was really satisfying, and it felt good to laugh. Fake it till you make it or whatever. 

‘Want me to give it to him tomorrow?’ ‘Thanks, but I should really be the one to do it. I haven’t even texted him back.’ You thought about it for a moment and then continued. ‘Would it be cheeky of me to ask if you’ll come with me? Maybe Nat, too? I could use some moral support, and he’s less likely to make a scene if the two of you are there.’ ‘Of course I’ll be there. I won’t say anything unless you need me to or unless he starts. I can’t make that same promise for Nix, though.’ ‘I haven’t even told Nat yet,’ you sighed. ‘I don’t think I wanna talk about it right this second.’ ‘I’ll text her. Don’t worry about it.’

From your spot on the floor, you looked up at Bradley. The evening sunlight was streaming in through the windows, casting an ethereal glow around him. 

‘You should change your callsign to angel.’ A look of pleasant surprise flickered across his handsome features. ‘Why?’ ‘Because you’re literally my angel, Roo. I don’t know what I’d have done without you.’

Half an hour later, Bradley convinced you to go on a junk food run with him in the Bronco. He said tonight was a mandatory, post-breakup wallowing sesh because if you bottled up your feelings now, you’d explode later at a much more inconvenient time. 

The two of you had been screaming along to all the classic breakup songs: All Too Well by Taylor Swift (yes, he knew all the words), Who Knew by Pink, What About Now by Daughtry… He’d driven the long way to the store because you got so into it. 

Now, as you scanned the shelves in Target, you asked: ‘What is it about screaming sad songs that makes you feel better?’ ‘It’s cathartic,’ Bradley explained. ‘Helps you relieve the strong feelings.’ ‘You know a lot about heartbreak.’ ‘Well, I’ve had my fair share of sadness.’ You froze. ‘That was insensitive of me, I’m sorry.’ Bradley took the packed of Reeses Pieces from your hands so he could hold them. ‘Can you make me a promise?’ ‘What?’ You asked sceptically. ‘Promise you’re gonna stop apologising to me all the time. You have nothing to be sorry for.’ ‘Sorry.’ You smiled sheepishly.  He shook his head. ‘That’s not what you’re supposed to say.’ ‘Okay, fine,’ you huffed. ‘I promise to stop apologising all the time.’ ‘Thank you,’ Bradley said, releasing your hands reluctantly. ‘Now, pick out five more things.’ ‘Five? There’s already five things in the basket.’ ‘Did I ask?’ ‘I’m gonna get fat.’ ‘Don’t be so ridiculous. Wallowing means junk food, and I don’t know if you’re looking at the same basket I am, but that’s not enough junk food.’ ‘Christ Almighty, okay.’ 

He helped you pick out five more things, and then you headed to check out.

‘What movies are good for wallowing?’ You asked. ‘Well, we have to start with a couple of sad ones and then finish with a happy one.’

The cashier told you your total, and Bradley tapped his card before you could even get yours out. You gave him a withering look.

‘I would’ve paid for that. You paid for the ice cream.’ ‘So?’ ‘So we should take it in turns.’

Obviously, he carried the bags as well, and as you walked back to the Bronco, he couldn’t help but wonder if Viper made you take it in turns. If you were his girl, you’d never have to tap your card.

‘What’s your favourite sad movie?’ He inquired.  You opened the trunk for him so he could put the bags in. ‘Technically, it’s not a sad movie. But there’s this part in Inside Out…Wait, have you watched it before? I don’t wanna spoil it for you.’ ‘The part where Bing Bong gets forgotten?’ You gasped. ‘How did you know?’ ‘Because it gets me every single time.’

The way you looked at him in that moment, like he had hung the moon in the sky—God, it was too much. 

‘We’ll start with Inside Out,’ he told you, opening the passenger door so you could climb in. ‘And then we’ll think of something else.’

Without giving much thought to what he was doing, Bradley found himself buckling your seatbelt for you. You were holding your breath, and it dawned on him how easy it would be to kiss you if he were that sort of guy.

And as much as he wanted to kiss you, he was not that sort of guy. He wasn’t about to take advantage of the fact that some asshole had just taken a sledgehammer to your very beautiful heart. 

‘Can we watch Bridge To Terabithia?’ You whispered.

Bradley hadn’t moved, and you were so close that he could feel your warm breath on his cheek. 

‘Are you trying to break my heart, Y/N?’ ‘Yes. I want you to feel my pain.’ 

He was grinning the whole way around the car to the driver’s side and still grinning when he got in the car. You already had his phone in your hand, searching for more sad songs so you could continue your car concert on the way back to your apartment. He drove the long way again so the two of you could finish your rendition of ‘I Don’t Love You’ by My Chemical Romance, which Bradley didn’t know the words to. He tried his best, though, because you seemed to love it, and he couldn’t deny you anything. 

By the time you got home, the sun had almost entirely set. While he set the snacks out on the coffee table, you went around lighting candles and switching on fairy lights. He’d never seen your apartment in the dark, and it was incredibly cosy. Even though it was relatively warm, you dragged all your blankets and pillows from your bed and made a little nest on the sofa. You were so adorable, it was hard to believe that someone could treat you badly. 

If you were his girl, every night would look like this—except you’d be a lot happier, and there would be no tears. 

Halfway through Bridge To Terebitha, you fell asleep. Bradley had been trying to keep his distance despite wanting to wrap you up in his arms, yet somehow—in your sleep—you’d ended up with your legs in his lap. He’d frozen at first, but once he realised you were dead to the world, he allowed himself to rest his hands on your knees. Really, it was that or sit with his arms crossed, and that would be silly. 

For the duration of the movie, his attention flickered between you and the TV. Every time he tried paying attention to what was happening, his eyes wandered back to your peaceful face. He marvelled at your astounding beauty, the delicate way your eyelashes rested against the tops of your rosy cheeks. Bradley had always admired you, and you’d been good friends for years, but what he felt in that moment was something else entirely. By the time the end credits started rolling, he knew without a doubt that he’d set whole cities ablaze to keep you warm. Feelings as rapidly growing as his should have been terrifying, but Bradley wasn’t scared. Falling in love with you seemed to be as easy as wading out into a calm ocean on a warm summer’s day. 

He knew you’d yet to learn that falling in love and staying in love should always be this easy. He knew it was going to take some time to convince you that you deserved healthy love, that the right person would never run away from you and keep turning around to make sure you were chasing them. 

But Bradley was a patient man, and he would wait as long as he had to.

End of part one.

#top gun #top gun maverick #top gun fanfics #top gun imagines #top gun maverick imagines #bradley bradshaw #javy machado #mickey garcia #reuben fitch #natasha trace #jake seresin #pete mitchell #rooster x reader #coyote x reader #fanboy x reader #hangman x reader #payback x reader #bob floyd #bob floyd x reader #phoenix x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw imagine #rooster imagine

[simp906888]

Poppy’s playtime x reader (just to clarify, I’m not that good at writing or anything I might mess up some words but deal with me OK I’m going to start the story at the beginning where it all started)

Poppy playtime. It was an orphanage for kids, like you, you were one of the kids at the orphanage, one of the youngest when it began you were about four years old when the company was starting.

You mostly didn’t bother to talk to anyone the orphanage was running well. Everybody was obsessed with the new doll poppy but you didn’t see what really made them interested in it. You noticed that all the kids that used to the poppy doll would mostly be calm and sleepy and wouldn’t really have the energy to talk back .

Elliot Ludwig would mostly talk with the children to see a connection for his loss of his daughter. He was upset and in a depressed state you felt bad so you got close to him and he seems to enjoy it that you gave him attention to that you weren’t as quiet as the staff had told him as time passes by, you decided to help some of the staff by picking up boxes supplies as you grew older. Now you were six as you continue to obey and listen over and over again and again you grew bored not only became a routine of you helping the staff. They mostly look at you with pity that nobody wanted to adopt you. That’s because in the years people want cheerful kids, and not quiet ones it’s not like you Hated It, it’s just you wanted something new then Elliot Ludwig introduced the people to the new addition to the company The Make-a-Friend machine was built in 1960.

The addition to the company of the The Make-a-Friend machine was built in 1960 was a success, and grew more popularity. You noticed the changes that started still weren’t picked even though you were getting older and Elliot Ludwig seems satisfied with this like he almost wanted it as he put you as the daycare attendant for the other orphans to know their manners and their ways to be good the orphans would call you their big sibling or parent they would always be sad when they got adopted but they were glad that they met you.

To move supplies in a similar situation, the staff became more friendlier to you acting like you were more superior to the company as the newer workers wanted your advice to know the ropes of the company as you helped them, tell them where to go, and then Elliot Ludwig took you out of the company and showed you around like you were his daughter he took you out for ice cream showed you markets stores it was outside it was also new to you. 

All of this inspired you want more to learn about the outside world you felt so intrigued with every single thing and detail and you got a yellow bunny from a tiny store. You both went to a café even eat food. You enjoyed it so much, but it all had to end by returning to the company again you thank him for the day and he said it was no problem, but he enjoyed hanging out and to see you smile on your face.

As a year passes by a new toy appeared In 1961, Bron was first created It was a dinosaur red with blue eyes are green you couldn’t tell as Elliot Ludwig had a pacific room for you as the daycare attendant for the orphanage since the company wasn’t as big yet as you placed the new toy on one of your shelves, they give you a specific uniform, which is colorful and nice for being named as a daycare attendant you didn’t like the dress for it, so yes, ask Elliot to change it instead he gave you a nice comfortable yellow shirt with long sleeves that were made of wool and overalls that had many pockets to carry things to carry color supplies, crayons, papers, anything that you needed and a small pouch in front of it that had a small heart comfortable scarf around you that had a black line around it having the numbers one 638 you didn’t know why but you didn’t complain.

As two more years past, you felt something odd as you wake up in the middle of the night on your bed, you saw two strange cloaked people, you looked at your arm, having needles in it the two people that were standing over you were a bit surprised that you were awake You asked them what they were doing slightly scared but they said it was all going to be OK and said that you were sick and that they needed to cure you, you didn’t like it and for the first time in your life you didn’t want this you didn’t want to listen You didn’t wanted to obey all the sudden they put something over your nose, blocking your way to breathe normal as you fainted laying on your bed.

Wake up

Wake up.

WAKE UP!

(I hope I did a good job and I hope you enjoyed it. I’m going to do another part probably tomorrow)

#poppy playtime x reader

[kometqh]

𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓻𝔂..

Pt2. Captain Rex x F!Reader x Fives What happens when two of the men you admire suddenly begin to show just how interested they are in you, days after your secret diary goes missing? Word Count: 3514 Warnings: Edited but most likely has some grammar mistakes, reader is scared of water. A/N: Ugh this took my poor little brain too long to write but it's here now and I'm very proud <33

The rhythmic buzzing of cicadas paired with the summer heat and sunbathing on the beach was the perfect situation to find yourself in. The negotiations had gone smoothly, and your squad was permitted a spontaneous shore leave.  

Navy blue waves licked lazily at the sand; the water contrastingly cold to the desert-like temperatures of the beach. A cool breeze accompanied the waves, providing a semblance of comfort as it danced with tall, sparse strands of wild grass.

You were seated on a sunbed, just beneath the dark shadow of an umbrella, enjoying the distant echoes of laughter from your squad. It was extremely uncommon for them to enjoy anything but the popular bar, 79s, on their days off. 

You had to bargain with the Jedi council for a solid half an hour before Master Windu had finally given you the nod of approval.

Now, Rex reaped the benefits of shore leave in the form of a nap in the sun. You had made sure to apply a kriff ton of sun cream onto his back and shoulders and neck before he had fallen asleep, a mumbled 'thank you' rolling off the tip of his tongue as his eyes became droopy.

He was severely sleep deprived; always being assigned to Skywalker's side rather than yours. It wasn't that he didn't like Master Skywalker, it's just his missions and plans were always reckless and exhausting, and they ended with a few too many casualties.

Of course, that was always inevitable, and Rex did his best not to linger on the fallen, but it didn't always come to him easily.

But with you, he could rest assured.

With you, he could relax under the warm sun, feel the burning sand, and enjoy the comfort of seaside waves.

His caring nature also ensured that everyone would be provided for whilst he was asleep. Bringing extra sun-cream, a cooler filled to the brim with water bottles and ice lollies, and extra towels as well as beach balls.

Where did he get the credits from?

Well, that was a code that nobody could decipher.

Nevertheless, there you were, relaxing with your beloved Captain. Fives had dragged most of the squad into the waves, insisting that they play volleyball. He had tried to take you too, but your reluctance and uncertainty deterred him. 

He had waved you off with a 'Watch me, General' and a wink before he engaged in a series of games of clumsy water volleyball.

Since they'd undergone ARC Trooper training, it became more uncommon for Echo and Fives to join the 501st on longer campaigns. 

Each time they were reunited, Fives would glance to Echo with a small smile. And now, he was busy wrestling with Hardcase in the shallow parts of the water, laughter escaping the two as Echo hit the ball into the air.

A series of hoorays and pats on the back erupted as the ball hit the water with a splash. 

One score for Echo's team.

You were content with watching from the side lines, if you remained far from the water.

If you still had your diary on you, you'd probably busy yourself writing down the details of this day, so the memory could continue to live on long after the war was over.

But just a few days prior it went missing. You thought you misplaced it and ransacked your entire quarters for it. By the time Rex had knocked on your door, nothing was in its' correct spot. Crumpled bedsheets, swinging closet doors and a chair in the middle of the room as you had searched under your desk.

He wanted to question your panicked state, but as soon as the words 'Mission' and 'Jedi Council' were said, you had put a halt to your search mission.

Rex hadn't tried to ask since.

But now, forced to sit by idly, you were mesmerised by the beauty of none other than Fives himself. He was an ARC Trooper for a reason. His shoulders were broad, his waist slim and his thighs - thick and strong and defined from hours of battle and constant training. His tan skin was wet with salty sweat and even saltier water, and if one were to squint hard enough, they could see droplets running down the side of his neck. 

You often found yourself feeling grateful to Jango Fett for having such fine genes.

As if reading your mind, Fives decided to stretch, and in the process flexed his biceps. How big were they?

Was it just you or did it get twenty degrees hotter?

His head slowly turned, and for a moment, you made eye contact. It was quick, but it was still enough to have your heart racing. A smirk stretched across his lips as he caught sight of your blooming blush.

The moment was cut short as Jesse splashed salty water right in his face. You didn't even get a chance to process the expression on his face, the water having wiped it away, as a surprised yelp escaped Fives.

His hand flew to his face, a guttural groan leaving his lips as he swore. His form was hunched over, his hand wiping at his eye.

Before you knew it, you were up and running towards the water, your sunbed abandoned and dusty in your wake.

"Fives?!"

His attention snapped to you at the sound of your voice.

A gasp left your lips.

His eye. The usually tawny skin surrounding his eye had now gained in darker colour, the area a faint red under the sunlight. Tiny, crimson vessels coated his sclera, reaching with thin, curly tendons towards his iris.

Just what was in that water? Surely it shouldn't be this bad.

Jesse was quick to utter apologies, his mouth cast into a downturned smile.

"Jesse it's fine," Fives insisted, "It's nothing." He continued, rubbing at his eye, the corners of his lips fighting an oncoming scowl. His attention quickly diverted from Jesse, focusing on you just as your feet reached the water.

Your body stuttered, your movements faltering as you glanced down at the waves.

Fives eyed you wearily, noticing the hesitation plastered all over your features.

But then in a flash, the water was already hitting your knees, lazily crashing against your waist as you progressed further. Goosebumps rose all over your body, visible under the blaring sun.

Your stomach twisted into a ball of thread, bile rising in your throat. You squeezed the water bottle and towel in your hands, then proceeded to raise your arms into the air like a cheering fan.

The water was now waist-deep, splashing against your torso and swaying your body back and forth.

Pieces of broken pebbles dug into the balls of your feet, and you had to supress the urge to scream when a floating piece of seaweed tickled at your ankles.

A small wheeze left your lips though, and as you reached Fives and looked up, you noticed the concerned expression on Jesse’s face. Was it for Fives or for you? You couldn’t quite tell.

"Let me see." You requested, placing your busy hands on top of Fives’ shoulders.

"General, I'm fine. It's just a bit of water." Fives winced as he attempted an eyeroll, his hands having wrapped around your wrists.

He failed to notice the brief flash of panic in your eyes or the tension in your jaw as the water splashed onto your chest.

"Just a bit of... Water?" You repeated, swallowing harshly. Tugging your hands from his hold, you looked back up at him. "You look like you’re on some hard spice, Trooper. We’ll get your eye rinsed; we don’t know just how safe the water is."

The men behind him had gone awfully quiet, Fives noted as he silently pleaded with you. His eyes searched yours, his head tilting just the slightest. He wasn't a fan of silence, at least not when it came from his squad mates. And he knew all to well that they were watching like hawks, supressing their laughter.

However, as you stood there looking up at him, he couldn’t help but allow his resolve to crumble just a tiny bit. Who could say no to those sweet puppy eyes? Maybe Echo. Most definitely not Fives.

"Alright, lead the way." He finally let up, heaving a sigh. His eye was stinging a bit too much and it’s not like he minded the extra attention from you.

A snicker left one of the men behind you, and Fives was quick to whip his head around, motioning for them to ‘zip it’.

"General?"

"Fives?" You pursed your lips as you looked up at him, though you didn't last long as your gaze faltered, focusing on your primary target, the sunbed. You wouldn’t be rinsing his eye on the sand; it was too hot, and it felt like walking on lava rocks.

“Is it that bad? Or did you just want me all for yourself?” He asked, nudging your side with his elbow.

Wordlessly, you pushed him onto your sunbed.

“Aggressive, I can work with that.”

“Shut it.” You laughed out, shaking your head.

By that point, Rex had slowly begun waking up, rubbing tiredly at his eyes.

A confused hum left his lips as he noticed the state of your clothes. They were wet. Soaking wet, in fact.

"General?" His voice was deeper than normal, more guttural as he was recovering from his nap. "Why are you...Wet?"

“No reason, Captain.” You shrugged your shoulders with a wink.

Rex looked to Fives, giving him a confused look. He sat up in his sunbed, crossing his legs and rubbing his face. “There’s a first time for everything, I guess.”

“First time? First time for what?”

“Oh? Didn’t you know? Our General- “

“Rex.” The way his name rolled off the tip of your tongue had shivers running down his spine. It carried authority and a warning, but the captain was feeling quite daring. His chest puffed up, his whole demeanour changing. This wasn’t your sweet Captain Rex, this was cheeky Cadet Rex, ready to tell the most embarrassing of stories to his brother.

He looked over to Fives, leaning back on his hands.

“Our General over here is terrified of water.” He mused, recalling a specific memory, “On one of our first missions together, we were sent to a swampy planet. The General had us all fooled at first,” He paused, snickering at the displeased expression on your face, “The second a frog swam by, she was screaming and jumping into my arms. Jesse almost blasted the poor thing to bits!”

“Rex!” You exclaimed, throwing the damp rug at him, “You promised not to tell anyone!”

Rex sputtered as the cloth hit him square in the face, launching it into the air in retaliation. “Fives isn’t just anyone! Am I right or am I right?”

Fives looked between the two of you, his brows raised in shock and his eye looking much better.

“General? I’m not just anyone, I’m your favourite ARC Trooper!” He shook his head, pressing a hand to his chest. “I can’t believe you!”

Before you could deny his words or assure him, Rex was already stood by you.

“See General? You hurt his feelings.”

“N- No I didn’t! Fives you are my favourite, just don’t tell anyone, alright?” You pleaded, attempting your best puppy eyes yet. Your attempts faltered as he shook his head, feigning a hurt look.

“I’m not sure, General. You’ll have to make it up to me somehow,” He paused, exchanging mysterious looks with Rex.

“How can I make it up to you?”

“Oh I don’t know.. I’ll have to get back to you on that.” He retorted, pouting at you. Sometimes you forgot just how childish the man could be. You clutched the empty water bottle in your hand, readying it as your next weapon for Rex.

Turning towards him, a fake scowl twisted your expression.

“Don’t look at me like that, General, it’s a waste of a pretty face.” He quickly said, shielding his face as you raised the water bottle. Before it could leave your hands voluntarily though, a pair of arms wrapped around your waist.

“H- Huh?” A gasp left your lips as your body was swiftly rotated and slung over Fives’ shoulder like a sack of rations. That man really harboured more strength in those biceps than you knew. “Fives? What are you doing?”

“I’m having you repay me! Starting now!” He exclaimed and began moving. Rex moved to his side, keeping in step with Fives. Your eyes widened as the sunbed slowly moved further and further, becoming a distant promise of safety and comfort as salty waves made contact with Fives’ feet.

“Fives! L- Let me go! Please!” Your voice was reaching new peaks, rising higher and higher as you began kicking your legs. “I- I can’t swim!” You continued, lightly hitting his back.

His steps began to slow. You held your breath, leaning your head as far from the water as possible.

“You can’t swim? Are you serious or are you bullshitting me, General?” He asked, looking towards Rex, who only gave him a shrug of his shoulders.

“I promise! Please, please, please don’t go any further.” You pleaded once more, looking over to Rex too. Your hands were clasped together, as if you were praying to the two men. He exchanged glances with Fives, wordlessly communicating.

Rex looked over to you, pursing his lips.

“What’s holding y’guys up?” Hardcase shouted, coming closer and closer. “And since when did the General go into water that isn’t a part of her refresher?” He asked, coming to a stop with the three of you.

“Hardcase! You know I can’t swim! Help me, please!” You began kicking your feet again, leaning your head to the side. Your hands pushed against Fives’ back, attempting to heave yourself off.

His grip on you only tightened, and a squeak was forced from your chest as his palm squeezed your thigh.

“The General is a worse swimmer than me! At her level she isn’t even a swimmer, she’s a sinker!” He exclaimed, pointing to himself, Fives’ shoulders shook as a small laugh escaped him. You could feel the blood rushing to your cheeks, setting your skin aflame.

“Fine, I’ll let you go, but only ‘cause I trust Hardcase.” His voice was gruff as he lifted your body, slowly placing you in the water. Goosebumps attacked your skin once more, but this time from the chilling cold that encased you. Looking up, Fives wore a grin that challenged that of the cheshire cat. “You should see yourself, General. You look like an angry loth cat.” He said, pinching your cheek with one hand as the other rested on your waist, his hold firm but gentle, his thumb caressing your waist in small, centred circles.

Swatting his hand away, you looked back down to the water. It rested just below your hips but would venture higher up as the waves moved back and forth.

“D’you wanna go further?” Fives asked, his voice much closer now. Looking around, you noticed that Rex and the others had moved further into the water, where it now reached their chests.

Shaking your head, you turned back to Fives. “I can’t swim, plus I don’t have the same height advantage as you,” You paused, pointing to the others, “I’d be under water where they are now.”

A soft chuckle escaped his lips, crows’ feet tugging at the outer corners of his eyes. Your hands rose to his chest, steadying yourself as a rogue wave lifted your feet off the ground.

“C’mon, you can sit on my shoulders? I’m sure the others would be more than happy to have you around.” He asked, giving your waist a faint squeeze.

You took a moment to think over his proposition. Sure, being on his shoulders would mean you get to, mostly, stay out of the water. But what if you fell off? You cringed at the thought of water invading your nose, burning your windpipe and choking you from the inside out.

“I- I don’t know…” You paused.

Slowly, you looked up, your breath hitching in your throat. He was already watching you, admiring the tiny expressions you made as you watched his brothers. There was this smitten look resting across his face, as if you were the prettiest little thing he’s ever seen.

His face was so close, his body slightly brushing against your own. His scent invaded your senses, so much so you could almost taste it on the tip of your tongue.

The sunlight reflected in his eyes, outlining the different shapes and shades as if you were looking into a kaleidoscope. His irises had this gorgeous colour of warm honey, and they sparkled like a pair of amber crystals under the soft sunrays.

His skin glowed under the warmth, the rich olive colour becoming tanner the longer he sat outside of his armour, making Fives look healthier and happier. All of the men, in fact. Though their armour kept them safe and sound, you couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of them. They were in their zone.

Fives’ hand moved up to your face, his eyes concentrated on a stray piece of hair. The soft smile kept playing at his lips, never fully going but never fully staying.

There was a tension in his jaw, however, as his fingers toyed with your hair. It was like he was holding something back.

He moved the strand away, gently tucking it behind your ear, as best as it would go anyway.

“You’re gorgeous, cyar’ika.” His words came out as a whispered prayer, his gaze so tender and loving as he caressed your cheek with his knuckles.

It was as if your brain short-circuited again; his words dropped on you like a heavy boulder, so sudden, and yet your heartbeat was now racing a thousand miles per hour. Your breath was caught in your throat, and your mouth suddenly felt dry. Was this normal? Were you panicking or were you blushing? Were you going crazy? What was happening?

“F- Fives…” You whispered, your grip on his chest tightening. You never expected those words to come from him, or anyone at all. They weren’t meant for you. But if so, why did they make you so happy? So ecstatic and why did he make you swoon so hard?

He leaned his face a tad closer, just enough for you to feel his breath fanning over your lips.

You could feel his warmth, it was comparable to the sun itself. It rode in your veins, it had your blood bubbling up in excitement the longer he looked at you. You were just a small planet orbiting his sun, being pulled in closer and closer until all you could feel was the heat and the burn of him.

His tongue darted out to lick at his bottom lip, ridding it of dryness and discomfort.

But that small action had you going wild, feral even.

In that split moment, your gaze flickered to his lips. For a man who spent the majority of his life on a battlefield, his lips sure looked plump and made just for kissing.

It was like you were gravitating towards him, like a comet curve-balling around his planet, entangling around his soul and burning brightly at each twist and pull. His hold on you had your legs melting, as if you were nothing but a shard of ice, being thawed away at by his warm touch and sweetly whispered nothings.

His hand tilted your jaw, just enough for your lips to rest an inch from his. Any closer, and you’d be kissing, melting into one another.

Before either of you could do more, say more, the distant voice of Hardcase called out to you.

“Are you two comin’ or what?!” He shouted, cupping his mouth with both hands.

You jolted in your spot, effectively snapping out of whatever spell the man before you had cast on you. Clearly, he had been put under a spell too as his hands retracted and his posture stiffened.

“We’re on our way!” He shouted back, waving Hardcase off. His attention quickly returned to you, but the spell was now gone.

A lump formed in your throat, and you swallowed it down with struggle.

Uncertainty and fear tugged at your heartstrings, and Fives knew exactly what that meant.

“G- General-“

“I need to go.” Your voice was meek and shallow as you retracted from his touch, as if he left your skin with painful burns and sears wherever his fingertips touched. “Alone.” You continued, placing a hesitant palm on his chest as Fives attempted to follow you.

This couldn’t be happening.

With your back turned to him and your figure disappearing into the distance, Fives couldn’t help but curse under his breath. His lips slightly agape, he stood in the same spot you left him in just moments ago.

How could he have ruined everything in such a short amount of time?

#star wars #the clone wars #captain rex x reader #captain rex #tcw #angst #fluff #sw tcw #ct 7567 #ct 5555 #arc trooper fives #clone trooper fives #arc trooper fives x reader #clone wars x reader #clone wars fanfiction #clone trooper echo #star wars clone wars #clone captain rex #clone force 99 #clone troopers #arc trooper echo #star wars clones

[marlynnofmany]

Shore Leave

I didn’t think I was homesick until I caught the unexpected sound of a toddler’s wild laughter from the spaceship bridge. Out in the hall, I whipped around to stick my head through the door with some very unprofessional curiosity. That hadn’t been an alien noise.

Up on screen was our new client who the captain was negotiating with, and also the client’s young daughter. She’d apparently come into Daddy’s room to show the nice aliens on the video call her favorite noisemaker.

“Okay honey, they think it’s great. Go on back to—” the patient father was interrupted by an electronic fart sound on high volume, and even louder peals of laughter from his child. “I’m sorry,” he said to the captain as he scooped up the wiggly youngster and carried her out of frame.

Captain Sunlight waited patiently, every inch the dignified yellow lizard alien who wasn’t about to let someone’s gleeful offspring ruffle her calm.

The human came back, minus the child but with a new food smear on the shoulder of his crisp uniform shirt. Nobody told him. The conversation resumed with nary a giggle, and with me waiting in the hall.

“…By that timeframe or sooner,” Captain Sunlight concluded. “We can’t have your colony going without the comforts of home for long! Farewell.” She held her position as Wio flicked a button with one blue-ringed tentacle, and the screen clicked off.

“I volunteer,” I said.

A lesser captain might have twitched, but she probably knew I was there. “That saves me the trouble of finding you to ask,” she said smoothly, turning her chair. “It’s a big delivery, with multiple cases, so we’ll get a couple others to go along too.”

“Sure, sure,” I said. “I’m sure they’ll love to visit a human colony.”

“Though we won’t need too much lifting power,” she continued, “Because it’s a lower-gravity world.”

“Yay!” I said with an honest grin. “That’s even better.”

***

Getting the shipment down the ramp was surprisingly difficult, because the hoversled was calibrated for the artificial gravity inside our ship. Even with Mimi clinging to the control panel as it passed the barrier, the dang thing bounced.

I leaped to pull it down; Paint shrieked and leapt out of the way; Zhee yelled at both of us; Mimi cranked the controls and overcorrected, almost crushing my feet. I leapt back next to Paint, who had already stumbled in the low gravity and fallen on orange sand that was actually a decent match for her scales. I managed not to land on top of her.

“Got it,” Mimi grumbled in that rough voice that always seemed out of place on a guy who looked like an octopus the color of mint chip ice cream. He scrambled off the back of the sled. “Don’t touch the controls until you get back.”

“Understood,” Zhee said, clicking forward to follow the sled. He made the best exit of all of us, only springing upward a little. All those legs probably helped. Bug aliens weren’t known for tripping over their own feet — something that Zhee was insufferably smug about, and something that I would never let him live down if it actually happened. Not today, though.

The minor excitement had made it obvious that the air on this low-grav world was indeed as thin as the scans had said, and there was no point in toughing it out until we got indoors. The three of us got our feet under us and put on the vaguely-uncomfortable breathing masks, then began maneuvering the sled as a team. Really Zhee was doing all of the work while Paint and I held onto the sides and calibrated our own relationships with gravity, but we could pretend. And the long walk across the landing pad gave me a chance to take in the sights.

The landing pad itself was pretty boring; a couple silver-gray ships on one side and a wide stone building on the other. No sign of our contact yet, but the instructions had been to meet at the sun-shelter. So that’s where we went. At a hoppity-bouncy pace that probably would have looked very silly to any local humans if they were out to see us yet.

As we got closer to the big sun-shelter, I could better appreciate the way its shape seemed built to funnel cool air in and warm air out. Also the view off the cliff. I got a good look at that too, over the edges of the flat hilltop that the landing pad covered.

My first impression was: weird desert. Sandy hillsides in reds and oranges, with a sun that was just above those hills, and already hot. A bunch of alien trees scattered around that looked like they wanted to be cacti. They were almost familiar, as if they’d been designed by someone who only had third-hand descriptions of Earth plants to work with.

The low gravity let them get wild in ways that would collapse back home. The tallest ones spread up into the sky in cylinders that bent and quested out in every direction like curious snakes, but at a vast scale. Others spiraled straight up like unicorn horns, or twisted together like lumpy brains the size of a house, or feathered out like thick fan blades with fractal patterns. A couple were probably star-shaped if you cut a cross section, and the sides reached out to make dividers that were probably handy to hide behind in a sandstorm.

I was so busy looking at the cactus trees and trying to decide if they had spines or not that I was surprised when the hoversled stopped. We’d reached the shelter.

Zhee rapped on the door with his pincher arm. It was stone too, and would have hurt my knuckles.

Where is everybody? I thought, looking around at the sun-bright area. It sure is getting hot out.

The door slid wide to the welcome sight of another human, who immediately ushered us inside.

“Come come, bring it in!” she said, waving both hands and bounding aside. Her skin was dark and her clothes were drapey, and she seemed to consider the matter urgent. Given how much the top of my head was starting to cook, I didn’t blame her.

The door wasn’t big enough for the sled. So we unloaded it through the doorway, as quickly as possible, with me sliding close to the human and Zhee standing on the sled and Paint standing behind it to push boxes forward and comment that the extreme heat was kind of nice, actually.

But even she, coldblooded though she was, had to admit that shade was nicer by the time we got everything unloaded. She helped turn the hoversled on its side at the recommendation of the human, who still hadn’t introduced herself. Flipping it around was weirdly easy in the low-grav. Once we got even the sled inside the room — very spacious, that — the human closed the door and greeted us properly.

Yes, she was the contact we were supposed to meet. Taeya, how-do-you-do. Yes, the weather here did get shockingly hot quickly. No, it wouldn’t be pleasant to go back out into that, even for the short jaunt to the ship. Did we have to rush off, or was there time for a cooling beverage or two?

“There is!” I told her. “The captain said we have two hours of wiggle room in our schedule — usually there’s more, but we have some urgent deliveries — anyway, two hours, three tops, because she wanted to, uh, ‘give me time among my own herd.’” I made finger quotes.

Taeya beamed. “Then let me give you a tour! This stuff will keep; the people coming to unpack it won’t need any help from me. C’mon downstairs.”

“Downstairs?” I asked.

She hopped behind the boxes and disappeared, waving a hand to follow. “Downstairs!”

With a glance at the others, I moved forward and floated down the red stone stairs, one hopping step at a time.

And there I found civilization.

Stairs led to streets and storefronts and vast, cavernous halls, all carved out of the rock. It was built mostly around the edges of the mesa from what I could tell, a curving, circular city with lots of air flow that left the central core solid and untouched. It didn’t quite feel like home to me, but it was so impressive that I didn’t mind.

Every boulevard had high ceilings, and even high benches, out of the way of foot traffic. Most of the surfaces were either painted or carved. And everywhere I looked, humans bounced instead of walking — which did look silly no matter how they approached it.

With the drapey, flowing, colorful clothes that everyone wore, it all looked like a society of cheerful wizards. I laughed behind my breathing mask, then asked Taeya if she thought I could take it off. She wasn’t wearing one, but then her lungs were used to thin air.

“Oh yes, I should have said,” she told me with a wave of gold-and-red sleeves. “We have oxygen generators lower down, to keep things comfortable. Along with the top-notch medical suites for keeping an eye on any low-grav degradation. Offworlders tend to ask about that.” She had a distinct twinkle in her eye as she said it.

“How handy,” I said.

Zhee peered judgmentally at the lightfooted humans. “Is that how you handle muscle atrophy? With medical adjustments?”

“Partly,” Taeya said.

“Mushers!” Paint exclaimed at the same time, pointing.

I turned, looking for sled dogs and thinking back to the time Paint had gotten to ride a hoversled while I pulled. I saw no dogs now, but a cluster of rickshaws pulled by people huffing like suburban joggers. They didn’t bounce, weighted down as they were. And their passengers looked like workout buddies urging them on until they got their own turns.

“Partly things like that,” Taeya finished smoothly.

I removed my breathing mask, eyeing a nearby restaurant and a closer flower display, then took a deep lungful of body odor and broke up laughing. When the nearest passersby had moved on, hopefully toward showers, I explained to my nonhuman crewmates that sometimes our own natural smell was unpleasant to us, with insufficient hygiene. Surely I’d told them that before.

“Right, you did,” Zhee said. “I still say it’s a deeply maladaptive trait.”

“I won’t argue with you on that count,” I told him, trying to fan the air casually.

Thankfully the rest of the crowd sported a more pleasant range of scents, and we hopped on down the road.

Taeya had something else to show us before nightfall.

“Nightfall?” I asked with some concern. “We’ve only got two hours, less now. Probably closer to one.”

Taeya responded by making a sharp turn toward a row of window slits, just a few inches wide by several times my height. Outside, the sun was already getting low.

“Oh,” I said eloquently.

“It’s the perfect time to see the flitters come out,” Taeya said with another hand wave. “Come on.”

More bouncing steps, another beautiful hallway full of murals, and another curving stairway down. Then we were, surprisingly, outside.

A sprawling garden of alien succulents covered the ground, with low burrows that I noticed moments before brilliantly-colored creatures began scampering out of them. These took to the sky in flashes of movement, flitting about as the name suggested, for all the world like tiny flying carpets that had been ferrets once.

Paint wanted to know if they bit. Zhee asked if they were food. I shook my head while Taeya told them both no. They were a lovely sight, and that’s all they needed to be. Plus they ate some local pests. Always a bonus.

The air was getting chilly already, to my surprise. Taeya did something deft with her clothes, pinning the drapey bits in a way that looked suddenly much warmer, with all that cloth wrapped around her.

“If you were staying longer, I’d suggest you get a local outfit,” she told me.

I nodded. “If I was staying longer, I’d take you up on that. Looks like a good design.” Clever and foreign, in a way that looked like several familiar things at once while managing to be none of them. And certainly nothing I’d ever worn.

Staring up at the whirling flitters as the light left the sky, I felt oddly sad. So much of this was halfway familiar, not the whole-hearted taste of home that I’d hoped for. But before I could get too maudlin, Taeya waved us back toward the carved-out city.

“C’mon, back into the good air,” she said. “One last thing before we get you back up to your ship.”

I hopped quietly after her. Zhee muttered about the theoretical taste of flitter meat while Paint made stiff-legged lizard hops out of the nighttime chill.

We were only a little ways down this new hallway before I heard music.

I bounded faster.

The great hall that Taeya led us into was lined with people around the edges, standing in rows and sitting on ledges, their voices echoing as they sang toward the center. I spotted instruments at some of the higher seats. People at the bottom swayed in time.

I didn’t know the words. But I knew the sound. A crowd of humans singing together; it was a glorious thing.

This is what I’ve been missing, I thought, breathing deeply. The air here smelled like flowers and spices and laundry detergent, and it was full of the sound of home. A vast roomful of people singing the same song, voices rebounding off the walls and bodies moving in joy.

I glanced back at Zhee and Paint. They both looked a little baffled. I asked over the music, “Do your people do much singing?”

“A bit? I guess?” Paint said. “But not all together like this.”

Zhee shook his head. “Why would you use your voice for music?” he asked. “How barbaric.”

I laughed and turned to Taeya, who was happy to teach me the words. There was even a bit of dancing with the next song, and that was an adventure in low gravity. So was the next. Zhee and Paint patiently observed from the doorway.

Then when one song ended, and a fast drumbeat paved the way for the next, I was surprised to see a number of people vacate the dance floor. I started to do the same, ready to say something about getting to the ship on time.

I didn’t realize that Taeya had left until she returned. She appeared at my elbow with two padded helmets and a smile.

“We’ve moved on to quick-beat time!” she told me over the rising music. “Does your captain need you back right now, or can you stay long enough to try a low-grav mosh pit?”

Our two hours were up and I knew it. I looked to Zhee and Paint, who were close enough to hear the conversation. Paint was sitting on one of the head-height benches. She looked down at Zhee.

He turned his head away, which meant nothing with his range of vision. He harrumphed. “Don’t break anything the medsystem can’t fix.”  

“I’ll do my best!” I told him with a grin as I accepted a helmet. “Besides, I hear they have good ones here.”

Surrounded by a mix of old and new, I joined my people in the time-honored tradition of dancing more far vigorously than common sense dictated. The captain had said three hours tops. 

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come!

#my writing #The Token Human #humans are weird #haso #hfy #colony worlds #writeblr #science fiction #humans are space orcs #low gravity

[undead-supernova]

HIGH TOLERANCE

Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

Masterlist

warnings: so much angst, a night gone wrong, more (derogatory) Steve, Gertrude (extra derogatory), Delta-9 gummies

pairings: modern!bestfriend!Eddie x bisexual!fem!reader

plot: dates aren't always what you want them to be...let alone with people who you don't really want to be on dates with

wc: 4k

song inspirations: VOID by Melanie Martinez, We Are Nobody Else by Lady Lamb

Part 4: "Only 10mg"

“What do you mean you haven’t seen any movies this year?”

“I mean, I’ve seen movies. I just haven’t found anything I thought was interesting in the last eight months.”

“What do you watch then?”

This morning you actually found someone on Hinge named Gertrude and by the afternoon you were on a lunch date. And you’d thought they were cute when you met up at Grub Burger, like really cute, with thin-rimmed rectangular glasses and a long dark braid down their back. They had a soft voice and an even softer smile…but it was quickly starting to go downhill.

Every question they threw at you felt like an investigation where you were wrong every single time, as if your preferences weren’t good enough. Even the lack of movies you’d seen.

In your defense, you usually went to the movie theater if Eddie asked. He was really good at guessing when a movie’s going to be worthwhile (and you weren’t). He never once disappointed. He’d also never taken you to a movie without at least giving you something of the cannabis persuasion and buying a large popcorn for you to share. 

Sometimes he even bought your ticket.

Which you always pretended were dates like the desperate woman you were.

“Yeah, I really like 2000s movies,” you replied, shrugging. “I’ll pop on a Seth Rogan film every once and a while. Like, I know they’re a little outdated or whatever, but they’re fun. Oh, especially if you smoke some weed. Then it’s super funny. Like, This Is The End? It’s just cool to see all these actors—"

“I mean, they’re, like, super problematic,” Gertrude interrupted.

You nodded. “No, I know,” you agreed, scratching at your neck. “I know. It’s not the best, but like, I recognize that. I don’t think it’s all funny. And it’s not just Seth Rogan, there are other genres like dramas and fantasy and horror. Have you heard of the movie The Invisible? It’s about this guy who dies and is a ghost and can’t talk to anyone and finds out he—”

“I just thought because you’re queer, you’d have better standards for the media you consume.”

Pausing, you felt yourself deflate. You shrugged again, wondering how this conversation was turning into something else entirely. “I mean, I think you could argue that every piece of media is problematic, depending on the way you look at it. If you acknowledge that the media you like is flawed, you’re still allowed to enjoy it. It’s not that hard.”

Gertrude gave you that judgmental look again, pushing their fork around their French fries. “Agree to disagree. Anyways, maybe you should ask me a question now.”

As if I had had any chance to ask anything since we sat down.

“Uh, okay. What’s your favorite color?”

Gertrude finally smiled for the first time since you’d greeted each other. They really were pretty. There was just something so grating about their attitude…

“I think I like a soft yellow, something bright and cheery.”

You nodded, trying to seem more interested than you were. Some part of you even felt like laughing. “Yeah, yellow’s a good color. Very vibrant. Makes you happy.”

“What about you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe black? Red?”

Steve sighed, scratching his bare thigh before going back to his cherry and goat cheese ice cream. Eddie merely stared down at his cream puff flavor, unsure as to why he thought this date would be a good idea. He’d suggested they go out to get ice cream (definitely not to distract himself from what was probably happening across town with someone who he definitely wasn’t thinking about). 

But Steve didn’t remotely hesitate, making Eddie think that maybe that was a sign. He was in it now. They were getting somewhere…

If only it hadn’t started going downhill just from asking basic questions that they somehow hadn’t thought of in the last however many years of knowing each other.

“Ah, come on, Eddie. You can’t say red!”

Eddie’s eyebrows furrowed, trying not to get irritated. “Why not?” he asked. “It’s a color. That was part of the assignment.”

“I just feel like it’s a little stereotypical for you.”

“Why, ‘cause I like metal?” Eddie guessed with a sigh sitting in the back of his throat. He was careful not to release it.

“Uh, yeah,” Steve replied. Like it was obvious. Like it was stupid. “Precisely.”

“Okay, then what’s yours, big guy?”

“Probably red or green,” you answered. “Not a soft green. More like a deep emerald?”

“Like Christmas?”

You shook your head. To give them credit, it was a common question you got whenever anyone cared enough to ask.

Well, except for one person...

“Well, no. I wouldn’t consider myself someone who likes Christmas all that much.”

“Let me guess, your favorite holiday is something weird, like St. Patrick’s Day.”

What the hell was this person even talking about? Were they hearing themselves talk?

You successfully suppressed your sigh before you decided to answer honestly. “Uh, my favorite holiday is Halloween.”

“Next you’re gonna tell me your favorite holiday is Halloween.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Uh, because it is.” What was Steve even talking about? Why was he suddenly being so fucking judgmental? “Let me guess, your favorite is Christmas,” he bit back.

Steve laughed, oblivious to Eddie’s venom. “Yeah, the lights are cool. The hot chocolate with the peppermint in it. Oh, and the snow. You can layer everything. I mean, it’s cute. Plus,” he stopped, clearly trying to make his next sentence sound less rude. “I just think Halloween is a little…meh.”

“Meh?”

Steve shrugged. “Yeah.”

“What beef do you have with Halloween?”

“It’s just a little overdone, don’t you think?”

You shook your head, appalled as to why they didn’t get how important the holiday was. 

“No, I think it’s about expressing yourself and becoming something more than what you are. It gives kids a moment of exploration of themselves and creativity. Not to mention its importance for queer people and how they can have one night where they can be themselves—"

“—without the scrutiny of the public. We could walk out in drag or anything feminine whatsoever and it’s not considered threatening, even if that’s shitty in and of itself. But it’s still that opportunity.” Eddie smiled to himself. “That chance. It’s bringing a sense of fucking safety that’s otherwise missing.”

Steve nodded before he shrugged, scraping at the bottom of his cup. “Yeah, you make a good point. I guess I haven’t really thought about it like that.”

Eddie forgot that he and Steve never really had conversations like these. It was usually you who he could talk to for hours on end, deconstructing what it meant to live and how everything was about perspective. Inebriated, sober—it didn’t matter. Like those days at the aquarium, you were able to see the bigger picture at the end of the day. You talked about stuff like this without even having to be asked.

That ticket still sat in his wallet. He always took it out whenever he needed a pick-me-up. It gave him a spark of hope that life could change for the better if someone like you existed.

Steve kept talking, but Eddie was pulling out his wallet and running his fingers over the ticket like it would bring you here and he could have you here instead. 

As you and Gertrude fell into silence, you put your hand in your skirt pocket, feeling the smoothness of Eddie’s yellow pick. Tracing the edges, you wondered what it felt like for him to run it down his strings. How it fit in his fingers. 

How he was doing.

Where he was.

If he was available.

You looked at Gertrude, watching them scroll through their TikTok feed, volume up, before you stood and grabbed your purse.

“I have to go.”

Eddie watched Steve reach the very bottom of his cup, hoping there was a way for him to slip in a reason to leave. Because, holy shit, this was a piss poor excuse for a date.

He looked back over at the long line forming at the door, knowing you would die to have a cup of the wildberry lavender flavor. You were a big fan of Jeni’s Ice Cream and always gave him grief whenever he went without you. It was kind of funny how your face would screw up as you yelled at him for being a traitor. He nearly chuckled at the memory. 

And it suddenly hit him that he was way more concerned with his thoughts of you.

How your date was going.

Where you were.

If you were available.

Fuck having a good enough reason to leave.

“Can we go?”

You basically sprinted to your car, barely registering how rude you had just been. You didn’t say goodbye, didn’t even give them an excuse. But you argued to, well, yourself that telling them some shitty excuse would be ruder than not saying anything at all. 

All you wanted was to talk to Eddie and tell him about how awful your date was. How mean Gertrude was and how confused you were about what the hell you’d done to deserve their scrutiny.

Sighing, you scrambled into the front seat and tossed your phone onto the passenger seat.  Pulling out Eddie’s guitar pick, you tried to calm yourself down. You studied the brand, the tiny tortoise outline with the shell replaced with the Tortex brand name. It read that it was a Dunlop, 50mm. Smooth. Thin. The kind Eddie always said he preferred, always said it hit the strings so magically. Said it rang out the bottom E string, like it was trying to reach the heavens and got there every time. 

And there was your eyeliner, ruining it.

You shook your head, resigning to the fact that you probably should just go home and isolate yourself for a while. Try and figure out how the hell you were supposed to be normal around Eddie and Steve the next time you saw them together.

Is that how it’s going to be now? you wondered, feeling nausea pool in your stomach. Are they going to be a package deal? Is that something I could survive?

For how long?

Before you could even start your car, your phone started going off. As soon as you saw Eddie’s picture pop up, you let out a sigh of relief.

“Hey,” he breathed, sounding as exhausted as you felt.

“Hey, hello,” you replied, trying to calm yourself down. “Hi. I was actually about to call you.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. I just had the worst date ever,” you grumbled, trying to rub the eyeliner off the pick.

“Me, too.”

You sat up straighter, shoving the pick back in your pocket. “Really?”

“God, yeah. I’m never going to Jeni’s without you again.”

“You went to Jeni’s without me?” With Steve, you felt like adding. 

But you were going to be good. Just this once.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Like I said, I’m never going without you ever again.” You let out an irritated huff. “Listen, Weirdo, would you mind if I came over and we took some edibles and, like, watched a movie?”

Thank God.    

“Yes, please.”

“See you in twenty?”

You smiled. “See you in twenty. Traitor.”

Eddie had gotten back to your apartment at the same time as you, both fighting for the closest parking spot with playful honks. You may have almost hit his van. And he could (maybe) admit that he almost deserved it.

“That’s rude,” he said as he hopped down from the van. “That’s just—”

He stopped as he finally got a look at you. Because it wasn’t even fair anymore, the way you just being you flustered him. Just standing next to your car with a simple Joan Jett t-shirt tucked into a short skirt and black Converse. Some sword earrings. And fishnets. Fucking fishnets.

Did he mention that you were wearing a different pair than the night before?

How many do you fucking own?

“That’s just what?” you asked, looking confused.

Eddie had to get a grip. He couldn’t keep doing this, couldn’t keep losing his focus whenever you were around. Hell, he was already losing his focus when you weren’t. When you were looking like this, it made everything worse. Much, much worse. 

He shook his head before poking your shoulder. “Extremely rude.”

You rolled your eyes and swatted his hand away, starting the short walk up to your apartment. “Hey, you asked me to hang and then you tried to steal my favorite parking spot? Where are your manners?”

“I think we both know I lost those years ago.”

“Okay, weirdo,” you said.

“Uh, what did you just call me?” Eddie asked playfully, clasping his hand over his chest. 

A giggle escaped your lips as you ascended the stairs, making his smile widen.

“You heard me!” you exclaimed as you quickened your pace up the steps. “And I will not be taking it back!”

The two of you bickered like always, going back and forth with seemingly no end to each bit that you started and never truly seemed to finish. Sometimes it felt like he couldn’t help himself around you, always excited to hear what you had to say or what you wanted to do. Anything you wanted, because any opportunity to be around you was an opportunity worth taking.

You decided to heat up leftover soup for you both, maneuvering around the kitchen while you complained about the weather and your upstairs neighbor who was taking all the warm water these days despite the scorching heat.

Eddie wouldn’t admit it, but he was having a hard time paying attention to your words. How could he when your hands were waving around the air and putting your hair up? How in the hell was he supposed to pay attention when you decided to run chapstick over your lips? Or when you bent down to take your shoes off, skirt riding up just enough to reveal the lining of red underwear? And how was he supposed to feel normal when you were wearing the cutest fucking socks, with black cats sporting witch hats next to a brewing cauldron? 

“I’m gonna go pick out a movie,” Eddie said suddenly, backing away from the kitchen.

“Oh, yeah,” you said absentmindedly as you fiddled with the microwave. “That’s a really good idea. What’re you gonna put on?”

“No idea,” he lied. “Absolutely no idea.”

After you finished the chickpea and sausage soup, you and Eddie popped 10mg Delta-9 gummies and decided to chill on the couch. As soon as Eddie pressed play on your remote, you immediately knew it was the opening to When Harry Met Sally. Like always. 

But it wasn’t like you were paying attention. If anything, you were talking over it like you were in a crowded room. Small talk here and there until you were unable to keep your questions to yourself.

“So, you said your date with Steve didn’t go well,” you said. “Do you want to maybe talk about it?”

Eddie groaned, throwing his hands over his face. You may have taken the opportunity to stare at him, how his tattoos were visible. He’d shown up in his jean jacket but discarded it as if he was taunting you with only a black tank top and jeans. His guitar pick necklace around his neck. Rings. Threaded bracelets and watch. That fucking nail polish…

Focus, you told yourself. Just focus.

“I don’t know…” he trailed, biting his lip.

“I’ll share mine if you share yours,” you suggested.

A sigh left his lips before he gave in. “He thought it was predictable that I liked black and Halloween.”

“Has he even met you?” you asked, scoffing. “Of course you do. That’s, like, your whole thing. It’s not predictable, it’s just who you are.”

“I know! It was so weird. We’ve known each other since high school. I don’t know how he didn’t know that already. Rob knows more than him, apparently.”

“She’s extremely observant,” you noted.

Too observant.

“That’s a good...observation.” Now it was your turn to groan, making Eddie laugh before he added, “Now’s your turn, Weirdo.”

Well, I couldn’t stop thinking about you the entire time. So what does that say about me?

“I got absolutely slammed for my shitty 2000s comedies.”

“But Michael Cera is a visionary…” he trailed, confused.

“Well, apparently they’re all problematic and I’m damaging our community.”

Eddie shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Whatever. So is everything else. Besides, you don’t even laugh at the bad stuff. It’s like eating around a bad food you like. It’s not like the whole plate is bad, right? Most of it’s good.”

“That’s what I’m saying!” you exclaimed, throwing your hand up. “It’s like eating at Waffle House. You know it’s not going to be the best meal you’ve ever had, but damn if those waffles don’t hit the spot every time. Especially when you’re fucked up.”

“You get it! You may be the smartest person I’ve met.”

“Or maybe the dumbest.”

“Nah, you’re pretty intelligent…when you want to be.”

“Ouch!” you said, grabbing one of your throw pillows and whacking him with it. “Take that.”

Before you could take another shot, he took the pillow from you and hit you back. “You deserved that one, Weirdo.”

You fell into gentle laughter, shaking your head at him before you sighed and leaned your head on the back cushion. Eddie readjusted, also leaning his head back so he could make eye contact with you. He wrapped his arms around the pillow, hugging it to his chest.

For a moment, you just kind of sat there and looked at him. Watched his eyes flicker back and forth between yours while you did the same. Studied the brown, the way his pupils dilated as you kept staring at each other. You couldn’t say how long that lasted before you finally said something.

“I just don’t think it’s supposed to be this hard.”

 “What, dating?” he asked, tightening his grasp on the pillow.

“Yeah.”

He nodded, letting out a hum. “I don’t think so, either.”

You looked away from Eddie’s gaze to find him fiddling with the pillow’s black fringe, clearly anxious about something. It was exactly how he played with his lighter or tapped his leg. Rapid, incessant. Finding his bearings through the texture as if it could keep his attention longer than a few seconds.

And then he said your name, bringing your eyes back to his.

“Should I keep seeing Steve?” he asked.

This time you were the one readjusting, feeling yourself scoot even closer to him. Your legs were touching, the blanket seeming to slip halfway off you two. But neither of you moved to fix it. 

“Does Steve make you happy?”

“I…I don’t know.” He let out a staggered breath. “I think so.”

And you tried not to, but your leg was slipping further down his calf. Blanket be damned—you were already starting to burn.

“Tell me something. Why do you always put When Harry Met Sally on?” you asked, trying to steer away from the subject of Steve Harrington. Trying to distract yourself from the heat building inside you. Trying to distract yourself from thinking something stupid. “I thought the second Lord of the Rings movie was your favorite. The Two Towers.”

He shrugged. “No, yeah. The Two Towers is my favorite. I just think I’ve just always related to When Harry Met Sally. Always missing my chances, opportunities. Always just one step away from getting what I want.”

Was Eddie getting…closer?

You raised an eyebrow. “Missing your chances?”

And why was he staring at your mouth?

“Yeah.”

But weren’t you also staring at his?

“Are you, um, Harry?” you asked, trying to keep yourself from doing something stupid. “Or are you Sally?”

Why was he so close to making you do something stupid?

“Depends on the day,” he said, softer this time.

And why was he leaning closer, searching your eyes for some kind of confirmation that this was okay?

And why were you about to let him?

“What do you want?” you asked, barely above a whisper.

Eddie didn’t answer, the hum of Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal being the only sound left in the room other than your shared breathing. 

“What has she done? She makes desserts.”

It was growing heavier the closer he got to you, maybe the closest you’d ever been since you met. And it was so strange, the way he affected you.

“You all went to a Met game together?”

Your fingers reached out, searching for his. Found it on his thigh, also reaching for yours. Fingers touching, itching to twine. And it was so strange, the way he moved you.

“But Sally hates baseball.”

And there Eddie was, leaning in more and more, his breath seeming to intoxicate you the more it fanned over your face.

“Harry doesn’t even like sweets.”

But it was dangerous, the way he could break you.

His lips just barely brushed yours before you pulled back.

“No,” you said.

“What?” Eddie asked, leaning back. “Are you okay?”

All you could think about was Steve. Eddie literally just told you he was happy with Steve and then he was going to, what, kiss you? What business did he have doing that? And what business did you have being a homewrecker?

“I think you should go,” you said sternly, throwing the blanket off and standing.

Eddie looked up at you like he was confused. As if he wasn’t just trying to do something incredibly stupid.

“What? Really?”

You walked over to the opposite end of the living room, desperate to stay the hell away from him. Because there was some part of you that was wondering how stupid kissing him would really be. But maybe if you stayed as far away from him as possible, you wouldn’t be tempted. You couldn’t be. 

“Yep.”

Eddie shook his head, standing. “What just happened here?” he asked. “Like, seriously.”

You shook your head. “I just want you to go, Eddie. Okay?”

“No, not okay. Jesus H Christ,” he huffed, throwing the pillow on the couch. “You can’t just kick me out and not even tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

“You should figure that one out for yourself. You’re probably too high anyway,” you said, maybe a little too bitterly.

“It was only ten milligrams,” he emphasized. “And maybe, just maybe, I need to be given some clear fucking communication.”

“You’ll figure it out.” 

He gave you a hard stare. “Really? Is this really what you’re doing right now?”

“What?” you pushed. “What am I doing?”

Say it, you thought. Eddie, please just say it.

“Maybe you should figure that one out for yourself,” he mocked.

And before you could figure out how to respond, Eddie turned away from you. He stomped over to the kitchen counter, grabbing his keys and wallet before walking towards the door.

“For the record,” he said, turning back to look at you in the eye. “I’m completely sober. You of all people should know I have a high tolerance.”

Eddie opened the door and slammed it right behind him.

Eddie couldn’t stop his thoughts firing at a rapid pace as he nearly sprinted to the van. He was going to pass out, he was so sure of it this time. Hell, he was dying. He had to be dying. There was no way he was going to survive this.

The kiss. The fucking kiss. He was going to kiss you. He was actually going to do it.

Eddie’s fingers trembled as he tried to unlock the driver’s side. But the keys slipped from his fingers, clanging onto the asphalt. 

“Fuck,” he whispered, barely able to fight against whatever was grabbing hold of his throat and tightening its grasp. Shaking his head, he leaned his back against the driver’s side door. “Shit.”

Eddie clutched his chest for real this time, feeling his heart race. The panic was flooding his system, tears pricking at his eyes as he tried to focus on the breeze. The white noise of it moving through the trees. The stupid fucking squirrel nearly getting run over as someone barreled through the speed bumps. Your fucking Halloween socks.

This was going wrong. All of it. Every single last scrap of dignity he had was gone. He blew it. He fucking blew it.

If he was stronger, he would turn back around and bang on your door. Demand that you talk about this and tell you how your shared avoidance was going to be the death of any and all chance at a relationship. Kiss you the way he knew he could, knew he would. 

Because there was no way, no way, that nothing was happening between you two. 

He knew it. You knew it.

If only he was strong enough.

And it was occurring to him that he didn’t feel this way about Steve. If anything, he could never feel this way about him. And, frankly, he was starting to truly understand that it had nothing to do with Steve. It was everyone. He would never be able to feel this way about anyone else.

This time, Eddie couldn’t shake that off.

This time, Eddie knew that something had to change.

You couldn’t help but hope he’d turn back. That he’d walk right back in and kiss you the way you knew he could, knew he would if he wanted you like that. And maybe he did want to kiss you, you couldn’t say. But why would he continue to see Steve, bringing him up in nearly every conversation if he wanted you? What would be the point of that?

You were more confused than ever, finding yourself haunted by the scene playing on the TV behind you.

“What’s the matter with me?” Sally exclaimed.

“Nothing,” Harry said softly.

“I’m difficult!”

“You’re challenging,” he countered.

You fell back on the couch, sobbing as you listened to Harry and Sally go back and forth, nearly taunting you with how fucking accurate it was. How fucking accurate everything around you was, from music to movies and back again. 

“No, no, no! I drove him away!”

This was your fault, and now you had to live with those pesky little consequences you hadn’t thought of. You drove Eddie away and now you had no idea how much longer you had before he would fade into a stranger, a fever dream of what once was. And a reminder of what could’ve been.

Taglist: @mrsjellymunson

#Eddie munson #Eddie Munson x you #Eddie munson fluff #Eddie munson angst #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #best friend!eddie #modern!eddie munson #modern!eddie x reader #best friend!Eddie x reader

[theoneandonlypjofanatic]

"Nico?"

He almost cleaved the poor boy in two. The whole situation reminded him of the time he disturbed an older boy in the Lotus Casino, one who was so focused on his video game that, in surprise, hit Nico with the controller. He had thought Bianca would be mad at him, but the only one she lashed out at was that teenager.

He felt a pang of sadness at the thought of her. Not now, he thought. Not right after Will.

"Gods, Harley," he said, pulling him into a hug and ruffling his hair affectionately. "Don't sneak up on me like that. You'll end up like one of the practice dummies in the arena."

Harley giggled. Nico couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed like that.

"Why aren't you smiling?" He asked. Nico realized he'd been staring off into the distance like he was waiting for someone. "Didn't feel like it."

It was Harley's turn to make a face. "You can't not feel like smiling. That's not possible." He squirmed out of Nico's arms. "Something happened, right? So tell me."

His brain went through a thousand responses, from denial to avoiding the question to shadow traveling to Italy to start a new life. "It's..."

William Andrew Solace broke up with him. The person he went to literal Tartarus with, the one who knew all his secrets, the one... the one.

His one and only.

His mouth settled on an answer. "It's complicated."

...

An hour later, after skirting the topic of blonde hair and freckles and sun-kissed skin, he was at the door to Sally Jackson's apartment.

"Oh, Nico!" She said when the door opened. "I haven't seen you in so long! Come in!"

He smiled, just so she wouldn’t he worried. “Thanks, ma'am. Is Percy around? I just wanted to talk.”

Her face brightened even more at the mention of her son. “He’s out running some errands, but he should be back in a couple minutes. In the meantime, how about you try…”

He felt bad for zoning out, but he couldn’t focus the moment he saw the framed pictures of Percy on the table. There was one on his graduation day, one with a car (Paul’s Prius, he assumed), and one with the two of them. Percy and Nico.

Percy would never think of him the way Nico thought of Percy. To Percy, Nico was just a little brother, someone to look out for and eat ice cream with.

To Nico? There weren’t words to describe it. He didn’t need words, anyway, since it was completely hopeless.

Besides, he’d only been without Will for a month and a half. Maybe this was just him longing for someone to hold, someone to know, or maybe just someone.

The door flew open, the sounds of laughter and conversation filling the apartment.

“Nico!” Percy said, uneven smile on his face. “Dude, I haven’t seen you in forever! What’s up?”

He smiled, for real this time. “Nothing much. You?”

…

Three hours after that, after some talking and crying and wondering where things went wrong, they were at the beach. Specifically, the one at Camp Half-Blood.

He'd never really been a fan of beaches, since he couldn't swim, and sitting by the water wasn't any fun. He'd rather teach a bunch of little kids sword fighting than sit still for more than a couple minutes. But Percy promised that he'd show Nico some new surfing moves, and when Percy asked something, Nico could never say no.

So there he was, sitting under an umbrella on a checkered blanket, watching the son of Poseidon ride the waves like it was nobody's business.

Percy was only wearing blue swim trunks and his necklace. Nico couldn't even recall a time where Percy hadn't been wearing some sort of blue, no matter how small. Nico also couldn't explain why he loved it so much.

It was the little things about Percy that made Nico so fond of him. The Camp Half-Blood necklace, the obsession with all things blue, that uneven, troublemaker’s smile… gods, what was he thinking? Loving Perseus Jackson was a mistake. He’d already learned that, hadn’t he?

“Nico? Are you ok?”

He turned to find himself staring right at Percy’s abs.

“Yeah.” He could feel his face getting hot. Gods, he was such an idiot. Especially when it came to Jackson.

Percy chuckled. “You’ve literally been in the shade this entire time, and you’ve still got a sunburn.”

Nico touched his face. A sunburn? “Must be all that time in the Underworld.”

Percy laughed, and Nico committed the sound to memory. “Seriously, man, you need to wear sunscreen. You look like a tomato.”

“Hey!” Nico flicked his arm playfully, and they both collapsed into a pile of giggles.

…

Six years later, they were in New Rome, walking and talking and reminiscing in some garden Nico couldn’t remember the name of.

Six years after Percy saw Nico’s blush and thought it was a sunburn, he proposed to Nico.

And a year after that, the same story was told at the wedding.

…

@neo-kid-funk ITS DONE!!!!!!!!

#i don’t know how to end stories forgive me #my writing skills are so rusty lol #pjo #percico #broke up solangelo because why not #will solace #pjo hoo toa #percy jackson #nico di angelo

[kimbappykidding]

Seventeen’s reaction when they see their ex with someone new

Scoups - Beats himself up about it

Scoups thought he was past the age where social media had the power to ruin his day but he was wrong. He knew when he saw your name trending on Twitter he shouldn't have pressed it but he did and there it was. Dispatch had released photos of you and SHINee's Taemin holding hands together on some street corner. He'd studied every inch of the photo, the way Taemin was looking at you so fondly, how you were smiling big and bright like Scoups had never existed and how happy the two of you looked together. To make things worse both your companies had chosen not to deny the allegations, basically confirming it was true. All Scoups could think of was this was surely the worst he'd ever messed anything up. He'd loved you so much but he'd been too busy to make time for you and so he'd lost you. He'd had the girl of his dreams but because he didn't prioritise you enough you'd left. You'd found someone new and it was nobody's fault but his own.

That was how Jeonghan found him, an hour later huddled in bed with ice cream and a Disney movie playing. His friend had heard the announcement too of course and came to see how he was. From the initial assessment Jeonghan guessed not good. "Hey...having a movie day?" he called trying a lighter approach. "Yeah something like that" Scoups nodded barely meeting his eye. "You should’ve invited me, you know I love movie days". Scoups shrugged "I wanted to be alone". Jeonghan sighed "I know about y/n". Scoups flinched before acting like nothing happened "y/n?". "I know you know she's dating Taemin and I know how hard that must be for you". Scoups went to deny it when Jeonghan shot him a look "don't even think about pretending otherwise. I know you Seungcheol". Scoups finally crumpled "it's all my fault" he said in a small voice "I knew if I didn't cherish her I'd lose her and I did...she's found someone worthy of her". "Stop that" Jeonghan said sharply "you and y/n did not break up because you weren't good enough or didn't try hard enough. You were simply too busy! Your lives were incompatible that's all. We'd just debuted and you had so much on your plate...nobody is to blame and y/n does not hate you. You never treated her badly". "But I could've done things differently I could've...". "There's no use doing this to yourself, we could spend all our time thinking about things we could've done. It's no use. The past is the past, you're a good person Scoups, you'll find someone again". Scoups sighed at how many times he'd heard that but he also knew Jeonghan wouldn't lie about something like this. "You mean it?" he asked quietly and Jeognhan nodded "I know it, now come on. The guys and I are heading out to dinner and you're coming with us". So Scoups got up cleaned himself up and headed out with his friends.

Jeonghan - Gets angry

The minute Jeonghan saw your group standing next to BTS the members knew it wasn't going to be good. "I mean way to be subtle" he muttered and Scoups glanced at him "to be fair I don't think they chose to stand there". "Ow come on, Jin could've asked to be moved to the left or something". 

Scoups just shrugged and hoped that would be the end of it but no. When BTS won the award they all had short acceptance speeches and Jeonghan glared throughout Jin's. "He's so conceited, worldwide handsome". "It's just his stage character it's not really him" Joshua explained but Jeonghan wasn't in the mood for logic. "He wouldn't go along with it if he didn't think he was good-looking. You can tell by the way he acts he loves it". Then as idols began clearing the stage BTS started singing their song and Jin was right at the front dancing. "Typical" Jeonghan muttered, he didn't miss the way Jin kept grinning glancing near you or how you were smiling widely cheering him on. "I don't know what y/n sees in him". The members all looked away and Joshua quickly changed the subject.

Jeonghan sighed feeling crap. He knew he was being annoying, he could hear the words coming out of his mouth and he cringed with each one but he couldn't seem to stop them. He walked off stage the minute he could and noticed the members all treading carefully around him. So he did the mature thing and he let go of his anger. "Hey we were thinking of going to bar or something, do you want to come?" Dk asked cautiously. Jeonghan nodded "I'd love to thanks for inviting me. I promise no more y/n talk". Everyone smiled at that looking relieved but Joshua patted his shoulders "it's okay. We know how hard breakups are". All the members nodded and told him it was fine making Jeonghan smile. He had really good friends. Joshua - "I'm fine" but he’s really not fine

Joshua couldn't believe that your companies were letting you and Exo’s Sehun introduce the award together. Given you were dating he was sure they’d want you two miles apart but no you were stood beside one another and of course you both looked great together. 

Joshua could feel his members glancing at him during the segment and although he appreciated their concern it was also quite annoying. He fiddled with his suit jacket for something to do and Dk caught him. Dk leant over to him and whispered “hey, you okay?”. It was a nice comment but it made Joshua’s skin crawl so he just nodded not trusting himself to speak. 

Once the segment was over everyone headed to their dressing rooms and on the way Mingyu spotted him and shot him a sympathetic smile which Joshua hated. Then as if his anger attracted it Seungkwan appeared and asked “are you alright?”. Joshua took a deep breath and nodded “i’m completely fine” forcing a smile. 

Jeonghan heard it and brushed the comment away and Joshua was relieved until they got back into the dressing room. Jeonghan turned to him and quietly whispered “but you know it’s okay if you’re not fine right?”.

That was it. 

"I'm not upset! I’m fine, more than fine okay! So can everyone stop asking me if I'm okay" he said loudly. He’d meant to sound amused but his voice just sounded strained and upset. He could tell his members didn’t believe him but he didn’t need them to believe him, he just needed some space and they gave it to him. Scoups nodded “okay. Let's all head back home and how about we order some pizzas?". The members all agreed "and can we make some cookie dough?" Vernon called. Mingyu told him he had some at the dorm and they all began planning which pizzas to order and what movie they were going to watch. Joshua felt bad for snapping at them but he knew they wouldn’t hold it against him and as proof they all started chatting to him just like normal. Despite everything Joshua was feeling, it was comforting to feel a part of something without even trying and with his members that’s exactly how he felt.

Jun - Can't smile all-day

Jun was having a pretty good night. His members were making him laugh, he was in a genuine happy mood and he'd even done some flirting. So he was in pretty high spirits and then that all changed when he saw you and Ateez's Wooyoung together. He knew he couldn't expect you to stay single forever and there had been rumours you were dating someone but seeing it in person was a whole other thing. 

He watched as Wooyoung led you over to the bar hand in hand and how you smiled up at him like he was your everything. Jun remembered when you used to look at him like that and he felt sick to his stomach. When Wooyoung wrapped an arm around you and went to kiss you Jun had to look away. 

"Hey you okay?" Joshua asked noticing he'd gone quiet. Jun nodded and his members glanced at him. "Are you sure? You look like you've seen a ghost" Mingyu joked and then The8 hit his arm. They obviously spotted you and Wooyoung at the bar and everyone else soon caught on. Jun sighed and not wanting the sympathetic looks he walked away telling them he needed air. About 10 minutes later The8 appeared "come on we're going". "Going where?" Jun asked. The8 shrugged "anywhere but here". "But everyone likes it here" he argued "we don't have to leave just because..." but The8 cut him off "no we all hate it here. Always have so come on, Scoups is pulling the car up. Dk was thinking we could try that new mini-golf place that opened up, you in?". Jun nodded and walked back to his members who all acted like nothing was wrong but engulfed him into their bulk. Jun loved how they didn’t make him talk about his feelings or explain himself. They just let him be and their presence around him was comfort enough.

Hoshi - Really immature

Dk laughed as Hoshi fouled Yeonjun shamelessly at their Isaac football match only for Scoups to light hit him "stop encouraging him!". "Why he's hilarious!" DK argued pointing to Hoshi gloating across the field. "No he's not he's being petty. Yeonjun is y/n's new boyfriend". Dk frowned for a second before it hit him "owwww that's not good". "You think? So do me a favour and try and stop this before Yeonjun starts retaliating.

The boys tried but Hoshi was on a mission and when he tackled Yeonjun again bringing him down to the ground harshly Yeonjun had enough. He jumped up and turned to face Hoshi "what the hell was that?". “It’s called playing football, ever heard of it?” Hoshi called and the boys started to head towards each other before their members go involved. Mingyu grabbed Hoshi and Soobin Yeonjun. "Look we're really sorry, he's just being an idiot please ignore him!" Scoups called while Jeonghan tried to quiet the yelling Hoshi. Yeonjun shrugged Soobin's arm off him and walked away. "We're really sorry" Wonwoo tried "it's just been hard for him seeing y/n move on". Soobin nodded "I get it and so does Yeonjun, it’s just...he can only be tolerant to a certain level". Scoups nodded "we totally understand it won't happen again". Soobin nodded "okay well no worries" and walked away.

After the event Hoshi felt like an idiot. He went backstage and just hung his head in his hands. Some of the other members tried to comfort him but he just couldn’t believe how he’d acted. When Scoups walked in he practically winced and the room went silent. "If you're here to tell me how stupid I am I am don't bother. I already know" he called. "Well okay then" Scoups nodded. "I knew I was being a dick but I could stop the words coming out" Hoshi sighed "is Yeonjun okay? I thought I was over y/n but I guess not" wiping away a tear. In response his members all rushed to support him no longer angry or annoyed. "Hey it was your first love" The8 reasoned "of course you'd be upset about it. Anyone would be". "Yeah it's completely normal" Vernon nodded "so don't worry about it". Hoshi smiled “thanks guys, are we banned from isaac?”. Scoups laughed “ow yeah but don’t worry, I was going to yell at the ref and get us kicked out anyway” and they all started bonding over their banned status making Hoshi feel less stupid. 

Wonwoo - Makes an effort of showing you he's okay with it even when he's sad

The thing was you were still friends and he still cared about you. After dating for nearly 5 years he knew your family and even still sent them Christmas cards. So he wasn’t going to start treating you badly just because you had a boyfriend.

Wonwoo did freeze when he saw you with Exo’s Lay walking towards him on the street but he wasn’t going to just run away. He wanted to act more maturely so he smiled and caught your eye. “Hi” he called when you reached him “it’s great to see you again. How are you?". You smiled “It’s great to see you too! I'm really well thanks how are you? I heard about your sister graduating, that’s so cool!” you replied. Wonwoo smiled "yes she did so well, we’re all really proud of her! Sorry I should introduce myself to your partner. Hi I'm Wonwoo nice to meet you" he said extending his hand. "Hi I'm Lay" Lay smiled back "I've heard a lot about you". "All good things I hope" Wonwoo joked and Lay assured him it was. You chatted for a whole and Wonwoo made sure to stay happy and calm even though inside he felt like crying. 

After a few minutes you parted way and Wonwoo carried on walking for a while in case you looked back before he ducked into a side street and pulled out his phone. His hands were shaking so much that he struggled dialing the number but finally the line rang and Mingyu picked up. "Wonwoo?" he asked and Wonwoo struggled for words "I just saw y/n and Lay" he said and Mingyu instantly knew what that must've been like. "Are you okay? What happened?". "She was here and we talked...I wanted to introduce myself to show there were no hard feelings towards Lay but it was so hard and now I feel like...". Wonwoo began to breathe heavily and Mingyu told him to breathe and calm down. He stayed on the phone with him for almost an hour and by the end Wonwoo was, if not quite as happy at least calm. He managed to walk away feeling proud with the way he conducted himself and carried on his day.

Woozi - Gets embarrassed

"We have to go" Woozi said ducking down and Seungkwan looked at him "what? We’ve just ordered". Woozi, Vernon and Seungkwan were sat in a restaurant after work and everything had been fine until now.

"I know but we have to go now. Come on leave some money on the table and let's go" Woozi said "please". "Why...ow" Vernon said spotting where you’d just walked in with Nct's Johnny. You were both wearing hats and long coats to disguise yourself but after dating his member for 4 years Vernon could tell it was you. Seungkwan followed his eye and recognised you too. "Woozi we don't have to leave just because y/n came in". "Yes we do. I don’t want to sit here and watch her with her new boyfriend while I'm here all alone. It's pathetic". "No it's not and we don't even know if they're..." Seungkwan trailed off as Johnny leant across the table and kissed you. Vernon stood up suddenly "okay let's go. Seungkwan take Woozi outside I'll go pay the waiter".

Everyone sprang into action and Woozi fled outside. When Vernon appeared he directed them to a restaurant down the street and they walked in there. Once they were seated Woozi sighed "thank you" he said softly, looking down ashamed. Vernon shook his head “you don’t need to thank us but you do need to stop being so hard on yourself. You’re not pathetic because you're not dating anyone. You're more than your partner. You're an amazing producer, singer and performer. You're so talented and an excellent friend so stop being so harsh on yourself, okay?". Woozi usually didn’t take compliments well but Vernon was so serious it shocked him into agreeing. "Okay" he nodded and Vernon nodded "okay...now what should we eat?", leaving Woozi feeling a lot better.

DK - A mess #1

When Dk heard you would be coming to this party with Got7's Jackson he was determined he was going to be the most bubbly happy person at that party. It wasn’t that he wanted to impress your boyfriend at all. More he wanted you to think he was doing amazing and didn’t still cry when a song came on that reminded him of you. So he drank, played games and danced all while smiling widely and laughing anytime something remotely funny happened. Then he saw Jackson dancing with you and it all went downhill.

Cut to one hour later he was lying on the floor of the bathroom crying while Jeonghan held his hand and kept a bucket nearby. "I'm sorry" he repeated for the hundredth fine and for the hundredth time Jeonghan told him it was okay but still the boy couldn’t stop crying. "Dk it's fine okay none of us are mad". "What about Scoups? He told me not to have another drink but I did". Jeonghan shook his head "he’s not angry Dk. We all get it. Seeing your ex does things to you even months or years after seeing them. We’ve all been exactly where you've been!". "You've been in the bathroom at someone else’s house crying and vomiting interchangeably?" DK asked. Jeonghan smiled "how about I tell you my version of this?" and he spent the next half an hour explaining his first heartbreak to Dk and all the embarrassing stuff he did. He’d never told anyone all of this but Dk needed it and he was almost smiling again. Jeonghan knew with time and the support of their members they could get him back to his naturally sunny disposition.

By the end of his story DK was no longer crying so they were off to a good start.  

The8 - Sad but happy for you

The8 watched the video of your dance challenge with Oneus' Seoho and sipped his wine. You looked so in love it hurt but he was happy too. You deserved every ounce of happiness and watching the way Seoho held you so carefully and how his face lit up when the song finished The8 could tell you’d found it. He’d never met Seoho personally but everyone he’d asked said he was a lovely guy which comforted The8 while also leaving him feeling bitter. 

He still remembered where he was when he found out you had a new boyfriend. He’d seen you get into Seoho’s car and he’d been frozen with shock and fear. He’d felt all the normal things, anger, embarrassment, regret and of course sadness. He’d considered texting you to try and win you back or even trying to find ways to make you jealous or upset in return but he rejected them all because he realised you were happy. You’d found the person who could treat you like the goddess you were and all things aside he was pleased for you. 

He must've watched the video over 20 times now but he couldn’t put it away. He felt trapped in his happiness which wasn’t forced but was difficult. if he squinted he could pretend he was the one dancing with you, something you’d done often together and loved. He missed that. Missed holding you in his arms and the touch of your hand in his but you were happier now and that was all that mattered. So he watched the video one final time before closing his laptop and deciding he should go find some happiness too.

Mingyu - Goes out and gets drunk #1

One of the worst things was that you and your new partner had both been so nice about it. You'd broken up with him but it was very amicable and you'd been very respectful to him. When you started dating Exo's Chanyeol you'd told him personally so he didn't have to hear it from anyone else and you'd been nothing but considerate to him. Chanyeol had always been nice to Mingyu and that hadn't changed since he started dating you. All these things probably sound like they should've made it easier but they didn't. 

When Mingyu saw the two of you share a moment at the award show that nobody else noticed he wanted to run away and never come back. Thankfully it was at the end of the night and so when the guys went out for drinks afterwards Mingyu was the first one at the bar. 

He figured if he got a few dozen drinks in him he'd feel better and at first the buzz was good but his members soon realised what was going on. "Hey are you okay?" Hoshi asked as Mingyu sat down with his drink and Mingyu grinned "I'm great! Why?". "Just most of us are on our second drink and that's already your fourth". Mingyu shrugged "so? I'm taller, I need more alcohol". "Jun and Wonwoo are near your height and Jun is on his second and Wonwoo his first". Mingyu shrugged "why are you interrogating me?". "I'm not!" Hoshi assured him "just...you don't need to do this because of y/n and Chanyeol. You're allowed to be sad". Mingyu nodded "I know and thank you for checking on me but right now I just want to feel a little buzz and forget about her for a bit. I won't get into any trouble I promise". Hoshi nodded "don't worry we won't let anything happen to you" and Mingyu suddenly felt a lot more comforted by his friends than by his drink.

Seungkwan - A mess #2  

You hadn't even realised he was there until Beomgyu told you. Seventeen were heading out of their dressing room as TxT and you were going in theirs. The members at the front Huening and Taehyun spotted Seungkwan and froze but Seungkwan's eyes went right past this to you. You and Beomgyu were laughing loudly while he told a story. He had an arm around you and you looked so comfortable together. While Beomgyu glanced up as his members went quiet you were so engrossed in him you didn't look until he nudged you.  When you did spot Seungkwan you paused and then smiled timidly. Beomgyu didn't remove his arm from around you and the two of you nodded and said hello to the group before hurrying past. Seungkwan stared after you until he felt Vernon tug his sleeve "hey are you okay?". He nodded and followed his members on stage but he couldn't get his mind off you. Needless to say when Seungkwan went on stage it didn’t end well and he ended up running off mid-song in a blind panic.

He just couldn’t get over seeing you with Beomgyu and his emotions were everywhere. He was crying while also scolding himself for crying in the dressing room when Scoups and Jeonghan walked in. Seungkwan’s heart was in his throat and he felt himself begin to shake. "Scoups, Jeonghan I'm so sorry! I promise I'll be back for the next song I just needed a second to pull myself together and I...". "Stop!" Jeonghan called "Seungkwan it's okay". "It is?" Seungkwan asked and they both nodded "of course it is, now how are you feeling? Are you okay?" Scoups asked. Seungkwan tried to nod and then burst into tears again. 

His hyungs hugged him and calmed him down. Jeonghan managed to get him to smile again while Scoups talked to the staff and told them Seungkwan wouldn't be working tonight. He knew Seungkwan wouldn't want to go home though so they set him up backstage with water and snacks and came back to him as soon as they could. Then they all went home and ordered Seungkwan's favourite takeaway. They spent the whole night making him feel better and by the morning things did seem a little brighter.

Vernon - Can't stop staring

Enhypen's Jay had noticed a certain member staring at you and he wasn’t happy. Dino noticed and quickly tapped Vernon. "Stop staring at y/n" he whispered in Vernon’s ear. Vernon blinked "was I? I didn't even realise I was going it". "Well Jay did so stop". 

Vernon glanced around and saw your boyfriend indeed was glaring at him. He felt a sharp anger at the look he was sending him. He’d known you longer than Jay so who was he to be so territorial of you? Then he saw Jay put an arm around you and sighed. 

Your boyfriends that’s who.  

Vernon ran a hand through his hair agitatedly "i couldn’t help it i haven’t seen her in so long and she looks so different...she looks happy". Dino nodded hearing the heaviness if Vernon's words. "Don’t worry it's not your fault but how about we change seats?". Vernon nodded and they moved away to another part of the bar where he couldn’t see you. "This is nice, thank you" Vernon said and Dino smiled "anything you need, I'm here for you". Vernon didn’t often get emotional but the maknae’s words did it and he believed him 100%. 

Dino - Goes out and gets drunk 2

Stray Kid′s Felix was not meant to be on the panel. It was supposed to be Bang Chan instead but apparently he’d come down ill and so Felix had stepped in. Joshua had told Dino he didn’t have to do the show if he couldn’t but Dino saw that as running away and he wouldn’t do that. So he decided to stay and the whole thing was the worst experience of his life. Predictably the hosts loved Felix and nearly fell over themselves when they found out he had an Australian accent. Dino remembered you saying you liked the accent too and it made him want to be sick knowing the two of you were now together. So he headed to the nearest bar right after the shoot was over and he’d been there ever since. Joshua had accompanied him and was acting like it was a fun outing but they both knew it wasn’t and if they didn’t, the way Dino was out-drinking Joshua would prove it. 

Dino had told Joshua several times he could leave but he’d assured him he was fine and stayed. He only stepped in when Dino was struggling to walk and took him home. Dino wasn’t happy about it and Joshua had to physically pick him up at some points but he finally got him in the front seat of his car. 

“I’m sorry” Dino and Joshua nodded “...it’s okay, I know you’re hurting”. “I just hated seeing him today and knowing he gets to go home to her and I don’t” Dino said his eyes tearing up. Before he knew it he was crying and Joshua was fumbling around his bag for a tissue. Joshua passed him one and then patted his back “I’m such a loser” Dino sighed but Joshua shook his head “not at all! Dino breakups are hard and they make you emotional but that’s okay. We’re human, it’s good to feel things and you’re so young. I know this might feel like the end of the world but I promise things will get better and you’re going to meet so many amazing people that one day you’ll just look back on this and laugh”. “You promise?” Dino asked and Joshua nodded “I promise”. Dino took a breath and sighed “okay, I believe you”. Joshua smiled “good now how about we go home and order a takeaway? Something tells me you could use something greasy and covered in cheese”. Dino nodded “that sounds amazing, thanks hyung”. Joshua smiled “it’s what i’m here for” and started the car. 

____________________________________

I hope this doesn’t need saying but all the situations are of course made up and based on no real opinions or personality traits, it’s just some fun based on how I think the different members might react to this situation.

So my main motivation for this was to create some angsty feelings but also to give some hope! 

I tried to give them all...if not happy, hopeful ending where the boys felt loved or supported in some way because breakups are shit but they’re not the end of the world and you will feel better! 

#scoups #jeonghan #joshua #jun #hoshi #wonwoo #woozi #dk #the8 #mingyu #seungkwan #vernon #dino #seventeen #seventeen fic #seventeen x reader #seventeen imagine #seventeen mingyu #seventeen wonwoo #seventeen vernon #seventeen jeonghan #seventeen scoups

[final-girl96]

STOLEN HEARTS CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Summer 1985

It was a hot day in Hawkins, Indiana. Hot and humid. It was the fourth of July weekend l, everyone was having barbecues and setting up to set off fireworks. It was six in the evening and I felt like I was melting. The fair was in town and Eddie decided it would be a good idea to go. "It's so hot!" I whined. "We could be back at my house, where there are no parents at all, may I remind you, and we could be in the pool."

Eddie hummed and handed me my drink while he grabbed his and the funnel cake. "Come on, babe, fair food is the fucking best!" He said. We sat down at one of the picnic tables to eat. "You've eaten like almost everything since we got here an hour ago, Eddie." He pulled a piece of the funnel cake and popped it in his mouth. "I'm a growing boy." I snorted and rolled my eyes.

It was hard to even believe we've been together for a year. I was amazed he even graduated from high school. And I honestly didn't believe he would be able to be a one woman kind of guy. I was sure he was going to break up with me after we graduated. But here we are and he hasn't even looked at another girl. "What's the real reason we're here? Is it because you have a deal?" I asked, lowering my voice so nobody else would hear.

He started to shove the funnel cake in his mouth, shaming his head. His way of avoiding answering me. "Edward Munson!" He flinched and gave me those stupid puppy dog eyes of his. "Stop that!" I said pointing at him, but he just kept looking at me with those big brown eyes. "I hate you." A smile stretched across his face, "no you don't. You love me," he said around a mouth full of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" I said, throwing a piece of the funnel cake at him. He swallowed his food and grinned at me. "So, you love me?" He asked. I looked at him confused. "What?" I asked. He leaned over the table so he was closer to me. "You love me," he said. He was smiling from ear to ear. "I love you, too, sweetheart." my heart was beating out of my fucking chest.

We've been together for a fucking year now, and that's the first time he's said that. I knew I loved him after two months together. I mean, I started having those feelings after prom, but still. I just didn't want to risk saying it and him not feeling the same way, so I decided to wait, and see if he would say it first. As time went on I figured he didn't feel that way about me. "Sweetheart, you okay? You look like your going to fucking puke."

"You love me?" I whispered. "Well, I mean…umm…I'm sorry." He looked sad now. The smile was gone, the light in his eye faded, his head was down. "No! I…I do…love you. I just didn't think you felt the same." His head snapped up to look at me in shock. "What? Why would you think that?" He asked. I shrugged, "because it's been like a year. So I just figured you didn't feel that way. And I didn't want to say anything and ruin things."

He reaches for my hand, pulling it closer so he can kiss my knuckles. "You're the first actual girlfriend I've had. I didn't do relationships before you, sweetheart. I'm just making it up while I go. I'm also not good at expressing my feelings. But trust me when I tell you I've loved you for a while now, I just didn't know how to say it." He stood up, not letting go of my hand.

"Come on, let's get you out of the heat. I don't want you over heating. I mean, with the hot weather and then being near me…" I lightly hit his chest when he pulled me up. "You're so full of yourself." He grabbed the empty plate and his cup, mine already in my hand, and we started walking back where he parked the van. We threw our trash away on the way out.

"What do you want to do? We could check out the new Star Court Mall. Get some ice cream before going back to your place." Eddie pulled the passenger side door open and then slapped my ass when I was climbing up into the seat. "Hey, watch it! Ice cream sounds good." I leaned out of the door and kissed him. He hummed and smiled at me. "Anything for you m'lady," He said and bowed before shutting the door.

The cool air conditioning inside the mall felt so good against my hot skin. Eddie was fucking crazy for wearing jeans in this heat. "Oh, my god," I moaned, closing my eyes and tilting my head back. "That feels so fucking good." I opened my eyes to see Eddie staring at me, his eyes darker than before. I felt all the heat in my body rush up to my face. "Sweetheart…wait til we get home for you to be making those kinds of noises." He looked around before pulling on the crouch of his pants.

"Oh, my god! Control yourself, perv!" I laughed. "That's going to be in my head the whole fucking time we're here!" He groaned. I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards Scoops Ahoy. Steve Harrington was behind the counter to my shock. "Welcome to Scoops Ah…oh, hey, yn. Munson." Eddie nodded at him and looked away.

"Hey, Steve. So…you scoop ice cream for a living…what happened to college?" I asked. He shrugged, "grades weren't good enough and my dad made me get a job. So, what can I get you two?" He asked. The window behind him opened and Robin Buckley popped her head out. "Hey, yn!" She waved. "Hey, Robin!"

"Hey, loser, she doesn't count, she's taken!" Steve rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "I wasn't flirting with her, Robin." He looked at her then turned back to me. "What can I get you?" He asked. "Umm…"F/F. Eddie?" I turned to look beside me to see him looking across to the other side of the mall. "Eddie!" His head snapped towards me. "Hmm? Oh, uh, whatever you got is fine."

I looked back at Steve and Robin, who had a questioning look on their faces. I shrugged, and Steve went to get our ice cream. "That will be two fifty." Eddie pulled his wallet out and handed Steve a five, "keep the change." He took his cone and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the ice cream shop and towards the front doors. "Eddie! Holy shit, what the hell? Eddie, slow down!" I pulled my hand out of his, and he stopped. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

#eddie munson #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson stranger things #eddie the freak munson #eddie stranger things #eddie muson x reader #eddie x you #rockstar eddie munson #eddie munson rockstar au #rockstar au #rockstar!eddie munson #stranger things netflix #stranger things fic #stranger things x you #joseph quinn

[astrophysicist-guitar-god]

Not My Job: Queen's Brian May Gets Quizzed About Dairy Queen

OCTOBER 28, 2017 (12:44 PM ET) || HEARD ON  WAIT WAIT...DON'T TELL ME!

9-Minute Listen <- (as of 11/21/23, the audio link still works)

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Transcript

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Brian May left a promising career in science to try his hand at rock 'n' roll, and did OK enough, we guess, becoming a co-founder of the band Queen. (That makes him the only Ph.D. astrophysicist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.) What's more, he's also deeply into 3D stereoscopic photography, and has just published a new book of pictures of his band.

Given his success with Queen, we made him answer three trivia questions about Dairy Queen, the ice cream and fast food franchise.

Queen's Brian May Rocks Out To Physics, Photography Secret Stereographs: Brian May Of Queen Reveals A Pastime

PETER SAGAL, HOST: 

And now the game where we reward a lifetime of achievement with a few moments of trivia. It's called Not My Job. Brian May left a promising career in science to try his hand at rock 'n' roll. And he did OK. He founded the band Queen with Freddie Mercury, John Deacon and Roger Taylor, making him, as far as we know, the only Ph.D. astrophysicist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But he had another enthusiasm, 3-D stereoscopic photography. He's published a new book of pictures of his band so realistic you can practically smell the groupies.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Brian May, welcome to WAIT WAIT... DON'T TELL ME.

(APPLAUSE)

BRIAN MAY: Thank you very much.

SAGAL: I spent a good part of yesterday evening with your book of these amazing stereoscopic photos and the great little viewer that comes with them...

MAY: Right.

SAGAL: ...Enjoying these 3-D pictures of your band and its history and Freddie Mercury and your other friends and musicians. And I have one thing to ask you. How is it that in all the years that you've been in the public eye, your hair has never changed?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Did any - nobody ever came to you and said, Brian, you know, now it's the 1990s. We need to cut your hair? Has any...

MAY: Yeah, they do it all the time.

(LAUGHTER)

MAY: I have a good answer for that. But it's probably not repeatable on your program.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: So there are so many things that are interesting about you. You were, as I said - you were pursuing your doctorate in science when the band started, right?

MAY: I was, yeah. In astronomy. In what they now call astrophysics, yeah. And I gave it up. And I thought I was actually doing astrophysics a favor by choosing the other option.

SAGAL: Really?

MAY: Yeah. And I also thought, you know, there's a window opening here. And if I don't kind of walk through - or a door opening, I should say. And I thought, if I don't walk through right now, that door will never open again. So I went off and, against all the odds, became a rock star for some reason.

SAGAL: Yeah. That seemed to have worked out pretty well for you.

MAY: It's OK. It's been OK so far. Yeah.

SAGAL: It really has. But...

PAULA POUNDSTONE: So wait, you're suggesting that you were not a good astrophysicist?

MAY: You know, I didn't think I was.

POUNDSTONE: What would make a bad astrophysicist?

MAY: Well...

POUNDSTONE: Like, you weren't looking in the right...

(LAUGHTER)

MAY: Well, what would make a bad astrophysicist would be, like, not being able to complete your Ph.D., which is what happened.

POUNDSTONE: Oh.

MAY: And I couldn't please my supervisor. So 30 years later, I found myself with another supervisor. And he liked what I did. So I kind of updated my vision of myself. But I got it after 30 years.

POUNDSTONE: Oh, wow.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Wait a minute. What I love is that you going in to get your Ph.D. not as young Brian May but as Brian May the guitarist of Queen.

MAY: Yeah.

SAGAL: I mean, did you - like, your oral exams - did you come in and say, I could answer your questions, or I could just do the riff from "We Will Rock You."

MAY: Well, you know, they were tough on me. I think they had to be because they couldn't be seen to kind of make it easy for me, you know? And, you know, I got a whole sheaf of stuff that I had to do in order to finish it off.

SAGAL: I bet that...

LUKE BURBANK: Did they try to work in any Queen stuff during the defense of your dissertation? Like, you may think you're the champion, Mr. May...

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: ...But this panel thinks otherwise. Do they do anything corny like that?

SAGAL: Now, this is the amazing thing about this book because in addition to your interest in astrophysics and obviously shredding on the guitar, you are a huge photography nerd. And you were...

MAY: Totally.

SAGAL: You were always into 3-D photography.

MAY: Yeah.

SAGAL: I'm just trying to imagine though that - it must have been like the mid-70s in the absolute apogee of, like, the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. And there's the cocaine. And there are the groupies. And there's the liquor. And you're, like, trying to get everybody to hold still so you can take a 3-D photograph.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Guys, guys. Come on.

MAY: I'm not going to contradict you there.

(LAUGHTER)

MAY: Should we just move on?

SAGAL: All right. I will.

(LAUGHTER)

POUNDSTONE: Every high school student has the same story, I imagine, on the way to sports events.

SAGAL: Yeah.

POUNDSTONE: Like, when I played lacrosse in high school, we would bang our sticks on the roof of the bus.

MAY: Oh.

POUNDSTONE: How this driver tolerated it I'll never know. And we would scream at the top of our lungs the lyrics to, you know, "We Are The Champions."

MAY: Great.

POUNDSTONE: And it was so much fun.

SAGAL: Oh, yeah.

BURBANK: Did you guys ever win a match?

POUNDSTONE: No.

(LAUGHTER)

MAY: It did you no good whatsoever.

BURBANK: What would you sing on the drive back, "Another One Bites The Dust?"

(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)

BURBANK: Can I just ask what - like, in the creation of an amazing, iconic song like "Bohemian Rhapsody," did Freddie Mercury write those lyrics?

MAY: Absolutely.

BURBANK: And, like, what was it like when he says, OK, these are going to be the words to this song?

(LAUGHTER)

MAY: We had a kind of unwritten law. You know, generally, this song was kind of the province of the writer. And the writer would have the final say. So yeah, we didn't really discuss it. We didn't say, you know, why are you saying that, Freddie? It was just...

BURBANK: So no one looked at him when he started singing scaramouche?

POUNDSTONE: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

MAY: You know, we were enjoying ourselves.

SAGAL: Can you do the fandango?

MAY: I mean, this stuff is really fun to do in the studio.

POUNDSTONE: Oh, I bet.

MAY: And nobody had ever done it before, you know?

SAGAL: Oh, absolutely. I'd never heard anything like that in my life when that song came out.

MAY: Well, and you won't again.

SAGAL: I know. I know.

POUNDSTONE: So you guys just, you know, scaramouche, scarmouche, not even looking at one another?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: I can imagine.

POUNDSTONE: It does sound like fun.

SAGAL: Last question - as an astrophysicist, because this is interesting how you both - do both - can you scientific explain how it is that fat bottomed girls make the world go round?

(LAUGHTER)

MAY: Yeah. I think that's still true. I was just lucky to find out early, you know?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Well, Brian May, we can talk to you all day. But we have business to do. We've asked you here to play a game we're calling...

BILL KURTIS: Have a peanut buster parfait.

SAGAL: You, of course, as we have been discussing, are one of the founders of Queen, one of the iconic rock bands of all time. So we thought we'd ask you three questions about Dairy Queen.

(LAUGHTER)

MAY: About what?

SAGAL: Dairy Queen. You might have come across it in your travels across America. It's a popular ice cream and fast food franchise.

MAY: This is the bit I've been looking forward to so much.

SAGAL: Oh, you are.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Answer two questions about - by the way, I should say that absolute ignorance is always an advantage in this particular game.

MAY: Well, you've got it in this case.

(LAUGHTER)

ADAM BURKE: I'm just picturing the Queen tour bus pull up to a Dairy Queen.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: It'd be the greatest day of those people's lives.

BURKE: Freddie just marching in. Blizzards for the lot of us.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: All right (laughter).

MAY: Can I go home now?

SAGAL: This is already going very well.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: So the question, though, for Bill is who is legendary guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May playing for?

KURTIS: Ella Jones of Baltimore, Md.

SAGAL: All right.

POUNDSTONE: Here we go.

SAGAL: Just two right, and we win it all. None right - who cares? Here we go. Dairy Queen has given us so much by way of frozen treats, the Blizzard, the Dilly Bar, the Oreo Brownie Earthquake. But it's also responsible for what other wonderful thing? A, the defibrillator device; B - the band No Doubt, or C avocado toast?

(LAUGHTER)

MAY: I would say none of the above. But I have no idea. The defibrillator. I'm going for the defibrillator.

SAGAL: You could use a defibrillator at any Dairy Queen. But the answer is the band No Doubt...

POUNDSTONE: Really?

MAY: You're kidding me.

SAGAL: ...Because it turns out that Gwen Stefani and two of her band mates met and formed their band at a Dairy Queen in Anaheim, Calif., when they both - all worked there.

MAY: I'm on the edge of my seat.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: But we have other things. There's this Dairy Queen - one of them - in Morehead, Minn. And it's legendary because it still uses all the old recipes. And it was the place where their famous dilly bar treat was invented. Now, the owner there invented a number of other things that corporate never liked - so they didn't catch on nationally - including which of these? Which of these failed Dairy Queen treats? A, the flaming sundae; B, the meat shake...

POUNDSTONE: Ew.

SAGAL: ...Or C, the heck-of-a-job brownie?

(LAUGHTER)

MAY: I'm going to go for number one.

SAGAL: The flaming sundae. You're right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

POUNDSTONE: Wow.

SAGAL: He invented a flaming sundae, a sugar cube doused with liquor - set it on fire. Very attractive. So your last question. If you get this right you win, which I'm sure will go well with your CBE.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Last question. Dairy Queen has a deep, dark secret - something they would rather that you - none of us - would know. What is it? A, their original name was Dairy Fairy; B, their ice cream isn't actually ice cream or C, the chain is wholly owned by the government of Iran?

(LAUGHTER)

BURBANK: He's operating at a slight disadvantage having never been to a Dairy Queen.

SAGAL: That's true.

MAY: I think B.

SAGAL: Yes. You're right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: It's true that their product - their frozen soft serve cannot be legally called ice cream because it doesn't have enough real cream in it.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bill, how did Brian May do on our quiz?

KURTIS: He is a champion.

POUNDSTONE: There we go.

(APPLAUSE)

KURTIS: Two out of three.

SAGAL: My friend, Brian May is an astrophysicist, guitar legend and one of the founders of the great rock bands of all time - that would be Queen. His new book, which is completely worth the hours you will spend staring at it - it's of stereoscopic photos he took. It's called "Queen In 3-D." It is out now. Brian May, what a joy to talk to you. Thank you so much for...

MAY: Thank you all.

SAGAL: Brian May.

(SOUNDBITE OF QUEEN SONG, "WE WILL ROCK YOU")

#Brian May #my guitar god love #aw this was cute #Dairy Queen .. the frozen can't-legally-be-called-ice-cream treat that no one outside the US has heard of #they do have a tasty chicken strip basket -- fried chicken tenders .. french fries .. Texas toast .. and a cup of white gravy #that's what the defibrillator is for #I love the way they kept calling him 'Brian May' #wait wait don't tell me #found this while googling something else and now I can't remember what I was originally looking for...???

[danceofthebloodypetals]

I went to the Anime Convention and here are some funny moments.

I also got Saint Seiya commissions which I will be showing shortly.

Apparently, I was the only one cosplaying as Kunikida which is not a surprise. What was a surprise is the amount of compliments I got. I mean I cosplay him in the past but never got this many compliments before. o.o It was nice.

XXX

We went to a Bungou Stray Dogs panel. They were talking about ships at first, listed all the ships except for Kunikida ships. My friend is like oh man I am sorry that Kunikida keeps getting forgotten by the fandom.

XXX

Brother: I am caught up to Bungou Stray Dogs. I know everything.

Panel: (talks about theories)

Brother: I don't know what is going on.

XXX

We also have Bungou Stray Dogs photoshoot. At first, they were doing every character, team, ship except for Kunikida which again is not surprising. I was so used Kunikida being forgotten. I was also the only Kunikida there so I felt shy. My friend want to suggest Dazai and Kunikida because she thought it would be hilarious to have all the Dazai gang up on one Kunikida. She kept talking about it very loudly, hoping the organizer would hear us but she didn't haha. It was only when the organizer decided to turn around and was very surprised to see me when I was there the whole time.

Organizer: OMG, Kunikida!

Me: (awkwardly waves) Hi.

She also realize that she forgot to include the Kunikida and Dazai duo team.

XXX

I as Kunikida have a photoshoot with all the Chuuyas. They had this idea that they would comfort Kunikda after the shit Dazai pulled which I agree to. And then one of the Chuuyas just pull a knife and gun out at me and I couldn't stop laughing, like how was I going to react to that? XD

XXX

I heard someone talking about Saint Seiya on Sunday while waiting for ice cream. I was in my Kunikida cosplay but where were you on Saturday when I was in my Sasha cosplay?!

There was another person who knew Saint Seiya (she is one of the artists I commission) I was so surprised and her response was that she was old. Lol, does that mean I am old too? XD

XXX

Also, my Sasha wig keep sliding off and nobody told me about it. T.T I even took a picture with my brother and my mom called me ugly. Like no shit, my wig is sliding off, why didn't anyone tell me?!

XXX

My friends and I were trying to find some laynards and this mysterious booth that my brother asked me to find. We couldn't find it but my friend and I were joking about how we were dummies for not finding this booth and how we share one brain cell.

[sourwolf-sterek32]

10 Things I Hate About You

Summary: Jason Carver cannot date Chrissy until her anti-social sister, Y/N, has a boyfriend. So, Jason pays Eddie Munson to charm her.

Or

Basically an Eddie Munson fic based on the movie 10 Things I Hate About You that nobody asked for.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: language, 

Previous Chapter

Chapter 7-

To say that Chrissy was happy you were going to prom was the understatement of the century. She was fucking thrilled.

You going to prom meant that she could go to prom and although your mother wasn't pleased, she didn't argue because rules were rules.

Chrissy had taken you out dress shopping the following afternoon at the Starcourt Mall. Shopping was not one of your most favourite things, but your sister somehow made it enjoyable.

The two of you went from store to store, trying on various dresses, all different styles and colours. You dropped by Scoops Ahoy for a break and your good mood increased even more when Chrissy ordered a strawberry ice-cream and ate it. You didn't make a big deal out of it, just smiled behind your own cookies and cream ice-cream.

Steve and Robin were happy to see you guys which was weird because you never really associated with them much, yet they were all smiley and cheerful when you walked in.

After the ice-cream break, you went back to the stores where your favourite dresses were and Chrissy ended up picking a form-fitting, strapless baby pink sequin dress. It suited her. It was absolutely stunning.

You, on the other hand chose literally the polar opposite and although you weren't sure about it, Chrissy had insisted that this dress was the one, so you bought it.

It was a simple black dress that faded into a deep blue down past your knees. The front of it exposed a little bit of cleavage, almost a bit more than you were comfortable with, but again, Chrissy insisted that you looked amazing and you trusted her judgment when it came to fashion. The back of the dress was fully enclosed which was a must have. You didn't even bother trying on anything that didn't cover your back and Chrissy knew that too and only picked out dresses that were enclosed.

One of your scars did peak out across the back of your left shoulder though, but Chrissy had promised she could cover it with makeup for you if you wanted to hide it and you loved her for that.

So after endless of hours spent shopping, the two of you finally climbed back into the Challenger and made your way home.

"Hey, so I was wondering if maybe..." Chrissy started to say before she reached forward and turned your music down before continuing. "If maybe you could drive me to prom? I mean, if you're driving this car to prom. Your date isn't like picking you up, is he?"

"I assumed Jason would pick you up?" You asked, glancing over at her in confusion.

Isn't that what most boyfriends did for prom? The guy would pick the girl up at her house, meet the parents and promise to drop her off at a reasonable hour... wasn't that what most people did?

"I might have already told him that you and I were driving in together."

"What are you going to do if I say that my date is picking me up and driving me instead?" You asked, still unsure why she would want to drive there with you. She hated you driving her to school most days, let alone prom.

"He's not is he? I assumed you would drive. Shit, what if-"

"Relax. I'm not making Eddie pick me up or anything romantic like that. I'm driving myself there." You reassured causing your sister to sigh with relief.

"Thank God because I really didn't want Jason to drive me up in his pickup. Do you know how dirty and messing that truck is on the inside? My dress would be ruined by simply opening the door."

So Carver sucked at driving his truck and also sucked at keeping it clean. What a surprise.

"My Dodge Challenger shits on Carvers truck anyway." You responded, patting the steering wheel. "I'll drive you to prom, don't worry."

"Thank you."

You gave her a small smile before focusing back on the road, but just as you reached to turn the music back up, she suddenly asked;

"Wait, wait, wait, did you say Eddie before? As in Eddie Munson? That's your date to prom?"

Your grip tightened on the wheel for a second before you forced yourself to relax and your grip loosened.

You and Chrissy had been getting along like actual sisters lately, you didn't want to get into a fight with her about this. A lot of people didn't like Eddie, but that was only because they judged him like a book cover by how he looked. Majority of the people that hated him had never even spoken to him before and you were pretty sure Chrissy fell in that category too.

You didn't want to fight about this because if she began saying anything mean about Eddie, you wouldn't be able to hold yourself back and-

"He's good for you." She continued to say, catching you completely off guard. "Ever since Steve Harrington's party... I saw Eddie drive you home. Ever since then, you've been different. A good different. You smile more, you know? You seem happier."

Well, that was not what you expected her to say and now you were speechless. Have you really been smiling more? Eddie did make you happy, but you were surprised that your sister had noticed that.

"Do you love him?" Chrissy suddenly asked.

"What? Love him? I've only known him for a few weeks... I don't... I, uh, I like him, I like him a lot and I guess...I guess, it would be easy to fall in love with him. He's so kind and caring and funny. And he gets me, you know? He's unlike anyone I've ever met and you're right, he makes me happy. He makes me really happy."

Chrissy smiled softly, "I wish I had someone who made me feel like that."

You frowned a little, but continued staring at the road as you drove. Did Jason not make her feel like that? Did he not make her happy?

"Jason... he's great, but..." She started to say like she knew what you were thinking, but trailed off deep in thought.

You flicked your blinker on and pulled over onto the side of the road because you felt like this conversation was not something you wanted to do while driving. You wanted to focus on Chrissy entirely, make sure she knew that you cared and was listening.

She sighed, glancing over at you with a small appreciative smile as you turned in your seat to face her fully.

"Talk to me, Chris." You said softly, using the childhood nickname you hadn't used for years.

That got her to smile again before she took a deep breath and started to talk.

"Jason is captain of the basketball team and I'm the head cheerleader, it's meant to be like this, right? High school sweethearts? But... I don't know if I want that. I mean, Jason... he used to be amazing. He still is. He loves me, I know he does, but..."

"You don't love him?" You asked quietly and Chrissy shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know if I do anymore."

A small part of you wanted to fist pump the air in joy hearing her say that. Jason was an asshole, but Chrissy cared about him and was still his girlfriend, so you remained quiet, waiting for her to continue.

"He treats me really good. He basically cherishes me and I love that, but... he's a bully. He might treat me like a queen, but he treats everyone who's not in our friend group like garbage. Especially you."

"Don't worry about me. I can handle Carvers shit." You hurriedly reassured, but Chrissy shook her head.

"But you shouldn't have to. He never used to be like this, but high school has changed him. He's rude and an asshole to so many people and I... I don't want to be around that. He loves me, he treats me right, but I don't think I love him anymore... like I-I still care about him, I think I always will, but... I don't know, I honestly don't know."

There were tears now shimmering in your sisters eyes and you had to bite back the real comments you wanted to say about Jason. You waited a moment before you spoke, wanting to get your words right and not let your anger for the jock overcome you.

"It's okay to fall out of love with someone." You eventually said. "It happens, people change and drift apart and sometimes that's nobody's fault. Yeah, Jason might treat you perfectly, but he is still a bully to others and you shouldn't have to deal with that if you don't want to."

"What do I do? I mean... shit, we have prom in a few days and then we graduate soon and-"

She was speaking rapidly, working herself up into a panic, so you grabbed her hands with your own and cut her off.

"Hey, hey, look at me."

Chrissy's teary eyes locked with yours and you squeezed her hands before continuing.

"You don't have to do anything straight away. Okay? You said that you don't know, right?" You asked and she nodded with a small sniff. "And that's perfectly okay. You don't have to decide right now what you want to do. If you want to go to prom with him, then go to prom with him and see how he makes you feel. Or if you don't want to go to prom with him, then don't. You don't owe him anything. I'll go to prom with you if it means you not having to go with someone you don't want to."

Chrissy smiled as a few tears trickled down her face, "do you think he will be better? Maybe he'll turn back into the nice guy he used to be?"

Doubtful.

But, you didn't say that out loud.

"Maybe. But, if he isn't then you do whatever you need to do, okay? Like I said, you don't owe him a goddamn thing and if he has a problem with that, then you come and find me, got it?"

Chrissy nodded, but she didn't say anything. Your hands were still holding yours but she was staring out the window, deep in thought before finally meeting your gaze.

"I... I don't think I want to go to prom with him. But, I can't show up to prom without a date though and I'm not letting you ditch Eddie for me."

"I wouldn't ditch, Eddie. You could just come with us." You suggested, but she instantly shook her head.

"And be your third wheel? No thanks."

Okay, that's fair.

"Look, Chrissy. You are one of the most popular girls in school. There would be tons of guys who'd want to go with you." You pointed out, but again she shook her head.

"But they'd all have dates already."

You thought for a moment before getting an idea, "Eddie's friend, Gareth, doesn't."

Chrissy's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Red flannel, fluffy hair, kinda cute? That Gareth?"

You smiled, "yeah, that's him. I can talk to Eddie and see if Gareth is interested?"

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. C'mon, we can drive to Eddie's place now and we can talk to him together." You said, letting go of her hands and turning back towards the steering wheel.

It didn't take long to reach the Trailer Park across town. Eddie had never told you his actual address, but you knew he lived at the Trailer Park, so how hard could it be to find?

Turned out, very hard.

The Trailer Park was a lot larger than you expected and after driving up and down every road in the park, you eventually spotted Eddie's familiar van. Chrissy seemed a little nervous as you climbed out the car, but you gave her a reassuring smile before walking up to the front door.

You knocked on the door, but it wasn't Eddie who answered. It was an older man and you found yourself tensing a little and standing up straight on instinct. This man looked nothing like your father, yet you could feel your heartbeat rising.

This must be his Uncle.

You put on a bright smile and held your hand out. "You must be Eddie's uncle. I'm Y/N, and that's my sister, Chrissy."

Wayne stared at you for a moment, his eyes flashing over to Chrissy before landing back on you and he extended his own hand and shook yours with a firm grip.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, dear. Eddie hasn't stopped talking about you for a good few weeks now." The man confessed causing your smile to turn genuine. "I was wondering when I'd get meet you. My nephew didn't mention you coming around tonight though."

"Oh, no, sorry. This is kinda a surprise visit. My sister and I need to talk to him about prom. Is that okay?" You asked, almost nervously.

"Of course, come inside. Eddie is just in the shower, but he'll be out soon." Wayne said, stepping to the side and motioning for the two of you to come in. "Make yourselves at home and excuse the mess, I haven't had a chance to clean after my shift."

You glanced over at Chrissy who was still looking a little nervous before you held your hand out towards her and she took it before you lead her inside. The trailer was small and a little cluttered, but it wasn't messy like Wayne had been insinuating. It was homey. It was kinda nice.

"Would you girls like something to eat or drink? I've got some iced tea in the fridge?"

You glanced over at Chrissy with a questioning look, but she shook her head and you turned back to Wayne.

"We're fine. Thank you though."

He nodded, but walked over to the kitchen anyway and began to pour himself a glass of iced tea while you and Chrissy sat down on the couch. There were reruns of The A-Team playing softly on the television which Chrissy was now watching, but you found yourself eyeing the photo frame on top of the tv cabinet of a very young Eddie holding a guitar.

Wayne must have seen you looking because he walked over with his glass in his hand and grabbed the photo from the cabinet before sitting down beside you.

"He just turned 10 in this picture. I saved for months to buy him the guitar and that smile was worth every penny." Wayne explained, looking down at the photo with a fond smile.

Eddie had told you that his uncle bought him his first guitar for his birthday and you figured this must be the guitar. He looked so happy, smiling brightly at the camera and holding up the guitar proudly. His hair was a lot shorter, almost like a buzz cut and was wearing a large jacket that you assumed was Wayne's because it was like a dress on the little kid. He looked adorable.

"He was such a cute kid." You commented.

"I-I got more photos if you'd like to see them?" Wayne suddenly asked and you nodded.

"I'd love to."

Wayne quickly got up and grabbed a photo album from the bookshelf across the room and within a few minutes you and Chrissy were going through the photos while Wayne explained each one.

You learnt a lot about Eddie by simply listening to his uncle talk and it was clear how much Wayne cared about him.

"This is one of the only ones I got of him as a baby." He said, pointing towards the small polaroid in the top corner of a very naked new born Eddie laying on a changing table. "He's not my biological son, but believe you me, he is my boy. He's a good kid and deserves better than some old fart like me."

"Don't say that. Eddie absolutely cherishes you, I can tell by the way he talks about you. You're everything to him and you have done a wonderful job raising him into a beautiful, kindhearted young man." You insisted, looking away from the photo to find Wayne now smiling at you. "He's lucky to have you."

"Nah, I'm the lucky one. That boy has changed my life, wouldn't know what I'd do without him here."

That caused you to smile softly. It was nice to know that Eddie's uncle was a good man after finding out that his father was in jail and his mother... well, Eddie had never told you and it wasn't any of your business either. She wasn't in the picture anymore, that was all you knew, but Wayne Munson seemed like a good man and a loving and proud uncle.

"Where's this photo from?" Chrissy asked, pointing at the last photo on the page.

It was of a young Eddie on a school stage. He had the same guitar that he was holding in the other photo, but he was standing with a few other kids too and it took you a moment for you to realise that those were his bandmates from Corroded Coffin. Holy shit, they all looked so young.

"Middle School talent show. First time his band performed in front of a crowd."

"I think I actually remember this-" Chrissy began to say before a door further down the trailer opened and you glanced up just as a very shirtless Eddie stepped out the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

Your jaw nearly dropped as you stared at him because holy fucking shit, he looked good. His hair was still dripping wet, water droplets trickled along his bare chest and falling down his lean but surprisingly muscular body.

"I may have accidentally used all the hot water and-" Eddie's voice died in his throat when he turned around and saw you and Chrissy on the couch beside his uncle. "Y/N? What are you doing here?"

"Well, currently looking at a very naked baby photo of little Edward Munson." You answered and grinned when his cheeks started to blush.

"Uncle Wayne!"

His uncle just laughed in amusement, "she wanted to see photos."

"That doesn't mean you had to show those kinds of photos, Jesus Christ." Eddie grumbled, rubbing his face with his hands trying to hide his smile.

"I'll put the album away, just go and get dressed, son." Wayne responded.

You watched as Eddie hurriedly walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind himself before his uncle reluctantly put the album back on the shelf. Within a couple of minutes, Eddie returned from his room wearing his usual outfit that he probably slept in because he never seemed to wear anything else, not that you were complaining. It looked good on him.

"I'll leave you kids to it." Wayne suddenly said, grabbing his packet of cigarettes off the bench before exiting the trailer.

Eddie walked over to the two of you and leant against the wall seeming a little unsure as to why you guys were here.

"Your uncle is really nice. And I'm sorry to show up unannounced." You apologised, but Eddie shook his head.

"It's okay. Just caught me off guard. I mean I have Y/N and Chrissy Cunningham sitting in my trailer, that was not something I expected to find when I came out the shower. And I do apologise for the baby photos."

"Don't be. You were a cute baby."

"Just what every guy wants to hear." He replied with a roll of his eyes. "What can I do for you ladies anyway? I mean, I'm assuming that's why you're both here... wait, you don't want any drugs do you?"

"No, no, no." You and Chrissy both said causing Eddie to relax.

"Oh thank God, because I don't like doing that with my uncle around. I'd rather him not know where the money I give him to help with bills actually comes from."

"Your secret is safe with us, right?" You said, glancing over at Chrissy.

She instantly nodded, "of course."

"Much appreciated. So, what can I help you fine ladies with?"

"Does Gareth have a date to prom yet?" You asked, getting straight to the point.

"Uh, no. No, he doesn't. Why?"

"Would he be interested in taking Chrissy to prom?"

Eddie's eyes widened in surprise as he looked between the two of you in shock before frantically nodding.

"Absolutely! I mean... okay, look, I didn't tell you this, but he's kinda had a crush on you since middle school." Eddie admitted, looking at your sister.

That got Chrissy smiling and she started to relax hearing that, "so he might say yes?"

"Might? He will definitely say yes."

Chrissy practically squealed with excitement. You weren't sure if she was excited to hear that Gareth would say yes or excited that she didn't have to go with Jason or maybe it was a mixture of both. Either way, she seemed happy and that was all you cared about.

You stood up from the couch and walked over to Eddie who pushed himself away from the wall just as you reached his side and kissed him.

"Thank you." You whispered against his lips.

Eddie smiled, kissing you again before pulling you into his chest, hugging you tightly.

"What happened to Jason?" He asked quietly, not wanting Chrissy to hear.

"He's an asshole and a bully and she doesn't want to deal with his shit anymore." You simply answered, pulling away from him.

Eddie had an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at the wall behind you, deep in thought before he looked back at you and simply nodded in understanding.

"Y/N, it's getting late. We should go home before mum gets angry." Chrissy called out from the couch.

Shit. Yeah, that was probably a good idea.

"Yeah, we should get going. Thank you again, Eddie. Seriously. Thank you." You said, looking back at him.

Eddie grinned, "anytime, Princess." He replied sincerely, kissing you again before you and Chrissy walked out his trailer.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr Munson." You said, spotting the older man sitting on a foldout chair outside.

"Pleasure was all mine, but please just call me, Wayne."

"Thank you, Wayne. Have a good night." You replied, smiling brightly at him before unlocking the car.

"You girls drive home safely." He called out, giving you a wave before you turned on the car and drove back home.

-

Next Chapter

#eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #joseph quinn #joseph quinn fanfiction

[justsome-di]

Nobody Ends Up Dead in a Bathtub, Everyone Keeps Their Organs: Chapter 18

Summary: Alex is an ordinary, highly-introverted office worker. He clocks in and out and goes home to his little apartment he shares with his younger sister. He hasn’t dated in years. Until his co-workers set him up on a blind date.

The only issue is he and his date are not on the same page. At all.

While Alex thinks it’s a normal date, Damián is under the impression Alex is a client who paid to be there. No-so-quickly, they realize something is up. It’s all a prank. Damián is a sex worker Alex’s co-workers hired as a sick joke.

After reassuring that they’re both okay, Alex decides he wants revenge for both him and Damián. The plan is to use the stigma of sex work and start a 6-week, scandalous fake dating scheme with a big finale at the office Halloween party. Alex’s co-workers will be too horrified to try to prank him again. At least, that’s the plan.

You can also read this on AO3, or Patreon  (patrons also get chapters a week early along with bonus content). If you’re enjoying the story and want to support me in other ways, consider dropping me a message in my inbox or reblogging this post!

“Can I steal a spoonful? I don’t have germs. I promise.”  

“Sure.”

Damián scraped Alex’s peach ice cream into the tip of his spoon. It was a lot better than he had expected. All his years eating ice cream, he had never once thought about trying peach. He didn’t think fruits and ice cream went together, but he stood corrected. It was sweet and a little tangy.

Ice cream was already an indulgence for him, and when he indulged, he went all out. He wanted chocolate. He wanted the most perceived-unhealthy item on the menu. It was a hard habit to break just like the occasional binge when he was in the middle of a fast.

It was just another obsession.

The peach was light on his tongue.

“That’s really good—ow. Ow. Fuck.”

He clamped his hands over his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. Pain shot up from his teeth and into his face.

“You okay?” Alex asked.

“My teeth are a little sensitive, and I bleached them right before I left the house which only makes them more sensitive. So, in hindsight, ice cream was a bad idea.”

Alex looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. Whatever it was, Damián was glad Alex didn’t say it. He rubbed his tongue over his teeth where his nerves shot pain through to his jaw. He had numbing gel in his cabinet at home. When he got in for the night, he could smear it on his teeth as was routine.

Damián slid his chocolate across the table to Alex. “Here, try mine.”

Alex took a modest scoop from Damián’s cup.

Damián should have felt guilty about eating ice cream without an accompanying binge, but he was more concerned about having a nice night with Alex. It was great how Alex so easily helped him enjoy food, replacing the majority of his worry about calories with joy about the moment.

“Do you really like soccer?” Alex asked. “Were you telling the truth tonight?”

Ah. Wasn’t it hard to tell when Damián slipped in little bits of his real life into his appointments? Even Damián lost track sometimes depending on how deep the facade went.

“Yeah!” Damián said. “Leo’s more into it than I am, but I’ll watch it with him. What about you? Do you like sports?”

“Not really.”

“That’s fair.”

“I used to play soccer, though.”

Damián tucked his chin into his hand. That was interesting. “When?”

“Fifth grade. I quit after a year. All the other boys started to grow, and I didn’t.”

“Aw. I was a late-bloomer, too.”

“I never bloomed. You can see me. I only reached five-six.”

“It’s okay. My little brother was taller than me by the time he was 16. It hurt. We both got our height from our mother, but I guess he got a little bit more of it.”

“We love a tall woman.”

Damián tapped his spoon against his cup.

“Sorry,” Alex said. “Maybe we don’t love a tall woman.”

Damián continued tapping his spoon. It was hard to talk about.

“Do you not get along with your parents?”

Persistent, wasn’t he? Why was Alex so invested in him?

Dropping his voice to a whisper and looking around him, Alex asked, “Are you out to them?”

Damián laughed. “Yup. I’m out.”

“And they didn’t…”

“They weren’t super okay with it. And they were especially not okay with the escorting thing.”

Alex grimaced. “That’s rough. I’m sorry.”

“What about you? Are you and Eve out to your parents?”

“Yeah. And they’re these liberal hippies, so they’re cool with it. I don’t think they totally understand it, but you take what you can get.”

“Don’t I know it.”

Damián’s parents had been loving and doting up until the moment they found out. He had made the mistake of meeting with the son of his parents’ friends for a party. The boy had paid him to be a date to a school gathering, and they slipped away later that night to hook up—no charge. What had happened was totally organic. Two deeply-closeted boys were eager for anything they could get. The fact that they both could have found each other attractive was enough to make up their minds.

Damián would have never fallen for him for real. He had bad teeth, and his personality was a bit dull. Damiàn couldn’t have really blamed him for either. But still, seeing his large front teeth and listening to him give boring anecdotes about his classes would have become a turn-off for Damián as he got older.

The boy’s parents caught them with Damián stuck in his ass.

Damián’s parents had been rather dramatic about it. His mother was inconsolable for a month. Which might have also been in part due to the fact that his father had had a heart attack as soon as it all happened. Damián wasn’t even allowed to hang around the house those days to make sure Leo was being fed or going to school. An aunt quietly told him that it would be for the best if he gave everyone space.

And that was it. Damián had spoken to his parents a handful of times since. 

He counted to three and left the conversation behind.

“So,” Damián said. He leaned back in his chair and twirled his spoon around. “We’re doing this revenge scheme for both us and Martin now, right? He seems nice enough. We need to fuck with the others on his behalf, too?”

“Yes.”

"Good.”

Alex rubbed his palms against his jeans, a nervous habit Damián had easily picked up on. He tilted his head to get a better look. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m nervous about how this is going to come off,” Alex said. “Trying to trick people.”

“We just tricked a whole room of people.”

“I know, but what about a whole party?”

Damián shrugged. “Just act like you would act with any other partner. I always tell my clients it works best if you pretend like it’s all real. Just think about your last partner.”

Alex wiggled in his chair and looked out the window. The sidewalk was flooded with people.

“I’ve never—“ Alex sighed and rolled his head back to Damián, his face red. “I’ve never really dated anyone.”

“Oh.”

Damián wasn’t aware of that.

“Yeah. It’s never really been my choice, either.”

Damián couldn’t believe that someone like Alex had ever had trouble finding a date. Once past his awkwardness, Alex was very attractive and caring.

He stopped himself from thinking about that any further. While the line between client and friend could be blurred easily, the line between client and partner wasn’t as easily, ethically disrupted.

“Well,” Damián said, “that’s everyone else’s loss.”

Alex kept his head tucked down. His ice cream was melting into a pool of peach around the edges of a solid iceberg. His spoon sunk low into his cup.

“Really,” Damián continued. “This entire time, I’ve expected you’ve had plenty of experience.”

“Getting set up on a humiliating date as a prank should have been your first clue that I don’t get much attention in that area.”

“I’m sure you’ve had some people have tried dating you. You must have just been blind to it because there’s no way someone like you hasn’t had dozens of admirers.”

Alex cringed. “No, I’m not all that special.”

“Don’t say that!” Damián didn’t mean to shout it, but he wouldn’t let Alex put himself down any further. “Don’t say that. You’re a good guy, Alex.”

Alex had a sort of sheepish look. He looked up at Damián with the face of a lost puppy. Damián wanted to go on and say all the things he thought about Alex—how he thought Alex was legitimately handsome with his dumpling face and his kind eyes and how Damián enjoyed all the time they were spending together.

“But I’m nothing like you,” Alex said.

“And? I haven’t had people knocking on my door, either.”

Alex started to say something, but he cut himself off. He looked almost angry that Damián had contradicted him.

“I’ve only ever dated a few people. Actually dated,” Damián said. “I didn’t date in high school because of the whole in-the-closet thing.”

“That’s funny. I only dated in high school.”

Damián raised his hand, palm up. “Um, hold on. You just said you’ve never dated anyone.”

“Well, it doesn’t count, but it was the closest I’ve ever gotten. I went on a single date, and it was traumatizing.”

Alex told Damián all about Mary Ellen and her slushie and how their date had ended so terribly. Damián winced for him and told him that it was okay. Teenagers were scary and had no emotional regulation. Nothing about them made all that much sense. Alex had just caught in the crossfire of whatever else was going on with her.

“The last guy I dated,” Damián said with a little pang in his chest he was learning to forget, “was a real piece of work. I thought I had hit the jackpot with him because he was another sex worker. So, I thought, of course he understands me. There was no need to explain anything. But there were so many things about him that were just—they should have all been red flags, but I ignored them.”

Alex’s brows were furrowed and tense. “Like what?”

“He was a little too involved in knowing where I was all the time. It was a little weird. Obviously, he understood I was all over the place for work, but if I wasn’t meeting with a client, he wanted to know where I was, who I was with, all that shit. And to an extent, I understood. He said he wanted to make sure I was safe because I made him watch a bunch of true crime documentaries, but he—okay, you know what? Maybe that was partially my fault. Oh my God, wait, was I the problem?”

“No,” Alex said. “You can be paranoid without being controlling.”

“I don’t know if he wanted to control me, but he was clingy like that. The final straw was when he didn’t want Leo moving in with me.”

“Wait, what?”

“I don’t know! He was so upset about it. He said if Leo moved in, it would set us back from finding a place together.”

“How long did you guys date?”

“We had been together for a couple of years already. But obviously, I’m going to choose my brother over some guy.”

Damián fished out his phone. He didn’t know why he felt compelled to show Alex proof of Christian, but he pulled up the one picture he knew was still posted to Christian’s Instagram, buried deep beneath selfies and a new man.

“He was super hot.” Damián showed Alex the picture. He and Christian were snuggled up together outside a theater, smiling and wearing matching beanies. Christian was handsome as ever, strong jaw and beautiful brown eyes. His hair which was usually wrapped in man-bun was let down around his shoulders. A mutual friend had taken it on the eve before their first anniversary. “So maybe that was why I ignored all the red flags.”

“Eh.” Alex shrugged. “He’s okay. You could do better.”

Damián laughed. It was the absolute opposite of what others had told him after they split up. Damián couldn’t do better, his friends said, than the hot man who had money and a sense of humor. Christian had got him high-paying, returning clients. They told him using Leo was a petty reason to break up with him. Funny enough, Damián didn’t see much of any of those friends after the split.

“Honestly, he was a little dumb, too,” Damián said.

“Well, you can’t be with someone who’s dumb. Looks can only make up for so much.”

Damián pressed the curve of his spoon into his ice cream, pushing an imprint into the top of the remaining mound. He stabbed through it and left his spoon standing up.

He didn’t miss Christian anymore. He had for a long time, but he had since gotten over it. Christian was in his past, and he could no longer remember how Christian felt laying in bed next to him or how his hips felt under his hands.

Looking across the table at Alex and wanting so desperately to say something more to him, Damián knew for sure that Christian was best left behind him.

“Anyway, enough about my ex,” Damián said, “I think we’ll be okay at the party. We have a coworker of yours who’s totally convinced, and that’ll help us.”

“Are we gaslighting people?”

“No. No, it’s more like outright lying.”

“Okay. That’s more ethical.”

“I think so.”

Alex looked at his sad, melted cup of ice cream. He yawned, and his face scrunched up like a kitten’s. Damián told himself that he had to chill.

Damián called a car for them and let it drop Alex off at his apartment first.

“Thanks for coming with me tonight,” Alex said as they were turning onto his street.

“I have never had so much fun playing Trivial Pursuit.”

They came to a stop. The driver swiped through a few songs on his phone until he landed on something with a heavy bass.

“I’ll see you Monday,” Damián said.

And, completely unlike him, Alex reached across the seats and squeezed Damián’s hand. He did it quickly and a bit weakly before sliding out of the car. But Damián still felt it all the way home and all the way up to his floor.

He dug for his key in his jacket pocket but instead of shoving it into the lock, he stopped and let his head fall into the door with a thud.

His relationship with Alex confused him. They were probably definitely friends by now, but he could tell it was hurling towards more.

“Did you get locked out?”

Damián straightened up and spun around. Danny stood outside his own door across the hall, giving Damián the same annoyed look that he always did. Danny never seemed happy—especially when it came to Damián. They were complete opposites. While Damián was pretty happy-go-lucky and generally cheery, Danny always looked one second away from snapping at anyone around him. They were both smart, though, and Damián thought that there was some mutual respect in that.

Damián loved him. They had been neighbors for years, and Damián had adored him from the first time he set eyes on his thinning hair and grouchy brow.

“No,” Damián said. “I’m not locked out.”

“Are you just being dramatic?” Danny asked.

“Yes.”

Danny sighed and shoved his key in his door. “Are you okay?”

“No.”

“Is it life or death?”

“No.”

“I’m going to regret asking you this, but do you want to come in for a drink?”

Damián, social butterfly that he was, didn’t even give a verbal answer and simply twirled around and followed Danny into his apartment. He loved every chance he got to step into Danny’s apartment. It was sophisticated with full bookshelves and sleek, dark countertops. It was slightly bigger than Damián’s, or it at least felt like that since Danny didn’t have a roommate.

The overhead, hanging lights reflected off the black counter Damián took a seat at. Danny didn’t turn on many lights which gave the whole place a dramatic air. Like an interrogation room on a TV show.

Danny pulled out a bottle of whiskey from his cabinet and two matching tumbler glasses. Damián was very impressed that he had matching glasses for his alcohol.

“What happened?” Danny asked.

Damián had never told Danny about being a sex worker, but he was sure that Danny knew. There were a few times when they had run into each other in the hall, Danny on his way to work and Damián on his way home, still dressed and exhausted. Danny would ask if he was okay, quiet, his usual crass demeanor dropping for just a brief moment.

“There’s a guy,” Damián said, “I think I’m falling for him?”

Danny glared. “Is that it? Do you think that’s worthy of a drink?”

“Yes?”

Danny shoved the glass at him. Damián was never that great at telling the value of alcohols, but he knew that Danny had high-quality liquor. It wasn’t watery and sugary like the whiskey he and Leo bought.

Damián coughed. Danny’s whiskey stung his throat and stomach before it settled down to a comfortable heat.

“If you throw up in my apartment, I’m kicking you out.” Danny sat down across from Damián. There was a waft of cigarette smoke that came from his clothes. Damián wanted to smoke really bad. “Don’t you have real problems in your life?”

“I do. And this is one of them. If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate your sage advice as an older gay. Don’t you want the younger generation to thrive?”

“Don’t try guilting me with that bullshit,” Danny said. He took a sip of his whiskey.

Fine. Why do you think you’re falling in love with this guy? And don’t you fall in love with everything? You see a pigeon, and you’re starstruck.”

“Pigeons are unique creatures. They have a long, loving history with humans, and—“

“I don’t care. They’re flying rats.”

“Rats have been wrongly vilified for centuries. They can actually be sweet, and they’re quite social.”

“If you don’t tell me about this boy in the next 30 seconds I’m going to grab your scrawny ass—“

“His name is Alex.”

Danny nodded. “How’d you two meet?”

The whole thing would have been easier if Damián could tell Danny everything.

“It’s complicated,” Damián said. “But we’re supposed to be totally platonic—I guess. We’re doing a work thing together, I caught feelings, and now we’re seeing each other more, and everything is complicated.”

“Why does it matter how you feel?”

“It makes things messy.”

“Messy how?”

“It just does.”

“That’s not a reason. Does he like you back?”

“He might?”

“I can’t see the issue beyond you just being fussy.”

“It makes things,” Damián waved his hands around, “complicated.”

“You’re old enough to know that any relationship is complicated.”

Danny did have a point. His relationship with Christian was complicated for reasons beyond the control thing. His relationships before Christian were full of messy schedules and distance that didn’t work out. One boy, unfortunately, ended up being a Republican, which shook Damián up so much that he ended things via text and blocked his number.

Alex was a different type of complicated, though. Damián had never pursued a client. He had also never totally befriended a client before, either. The closest he had ever gotten was Diego. 

“Act on your feelings if you’re serious about this,” Danny said. “It’s that simple.”

“Simple?”

“You’re overthinking things. You’ll have to get over this whole ‘it’s complicated’ thing like you’re a teenager and move on. Either suck it up and be alone or tell him.”

“Ugh. But that’s work.”

“It’s not that hard, Damián.”

“Uh-huh. And how’s your romantic life going, Danny?”

Danny huffed. “We’re not talking about that.”

“You know,” Damián ran his fingers around the edge of his glass. “Mr. Marcel downstairs is pretty handsome.”

“He’s 70.”

“And he retired well. You could be a sugar baby.”

“No—shut up. Tell Alan how you feel and move on. There’s no point in getting so worked up over a crush. You’re 30.”

He was spot on. There was no way of knowing how things would go unless Damián pursued something. But also—

“His name is Alex.”

“I do not care what his name is.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Finish your drink.”

Damián sipped at his drink until it was all gone, and his belly was warm, and his head felt clearer but a little light. He hadn’t eaten enough that day to be drinking.

“Go home.”

Danny often spoke in demands.

Damián got to his feet, let himself adjust to a new position and walked towards the door. Right next to his front door, Danny had hung an oil painting of two naked men embracing, their penises totally visible and erect.

Damián like to look at it every time he was invited inside. He loved the finer details of it. The men’s expressions were so tender. Their brows were delicate. A dab of pink gave them faint blushes along their cheeks. There were things about them—messy hair and a little roll around one of their hips—that Damián appreciate the artist for including.

It was a beauty Damián coveted. He wanted beauty like than more than anything on Earth.

Danny was right. He had to say something. He had to make a move.

#nobody ends up dead in a bathtub #nobody ends up dead #writeblr #writblr #writing community #original writing #queer

[cinnamon-notes]

[cinnamon's diary, may 11th]: closest thing to michelle pfeiffer that you've ever seen

I went out with the girls and the ladies. We had cold cold beers, hotter-than-kristen-stewart pizza, ice cream, and more deadly-cold beer. Unfortunately for my stomach, in that exact order. (I really envy their stomaches! I mean- there were girls in their 30s, ladies in their 50s, BUT ALSO LADIES IN THEIR 60s!!!!!! I WILL NEVER BE THEM WHEN I GET OLD!!!!!!)

A lady from our floor but different hallway joined us, too. She has such a pretty name, I'd never met anyone with that name before. She kept staring at me the whole walk to the restaurant. And when she eventually decided to approach me, she kept staring at my chest while she was talking to me. Until she went silent. And her stare kept going up and down from my eyes to my chest. Until she decided to lean in and grab my necklace. I would've normally hated it. But she did it in a very gentle and interesting way that just got me wondering why she'd done that. She kept rubbing the pendant of my necklace and I was standing there a little bit embarrassed. And then out of the blue she let it go, looked back at me, and went all, "You're such an artsy person. I like you," AND THAT WAS IT. She never talked to me again!!! Until we ended up sitting next to each other at the table. That's when she asked for my name. I felt like I was Therese Belivet. You know that scene when Carol talks about Therese's name? It felt the same. Now, my name isn't exactly the most common name ever. Plus, it's spelled in a weird way. But hers isn't the most common and easily-spelled name, either! Yet, we had that moment and it did end with her saying, "[redacted], what a lovely name, what a strange girl you are"!!!! It was somewhat creepy because it felt like we were actually reenacting the movie!!!!

In the middle of our dinner, she put her silverware down and said, "Alright, don't think. What's your favorite food?" And I told her. And I saw her trying to hide while writing it in her note app. And I thought it was cute. Then she asked if I like wine. I told her I do. She asked what my favorite wine is. And after telling her, I spotted her note it, too. And I remember thinking it was weird, but I remember feeling wanted. I thought it was weird because she was literally taking notes about my tastes, I felt wanted because after all it was cute. From where I was sitting, I could see, "Likes pumpkin. Definitely red wine. Beer is bad but it's not to be avoided completely". And I did feel like I was a textbook she would've soon been tested on, but I also felt this warmth in my chest that made me trust her personality a little bit.

And she's easily one of the most iconic ladies I've ever met. She'd ramble over and over about the things that people find annoying, and how the fact that people are annoyed by them makes her wanna do them even more, just to annoy people. And I thought it was odd for an old lady, but I also thought it was great! That's what makes her iconic! She's sparkly. I like that. I wanna be that young when I get that old!

Then there's another woman I got to talk to, too. She is indeed the closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that I've ever seen, but she's also so Jennifer Aniston coded (aka she's got the same eyeglasses) and Lorelai Gilmore coded (aka her coffee addiction gets along all too well with mine). She's my mother's age. We were half drunk on beers and we kind of isolated ourselves from the other girls when we went for a group walk. We started talking, completely random stuff, and we ended up telling each other some huge things. And I knew I was going to be safe when she asked me what's my favorite music to listen to. You ALWAYS trust a person who asks you about your music taste!!!! Anyway, she's like that Pippi Longstocking quote that says, "I'm the sea and nobody owns me". Because she's lived in many places all over the world, and I thought it was beautiful. You always trust a vagabond, a wanderer, too.

As we were walking around town, I showed her some of my favorite spots, and she was particularly interested in one of them. So I suggested I take her there, and she was excited at the idea. Then I randomly suggested Sunday morning, just because it was literally the morning after, and I sensed her getting incredibly tense. And I looked weirdly at her, and she looked sadly at me. And she stopped walking. And I stopped walking. And she looked at me and said, "tomorrow's my father's death anniversary. No matter in which part of the world I am, I always have to be alone and quiet in a place of worship on May 12th. I'm going to church tomorrow morning". And the conversation about her father's death led to a conversation about mortality, which led to a conversation about loneliness, which led to the "I love my time and my space, but I also love loving people" conversation. And it was really comforting to have this kind of talk with a person in her 50s. I mean- it was disturbing because it kinda scared me to realize you'll never have things figured out. The whole "you'll figure it out when you grow up" is a huge bullshit they feed us. But it was also comforting because it's okay. Because you're actually not supposed to have those things figured out. You're supposed to live each day and to figure out little parts of it every day. You're not supposed to have a book to read and follow. You're not supposed to know and settle for what they told you you'll be. You're not even supposed to drive yourself crazy trying to find yourself. You're just supposed to live, learn about yourself, learn about the world, and create yourself in those discoveries. And I find it calming. For the first time in my life, I've found it calming not to have it all figured out, and I've found some sort of comfort in knowing that I will never do. Because yeah it leaves me with nothing, but it also leaves me with everything. I don't know how else to explain that. But I'm calm and comforted by it. I'm feeling comfortably lost.

There's time for everything. Right now is not the right time for what you can't grab. If you can't get a hold of it now, it's probably because you're not supposed to. It'll come, eventually. If it's supposed to stay with you, it'll come. Be patient. Trust the universe. Have faith. Worship nature.

#cinnamonastery #cinnamon diary

[stranger-marauders]

repaired

fifteen: russian interrogation

chapter summary: Dustin, Kate, and Erica plan to rescue Steve and Robin from the Russians.

chapter warnings: language, canon-typical violence, relationship issues

word count: 3.4k

series masterlist | masterlist

STEVE THOUGHT THE days where he got the shit beaten out of him were over. He realized, as he got the shit beaten out of him once again, this time by a Russian guard, that they were far from being over.

He groaned as one of the Russian guards in the room punched him in the face again. He spat more blood on the floor. "That one stung."

"Who do you work for?"

"For the millionth time, I work at Scoops Ahoy!" he shouted. "Scoops Ahoy..." He groaned again as the same guard punched him in the chest and he wheezed for air—he felt like he was going to die. "What the hell! Look at my outfit! You think I just wear this! Think I'm a spy in a sailor's uniform!"

The guard punched him again, cutting off his rambling, and he groaned in pain in response.

"How did you get in?"

"I already told you. I told you before." As he spoke, he struggled to breathe, gasping for air. "My delivery didn't come, and my friends and I, we thought that it was left at the loading dock, so we went in the room, and then it... turned into an elevator, and then... and then we dropped and then, next thing we know, I open my eyes, and-and we're in this... wonderful facility." He only hoped that his compliment to the establishment would prevent him from being punched again. "But I swear to God, nobody knows about us, nobody saw us. You could just let us go, all right? And I'm not gonna tell anybody about this, okay? Shit happens, life goes on. And, uh... ice-ice cream. Ice cream, okay? You guys know what ice cream is. Everybody loves ice cream. I don't know if you have Russian ice cream or if that's considered gelato, I don't know what's what, but whatever you guys want, seriously. USS Butterscotch, I mean, you gotta try it. It is out of this world, I'm telling ya!"

Steve only stared in fear as the two soldiers laughed at him. He laughed nervously with them, hoping they thought he was funny enough to not get punched again. Dustin and Kate had been right in saying that Jonathan and Billy had both beaten the shit out of him, but at least he could try to fight back.

He only hoped that Kate and the kids had gotten out okay, or at least they were close to it. They were his and Robin's only chance at survival, more specifically Kate. He almost wished he wouldn't have called Robin with him, that it would've just been him holding that door, but he knew that the group wouldn't have made it without Robin staying behind. At least Kate had made it out with the kids: one of them had to. Besides, Kate had more resources than all of them combined (of course, she realistically only had one source, and that one source was just her father, but he had more resources than everyone in Hawkins, and that had to count for something).

"I like this guy!" the main guard said, the one who'd been asking questions instead of punching him. "USS... Butterscotch."

Once they'd both stopped laughing, the guards had gotten closer to Steve's face, asking him the same question again. "Who do you work for?"

"Oh, come on. No, no! No, seriously—" This time, however, when the guard had punched him, it had knocked Steve out cold. He had been unconscious for long enough for the guards to drag him into another room. Robin had also been taken to the same room, but Robin was still conscious, wasn't covered in her own blood.

"Get your hands off of me!" she shouted as they threw her on the floor next to Steve. Once she'd noticed the boy knocked out on the floor, she tried anything to wake him up. He almost seemed... dead. "Hey, Steve? Steve? Steve! She kept calling his name until the main guard had come into the room. "What did you do to him? What did you do!"

The man slapped her in the face, sending her back to the ground. The man mumbled something in Russian, and the guards started to pull her and Steve into chairs, tying them together back-to-back. "Don't touch me! Steve, wake up. Steve? What did you do!"

The guard picked up Steve's low-hanging head to find his face covered in blood, his eye swollen. He only clicked his tongue.

"Don't touch him."

"I think your friend needs a doctor," he said.

Robin only stared at the man in disgust.

"Good thing... we have the very best."

The soldiers only laughed in response, and Robin spit on his face. Once he'd wiped it, he stared threateningly at her. "You're going to regret that, suka."

When they'd started to leave, Robin only yelled at them. "Bastards. Let us outta here! Bastards! Let us out! Let us out!"

She didn't stop when they'd left the room, continuing to call as she hoped that her and Steve would be able to leave the room again.

When Kate, Dustin, and Erica seemed to have reached the end of the vent, they peeked their heads out of the hole in the ground, finding that they'd come to an empty room with the green acid in large tanks.

Dustin had turned his head, finding something they could use for their rescue mission almost immediately: a red cart. "Jackpot."

"Do you even know how to drive?" Erica asked.

"How hard can it be? Max did it."

"Hell no, I'm not going through that again. I'm driving," Kate said, giving him a pointed look.

"No, you need to be on lookout," Dustin said. "If anything happens, you're the only one with any type of combat training."

"With what, exactly? I don't see any guns or... or anything."

"We'll find one."

Kate shook her head. "I shouldn't have wasted the damn bullets on those guards. I... I wasn't even thinking about getting more bullets, I just thought of the keycard. I mean, where are we even gonna find ammo?"

"We'll find something, okay? Besides, I'm pretty sure you could take out a guard, too. If he can do it—"

"Okay, just because Hopper is my dad doesn't mean I'm this, like, badass or anything," Kate said, scoffing. "I'm not Rambo."

"I mean, you're better than either of us," Dustin replied.

Kate pressed her lips together, eventually caving with a sigh. He wasn't wrong about that.

Before Dustin could say anything else, he looked down into the cart. "Aw, come on."

"What?"

"The keys are gone."

She gave him a confused look. "You seriously thought that they would just leave the keys in there?"

"There's gotta be a spare."

Kate looked away from Dustin as he searched for a spare set of keys to the cart, letting her eyes wander until she found Erica stopped in front of a giant cage.

"Hey, how big did you say that Demogorgon was?"

"Big," Kate said, staring at the cage with wide eyes. "About nine feet or so."

"Why?" Dustin asked, not looking up.

The cage was much too big for a human. She didn't want to think about it, never mind say it—she hadn't explored the thought anymore before Dustin had found the keys. "Found 'em."

Erica, however, was nowhere in sight.

"Erica?"

She came up behind them, holding a weapon that had a glowing blue tip in hand. Both of them jumped as it seemed to pulse.

"What the hell is that!" Dustin shouted.

"A deadly weapon," Erica explained. "Could be useful."

"For what?"

"What do you think?" Erica asked. "Taking down Commies, saving your friends."

Kate took the weapon from Erica, investigating it as Dustin said, "Thought you were more realistic than that, nerd."

"This'll do," Kate said simply, nodding once as she walked off with Erica to get into the cart.

"We don't even know where they are, and even if we did, there are a million guards up there with weapons way deadlier than that. The best thing we can do for them is to get out of here and find help," Dustin said before turning to Kate. "Easy with that."

She hadn't even realized she'd carelessly pointed it in his direction: if her father were there, he would have already yelled at her for being careless with such a weapon.

"Our chance of surviving, and theirs, rises substantially. Just trust me on this. Both of you. Please?"

Neither of them, even if they thought differently, had any choice to do otherwise as the boy drove off in the cart.

Robin had no idea how long she'd been calling for help, but it had felt like forever. After a while of her calling, Steve had finally woken up again.

"Hey, would you stop yelling...?"

"Steve! Oh my God!" Robin exclaimed. "Steve. A-Are you okay?"

His head was still drooped down, his voice groggy. "My ears are ringing, and I can't really breathe, my eye feels like it's about to pop out of my skull, but, you know, apart from that, I'm doing pretty good."

"Well, the good news is that they're calling you a doctor," Robin said. She chucked—she could only imagine what was going to happen with that.

Steve looked around. "Is this his place work? I love the vibe. Charming."

Robin chuckled. "Yeah, tell me about it. So, okay, do you see that table over there to your right." He looked to his left. "No, your other right."

"Oh," Steve said, turning to where Robin was looking.

"Yeah, okay. And do you see those scissors?"

"Uh-huh," he said softly.

"Yeah, well, I think that if we move at the same time, we could get over there, and then maybe I could kick the table and knock them into your lap."

"And I could cut the binds."

"Yeah, and we could get out of here," Robin said hopefully.

"Gotcha. Okay, yeah, we can do that. Those morons. They left scissors in here?"

"Yeah, morons," Robin said, laughing.

"Total morons."

"Okay, so, on the count of three, we're gonna hop."

Steve nodded. "Okay, good, hop on three. I gotcha."

"All right. One, two, three."

They moved closer to the table.

"Okay, that worked," Robin said. "All right. Uh, let's try again."

"Right."

The two counted down together: "One, two, three."

They got even closer to the table.

"Holy shit, this is gonna work!"

"We're close. Ready?"

The two counted down together one last time: "One, two, three."

Instead of moving even closer to the table, though, they both landed on the floor, hitting their heads on the cold tile.

Steve immediately realized that his headache had been manageable before, because the second his head banged against the tile, the pain had doubled from the impact. He heard something from Robin, something that sounded like crying. "It's okay, it's okay. Don't cry. Robin." Whenever he could hear her more clearly, whenever the ringing had reduced, he realized she wasn't crying—she was giggling. "Are you laughing?"

"Yeah," she said, barely able to get out a word.

"Jesus...," he murmured.

"I'm sorry!" she said, still laughing. "I'm so sorry. It's just... I can't believe... I'm gonna die in a secret Russian base with Steve 'The Hair' Harrington. It's just too trippy, man."

"We're not gonna die," Steve replied. He tried to convince himself that this wouldn't be the end for them. He didn't even want to imagine it—not only would he be dying in that uniform, but he would never see Kate again. "We're gonna get out of here, okay? Just—You gotta let me think for a second."

"Do you remember, um... Mrs. Click's sophomore history class?"

"What?"

"Mrs. Clickity-Clackity," she said. "That's what us band dweebs called her."

Steve sighed. He had no idea what she was talking about or why she was bringing it up now of all times, especially when all he wanted to do was to try to come up with a plan to get out of there.

"It was first period, Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you were always late. And you always had the same breakfast. Bacon, egg, and cheese on a sesame bagel. I sat behind you two days a week for a year. Mister Funny. Mister Cool. The King of Hawkins High himself. Do you even remember me from that class?"

Steve couldn't even begin to answer the question.

He remembered that class vividly the more he thought about it. Steve wasn't late because he had arrived late to school, but because he'd been screwing girls in the bathroom before first period (that had been the start to his royal highness—while he had only been a sophomore, girls still wanted him because of his spot on the basketball and swim teams). Steve and Kate were never late to school; he knew his girl better than that. She never would have allowed them to be late under any circumstances, especially not every day. He even remembered that Kate wasn't in that class because the girl had decided to take the sophomore history class her freshman year, leaving him alone in the sophomore class while she took the junior one when they were sophomores. Kate was ahead in a lot of her classes, which was why she ended up being valedictorian. He figured Robin must've done the same thing as her: she was a rising senior.

"Of course you don't," she said, almost inaudible. "You were a real asshole, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know," he replied.

"But it didn't even matter. It didn't matter that you were an ass. I was still... obsessed with you. Even though all of us losers pretend to be above it all, we still just wanna be popular, accepted... normal."

"If it makes you feel any better, having all those things isn't all that great," Steve replied. "Seriously." He sighed. "I mean, really. Kate and I... we didn't talk for a long time because of how I acted back then."

"Oh yeah? I remember that," Robin said, overexaggerating the next part. "That was the talk of Hawkins High." Whenever they'd both laughed once or twice, Robin shook her head. "Seriously though, even her. I remember anyone would look at her, but like, even then, she was still looking at you. You had it all, Harrington, and... and that was something I wanted for a long time. Being normal like that sounds great."

"Yeah," Steve replied, chuckling. "It just baffles me. Everything that people tell you is important, everything that people say you should care about, it's all just—" he stopped to chuckle again— "bullshit. But I guess you gotta mess up to figure things out, right?"

"I hope so," Robin said. "I feel like my whole life has been... one big error."

Steve chuckled. He knew someone else who would agree with her. "Yep."

"At least it can't get any more messed up than this."

"Kate, she... she's gonna fix this. She's gonna get help, okay?"

Robin chuckled. "If they make it out. Did you see her face?"

He sighed. "Yeah, I did."

Of course Steve had seen her face. Every time he thought about her now, all he could see was the horror of her abandoning him spreading her face. He couldn't see her smile, hear her laugh, see her happy. With everything that had happened that day, in between the fight and the getting beaten senseless, he couldn't see her at all. Not the way he wanted to. Her look of horror was etched into his mind. He couldn't let that be the last time he saw her. He wouldn't let it be.

"So last night, you guys... the argument you had, was it really... as bad as it sounded?"

He hesitated. "You heard all of that?"

"Uh, yeah," Robin said, almost not believing him. "You were both very loud and upset. I'm surprised the children didn't wake up."

Steve sighed. "Yeah, I'm... I'm sorry about that, okay? I just... It was stupid. We were talking about her going away, and she was upset she was leaving. I mean, why is she upset? She's the one leaving. She could've picked somewhere way closer and it wouldn't be a problem."

Robin stifled a laugh. "You're such a dingus sometimes."

He thought he'd misheard her. "What?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Robin asked. "She's upset because she's leaving you, dingus. She's obviously horrified something's going to happen when she leaves. I don't really think I can blame her. With everything you guys have obviously gone through, it... it makes sense." She paused. "You're allowed to be upset, too, though. She could've picked something closer, and it sucks she didn't, especially for you and her family. Maybe if you guys, I don't know, talked about it, this wouldn't have happened." She paused. "I mean, I think you could still fix it."

He grimaced. "Kate and I talk—"

"I've been around you guys all summer. There hasn't been one time before today that you guys weren't still in the honeymoon phase. It's because you guys literally do not talk about anything that matters, and before you ask, no, I'm not talking the world ending once a year, I mean serious shit. Serious relationship talk, I mean. Things like going away, like what the future looks like for you both. I know it's hard, Steve, but you have to try."

Even if he didn't talk about it, Steve thought about their future a lot. He'd started thinking about it much more now that they were graduated, since he actually had to think about adult things like getting a job, eventually moving out, turning twenty in a little over a year. He didn't bring it up to Kate just because she hadn't ever brought it up, what the future looked like.

He knew he wanted to marry her. If he knew the thought wouldn't freak her out right now, he would've talked to her dad about it, asked him if he was allowed to marry her. Kate Hopper was the real deal for him, and he didn't see what was the point in waiting for something he knew was going to happen. He wanted to marry her, have kids with her, spend the rest of his life with her. If he couldn't have that, then he didn't want anything at all.

He wasn't going to tell Robin that, though.

Steve shrugged. "Yeah, that'd be easy if she didn't shut me out all the time."

"Don't let her," Robin countered. "I know that's scary, and trust me, I know she's absolutely horrifying to talk to sometimes, but she's just a person. Even if she doesn't seem like it, she has emotions. She wouldn't care about you so much if she didn't, and I know she cares a lot." Whenever he didn't say anything, she sighed. "Just... talk to her for my sake? You being mopey is annoying."

Before Steve could reply, the door had opened again, and a few Russian guards made their way over to the pair on the floor. The main guard chuckled, standing where the two could see them. "Where were you two going?"

A couple of Russian guards sat the two back upright in the chair as a man in the corner, who surprisingly looked even eviler and more intimidating than the guards, prepared something for them.

The main guard got into Steve's face as he spoke. "Try telling the truth this time, yes? It will make your visit with Dr. Zharkov less painful."

As the doctor approached Steve with a mechanism of some type filled with a blue liquid, his heart started to race as he rambled. "Wait a second. Wait. Hold on. Okay! Wait, wait, wait! What is that thing!"

"It will help you talk," the doctor replied.

As the doctor tilted Steve's head back, the boy continued shouting. "Did you even clean that thing!" He only screamed as the needle went into his skin, the blue liquid making its way into his bloodstream.

next chapter

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#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x hopper!reader #stranger things 3 #steve harrington headcanon #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington series #steve harrington stranger things

[ghastlybin]

My skz concert experience that nobody asked for.

I just want a place to detail my memories while some are still fresh in my mind. Lol.

March 27, 2023.

First off, it was raining when we were going inside, hella stairs, was about to (and tempted) to water slide down the steps to our seats.

The girl next to me was kinda rude and kept giving me dirty looks but it’s okay because I’m on my way to her mom’s house as I type this ;)

Tour is titled Maniac. Of course they were gonna play Maniac. It was secured on the setlist. It was so fcking epic though.

THE SPIDER LEGS DURING VENOM WERE SO FCKING RAD.

-okay the notes are out of order from this point on lol-

Felix basically taught us about the water cycle after Muddy water. Science class 101

Chan: “Let’s give a round of applause to the kids for how good their english was!” (He said Something similar to this)

My mom: “this mf did not call them kids knowing they are around the same age”

It’s in their name, lol

So for context, skz played a game team vs team (who can get louder screams) and Changbin’s team lost- (btw it was team muddy water and I couldn’t hear the name of the other team because ppl screaming lol but for the sake of this, I’m gonna say Changbin’s team lol)

Changbin: I took my shirt off and still lost. I’m never taking my shirt off again.

Chan: We already take everything off

[Either before or after, fever dream goin crazy rn]

Seungmin: LOSERS 😆

Seungmin said the crowd barking makes him feel tough.

I forgot to press record for Easy and gave my phone to my brother and noticed it wasn’t recording until after the song 💀 It’s okay, it’s in my core memories.

A piece of confetti fell on me during haven and I fcking screamed as if it had Changbin’s number on it or smth 😭😭😭 my most down bad moment of the year thus far. Lmao.

I saw Changbin smile and was done for the night.

Felix kept winking, mf made me forget who I belonged to. (Joking, joking haha)

Minho is so fcking fine. Dude was GLOWING. I’m so close to blocking them on everything since he wants to be THAT fine.

Minho & Chan performed Drive. My mom knows btw so it’s not like she was gonna scold me as if I wrote the song. She caught on when Chan was like “the city is pretty big and open”. Not necessarily mom-friendly but we’re gonna let that slide.

Chan said Red lights was an adorable song. Everyone and their families SAW the ribbons, honey bee.

Phone gave up when I tried getting one last picture lol. Pfft. She went on a strike but it’s okay, that lil bitch. (Talking to my phone)

Idc I was showing out for Seungmin. The whole fcking crowd was. We do not play when it comes to Seungmin. And I will continue to show out for Seungmin.

Hyunjin sang Ice cream and I did not deserve to hear it, the mf is so pretty and I love Ice cream and I am unworthy but it’s chill, we ball.

Still kinda upset Minho dropped the ps4 controller in the little movie thingy. I’m sorry but those are expensive, I know y’all are rich but that hurt my soul ily still though.

Btw if I’m wrong & it wasn’t Minho, I will take the L. But PLEASE let me know. Like I said, fever dream is going crazy rn and I’m only writing these notes as I remember them. PLEASE let me know if I’m wrong.

I miss Jeongin already. His English (as is the others) is hella good and you could tell he and the others took the time to learn it so I hope they know they did great. The crowd chanted ‘I.N’ and he smiled and I think y’all should continue to do that.

The effects were so fcking cool and Jisung- I could feel his energy from where I sat. He never comes to play, and I hope he (and the others) sleep well tonight and that the sleep hits good.

Felix is the rizzly bear. Count rizz-ula. The rizz-ologist. Dude has W rizz. How the hell did he pull everyone in the venue in 2 seconds?

Felix also said he wanted to live here… honey, ily, but I can guarantee you that you do not. Respectfully. It’s a dumpster fire. Respectfully.

Felix also said “I didn’t even say anything yet” when the crowd screamed before he could speak just because he came on the big screens. Lmao.

Changbin was standing infront of one of the big screens while Seungmin was talking and my dumb ass saw Seungmin’s face zoomed in and tiny Changbin in the corner beside Seungmin’s face and I thought they had editors that shrinked Changbin. No one said I was smart okay LMAO

Idk how to explain it but seeing Changbin felt like drinking water after waking up at 3am. And before y’all (whoever decides to read this) are like “is that good or bad?” It’s good. Don’t lie. I know y’all like quenching your thirst.

BITCH THEY PLAYED HAVEN AND LIKE IDK IF YALL KNOW THIS BUT THATS THE SONG THAT CHEERED ME UP THROUGH A BAD TIME IN MY LIFE AND HEARING IT LIVE???? AND HEARING CHANGBIN’S VERSE (don’t get me wrong, I am ot8 as fck but Changbin is my ult-) I was about to cry. Like I’m about to rn actually. Literally I would’ve loved to hear ANY skz song live but this is the one song I hoped for and they supplied. So yeah.

THEY PLAYED HAVEN AFTER MY PHONE DIED HHHHHH I HAVE NO EVIDENCE BUT IF THERES A VIDEO ON YT OR ANYWHERE PLEASE LEMME SEE :((((

I even avoided ‘setlist spoilers’. If that’s a thing.

They made us bark (respectfully, I refused to bark 😤), they made us meow (I also refused to meow 😤), but I did NOT pass up Haw’ing to Chan’s Yee. I will never pass up a yeehaw, as a certfied yeehaw. However, Chan has yee’d his last haw. (Joking)

Oh yeah Chan asked if any of us rode a horse before and if it was for fun. I know we are yeehaws but bruh, that’s yeehaw to another level. (There were a good chunk of ppl that said yes. Respect.)

I COULD SEE CHANGBIN FROM WHERE I WAS SAT AND THATS ALL I COULD EVER WANT. HE LOOKED SO HAPPY AND HANDSOME. I’m about to get really down bad so I will pause and suppress it.

I collected some of the confetti because skz were shooting it out of cannons. That’s like the closest thing to merch I was able to afford.

Skz (multiple members) were like “hey, if we come back, will y’all come back too??” And ofc my broke ass said yes. Chan’s buying my ticket though so it’s secured. Sorry y’all.

FAM goes hard live. I also loved the backgrounds for each song. Production team was NOT lacking.

The band that played behind them, they are so talented too. Miroh is already a hype song but this band, we let them cook and they SERVED.

My ear drums are still vibrating but I will not complain. I knew what I signed up for the second I put myself through ticketmaster hell <3

My throat also took a nosedive off a cliff. I was about to pass out just to make Seungmin happy. When he says make noise, I’m using my voicebox until it’s begging to rest.

My arms are tired. Like FATIGUED but the lightstick stays up when they say “put your hands in the air” bye.

Also happy birthday to the stay two rows in front of me :) (I saw your sign) 💜🫶

Seeing skz always feels like hanging with friends. I know that’s very delulu of me, but yeah, the past two shows I’ve seen them in, they were always very crowd inclusive and like, idk, I felt safe and like nothing bad would happen.

I have hella PCD now though. Goodnight. I will add things as I remember them lol

#skz #stray kids #I’m gonna fcking cry this was the best night of my life despite being stressed lately