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ddejavvu · 2 years

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Slumber Party - Steve Harrington x Reader x Eddie Munson | part I | part II | part III | part IV

WC: 4.2K / navi / preview / request

Summary: Following Steve's hairbrained scheme, he and Eddie get you to crash at the Harrington House for a slumber party, changing your relationship forever

Contents/Warnings: reader wears steve's shirt and eddie's jacket, confessions, requited love, fluff, cheeky eddie and steve, lots of teasing

A/N: if you're under 18, this is the last part of this series! if you're over 18, there will be one more, pretty much completely smut, that takes place just after this :) you can expect that sometime soon!

feedback is greatly appreciated! comment, reblog, talk in the tags, send me a message, tell me what you think!

The trash bag in your hand rustles as you shake air into it. There’s a surprising amount of garbage to clean up after a friends-only pool party, but you suspect some has been there for longer than just tonight.

Like the crushed, stained red solo cup that peeks out from underneath one corner of Steve’s couch.

It crunches under your fingers and you realize it’s sticky, your face scrunching into a grimace, “Steve, when’s the last time you cleaned in here?”

He looks over from where he’s scraping half-dried pizza cheese off of a couch cushion, “Jesus, I think that’s from freshman year.”

“Not even my place is that bad,” Eddie brags, though it hardly works as one.

“I found a chocolate bar cemented into the floor under your bed,” Steve stands tall, an eyebrow raised accusingly at Eddie, “We both have our problems.”

You snicker at their lighthearted banter, “Gross, guys.”

Then they’re whirling on you, and you wish you’d kept your mouth shut.

“Oh,” Eddie gushes, a hand over his heart in a dramatic display, “You never leave empty milkshake cups in my van. You’re soooo clean!”

“Dude,” Steve lets out an incredulous laugh, punching Eddie theatrically in the shoulder, “She leaves ‘em in my car too! I swear there’s like twelve in the backseat, and she doesn’t even sit there.”

“Guys!” You flush, shoulders slouching as they tease you, “You’re both so mean.”

You don’t expect either of the things that happen next. You don’t expect them to share a glance, meaningful in the slight nod that they offer to each other and the raise of their eyebrows. And you definitely don’t expect them to start forward, rushing around you for a tight group hug.

“We’re sorry, honey.” Steve croons, his slightly toned arms winding tight around your waist from behind, his voice soft and sympathetic, “We’re just teasing.”

Eddie’s ringed fingers come to rest on your cheeks, tugging your face inches from his own as he kisses the soft skin of your forehead.

“You can leave allll the trash y’want in the van as long as you keep gettin’ in it, baby.” Eddie promises, his voice a hair raspy

Your head is spinning. Your knees threaten to give out, and you swear that Steve’s hands pull your hips back dangerously close to his clothed cock on purpose. It’s everything you’ve ever wanted all at once, which means that you can’t process any of it at all.

Eddie’s lips linger against your forehead, which means that your view is his neck. There’s a smear of what you think is food coloring from the cookies that you made earlier, staining a spot just below his Adam’s apple. What you don’t see with this view is the glance that Steve and Eddie shoot each other over your head, sly smirks on the both of their faces as you grew more and more flushed under their touch.

“Our little baby,” Eddie glances down, cooing sweetly at you, as his lips hover inches away from your own, “Can’t tease you at all, huh?”

“‘Gets you all uptight…” Steve adds, his voice husky over your shoulder while his hands squeeze at your hips, “You’ve gotta learn to loosen up, honey.”

That does it.

Your knees go weak, and you pull away from them. You slip out from their grasps, the chill that ran up your spine the moment they embraced you now spreading throughout your whole being as your skin hit the air.

“I- I’m gonna go take out the trash,” You hold up the barely-filled trash bag in your hand, brandishing it at them as a half-assed explanation, “Bye!”

How are you supposed to go back in there? Steve had practically dry humped you, Eddie was inches away from kissing you. They’d called you their baby, told you to loosen up. It felt like the beginning of a porno, and yet frustration strikes you as you remind yourself it meant nothing at all.

Steve is the natural boyfriend type. He’s all lovesick smiles, acts of service, and gentle touches. Eddie is outgoing, chock-full of affection that he expresses in less-than-conventional ways. You’re no stranger to cheek kisses from the pair, to late nights in their beds with their shirts on your back, to hands-on-thighs that drift higher than they should.

But god, how much more of this are you able to take? How many more nights can you spend in their beds, tucked into their chests like a real couple? How many more times can Steve’s fingers brush your inner thigh, or Eddie’s hand drift down south during a hug before it’s too much? Before you actually start believing it, before it’s more than just a friendship to you?

Not much more, that’s for sure. Your heart pounds in your chest as you recall their hands on you, and you make your decision. You need to leave, now, before you give yourself away.

“Mission accomplished.” Steve’s grin grows lazily over his face, his hands hanging off of his hips, “She almost fell over.”

“I would’a felt bad,” Eddie admits, remembering the heat radiating off of your cheeks as he cupped them, “I just can’t believe she tricked us for so long.”

“I.. I guess it was hard for her, or something.” Steve’s voice loses some of its cocky luster, “She really fought hard to keep it a secret.”

“Yeah,” Is all that Eddie can murmur as you slip back through the sliding door. The two boys turn to you expectantly, confident grins on their faces that they try to mask as casual.

“Soooo,” Eddie draws out the word, “Harrington and I were thinking it would be kinda fun to have a movie night. You in, sweetheart?”

Steve doesn’t bother letting you answer before he lays it on thicker, “No one made that popcorn we bought for today, so we can have it now, and I’ve still got tapes from the last sleepover we had.”

They wait expectantly, self-assuredness practically oozing from them. But you gnaw the inside of your cheek while they talk, shrinking in on yourself slightly when the offer is proposed.

“Actually, no. Not tonight, guys, I..” You pause, mouth open but devoid of words. You rub a tired hand down your face, “I’m sorry. Just.. not tonight.”

Their faces drop.

For a harrowing moment, they believe they have it wrong. That your blushing was out of embarrassment, not out of longing. That your tensing was because of discomfort and not anticipation. That maybe, just maybe, you don’t like them at all.

“Why not?” Steve gets himself together first, his voice now cautious and soft.

“I don’t feel like it.” You mumble, but both know you’re lying.

“Is there something wrong, Y/N?” Eddie feels strange not using a pet name, but with the guarded look in your eyes, he’s not sure it’s a good idea to go with baby.

“I’m tired from swimming,” You weakly attempt to fool them, but you realize now that the closeness you’re trying to evade is the reason you can’t. They know you inside and out, and you can’t lie to them.

“Me too,” Eddie snickers, “We’ll just crash here tonight.”

“It’ll be a sleepover,” Steve adds, one eyebrow raised hopefully at you, “You sleep here all the time, honey. C’mon, please?”

You need to say no. You need to politely decline, excuse yourself, go home, and face-plant into your pillow. You need to scream, you need to kick your feet, you need to giggle, you need to squeal, you need to call your friends while laying on your stomach on the bed. You need to twirl the cord of the phone around your finger while your legs bounce back and forth in the air behind you. You need to freak out.

“We can watch Grease,” Steve presents his final offer, the one he knows you won’t be able to say no to, holding the vhs up tantalizingly before you.

You take a moment of silence for the willpower you’ve just lost, mourning the end of your sanity and the victory of your delusions, “Okay, I’ll stay.”

The grins on their faces lit up the dark little spot in your brain. The one that told you you aren’t good enough for either of them, let alone both like you fantasize about.

Eddie shoots towards you like a rocket, his arms wrapping around your waist as he tackles you back onto the couch. It rips an incredulous laugh from your throat, one that warms Eddie’s chest and prompts him to kiss your forehead.

“Knew you’d come around, pretty girl,” He coos at you, pinning you to the sofa cushions. His words reignite that flutter in your belly, as does the chill of his jewelry on your bare skin.

“Jesus Eddie,” Steve gripes, his face popping into your view as Eddie hovers over you, “Don’t crush her before the movie even starts.”

Eddie rolls his eyes, an expression that leaves you giggling, and pushes himself up off of you.

“What I’m hearing, Harrington, is that I can crush her after the movie starts.” It seems like both a threat and a promise, and Steve scoffs at Eddie’s cheeky grin.

“Y/N,” Steve peers around Eddie who’s still crowding you against the couch, “You need a change of clothes?”

You glance down at your coverup, the sheer fabric revealing your still-damp bathing suit beneath.

“Yes please,” You really don’t know if you can handle one of Steve’s hoodies that you normally take, nor do you think you’ll be able to slip into a pair of his boxers without losing your mind. Apparently Steve doesn’t have that in mind, though, because he reaches for the hem of his own shirt, yanking it off of his head without a second thought.

His chest is exposed, bare and smattered with hair. The air escapes your lungs and you suck more in, your strangled gasp catching both boys’ attention.

“You okay?” Steve holds the shirt out to you, his chest bared, “You look like you’re about to collapse.”

You are about to collapse. You swear that the shirt hanging limply from Steve’s hand has some sort of forcefield around it; an aura. It makes your knees buckle and Steve has to throw it over your shoulder for it to be in your possession.

You see Eddie opening his mouth, no doubt about to put the pieces together of your little crush, one of them at least, so you scurry off, the shirt nearly falling from your shoulder as you do.

“I’m gonna go change!” It comes out squeaky, higher-pitched than you want it too, but you’re too overwhelmed to care. You rush to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind you so hard it nearly breaks the hinges.

“Shit,” Eddie snickers incredulously as the bathroom door shuts behind you, “Good thinking, man. Y’had her frozen.”

“I didn’t think she’d take it,” Steve admits sheepishly, cupping the back of his neck and letting his clean-cut fingernails dig into the skin there, “‘Thought maybe it was going too far.”

“This is going too far,” Eddie urges, plopping down onto the couch with an unceremonious thump, “That’s the point. She’s not gonna do shit on her own, so we gotta-”

“Do you have any pants I could borrow?”

Both men turn to the bathroom with wide eyes, catching your head stuck out of the doorway. The rest of your body is shielded by the door, and each man mourns their own loss of the visual.

“Uh, no clean pairs.” Steve bluffs, scratching his nails over his chest, itching at nothing in particular to draw your eyes to the action, “Sorry, haven’t done laundry in forever.”

“It’s fine.” You come out of the bathroom now, offering him a sweet smile so that he knows you’re not mad at him, “‘S just a little short, that’s all.”

You’re right. When you step out of the bathroom, the shirt shifts over your legs with every step you take. It rides up your thighs, exposing bare skin that neither Steve nor Eddie ever dreamed they’d see of you. Eddie’s the one who pulls out of his trance first, hovering a hand over his waist.

“If you really want me to, I can pull a Harrington and slip outta my boxers. That’s what you normally wear at mine.” He grins cheekily at you, his thumb hooked into the hem of his pants, “Sound good?”

“No!” You shriek indignantly, giggling at the image, “Then you’d be pantsless!”

“And would that really be terrible?” He groans, tipping his head back against the sofa cushions and displaying his throat. The skin stretches thin over his adam’s apple and your eyes trace the bulge in his throat as it bobs, “I think we’d all enjoy that.”

“Speak for yourself,” Steve grumbles, chucking the VHS case for Grease at him, “If your dick ever touches my couch you’re buying me a new one.”

“Oh please,” Eddie starts, fiery and revved up, “Like you wouldn’t be-”

“Guys!” You throw up your hands, looking between the two of them with mock annoyance, “Shut up, the movie’s gonna play!”

And it does. Grainy footage springs to life over the VCR, displaying the opening sequence of Grease that you eagerly paid attention to. You tugged Steve down beside you, sinking into the cushions near Eddie. The latter wriggled closer to you, matching Steve’s distance, which was to say there was no distance between any of you anymore.

Eddie’s thigh presses flat against your bare one, the joggers that he’d used after getting out of the pool baggy and loose against his leg. Steve’s got jeans on, the rough denim flush to your other thigh, as the two sneak their arms around your shoulders.

“Smooth,” You tease them, and Steve even throws you a fake yawn, the classic first date move. You can’t deny the butterflies that stampede through your stomach at the playful flirting, and you wriggle into your seat, getting comfy between them.

One of your hands rests on Steve’s upper thigh, your fingers curled into the loose denim as you watch. Eddie’s head rests on your shoulder, his hair tickling your face as he makes cracks here and there about the film. Both are fun to watch movies with. Eddie jokes the whole time, picking apart terrible production choices and whistling whenever someone looks good on screen. But Steve watches, laughing when he should and biting back a smile when he shouldn’t.

You can’t help but feel, sandwiched between your two best friends, unfortunate crushes brewing for both of them, that this is only the beginning, your beginning. It’s a concept that tugs at your heartstrings, that ignites hope in your chest, because maybe if they’re holding you like this, maybe if they’re loving you like this, they could do it like you want them to. They could hold you more, differently. They could love you more, differently. Everything you have is perfect, and somehow you’re still wanting more, something different.

You aren’t sure you’ll ever be able to get enough of either of the boys beside you. Steve, all soft smiles and sarcastic insults, and Eddie, lively and playful. Each one brings something new to your life, something invigorating that seeps into your brain and gets you hooked like an addict. You’re absolutely certain that your life would never be the same without them, which is what makes you so hesitant to confess.

But here, snuggled up to the both of them with Grease playing on the Harrington’s television in the low light of the living room, you feel safe. You don’t need to confess, you don’t need to pull away to keep yourself safe, you don't need to do anything at all. All you can do is enjoy this, enjoy them.

You hope they feel the same way. You’re always quick to doubt yourself, write off flirty banter as a joke, or assume they’re like that with everyone. But they’re not, you're special and you know it. It’s a fantastic feeling, being special, even more fantastic when you’re special to those that you find special. You decide you quite like the feeling, burrowing back into their embraces to soak in it some more.

“‘Gonna lose you in the couch if you keep that up,” Eddie quips, “Must be pretty cozy.”

“I am,” You admit without hesitation. Perhaps its the exhaustion from swimming, or the haziness seeping into your brain from their warm embraces, but you don’t feel much like hiding anymore, “‘Love you guys.”

Eddie freezes against your shoulder, and Steve tenses. All at once it comes crashing down, their miniscule reactions clearing away your giddiness and confidence in a split second.

You stay silent, your eyes locked onto the screen, your cheeks burning. It’s not the first time you’ve said it to either of them, but it’s the first time you’ve said it now, wrapped up intimately in their embraces. It’s different, and everyone knows it.

“Yeah?” Steve prompts you, “We love you too, honey.”

“Lots.” Eddie adds, shifting his face so that it’s buried in your neck instead of facing the television, “Probably a little too much.”

He punctuates his sentence with a smattering of soft kisses to the soft skin of your neck, ones that run a shiver up your spine.

“Eddie,” You breathe, and he stops hesitantly.

“You want me to stop?”

Everything in you screams no, but you say yes.

You shift away from him, consequently into Steve, and turn to face him. He looks timid, anxiety brewing in his pretty brown eyes.

“What are we?”

It’s a vague question, but it’s thick with meaning. Steve contemplates how to answer, not sure if he wants to lead in with a joke (‘teenagers’), or blurt out his feelings, (‘soulmates’). Eddie does it for him.

“You want us to be together,” Eddie’s voice is soft and meek, nearly scared, “Right?”

“Together…?”

“Together,” Steve finally finds his voice, strong and low in his chest, “Like, for real, Y/N. We know.”

They know. They know. They know.

It runs rampant in your head, a mantra of your humiliation as you sit frozen between them. You’d rather be literally anywhere else, the upside down for fuck’s sake.

“We want it too.” Eddie promises, tentatively reaching out a hand to rest it in your lap, “Shit, I- I thought I was gonna decapitate this Chili guy for getting too close to you.”

“Pineapple was on my shit list.” Steve admits, “Can’t believe it was Munson.”

“Oh, likewise.” Eddie cranes his neck to peer around your head at Steve, “I mean, red hot? I guess in those stupid little scoops shorts…”

“Eddie,” Steve glares sharply at the boy, reaching around the back of your head to smack Eddie upside his, “Focus.”

“Sorry! Sorry,” Eddie grins at you, mirth in his eyes, “But that’s.. That’s what you want, right sweetheart?”

You look at them. You look at Eddie, doe eyes wide and hopeful, hands braced eagerly on your thigh. You look at Steve, uncertainty clouding his gaze, his arm tightening its grip on your shoulders. You look at them, lucky in love, and nod.

“I do, I- I really really want this.”

The admission clears a weight off of your shoulders that’s been there for years, leaving you lighter than air. Your smile grows effortlessly, a soft giggle escaping your mouth as they both surge forwards.

They knock heads, their expressions scrunching from grins to grimaces, and you take each of them by the jaw.

You press a kiss to the side of Steve’s head, where it had run into Eddie’s, then one to his lips. He’s clearly shocked by the gesture, because his eyes widen and he can’t seem to shut them for the entirety of the kiss. You pull back, another giggle escaping you at his incredulous expression.

“Fuck,” He breathes, “I didn’t- I didn’t think you would do that.”

“Well now you’d better do it to me,” Eddie wastes no time in baring his head, tucking his chin to his chest to give you better access to his life-threatening injury, “Kiss!”

You comply as butterflies ravage your tummy, flitting this way and that, their pretty wings brushing the walls of your stomach. You swear there must be thousands as you pop a kiss to Eddie’s messy hair, then let him tug your face to hover in front of his. He practically lunges for you, lips tasting like popcorn you’re sure he snuck while you were in the bathroom.

He’s not as polite as you were with Steve, going back for more each time you think of pulling away. Finally you have to murmur at him, your words muffled by the kiss, “Eddie… Eddie? Eddie!”

“Jesus,” Steve yanks Eddie away by the collar of his shirt, a blush still redenning his cheeks from when you’d kissed him, “Let her breathe, dude.”

Then he seems to realize his loss, scrunching his face up, “His was longer than mine.”

“You went first!” Eddie insists adamantly.

“Not the same,” Steve is the one to pull you in this time, fitting his lips perfectly against your own. As if two kisses hadn’t been enough to turn your stomach inside out, the third had you melting, your hands falling from each of their jaws.

Steve’s just barely pulling away when you feel Eddie’s lips on your cheek, turning to face him and bumping noses. He takes the opportunity to peck your lips once more, and you realize you’re about to be smothered if you don’t take action now.

“Okay,” You giggle giddily, wriggling out from where you’ve sunk into their embrace, “Okay, so, we’re together now?”

“Yes,” Steve nods, his teeth on display as he grins, “That feels nice to hear.”

Eddie nods vigorously, “Even better when you consider we’re alone here for the weekend.”

“Eddie,” You chide, swatting bashfully at him, “So pervy!”

“Oh, come on,” Eddie laughs incredulously, “I mean, it’s not a bad idea!”

“It’s not,” You sigh resentfully, wishing you had the willpower to deny him, “But I wanna finish the movie first!”

“Okay!” Eddie mimics the pattern of your voice, pinching you teasingly in the side, “I can already tell it’s gonna be hard saying no to you.”

“He already doesn’t say no to me.” You gesture to Steve, then press an apologetic kiss to his rosy cheek when he grumbles about it, “Lets me get away with whatever I want, huh Steve?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He gripes, “It’s not my fault you’re too cute to say no to.”

His sappy admission makes you squeal, and it puts a smile on Steve’s face. You catapult onto his chest from across the couch, snuggling your head into his neck while your legs wind around his waist, “You’re so good to me, Steve.”

“‘Course I am,” He puffs up proudly, pressing a kiss to your hairline, “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I wasn’t?”

Boyfriend. The word, although foreign, feels familiar, something you’ve known for all of your time with him. It describes Eddie perfectly too, who’s scooting across the couch to kiss your nose as your cheek presses against Steve’s chest.

“Alright you two,” Eddie groans, but smiles sweetly at the both of you, a harmless tease, “Let’s actually finish the movie? You can hold her for now, Steve, but I swear to god the second we put another tape in, she’s mine.”

“You’re gonna have to take her from me,” Steve threatens, his arms tightening around your waist as you play along, clinging to him, “I’ve waited for too long not to enjoy this.”

“You can enjoy it until Grease is done.” Eddie warns again, narrowing his eyes at you when you stick your tongue out teasingly at him, “Then you can be the sad, lonely one.”

The words ‘sad’ and ‘lonely’ tug your brows down, and you crane up off of Steve’s chest to pucker your lips at Eddie. He surges forward with a bright smile, kissing you sweetly this time letting you go within a reasonable time.

“Sweet girl,” Eddie coos at you, watching as you snuggle yourself back into Steve’s nack. He leans down himself, bracing his back against the cushions behind him as he tentatively rests his head on Steve’s shoulder, just beside your own, “Are you even watching the movie?”

You can’t see it anymore, now facing away from the tv. But you are facing Eddie, and that’s more than enough to keep you occupied. Steve’s hand brushes slowly, soothingly over your back and your lashes flutter dreamily, Eddie’s grin inches from your own.

“No,” You shake your head slightly, the movement burrowing you further into Steve, “I’d much rather watch you.”

Steve lets out a teasing scoff at your cheesiness, pinching you lightly in the side, “You’re a sap.”

“Shut it, Harrington.” You take on Eddie’s nickname for the man, pushing yourself up onto his chest to glower threateningly at him, “Don’t make me cut your turn short.”

“I’m sorry!” Steve dramatically apologizes, clutching you tight, “I’m sorry, don’t go, I love you.”

The familiar phrase warms your heart, and you settle back onto his chest with a content sigh.

“I love you too,” You respond to Steve while looking at Eddie, both men feeling the overwhelming affection oozing off of you, “More than anything.”

feedback is greatly appreciated! comment, reblog, talk in the tags, send me a message, tell me what you think!

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wosoimagines · 13 hours

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Failure

part 3 of rivals

Jo gets called back to the senior team after a crushing defeat.

2,920 words

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“You should take a break, kid,” Alyssa said as she rolled the ball back toward me. I shook my head because that was the last thing I needed. I kicked the ball back up into my hands so that I could set up for another penalty attempt. “Come on, Jo. You don’t want to overwork yourself.”

“No! Hope was right, okay? She was right! I wasn’t good enough!” I snapped as I spiked the ball on the pitch. “My penalty was supposed to win it and I missed! It didn’t just get stopped either! I missed the goal! Why Jill called me back up after that, I don’t know. If I can’t show up in the final of a U-20 World Cup, then how can anyone trust me to show up for the World Cup next summer?”

Alyssa caught the ball as it went flying toward her as I kicked it once I finished my little rant.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Alyssa said as she moved out of the goal. I looked away from her as she marched toward me. “Losing is part of the game sometimes. No one is perfect and no one is gonna win every game. You’re allowed to be upset but we’ve been out here for hours now. This isn’t good for you.”

“What’s good for me is not choking during a final.”

“Jo-”

“No! I gotta be able to make these, Alyssa! And if I can’t trust myself, how can any of you trust me?”

I reached out to take the ball from Alyssa, but she threw it over her shoulder faster than I could grab it. I clenched my jaw before I moved to step past the goalie, but she grabbed the back of my shirt to tug me back in front of her.

“You’re done for the day.”

“I am not.”

“You are, Jo. You’ve been out here for hours. We already had practice today with the rest of the team,” Alyssa said as she shoved me back further from the penalty spot. “We’re going to go back to the hotel, and you’re going to take a hot shower and relax.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

Alyssa threw her hands up in the air as she scoffed. Alyssa shook her head before she started to drag me toward the locker room.

“I’m not giving you a choice. I’m not going to let you hurt yourself because you’re upset,” Alyssa said firmly. I rolled my eyes at that, but I didn’t fight back as she made sure that I headed to the locker room. “I’m sure Becky will read to you if you ask her to.”

I scoffed at that as the two of us entered the locker room to change out of our cleats and to grab our bags. Then Alyssa was guiding me outside to the van the team had left for us so that we could get back to the hotel. We both stayed quiet on the drive back and even on the elevator ride up to our rooms.

Jill still had me rooming with Becky. It must have sucked for Becky to still be stuck with me as her roommate for the third camp in a row. It was no secret that the others had gotten different roommates for each of the camps that I had been a part of. Maybe Jill would let me stay with Alyssa so that Becky could room with someone else, so she didn’t have to stay stuck with me.

Alyssa followed me as I walked down the hall to my room. I looked over my shoulder at her before she nodded at the door. I knew that she was probably going to talk to Becky while I took the shower, she was forcing me to take, but I had been hoping she wouldn’t walk me all the way in. I sighed but used my room key to unlock the door before heading in with Alyssa in tow. I dropped my bag at the foot of my bed as Becky looked up from her book at us.

“Hey,” Becky greeted us with a soft smile. “What all did you two get up to? Please don’t tell me the kid suckered you into taking her for ice cream. Dawn will be on all of our asses if we give her too many sweets.”

“Penalties. For three hours.” I didn’t miss how Becky’s eyes widened at Alyssa’s words. “Jo, you stink. Go shower.”

I huffed but I grabbed a clean change of clothes before pulling my shoes off to leave them in the room. Once I made it into the bathroom, I immediately turned on the water and let it run before I pressed my ear up against the wall to try and hear what Becky and Alyssa were talking about.

“She’s gonna run herself in the ground. Blames the entire loss at the U-20 World Cup on herself,” Alyssa’s muffled voice said as I strained to hear what she said.

“I would too if I was in her position. She’s the only one on the team that’s had any experience with the senior team that was on the team in Canada. Then to miss the game winning penalty? You’ve seen her in practice against Hope. If the best goalie in the world can’t stop her, then why would anyone think some goalie on a youth team would throw her off enough to get her to miss a penalty?”

I softly let my head hit the hall. She was right. I could have lived with myself if my shot had been on target, but my shot missed the entire net. I had eight feet of height and twenty-four feet of length to get the ball to go in and I couldn’t do that in what had been the biggest moment in my career so far.

“But none of us are perfect all the time. Jo’s going to overwork herself and get hurt if we don’t stop her. You should have seen her snap on the field today when I told her we were done. She’s got no confidence in herself.”

“And what do you suggest we do, Alyssa? All we can do is support her and help her through this.”

“We need to do something, and we need to do it fast. If we can’t, she’ll work herself into early retirement with injuries.”

I sighed before I moved to get into the shower. Hopefully, the hot water would help me start to relax.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Go back to sleep.”

I froze in my spot as I looked at the sleeping lump on the other bed. I waited for a moment hoping that it had just been Becky talking in her sleep.

“Jo, go back to sleep.”

This time Becky had said it while I was taking a step. I froze as I looked at her again. She wasn’t moving, but obviously she was awake enough to know that I hadn’t been planning on getting back in bed.

“I’m just going to the bathroom.”

A lie.

“No, you’re not,” Becky murmured as she moved part of her covers away from her so that I could see her glaring at me. “You don’t set an alarm to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.”

I didn’t think about that. Becky wasn’t a heavy sleeper either, so, of course, my alarm woke her up. I should have thought about that because it was one of the first things I figured out about Becky after she got annoyed by the number of alarms I had set to wake me up the first morning we had roomed together.

“I have bad bladder control?”

Another lie.

One I was hoping that Becky would believe.

“Don’t lie to me.”

Or she wouldn’t.

I wondered if I really was just a bad liar since my parents barely ever paid attention to me anyway, that I never had to put in too much effort to my lies or if Becky really was just this good at telling when someone was lying.

“Is that your superpower?”

“Jo, I swear to God,” Becky groaned as I sat back down on my bed. “Go back to sleep before I have to climb into your bed and make you lay there at least until it’s an acceptable time for us to be up for breakfast.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

I furrowed my brow as Becky threw her covers off her. I didn’t have time to move either as she lunged at me. Becky’s arms wrapped me up into a hug as I tried to wiggle out of the grip. I wasn’t even sure how she had managed to get both of us under the covers within what felt like seconds, but she had.

“Stop struggling and just go back to sleep,” Becky said softly. I was effectively trapped because Becky wasn’t loosening her grip on me. “I will tell Dawn so she can give me stuff to drug you if I have to.”

We were both quiet for a few moments as I pondered over what Becky had just said.

“Would you really drug me?”

“Do you really want to find out?”

“Not really.”

I sighed as I relaxed in Becky’s arms. If she wasn’t going to let me go, I guess it would make sense to just give in. I would just have to figure out a different way to get my extra practice in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I faltered in my steps as I headed for the ball bag so that I could continue practicing while the rest of the team left, but Christen was standing there with a ball already at her feet.

“Why don’t you show me that move you like so much?”

I had planned on asking Alyssa to practice penalties with me again. I furrowed my brow as I stopped the ball that Christen had passed to me.

The Christen Press wanted me to teach her something? I wasn’t even sure what she was asking me to teach her.

“The one that you used to score against Brazil? I noticed you used it quite a bit.”

“You mean a Hocus Pocus?”

“Yeah, that one.”

I slowly nodded my head. I was a bit surprised that she didn’t ask Tobin to help her. I mean, Tobin was the most skilled player in the history of the USSF, men or women. But I didn’t mind showing Christen.

“You know, you don’t have to be perfect.”

My steps stuttered as I shot the ball into the net at the end of the move. It seemed like everyone had been expressing that they didn’t expect me to be perfect. Which just made it worse.

“You don’t get it. I’m not supposed to be here. I’m only fifteen. I have to be perfect.”

“I might not have been getting called up to the senior team when I was fifteen, but I do remember what it was like to be one of the top prospects being looked at to join the senior team when I wasn’t that much older than you are,” Christen said. She passed the ball over to me before I fired it into the goal. “It’s a lot. I don’t think any of us expect you to be perfect. I don’t expect anyone else on this team to be perfect. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. But even the best of us have bad days.”

“But my bad day was on the biggest game of the tournament. How can anyone trust that I won’t have another bad day during the World Cup when every game is a big game?”

It especially didn’t help that as soon as I had gotten home, Elvis and Mick had been talking all about how I missed my penalty. Neither had ever touched a soccer ball, but they both were sure that they would have been able to at least place the ball on goal.

“I completely missed the goal. You know what I get to hear when I’m at home?” I asked. I didn’t wait for Christen to say anything to me. “Elvis and Mick saying that they could have at least placed it on target. They aren’t going to let me live it down. Not until they move out. I’ve got two more years of my own brothers doubting me. You didn’t even hear what they told our niece.”

I shook my head as I remembered how that had gone. My sister, Marley, and her husband had come to visit for the weekend after I got back from Canada. I had been showing Sky a couple of moves since she was the only one in the family really interested in soccer.

“Sky said she wanted to be like when she grew up and that made my day. Then Angus asked her, ‘What? A failure? Just skating by?’ Do you know what it’s like to have your own brother say that? The same brother I’ve always looked up to because if I didn’t want to go pro, I’d want to work for NASA like him.” I shook my head as I wiped at the sweat the was on my brow. “The people who are supposed to be my biggest supporters don’t believe in me. Why should anyone else?”

“Because we know soccer. You’ve got so much potential but that doesn’t mean you have to be perfect. It just means you get to grow,” Christen said as she stepped closer to put her hands on my shoulders. “We don’t expect you to be perfect. We expect you to grow. You wanna know how you grow? You have bad days. And we’ll be here for you to help you through them when you do have them. This team is a family. And we believe in you.”

“Even Hope?”

“Even Hope.” Christen sent me a soft smile as her hands dropped from my shoulders. “She only acts like that because you get under her skin.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I feel like you played much better today than you did in that U-20 Final,” Aly Wagner said as she stood next to me. I nodded in agreement with that. Becky had helped me prepare to field questions about the final in case it got brought up. “What’s it like coming back from that? You were so close to winning the U-20 World Cup.”

“I went to Canada believing that we were gonna bring it home with us and it was disappointing to lose it the way that we did, especially since it was my penalty that could have won it. It really sucks when you get the chance to practice your penalties against the best goalkeeper in the world but then you turn around and have a bad game during the biggest game of the tournament,” I said as I grinned when I caught Christen’s eye. She sent me a thumbs-up. “But that’s also the great thing about this team, because I was so wrapped up in my head about it that I was gonna get myself hurt and so many on this team were dedicated to helping me out.”

“How so?”

“Becky and Alyssa both have really been taking me under their wings,” I said as I spotted the two of them talking to each other with their eyes trained on me. I sent them a small wave. “I’ve been rooming with Becky since my first camp, so she’s really helped me out with making sure that I’m comfortable and checking in on me. She’s been making sure that I don’t get behind on my schoolwork even though it’s the beginning of the year.

“Alyssa’s been staying after practice regularly to help me get in some extra work. Hope’s been great with pushing my game to another level. I have to push it to that next level when I practice against the best goalie in the world, right? Christen has really helped to get me out of my head during this camp and remind me that even the best on this team have their off days and I’m still growing as a player so I shouldn't stress about it.”

“You’ve been putting in a lot of work with them?” Aly asked.

This was a tricky answer. The last thing I needed was saying the wrong thing and making it seem like the whole team was a bunch of assholes, but I didn’t need to straight up lie.

“I think everyone is still trying to get to know me better,” I admitted. It wasn’t like I was getting shunned by everyone on the team. “Like I said, Alyssa’s been staying after practice, so I have a goalie to go up against. Tobin and I just recently had a skills competition. I’ve got quite a way to go before I catch up to her. I got to teach Christen my favorite move recently. I’m hoping we’ll get to see her use it soon.”

“You have a favorite move?”

“Oh, for sure. I’ve always played with older players, so I’ve had to make sure that my skills were some of the best to keep up with them since I’ve never been the fastest or strongest on the pitch. I fell in love with a couple of moves so now they’re my bread and butter. You’ll just have to hope that I keep getting called up to see them.”

“Well, I certainly hope that we do see more of you in the near future. Thank you, Jo.”

#uswnt imagine #woso imagine #leah williamson imagine #uswnt x reader #woso x reader #leah williamson x reader #uswnt imagines #woso imagines #leah williamson imagines #uswnt #woso #leah williamson

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frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe · 1 year

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here's the first part to a little domestic steddie thing that I don't have a name for yet, but I thought it up last night and couldn't sleep while I started planning it in my head.

highlights will include: friends to lovers, roommates, slice of life, getting together, hispanic!eddie (MY LOVE), i may sprinkle in the fact that Steve is HOH (but I haven't decided if i'd like him to be in this one), and possibly the first smut i'll have ever written 👀

this is just to get my thoughts out so go into this knowing that at Robin and Steve know that Eddie is Gay, Eddie and Steve know that Robin is gay, and only Robin knows that Steve thinks he's bi. You know, classic steddie fic things.

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“Okay, you guys, time to head out, no Dustin, you can’t stay the night.”

“Damn, how’d you know? Dustin asks, picking up his bag and shuffling toward the door to get his shoes on.

“Because you always ask.” Will admonishes his friend.

“Exactly. Thank you, Will.”

“I can’t believe the last session is next week.” Lucas says to himself, slipping on his shoes and ducking down quickly to arrange Max’s in front of her so she can get them on.

“Oh no, what will we do then?” the Max in question snarks back.

“You don’t even play, you can’t be sarcastic about it.”

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t be sarcastic about, Wheeler.” Max follows Mike out the door and smacks him in the shin with her cane.

“We will see you tomorrow Steve?” El asks, stopping at his side to look up at him with those curious eyes.

“Of course, supergirl, it’s the ‘Everything’s Fine’ party.” He grins at her and she smiles back, moving to grab her shoes as well. Steve stops her “Everything is fine, right?”

She stares off into space for just a second, then smiles back up at him. “Yes. I do not feel any of the Upside Down or of One.”

Steve lets out the breath he always holds when he checks with one of what they are now calling “The Wonder Twins”, El and Will. “Thanks, El, sorry to always ask.”

“It is okay, Steve. I don’t mind.”

“Alright you lot, you heard Stevie. ¡Ya deja de chingar! Ándale, ándale!” Eddie yells at the kids, shoo-ing them out the front door and into his van while the other Hellfire guys get into Jeff’s car. They’d officially disbanded Hellfire after everything happened last year, but still meet for D&D (now at Steve’s house) under a still undecided name.

“No need to be rude, Eduardo, we’re going.” Erica taunts him.

Eddie seems to glitch out, “¿Sabes español?”

“Eso si.”

Eddie sucks his teeth, “Dios mio, now I gotta deal with that; alright, lets go, crotch-goblins, gotta get you home. Be back soon, cariño!” He yells to Steve, still on the front step before he points to Erica and shuts the door in her face.

“I still have no idea what he’s calling me. Why don’t you just tell me? You know spanish.” Steve asks Robin as he comes back inside and closes the door.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to intrude.”

“You literally translated secret russian code, is that not intruding?”

“Yeah, but like, they don’t matter. Eddie does.” He’s looking at her like she’s crazy. “It feels like spying on a friend.”

“Whatever you say, Buckley.”

“Just ask Eddie to teach you. He could use the practice”

“What do you mean? He’s fluent isn’t he?”

“Well, he really only has Wayne to speak spanish with regularly, sometimes me, but usually it’s english. He could start to lose it.”

“That can happen?”

“Yeah, sometimes. I don’t have many people to talk to in Italian, so that’s my worst language. I used to be fluent in that too but if I don’t use it, I lose it.” she shrugs and Steve takes that in.

“I just want to know what he’s calling me, it’s not anything bad is it?”

She smiles softly at him, “No Dingus, it’s not bad. Promise.”

They clean up the rest of the stuff lying around from the kids being there, Robin is rambling on about something that happened at her last solo shift at work, and Steve’s trying to contain his nerves.

“Querido, Estoy en casa!” Eddie yells from the doorway when he gets back. “Now what’s this surprise?”

“Let me guess, ‘Honey, I’m home’?” Steve asks, rounding the corner from the kitchen, still drying his hands.

Eddie points at him, “You got it, Querido.” and gives him a wink before waltzing his way into the living room in front of Steve.

Steve rolls his eyes fondly, and wills the heat that’d crept up on his face from being called ‘Honey’ away while he puts the towel back in the kitchen.

“Okay,” he claps his hands when he walks into the living room, his two friends sitting on the couch in front of him “I have a proposal for you.”

“Oh, Stevie! Of course I’ll marry you!” Eddie jumps up and immediately koalas onto Steve, causing him to take a stabilizing step backward.

“Not that kind of proposal, Eds.” Steve chuckles and goes to unwrap Eddie’s arms and legs from around him.

“So you’re not gonna make an honest woman outta me?” Robin says from the couch as Steve comes around the coffee table, Eddie still latched to his front.

“No, Robs, still not that kind of proposal, sorry.”

Steve finally gets Eddie’s limbs out from around him over the couch so he bounces to a landing on the couch next to Robin.

“That’s bogus..”

“Here.” Steve hands them each a manila folder from the mantle, each one with their name written on it in a thick black marker.

“Okay, here goes. So it’s been a year since Vecna, Will and El both haven’t felt hide nor hair of him since, and since these goddamn events usually happen at least once a year, I think we are in the clear.” He pauses to knock on the wooden coffee table. “So I figure now that Eddie is healed all the way, and he and Wayne are set up well enough again with their hush money, Max is doing pretty good at her physical therapy, the Byers are back in town with a not-dead Hopper….well.”

He gestures to their folders, and they both look down at the same time, like they’d forgotten they were there.

As they open them and start flipping through their stack of papers, Steve continues. “Robin, I know you wanted to take a gap year anyway, so I put down entry for the fall of ‘87 on the applications I sent in, I hope that’s okay.” She looks up at him in shock. “There’s a great International Relations program there too if you want to stay after you get your core classes out of the way? But there are a couple acceptance letters in there so you can take your pick. And I got a job at this little diner nearby to the campus just because I wanted to, but I will pay your way if you want since I’m the one who applied for you so you can just live off your hush money.”

“A-and Eddie, I asked around and there’s a great underground music scene that I think you’d fit right into, and I met a guy named Daryl who was real nice and owned a music shop down the road from the diner who is uhm…something? He wrote “call me” and his number on the flyer he gave me so I feel like it’d maybe be safe for you to work there i-if you wanted to, you know. You could also just live off your hush money. I don’t mind.”

Both of them are stock still and dead quiet. He finally looks down at them on the couch.

Both of their faces are blank, like they don’t know what it is they are supposed to feel, which, Steve supposes, is better than pissed off.

“Oh fuck, this was too much wasn’t it? Sorry, sorry, just pretend I didn’t say anything, I’ll just—“ he reaches for their papers and they both jerk away from him at the same time.

“Fuck off, this is my stack of papers, get your own!” Eddie yells at the same time Robin yells “No! I’m keeping these forever!” and Steve pulls his hands back in surrender.

“You still haven’t gotten to the proposal part, Dingus. What’s going on?”

“Oh! Uhm, I bought a house? In Indianapolis? My parents are staying away after the earthquake, and sold the house so I leave to sign the last papers and get the keys in two weeks. So that means Eddie can finish his D&D thing in time too.”

They’re quiet for a beat again, then Eddie asks “You bought a house?”

“Yeah, with the money I saved up from Scoops and Family Video, plus what my parents would leave..I only had to use a little bit of my government money in the end. It’s not much, and it needs work that’s why I got it as cheap as I did, but it has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and—actually, I put pictures at the bottom of your stacks if you want to-“

They both shuffle their papers around until they find what they’re looking for. Then immediately look at the others’ like they are comparing notes.

“Robin, that’s the bedroom at the front of the house, it’s got two windows and one has a window seat, so you’ll get plenty of light, and Eddie, your bedroom is the one in the back corner, it’s only got one window but it’s pretty big and I thought that maybe you’d like that one since it just looks out into the woods like yours used to in your trailer. I was going to take the master, but Robin, if you want that instead so you don’t have to share a bathroom with one of us, that’s cool too, I don’t mind.” Steve rushes it all out.

“You want us to move with you?” Eddie’s voice is quiet, eyes wide.

“Uhm, yeah. I do. That’s the proposal. I figured I’d ask you guys to come with. That way we’re out of Hawkins but still close enough if something does happen,” Steve knocks on the coffee table again with two knuckles, “Robin can go to school, and hopefully Indy is far enough out of the way that Eddie can make a clean-ish start?

“And you don’t have to pay rent, It’s all paid for with cash so just maybe buy groceries, or help with the utilities? Or none of it! Like I said, I kinda just thrust this upon you, so no worries if you want to just mooch.” he huffs out a nervous laugh.

Eddie and Robin take a look at each other then Robin is shooting off the couch and (almost tripping) over the coffee table to latch onto Steve

“Of course I’m coming with you, Dingus, we’re two halves of a whole idiot, we gotta stick together.” She unhooks from him and starts wandering away up the stairs, talking about ‘We gotta tell Keith, and my mom is going to be so excited, but she’s definitely going to think I’m pregnant or something,’ like she’s going to pack away her overnight bag from the guest room and be ready to go just like that.

“Eddie? What about you? I get it if you don’t, but like I said, I figured you’d want to get out of here too an–”

“Joder si, pendejo! I’m not gonna turn down a chance to get the fuck outta here!” He jumps up and crashes into Steve once again, squeezing him tight. “It means a lot that you’d want me to come with, Stevie.” He says quietly over Steve’s shoulder.

Steve wraps his arms around Eddie and stuffs his face into his curls, he smells like cinnamon. “Of course Eddie, anytime.”

Eddie pulls back with a soft smile, and gives Steve a look that makes him want to melt into a puddle. Eddie’s gaze flicks down momentarily, then there's a creak from the stairs and Eddie lets him go, backing towards the door. “I gotta go tell Wayne, he’s really going to be excited for me to get outta his hai–out from under his feet.”

Steve busts out laughing at that “I’m so gonna tell him that you said that.”

“You better not, pendejo, otherwise he’ll kill me dead and you’ll have one less roommate!” then Eddie’s turning and flying out the door to his van, taking off toward his and his uncle's new shared apartment.

“Okay, that one’s bad.” Robin says when she’s come down the stairs.

“Pendejo?”

“Yeah, it means ‘asshole’.” She laughs at Steve’s hurt expression, “Oh don’t take it too seriously, Dingus, obviously he was saying it in a joking way.”

“I really need to learn spanish.”

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I translated the best I could, PLEASE tell me if something is off in translation:

"¡Ya deja de chingar! Ándale, ándale!" - basically, "Stop your bitching! Hurry up!"

“¿Sabes español?” - You know spanish?

"Eso si" - Yes indeed (my husband says this one a lot lmao)

"cariño" - sweetheart

"Dios mio" - oh my god

“Querido, Estoy en casa!” - Honey, I'm home! (Querido meaning honey, darling, love, etc.)

"Joder si, pendejo!" - Fuck yeah, asshole! (said affectionately :) )

#steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #hispanic!eddie #hispanic!eddie munson #robin buckley #the party #st #stranger things #st ficlet #stranger things ficlet #fic #steddie fic #noelle writes

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mvltixcc · 2 months

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Girls Like Girls - Robin Buckley X Cheerleader!Reader

Summary: Robin has a crush on the new girl in town. Y/N is also a new member of the cheer squad, which means Robin sees her all the time at games and other school events. Unfortunately, Robin is put in a tough situation. She's scared to talk to her because the cheerleaders have a reputation of being mean girls and she fears that Y/N may not feel the same. Little does Robin know that Y/N does not appear as she seems. Y/N becomes best friends with Eddie, which seems unlikely at the surface due to different social circles. This leads to rumors of course and word spreads like wildfire here at Hawkins, which then makes Robin's feelings even more confusing. After hanging out with Steve and the gang, Robin starts to see a different side to Y/N. Will they end up together or will they just remain friends?

Word Count: 3.7k

Pinterest board for inspiration

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Chapter 6

You heard the ding of the bell as someone had entered the book store. “Hey there, welcome to- oh hey you!” You say looking up to the customer but seeing Robin instead. Your mood had instantly lifted. It had been months since the Christmas party at Steve’s and things were going great between you and Robin. You guys were hanging out a lot more. You had things that turned into weekly traditions. Like going to the movies every Friday night, going to the diner every Sunday morning and getting breakfast, and now that it was getting warm out you went on walks after school everyday. You loved the time you got to spend with her. It just felt right between the two of you. You had missed her and were grateful to have her back. “What are you doing here?” You asked with a smile.

“Oh you know, just bringing you some lunch. I figured it might be a slow day so I thought I’d keep you some company.” Robin said, setting down some food to share between the two of you.

“Well aren’t you just a peach!” You say walking from behind the counter and giving her a hug.

“You look so pretty today.” Robin complimented as she took your hand. You did a twirl while still holding her hand. You were wearing a white top with a black skirt, something simple but still so beautiful in Robin's.

You blushed at her compliment. “Thank you sweet angel!” You thanked her.

The pair of you sat and ate the food that Robin had brought. You chatted about spring break plans as it was coming up in a few weeks. Steve of course wanted to throw a party since his parents would be gone and Eddie wanted to go on a road trip with everyone. But you and Robin just wanted to stay back and have a nice relaxing time. Sadly it was not an option as it was split in the middle and it was up to the two of you to decide what you all did.

“I mean if we pick a party at Steve’s, maybe it won't be a big thing? You know, just make it like a few of us or something?” Robin suggested.

“Yeah that could work honestly. You don’t wanna be stuck in a van with Eddie, it can get super gross and smelly. He is a man after all! Plus all of us confined in such a tight space like that, we’d probably kill each other eventually.” You chuckled. The thought of that could make Robin spiral, she had avoided Eddie as much as she could. If she were around him, she’d just get angry and sad all over again just like that night at your house all those months ago.

“So it’s settled then, we’ll have a small party at Steve’s. I’d better call him and let him know, can I use the phone here?” She asked, you handed her the phone and cleaned up the trash from lunch.

“Hey Harrington, we made a decision. We’ll have the party. BUT, only if it’s just our group. No big Harrington bash. I’m serious!” She said. Robin continued the phone call with Steve as you finished cleaning up. “Yeah yeah yeah, whatever dingus. Look I gotta go okay? Bye.” Robin said, hanging up the phone shortly after. People were starting to stagger in and look around, which meant Robin had to leave. “Alright well, I guess I should head out and let you go.”

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow angel!” You said waving goodbye to her and quickly started helping people find what they needed. You liked working at the bookstore, it was usually pretty calming most days. Plus when it was super dead, you were able to read some of the books yourself. You were currently hooked on reading The Lord of The Rings series and you had just finished The Hobbit not too long ago. You wished you could buy the full set, but it had cost way too much.

“Did you find everything all right Mrs. Gibson?” You said as you were checking out one of your usual customers. Mrs. Gibson would come in every week to find new books for her young granddaughter. It was sweet and you enjoyed the conversations you would have with her.

“Oh yes I did! How have you been my dear?” She asked.

“I’ve been great! Just been working, going to school, and hanging out with my friends. I hope you’re doing well!” You replied.

“I’ve been doing good! Any fun plans for spring break?” She asked, pulling her wallet out of her purse.

“Your total is $13.45 by the way! Me and a few friends are gonna have a small get together, but that's all that I have planned. How about you, do you have anything fun planned?” You say to her.

“Well Mr. Gibson and I are planning on heading to Florida with the family, we have a little beach house there and we go a few times a year!” Mrs. Gibson replied, handing you the cash.

“That sounds lovely, I hope you and your family have a wonderful time!” You handed her the receipt and exchanged goodbyes.

The rest of your shift went by rather quickly, you soon headed home to get dinner and ready for bed as you had school in the morning.

You stood at your locker getting your books for the next few classes, when suddenly you see a pair of feet before you. You close your locker to see Robin standing there. “Are we still on for tonight?” She asked with a grin.

“Yes we are, but I do have to help Eddie study for exams after school. I will absolutely be there to pick you up at our usual time once I'm done!” You say as you walk with her to your next class, which you just so happened to have with her.

“Seems a little early to be studying for exams doesn’t it?” Robin questioned.

“Well you know Eddie, he’s gotta start early if he wants to graduate with us.” You said. This was important to you which meant it was important to Eddie. He didn’t want to disappoint anyone, especially you. He cared too much about you to let you down. So if that meant he had to buckle up and study, then that's what he would do.

“I guess that makes sense. As long as he doesn’t take you away from me for our movie night then we’ll be good, otherwise I’d probably have to beat him up.” You chuckled at her joke but Robin was only semi joking. You both took your seats as class was starting.

“Alright everyone, pop quiz time!” The teacher said which made the class groan.

Robin sat on her front steps waiting for you to pick her up for the movies. She continuously kept checking her watch, she feared that you were gonna be late or not show up at all. She knew how you got when you would hang out with Eddie. As Robin got caught up with her anxious thoughts, she heard a honk. She had checked her watch for the time. There you were right on time as you said you would. Robin let out a sigh of relief, she hated thinking the worst at times. Especially when the thing she was so anxious about ended up working out and being fine in the end.

“You ready to go?” You asked as Robin got in the car. She nodded and buckled her seatbelt. “Alright then, let's go!” You said driving off to the theater.

You make it there and stand in line to get your tickets. As you were deciding which film to see, you heard a voice behind you. “Oh well well well, look who it is, girls?” You and Robin turn around to see who it is, but deep down you know already.

“Hello Chrissy.” You say with an unpleasant sigh. “Can we help you with something?” Robin asked.

“Yeah you can actually, why don’t you both go crawl back into whatever hole-” Robin held up her hand to Chrissy.

“Would you just give it up already and go bother someone who actually gives a shit?” Robin stated. She was a little shocked with herself. She never stood up to people like Chrissy.

“Ugh whatever! Let’s get out of here girls” Chrissy scoffed as her and her friends walked away.

“Next please!” The ticket holder called. It was your turn in line. You bought your tickets and made your way inside to get snacks and catch your seats. You had decided on seeing Gremlins as Robin hadn’t seen it yet and she knew how much you enjoyed horror films. Plus it had a little bit of a Christmas feel to it, which you knew how much Robin loved Christmas.

The movie was going well and you were both enjoying it. Robin was so tranced at the screen that she almost jumped at you holding her hand, but that feeling had soon faded as you started to rub your thumb against her skin. It was a simple act of affection but it meant so much to Robin. It brought her so much comfort and reminded her of the first night that you ever held her hand. She got butterflies just thinking about it.

“So did you enjoy the movie?” You asked as you drove Robin home.

“I actually did!” Robin exclaimed, she was rambling on about the cinematography and anything else that she could having to do with the film. “I’m rambling again aren’t I? Oh god I’m sorry, when I get excited-”

“It’s okay, I find it cute the way you ramble. Especially when you get excited about things.” You reassured her. You turned to her and moved a piece of hair out of her face gently. “There, now I can see all of your pretty face!” You say with a giggle. Robin just sat there with her mouth open, all she could do was sit there and turn a light shade of pink.

“I um-” She coughed trying to clear her throat. “Thank you.” Robin said, looking straight ahead. For the rest of the ride home you talked about what you both would do before the party at Steve’s. You had decided on going to the park and reading a book with her and going to the music store to check out the new records that were in stock. You were both excited to spend more time together, just the two of you doing things that you both enjoyed.

“Roads go ever ever on, Over rock and under tree, By caves where never sun has shone, By streams that never find the sea; Over snow by winter sown, And through the merry flowers of June, Over grass and over stone, And under mountains in the moon. Roads go ever ever on, Under cloud and under star. Yet feet that wandering have gone Turn at last to home afar. Eyes that fire and sword have seen, And horror in the halls of stone Look at last on meadows green, And trees and hills they long have known”

You read aloud as you lay your head in Robin’s lap. You were both lying in the field at the park as the sun was setting. You were finishing up reading The Hobbit to Robin as she hadn’t read it before. Eddie let you borrow his copy. As you were reading, Robin played with your hair with one hand, while you held the other. It was a perfect moment and neither of you wanted it to end. Once you had finished the book, the pair of you just stayed where you were. Enjoying the company of one another until the sun had fully set. Robin helped you clean up once it was time to go.

“So do you know who’s gonna be at this party tomorrow?” Robin asked. She wanted to make sure Eddie wouldn’t be there to ruin her moment. She was finally going to take Steve’s advice and ask you out. She felt that things were going well with the two of you and you had been spending more time with her than with Eddie.

“I’m honestly not sure, I know it’ll be us, Nancy and Mike, maybe Dustin, Lucas, and Max as well.” Robin let out a sigh of relief. Surely you would know if Eddie were coming and if you did then you would have told her. The both of you continued to talk more about the party as you drove Robin home.

“So I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 8 and then we can stay at my place after the party!” You say as Robin stands outside the driver side door.

“That sounds perfect to me, I’ll see you then! Drive safe!” Robin replied as she made her way to the front door.

“Don’t I always?” You chuckled and drove off.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day and Robin just hoped it would go the way she had planned it all week.

It was finally the big night of the party and Robin was a nervous wreck. She tried to hide that from you but you knew her too well. “You okay there?” You asked.

“What oh uh yeah, yeah I’m okay.” Robin replied, fidgeting with her fingers. You grab her hand and rub your thumb like you normally do. You could tell something was eating at her, but you never pushed her to tell you anything she didn’t want to talk about.

“Well whatever has you all anxious, just know I’m here for you, however you need me, okay angel?” You say still rubbing your thumb on her smooth skin. She nods her head and thanks you.

You both arrive at the party and already there’s a good amount of people there. You make your rounds to say hello to everyone and suddenly the doorbell rings.

“What’s up, party people?!” Eddie shouts over the music as he and a few of the other members of the Hellfire gang walk in, setting the pizza and soda down on the table.

“Oh my god Eddie!” You yell in excitement as you jump into his arms. You hadn’t seen him for a while and you missed him like crazy. “I missed you so so much Eds!”

He spun around with you in his arms. “I missed you too peach!” Eddie exclaimed.

Robin went into the kitchen to hide away, she was angry. She felt like her entire plan was ruined. Steve came into the kitchen to see what was wrong.

“Hey, what the hell is going on?” Steve asked as Robin was hunched over the counter.

“Why is he here?!” She asked, anger seeping in her voice.

“Well when I was inviting Dustin, Eddie may have overheard so I had to invite him too. I felt bad, I didn't want to leave him out.” Steve responded and gave his friend a sympathetic look. “Robin, I’m really sorry. I should have told you that he was coming. Y/N didn’t know, don’t be mad at her.”

She let out a harsh sigh. “Whatever.” She said brushing past Steve and going back to the party.

Everyone was watching a movie in the living room so Robin sat in the recliner and watched along to try and get her out of this sour mood. She was determined to get her moment with you, no matter what it takes. She wanted it to be perfect.

There you were sitting on the sofa with Eddie, your legs on his lap as he held onto you. She couldn’t take it anymore. She stormed out of the room and went outside and sat by the pool. You soon followed after her to see if she was okay.

“Robin? Hey, what's the matter?” You say sitting next to her.

“Why does HE have to be here?” Robin scoffed.

“Who?” You asked.

“Eddie, that's who!” She yells.

You had never seen Robin this upset before. You tried to comfort her the best you could. ‘Had something happened between them? Why was she so mad at Eddie?’ So many thoughts were racing through your mind you didn’t know what to think.

“Did something happen with you guys?” You questioned Robin.

“Yes- well no. Not exactly.” She began to quiet down and look away from you, trying to hide the tears that were forming. You could hear her voice breaking as she spoke.

“Hey, angel. Talk to me, what’s going on?” You said trying to get her to look at you.

“It’s just- it’s not fair.” Robin began to say.

“What’s not fair?” You asked.

“That HE gets to be with you. That he gets to make you laugh the way that you do, that he gets to do the things that I should be able to do with you. It’s just so goddamn unfair!” She sobbed.

“Robin-” She interrupted you before you could continue.

“That’s why I didn’t talk to you for that period of time, I couldn’t stand seeing you together the way that you are. I’ve been through this with Vickie. It broke me so badly and I never wanted to face that kind of rejection or humiliation ever again and now it’s happening all a second time. I had this big plan to ask you to be my girlfriend and to go to the prom with me. I love spending time with you. I love the way you twirl around in your skirts. I love the way you scrunch your nose like a bunny. I love the way that when the wind hits just right, I can smell your perfume and how sweet it is. I love the way that your eyes sparkle in the moonlight. I love the way that I feel when I’m with you. I love you. I love you so damn much. But I can’t bear to see you with Eddie anymore. I just-” You pulled her face towards yours and kissed her. She didn’t know what to think, she hadn’t done this with anyone before. It didn’t take long for her instincts to kick in. Robin began to kiss you back. Your lips began to move in sync with hers, like it was meant to be. You tasted sweet, like strawberries. She knew how she felt about you and she knew this just felt right.

“Robin, Eddie and I are just friends. I promise you that. He’s my best friend and that’s it. Eddie is my Steve.” You began to say. “He was the first friend I ever really made. I never had any growing up, I got picked on a lot. He understood me in ways that no one ever had. We both lost our mom’s and our dad's aren't the greatest.”

‘That would explain why she lived with her grandparents.’ Robin thought to herself. You began to wipe away her tears gently.

“Robin, I’ve had feelings for you for so long. I tried to give as many signals as I could, I just thought that you maybe didn’t feel the same. You are so special to me and I care about you so much. You mean everything to me. I love the way you ramble when you get nervous and even about the things that you're passionate about. I love that little hair that hangs in your face. I love that I can be myself when I'm with you. I love how funny you are, I just love you Robin.” You admitted to her.

“Really?” She asked.

“Yes really!” You giggled.

“So does this mean-” Robin started.

“Yes, I will be your girlfriend!” You said and you kissed her cheek.

“Cool, that’s- that’s super cool.” She said getting flustered. You giggled at her and stood up from where you sat.

“Come on, let’s go back inside and have a good time.” You suggested, holding out your hand to help her up. She took your hand and got up, following you back inside. The group ended up having fun the rest of the night, watching movies, eating junk food, and playing games. It was around midnight when everyone started to head home.

“Hey Munson, wait up!” Robin called to Eddie as he headed toward his van.

“What’s up?” He asked, turning around to face her.

“Look, I’m really sorry for the way I’ve treated you as of late. You’re a good guy and I was just-” She let out a sigh. “Just jealous of you and I thought that you were with Y/N, so I acted horribly to you and that wasn’t fair. I’m really sorry Eddie.”

He chuckled. “It’s alright Robin, really. You didn’t know and I don’t blame you for that. I appreciate the apology. Just hope that we can be friends now.”

“Definitely!” Robin proclaimed.

The two said their goodbyes and Robin made her way back to your car. You drove off back to your house, holding onto her hand. She began to think to herself about how Steve was right all along once again. “Damn you Harrington.” She muttered to herself.

“What was that?” You asked, looking over to her.

“Oh nothing, it was nothing.” Robin replied with a huge smile on her face.

Next chapter

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itwasthereaminuteago · 1 year

Text

|| Rough Road ||

Frank Castle x female Reader.

Tags/warnings: 'annoying acquaintances of circumstance' to lovers, fingering, oral (f rec), unprotected sex (wrap in RL!), swears 😯

Author's note: This is for the TFC December fic challenge 'Snowed In', so check the tags for more!

If you enjoy my fics please consider reblogging, it means others get to enjoy them too! Thank you so much for reading! 💕

"I think we should try and find somewhere to pull over." you say to Frank. You had been driving for hours and the snow was coming down harder now.

"Mm, I'm pretty sure there's a motel about 15 miles ahead, we can make it, get a couple of rooms and start again in the morning." He replies, concentrating on the road.

You stare up through the windscreen at the neverending horizonless thick grey-white of the sky and the flurry of heavy flakes building up on the road ahead of you. "I don't think we'll make it that far."

Sure enough after another couple miles the road became impassable, you had hardly seen any other cars ahead of you or coming the other way for most of the drive. It was gonna get dark fairly soon.

"Shit." Frank says simply, turning off the ignition after he stopped the van at the side of the road.

"Thank fuck I've got cell service" you say, "I'm gonna call for a truck."

While you were on the phone Frank checked his paper maps for the nearest habitations, but there was nothing that warranted risking trying to walk through a snowstorm at night.

"Okay, the rescue company is dealing with shitloads of people in similar situations and 'cos we've got a van and some supplies they're saying we're further down the list. Earliest they could get to us is tomorrow morning."

"Alright, well they'll probably have cleared the roads by then. Guess that ain't too bad. Just gotta hunker down for the night."

You kicked at the dash in frustration. "Urgh. I told you we should've left after the storm, now we're stuck here in your stupid van, which stinks by the way."

"Stinks?" He screwed up his face in disbelief. "What of? I keep it clean!"

"Of you!"

"Listen, as much as you're a complete pain in my ass it was too dangerous to wait in the city any longer. Now the Russians associate you with me…"

You threw your head back against the rest and sighed. "Yeah. I know. Just gotta lay low for a while." you parroted.

"This ain't exactly my idea of heaven either sweetheart."

You hated when he called you that. Even though it was just an automatic thing for him and it didn't mean anything it really annoyed you. He reached into the back bringing out a pack of cards from the seemingly random selection of shit he had squirreled away there. "Imagine you don't wanna talk about what happened, so it's this or I-Spy."

You groaned and nodded as you whiled away an hour or so playing blackjack until your hungry stomach noises got too loud to ignore.

"Alright, chicken or beef sub?" he asked, diving into the backpack.

You chose the chicken.

"Damn, this is really good. You pick them up before we left? Where from?"

"Made em." He replied, taking a bite of his own.

"Huh." You mused, digging in again.

"Surprised I can make a sandwich?" He scoffs.

You shrug. "Surprised you can make a good sandwich. Guess being ex-marine you gotta have some talents."

"You got no idea." He throws you a wink as he takes a sip of coffee from the thermos and you roll your eyes.

After another hour of whooping his ass at blackjack and a lightning quick excursion into the nearby trees and back to relieve yourself, your yawns and heavy eyelids make it clear that you're gonna have to go to sleep at some point soon.

"Does one of us, uh, need to keep watch or something?" You ask him, watching as he crawls into the back of the van and starts digging out a mat, a singular sleeping bag and blanket.

"Nah. Even if they did send someone to follow us ain't nobody getting through this, we're safe enough." He rolled out the bag and caught your awkward look.

You wrapped your arms around you, it was getting cold now the residual heat from the van had disappated. "So… just the one lot of bedding then?"

He nods. "Yeah, usually just me in here y'know, with all my stank."

You rolled your eyes again. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

He has to resist the urge to let you panic about sleeping beside him for a while longer, he's not that cruel. "It's okay, you can have it. I'll be alright up front." He sees your visible relief as you process what he's said, nodding and rummaging in your pack for the toothbrush and toiletries you'd thankfully picked up at your last gas stop, there having been no time to grab anything but the absolute ultimate essentials before you left.

The thick layer of snow that had built up around and on top of the van probably provided quite a bit of insulation, but that didn't exactly stop you from being fucking freezing. You tried to snuggle up deeper into the sleeping bag, all your clothes and a beanie on and the blanket on the top, but you were still cold. You tilted your head up to glance at Frank in the passenger seat, still awake with his jacket on and arms wrapped around himself tight, the occasional puff of his breath misting the air.

"You awake?" You ask, already knowing he was.

"Yeah. You alright?"

"Cold."

"Yeah."

The silence between you seemed to stretch on forever. You pull the blanket tighter around you.

Fuck it. "Uh, if you want, you could come back here, share the blanket? And y'know, body heat will help I guess."

"Thought you couldn't stand my stink?" He throws back at you.

"Well, the cold is kinda trumping that, but it's fine if you don't wanna… just thought it is your stuff after all, don't wanna put you out of your own van."

"Nah, s'good idea." he agrees, climbing into the back with you. You shiver at the initial chill as he lifts the edge of the blanket to lie next to you, your back to his. His jacket is cold against you but after a while you began to warm up, stopping your shivering and finding yourself drifting easily to sleep.

When you wake up it's still dark but you're warm, hot even. As you gradually gain a bit more consciousness you realise that the reason is because Frank has you in a bear hug. He must have turned around in his sleep. His arm is draped over you, big hand splayed over your stomach pulling you impossibly close to him. The only skin contact is his nose at the back of your neck, the warm exhales tickling the light hair there.

It's… pleasant, maybe even something more. He actually smells good. You smile to yourself thinking about the juxtaposition of this killing machine, this angry guard dog let off the chain being a big soft snuggly puppy of a man behind closed doors.

You shift slightly in his hold and then freeze.

Okay, maybe not so soft…

Despite the layers of clothing and a sleeping bag between you, it's unmistakable that it's his cock that's hard and pressing against your ass. You try to rationalise. It's just a normal bodily response after all, but do you dare move? What if he wakes up and it gets awkward, you've got a lot of driving still to do if this snow ever clears…

Any control is taken away from you as Frank stretches momentarily and then wraps you even tighter in his arms, his nose nuzzling into your skin and hips slowly grinding against you with a quiet contented moan. He suddenly stops, pulls away as he wakes and realises where he is, where you are, and what he's doing.

"Shit, fuck…" he turns away from you as he sits up scrubbing his hand over his face. "I'm sorry, I uh… it's uh, been a while since… y'know?"

The blanket rustles softly as you shrug.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" He cuts himself off as his eyes adjust to the darkness, his ears registering the sound of the sleeping bag zip being opened and his gaze finding the smallest glimmer of soft light reflected in your own.

"It's okay. S'been a while for me too," you admit. This might be the stupidest decision you've ever made when it comes to sex, or even when it comes to roadtrips, but you can't seem to override it. Not when he looks at you like that, smells like that, makes you feel like that. He saved your life but you don't think that's all it is.

You slough off your defensive dislike and begin to embrace something that at least feels real.

His face is a picture in the dim snow-reflected light within the van as you reach for him, pulling his warmth and his lips towards you. He's taken aback, but his hand cups your jaw and you find yourself surprised by the tenderness with which his mouth meets your own. You don't waste a second, catching his wrist and guiding him down to palm over your chest, quickly leading his hand under the waistband of your pants so he can feel just how much he's affected you in this short space of time. It's like you're trying not to have the time to think about it. You both carry ghosts from your past that you've never openly shared, but you know, simply from the slight hesitation in his touch even as you urge him on.

The tender kisses soon heat up. "Call me sweetheart again." You breathe against his mouth, and he groans deep as his fingers meet with the wetness at your core. Your own hands explore underneath his jacket, fingers feeling the hard muscle of his chest under his shirt. You reach down to cup his cock through his jeans and then tug at them, moaning as he hurries to unbutton your pants so he can swipe his fingers through your slick folds. His mouth is on your skin, hungry to taste more of you as you scrabble to undo his pants too, urging them and his underwear down just enough to free his gloriously erect cock. He helps you wriggle halfway out of your pants too and now you're jacking each other off like a couple of teenagers, his fingers slippery and desperate over your throbbing clit, and yours covered with sticky precum as you wrap your hand around and stroke him.

"Oh shit…" you whine, as he skillfully brings you closer to the edge, your hips moving against his hand as he watches you. You forget the cold, gasping as he slips a finger inside you, your grip tightening around his cock making him grunt in such a delicious way that you can't help the words spilling from your lips.

"Frank, fuck me, please!" You're begging, you've never begged for anything other than to stay alive, but you need this, you want to feel him inside you, there's nothing else that will satisfy the ache.

He pauses, staring at you like you've just proposed or something. It takes him a hot minute to register what you're saying, but once those words sear into his brain he moves fast, lips sucking and kissing at the skin of your neck like a brand as he yanks your pants all the way down and off, his mouth following. He pushes up your shirt when he gets to the hem, his tongue trailing right up the centerline of your body to your bra where he mouths over the curve of your breasts before pulling down a cup. You arch your back as he takes your peaked nipple between his lips before he continues downward.

You claw at his shoulders as his nose bumps at the front of your underwear, just giving your clit the barest pressure, teasing you instead of giving you what you need, but you soon change your mind as he hooks his fingers under the elastic pulling them off you so he can bury his face in your pussy. He presses your thighs apart, holding you down as your hips try to rise up to meet the mind melting sensation of his tongue on you, in you. You moan, curse, and praise him as he quickly stokes your need and desire into a sharp dense point where you can do nothing else but implode in on yourself, screaming his name as he makes you feel.

He rises from between your thighs, licking his glistening lips with a small smile. It looks good on him.

"You alright, sweetheart?"

"Getting warmer, could be better." You throw back as you catch your breath and return the smile, yanking him back over you and using your feet to help him push his pants all the way off. When you take him in your hand again his gaze flits between your eyes and your mouth, which he claims in a hot kiss as you guide him to you, reveling in the feeling of the head of his thick cock spearing inside your heat.

"God damn." is all he can say, and you can only agree as he repeats it like a mantra as the slow slide of his cock filling and stretching your cunt has your eyes almost rolling back into your head with a long and loud moan.

You wrap your legs around his waist as he rolls his hips into you, the mental and physical battle he's fighting between going slowly, gently, and pounding you fucking senseless is palpable. He's drawing out sounds that you would never even make when you're alone. It might just be because you haven't had any form of touch from anyone for a long time, but you're more certain that it's all him that's making you flustered, hitting all your spots and stripping you down to a bare wire of being with nothing but his soft dark eyes.

That growling, barking, flesh-ripping fighting dog is still there underneath, you can feel how he holds it inside himself, yanking at the chain and always ready to be released when there's a need. The fact that he's driven you out of the city is proof that he actually cares what the fuck happens to you, and that sort of blows your mind. You could have easily gone alone, you were ready to jump on a Greyhound and make your own way but he wouldn't have it. He made you his responsibility. Yeah he was a killer but he was also a protector. Your protector.

He wasn't much of a talker but with his dick buried inside you he's soon gritting out reams of praise that have you clenching around him and mewling as his hand squeezes over the firm curve of your ass.

"Feel so good girl, s'fucking tight…"

You inhale sharply as he reaches between your hot skin to find your clit and ensure that you feel what he's feeling. Your fingernails graze over his scalp and the short hair at the nape of his neck as you pull him even closer, your second orgasm building up fast as he drives into you over and over.

"Ohh, god-"

"That's it sweet thing," he murmurs against your ear as the indescribable feeling of his cock dragging inside has you both on the very edge. "C'mon angel, such a good girl f'me."

You keen at the praise, something he'd unlocked from your subconscious with the simplest key, something even you didn't know you would react to. "Fuck… you're gonna make me-"

Frank feels you start to shake around him, moving his fingers even faster over that swollen little bundle of nerves. It's too much.

"Shit. You feel too fuckin' good, I gotta-" He moves to pull out suddenly and you claw at his ass stopping him before he does, you'll be damned if you don't feel him come inside you.

You whine as he stills. "Fuck! Don't stop, don't fucking stop…"

He looks for your assurance. "You sure? You want this?" his voice is quieter now, wavering. If you say yes he doesn't know that he'll last.

You nod frantically, tilting your hips up, wrapping your arms around his neck, the movement making him groan as you feel like utter heaven around him. He never thought you could be so soft, so open, needy.

The van rocks gently on its suspension as he resumes, every powerful thrust as he's fucking you punching such beautiful sounds from your throat. He can feel every gripping twitch of your perfect cunt as you begin falling apart underneath him, so tight, hot, and wet and quietly begging him to fill you. Your nails dig into the muscle of his huge shoulders and your mouth falls open, thighs tightening their hold around his waist as your moans crest. Don't stop, you told him, and he briefly wonders how he thought he ever could when you feel like this.

"Good girl, fuck- that's my good girl…" it's whispered and desperate, he's barely holding on by a hair.

The possessiveness in his words makes your eyes scrunch up tight and your body open. His cock is hitting you hard right where you need it, the focused touch of his fingers radiating out and burning you up.

"F-frank I-"

You unravel, crying out as you clench around him again and again as torrents of pleasure rip through your entire body. Your eyes fly open, locked on his, determined to witness how he might follow you into bliss. Your hips buck up chasing his own, his harsh warm breath washing over your skin with a deep, sensual moan as he finally lets go, pulsing inside you, not stopping the slowing, stuttering motion of his thrusts until he's given you absolutely everything he's got.

Laying there still entwined, a deep satisfying rumble from Frank's chest breaks the contrasting near-silence as he carefully rolls you on top of him and strokes his fingers lightly over your cheek and along your jaw, sliding them into your hair as his lips brush yours in a soft kiss.

"Frank..." you hum, your forehead resting on his. You can't stop your small nervous giggle as you're still unsure about what this is.

"Yeah." is all he says in return, his hands gliding down over your bare back and your hips, the sleeping bag and blankets forgotten now that inside the van had become a damn sight warmer. The windows with the covering of snow on the outside almost glow through the misting from your body heat on the inside of the glass. It's like you're trapped in a snowglobe. The image soon shatters as your mind clears from the dreamy fog of what you've just done.

"Shit. I-I'm sorry, I know that you-" you start to explain all the reasons that you know this is just a one-time thing, more for yourself than him, but he stops you before you can reel off the excuses.

"Hey," he says, gently catching your chin in his hand and running his fingers lightly over your skin. "We don't need to do all that shit, y'know?"

You can't help looking anywhere but in his eyes.

"Hey, c'mon, it's okay." He repeats.

You wish he wasn't like this, wish he would be colder with you, go back to the sniping, reluctant, thrown-together partnership, or whatever it was you had before. It takes effort but when you manage to meet the warmth of his gaze it feels like something you could get used to looking at.

"Look, it is what it is, yeah? I'm gonna keep you safe, no matter what."

You nod and allow him to pull you close to his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breath and the thump of his heart through his ribcage.

"It is what it is," you murmur, your eyes growing heavy as you melt into sleep.

Frank tags:

@divinearchangel @saintmurd0ck @castlesnchurches @mindidjarin @hellskitchenswhore @pedrito-friskito @sweetieswiftie @shedaresthedevil @freshabogados

@father4giveme @stress--relief @e-dubbc11 @whistle1whistle @tea-and-wine @emiemiemiii @imherefordeanandbones @phoebe-danvers @munsonownsmyass

#TFC December challenge #frank castle x reader #the punisher x female reader #the punisher smut #frank castle smut #TFC challenge #frank castle x female reader

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stevesbipanic · 2 months

Text

Maroon

Happy birthday @henderdads in honour of you, the number one supporter of my Midnights collection, my go-to swiftie in my phone and because our Taylor has left my country singing this song on her last show here, enjoy.

When the morning came we were cleaning incense off your vinyl shelf

'Cause we lost track of time again

Laughing with my feet in your lap

Like you were my closest friend

"How'd we end up on the floor anyway?" You say

"Your roommate's cheap-ass screw-top rosé, that's how"

I see you every day now

“Steveeeee, your little candle died!” Eddie giggled from the other room. They’d spent the day unpacking Steve’s new apartment downtown. Well, Steve had unpacked, and Robin and Eddie had spent most of the day snooping through boxes. Robin had gone home, her parents still wary of her staying out after dark, Starcourt only a few months ago.

“Little candle? Oh, the incense,” Steve said coming into the room to see Eddie on the floor. He wiped off the little pile of ash and plopped down next to Eddie, stretching his legs over him. “Share that you gremlin, Robin bought that for my housewarming!” Steve reached over Eddie to grab the bottle of wine Robin’s mum sent with her.

“It’s too bad Robbie can’t live here with you, I don’t want you being all lonely,” Eddie pouted looking over at him.

Steve took a big gulp of the tangy wine, “You could always move in?”

“You wouldn’t get sick of me?”

“Nah, sounds nice seeing you every day.”

“Ok, Stevie, I’ll tell Wayne tomorrow, now gimme that bottle, roomies gotta share!”

And I chose you

The one I was dancin' with

In New York, no shoes

Looked up at the sky and it was

Living with Eddie was easy, it was nice having someone to come home to. The kids liked him too, winning them over with Hellfire and nerdy movie nights. Sitting on a bathroom floor with Robin figuring out why he got butterflies every time Eddie smiled wasn’t as easy but it felt healing.

“We should go out!” Eddie had said when Steve came out to him, blushing hard before Eddie continued. “Robbie looks too young to join me when I go to this gay bar in Indy but I bet they’ll look the other way for you, sweetheart.”

That’s how Steve found himself twirling around a brightly lit dancefloor that Friday, boys with boys and girls with girls around him and he felt light and free. Eddie never left his side, his scary dog energy scaring off any guys that might’ve asked Steve to dance but Steve didn’t mind, maybe it meant Eddie would keep dancing with him.

They stumbled down the road together, planning to sleep the night off in the van and drive home in the morning. Steve giggled looking up, the morning sun had begun peaking over the horizon, it’s colours dancing through him matching the warmth he felt in his heart.

The burgundy on my T-shirt when you splashed your wine into me

And how the blood rushed into my cheeks, so scarlet, it was

The mark you saw on my collarbone, the rust that grew between telephones

The lips I used to call home, so scarlet, it was maroon

After that night the boys felt closer than ever. It was no surprise when they ended up on the living room floor again, a bottle of cheap red wine between them. Laughter filled their home in a way it never did in Steve’s house growing up. Eddie threw his hands around as he spoke, inevitably spilling the wine on them, narrowly missing the carpet.

“Oh shit, sorry Steve!” Eddie said following Steve to the bathroom. For a brief moment, Steve thought of another stain in another bathroom, but as he turned towards Eddie all thoughts of that night left him. Eddie gently tried to get out the stain from the ruined shirt. Steve couldn’t help it, blame it on the wine, blame it on the location, but he reached out grabbing Eddie’s shirt and tugging him forward.

Their lips meeting, Steve tasted the wine and cigarettes they shared. He pulled back slowly, hoping he hadn’t ruined everything. He didn’t have to worry long as Eddie quickly pulled him back, meeting his lips again.

When the silence came, we were shaking blind and hazy

How the hell did we lose sight of us again?

Sobbin' with your head in your hands

Ain't that the way shit always ends?

It’s not always easy living with the person you care about most. November brought more nightmares, dreams he couldn’t explain to Eddie, wanting to keep him far away from the hell beneath them. He had to blame his screams for Robin on a fire and not the longest night of his life.

“Why won’t you talk to me, Stevie!”

“Because I can’t!”

“Why not!”

“I’m trying to protect you!”

Steve felt the slam of the door cut through him. For the first time in a long time, they sleep in separate beds.

You were standin' hollow-eyed in the hallway

Carnations you had thought were roses, that's us

I feel you no matter what

Steve came home a few days later to Eddie waiting at their door. Pink carnations held tightly in his hand, his teary eyes and flushed cheeks made Steve’s heart ache. Eddie looked up as he heard Steve approach, his voice cracking as he said his name.

The rubies that I gave up

“I’m sorry, Stevie. I shouldn’t have left, I was just worried about you.”

Steve gently took the flowers and Eddie’s hand, “I want to tell you, I just can’t and I need you to trust me, Eds.”

Eddie nodded and Steve unlocked their door leading them both inside. “You know, I love carnations,” Steve said giving Eddie a soft smile going to the kitchen to get them water.

Eddie laughed softly, “I thought they were roses, they just looked pretty and reminded me of you.”

Steve smiled, he thought about how his dad would always try and win his mother’s forgiveness with money and jewels, he liked this better.

And I lost you

The one I was dancin' with

In New York, no shoes

Looked up at the sky and it was maroon

No matter how hard Steve tried to protect the people he loved, they always seemed to get dragged into it. Steve never wanted to see Eddie as terrified as he did in that boathouse. He wishes he’d gone with Eddie that night after the game, but he’d promised Lucas that he’d drive him to the after-party. He didn’t even know Eddie was still dealing.

“Don’t be a hero,” he’d said, but now Eddie was bleeding in his arms. Dark red blood seeping into their shirts like the wine did all those months ago. Eddie’s eyes slipped closed on the drive to the hospital.

The burgundy on my T-shirt when you splashed your wine into me

And how the blood rushed into my cheeks, so scarlet, it was (maroon)

The mark you saw on my collarbone, the rust that grew between telephones

The lips I used to call home, so scarlet, it was (maroon)

Everywhere Steve looked he saw red. He refused to leave the hospital until Eddie was out of surgery. Robin had dragged him to the bathroom, forcing him to wash the blood that coated his arms down the drain. She’d left to get him a change of clothes, leaving him to sit on the hard chairs in the waiting room.

The cushions a bright red, the blood a muddy maroon under his nails, his shirt stained a deep scarlet, the smell of rust and iron coming off of him, a crimson sky behind his eyes.

And I wake with your memory over me

That's a real fucking legacy, legacy (it was maroon)

And I wake with your memory over me

That's a real fucking legacy to leave

Steve doesn’t remember when he sat down beside Eddie’s bedside. He just remembers a teary phone call to Wayne and seeing Eddie still breathing. Wayne had to go to work, Steve didn’t have anywhere to be since Family Video sunk into the earth with half the town. Pink carnations in a vase at his bedside.

“I told you not to be a hero, Eds.”

The brief bouts of sleep he got leant over Eddie or curled up in his chair were plagued with losing Eddie over and over. Til one night he dreams of them back in their apartment, lying on their floor, Eddie’s fingers brushing through his hair. He wakes, still feeling the edges of his dream, fingers still in his hair. He glances up and meets warm brown eyes.

“Eds, you’re awake!”

“Sorry I tried being a hero, Stevie, I should’ve trusted you.”

The burgundy on my T-shirt when you splashed your wine into me

And how the blood rushed into my cheeks, so scarlet (it was maroon)

The mark you saw on my collarbone, the rust that grew between telephones

The lips I used to call home, so scarlet (it was maroon)

The day Eddie comes home, a town rebuilt, Steve swears the sky is the same pink it was that night in Indianapolis. He helps Eddie up the stairs, opening the door, the apartment just how they left it. The warm burgundy blanket on their ruby couch. A bottle of red wine on the counter, cherry wood cabinets and chestnut floors. A soft blush on both their faces as they lay down on the scarlet sheets of their bed. Merlot on their lips as their sucked soft wine-coloured bruises, taking back their love from months so close yet so far apart.

It was maroon

Steve would wake later, lips bit rough and maroon and thank the world that life didn’t end under a blood-red sky.

Ao3

#happy bday cass #taylor swift #midnights collection #maroon #steddie #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #ao3 fics

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runningmunson · 2 years

Text

I Do

Pairing: Eddie Munson x gn!Reader

Word Count: 914

Summary: 3 times Eddie got down on one knee and you jokingly say I do, and the one time he gets on one knee for real

Warning: swearing

Masterlist

First time:

You were sitting on a chair reading a book, watching Eddie clean up after a long and intense campaign. You never played, usually choosing to sit next to Eddie reading, but you loved watching. They all become so animated and excited, Eddie’s eyes lighting up as he leads. To you, there is nothing better than watching the person you love do something they love.

You tore your eyes away from the pages as you heard a clatter on the floor. One of the figurines glides across the floor, landing in front of you. “Shit,” Eddie said as he walked over to pick it up, bending down to one knee.

You saw this as the perfect opportunity to mess with him a bit. The book dramatically slips out of your hands and onto the floor. You let out a gasp, a hand flying to your chest. Eddie’s head shot up to look at you.

“Eddie! I can’t believe this is happening; I thought you would never ask! I do! Of course, I’ll marry you!” You yelled excitedly. Eddie was confused at first before realizing what you were doing, panic spreading on his face. You started laughing.

“Oh- uh sweetheart, I don’t think I’m quite ready for that yet,” Eddie laughed, a shadow of a smile gracing his lips.

“I’m not ready either, but you should have seen your face!” You got up from the chair, picking your book up. “Alright, let’s finish picking this up so we can head out. A movie night is calling my name.”

“As you wish, princess,” Eddie said before going back to cleaning.

Second time:

It was late at night, and you and Eddie had just finished watching a movie. “Hey, I’m gonna go have a smoke if you wanna join me.”

Eddie grabs his pack and a lighter, walking out the front door. You followed him, sitting on the couch outside his trailer. He took a cigarette out of the pack, placing it loosely between his lips before lighting it.

You two sat in comfortable silence. Your head was leaning on his shoulder and his left hand was placed tightly on your thigh. The only movement that came from either of you was the occasional flicking of ashes into the tray sitting next to Eddie.

He leaned over to put his cigarette out then going to grab his lighter to place it in his pocket before accidentally dropping it on the ground. He got up from the couch, placing a knee on the floor to search for the dropped lighter.

“I’m so happy you are asking me to marry you! I do, Eddie!” You giggled. Eddie chuckled, finding the lighter and standing up. He grabbed your hand and pulled you up with him.

He shook his head, grinning from ear to ear, “You’re cute, you know? Now let’s get to bed.”

Third time:

Corroded Coffin had just finished a show at The Hideout. Eddie was taking his equipment back to the van with you following not far behind. He loaded an amp in the back and then turned to grab his guitar from you.

“That was a great show tonight! You guys were amazing!” You loved watching Eddie play guitar. It was hypnotizing to you.

“Thanks, babe,” he kissed you before continuing. “Oh shit, your shoe is untied. Don’t want you to trip carrying anything.” He bent down on his right knee to tie your shoe for you.

“Eddie! A hundred times yes, I do!” You throw your hands into the air. Eddie just looked up and rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what you were doing by now before finishing up with your laces.

“You know, you really gotta stop getting down on one knee in front of me if you aren’t going to propose, Munson,” you laughed.

“Oh don’t worry, you’ll have my last name soon enough,” Eddie said with a smirk, walking away and leaving you speechless.

Fourth time:

You and Eddie were taking a walk around Lovers Lake to enjoy the beautiful summer day. The weather was perfect, and the sun was beginning to set. There was a bench next to the lake that you began walking over to, wanting to enjoy the sunset. You took a seat, waiting for Eddie to join you, except he didn’t.

“(Y/N)…” Eddie called out. You turn around to see him on one damn knee again. Only this time in his hand he held a small box with a diamond ring sitting in the center. You gasp, your hand going to cover your open mouth in shock.

“I’m on my knee for real this time, babe. I love you so much. You’ve always stood by my side, always treated me like an equal. You’ve never judged me and have always been there to cheer me on in whatever I do. You’re my biggest supporter.”

“Eddie,” you whispered. Tears began pooling in your eyes.

He continued, “You saved my damn life in more than one way. You complete me and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

“Yes! Yes, I'll marry you” You yelled, hot tears streaming down your face and a huge smile on your lips. Eddie’s face matched yours as he got up and slid the ring on your finger. He gently grabbed your face in his hands, kissing you like he’s never kissed you before.

“I can’t wait to finally say I do.”

“I can’t either.”

#eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson #stranger things imagine #stranger things #eddie munson x gn!reader #eddie munson oneshot

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gretavangroupie · 9 months

Text

Vigilance: The Outtakes - Rekindled

Word count: 12.8k

Pairings: Sam x OC

Warnings: Alcohol, Smoking, Cursing, Mentions of Sickness, Death, Heartbreak, Abandonment, Dramatic Themes, Angst, Fluff, Smut Including: Kissing, Making Out, Touching, Fingering, Digital Penetration, Praise, Unprotected Sex.

A/N: Hey! Welcome to Vigilance: The Outtakes! Not everything can make the cut, right? These outtakes will be snippets of things that we cut from the original story during the editing process, but are still important to the overall storyline and may even provide a bit of background information on previously mentioned plots, characters and themes. These outtakes will not be posted on a schedule, but will be released as we see fit. Keep your eyes peeled you won't want to miss these!

SAM POV

AUGUST 2017

“We did it boys…” Danny said, flopping down into the chair in the makeshift greenroom.

“Finally a fucking week off…what’s it been? Two months?” Jake says, popping the lid off of his beer.

“Yeah, two months.” you reply, sitting down on the worn leather couch. You were still sweating from your set, your heart still racing and the adrenaline still coursing through your system. The last show of your two month long run across the East. Tonight you’d leave Atlanta and head home for a much needed break.

Luckily tonight the set was just a handful of songs, and you knew them like the back of your hand, in fact, you could probably play them in your sleep.

“Then what?” Danny asks.

“Then we start back again, hit the West. Be gone until we come home for Christmas I guess.” Josh replies.

Shit. A week off? That’s it?

Seconds later a man walks through the door and nods, “Good show boys, gotta clear this room for the next act. Make sure one of you sees the bartender for your payout.” he says, and just as quickly he is gone.

“Damn, really getting the royal treatment.” Josh says.

“I’ll start loading up, Danny, you want to help me?” Jake asks.

“Yeah, Sam, you got clean up?” he asks.

“Sure.” you agree.

As they all file out of the small room you begin collecting up trash, empty cans and bottles into a grocery bag you found on the table. You had spent all of about two hours in here. How you had amassed such a large amount of garbage was a mystery.

Once you had all of the trash collected you set it on a table and began moving the chairs and furniture around, repositioning everything how you found it when you got there. You made your way over to your bass, locking it securely into its case, and setting it by the door for Jake and Danny. Your phone buzzed in your pocket, and you looked up from your duties as you pulled it from your pocket.

Y/N

10:38pm: Yeah! Classes are going so good! I made some new friends! Miss you! Where are you guys even at?

Of course. You’d asked her that four days ago. Four.

You shook your head and shoved it back into your pocket snatching the bag of trash off the table to take to the dumpster.

It was hot outside, and the air was so humid you felt like you were practically swimming. If you weren’t already sweating, you were now. The streets were busy with people walking from bar to bar down the bustling strip.

You walked around to the back of the bar, spotting the dumpster in the alleyway, near where Jake and Danny were loading the van.

As you stepped up to it you noticed, there were actually two dumpsters, one trash, and one recycling. You smiled to yourself and began sorting the trash from the bag in your hand, tossing the cans into the blue dumpster.

As you were about to walk off, a side door opened, and a girl in a pair of black denim overalls stepped out, hauling a black trash can behind her. Her face was covered by a mess of brown curls tied up into a messy bun. You watched her struggle to pull the obviously heavy can towards the dumpster, as she fought with the yellow rubber gloves on her hands.

“Here, let me help you.” you offered, watching her head snap in your direction.

She looked up at you, her eyes as big as the moon overhead. “Oh. Oh, sorry. No. It’s okay. I’ve got it. Just full of liquid I think.” she said, dragging it towards you.

“It’s really no big deal…” you offered again, stepping towards her.

“Just help me drag it over?” she asks.

You nod, and grab the handle, pulling it to the dumpster with ease.

“Thanks. How embarrassing.” she said, a blush creeping over her face. A small dimple formed in her cheeks as she tried to stifle the smile on her lips.

“Don’t be embarrassed, I’m sure that thing is full of half drank beers and glass bottles.” you said, trying to cheer her up.

“You were playing, a little while ago…” she said, starting to throw bottles into the dumpster.

“Yeah, I was. Did you catch our set?” you asked nervously.

“Yeah, I mean sort of, I was collecting trash but I heard you guys, caught the end for sure.” she answered, a small flutter gliding through your chest.

“What did you think? Did you… enjoy it?” you asked, completely unsure if you wanted to hear her answer.

Even in the dark light of the alleyway you could see how pretty she was. A tingle in your chest caught you by surprise. You hadn’t felt it in years.

“Yeah! You guys were alright.” she admits.

“Oh. Yeah, well, this is our last stop for a bit. We are a little burnt out, kinda ready for a break.” you say, trying to seem like it didn’t hurt you just a little.

A smirk crossed her lips, “I’m Elle. Well, Eleanor, but my friends call me Elle.”

“Are we friends?” you ask playfully.

“I think we could be.” she smiles, hauling the heavy bag out of the can. “This is typically the part where you tell me your name.”

“Oh! Yeah, sorry, I’m Sam.” you laugh.

“Well Sam, what’s your band called?” she asks.

Oh god, don’t ask…

You swallow nervously, “Greta Van Fleet?” you answer.

“Is that a question?” she asks.

“No. You’re right. Greta Van Fleet is the name of our band.” You answer confidently.

“Okay Sam of Greta Van Fleet, where do you guys live?” she asks.

“Michigan. Frankenmuth, Michigan.” You say, pointing to your palm. “What about you? You live here?”

“No. I actually live almost two hours from here. I’m just here for the night.” she says.

“Working in a bar?” you ask.

“Well, kind of. The bar owner gives out tickets for shows here if you volunteer to clean up after a show night. Blitzen Trapper will be here next month and I really want to go, so I figured tonight would be just as good as any.” she says.

Wow, a girl with taste.

You smile at her, watching her throw the black trash bag into the dumpster, shaking off her yellow gloves. She removes them and holds them in her fist as she turns back to you.

“I’m really glad I picked tonight.” she smiles.

“I’m glad you did too.” you agreed.

“So, Sam from Greta Van Fle–”

“Sammy! Let’s go!” Jake calls out in the distance.

Shit.

“You have to go…” she says nodding her head, grabbing the handle to the trash can.

“Yeah, we have…a long drive ahead of us.” You admit.

“A long drive, huh?” she smiles.

“Yeah, maybe I could text you?” you ask, feeling your heart pound out of your chest.

“Are you asking for my number, Sammy?” she says, mocking Jake’s words.

“Yeah, I think I need it.” you reply, probably putting your feelings out there a bit too much.

She smiles and reaches out her hand, as you pull your phone from your pocket. You hand it to her, and watch her type away, her eyes sparkling in the light of your phone.

“There. I sent myself a message so I’d have yours too.” she says, handing your phone back to you.

You glance down and a smile sneaks out seeing her name across your screen. Eleanor, with a small white heart.

“Perfect. I need to go before they leave me here. And yes, they definitely would leave me if you’re wondering.” you laugh.

“Okay, well you better go…I hope I hear from you, Sam of Greta Van Fleet.” she smiles.

“You will, Eleanor of… two hours away from here.” you laugh.

You put your phone in your pocket and start to walk away, heart racing as your mind tumbles though a thousand different scenarios.

“Sam, wait!” she calls.

You turn on your heels, looking over your shoulder at your brothers, starting the van.

“You… you sounded really good. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you all night.” she admits, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“Really?” you ask, the thought falling from your lips before you could catch it.

She nods, “This is going to sound crazy, I know we just met by a dumpster and I probably reek, but I just…I feel like I want to kiss you.” she says.

“Me?” you ask, completely shocked.

“Yeah…” she smiles, her dimple showing again.

“For the record, Elle, even covered in trash juice, you’re the prettiest girl I’ve seen in a long time. And I want to kiss you too.” you reply.

You grabbed her hand and pulled her towards you, letting your hand glide up to her chin, as the two of you drifted towards each other, before pressing your lips together. Your hand cupped her face as you felt her soft lips against yours, sending a shock through your body. Her hand rested on your stomach as you kissed her back, slow and soft, if only just this once.

You pulled away from her, eyes completely blown out with lust, as you removed your hand from her smiling face.

“I’ll see you Sam…” she said, shoving her gloves into her back pocket, lugging the trash can through the door behind her.

You stood there as the door shut, mind spinning from the kiss you could still feel on your lips. Who was this woman? What had she done to you?

“Two seconds asshole!” Jake yelled from the driver's seat.

You ran over to the van, sliding in next to Daniel in the back, still thinking of her. You pulled your phone from your pocket and immediately went to her message.

You

11:13pm: Sam

Should you message her again, or should you wait to hear from her? You wiped your sweaty hands on your jeans, bouncing your leg up and down as you tried to weigh your options.

“What’s got you all worked up?” Danny asks, scrolling through his phone.

You let out a sigh, “Nothing I just…I just met the coolest girl.”

“A girl?” he asks, looking over to you.

“Yeah, throwing trash in the dumpster.” you smile.

“Romantic…” he smirks.

“It kind of was…” you admit.

“Whatever, might as well forget her. You’ll never see her again.” he laughs.

No. You knew you would. But you couldn’t say that. That sounds crazy. Right?

After a few more minutes of nervously switching between apps on your phone you opened your thread with her, and began to type.

You

11:34pm: Too soon?

Eleanor🤍

11:39pm: What took you so long?

—

From that point on the two of you were practically inseparable, well, not physically. You would spend most of your time talking to her. Texting, calling, anything you could. The more you got to know her the more you realized how similar the two of you were. She told you about her hometown, a place similar to your home. She told you about her family, just her and her dad. She told you about her hopes and dreams and you told her yours. She encouraged you and believed in you, eventually admitting she watched your entire set that night, barely able to drag her eyes away from you.

Elle was the beacon of light you didn’t know you were looking for. Finding you at a time in life where you felt stagnant. As the tour continued through the fall the two of you grew closer, eventually deciding to see each other again as soon as possible. That time would come around Christmas, when you’d convinced her to come to Frankenmuth. She met your family and your friends, all who welcomed her with open arms. How could they not?

To say the two of you were nervous would be an understatement, but the moment you saw each other it was like everything clicked into place. All the hours spent talking to each other, learning everything there was to know about each other, all had a meaning. A purpose.

When summer rolled around she decided to stay for the season, taking a job at a local boutique and crashing with you. You spent your days busy working, and your nights wrapped up in each other. Your life felt like it was finally falling into place. You couldn’t imagine a day without her in it, and frankly you didn’t want to.

A year later, when the time came to move to Nashville, she decided to move with you, packing up her life in Georgia and moving to what she referred to as ‘the big city’. She had her conditions though, opting for her own apartment a few blocks from your house. Though the two of you spent practically every night together, she felt happy having her own space, and who were you to take that away from her?

You remember that summer, the first time you told her you loved her, sitting in your backyard, watching the fireflies buzz around in the bushes. She watched them in awe, talking about her childhood and chasing them near the lake. You still aren't sure if it was the heat or the alcohol, but the words tumbled from your lips and you made no effort to stop them. You did love her. You think you may have even loved her that first night you kissed her. Through the years it became more and more clear to you that you couldn’t live without her, and maybe you weren’t supposed to. It hadn’t been an easy road but it was one she wanted to travel with you.

—

SEPTEMBER 2020

“Alright guys, let’s take a break. I gotta piss and I need a drink.” Danny said, standing up from his kit.

You slung the strap over your head, setting your bass into the stand before bounding up the stairs after Daniel. It had been a long week practicing nonstop. Tucking yourselves away in the foothills of the mountains, where the fog rolled in around 7pm. You spent days strategizing, writing, even arguing, but making magic nonetheless.

After a morning spent in the sun shooting visuals for the single release, you promised to lock yourselves inside the basement for the rest of the night, hammering out a few final details for one of the tracks.

There were pro’s and con’s to not being able to tour. But as of recently, you’d only been seeing the con’s. At least that’s how it felt. You weren’t able to travel at all, and mentally you felt it was taking a bit of a toll on you. You liked to fill your days traveling city to city, and country to country. Truth be told it's all you’d ever really known. So when you were parked in Nashville indefinitely, it brought all of your lives to a screeching halt.

You sipped a seltzer on the stiff leather couch, placed peculiarly in the living room of the cabin, watching as Josh and Jake argued over the difference between a Hazy IPA and a Juicy IPA, stating ‘not all hazy’s are juicy, and not all juicy’s are hazy’. Regardless they both did the job of numbing your mind to the persistent bickering of your twin brothers.

You felt your phone buzz in your pocket, causing your eyebrows to raise, seeing as how you hadn’t had proper cell phone reception in nearly two full days. You pulled it from your pocket, and swallowed nervously as you read the name on the screen.

Eleanor🤍

10:25pm: Hey, just wanted to let you know that Dad passed away the day before yesterday. He went peacefully. I held his hand all the way through...hospice was here to make it a little less painful. His funeral is this Friday.

Eleanor🤍

10:27pm: Sam, I’m not coming back to Nashville. I need some time. I’ve gotta get my feet back on the ground and figure things out. I hope you understand. Thank you for everything you did for me, and for my dad. I know he appreciated you all the way up until the end. Please, don’t respond to this, just know that you were one of the greatest parts of my life.

You stared at the phone in your hand while the guys continued to talk in the kitchen. You settled forward with your elbows on your knees as the news hit you.

You sat there, completely dumbfounded and unable to form a thought. He died two days ago? Why hadn’t she said anything?

She was completely alone, she was there with him when it happened. She has nobody to lean on. No one to cry to. What does she mean she’s not coming back to you? Is she leaving you? Is it over?

You knew you hadn’t seen Elle in a few weeks; she decided with her dad being so sick, it was best to stay away from each other for a while so as not to bring any unforeseen illness around him. She left you with a kiss and a see you soon, and you believed her. You understood. You agreed. You agreed with the unspoken condition that she would be back. But now?

You dropped your phone to the floor beside you, letting your head fall into your hands.

“Sam?” Danny said, walking over to your side. Jake and Josh followed closely behind, as they all stood around you.

“What Sammy boy, you okay?” Jake asked.

You kicked your phone to his feet, eyes barely catching his movement as he bent down to retrieve it.

“What? What does it say?” Danny urges.

“Fuck.” he says, blowing out a breath, “Elle’s dad died two days ago. She’s not coming back.”

—

LATE JUNE 2021

You never thought you’d find yourself in this position. After Elle left you were a little unsure if you could ever even feel like that for another person again. It took you months to pull yourself out of the depression you were in. Spending night after night wondering where she was, and what she was doing. How she was doing. Texts went unanswered, phone calls straight to voicemail. It was the worst you had felt in your life, and you didn’t know how to snap out of it.

Throwing yourself into the production aspect of the new album, you nitpicked and critiqued every last detail until you felt it was perfect. Essentially it was. You and Josh would spend nearly every night listening to the album start to finish, picking out things to tweak the following day. Eventually both of you ran out of fixes. Those nights spent with Josh were the most helpful. Letting him talk to you in a way that only he could. Explaining things in the way only he can. Slowly you came around, meeting Daniel for dinner, or Jake for drinks. Going for a walk through the park with Josh. Every day started to get easier and easier until you woke up one morning and the hurt you were harboring was so small, you couldn’t feel it anymore.

A few weeks later you walked into a bar to meet the guys, and left with the last person you’d ever expected. A person who held a piece of your heart you weren’t sure you’d ever see again. Suddenly though, you took hold of a piece of hers, and you would be damned if you were ever going to let it go.

Things had changed. She had changed. But she was also the same girl you remember, sitting next to you on your living room floor, pencil behind her ear as she drug her pink highlighter through a history textbook. The girl who slow danced with you at prom to a song that has lived in your head ever since and for the first time in a long time Elle was not a thought in your mind.

—

You

1:37pm: Hey there sunshine! Question…

Y/N

1:41pm: Hey babe! Yes?

You

1:41pm: We made plans to go home for the fourth, would you like to go?

Y/N

1:45pm: Actually, I am already going back! Told my parents a few weeks ago I would be home.

You

1:47pm: Well perfect! We’ll be going to the lake, you’re invited obviously. I’ll let you know what time.

Y/N

1:50pm: You sure that’s okay?

You

1:51pm: Positive. Get some rest tonight, I’ll see you when we get there.

Y/N

1:52pm: Safe travels!

—

“Moooooom! We’re hoooome!” Josh called through the house as you followed behind, lugging bags and boxes of fireworks.

“My babies!” she cried as she came bounding towards the door, taking you both in her embrace.

“I’m so happy you’re all going to be here! How long are you staying?” She asked, taking the bags from your hands.

“Just a few days, Ma. We’re actually busy touring rockstars, did you forget?” you said, finally able to pull your sunglasses to the top of your head and close the door behind you.

It always felt so good stepping through the front door of your home, no matter how many times you’d done it. The familiar sound of the echoes of your voices bouncing off the walls, the smell of the home itself, and the instant feeling of comfort enveloping you, no matter how long it had been.

You and Josh had spent most of the evening stocking up for the lake the next day, visiting two or three stores to get plenty of beer and snacks for the long day on the water.

“Should we get mortars or bottle rockets?” you ask, standing back and looking at all of the choices on the shelves.

“Uh, fuckin’ both? Whoa, look at this!” Josh replied, picking up a giant box filled with a mixture of a bunch of different fireworks. He was like a kid in a candy store, filling up the basket with tons of boxes while you followed along through the aisles.

“Think this is enough beer? What is Danny even drinking these days?” Josh asked as you continued perusing.

“I don’t think he gives a shit as long as it gets him drunk.” You replied as you picked up two cases of seltzers, and some white claw for Y/N.

Speaking of…

You pulled your phone from your pocket to text Y/N, but instead found a text from a contact that you hadn’t seen in ages.

Elle?

Her contact in your phone still had a heart next to it. You couldn’t ever bring yourself to take it off. As you blinked a few times to make sure you were reading right, your heart dropped. It’s been almost a year since she’s contacted you. Since the day of her last text, she hasn’t even so much as sent you an ‘I’m ok’ message. No updates on her social media, nothing. Silence. After you spent weeks messaging her and calling her, you finally got the picture and gave up. So to see her name now on your screen, came as a bit of a shock. Your finger slowly and nervously opened the message.

Eleanor🤍

5:17pm: Hey Sam, it’s Elle. Not sure if you had my number still saved or not.

Strange.

You looked up from your phone to find Josh still trying to pick out his alcohol for the weekend. You were blindsided. You didn’t know what to say. Should you text her back at all? You were kind of upset with her for not giving you a good reason for ending things that you spent years building with her.

You knew she was going through an extremely rough time, but the two of you were serious, you thought at least. You wanted to be there for her, help her through the good and the bad, but she left without even a word. She abandoned a relationship that you thought was growing, right at the time that was going to make or break everything.

You slid the message closed, and opened your texts with Y/N.

You

5:21pm: We made it. Stocking up on stuff for tomorrow. Let me know when you get to your parents!

You

5:22pm: PS…don’t know where we’re going to be able to sneak off to this weekend, but I’m sure we could find somewhere ;)

Y/N

5:24pm: I’m not far, maybe an hour or so. And I’m sure we’ll be able to find somewhere. You’re telling me you don’t have any old spots you used to take your girlfriends?

You smiled, thinking back in time. You did have a few spots, but they were kind of, less than comfortable. But Y/N didn’t seem to really care about that kind of thing. You stowed away a few ideas in the back of your head, and urged Josh to hurry it up.

You

5:36pm: Hmm, I’ve got a few places in mind. See you soon!

The entire ride home, you wracked your brain searching for something to say back to Elle. Should you answer at all? Of course you should. You didn’t want to be rude. She wouldn’t be reaching out for no reason.

You and Josh unloaded the car, sticking all the alcohol into the fridge for the next day, and packing up snacks in coolers. You knew Josh would want to be out the door first thing in the morning, and packing tonight would let you sleep a tiny bit longer in the morning.

Finally you got the gumption to just do it. You felt anxious for some reason, to even bring up her name on your phone. She held such a special place in your heart for so long, it made your stomach do flips when you thought about texting her back. Y/N would be here early in the morning, so just saying hey to Elle shouldn’t hurt, right?

You brought up her text from earlier, figuring you let it marinate long enough. You plopped down in a chair at the kitchen island, your thumbs flitting over the keyboard as you thought of what to say.

You

6:48pm: Hey, Elle. Of course I still have your number. How are you?

There, that was easy. Light and simple. You huffed a cleansing breath. The seconds ticked by as you waited for her text bubble to pop up, your heart racing.

A smile crossed your face at the sight of the tiny gray bubble.There it is.

Eleanor🤍

6:50pm: I’m okay, just keeping myself busy. How have you been?

The conversation went on candidly and platonically, just catching up with one another as you brought her up to date on your life, and she with her own. She told you that she was working two jobs, one at a daycare facility, and the other waiting tables at a restaurant in the evenings. She explained how she made great money at both places, and was happy spending most of her days with young children, teaching them and playing with them.

You

7:18pm: Have you kept up with the band?

Eleanor🤍

7:20pm: Of course I have, you guys seem to really be making it big! Do you have any plans for anything new coming up?

You grinned, she has no idea.

You

7:21pm: Actually, yeah, we do. It’s in the works now, it’s probably our best work yet, honestly.

Eleanor🤍

7:23pm: Well, I’m very excited to hear it :)

Your conversation with Elle went on for hours, the two of you talking so easily, just like old times. You asked about her dad, and how everything had gone after he passed. You didn’t want to be too forward, but you also didn’t want to be rude and not ask. She let you know that he’d left her the house and a few other things, which wasn’t much, but he left her comfortable; she really didn’t need to work.

Eleanor🤍

9:15pm: Any plans for the Fourth?

You

9:16pm: Yeah! We’re actually back home in Michigan right now, gonna head to the lake tomorrow to spend the day drinking way too much and getting sunburned. You?

Eleanor🤍

9:18pm: That sounds like a great time. I’ll be working, but our boss promised to close up before dark so we could all watch fireworks together. I’ll probably just hang out with some friends.

The question crossed your mind, but slipped away as soon as it came. Should you ask? Is it too forward? You took a swig of the beer you’d allowed to get warm from sitting between your knees. Ah, fuck it.

You

9:20pm: Sounds fun. No one special in your life to watch fireworks with?

Vague. Basic.

Eleanor🤍

9:21pm: No, no one special right now.

Your stomach flipped. Why did that make you anxious? You felt a tiny bit of giddiness sneak up.

Eleanor🤍

9:22pm: What about you?

Shit. How do you answer this…

You

9:24pm: Nothing serious, no.

That will have to do. You didn’t lie…

You’d retreated to the couch, sprawling out and drifting in and out of sleep as Josh flipped through channels of old movies and spaghetti westerns. About that time you heard the front door open, and Jake’s familiar quiet tone ring out through the house.

"You made it, huh?" Josh asked, standing up from the chair.

“By the grace of God…” he joked. He walked a little further inside the house, you knew it had been some time since he’d been here. He probably felt strange.

“This place looks...”

"The exact same? I know, it's weird isn't it?” You said, finishing his sentence.

"Yeah.” He said, dropping his bag. "Is Mom awake?"

“I think so, I think she's in the basement. Dad is finishing a gig." Josh answers.

You watched as he rounded the corner and descended the stairs, followed by your mom’s hearty half-yell at seeing Jake coming down to greet her. You glanced to Josh, and the two of you shared a wide smile and a chuckle, her voice music to your ears.

With your brother finally home safe, you let your eyes drift closed, feeling peaceful in your true home, knowing Y/N would be here early in the morning to surprise the family. And that an old flame had decided to reach out once more and say hello.

——

You must’ve gone up to bed at some point during the night, not having much memory due to how tired you were from traveling. You also must’ve fallen asleep with your phone on your pillow, as it’s incessant buzzing woke you from your slumber. You cocked your head and peeped one eye open, seeing four texts from Y/N. You slid your finger across the notification and blinked rapidly to clear your vision.

Y/N

8:27am: Wakey wakey! I’m heading over in 10.

Y/N

8:32am: Helloooo…Sam..I thought you set an alarm

Y/N

8:39am: Do you want a coffee? I’m stopping

Y/N

8:51am: Fine, no coffee for you. I’m almost there.

You smiled at her discourse, feeling excited that you got to see her today. You hit the call button, waiting to hear her voice.

“Good morning starshine! The earth says hello!” She burst out, her voice light and chipper.

You laughed, the sound of her voice making your heart skip a beat.

“Okay Willy Wonka, did you get me a coffee or not?” You asked, rolling over onto your back to stretch.

“No, you didn’t text me back and tell me what you wanted. Sorry.” she said.

“Geez, how rude. I haven’t seen you in days and I’m not even on your mind?” You relayed.

“You’re always on my mind, babe. I’m in your driveway, jackass. Come get your coffee.” she quipped.

You smiled as you hopped up from the bed, unplugged your phone and pulled on some sweatpants. You bounded down the steps to find your dad and Josh in the kitchen. You walked over to the front door, twisted the lock and stepped out onto the front porch.

She was waltzing down the walkway, drawstring bag hanging from her shoulder, and two coffees in her hands.

“See, I knew you were thinking of me!” You teased, earning a severe eye roll from her as she shoved it into your hand.

“I hope you burn your tongue.” she says, cutting her eyes at you.

“Sheesh, already feisty this morning, I like it.” You said in your flirtiest tone as she entered the front door, your hand already attached to her backside before anyone could see.

You joined your family in the kitchen as your dad made breakfast, talking and laughing and catching up on life. It was so great being at home again, and having her here, it was like you were teenagers again.

Suddenly you heard the stairs creak, the last person to arise from his slumber. This isn’t gonna be good. You took a short breath as you prepared yourself for his wrath.

Some light normal conversation. So far so good…But you could feel the tension building in the room as you made eye contact with Josh. His eyes widened, feeling it too. It wasn’t long before you felt the sleeve of your t-shirt being pulled, yanking you to your feet and pulling you to the next room.

“What the fuck? What is she doing here?” Jake snapped.

“Well, I don't know if you know, but… her parents live ten minutes away. She was born here!” You answered in your most sarcastic tone.

“Sam…”

“Jeeze lighten up. She told her parents she would come back for the Fourth a few weeks ago. I invited her to come to the lake with us.” You answered.

“You invited her to the lake?!” He said, trying not to yell at you. “Sam…”

“What? It will be fine…” you reassured him.

“So you knew she was going to be here all along?” He asked.

“Mmm, more or less.” You answered.

“And you just thought…you shouldn’t mention that to me?” he asked.

“Mmm, more or less.” You shrugged him off, no longer trying to entertain his aggravation.

“You are on my fuckin’ list.” He said. What’s new?

You made your way back to the kitchen, quickly finishing your plate of food.

“You ready to have some fun today?” You asked her.

“Sure am! How ‘bout you?” She answered.

“Hell yeah I am.” You suddenly felt the urge, being close to her again always lit a fire inside you that was extremely hard to extinguish. You leaned in close, bringing your mouth directly to her ear.

“I’m ready to see your beautiful body soaking wet in a bikini all day. It’ll be hard to not rip it off of you right there on the beach…”

—

Everyone piled into the car one by one, ready to head to the lake. You’d asked Y/N to braid your hair like hers, so you could match. In all honesty, you just wanted her to touch you. It may be innocent, but you didn’t care. It was something.

“You ready?” She asked, flitting her eyelashes at you.

“Always ready for you, sweet thing.” The words slipped from your mouth before you could bite them back, knowing that they probably hit Jake in the gut.

She took all your hair in her hands and began rubbing your scalp, brushing her nails in and lightly and dragging them in tiny circles. Shit. She knew what this did to you, teasing little thing. She pulled your hair backwards into a tight fist, and lightly jerked it back toward her. You hissed through your teeth at the slight pain.

God damn. What is she trying to do?

She began lightly massaging again as you felt your whole body envelop in excited tingles.

“You’d better watch. Your. Fucking. Self.” you murmured quietly, just loud enough for her to hear.

Your heart was racing; she knew exactly what to do to get you worked up, even if it was as simple as touching your hair. She finished up the braids, tying off the ends as you turned back to her.

You took her chin in between your fingers, bringing her face close to yours. “God I wish we were alone in this backseat right now…” you said, and you brought her toward you for a sweet and sensual kiss. You couldn’t help yourself. Would it piss Jake off? Probably. But he’ll get over it.

Just then, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket. You brought it out to find a message from Elle. You both had fallen asleep mid-conversation last night, so she was following up with an answer to your last question.

‘Do you think we’ll ever get to see each other again?’ you’d asked her, with the tiniest bit of liquid courage and delirium from being half asleep. Your stomach dropped, seeing that she’d actually responded.

Eleanor🤍

10:46am: I don’t know, but I really hope so :)

Your heart fell to the floor. Could this be going somewhere again? You had a lot to think about, but you truly missed Elle. There wasn’t a day that passed since the last time you’d seen her that you didn’t think about her. Her gorgeous smile, her wit, her independence…all of it felt like it was ripped away from you when she left. Right as you were falling the hardest for her. A book left unfinished.

But, what Elle didn’t know, and what Y/N didn’t know, Jake, Daniel, Josh, or anyone but yourself…was that something had begun brewing in your psyche. Your conscience was being pulled again, reminiscent of a fierce and uncharted time in your past. Your entire mind, body, and soul were being beckoned a different direction, straight toward the girl sitting beside you in the backseat.

But here was Elle. You hadn’t even been talking for a whole day, but you already found yourself being swept up by her charm again. So, you threw yours on, too. She wouldn’t be texting you this much for no good reason, right? What’s the harm… you and Y/N had an agreement, and you were sticking to it, though you found yourself falling for her again, you had to stick to the plan. So you lied. You could never tell her the truth.

No feelings involved, only keeping each other physically happy for now. Best friends having fun.

Way too much fun…

You

10:51am: You really want to see me again?

Eleanor🤍

10:52am: Of course I do. I’ve got a lot of explaining to do…apologies to offer.

There went your stomach turning in on itself again. The giddiness of nerves from finally hearing what you’ve wanted to hear for almost a year.

You

10:54am: Well. I’d really love to give you the chance to do just that. ;)

—-

The day went on, the heat becoming unbearable as the sun got higher in the sky. You all spent the majority of the day in the water, downing drinks and swimming until your bodies were prunes. The perfect summer day.

Each time you’d go to grab a drink, you’d check your phone. And each time, you had a text from Elle, every one sweeter than the last.

When it reached afternoon, Y/N had gone up to sit on the beach and read a book. You snuck peeks of her from underneath your dark sunglasses, sat comfortably on a blanket still dripping with the remnants of the water. Hair a mess, cheeks pink, completely unbothered. You felt yourself staring, biting the insides of your cheeks as you fought hard to conceal what the murky water was hiding in your shorts. After a while, you noticed your can was empty, so you went to take a second to join her.

“Hey gorgeous. The view of you from the water is absolutely phenomenal. I really didn’t want to leave the water...” you flirted as you laid down beside her.

“Hmm… what made it phenomenal?” She asked, lowering her sunglasses.

“I dunno, these ties sit perfectly on your hips…” you said quietly as you tugged at them. “And this top accentuates your curves perfectly…it hardly covers anything at all. You’re barely leaving anything at all to my imagination, baby…” you trailed your fingertips all over her body, ending directly over her core.

“I’d really love to pull this to the side…do you think they’d notice if we disappeared for a minute?” You felt yourself hardening again in your trunks, turning yourself on just by speaking to her, watching her get worked up from your words.

“Mmm yes, they’d definitely notice.” She whispered, licking her teeth.

“Ha…you’re right. It’s too bad…I bet this bathing suit isn’t the only thing that’s wet right now, hmm?” you asked, your lips ghosting her ear. God you wanted her, bad. Right now. But you had to push the thought away. There was still a whole day of fun to be had.

She glanced to the woods, the car, then back to your brothers still bobbing in the lake. She sighed a heavy sigh, showing that she wanted to sneak off just as badly as you did. Chalk it up as a loss. You pulled a fresh seltzer from the cooler, offering one to her as well. You laughed to yourselves, both feeling the unending pull toward one another, and unable to act upon it.

You retreated back to the vehicle to check your phone again and have a smoke, you needed to physically separate yourself from her before you went crazy. Plus, you noticed Y/N and Jake had begun to make eyes at one another while you were swimming. Maybe you should give them their space?

—

As the day was coming to an end, you’d started to feel the alcohol take up shop in your body, a headache creeping its way in. Probably from too much sun, too. You’d had a blast with your brothers and Y/N, only getting a little bit careless with the fireworks. You’d talked to Elle sporadically throughout the busy day, sending cute and flirty texts every single chance you got. You were truly enjoying talking to her again.

You’d decided to go back home early with Danny to set up a special movie night for everyone, and, honestly, to let Jake and Y/N have a little alone time. You knew they had some things to discuss, and you could tell it was eating at them both leaving things unsaid. Though it hurt you, you knew it had to happen. As much as you wanted her, she could never be yours.

—

You’d just sat down on the couch when Y/N tumbled in the front door and across the room, immediately positioning herself close to you and draping her freezing cold legs across your lap.

“Fuckin kiss me, Y/N.” You demanded of her to be quick before your brothers made it inside. She grabbed your face, attaching her lips to yours in a quick and heated kiss as your hands dug into her sides. Her tongue buried itself in your mouth, and you let out the tiniest of moans at the contact. You needed to find that spot to sneak off to, and quickly. She detached herself, lust written all over her face.

Just then, Jake and Josh came in, Jake making his way to the fridge for a beer. You leaned in close to whisper in Y/N’s ear.

“I need to get you naked as soon as fuckin’ possible, you wanna go shower?” You asked her quietly. She giggled and nodded her head, the alcohol still lingering in her body.

“I’m gonna go shower, and then we can start?” Jake asked as he popped his beer open.

“Sounds good, I think we are gonna do the same.” You answered, earning a stern look from Jake. Oops.

Y/N stood up from the couch. “I’m going to go get my stuff from the car. Be right back.”

Just then your phone buzzed. Another text from Elle.

Eleanor🤍

11:27pm: Hope you had a great 4th!

She’d attached a photo of herself posing with exploding fireworks behind her, her face gorgeous and sunkissed and her eyes shut from the bright flash. She had on a giant dark green hoodie that reached way down to her mid thighs. An old hoodie. Your hoodie.

Your face flushed seeing that she had still kept your favorite high school jacket after all this time, and she looked absolutely gorgeous in it, still. She’d changed a bit, her hair was a little longer, and she seemed to be glowing. You stared at the photo until your screen went dark, taking in every little detail of her.

“You ready, Sammy?” Y/N’s voice broke you from your gaze.

“Yep, let’s go.” You responded as you followed her up the stairs, sending one last text before closing the bathroom door.

You

11:29: Still look perfect in my clothes :)

—-

After some of the hottest quickie bathroom sex you’d ever had, you left Y/N to shower alone, and joined everyone back downstairs in the basement for the movie.

“Not showering?” Jake asked.

“Nah, I will later.” You replied as you typed away on your phone, continuing to text Elle.

“What movie, Sammy? “ he asked as he sat down in his favorite spot on the other end of the couch.

“The best 4th of July movie there is! The Sandlot!” You replied, not bringing your eyes away from the screen in your hand. You and Elle had started flirting just a bit harder.

A few minutes later, Y/N came down the stairs, clad in a pair of your sweatpants and one of your old t-shirts. Oh, and Jake’s flannel? But hot damn, she looked sexy. Two women wearing your clothes tonight?!

You grinned to yourself at the thought as she came and sat beside you on the couch, cuddling into your side under a blanket. Her touch was still so electrifying to you, and you suppressed those pesky feelings as much as you could. Just sex. Just sex.

After a while you stretched out, moving Y/N down the couch toward Jake a bit. You laced your fingers with hers, leaving a hand free to continue texting on the phone buzzing on your lap.

Eleanor🤍

12:27am: I see you cut your hair!

You

12:29am: I did, do you like it?

Eleanor🤍

12:31am: I do, it’s very fitting :) What are you doing now?

You

12:34am: Sitting on the couch in the basement watching a movie with everyone. Our fourth of July tradition.

Eleanor🤍

12:36am: Oh, the couch, huh? I remember that couch…

Your face flushed in the dark. A memory flooded your mind, right when things had gotten hot and heavy with you and Elle, you’d made it back to Michigan to visit home for a couple of days. After too many drinks and a bowl a piece, you and Elle found yourselves wrapped up in a blanket, still half clothed and her straddling your lap as she rode you.

“We’ve got to be really quiet, we can’t make any noise.” she said.

“It’s 4:00am baby, no one is awake…”

You’d unzipped your zipper just enough, freeing yourself from the confines of your shorts to give her some leeway. She’d left her sundress on, and you’d pulled her panties to the side, the both of you covering each others’ mouths and stifling any noise either if you would make as she quietly brought both of you into a bliss you’d been chasing ever since.

You shook your head quickly to chase the memory away as Jake and Y/N both spoke out loud, “You’re killin’ me, Smalls!” at the same time as the movie did. The two of them laughed together…you watched as she laid her head back on the couch to look at him as they giggled, and it made your heart ache. He looked at her with the same amount of love in his eyes as you did.

After a while, you noticed Jake had fallen asleep, and Y/N wasn’t far behind.

Maybe this is a good time to go outside and talk to Elle.

“I’m gonna go smoke, you wanna?” You whispered to Y/N.

“Nah, I’m okay, thanks.” You squeezed her hand as you got up from the couch, and dashed up the stairs.

You

1:12am: You still awake?

Eleanor🤍

1:13am: I am

You took a deep breath.

You

1:15am: Would you care if I called you?

Eleanor🤍

1:16am: Wouldn’t care in the least :)

The late night air felt nice on your face as you stepped outside onto the porch, lighting up a joint and pacing the floor. You hadn’t heard her voice in so long…

“Fuck it. Just do it Sam.” You said to yourself. You clicked the phone symbol by her contact, heart racing as you let it ring out.

“Hey there, stranger.” She answered after a couple rings, voice as sweet as honey, her southern drawl still sending your gut straight into neverland.

You talked to Elle for almost an hour, catching up even more so on the conversations you’d already had. It felt new, but familiar all the same. The banter was just like it always was, and hearing her laugh again made your stomach fill with butterflies. You weren’t sure if the smile left your face the entire conversation.

After a while, you noticed her yawns becoming more frequent, and so were yours. You agreed that you’d talk tomorrow, and with a sweet goodnight, you hung up the phone.

You quietly tiptoed down the steps, trying hard to not wake anyone. The scene you found on the couch hurt your heart and filled it at the same time, Jake and Y/N cuddled together, her head resting gently on his shoulder with his arms holding her close as they slept.

You couldn’t help the smile that crept its way to your face. You know exactly how good that position feels. You grabbed your camera from the table and you snapped a sweet picture of them laying together, wondering if they would ever find themselves there together again.

—

The next morning you woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking, always your favorite part about home. You thought back to last night, and your conversation with Elle. You heart swelled at the thought of her. Talking to her, seeing her, touching her.

Shit. You forgot you’d left Y/N on the couch last night. You wondered if she woke up pissed. You threw on some shorts and climbed down the stairs, greeting your family as you glanced around the room. No Y/N. You walked over to the front door and her car was gone. She had left without even saying goodbye.

—

You’d made it back home to Nashville, feeling strange that Y/N had left without even a word. You decided maybe she needed some space, seeing as how she probably woke up cuddling Jake that morning, and found herself in a strange predicament. You told yourself you reach out, soon. You knew she liked to disappear sometimes.

Things with Elle had only gotten better; you’d begun every day with a goodmorning text, and your conversations had only become more intense. You were truly enjoying talking with her, so you decided you’d call her at least once a day, just to hear her voice.

When tour started you found yourself wishing Elle was there. Sure you had Y/N, your best friend and lover around but it was different. You knew Y/N wasn’t yours to keep. As you and Elle began to talk more frequently you found yourself pulling away from Y/N a bit, but when photos were exchanged backstage in Nashville, you found yourself being drawn to her once again and spending the night wrapped up in each other like usual. It felt so different with her. So intimate. Was it because you were denying your real feelings for her? Did she feel it too?

You felt like your heart was being pulled in two different directions. Elle and Y/N, the two most important women in your life were now silently competing for your affection. However, it was not lost on you that Y/N was also gravitating towards Jake, whether she noticed it or not. The thing about all of it though, was that you knew Jake. You knew Jake better than he thought you did. You could see that it was killing him to watch you with Y/N, especially after what happened back home.

You could sense a shift between the two of them. Something was there. Something was growing, and maybe, by removing yourself from the situation slowly, you would make room for that thing to reach its full potential. Even if it killed you.

—

LATE AUGUST 2021

BRIDGEPORT, CT

Eleanor🤍

7:16pm: Just landed.

You

7:18am: We are finishing up at dinner. If you go to the front desk at the hotel, I left a key for you in your name.

Eleanor🤍

7:16pm: Thanks babe

Your heart was pounding as the minutes ticked closer and closer to finally seeing her again. You just had to make it through this dinner. Y/N was sufficiently drunk, finally letting loose after her altercation with Josh in the lobby this afternoon. You felt terrible, you were so caught up coordinating with Elle that you weren’t there to defend her. Luckily, Jake saved the day.

You watched as Y/N flirted with Jake, and you found yourself smiling finally seeing his smile, after a few weeks of sadness. You thought you’d feel jealous, watching him grab her hand and whisper in her ear, but you didn’t. The only thing on your mind was the curly haired brunette waiting for you in your hotel room.

You swallowed nervously as Danny made the first motion to leave. You quickly stood and joined him as the rest of the table arose from their seats. Y/N was a little wobbly on her feet, but again, Jake stepped in and helped her find her footing.

Your heart was racing as you made the walk back to the hotel, chatting with Y/N as she stumbled along beside you. After a few minutes you noticed she was gone, looking over your shoulder to see her walking next to Jake as he smiled. It felt good to see the two of them where you knew they were always destined to be.

As you stepped into the hotel you knew that in less than five minutes you would be face to face, reunited with the girl that broke your heart. The girl who was here now, all this time later, to ask for another chance, and you would be an absolute fool to not give it to her.

Offering to take Y/N to her room, you were immediately shut down by Jake. You could have called that from a mile away. You sent him a knowing look and stepped out on your floor. You ran your sweaty hands over your pants and ran your fingers through your hair. You took a deep breath and tried to center yourself, as you tapped the key card to the door.

You pushed the door open, your hands shaking so badly you shoved them in your pockets to try and conceal them. As you stepped into the room, you saw her, sitting cross legged on the bed, flipping through the TV channels.

“Elle…” you breathed.

“Hi Sammy...”

You felt like all the air had been ripped away from your lungs, the sight of her here again feeling like a dream. She was just the same as the last time you saw her, except she had more of a glow to her, her hair was longer and her body was healthy. The last time you saw her she was in the midst of true grief, working like a maniac to take care of her dad and keep a job at the same time. But here she was now, blossomed and flourishing, and she seemed to only have eyes for you.

In true Elle fashion, she quickly leapt up from the bed, and floated through the air to stand right in front of you, eyes zipping back and forth as she searched your face; clearly she didn’t believe you were real, either. You stood frozen in place, unable to get over the fact that she was physically here, making your head spin and hands shake. Sammy, the nerves…it’s okay.

“Well are you gonna hug me like you know me? Or ya just gonna stand there like a bump on a log?” She said through the prettiest smile you were sure you’d ever seen. You felt a rush of pure adoration swell in your stomach, the sound of her voice even more like sweet honey than on the phone. God, you’d forgotten.

You bent at the knees, taking your hands from your pockets and wrapping them low around her waist, lifting her into the air in a tight embrace while you spun her around the hotel room. Her laugh, like coming home to your favorite place on earth. The way her body felt, the way her hair tickled the backs of your arms as you twirled her... all of it hitting your senses one by one, and making you weaker by the second.

Finally you put her down, letting her rebalance as you found her face again. For some reason, you felt your emotions tugging at you.

“Are you really here? Or is this a fever dream?” You asked her as the two of you slowly made your way over to sit on the edge of the bed.

She laughed hard. “I’m really here, Sammy.” Her hand found your cheek, her thumb brushing under your eye as she tenderly walked you through your realization.

“How are you?” She finally asked, bringing her legs to sit comfortably on the bed, and muting the TV. “How have you been? I know we talk everyday but…” her face blushed red.

The conversation flowed just like it always had, just like as you texted, just like it did on the phone. Except this time you could see the expressions on her face when she moved her mouth that certain way, her lower lip pulling down slightly to the left when she was explaining something. The freckles across her nose, her squeak laugh when you’d gently pick on her. Still full of enthusiasm, still as smart and quick-witted as ever. And you were drowning in her eyes.

Your favorite, though, was how good of a listener she was. She knew how to respond and empathize, and she didn’t even know she was doing it. You laid there and talked for hours, laughing and arguing and loving every single minute of it. Elle was like an enigmatic force, a warm presence that was unfaltering, picking up right where you left off. She felt like the first sip of cinnamon whiskey, shocking and surprising with a slow burn that you couldn’t help but get addicted to.

“…I guess I’m just really sorry I left you without an explanation, Sam.”

“We don’t have to talk about this now, it’s okay…” you interrupted.

“No, we do. I’ve wanted to apologize to you for almost a year, but I wanted to do it in person. You deserve to hear that straight from me.” She went on. You nodded, reluctantly.

“I was in an extremely weird and bad place back then, with my dad and everything. I was a shell of a person and not myself. I don’t even remember half of that time, you know? It’s like a blacked out blur…I thought I needed to separate myself from you to not bring you down, and the band, but…” you took her hand, locking your fingers with hers. It had been months…you could tell, something as simple as that brought her a little bit of peace. You were both lying on your stomachs across the bed, shoulder to shoulder as you talked.

“I know now that you were trying to hold me up above water, doing what you do best…keeping everyone happy, Sam. You always have. And I turned you away. The brightest light I’ve ever had in my life, I shut you off. And I’m sorry. I’ll never be able to take that back. You didn’t deserve that. I should’ve reached out again.” You could tell tears were prickling her eyes as she spoke.

“S’okay, Elle…” you whispered, leaning your head on her shoulder.

“No, it wasn’t okay. We were…getting pretty serious. I think.”

Yeah, you were very serious.

“And I just…stopped it all. For no good reason except my own selfishness. And I’m so, so sorry, Sammy. I really am. I regret leaving the only man I’ve ever felt like this for.”

Your stomach plummeted. Still? Felt like this?

You knew the expression on your face turned to pure happiness at her words.

“You…you still…?” Was all you could manage through broken breaths.

“Of course I still love you, you idiot. I never stopped.” She said, punching you in the shoulder. You melted. Wow…she still…

“Do you think I would’ve kept up conversation with you for weeks and come all the way out here if I didn’t?” She asked, her last word hanging on a high note.

That’s true…

“Elle, you are…” You couldn’t stop yourself, she was pulling you in. You brought your lips dangerously close to hers, letting just the tips of your noses touch as you let your lips brush hers. The electricity buzzing between you, her eyelashes fluttering across your cheeks. The warmth was immediately there, filling the space between you with a heat that you’d forgotten about.

“I am…what, Sammy?” She whispered, her breath hot on your lips. You could taste her already, so you moved your tongue to sit on your lower lip, savoring every single second that you could.

You brought your forehead to hers, letting it balance there while you caught your breath.

“Perfect.” You breathed, the word falling from your mouth as you let your lips connect with hers, so simply and so sweetly. Just like you always remembered. Just one tiny kiss to reintroduce yourselves; she’d only been back for half a day. But it felt right, and real, and she truly was perfect, she always was.

When you separated, you left your forehead connected to hers, as you let that lustful and heavy excited feeling settle in the pit of your stomach, taking up shop and re-rooting itself where it belonged.

It was then you knew that she was back for a reason, and you’d be damned if you let her slip away again.

——

That night, you slept platonically in the king-sized bed, sharing room service and a few beers while you reminisced, her getting sleepy and cozy while you twisted your fingers through her hair. You didn’t want to move too fast, though you could tell the heat was rising in her face, too. The way she looked at you…you recognized it. Nearly three years of her being your everything…of course you were still able to pick up on all her cues. You held back in acting on them, though, as difficult as it was, you wanted to still be a gentleman.

And getting to know her again? Like re-reading your favorite novel…remembering the details that stuck out to you while reciting the sentences you’d memorized. Re-learning and recalling her mannerisms, laughing so hard you couldn’t breathe, and sharing so many tender moments you felt like putty in her hands. God, you couldn’t believe she was back.

——

The second night of Bridgeport, and you finally had someone in the audience that you could play to. You had to admit, you were a little nervous. Anxious for her to see you play again, but excited all the same. You had a few more nerves in your system tonight, so you shook them away with an extra seltzer.

The show was going well, until suddenly your bass cut out. Fuck. You glanced to Jake quickly, signaling him to distract. He did, thankfully, as you rushed to the keys to play the bassline there. When your tech returned, all was fixed and well, but you were humiliated. For some reason whenever something like that happened, you couldn’t help but get upset. It was the producer in you, you assumed. And Elle saw. Your first show playing with her watching again, and that just had to happen. Of fucking course.

You finished out the show, hastily making it back stage to change quickly and get back to your hotel room. It had put you in a sour mood. You all loaded up in the van, and you shot a quick text to Elle saying you’d meet her back at the room shortly.

“You guys wanna grab a drink at the bar when we get back?” Daniel asked.

“No, I think I’m going to bed.” You answered curtly.

You felt Jake’s eyes shoot you a look of confusion. You shrugged.

“I could do one, then I think I’m gonna hit the sack myself. It’s been a long fucking day.” He answered.

“One. We leave early in the morning.” Josh said.

Daniel sighed. “Alright. It’s settled.”

——

When you finally made it back to the room, you felt strange at the still-lingering feeling of embarrassment from the mess up during the show. You set your bag down on the couch, peering around the corner for the sweet girl waiting for you.

“Sammy! Oh my god!” She yelped, pouncing into your arms as you caught her, her legs immediately wrapped around your waist. “You were so amazing! Better than ever, holy shit!” She was going on and on, her arms wrapped around your neck as you found a smile creeping up, almost completely dissolving your yucky feeling.

You turned, still holding her, and sat on the bed so she was now on your lap. Hello there. “I can’t believe how good you all sound, and the crowd? It was so good, Sam.” She went on, truly still on her high after seeing a good show.

“Thank you, thank you.” You laughed shyly. “You’re too kind…even if the very first show you saw, my bass fucked up.” You let your head fall to her shoulder.

“What? Oh yeah, you saved the day when you ran to your keys. Excellent job of thinking on your toes, babe.” She said, brushing it off.

Babe.

Ah, fuck.

“Do you want to take a shower with me?” You asked before you could even stop yourself, an exhilarated feeling enveloping you.

She sat back on your lap, arms still linked at your neck.

She smiled hard. “Yeah, yes. I do…let’s go.”

Be a gentleman, Sam…

——

You laid down in bed that night with Elle a bit closer than the night before, still facing each other and talking closely after your shower. Bodies hot and naked, finally feeling comfortable enough to be that way in front of each other again.

“I’m really glad you’re here, Elle. I’m so happy you came, really.” You said as she traced your features with her fingertip.

“Me too, Sammy. The timing was finally right…” she said.

“Yeah, finally…” suddenly your mind shot back to Y/N for a split second. You knew that things with her and Jake had been rocky lately, but you’d also been kind of giving her the cold shoulder. You felt awful for ignoring her, but, if she only knew why…

You drifted off with Elle in your arms, completely enjoying the feeling of her on you again, fully and totally. She turned over, letting you wrap your arms around her from behind. Your perfect girl, sweet and mellow, and all yours.

——

You woke up in the middle of the night, unsure of what startled you awake except for that late-night overwhelming draw to the woman cuddled into your body, still unclothed and gorgeous. Fuck, Elle. Gentleman is about to fly out the window, girl.

It started slowly, you taking your fingertips and brushing them lightly up and down her side as you kissed the back of her neck gently. You moved to her ear, lightly nibbling at the shell of it as you blew cool air. She began to stir a little bit, waking up at the feeling of your touch on her.

You felt her press her ass back into you, letting you know that she was aware of your intentions. And lord, were you ever intending. You let your hand keep tickling her, moving to her front, her stomach, her thighs…you felt her shudder against you and chill bumps rise on her skin.

Then she turned, bringing herself to face you in the pale light of the room, arm draped across your neck. Her hand found your hair, wrapping it up in her hand as she met your eyes, sleepy yet blown out with want for you, and you for her. Both of your chests were heaving as your hands began exploring, new territory that had lied so many years claimed by you, now ready to be retaken.

You could take it anymore, you snapped your head forward, connecting your lips in a heated kiss that she returned, finally allowing yourselves to taste each other after all this time. She is so sweet. Still, so delicious…

Next you felt her drag her nails lightly down your chest, your stomach…both of you fighting for dominance as you kissed, hard and sloppy and messy, completely falling into each other now. Her hand was dangerously close to you, you could feel yourself pulsing and growing more excited, yearning for her to touch you.

You took the opportunity to grab her ass, making her hum into your mouth as she pulled her leg higher over your hip, giving you access to move a little more closely to her heat. Damn, this is moving quickly... Keep it together, Sam. Remember what she likes…

You let your hand crawl from her ass to between her legs, holding back just a little bit, though her body language signified she wanted nothing more.

“Mmm?” You hummed.

“Mmhmm..” she responded.

With pleasure, Eleanor.

You let your fingers slip between her, feeling her wetness for the first time again. She was squirming now, as you wasted no time in going straight for her sweet spots, the memories of them coming back full circle. Her hand wrapped in your hair harder as she kissed you, her leg traveling higher as she began to fall into her pleasure-ridden high. Her sounds were filling your ears, spurring you on to keep going, keep touching, keep feeling…

As if your heart wasn’t pounding enough already, you felt her hand snake between you, fully gripping you firmly in her grasp. You broke from her kiss for the first time.

“God, Elle…” you laughed, tilting your head back as she began lightly pumping up and down on you, her mouth connecting to your neck as she did so. Your mind was already in a frenzy, and you hadn’t even fully felt her yet.

You continued like this for a while, going slowly but moving so fast at the same time. Her kiss was full of steam and wild passion, meeting you for eye contact every few seconds. Shit, you’d forgotten she liked to do that.

Focus focus focus.

“Sam,” she finally breathed. “I…I want you. Please…”

Fucking finally.

“Mmm, yeah? You do?” You answered, also falling into your persona of your natural love-making state.

She nodded harshly. “Yes. Yeah, come on…” she rolled to her back and motioned with her hands for you to climb on top of her. So, you did.

The two of you were already sweaty from just fooling around; it was evident that she wanted this just as much as you did. Heart still pounding in your ears, you pushed her legs apart with your knee as you hovered above her, looking directly into her eyes as you lined yourself up. You took yourself in your hand, dipping it low between her folds to pick up her wetness before you took the plunge, sending her back into an arch already.

She was driving you insane already…just the feeling of her…

Her fingertips were already digging into your back, pulling you closer as she spread her legs a bit wider, letting your hips gain a bit more space.

“Please, Sam…” she mumbled into your ear. Finally, you lost all control as you slowly entered her, letting yourself go as slowly as possible. Her breath hitched, and yours did too as you filled her, centimeter by centimeter until you couldn’t go any further. It was like your whole body had suddenly caught fire, no more breath in your lungs, no more thoughts in your head. Just her…and you inside her.

“God dammit baby, you feel so fucking…” she could hardly finish her words, but you felt the same. You withdrew a little, pulling out slowly just like you had before. You continued this for a few strokes, letting yourselves get reacquainted with feeling each other again. You picked up the pace a little, setting yourself up to hopefully last long enough to make it count. But god, she felt like heaven on earth…

She brought her legs up higher, her knees beside your shoulders as you went deeper, her head falling backwards into the pillow as you fucked her faster now…her hand reached back, grabbing onto the edge of the mattress to hold herself in place. Her other hand raked up and down your back, grabbed your pecs and pulled your hair back tightly.

“…feel so good baby…just like I remembered…so sweet and good for me…” you murmured out, your voice barely able to be recognized. You could feel her tensing around you as she lifted up on her elbows, bringing her face closer to yours. She started rolling her hips up as you did, meeting your thrusts exactly on time. Fuck, keep doing that.

“…so pretty Sammy, you’re doing so good, I’m so…” her mouth fell slack as her head fell back, revealing her throat to you. Your mouth connected to it, your tongue wanting to devour her right here on the bed. In a quick decision moment, you sat up on your knees, pulling her hips closer to you as you hooked her legs around you. You brought your hands behind her back, bringing her up to sit on your lap, straddling you as she sat. You never once disconnected, still buried deep inside her.

Here, you were face to face, mouth to mouth, and at an impossibly intense angle so that she could roll her hips just how she liked. The intimacy was mind blowing, her hands entangled in your hair, the view of her flawless body…all of it. You were completely blissed out. She’s so perfect…

Together, the two of you reached your peaks, grabbing and holding on to each other as you spun out of control, you jutted your hips up into her as far as you could, kissing her deeply as she screamed into your mouth. “Fuckkkk baby…”

As you both began to come down, you laughed at yourselves and what you’d just done, feeling comfortable again in her atmosphere, and also feeling as connected with her as ever.

“I waited almost a whole year to do that again, Elle. You don’t understand how badly…” she cut you off with a kiss, lying you down next to her back on the bed, bringing the covers up to surround yourselves again.

“Shhh, I know. Me too, babe. I’m so sorry I didn’t come back sooner.” She reassured you.

“Elle, I’m sorry, I didn’t ask you if you wanted me to wear a…ya know.” You blurted out.

She laughed. “It’s okay, I’m safe. And I’m also on birth control, so. No worries.”

No, no worries at all. Not a single worry you could think of.

“Okay, me too.” You said. “Well, I’m safe, not on birth control. I don’t think.” You teased.

She burst out in her deep belly laugh, rolling back over to kiss your cheek. “You’re an idiot, Sam.”

You smiled hard. “I know.” You rolled to your side to face her, too, taking her face in your hands.

“Elle?”

“Yes…?”

You locked into her eyes, smiling softly as you planted a soft kiss directly to her still swollen and pink lips. You pulled back slowly, confidence surging through your body.

“I never stopped loving you, either.”

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familyvideostevie · 2 years

Text

just a scratch

eddie patches you up after a skateboarding session with max | 1.6k, fem!reader, fluffy and a teeny bit flirty, cw: a little mention of blood

"Well, that was closer," Max says. "Kinda." You look over at her from where you're sprawled on the pavement after failing to jump the curb on your borrowed skateboard. She's got her hands on her hips and something akin to pity on her face. "That looked like it hurt though. You okay?"

You groan, sure to make it a caricature of real pain so you don't worry her. "I'm fine, I'm fine." You sit up and take inventory -- knees still stinging a little, the fabric of your jeans looking worse for wear, elbows...oh. You're bleeding.

"I think that's enough for one day," Max says once she spots the scrape on your arm, walking over and holding out a hand to help you up.

"I was much better this time, and you know it," you tease her as you get to your feet. She's been teaching you to ride a skateboard for a few weeks after you asked her one night as you walked with her to the trailer park on your way to see Eddie. You like Max, a lot, and with El in California you, Robin, and Nancy have been trying to look out for her a little in a way the boys aren't so good at.

"Yeah, but I think we need to get you knee pads at least." She does that cool thing where she kicks the skateboard up into her hands. "Hold onto the helmet, at least. I don't think anyone would forgive me if your brains splattered on the concrete." The plastic on your head is neon turquoise -- Max had dug around her stuff for it, telling you it was supremely uncool and she hadn't worn it since she moved but that you needed it. And she was right. You're tired, scraped up and you know you've got bruises blooming all over but you're pleased with yourself.

The sound of a horn makes you both jump a little, but it's just Eddie's van pulling up. You can't help the slow smile that spreads on your face.

"Allllllright," Max grinds out. "I gotta go meet Lucas at the arcade. Now that he's here, he can clean you up." She gestures Eddie where he's climbing out of the van.

"Thanks for a great session, Professor Max," you say to her solemnly. She rolls her eyes at you but you see her cheeks darken a little before she skates off to the main road, giving Eddie a wave as she passes.

"Hi Red, bye Red!" he shouts after her before turning his attention to you.

"And who is this super cool skater chick in my front yard?" he croons, sauntering across the grass.

"Hi, Eddie," you say, pulling your bloody elbows behind your back. He clocks the movement immediately and runs his eyes over the rest of you. There's no way he misses the dirt on your clothes from your repeated falls, but you smile at him anyway.

"You okay?" he asks, moving into your personal space to unbuckle Max's helmet and pull it off you.

"Yeah," you sigh. "Just took some tumbles. But I'm getting better!" He smirks and drags one hand through your helmet-mussed hair, smoothing the flyaways on your sweaty hairline.

"Bet you are, sweet thing. You also look so pretty right now it's stupid." You don't totally agree with him -- you must be flushed, you ratty shirt a little damp from your exertion, and you've got grass stains everywhere. But you let him have this one. Until he starts peppering your face with kisses, muttering about how pretty you are.

"Eddie," you giggle, "God, give it a rest." He just gives you a short, hard kiss, your jaw cradled in his palm, before pulling away and swinging your helmet around a little.

"Any wounds I need to patch up?" he asks, casually. You know he won't mind if you say no, if you want to take care of it yourself. But you grimace as the stinging from your elbow hits again and you notice some blood seeping through the knees of your jeans.

"Looks like," you mutter. "D'you mind?" Eddie looks offended at the idea he wouldn't want to take care of you.

"Mind?" He scoffs. "Don't start with that...bullshit. Let me take care of you." He turns around and crouches a little. "Hop on, babe. Ambulance is here." You gingerly climb onto his back and he walks you to the door of his trailer, careful not to bang any part of you on the frame. You feel a little silly on his back -- you could have walked very easily -- but at the same time its nice to stick your nose into Eddie's hair and feel close to him. He takes you right to his bedroom and you hop off to sit on his bed while he rummages through his drawers.

"Here," he says, throwing a pair of plaid boxer shorts at you. "Put those on so I can look at your knees and we can wash your jeans." Though he doesn't need to, he heads to the bathroom to give you some privacy.

"My knees, huh?" you call after him as you change. "Sexy."

"You bet," he laughs back. You hear him opening and closing the few cabinet doors he's got.

"Do you even have bandaids, Eds?" You fold up your jeans, grimacing at the threadbare fabric. Maybe Eddie has some cool patches you can use to repair the damage.

"Uh," he says. "Shit. It's looking like a no. I've got alcohol wipes though!" You are about to reassure him that's more than enough when Eddie yelps and comes back into the bedroom looking pleased.

"Wait! Got it. Harrington gave me some," he snaps his fingers and starts to dig around his room. "Told me to start carrying this shit around for the punk kids." He finds a box under a small pile of flannels and holds it up triumphantly. "Though, between you and me, he gets in more scrapes than they do." You laugh and he tosses you the box before going to wash his hands. Looks like you're going to be covered in brightly colored bandaids with stars on them.

"Okay, clean and ready for duty." Eddie gets on his knees in front of you and you can't help but flush a little. After all, you're in his bed wearing his boxer shorts and he's in front of you looking so pretty. He notices, of course, and gives you a grin before whistling at your scraped knees and elbows.

"Damn, babe, that's metal. You really showed the ground who's boss, hm?" You jokingly press your fist to his cheek, and he takes the hit dramatically.

"I'd like to see you on a skateboard, Munson."

"I'll bet you would." He makes a grabby motion for the bandaids. "But let's get you fixed up first." You lift your elbows for him and he tears open a wipe to clean them, one warm hand gently cupping your arm as he does so. You don't speak, but he hums a little, a song you're sure he's played for you but you can't remember the name of. It takes your mind off of the stinging. He chooses two green bandaids for one arm and two yellow ones for the other.

"Doing great, sweetheart," he says quietly. Part of you thinks you should be embarrassed -- you've only got some small scrapes, hardly worth any wincing. But Eddie has never given you reason feel that way, even with something as small as this. He loves every part of you, every version of you, with his big heart.

"This is probably actually going to hurt a little," he apologizes once he gets to your knees. "There's some stuff in 'em." You bring one hand to his shoulder as he works, cleaning out small pieces of gravel and dirt. Part of you wants to close your eyes, but you can't look away from him. He's got his tongue out in concentration, the hand not holding the wipe gently squeezing your calf.

"Let's go with...purple and...blue." He carefully presses the last bandaid on before bringing his thumb up to stroke your cheek. "All better."

"Eds," you whisper, giving him what you know he calls your 'doe eyes,' just to see what he does, if he catches on to you.

"Nuh uh," he says, "Nope, not doing it." You just keep looking, and maybe you should feel guilty for taking advantage of Eddie's soft spots, but you can't help yourself. It take about five seconds for him to cave and he leans down to kiss both knees, before tenderly bringing each elbow to his lips to do the same.

"Tell anyone about that and I'll deny it," he says sternly, but he's fighting a grin. You can't help but want to kiss him back, so you do. He smells like his apple hand soap and the sharp tinge of the wipes.

"Sure, baby," you say. "No one will know that you're a great nurse." He groans and gets off his knees, collecting the wrappers around him to throw away.

"I'm a hot nurse!" You flop back on his bed as you laugh. He's right -- the sight of him on his knees is going to linger in your mind for quite a while.

"Good," you say. He hasn't moved yet, just stands staring at you and thinking about how much he loves you and should tell you. He's about to, but then you open your mouth. "Because Max is gonna start teaching me kick flips next week."

"Jesus H. Christ," he groans. "Gonna tell Harrington to buy me more bandaids."

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birgittesilverbae · 11 months

Note

How does it go when babea gets sick for the first time with Mary?

Dropping Bea off at school for the first time? Horrific. Dealing with a sick Bea for the first time? Mary nails it.

There was always a cold or flu or bug bouncing around every foster home she ended up in, and not wanting to leave herself vulnerable by getting sick, Mary'd come up with surefire ways to nip illnesses in the bud. At the first sign of a sniffle, she's putting her foot down and shepherding Bea back to bed despite Bea's protests that she's gotta go to school. She gets her settled into bed with a hot water bottle and leaves Princess curled up next to her to stand guard as she heads down to the corner store to load up on supplies.

Juice and the ginger ale Mary had to scour four shops to find are placed on the bedside table, to wash down the assortment of meds she hands over. Bea eyes them cautiously, but takes them as Mary feels her forehead with the back of her hand, winces at the temperature. She tells Bea to try to get back to sleep, that she'll be back in a bit, then heads for the kitchen to make her mom's chicken noodle soup recipe, firmly memorized over a decade before.

Bea emerges bleary-eyed but fully dressed in one of her little button downs and chinos and trying her best to stand straight. Mary takes one look at her and shoos her back into the bedroom to change into sweats. (Bea: But it's a weekday; Mary: You don't have to dress up for me, kid)

Her shoulders have relaxed a bit when she enters the kitchen again, and she only complains half-heartedly when Mary ruffles her hair. Mary places a bowl of soup in front of her, drops an ice cube in it, and settles in her own chair. She taps her foot against Bea's shin. "Do you want to watch Star Wars or Spider-Man after lunch?"

"It's a school day."

"It's a sick day. Star Wars or Spider-Man?"

"Is there celery in this?"

"No. Don't deflect, Bea, Star Wars or Spider-Man?"

"What about my homework?"

"You're sick. You don't have to do homework when you're sick. Okay?"

Bea sighs, but nods. "Okay. The Amazing Spider-Man."

"Good. Why don't you get settled on the couch while I get cleaned up in here?"

"But that's-"

"No chores when you're sick, either. You've got one thing to do right now, Bea, and that's get better. Nothing else, okay?"

Bea's brow wrinkles, but she nods. "Okay."

They spend the afternoon cuddled on the couch, Bea falling asleep against Mary's arm halfway through the movie. Mary joins her shortly after, and they're both awoken a couple hours later by a knock at the door, followed closely by a buzz from Mary's pocket. She fumbles for her phone, finds a text from Shannon that she's dropped off Thai food for them and some ice cream that she'd better get back into the freezer ASAP. Mary slips out onto the balcony to call down her thanks, and Shannon pauses at the driver's side door of the van to give her a lazy salute.

Bea's rousing from her slouch when Mary steps back into the apartment, rubbing at her eyes, looking curiously at Mary.

"Shannon," Mary says in brief explanation. "Doesn't want to spread whatever bug you picked up to the convent, but she brought food."

Bea smiles, soft and sweet, mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like "love her".

"Are you hungry again now or should we wait a bit to eat?"

"Hmm. Now."

They eat sprawled on the couch this time, Bea only bouncing slightly with her nerves about it, too caught up in digging into her curry. She only manages half her plate, but settles when Mary reassures her that it's fine, it's good, when Mary boxes it back up for the next day.

She gets Bea settled back in bed as evening slides over to night, but can't calm down herself, not with Bea's mumbles and groans the only sound in the apartment. Finally finds herself sitting at Bea's bedside holding her hand, sinking back into the chair as Bea's breathing calms, sliding into sleep herself.

#ask #anon #warrior nun #myfic #mywn #babea au

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alphashley14 · 2 months

Text

One of Us

A Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated/Mystery Skulls Crossover

<Prev

Chapter 23

Hellbent

“Shitshitshit- LEWIIIISSS!!!” Arthur shouted from the driver’s seat! He turned the steering wheel frantically to and fro as he struggled to regain control of the van careening across the desert. The squealing wheels sent orange dust flying, shrouding the monstrous cattle around them in clouds of ginger. And that same dust invaded the open back of the vehicle, even as the corpse of the dead skull cow tumbled out of the back, slamming into its’ brothers behind it, and Vivi Yukino struggled to get the back doors shut once more.

It occurred to Cassidy to help her, but her battered body protested and it was all she could do to keep herself from tumbling out of the back of the vehicle after the beast. The dust was all-encompassing. Every breath burned as it invaded her lungs, and she had to shut her eyes tight to keep the fine particles out of them. She held on tight to her shotgun and to the bars of one of the shelves in the back of the van, struggling to keep herself as still and secure as she could.

Then there was a flash of pink light behind her eyelids. And suddenly, abruptly, unnaturally even, the van lurched to right itself and there came the telltale sound of the back doors slamming shut. Then Cassidy dared take a breath, she realized the air had become clean. Her eyes fluttered open, and the sight that greeted her didn’t make any sense.

The interior of the van had completely transformed. The purple fabric upholstery had been replaced with bright carmine leather, and the rest of the van’s interior, which had previously been oranges and deep reds, was now entirely black with tasteful gothic touches of purple and bright magenta.

And this did not seem to concern the other occupants of the vehicle in the slightest. Vivi leaned back against the now-redwood shelf and breathed a sigh of relief, wiping orange dirt and bits of yellow gore off of her face with a spare towel. (Not that it did any good for the rest of her.) “Thanks, Lewis. Good catch.”

Wait. Lewis! As soon as Vivi said it, Cassidy realized that Lewis was no longer in the van. But again, the Mystery Skulls didn’t look the slightest bit perturbed about this. And no sooner was Angel sitting up to investigate, any question she could have asked was answered with another flash of pink.

“WHAT IN THE GODDAMN-”

“Ah, shit. Forgot about you…” The skeleton that had appeared beside Vivi sighed.

“I- WHAT THE- YOU-” Cassidy stammered, bewildered beyond words.

“This is Lewis,” Vivi said in a complete deadpan. “You met him a minute ago. Long story short he’s my boyfriend, he’s dead but didn’t exactly go anywhere, so now we solve ghost stories… with a ghost.”

“Not even the weirdest thing we have going on here,” Lewis sighed, and in a flare of pink fire that engulfed him from head to toe, the ghost transformed back into a handsome teen in a vest and ascot - with not a speck of dust or gore on him.

“We’re happy to have him with us,” Arthur added from the front seat. “Lewis is a really great guy and you should definitely not be scared of him.”

“The hell I shouldn’t!” Cassidy strongly disagreed.

“Alright then, be scared of him. But ya gotta ask yourself: are you more scared of him or Bessie the murder bull and his five thousand friends?”

And almost on cue there came a particularly loud MOOOO from the Devil’s Herd, still stampeding after them.

Cassidy opened her mouth, but immediately closed it. She pursed her lips, then after a moment she came to a conclusion: “Bessie. Definitely Bessie. Fuck that.” And she began to aggressively brush and flick as much of the blood and chunks off of herself as she could. Vivi handed her a clean towel too, which helped.

“Amen,” Arthur agreed.

Then the dog, who had gone very quiet up until now, spoke up. “Lewis, get ready to open the passenger side door. We’re approaching the hive.”

The atmosphere in the van immediately shifted (except for Cassidy, who was out of the loop and along for the ride), the trap returning to the front of their minds.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

“The trap?” Fred exclaimed with glee.

“Yes Fred,” Cassidy sighed fondly, “the trap.”

“What kind of trap?” He asked, tapping his fingers together and bouncing lightly in his chair, a giant grin on his face.

“A big, crazy, stupidly dangerous trap that I still can’t believe worked,” Cassidy groaned, some of that old anxiety returning just at the memory of it.

“I’mma be totally honest with you: if we didn’t have magic it probably wouldn’t have,” Vivi shrugged.

“Would 100% not recommend for your own investigations,” Mystery agreed.

“-And if you do attempt it for one of your own mysteries, you’d better hope you don’t survive because I will kill you,” Cassidy growled.

Ricky knew that tone. “Fred. She means it!”

But the master trapper was hardly listening. “Less lecturing, more trapping!”

And with another exasperated yet fond sigh, the storytelling continued.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

Cassidy had absolutely no idea what she’d been (quite literally) pulled into, but she was about to find out.

“You have the flare gun at the ready, right Vivi?” Asked Arthur.

“Got em’ right here.”

“And the dynamite?”

“That too.”

“And Lewis? Remember, you have to get out not long after Mystery.”

“Just tell me when,” the ghost said.

“It won’t be long. The hive’s just ahead! Get ready!”

Cassidy craned her neck to look between the two front seats, and she could see them approaching a system of canyons and gorges. They had just entered them when the song on the radio changed to an intense set of crescendoing, pulsing chords.

“Hellbent? Oh Hell yeah! Now this is ‘fuck shit up’ music!” Vivi cheered.

“It really is the best car chase song,” Lewis agreed.

“Easy for you to say,” Arthur gulped. And Cassidy got the distinct impression that there was a story there, but she didn’t exactly have any time to dwell on it. Because that was when the shaking ground beneath the van’s tires began to tremor. “Here they come!” Shouted Arthur!

And that was when Hell poured out of the mountainside. Like a mob of angry ants, the Devil’s Herd came from every cave, crack, and crevice. But instead of driving away, the van turned and began to drive around the perimeter of the hive, stirring it up even more, prompting the cattle to come out after them.

“Lewis! NOW!” The dog shouted! And by itself, the door swung open and the dog leapt out of the van with a flash of red light.

I’ve been Hellbent, baby,

Cassidy shouted after him. “DON’T! DID HE JUST- OH MY GOD!”

Hellbent on lovin’ you all day long,

“Don’t worry about him, Vivi said dismissively. “He’s a professional.”

Hellbent on drugs ‘cause it turned you on,

“-Not to mention he’s more dangerous than anything he’ll find in there,” Arthur added.

Don’t know what else to do,

“But-”

Mmm~

“I’ll tell you what. You want to be helpful? Get in the front seat and start throwing sticks,” Vivi said.

I’ve been Hellbent, baby,

“Alright,” Angel groaned as she heaved herself between the seats and onto the passenger side.

Hellbent on makin’ you love me, too, Even though not what I’m supposed to do, I don’t give a damn, Mmm~

“I’m up here, but I don’t know what you mean by- OHMYGOD!” And Angel had never in her life rolled down a window so quickly as when Vivi Yukino suddenly dropped a lit stick of dynamite into her hand. The BOOM that followed after she threw it brought even more angry cows out after them.

“WHAT IN THE- OHSHIT-” (She chucked yet another stick out the window just as fast as Vivi handed it to her) “-HELL?!”

“We’ve got to get as many of them out of the hive-” BOOM! “-and to the trap as possible!” Vivi shouted over the wind as she took another stick out of a box, held it out for Lewis to light, and passed it to Cassidy - who promptly threw it out the window, much to the displeasure of the cows. “Not to mention the fewer of them are in there, the easier Mystery’s job is.” And as soon as she finished talking there came another explosion as the stick Cassidy had just tossed went off.

Immediately after, over the roar of the wind surging in through the open window, there came a sound from the radio like the cocking of a shotgun, and the song launched itself into a call-and-response verse.

I’ve been hellbent, baby (I’ve been hellbent, baby)

“Aaand the most effective way to do that-”

It’s been too long, baby (It’s been too long, baby)

“-is to make them mad,” Arthur added just as loudly as Vivi. But unlike his friends he was sweating bullets and looked even closer to a panic attack than Cassidy.

My eyes wide shut (My eyes wide shut)

“Well a little bit of damn warning would have been nice!” Cassidy retorted, throwing out yet another stick.

And I feel your touch (I feel your touch)

“Would love to but we’re on a time crutch,” Vivi disagreed over the resulting BOOM.

I’ll prove you wrong! (I’ll prove you wrong!)

“Here - this last one should do it. Make it count.”

You make me strong! (You make me strong!)

Grumbling, Cassidy took the last stick of dynamite and threw it out the window as hard as she could.

I said all I need is, all I need is, all I need is you!

The explosion that followed brought out the biggest swarm yet.

“-Aaand that should do it. Lewis, get us the blazes out of here.”

And as the music carried on into more of those intense beats, Cassidy’s vision was engulfed in blinding pink light and if she could have screamed she would have! It felt as if her battered body was being forcibly sucked through a very long tube. When it finally stopped, the van was a great distance ahead of the herd (but not so far that they weren’t still being chased) and the Mystery Skulls’ attention was on her.

“What the hell just happened?” Vivi demanded from the back seat.

“Oh no - you’re hurt!” Arthur cried.

“No shit,” Cassidy groaned. And she would have said something snarky, but she broke out into coughs and when she took her hand away from her mouth her palm was covered in blood.

“Lewis, did you-”

“She must’ve been more seriously hurt than we thought before we picked her up,” Lewis said. “I’m so sorry - I never would’ve teleported us if I’d realized.”

“S’ fine,” Cassidy gritted out, clutching her even-more-broken ribs and struggling to keep her composure. “I’d already be dead if you hadn’t grabbed me.”

“We’re gonna have to talk about this later,” Vivi said. “And you? You will tell us how this happened. But for now? Lewis, you have to go.”

“Will you be alright-”

“That’s why we have the contingency plan! Now go!”

And in a swirl of pink, he was gone. And not a moment after he disappeared, there was another slurry of pink light across every surface, and everything reverted back to the way it had been before Lewis possessed it.

“How much further to the gorge?” Vivi asked, as if none of that was unusual at all.

“Just ahead! You need to switch places with- uh…” Then Arthur turned apologetic. “Sorry. I don’t think we ever asked for your name.”

“Angel,” Cassidy groaned, already moving back into the back seat.

“Angel- haha. What a coincidence, right?” Arthur said, awkwardly looking away so he didn’t make direct eye contact with Cassidy’s ass as she passed him. “Well- nice to meet you Angel. Sorry if we’ve come across as rude but given the circumstances-”

“Not the time for niceties, baby. Jus’ drive!”

“Yes ma’am.” Arthur said quickly, right as Vivi hopped into the now empty seat beside him. She rolled down the window and the gale that filled the van assaulted Cassidy’s ears, even as Vivi hopped to sit on the window’s edge with her entire upper body outside of the vehicle.

Cassidy, having laid down in the back of the van, felt the terrain beneath the vehicle tilt downhill and Arthur shouted over the wind, “This is the gorge! Fire the first flare!” And distantly, Cassidy heard Vivi fire it with a bang and a loud hiss. Unbeknownst to her, the blue light was visible for miles. Vivi tossed the now useless thing. And right as she was readying the second, the edges of Cassidy’s vision started going dark.

She was vaguely aware of a walkie talkie cutting on, but she couldn’t focus on the words being said. And right as Hellbent was coming to an end with one final dramatic chord, she blacked out.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

“How bad was it?” Ricky asked tensely.

“Wipe that concerned look off your face Ricky, I was fine!” Cassidy waved him off dismissively.

“Internal bleeding is not fine, Cassidy! If we didn’t have magic you may have needed surgery!” Mystery scolded.

“I’m a little lost,” Fred scratched his head. “How did you get hurt?”

“The particle displacement that occurs during magical teleportation isn’t easy on the body,” Lewis surmised. “Basically, in Cassidy’s case, suddenly displacing her weakened, injured body from one place to another worsened the tears in bruised tissue, reopened cuts, and as for her bones? The displacement puts pressure on your entire body at once, so you can only imagine what that does to bones that are already cracked or broken. Imagine if someone has broken ribs, (which Cassidy did) and some asshole walks up and squeezes them around the middle as hard as they can. But on your whole body.”

“Jeepers. I’m glad you’re okay, Cassidy. That must’ve really hurt!” Daphne cried.

“It’s water under the bridge now,” Cassidy shrugged. “If I had a nickel for every time Lewis apologized afterward… But he never would’ve done it if he’d realized I was injured and I’m still glad he did, given that we had the Devil’s Herd right on our heels.”

“How did the rest of the trap go anyway?” Fred asked giddily.

“Long story short,” Vivi explained, “We reached word of the third herd while we were still cleaning up the mess from the second. So before we had set off from there, we harvested an organ from the second queen’s carcass - the one whose head is mounted on our wall. That organ produces highly potent pheromones. That’s how they communicated - like bees.

“We put those pheromones in gas canisters all over the van that continuously released small amounts, which made the cattle think we were another queen. So their instinct was either to destroy us or to take us back to their hive - either way, they’d have to catch us first. So Arthur and I lured most of the skull cattle into a deep gorge, and beyond a certain point the people of Tumble caused a carefully orchestrated rock slide with dynamite to close them in. Then, long before they could dig or climb their way out, Mystery showed up, luring the rest of the herd into the gorge.”

“That was my objective when I leapt out of the van,” Mystery explained with a hint of pride. “My job was to slink through the hive, kill the queen and any of her daughters, rip out her pheromone organ, and use it to lure any skull cattle left in the hive back to the trap with the rest.”

“It’s a shame you missed that bit Cassidy because it was really cool,” Vivi said excitedly. “He jumped right off that cliff and they all followed. Most of them were either dead or close to it when they hit the bottom, save those who landed on the corpses of those who jumped before.”

“Rou jumped?” Scooby exclaimed. “What about the landing?”

“Kitsune are shape-shifters, remember?” Mystery smirked. And in a flash, he transformed into a large white raven and perched on the top of the chair behind Vivi’s head. “I flew- oh. I’m sorry, Ricky. Is this alright?” The kitsune-turned-bird asked, apologetic and concerned.

“Oh- yeah it’s fine,” Ricky said sheepishly, rubbing his eyes and sitting up from where he’d been laying his head on the table. “I think what freaked me out yesterday was that you turned into something too similar to a parrot, and I wasn’t expecting it. But this is alright.”

“‘No parrot-like things.’ I’ll keep that in mind.” Mystery said with a pleased fluff of his feathers.

Then he hopped off of the top of the perch, turned back into a dog, and landed squarely in Vivi’s lap - who couldn’t resist the urge to give him a cuddle. Which, if his wagging tail was anything to go by, had been his plan all along.

“So once they were in the gorge…” Velma prompted.

“The townsfolk poured hundreds of gallons of molten tar down on the cattle,” Lewis said grimly, igniting a single flame on the tip of one finger, “-And I burned them alive.” Monsters as they were, Lewis could still hear their screams. And he felt no satisfaction in their deaths.

“Like, zoinks,” Shaggy gulped.

“Jinkies,” Velma gulped in agreement. “That’s… dark.”

“There were too many of them to euthanize them humanely,” Vivi said sadly. “We tried that in Idaho and it cost us dearly. We didn’t even try in California because the Redwoods were in danger. Not to mention, obviously, all the people and wildlife who were also at risk. Then in Arizona a whole small town was in danger. And like the others, that herd had already caused a lot of damage and killed a lot of people. We didn’t even consider doing it humanely at that point.”

“Good,” Ricky said gravely. All heads turned with their undivided attention. “I can’t even begin to imagine how many people those things hurt. So even if they suffered, it’s better for them to not exist anymore. They never should’ve existed in the first place. God, why did I-”

“Don’t.” Mystery said. His eyes narrowed, flashing red, and his voice was very firm and stern, only to immediately turn gentle. “Come back, Ricky. Turn around. Don’t go down that path. The regrets, the what-ifs, the should-have-dones, the self-loathing. You’ll only drive yourself mad. Believe me… I know.”

Ricky sat back in his chair a bit, sullen, and said no more on the matter. Though everyone could tell, and Ricky knew they could because he could see the concern on their faces, that particular battle wasn’t over just yet. Finally, he could take the silence no longer and put his head on the table, his face hidden in his arms. The table was awfully comfortable. And his eyes were growing so… heavy.

“Cassidy!” Lewis said suddenly, which made everyone jump including Ricky, who quickly sat up and ran his hands over his face. (This went unnoticed by everyone except Mystery.) “Now you need to tell them what happened after you woke up.”

And that made Mystery stiffen. Ah, yes. That.

“Why? What happened after you woke up?” Fred asked.

“This one damn near gave me a heart attack and killed me, that’s what!” Cassidy shouted, jabbing an accusatory finger at Mystery. The “dog” batted his eyes and innocently looked away as if he had no idea what she was talking about, except he was also smirking as if to say, ‘I did it and I’ll do it again!’

“Why am I not surprised?” Velma said dryly.

“Oh they didn’t tell ya’all shit,” Cassidy laughed. “Just wait until you hear what the first damn thing out of his mouth was!”

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

When Cassidy awoke, the first thing she registered was the pain. Her whole body protested with either stiffness, discomfort, or jabs that came with every little movement and adjustment. Next came sound - the hustle and bustle of movements and voices all around. Then the dry heat of the desert that clung to her skin, and the coarse, stiff bedding beneath her back. Then, finally, she blinked her eyes open.

The light was dim and orange. Late afternoon sunlight just permeating the tent’s fabric above her head. Cassidy turned her head to and fro, taking in her surroundings. She was laid on a pop up cot with a very thin mattress inside of what appeared to be a medical tent. The other beds were empty, a monitor stuck to her arm kept track of her vitals, and a fan in the corner was trying its best to combat the Arizona heat. Aside from that, she was alone. And she could see her bag sitting on a makeshift bedside table, though her rifle was nowhere in sight.

As what had happened before she passed out came back to her, Cassidy sat up as carefully as she could with a groan. Ghosts, magic, and skull cattle? Were the mysteries not limited to Crystal Cove?

Careful not to jostle herself too much, Cassidy reached over, pulled her bag over into her lap, and started digging around looking for her weapons and to check that all of her stuff was there. Surprise surprise, her pistol, shotgun, mace, and knives were all missing. As were her notes and files on the Mystery Skulls.

Just then, Cassidy’s head snapped up at the sound of someone entering the tent, and Arthur Kingsmen jumped when they locked eyes. “Oh! You’re awake! It was… Angel, right?”

“Yeah. That’s right. And you’re Arthur Kingsmen, synth player of the Mystery Skulls. And… also a monster hunter apparently,” Cassidy said with a groan as she hefted her bag back onto the table. There wasn’t a single thing in there she could use at the moment anyway.

“Yep. That’s me,” he smiled and rubbed the back of his head, an embarrassed blush coming across his face that reminded her painfully of Ricky.

Three kids and a talking animal… could there be a fourth? Even if there isn’t it’s too close to be a coincidence but there’s just no way…

Just then, Vivi popped her head into the tent. “Hey Artie, how’s- Oh! You’re up!” Vivi Yukino said happily. “Hey Lewis! Miss Dynamite is awake!”

Which led the ghost (apparently wearing his human disguise) to stride into the tent after her. “How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Like that skull herd trampled me,” Cassidy said in the least-pained tone she could.

“Sorry,” Lewis said guiltily.

“From what I gather, you didn’t do it on purpose. All the same, I’d say we have a lot to talk about.”

“That’s for sure,” Vivi said. “For starters, let’s properly introduce ourselves. I’m Vivi Yukino. This is Lewis Pepper, and this is Arthur Kingsmen. But you apparently already knew that, Miss… Angel Dynamite?”

“Yeah, that’s my name.”

“No it isn’t.”

Angel whirled around just in time to catch a glimpse of an enormous shadow on the other side of the tent dart out of sight.

“What was that?”

“Mystery…” Vivi warned sternly, but her tone went unheeded as a huge snout forced its way between the Mystery Skulls, followed swiftly by an absolutely gigantic beast.

“SWEET lordy…” A gasp forced its way out of her and as much as every instinct she had was screaming at her, Cassidy found herself frozen in place. Not that, as hurt as she was, she would have been able to do much else anyway. The kitsune’s seven tails fanned out magnificently behind him like the tail of a peacock. Snow white fur was stained and splotched with orange mud and the golden blood of the cows, and when he shook himself speckles of it misted into the air around him. “What- that the hell-?” She asked shakily.

“Angel, this is Mystery,” Vivi said in an even, measured voice. “You’ve actually met him, briefly, in the car before he jumped out.”

“That was a cute little dog!” Cassidy all but shouted. “Not some dog- wolf- fox- whatever-you-are! I- eep!”

Cassidy jumped, shaking, when Mystery abruptly leapt up, his front paws on either side of her body, absolutely towering over her. His red eyes glowed in the dim light within the tent, and the sheer intensity of his glower through his gold spectacles locked all of her limbs in place.

“What’s your name?” The creature asked. And his voice was all-encompassing, reverberating into the deepest parts of Cassidy’s chest in such a way that it shut all of them right up.

“I- it’s Angel Dynamite,” she replied. Panic fluttered in her stomach. Why would he think otherwise?!

“No it isn’t,” he snapped, hackles raised and teeth bared. “I do not know your face as I once did. But if there’s one thing I never forget it’s a smell. Especially one I pursued with such passion as yours. ‘Angel Dynamite?’ Ha! No, that’s the name you had to give yourself. I remember now. That’s what he used to call you, isn’t it?”

Cassidy’s heart seized inside her chest, and the lovestruck face of the boy she’d loved once flashed before her eyes. He knew. He knew! But how? And the other Mystery Skulls didn’t, if the bewildered looks on their faces were anything to go by.

Cassidy nervously swallowed. “You know me,” she said, as evenly as she possibly could. An admission with deniability if ever there was one. But Mystery would not have it.

“What. Is. Your. Name?” He barked. And the force in his tone and the desperation in his eyes was so powerful that she had no choice but to give in.

“... Cassidy Williams,” she admitted quietly.

And at those words his entire demeanor changed. His lips dropped over his fangs in a gasp of awe. The hardness vanished and the tension in his shoulders let out like a deflated balloon. He looked- relieved. So relieved he looked as if he might cry. “You’re alive,” he muttered, disbelieving. But then tearfully, he laughed. “I knew it!”

“You know me,�� Cassidy repeated, and he must have heard the fear and confusion in her voice.

“I do,” he said, and his voice had become very gentle. Melancholy, yet fond. Reminiscing. “And you knew me. A version of me, anyway. But you would not remember me. My children and their families, you knew as well,” he said, gesturing to the other three Mystery Skulls. “But that doesn’t matter right now. The others! Ricky, Judy, Bradley. Are they alive as well? Do they still live?”

Cassidy was so flabbergasted by his enthusiasm that it didn’t even occur to her to lie. “They are! They are!”

At that news, Mystery became so excited that it took a whole twenty minutes to calm him down enough for him to tell them a story that Cassidy had only thought was familiar. And for Vivi, Arthur, and Lewis, that revealed wounds so old and so painful that no one around them had ever been able to bring themselves to tell the whole thing - until now.

༻˚⁺･⚉｡○✼༓☾⦾♫෴♡💛♡෴♫⦾☽༓✼○｡⚉･⁺˚༺

Once Cassidy stopped talking, the table fell very quiet.

Then silently, five heads slowly turned to look at the little dog, sitting solemn and silent in Vivi’s lap. And he had that same expression on his face as that day in the desert: Joy and sorrow blended together in a tapestry of painful memories.

Finally, Ricky swallowed the knot in his throat. “... You knew us?” He asked quietly.

And the dog looked right at Ricky and replied, “I did.”

“... H-how?”

“I don’t blame you for not piecing it together yourself,” Mystery said. And his voice was forcibly even as he wrestled his own feelings under control. “A lot has happened in the past twenty-four hours. You all had so much more on your minds.”

“That doesn't answer my question,” Ricky said. And he was forcing himself to stay calm too.

“Do the math,” Mystery said simply. “You disappeared a little over twenty years ago. Vivi, Arthur, and Lewis were all born in Crystal Cove and are all twenty-seven, twenty-six, and twenty-five years old respectively. And their families lived here for some years even before that until they all moved away, almost two years after you left. I am the guardian spirit of the Yukino family. I was here too. Vivi, Lewis, and Arthur were so young they hardly remember Crystal Cove. But me? I remember. And yes, I knew you. I knew your families, your friends, your neighbors. The Yukinos lived not two blocks away from the Owenses. Five from the Williamses. Four generations of Yukinos lived in Crystal Cove, and for all that time I was here too. I was there when Vivi’s parents and grandparents congratulated yours on your birth. Both of your births. Brad and Judy’s too. I watched you grow up. I followed your mysteries - they were the only exciting thing that happened in Crystal Cove back then. And I was there, sniffing in vain around in the brush, when your father and Cassidy’s parents led volunteers to trudge through the caves and waterways with sticks… looking for your bodies.”

That last bit had Ricky’s throat closing and his eyes burning.

Dad…

Ricky and Cassidy both did not like thinking about their families. How much their disappearances must have hurt them. Even now, with the Freak not a threat anymore, neither of them had looked up or approached their families. It had been twenty years. Surely, they had moved on. Surely, showing up now would only hurt them more. And seeing them from a distance without being able to reach out would surely mean only more pain on their end.

“... Why are you only telling me this now?” Ricky asked.

“I did not get to finish my story last night,” Mystery reminded Ricky gently. And, it’s as I keep saying: A lot has happened. There have been other things to talk about. And… I do not mean to diminish your pain when I say this. But would you believe me if I told you that it is painful for me too? Remembering everything that happened back then?”

“Then why don’t I remember you?”

“I was the guardian of the Yukino family. I tried not to get too involved in the lives of humans that were not mine, and it was in my nature to be forgettable. But I think, once reminded, you may yet remember.”

“Then start talking,” Ricky said firmly. “And don’t you dare leave anything out.”

“I will,” Mystery said. “But I believe a more comfortable setting would be appropriate, as it is quite the long story. And I need to get something from my chambers anyway. Vivi, Lewis. Why don’t you lead our guests to the family room? I’ll meet you there.”

“If that’s alright with Ricky,” Vivi shrugged.

And if Ricky had a bit more pep in his step right at that moment, he may have fought it. But at this point, he already felt so exhausted and utterly drained that he simply sighed, “Sure.”

And so, Mystery hopped from Vivi’s lap and skedaddled out of the room, while the humans got up and silently picked up stacks of dishes from breakfast and carried them into the kitchen to be washed later. Then, awkwardly quiet, they followed Vivi and Lewis into yet another unexplored part of the mansion.

Ricky kept quiet, his head swimming, and it was all he could do to keep his eyes trained on Cassidy’s back walking just ahead of him. Her shirt fit her well - he could see her toned muscles and defined shoulder blades shifting beneath the fabric with each step. Beautiful, he thought to himself. Even now, part of him feared that if he took his eyes off of her for too long she’d disappear. Or worse: he’d wake up to find that the miracle of this morning had been nothing but a dream.

As for Cassidy, there were a lot of things that were yet to be explained to her, but for now she was content to hear what Mystery had to say until Ricky was ready to tell her the truth. Some things about the kitsune’s role in Crystal Cove twenty years ago had been explained to her back in Tempo, but she was looking forward to having a lot of gaps filled.

“So like,” Shaggy cleared his throat after a while, “how exactly did you guys know Mystery Incorporated back in the day?”

“Yeah. And why didn’t you mention it before?” Velma asked. Curious - not accusatory.

“Our families knew each other from what I understand,” Lewis said.

“More than knew each other,” Cassidy corrected gently. “After spending some time in Tempo, I managed to find out more than what Mystery told us. Ya’all ain’t gonna believe this: Fred and Vivi are related.”

At that, everyone abruptly stopped walking and turned around. “What?!”

“Wait- how?!” Vivi exclaimed, just as shocked as everyone else.

“What’s your Momma’s maiden name?” Angel asked.

Vivi thought for a second, then smacked herself on the forehead. “Reeves! Of course!”

“I thought Vivi was Japanese,” Fred said, confused.

“Half Japanese, on my Dad’s side,” Vivi corrected. “I mostly take after him, but my Mom is definitely white. Like she is blonde. And- actually, come to think of it her hair is the same yellow as Fred’s. Anyway - all I know is some sides of Mom’s family had lived in Crystal Cove for a very long time. So I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised. How are we related, by the way? Specifically?”

“Your Mom and Judy’s Dad are cousins,” Cassidy explained. “Which makes you and Judy second cousins, and you and Fred are second cousins once removed.”

“Wow. Small world,” Fred said.

“I didn’t even know my Mom had a cousin,” Vivi said.

“They apparently don’t talk much anymore,” Cassidy shrugged. “And Fred and Vivi aren’t the only ones with a connection. I don’t know if anyone else is related, but apparently the Owenses, the Kingsmen, and the Yukinos were pretty tight. But I didn’t hear a lot about how or why that is, apart from that the Yukinos became fast friends with the other two families when they first moved to Crystal Cove, and the Kingsmen and Owens families were friends even before that. Then when my parents moved to Crystal Cove a few years before I was born, the Nocedas and the Peppers were the first to welcome them to the neighborhood, and the Yukinos weren’t far behind.”

“Wait- who are the Nocedas?” Daphne asked.

“My birth parents,” Lewis said quietly.

And a sympathetic silence followed as the eight of them continued on before Vivi pressed through the awkwardness. “Anyway- Arthur, Lewis, and I really couldn’t tell you much about back then. I was only six when the Original Mystery Incorporated disappeared. Arthur was five, and Lewis was four. And we moved away like… a year later? I have a few fleeting memories that are relevant. But they’re mostly glimpses, feelings, or single moments. The adults back home in Tempo who do remember everything only have parts of the puzzle, and even then talking about it has become a sort of unspoken taboo. Mystery has more of the story than anyone else, and even he doesn’t like talking about it. All the hurt that happened in Crystal Cove 20 years ago… a lot of people have either forgotten about it or tried to. But Mystery sure as hell hasn’t.”

“No kidding,” Cassidy agreed.

“It’s frustrating,” Vivi sighed. “Mystery’s become more and more open with us since he first revealed himself as a kitsune and started actually talking to us, but his days as Kit and Koa are the only really important part of his life that he won’t talk about.”

Ricky had been starting to nod off, but something about what Vivi said caught his attention. “His days as what?”

“Those were the names he lived under during his time in Crystal Cove,” Vivi explained. “Throughout his days as a guardian spirit, he’s assumed whatever name the family gives him. Usually during and after a period when he takes the form of some companion animal and decides to live among the family for whatever reason instead of watching over us unseen. He’s been Mystery for a little over eighteen years, if memory serves me right. But before that, he took the form of a border collie and my grandma named him Koa. If you remember him at all, that would be the name and form you knew him by.”

Koa… something about that name rang a bell. Where do I know that name from??? Ugh, it was only nine in the morning, and too much had happened already. What Ricky really wanted to do was lie down and take a nap. But there was still too much to do and too much to talk and think about.

He didn’t ask any more questions, and kept trudging along with the others.

At last, they came upon a spacious yet cozy lounge with dark blue wallpaper and red and orange furniture. Apparently the “family room,” where Mystery had for some reason decided to hold this discussion.

Ricky plopped down on a large, L-shaped couch and leaned back, arms over the back of the couch with his eyes closed, intending to mentally prepare himself. Cassidy spared him a worried look before she sat down on the other line on the “L” beside him. While the kids walked around the room and looked at the pictures.

Only then did it become clear as to why this was known as the “family room.” Because that’s what all of the pictures were of: The Mystery Skulls, along with their families. And quite a few of the older ones, the kids recognized, had been taken in Crystal Cove! They were so busy looking around and asking questions, especially about the pictures that included Vivi’s Mom’s side of the family, that they hardly noticed when five minutes went by. Then almost another five minutes. And right when they were starting to wonder what was taking Mystery so damn long, in the kitsune trotted, looking a bit too pleased with himself, carrying a large book-shaped package in his mouth.

“Apologies for the wait,” the kitsune said a bit too merrily as he set the package down on the coffee table.

“No kidding. What took you so long?” Cassidy asked suspiciously.

“Ah, silly me. I’d misplaced my photo album. I’ve accumulated so many things over the years, you know. I was beginning to fear I’d left it back in Tempo when I found it under my pillow of all places. Imagine that.”

“You’re up to something,” Vivi stated.

“Up to something?” Mystery cried in his most offended possible tone. “Vivi! I am shocked and appalled that this is your opinion of me!”

“Hear that, kids?” Lewis asked. “That’s the sound of bullshit.”

“Yyyep,” Fred agreed.

“Rullshit,” said Scooby.

“‘Bullshit?’ ‘Up to something?’” The Kitsune balked teasingly, “From the way you all talk, you’d think I was some sort of shady vagabond!”

“What. Did you do?” Vivi asked dryly.

“Very well,” Mystery sighed. “But you can’t be mad at me.”

“What. Did you do?”

“Technically,” Mystery said, “I didn’t ‘do’ anything. But… let’s just say that my story is going to have to wait until this evening.”

And right as Vivi was about to demand why, she was cut off by the sound of a soft snore.

Ricky. Had fallen asleep. Right where he sat, leaning back against the couch.

“Ricky?” Cassidy called him and lightly shook his shoulder, but he didn’t so much as stir. “Ricky?”

“No no, don’t wake him,” Mystery said. “I’ve been waiting for this all morning. It was only a matter of time.”

“Why? What’s wrong with him?” She demanded.

“Don’t fret, little Angel. Nothing is wrong. Sleepyhead’s medicine simply hasn’t worn off yet.”

Lewis smacked his forehead. “The sleeping potion! Of course!”

“The what now?” Cassidy cocked an eyebrow.

“Ricky couldn’t sleep last night,” Vivi explained, “So Mystery gave him a potion. He really needed the rest. That’s why he slept in.”

“I told him to go take it right away, or at least I thought it was implied,” Mystery sighed, slightly irritated, “But instead he bumped into Velma on the way back to his room and stayed up for another few hours. Then took it.”

“Okay,” Cassidy said, confused, “That still doesn’t explain…”

“Have you ever taken nighttime medicine?” Vivi asked. “It can be difficult to get comfortable and fall asleep when you’re sick, so a lot of nighttime medications have stuff in them to help their patient sleep. But those medicines are supposed to wear off by morning. So if you take it late and wake up early without the effects wearing off, you feel super lethargic for the first half of the day. The same thing has happened to Ricky, but he took a potion instead of ‘normal’ medicine so the effect is a lot stronger.”

“Poor dear. It’s likely that the only reason he’s been awake as long as he has is due to the stress,” Mystery said. “But with magic, even stress can only hold it off for so long. Then we likely sped it along by feeding him.”

“Like, why by feeding him?” Shaggy asked.

“Eating a big, comfortable meal like that would be enough to make anyone satisfied and drowsy,” Lewis said. “Add a dreamless sleep potion into the mix and it’s no wonder he’s zonked out.”

“Oh for Pete’s- you planned this!” Velma cried accusingly, jabbing a finger at Mystery.

“I did not plan for Ricky to take his medicine late. But just now, did I intentionally have Vivi and Lewis take him to the most comfortable lounge in the house then stall long enough for him to doze off? Yes I did,” Mystery smirked mischievously. “Because I didn’t want to argue with him when I told him he needed to go back to bed before anything else. Just like Cassidy is about to.”

“What- me?” Cassidy snapped.

“You’ve been awake and on-the-move for over twenty-four hours,” Mystery said, bending his neck down to her level. “That, and we won’t urgently need you for anything for another few hours anyway. So yes, Cassidy. The others and I will be going out into Crystal Cove to make some preparations, and in the meantime you and Ricky will remain here. Not that you’ll miss us - we should return at about the same time you wake up - at around 3:00. Five hours still won’t be nearly enough rest but for now we’ll have to take what we can get.”

“The hell I do!” Cassidy stubbornly spat, indignant at the mere suggestion. “I still haven’t-” But mid-sentence, Mystery exhaled a cloud of red smoke in her face. Cassidy abruptly stopped talking, her eyes rolled over, her entire body went slack, and she slumped over on the couch beside Ricky.

With a red flash, Mystery took the form of the man with long black hair he’d shown them last night. Except of course, his seven magnificent tails were still showing from under his kimono and his tall pointed ears were sticking out of his hair on top of his head. Twenty years later and they’re still so adorable, the kitsune chuckled to himself, fondly remembering a time long ago when this very pair of sleepy meddling kids fell asleep on the Yukino’s couch.

“Jeepers! What did you do to Angel?” Daphne cried.

“Just a simple sleeping spell, Daphne. Fear not,” Mystery said dismissively. And gently, tenderly even, he lifted Ricky’s upper body from the back cushion and moved him to lie longways on the couch. “I believe I mentioned that we kitsune have some power over dreams. Which makes us skilled in all sorts of sleep-related magic,” Mystery continued, and he picked up Ricky’s legs from where they hung over the side and put them onto the cushions. “This one will only put her out for a few hours. Assuming I’ve estimated correctly, Ricky should wake up an hour or two before her, but I’m sure he’ll be fine as long as we leave a note explaining things.”

Rolling her eyes, Vivi came up behind him with a couple of blankets as Mystery moved on to Cassidy. “Why did you put Cassidy to sleep?” She asked. “Her needing the rest can’t have been the only reason.”

“I mean, she couldn’t exactly have helped much until this afternoon anyway,” Lewis guessed, scratching the back of his head.

“-But knowing her, she would have tried to regardless,” Mystery added, having now moved Ricky and Cassidy to each lie longways on the cushions. “And when we didn’t let her, as if we could stop her, it only would have bothered her while she waited. So I felt it was best that she sleep until then.” And he took the blankets from Vivi and draped one over each of them.

“Why’s that?” Scooby asked.

“Because,” Lewis announced, a piece of paper magically appearing in his hand, “I went to see Arthur last night, and he has a plan. But he needs our help to pull it off, so we’ve got homework and the deadline is in less than 48 hours.”

“And all of it involves going out into Crystal Cove,” Mystery added. With a flourish, a long ornate gold kiseru pipe appeared in his hand and he began to smoke kizami while he spoke.

Unnoticed by Mystery Incorporated, this caused Vivi and Lewis to spare each other a very worried look. Being a spirit, smoking wasn’t bad for Mystery in the way it is for fully mortal beings. But while it wasn’t harmful for him, he knew second-hand smoke could be bad for humans and that the habit had become increasingly frowned upon in the past few decades. Which meant these days, wanting to set a good example for the younger ones, Mystery never smoked in front of them anymore unless he was extremely stressed about something. In the three years since he’d revealed himself as a shape-shifter, this was only the third time they’d ever seen him do it.

All of this to say, if whatever Mystery was going to have to say about twenty years ago was affecting him this badly, then it was extremely concerning indeed.

“But,” Mystery continued, blowing out a long, beautiful red stream of smoke, “it would be extremely unwise for Cassidy to go into town with us. If she did, she could be spotted on one of Mr. E’s cameras. And if our enemies saw her, then best-case scenario there goes our element of surprise and one of our wild cards. Worst-case scenario, we end up with kriegstaffebots at our door trying to finish what they started.” And as he finished talking, he began blowing lovely red smoke rings as he listened to the others.

“Zoinks! Like yeah, those are good reasons!” Shaggy gulped, his eyes nervously following a trail of smoke that went by his head.

“-Not that they could get into the house anyway if they tried!” Vivi added quickly. “Not with our defenses, remember?”

“Yeah but it’d be annoying. And since we’d be essentially under siege it would become near-impossible for anyone aside from Mystery, myself, or maybe you to leave. That, and this is a great spot. I’d rather avoid having to move the house if I can,” Lewis pointed out.

“That’s true too.”

“Rud reasons,” Scooby agreed.

“So what’s the homework?” Velma asked eagerly.

“The two main keys to success in Arthur’s plan are physically escaping Destroido and ditching Pericles, Brad, and Judy. Then getting the cobra larvae removed. As you could guess, the second part is the tricky part and also what we’re going to do today,” Lewis said. “Because the capsule is pretty deep in there, and it’s like a centimeter away from Ricky’s spinal cord. The only way it’s coming out is if Arthur’s sedated and someone cuts it out, and that’s not something we can do safely. Which means we need a surgeon, equipment, and a place where that surgery can be done.”

“Uh, why don’t we just take him to the hospital?” Scooby asked.

“It’s too obvious and too dangerous,” Lewis replied. “Removing the cobra venom will probably be Pericles’ first guess about ‘Ricky’s’ next move, and the hospital is the most obvious place that could be done. And the last thing we need is them dragging Arthur back right when we think we’ve won. Or worse: bringing killer robots into a hospital full of sick people.”

“So,” Fred surmised, “We need somewhere equipped with surgical equipment and someone who can perform surgery, but it can’t be at an actual medical center.”

“Not only that but it has to be the right kind of surgeon. Or at least a surgeon with the right training,” Velma added.

“This is where you come in, Mystery Incorporated,” Mystery smirked. And he blew an enormous, beautiful red smoke ring that encircled the four kids and their dog before it dissipated, filling the air with the smell of tobacco.

“The Mystery Skulls aren’t established in Crystal Cove,” Vivi explained. “We don’t know anyone here. We don’t have any connections. You guys on the other hand have been meddling around this town for years. You probably know just about everyone by now. So finding the answer to this is going to be up to you.”

“I think I might have an idea of where we could do the surgery, but I don’t know about a surgeon,” Velma said thoughtfully.

And Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby didn’t have any ideas either until, with a defeated sigh, Daphne raised her hand. “Actually… I think I know the exact person who can help us.”

And HERE IT IS! I'm sorry for the long wait, and I hope the long chapter and the fanart makes up for it! I didn't mean to make you all wait this long for this chapter. I went through a bit of a rough patch the past couple of months because of school stuff. I picked the wrong major. BUT! I'm on a different path now that's much better for me and my mental health. I can't promise when the next update will be, as my current schedule doesn't leave me with much spare time. But I don't intend to make you wait another three months either. On to talking about the chapter itself and its future, I don't know how they keep ending up this long but no one particularly seems to be complaining about it. Cassidy still doesn't know what happened to Ricky, Mystery has revealed yet another can of worms to open so expect lots more flashbacks ahead, and we're finally going to see our heroes actually start contributing to Operation: Free the E in the next few chapters. As for my song choice, I wasn't originally planning to use "Hellbent" for this part of the story, but as I was writing the flashback to Arizona I realized no other song could possibly be this appropriate for a car chase. That, and the past several chapters have been God, Pay for My Sins, and Angel. So why not continue the trend and put all of the songs with Christian/heaven/hell titles in one place? I would also like it to be known that Hellbent will most likely be used as a chapter song/title again in the future. I had been planning to use it for another chapter anyway, and tbh I'm running out of good Mystery Skulls songs that remain fitting to what's happening in the plot. I'mma try to have song repeats be few and far between tho! I would also like it noted, some of you may have noticed, that I have added "previous" and "next" buttons to the format of my posting. I got the idea from Morningmark's comics he posts here on Tumblr. I can't promise how consistent they are to every single post though, because some of my chapters have proven difficult to find. I'll work out the kinks eventually, and I hope they make reading 'One Of Us' on Tumblr more manageable. Just don't forget to run over to Ao3 to leave a kudo or a comment too! Seriously, do share your thoughts and possible theories. I never grow tired of them and they're what encourage me to keep going! I stay busy with school so I don't know when I'll have time to post chapter 23 to Ao3 but you can bet it'll be posted there by this weekend!

Chapters 1-22 of 'One of Us' are presently posted on Archive of Our Own!

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keep-the-wolves-close · 8 months

Text

Steady Heart

Chapter 1: Bad Things Are Comin’

When a sudden death happens at the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, Stella Daniels is forced deeper into the world of her employer, John Dutton. It’s much further than her experience from just working with the horses and being an extra wrangler when needed. Now Stella, her brother Ryan, and her best friend Kayce; her employer’s youngest semi-estranged son, have to navigate finding their place within the ranch’s not-so-clean dealings and the challenges that come their way.

Pairing: Slow-burn Kayce Dutton x OFC Stella Daniels

Rating: M? (Still figuring out the rating system) (might eventually be M anyhow)

Warnings: Violence, mentions of blood, character death, grief, panic, language because I mean let’s be honest we’ve all seen the show lol

Word count: 3,803ish?

Stella Daniels breathed a sigh of relief as she leaned backward on a fence in a round pen belonging to Grand Springs Ranch. She was lending a helping hand to her good friend Olivia. Olivia helped run the broodmare portion of her parent’s ranch, and this year the broodmares were giving both women a run for their money. There had been so many speed bumps this year.

Olivia sidled up beside her to join in the viewing of a new broodmare prospect. They wanted to see her movement, her temperament, and also talk to the current owner about her AQHA titles. The usual things they looked for in a good broodmare. Olivia and her parents were very strict with things being ethical and not just breeding to breed. Stella respected that.

The mare in question was a pretty little chestnut thing, spunky and only 6 years old. Stella enjoyed watching her graceful lope. The mare had a bit of an attitude, but that wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. She had been taught well when it came to horses and getting temperament under control. She had faith she would be able to have this girl right as rain in no time. She tapped Olivia’s arm and gave a nod of her approval, to which Olivia agreed.

Stella fixed her glasses and saw movement out of her peripheral. She looked over to see one of the full time hands rushing toward them with a concerned look on his face.

Olivia’s eyebrows scrunched together, “Tim, what’s wrong?”

“There was a phone call from the Yellowstone for Miss Stella.” Tim looked almost nervous.

“Was it Ryan?” Stella pushed herself away from leaning on the fence. “Is he okay?” Ryan would occasionally send a text, but always knew she might not have her phone. He only ever called the barn phone in an emergency when she was here.

“Something big happened. He said to tell you he’s fine, but they need you home right away.”

Her eyes glazed over as she unfocused on everything except her rising heartbeat. Her mouth dropped open as her breathing started to come out in shallow puffs. She didn’t feel when Olivia first grabbed her arm, but it was like she had been electrocuted the second she realized Olivia’s hand was there.

“Liv, I gotta go!” She bolted for the barn to grab her things.

Olivia responded, telling her to go, family comes first; her part of the job could be worked on at a later time, but Stella never heard those words as she ran as fast as her feet would take her.

She didn’t hear anything until she got back to the Yellowstone. As soon as her SUV tires hit the gravel of the ranch, Stella sped up to the main house. Seeing the flurry of activity happening there, she figured that would be the best place to start. Her SUV was barely in park before she hopped out and ran across the grass desperately searching for her brother. There were news vans, reporters, police, EMS, and livestock police all crowded around in the front yard.

It was at that moment that her hearing came back all at once. The chatter from every direction was disorienting. Her eyes were looking but not seeing. Every face was blending in with the next one. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, quicker with each passing second.

She pushed her glasses up while calling out, “Ryan!” Not caring who would look in her direction. “Ryan!!” She hollered out again, sounding more panicked than the first time. Multiple heads snapped in her direction. Lloyd spotted her through the mass of people and moved quickly to her. He grabbed her by the arm gently and guided her to the porch where it was a little more secluded. He knew he had to get her focus. If he didn’t, Stella would raze the whole ranch to ground looking for her brother.

“He’s finishing up something in the house, but he’ll be out soon. He’s okay.” He made sure to try and keep direct eye contact with Stella, trying to keep her glued to the porch. She continued to look around trying to peek at every face that walked by them. She had to physically see her brother to accept that he was alright.

“Stella, look at me!” Lloyd said sternly and shook her to grab her attention. “Your brother is alright. Come with me.”

She finally allowed herself to catch her breath. She trailed closely behind Lloyd, hot on his heels, to the large section of the porch by the front door. He had her sit in one of the chairs, and asked her to stay put. He wasn’t sure exactly how long Ryan would be, but he would be coming out the main door. Stella was in the perfect place to catch him the second he walked out. Lloyd knew Ryan would be glad to see his little sister.

With a numb expression she asked, “What the fuck happened, Lloyd?”

“Some of the herd moved onto tribal land.” He took a deep breath, trying to figure out how he was going to continue this explanation.

“Oh shit, no.” Stella’s shoulders dropped as she whispered.

“Well, both groups butted heads and here we are.” He wasn’t trying to be vague, but he also didn’t want to drop too much on her at once. Especially about Lee.

Stella knew that both groups didn’t always get along, but she never imagined it coming to something that required this much attention from police and news alike. She rubbed her fingertips on her palms trying to get feeling back. Ever since she left Grand Springs her hands had been numb.

Movement from the front door startled Stella into action. She hopped up from the chair and made her way quickly to the door, weaving through livestock police as she went. Kayce and Jamie came out of the house. Kayce, her best friend of 12 years, looked rough. When Stella saw the blood on his shirt, her heart nearly jumped from her chest.

“My God, Kayce!” She rushed over to him to try and get a better look. “Are you okay?” There was a mumbled, “‘m fine, Stell.” He grabbed her hands before she could touch his shirt. Knowing she would thank him later. He gave her hands a squeeze while taking a deep breath to ground himself. Almost as if he was using her as a tether.

Light brown eyes met darker brown. She finally saw the sadness that resided there. Her eyebrows scrunched together and she tilted her head to the left, and wordlessly asked what happened. His eyes dropped and his shoulders looked heavy. Stella’s breathing picked up again, worried by whatever change may be coming. She nodded to Kayce, knowing this was a conversation for another time.

“You’re brother should be right behind me. Go get him, and we’ll talk later.” He squeezed her hand again and let go. More people coming out of the house prompted Stella to give his arm a quick squeeze and move toward the door.

Her eyes locked on her brother, “Ryan!” She propelled herself forward and gripped him in a tight hug. Now that she could physically see that he was okay, her blood pressure started to return to normal. Ryan was her rock. She wouldn’t even dare to fathom the consequences of not having him around.

He squeezed her back and moved them off to the side. He held her tight. Primarily for her, but it also gave him solace because she was safe back here at the ranch.

“Let’s go down to the bunkhouse where it’s quiet. We gotta talk.” He needed to tell her about Lee.

Stella sat forward in the chair bracing herself on her knees. Her brother had just told her Lee was gone. She felt like she was going to vomit. Lee and herself hadn’t been as tight knit as she and Kayce, but she had known both of them since she was 14. He had taught her just as much about horses as Kayce. Hell, they partnered together to train the horses for the ranch. She was flabbergasted. Speechless. She struggled because that very well could have been her brother.

She took deep breaths to keep the nausea down, and placed a hand on her forehead. She pushed her glasses back up her nose and sat back swallowing the lump that was lodged in her throat. She felt guilty for even thinking that, but she also understood the look that Kayce had given her on the porch fully now.

There weren’t any tears being shed. Ryan was concerned, but then remembered that his little sister didn’t like to cry in front of people. Not even him. If she did, it was because she had no control anymore. He didn’t know how she dealt with human death. Animal death? He had seen her deal with it a thousand times over because of the ranch. The work on a ranch doesn’t stop unfortunately. But the untimely passing of a friend? He was worried about how this would go.

“Were you with them?” Stella cleared her throat.

Ryan bit his lip and nodded. “I was a few feet away, and then I got swept off to the side dealing with something else and Kayce was alone with his brother.”

“Oh my god, he was alone? That’s the second time that’s happened to him.”

Ryan knew she was talking about Kayce’s mother and how that whole situation went down. She felt horrible that Kayce had to face that by himself.

Stella knew she would probably cry later on when she was by herself, but she couldn’t even drum up a response to her brother. Other than the occasionally quiet whispered, ‘what the fuck.’ She could understand the disagreement about the herd, and knew things could get rash at times, but her mind was blown that it came to this kind of firing point.

It had been quiet for about five minutes with her staring at the wall where the sink was. “You still with me?”

Stella slowly moved her head to look at Ryan. “Hmm?” She said softly. The energy slowly drained out of her the longer she sat there. He came over and sat next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in sideways.

Ryan comforted her. “Stay with me Stellee.” She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting out a big breath, trying to pretend she was anywhere else but here.

It was quiet for a few moments. Ryan would occasionally rub Stella’s arm. Since he wasn’t sure how far her reaction to the loss would take her, he treaded lightly. He didn’t know if she would react now or later, and he definitely didn’t want to come up on her breaking her hand through a wall.

“I’ve gotta go find Kayce.” Stella started to move restlessly before she got up.

“Yeah, but don’t you think he would want space?”

“If I know anything, space is the last thing his mind needs. And I know he hasn’t been home yet, so he doesn’t have Monica here. I can’t just sit by, Ryan.”

Ryan sighed. His little sister could be one of the most endearing people. If someone had a problem, she refused to let them carry it alone. He was worried one day her back might break.

“I’m gonna go back up to the big house. He’s probably still there.”

Now that the activity had quieted down, Stella poked her head in through the front door. She ran into Beth sitting in the living room, looking very much like she needed to catch her breath. When Stella entered the room she looked up from her long gaze.

“Funny how everyone else employed here knocks, except you. Why is that?” Stella breathed out a sigh at the accusation from Beth. She knew Beth was just in defense mode and didn’t mean to spit fire at her. They got along for the most part.

“Beth… I haven’t knocked on this door since I was 15. I wanted to come check on everyone.”

“There’s nothing to be done except wait for the plan. You know that. You came here to check up on my baby brother, didn’t you?”

“Well, he is my best friend. And you and I both know that being alone is something your brother doesn’t need right now.”

“And you thought you would swoop in and be his savior, huh?

“Not a savior. Just a shoulder.” Stella was getting frustrated.

“Beth, leave her alone.” Kayce’s voice came from behind them. He came from the hallway toward the back of the main sitting room. He nodded toward the porch and Stella did a 180 to make her way around. He placed a hand at the small of her back as he directed her to keep moving. There was a small zip up her spine at the contact. Her back tensed.

He wanted to get them both out of the room before his sister could spit more grief. Stella shook her head and squeezed Beth’s shoulder quickly as they walked by and back out the front door.

Kayce sighed. “I’m sorry about her.”

“You should know by now you don’t have to apologize for your sister. I would have been worried if she hadn’t responded like that.” They shared a chuckle.

Stella seated herself on one of the chairs by the little table. Kayce made himself comfortable in the other. They both gazed out at the vast ranch. They zoned out and let the silence embrace them. Today was chaotic for both of them, in different ways, but tiring nonetheless.

“How the hell did a feud about some cattle that wandered through a broken fence produce this end result? Like, how did we get here Kayce?” Stella was very confused. She hadn’t been on the ranch when the arguing had started about the cattle, land, and who owed the livestock.

“I mean, I understand that it’s a very tender subject about land and all, but…,” she didn’t really know how to continue. Thinking about it made her brain hurt. She sighed.

“My head is spinning too.”

Stella whispered. “Is it selfish if I say I’m glad you’re still here?” Stella adjusted her glasses as she moved her eyes away from him. It was quiet as both of them contemplated her question. Her admission. In a way it was selfish, but he understood the sentiment she was trying to get at.

“I’m not really up to talking just yet, Stell. After I come back for the —,” he halted trying to figure out how to avoid saying the word funeral, finally ignoring the word all together. “We can talk then, okay?”

“I understand.” She pushed her glasses up. “If you or Monica need anything, please let me know and I’ll get it to you guys with lightning speed. Okay? Even if you need someone to take little man for the day or something.” He gave her a look that only the two of them seemed to understand. They stood and bear hugged like their lives depended on it. She knew it would be a few days before he would actually talk. Stella would wait as long as he needed her to.

Neither of them let go for a short minute. They knew that once they did, cursed reality would set in again. For this short span they felt like they were kids again without a worry in the world.

Stella murmured softly, “I’m so sorry this happened,” as she released him from the hug. He nodded, giving her one last glance before he made his way back inside to gather his things to go home.

"Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried... " the Father's voice faded as Stella scanned the crowd of people that had come around for Lee’s service. Everyone from the ranch was there and accounted for amongst other people that knew the family. The only one missing was Kayce. Her eyebrows pulled together. She looked at Monica, and she gave Stella a quiet shrug. He couldn’t have been far. There’s also no way he would have missed his brother’s funeral. She tried to be nonchalant about looking around, but she made eye contact with Beth who gave her a pointed look with a raised eyebrow.

Stella rolled her eyes slightly and kept looking. Not far off she saw a horse that just stood in place. It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary, but from the looks of it, the horse was a mustang. In these particular hills of the ranch property, the most you would find would be a quarter horse if one got out of its designated pasture. Maybe an Appendix or two. No one, that she was aware of, had brought a horse with them today, however.

Just barely above the high grass up at the grave sites, she could see a dirty blond head move back and forth. There he was. She looked to Monica who nodded her permission and Stella silently exited the group. She knew that if anything, Lee would have wanted her to go over to his brother. Lee always joked that they were each other’s Huckleberry. Attached at the hip, and where one was the other was surely not far behind. Most certainly to “fuck some shit up, cause some chaos and leave” as Lee would have said.

Stella’s fond smile at the memory faded as she got closer and heard sniffling coming from Kayce. Her face softened and her heart bled for him. She sat down beside him. The horse paid her little attention, but snorted in acknowledgement and went back to grazing as she folded her legs beneath her. Kayce glanced at her from the side.

When he realized it was her, he turned slightly and made eye contact. Stella pulled her lips together in a small smile, and kept her eyes gentle. They simultaneously leaned toward each other, shoulders touching, as they looked forward. Stella reached over and rubbed his back.

She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him close sideways and rubbed his arm to offer any sort of comfort to him while they sat there. They both pretended that they were anywhere else, at any other event than his brother’s funeral. She couldn’t believe this had happened, and she felt helpless that she couldn’t change it or do anything to make the hurt less, other than what she was doing right now.

They both heard as the Father finished his sermon, but they remained seated. Even when Stella felt eyes on her back, she stayed. John surveyed the pair closely. That girl, well woman now, had been there through the thick of almost everything for his youngest son since she and her brother showed up on the ranch 12 years ago.

At first, John had been hesitant to have an extra child on the ranch. Especially with his new young wrangler being her parental figure. She turned out to be a great kid, who would pull her own weight and then some. He slowly started to come around to the idea when Kayce started to put up a fight for Stella and Ryan.

She also was the first to throw knuckles when anyone, or anything, came for his youngest. John would swear that she would throw herself in front of a bullet for Kayce. Hell, she threw herself in front of grizzly for him once. Evelyn would have liked her. John couldn’t even begin to think of ways to thank her for keeping Kayce grounded along with Monica’s help. He cleared his throat and came up beside the twosome.

“He's one hell of a horse.” They heard from Stella’s right as John seated himself next to the pair. Stella removed her arm from Kayce’s shoulders, but remained quiet. She wasn’t a part of this conversation.

Kayce sniffled at his dad’s words. “Yeah. Ain't got the breeding of your stud, but he has a heart.”

“I know. I saw.”

“He would have died for me. He almost did.”

John changed the subject. “You want to stay for supper? You can put him in the barn.”

Kayce sniffed loudly and stood. He carefully draped the lead rope over Stella’s lap and handed it to his father. “No. I brought him for you. You can put him in the barn.” She watched as he quickly left to catch up with his family.

“I can take care of him for you, sir.” Stella offered as they both stood.

John looked at her from behind his dark sunglasses and shook his head. “Thank you, Stella, but I’ll take this one up.” As he walked away with the horse, she pursed her lips to the side realizing she was alone. She looked back to the gravesite. She patted her legs trying to decide if she wanted to go back over. ‘By the time you’ve argued with yourself, you could’ve already done it.’ She rolled her eyes at herself and started walking over.

“Hey Lee. I’m so sorry this happened to you.” A little bird sang its song from high in a tree. Stella smiled sadly and fixed her glasses. She hoped it was Lee saying he was listening. She still hadn’t come to grips that he was gone.

“I’ll do what I can for the family, the ranch. To the best of my ability anyhow. Especially for Kayce. I know he was the favorite.” Stella forced herself to look at his place marker. “I guess you’ve left me no choice but to take over your spot as the lead for the horses. If your dad agrees to put me there.” It was a heavy decision, to choose to do nearly anything for the family. It could come with a hefty price tag, but the Dutton’s and the wranglers were all she and Ryan had.

She looked off to where everyone had gone and noticed Ryan was still waiting in the wings for her. “I should probably go catch up with everyone else, but I’ll be around again.” She brushed her skirt off and headed up to the big house on the hill. Everyone was invited for supper. She wasn’t about to turn down Gator’s food. Lee wouldn’t have wanted her to either.

After supper everyone had congregated outside to get some fresh air and talk amongst themselves. The wranglers had parted to one side and Stella stood next to her brother and Colby.

She could see John with Beth and Jamie. They stared off at the helicopter, speaking to each other quietly. Lloyd brought her attention back to the group when he asked her a question.

“I’m sorry, what Lloyd?”

“I asked if you were spendin’ the night, lil’ bit?” She yawned at the exact moment he asked.

“Yeah,” she laughed. “I probably should. I think my overnight bag from Olivia’s is still in my car.”

Comments, thoughts, and commentary is welcome! Just please be gentle lol. 🤓

#yellowstone #kayce dutton #luke grimes #ian bohen #ian bohen : ryan #kayce dutton fan fiction #yellowstone fanfiction #kayce dutton fanfiction #Steady Heart #SH Chapter One #finally lmao

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