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natspats · 14 days

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“it was love at every sight.”

(quote: della hicks-wilson)

thank you ⁉️anon for the inspo for this story! ☺️

thank you for reading and enjoy! xx 💋

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schlatt groaned.

he didn’t understand why they had to bring this random chick onto the podcast. why couldn’t they have someone on that they BOTH knew?

ted had known her for about a year and a half, and they were best friends. but schlatt would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit jealous of their relationship.

ted had always been close with schlatt, but when the name “y/n” started being thrown around, he felt a pang of jealousy.

he didn’t even know what she looked like, he didn’t bother to look her up on any social media. he didn’t care much for this “y/n” girl.

ted caught onto this attitude of course and had been on his ass about being nice to her. “fake it till you make it!”, is what he had kept telling him. and-

“i’m not fake, i’m the real deal!” is what schlatt dramatically scoffed in response.

however, he decided it wouldn’t look very good on him if he was being rude to a girl in front of thousands of people.

so, he shoved his protests deep down inside, put on his regular persona, and decided to just get the episode over with.

as schlatt sat in the booth of their studio, ted was hurrying around, making the final arrangements to begin the session, when he suddenly stopped in front of schlatt.

“she’ll be here soon, are you ready?” ted arched a brow and stuck his crossed arms in front of his chest.

“do we haveeee tooooo?” schlatt sunk into his seat like a 3 year old in protest over not getting a toy at the store.

“yes schlatt we do, it’s too late to back out.”

“BUT I TRIED TO BACK OUT AND YOU WOULDN’T LET ME!” schlatt cried whilst kicking his feet.

“i owe her, and it’ll be good publicity to have an up and coming on the pod.” ted drops his arms.

“what do you have against her anyways? you haven’t met her, no?”

schlatt would never admit to being jealous. thus, he contemplated the correct response.

“uh- well- i don’t know her. and uh- you know her so well, so i think it’ll be awkward.” schlatt mumbled.

“it won’t! i promise. she’s very easy to get on with.” ted smiles with a pat on his shoulder.

“and who knows, maybe you might like her!”

“yeah right.”

bzzz bzzz

ted jumps and picks his phone up from off the table, swiftly checking it.

“she’s here! be right back.” he walks to the exit before turning around and pointing a finger at the mutton chopped man.

“best behavior young man!”

schlatt puts his arms up in surrender. “relaxxxx. you have nothing to worry about.”

ted swings the door open and mumbles as he walks out, “you better be right about that.”

best behavior? best behavior??

yeah right.

he was going to have EXCELLENT behavior.

he was going to prove ted wrong.

schlatt absentmindedly scrolled through his phone until he heard voices approaching the door. and once the door opened, his eyes shot up.

“here we go.” he thought to himself as he sat up from his toddler-esque slump.

the door clicked open, and in walked ted with-

oh.

suddenly the whole world around schlatt stopped.

he felt his throat get tight.

his heart began to race.

his palms got all sweaty.

did he look ok?

everything around him got all fuzzy, and she was the only clear thing to him.

she.

who was she?

“earth to schlatt?” ted waved his hands in front of schlatts face.

suddenly he was taken out of his trance.

“yeah-sorry, what?”

ted looked at him with a look mixed with suspicion and confusion.

“this is y/n!” ted presents her to him.

y/n reaches her hand out for him to shake.

“hi, it’s so nice to finally meet you! ted has told me lots much about you.” she beamed at him. schlatt takes her hand and shakes it.

among all of the scattered, racing thoughts in his head, one of the only thoughts that were clear to him was that her hands were soft.

a beat of silence passed before schlatt realized he needed to respond. he looked into her eyes and the faintest, but most genuine smile appeared on his face.

“it’s nice to finally meet you too.”

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

about 45 minutes into the podcast, things were going great- at least in ted’s standards. he was worried schlatt was going to be a prick to her, but he actually had excellent behavior.

that was mainly because throughout the podcast, schlatt had been talking, but not as much be usually would be. and that’s because he was too busy taking in her all in.

it was like he was in a desert and she was his only water source.

he didn’t understand why he felt this way.

he hadn’t felt this was on any of the zoom calls full of girls on the love or host episodes.

he hadn’t felt this way for anyone, not even minx.

schlatt thought he was ok with not being in love or being in a relationship, but apparently he wasn’t?

not to mention, his behavior was unlike his usual self, so it was very noticeable during the recording.

schlatt was beginning to feel that pang of jealously, however, not of y/n. but of ted, and how close he was with her.

as schlatt sat there in his lovestruck trance, he was once again broken out of it by the sound of a soft voice.

“j?” she raised a bow with a confused smile.

J?!?!??!?!

his heart beat faster at that nickname and his cheeks flushed red. why the fuck was he freaking out? it was literally just his name. but nobody has ever called him J before. and-

“sorry, what’s up?”

ted snorted at this, beginning to catch on to this behavior from his dear friend.

and she just let her brows fall into a worried position, all the while keeping a smile plastered across her face.

“i said,” a light blush spreading across her cheeks, “do you think you would ever go on another love or host episode? i was asked by austin recently to have a go at it.”

his heart stopped for a split second.

for some reason, he couldn’t bare the thought of other guys having a chance with her. but then again, what if he was a contestant? what if he had a chance to win her over? what if-

“hmmmmmmmm. i suppose it depends on who id be competing for.” schlatt leaned back in the booth, manspreading.

“i second that.” she points in schlatt’s direction.

ted grins. (mwahahaha type grin)

“you know,” ted leans towards y/n, “i’m sure if you went on, schlatt would be a contestant.” ted flashes a shit eating grin at schlatt.

schlatt turns red and flashes him a look of “oh my fucking god i’m going to fucking kill your fucking dumbass.”

quickly recovering, schlatt scoffs with a “yeahhh righttt. i barely know this broad!”

“yeah well, im sure you’ll know each other well enough soon.” ted smirks and busts out laughing by himself.

what was he doing??

twitter was going to go feral.

schlatt glances over and accidentally makes eye contact with her. but surprisingly, she holds it.

and in the midst of the ugly laughter from their shared best friend, a big, genuine smile, spreads across their cheeks.

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after the episode is wrapped up and everyone is getting ready to leave, schlatt is sitting back at the booth on his phone.

he looks up from his phone and immediately feels his heart beat hard again.

y/n had walked up to him.

“so uh- i was thinking.” she looks down at her feet, that are rocking back between her toes and heels, then back up at him.

“i was thinking we could make a good team to gang up on ted. y’know- get revenge for today.” she’s wearing a small smile, one that suggests that she’s nervous.

schlatt nervousness falters at this and pushes up his confidence to try to make her feels better.

“i was actually thinking the same thing.”

“great minds think alike.” she lets out a giggle.

“right right. well then, you’re going to have to give me your number toots so that we can have a constant source of communication. all good teams communicate after all, right?”

and with that, they exchanged numbers, a smile , and she went back to her hotel.

ted locked the studio, and the pair made their way out to schlatt’s corvette.

and finally.

finally, ted got something out of his system he’d been waiting alllllll day to get out.

“told ya you’d like her.”

#schlatt fluff #chuckle sandwich #jschlatt #jschlatt x reader #jschlatt x you #schlatt x reader #jschlatt x y/n

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undead-supernova · 4 months

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High Tolerance

Part 1 / Part 2

Masterlist

warnings: weed consumption, sickly sweet pining

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

plot: you and Eddie are besties and like to get high. and maybe you are yearning for one another. just maybe. juuuuust a little bit.

wc: 3.6k

I'm so proud of this, I hope people enjoy it!

Part 1: Strawberry Syrup

You and Eddie mirrored each other, your elbows resting on the glass counter as you rested your chins on one hand, listening intently to the clearly stoned woman talk about the promising high of the day.

The bottle she’d taken down from the shelf looked like a tiny juice box, with pink liquid sloshing inside and a green label with a cannabis leaf, because of course.

“Look,” she said, pointing at a thin layer of film at the top. “That thin layer right there? That's the THC.”

You looked over at Eddie, his expression matching yours in wonder at how products like these existed. He was nearly grinning, mouth twisted to the side in awe. She continued to explain the process to you—this was Delta-9 THC syrup. Strawberry flavored. Your instructions were clear: mix it into a drink, preferably soda, and have fun.

When the two of you emerged from the smoke shop, you took a sharp pivot across the street to the gas station to get sodas. The southern July heat was starting to show its unwelcome presence, beating hard on you within the two minutes it took to walk over to the Exxon.

Eddie never truly got the memo for the sun, even when you told him how hot it was going to be outside. He donned a black t-shirt with one of his friend’s band logos on the front and a simple silver chain around his neck. He still wore his leather jacket and navy jeans, denying how hot he was when you called him out for being sweaty.

“Woah! Rude!” Eddie exclaimed as you walked through the automatic doors, putting a hand on his chest. There was even sweat running down his knuckles from his rings. “I am perfectly content. Maybe I like a little sweat.”

You gestured to your own sweaty body, clad in a black crop top with red lining along the low bustline and black jeans. And you quickly realized that you were also wearing jeans in eighty degree weather.

“I’m afraid I made the same mistake and I am a hypocrite,” you empathized, catching him off guard. “My apologies.”

“Yeah, I guess you did, huh?” he said softly.

He glanced down at your outfit and you suddenly felt nervous at the exposure. You paused, realizing you’d both stopped walking. Holding his stare, you looked up at him with a slight smirk. Was Eddie checking you out? Did he really do that? And were you teasing him back? Was that what this was?

No. You were getting ahead of yourself. You were always making up shit like this.

You pivoted, skipping over to the refrigerated drinks, Eddie following in tow. “I’m excited to try this. I’ve seen it in there so many times, but I couldn’t figure out the right time to try it.”

“And you’d never do it without your bestest friend of all best friends, right?” Eddie asked, a playful smile settling on his lips as you flitted around him.

“That is correct.”

Eddie settled on a Sprite while you decided to grab a strawberries and cream Dr. Pepper—despite the sound of disgust leaving Eddie’s lips.

“That,” he pointed to your drink, “is nasty,” he said before dramatically shooing you away. “Get it away from my face. You've failed me, sweetheart.”

Letting out an exaggerated gasp, you replied, “Excuse me, but it’s already strawberry flavored. Wouldn’t that logically help it taste better?”

“No. Nope.” He pointed to the bottle again. “That is what’s killing the children. Dr. Pepper having a strawberries and cream flavor? We’re truly failing as a society.”

You rolled your eyes, shoving his arm lightly and pointing towards the checkout counter. “Let’s get going. I wanna try it out.”

When you got into Eddie’s van, he quickly put your drinks in his half-broken cupholders. Your fault, three months ago. Talk about greening out when you kept trying to shove a drink in and repeatedly hit the plastic until half of it snapped off. The van was pretty clean today, surprising Eddie. He’d tried to clean it out the best he could this morning, getting up way too early to do so. Maybe it was to impress you. Who knew. He certainly didn’t. Not at all.

You twisted off the caps as Eddie pulled the strawberry syrup out of his pocket.

“Half for you, you sick fuck,” he said as he carefully poured the pink liquid into your Dr. Pepper. You let out a hearty laugh as he let the rest drip into his own. “Half for me.”

You put the caps back on your drinks before carefully mixing them together, teetering them back and forth to reduce the likelihood of an explosion. Eddie grinned at you and you couldn’t help but smile back, tapping his bottle with yours.

Before either of you could take your first sip, Eddie said, “Hey, don’t shotgun it.”

You feigned offense. “What? Me? Why would you dare accuse me of being so irresponsible?”

But you knew why. You knew precisely why. There was something about trying stuff with Eddie, from his fresh edibles to the slushies on tap at the hemp store, Jailbait Hemp. (The name was absolutely cringe worthy but you and Eddie swore it was the best place in the city.) Then there were the pre-rolls, the dabs, the potent gummies. You didn’t want to get Eddie started on how many chocolate bars you’d scarfed down before getting a stomach ache and needing to lie down and watch three movies. It wasn’t necessarily unlike you to get ahead of yourself, downing whatever was given to you immediately, especially ones with high doses. Just to see what would happen. Just to have the experience.

Eddie both loved and hated that about you. You’d never thrown up or done something stupid because of it, (other than the tragic cup holder incident), always a little quieter depending on the level of inebriation you were operating on. He loved it the most when the two of you got high in public, like today. Neither one of you were ever loud or obvious about it, usually giggling with one another in hushed whispers. It was actually quite nice.

But, most of all, he loved getting high with you in public because you held his hand. Anywhere you went, whether it be to walk around Hobby Lobby or taking in nature at a nearby park, you held onto him as tightly as you could. You’d told him once, in a haze of one of those blue raspberry Delta-9 slushies, that you felt safe by his side, knowing no one could hurt you when he was there. His mere presence left you feeling more relaxed than at any other point of the day. Even when you were sober.

He’d looked at you after you said that, stunned by your admission. You’d said it simply, as if it was just a well-known fact that he should’ve known already. Even when you’d looked away from him to gaze back out over the Chattahoochee River, surrounded by loud families and barking dogs, he couldn’t help but soften around the edges. Water had collected in his eyes, nearly slipping out and over his rosy cheeks. But he’d forced himself to look away, to fight the urge to confess that you made him feel the same way. (And then some.)

Eddie only hoped he’d see the day where you took his hand without the THC in your system.

“Yes, you, Weirdo.” Eddie shook his head. “Do you not remember when we made that beer cheese with that Delta-Whatever shit your sister got us for your birthday and then you took half of the cheese and—”

As he spoke, you quickly tipped the bottle into your mouth and began to chug.

Eddie said your name with an exasperated sigh. “You’re literally the stupidest person I’ve ever met.”

Unable to respond verbally, you winked at him and threw up a middle finger, letting the seamless mixture of Dr. Pepper and artificial strawberry flavoring slide down your throat. Usually there was an aftertaste of THC in different products. But you couldn’t even taste the syrup. It was like there was nothing else in the drink. Brilliant.

Eddie only shook his head with a smile, knocking back nearly half of his drink just to give in to your antics. Why not? It was a lazy Thursday, anyways.

This was one of those rare occasions when you and Eddie had the same day off of work. It usually happened once or twice a month, leading you both to take the opportunity to go by Jailbait Hemp, find something new to try, split the cost, and see what happens.

As the bottle left your lips with a small pop, you couldn’t help but let a loud burp ripple through the air, smiling proudly. Eddie squinted his eyes with a serious expression on his face, pretending to listen intently like he was interpreting art.

“That might’ve been my best one,” you admitted, your face a bit smug as you slammed the empty bottle back into the pitiful cup holder.

Eddie shrugged. “That was about a six, Weirdo.”

“A six?” you asked incredulously. “Are you joking? I don’t think I’ve ever reached that octave before.”

“Sweetheart, you forget that you have the world champion in front of you.”

“Prove it!” you exclaimed, leaning in and scrunching your nose at him. Taunting him further, you added, “You won’t.”

Eddie mirrored your expression, the two of you looking at each other like mischievous little kids. The kind of misbehavior that would get you sent to the office in middle school with a threat of suspension and mud smeared over your clothes like a 1st Place ribbon.

“Fine,” he said before beginning to down his Sprite. Before you could compliment him on his shotgunning abilities, his burp rang through the van, loud and deep, clearly ten times better than anything you could muster.

Even in your obvious defeat, you had to suppress a laugh, trying as hard as you could to continue the bit. “That was obviously a two,” you said. “They should’ve crowned someone else.”

Eddie swatted your arm and you did the same. “You’re an absolute menace, you know that? And a liar.” Before you could offer a witty retort, he said, “Now, come on. This’ll hit soon and I don’t wanna be driving when it does. We got shit to do.”

“What’re we doing at the aquarium?” you asked as Eddie pulled into the parking garage. There was a banner above it, fading from a penguin swimming in the ocean to three more resting on rocks. You’d always found it adorable, filling you with excitement.

“Uh, well, uh,” he stumbled as he stretched through his window and grabbed a parking voucher. “Yeah,” he continued as he set it on the console and drove through. “I just thought that the syrup would go well with the fish, you know? And it’s deserted right now, being Thursday and all. Also, don’t worry about a ticket. I got you covered.”

You gawked at him. As Eddie parked and reached for the seatbelt latch, you placed a hand on his shoulder. His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

“Eddie, it’s, like, fifty dollars to get in. Let me get my own,” you pleaded. “Or we could go somewhere else. I know money’s tight for both of us as it is.”

Eddie shook his head, his smile beginning to falter. “You like to come at least once every summer,” he murmured, looking down to fiddle with the seatbelt still in place. “I wanted to do something nice for you, you know? You’re my best friend.”

Your heart ached a bit at the way he said “best friend.” It sounded removed, like a placeholder for something else, something more. He looked up to meet your eyes again and you felt some part of you wince as a wave of emotion bubbled inside your chest.

Because that was just the thing, wasn't it? He wasn’t just your best friend. He was the one you spent most of your time with, the person you swapped places with for a sleepover almost weekly. The person you went on mindless adventures with to explore Atlanta, window shopping all of the mansions out in Buckhead for when Eddie would become a rockstar and (jokingly) leave you a tiny guest house in the back.

The person who had remembered an insignificant detail about you and decided to give you a present.

All you wanted was to lean over, to lightly brush your lips over his, slowly leaving remnants of a soft Thank you. But you couldn’t. No matter how much you suspected Eddie’s affections, you couldn’t attempt to make a move.

So you opted to slowly headbutt his arm and get out of the car.

“You’re so weird,” he teased as you walked around the side of the van.

“So-rry that I’m showing my best friend affection,” you joked back. “We don’t always have to hate each other.”

Eddie snorted, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. “Ah, yep. Definitely. We hate each other so fucking much.” He stopped suddenly. You raised an eyebrow as he turned to you, jumping into a fighter’s stance before waving an imaginary sword in your direction. “I am here to avenge my father’s death!” he exclaimed, mimicking a warrior’s bellow. “You will pay, scoundrel.”

You jumped into a similar position, moving your imaginary sword closer to his chest. He moved with you, as if to block your approach. “Thee foul fiend,” you started with a British accent. “I will vanquish thou and feed you to the dragons. Purge you in the fiery—uh—fires of the dungeon moats.”

Eddie couldn’t keep going, bursting into a fit of snorts. You broke too, your laughter making every passerby stare. He put his arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer as you walked.

“‘Fiery fires’?” he asked. “That has to be the funniest shit I’ve ever heard.”

You laughed at your ridiculous word choice. “Yeah, I don’t know, man. I panicked.”

“I think I’m starting to feel it because I seriously haven’t laughed that hard in a while.”

You could be wrong. That’s what you reasoned with yourself. You had a possibility of being wrong, so you did nothing. After that first time you accidentally held his hand on sheer impulse due to the half cup of Delta-8 beer cheese you chugged, you kept doing it. He thought it was funny. He also said it was cute. Something you did was cute to him. So, whenever you were inebriated, you disguised the action and made the most of it. He always let you hold it, let you cling to him wherever you went. He never even commented on it, just accepting it when you made the contact.

And you could’ve been wrong, but Eddie was looking at you like you were the most beautiful girl in the world and he was looking at your mouth and not your eyes and there was something verging on romantic about this moment.

But there was that chance, that tiny glimpse of doubt that led you to believe you were destined for the wrong timeline. The one where it wasn’t true. You were the delusional girl in the film that would never get the love interest at the end. The one left behind.

So you held his hand tighter and looked away.

You were like a little kid when you went to the aquarium, nearly running around to each pane of glass. Looking at the different plaques, you’d search for each individual species listed, tapping on the glass each time. And that hadn’t changed. You just so happened to be a little bit more amazed by the beauty of sea life from the high.

How wonderful it was to be surrounded by a different existence! Something that humans could never truly fathom living. They moved differently than us. They felt different. Saw colors differently. They even breathed differently. Life was much bigger than just you, despite it always feeling like you and Eddie were the only ones left in the world.

For some reason, Eddie seemed a little more reserved today. He wasn’t bouncing off the walls like you were. Instead, he took his time. He responded when you spoke, of course. When you asked if it was okay to run ahead, he promised it was. He’d always catch up with you eventually, pointing out fish you hadn’t spotted yet. But he always made the time to stand back with his hands in his pockets and stare, like he was just as captivated as you were, maybe just in a different way.

Eddie didn’t tell you that he’d put aside that $100 to use once he asked you out on a date. But he’d desperately wanted to see this look on your face, your slightly red eyes wide and your mouth hanging open in awe as you witnessed the beauty surrounding you. You were nearing the end of the moving tunnel, surrounded by fish on all sides. There were even a few divers waving at the glass. The blue lighting made you something to marvel at, the ebbing water spreading dappled light over you. He knew this look, the one where you were somewhere else, in a deep appreciation of the world around you. It was when you were keenly aware of the meaning of life. He’d know it anywhere.

And it was him you were holding through it all. For some astonishing reason, you’d let him in to witness the rawest emotions overcoming you. The ones that others couldn’t be privy to, wouldn’t be. When you turned to look at him with tears in your eyes, your lips stretched across your face.

You smiled that smile, the one that told him something was hiding there, like there were words written on your lips that couldn’t be shared. While everything else was his to know, this one smile was not on the list.

Because, every time you smiled like that, Eddie asked, “What? Why’re you looking at me like that?”

Like it was a challenge. Like he wanted to push you to say what you were thinking, even if it was just out of spite.

And you’d look away, waving your hand around, saying, “What? Nothing. I’m not looking at you like anything.”

And he’d respond, “Yeah, okay, sure.”

So, like every other time, Eddie asked, “Why’re you looking at me like that?”

But this time you shrugged, holding his eye contact. “I just, uh,” you stumbled, your smile only growing. “I just really love, um…”

Eddie’s eyes began to widen at the implication of something more, something brilliant. His back straightened, the haze of the high nearly intensifying the moment. Everything was perfect. This moment was perfect and this was going to be it. You were going to finally say something.

“I just really love what you did for me,” you finished. “I appreciate it a lot.”

And just like that, Eddie was cracking under the disappointment. The high settled back underneath his skin and dragged him down. Of course you didn’t say anything. Why would you? He’d only gotten his hopes up based off of a wild theory he had. One that he knew he’d made up just so he could live in some fantasy where you were together and in love. He just wanted to project how he felt onto you. It was as simple as that.

But he couldn’t help being disappointed by it.

He only hoped that you didn’t see him deflate.

“Yeah, sure,” he responded finally, turning to look back at the fish as you stepped off the moving track. “Don’t mention it.”

You didn’t drop his hand, but as he looked away from you to keep walking, nausea began to pool in your stomach. The tank was starting to slosh you around its current and you moving along with it was making it worse.

You immediately excused yourself to go find the bathroom. When you found it, you proceeded to throw up in the trash can. Luckily no one was in there, but you still felt awful. It was an utterly embarrassing feeling, knowing that you’d just thrown up in a public space because of sea sickness that you’d never had before today from being blasted on THC syrup. Oh, and you’d almost just told your best friend that you loved him. While holding his hand. While he was also blasted from THC syrup.

God dammit.

You didn’t mention throwing up to Eddie. In fact, you’d managed to collect yourself for the rest of the day, walking through the aquarium for another hour and a half before Eddie was sober enough to drive back to your apartment. You ended up cooking enchiladas and watching two movies (The Proposal and The Invisible) before Eddie was snoring next to you, stretched out across the couch with his legs in your lap. When you realized he was asleep, you quietly turned the TV off and moved his legs carefully to rest on the couch. You draped a blanket over him and lifted his head to make sure the pillow was positioned at the right angle so his neck wouldn’t ache in the morning.

And here you were, staring up at the ceiling and recounting the errors you’d made. How you’d almost confessed your undying love for him. How you spent the rest of the day inching towards him despite feeling humiliated. How you couldn’t help but lean further in as if he was the only one who could provide you comfort from fucking up so bad.

And when Eddie found you puking from the stress at four in the morning, you knew that this was bad. It was getting harder to keep it in. This was going to boil over and it was going to be soon.

Fuck.

#Eddie munson #Eddie Munson x you #Eddie munson fluff #Eddie munson angst #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #best friend!eddie #modern!eddie munson #modern!eddie x reader #best friend!Eddie x reader #eeeeep I'm actually posting something yay

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eddiemunsons80sbaby · 7 days

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Never Say Never

Chapter 19

Pairing: SingleDad!StevexReader

Summary: You are a 32 year old single mother, raising your seven year old son on your own. After being widowed at 30 and going out on awful dates with disgusting men for the past month, you have decided that you're giving up. You already had your great love. One person can't possibly get lucky enough to have two in their lifetime. But then your son starts playing baseball and the coach might just change your mind about that.

No posting schedule.

18+ only for eventual smut

Word Count: 7.4K

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The peak of summer had hit. Humid days meant lots of time at the local pool and lake. You and Steve were enjoying every moment of the boys' break from school with them. Picnics in the woods, cookouts with friends, mini-golf, and trips to the zoo filled up your weekends. Evening bike rides had become part of your routine, often ending with ice cream cones or slushies from Scoops Ahoy. Nights spent chasing fireflies and roasting marshmallows over a fire. You and Steve had taken to enjoying evenings on the deck after the boys were in bed, glasses of wine in your hands.

Mid-July found everyone once again sitting around a large table at Sage and Salt, minus your parents, as you were all there for an entirely different reason this time.

“To Mike!” everyone cheered loudly, glasses clinking in celebration all around the table.

Mike’s cheeks blazed bright red, his lips disappearing in embarrassment at everyone making a fuss over him. He’d told you last week that he finally got an offer for his book. The book he’d been working on for years was finally going to be published, he was getting a decent advance for a new author, had signed the contract just that afternoon, and everyone had insisted on going out to celebrate.

“Thank you but this all feels a little…premature, doesn’t it?” he asked. “I mean, yeah, I got an offer and signed a contract but we have no idea how the book is going to do. Getting published doesn’t mean anything. Lots of people get published and their book just sits on a shelf collecting dust. It could still horribly flop.”

“It will not,” insisted El, looping her arm through his, a proud smile on her face. “You are going to do incredible. Michael Wheeler is going to be a household name.”

“Yeah, man. You could be the next Stephen King,” Lucas said.

Dustin snorted, “Nobody’s the next Stephen King. Stephen King is the only Stephen King there is or ever will be. Besides, his books are in a totally different genre. You can’t even compare the two.”

Max rolled her eyes, “Jesus Christ, Dustin. Can you just say yeah and be happy for your friend?”

“I am happy for my friend but it would be more appropriate to compare him to Eddings or Brookes as his book would be of the fantasy genre and they are fantasy authors. Of course, those are big shoes to fill. If his books do even half as well as theirs I will be impressed.”

“Okay, we get it,” Steve sighed, shaking his head. “Anyway, this is a huge deal and I am sure your book is going to be great. Congratulations Mike.”

“Thank you.”

“Yes, we’re so proud of you,” Karen beamed, teary, reaching over the table to pinch his cheek as he grimaced and pulled back from his mom.

“It’s about time,” Tedd grumbled, taking a long drink of his beer. “Only been working on the damn thing for five years, letting his wife pick up the slack.” Karen elbowed him and he looked over at her, completely unaware of how rude he was being.

“Well,” Joyce added, “I think it’s great. I can’t wait to read it. I will be first in line to buy it the day it comes out.”

Mike smiled at her, “Thanks.” He glanced around the table at all of his friends. “And thanks to all of you. If you wouldn’t have pushed me so hard, I’d probably still be editing it over and over again, too scared to ever actually put it out into the world.”

Nancy ruffled his hair, “No problem, kid. We all knew you had it in you even if you didn’t.”

“It’s an amazing story,” Will told them. “Mike really did his research. It’s well planned out, the plot is gripping, the characters are amazing, and the world building is on point.”

Dustin’s mouth dropped open, his fork hitting the plate with a clang, his eyebrows furrowing, “Wait. You’ve read it?”

Will shrugged, “I mean, yeah. Mike wanted me to look it over to see what I thought. I actually helped him with some of the editing.”

“How come he got to read it?” demanded Dustin, offended. “You said we couldn’t read it until it was published and perfect?”

“It’s Will,” Mike stated as if that should be enough explanation. “I trust Will to be honest with me.”

“We’re honest,” Lucas scoffed.

Max’s eyes rolled into her head, “Boys, boys…calm down. You all will have a chance to read it in a few months when it comes out. No need to bicker over who got to read it first. You’re all very important to Mike.”

“Speaking of people who are about to be famous, you will never guess who I saw at the record store today,” Robin said, turning to Steve as the boys continued to banter back and forth, her hand reaching across the table to grab a roll from the basket sitting in front of Steve.

“Who?” he asked.

“Eddie Munson.”

Steve’s eyes went wide, “For real?”

Robin nodded with a grin like she’d just spilled the juiciest news ever but being that you had no idea who she was talking about, you just munched on your bread. It didn’t appear that June had any idea who it was either as her and you shared a look of confusion. Based on the look on Steve’s face, this was very big news indeed.

“But I thought he took off,” Steve continued. “After senior year…well, his third try at senior year, anyway. He said he was getting out of this hellhole and never looking back.”

“He did get out. Hasn’t lived here for years but he came back to help Wayne pack up the trailer. Apparently, his band just got a record deal with this big label in L.A. He said they’ve been playing in clubs for years and were just thinking of packing it in and giving it up when this big record executive came to one of their shows. Anyway, they gave him this huge advance and he bought a house out there and Wayne is going to move in with him.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Steve remarked, his hand on your shoulder, thumb stroking the bare skin along the strap of your tank top. You had learned over the last few months that he was a very physical guy. Some part of him was almost always touching you and you weren’t complaining about it. “Good for him. You know, the way this town treated him, I always hoped he’d do well and show them all.”

“Who’s Eddie Munson?” June questioned just as you were about to ask it yourself.

“He’s this guy we went to school with. He’s Steve’s age but he had some struggles in school so he wound up graduating with my class. Honestly, I think he might have had ADD but of course they didn’t really talk about that back then. They’ve only really started talking about it in the last couple years. If you couldn’t keep your ass in the chair and learn like everyone else then you were just out of luck. Most of the teachers wrote him off as a lost cause so he lived up to it. He was sent out of the classroom so many times for being obnoxious or causing a disruption. But he was crazy talented at the guitar and he always had a book he was reading. People called him dumb but I never thought he was. Annoying, absolutely, but not dumb. I think he just couldn’t get it the way they were teaching it and no one took the time to figure out how to teach him.”

Steve shrugged, “He had it hard here. The town treated him like trash because his dad was trash. His old man went to prison for selling hot car parts and his mom took off when he was just a toddler. He wound up living with his Uncle Wayne when he was in middle school. Wayne had a trailer in Forest Hills. So on top of being a felon’s kid, on top of having trouble at school, he also lived in a trailer. It was the trifecta of judgement for the people in this town. Everyone always said he was up to no good and he was going to turn out just like his father.”

“You know,” Robin mused, tearing off little bits of her roll and stuffing them in her mouth, “one time some of the cheerleaders were being mean to me. Not that it wasn’t something that happened all the time.” She snorted, rolling her eyes. “I was a band geek so the jocks and the popular kids loved to give us shit. Anyway, they took my trumpet and were playing keepaway. Eddie stepped right in and swiped it from them, depositing it in my hands with a flourish and a bow before strolling off down the hallway. I always kind of admired him. He never let those asshats get him down. He just was who he was and he didn’t care what anyone thought of him.”

“I don’t know,” countered Steve. “I think everyone cares what other people think of them. I just think some of us are better at pretending like we don’t. I think that obnoxious, boisterous exterior was a shield he put up to protect himself once he realized he was never going to be accepted by this place. It was easier to pretend it didn’t matter than to allow himself to be vulnerable to the mockery. Dustin sure loved the guy though.”

“Loved who?” asked Dustin, catching the sound of his name.

“Eddie Munson,” Steve answered.

“Hell yeah I did. All of us did.” He gestured down the table to the other boys. “He was a Dungeons and Dragons Master. He was the head of our D&D club, Hellfire, and we all joined our freshman year of high school. Me, Lucas, Mike, and Will were never what you’d call…popular. Lucas was a bit once he started playing basketball and helped them win the championship game. But Eddie, man, he just accepted us from the first day. He gave us a place to belong. We were happy to be one of his sheep.”

Steve snorted, “It was like a damn cult. He referred to them as his sheep like he was a shepherd leading the flock. All four boys loved him but Dustin freaking worshiped the ground he walked on.”

“He passed the reins onto Dustin when he finally graduated, appointing him Dungeon Master,” Robin said, pausing to thank the waitress as she brought their food. “But he was heartbroken when he found out Eddie was going to completely skip town.”

“He was my friend. Hell, he was more like a brother, and he was a hell of a Dungeon master. I tried to fill his shoes but nobody really could,” Dustin stated. “I’ve been out there to visit him a few times, actually. He’s in town right now. Did you know that?”

“That’s what I was just telling him, doofus,” Robin said. Dustin stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed.

“And were you close to Eddie?” you asked Steve.

“Me? No. Not so much. Eddie and I…we didn’t have a lot in common. He was a metalhead who loved to play nerd games. I was an athlete who would rather do just about anything than Dungeons and Dragons. But I never had an issue with him like some people. I always thought he was a pretty good guy. Henderson’s a good judge of character. If he says you’re solid, you probably are. My few interactions with him were alright.”

One of Robin’s eyebrows lifted, her elbow dropping to the table as she leaned forward, “Oh please! You hated that Dustin and him were so close.”

“Yeah he did! He didn’t like that I had another older male friend. He wanted to be the only one.”

Steve’s lips came together, making a noise of disbelief, “Okay, one, gross. And please. Like I cared who you spent your time with. I was just relieved you weren’t constantly following me around anymore.”

Robin turned to you, “Don’t let him fool you. He was so jealous that Dustin was spending more time with Eddie. He got used to being the only one that the kid hero worshipped.”

“Aww,” you teased, poking him in the side, giggling when he jumped. “You didn’t like having to share your little brother?”

His eyes narrowed, “Please. Like I cared who Dustin Henderson hung out with.”

“Oh, he did,” Dustin shot back. “He can act like he didn’t want me around but he’d be lying. Steve loves me.”

“Okay, anyway, onto another topic please,” Steve begged, popping a fry into his mouth as the other guys caught wind of the conversation and started asking Dustin about Eddie.

“Alright, how about we talk about how my amazing girlfriend had some brilliant ideas about how to get more business into the coffee shop?” June offered, her hand covering Robin’s. “I was telling her how weekday evenings can be pretty dead and I wasn’t sure if I should start closing early and she had some amazing suggestions.”

“Oh yeah?” You leaned forward, arms folded on top of the table. You smiled at how red Robin’s cheeks flared at June’s compliment. “What amazing suggestions did you have?”

Robin shook her head, fingers tearing little pieces of her napkin nervously. “It wasn’t really anything spectacular…”

“Yes it was!” June huffed, rolling her eyes. “She’s just being modest. She mentioned starting a book club night. We could have specials to lure them in. I mean, what goes better with a conversation about a good book than a cup of coffee and yummy sweets?”

“Oh, I think that’s a fantastic idea!” you exclaimed, bringing your straw to your lips for a sip of Coke. “We don’t really have anywhere in town that does book clubs. I think you’d get a lot of people interested. You could even make a special dessert to go with the book they’re reading.”

June’s eyes lit up. “I love that idea! Like I could make something with orange marmalade for Bridget Jones's Diary. We think that might be the first pick. I could even come up with some fun drinks to go with it. Maybe instead of coffee, have a fun tea beverage.”

“Yes! I’m totally in for the book club.”

“Oh, did I hear you say you’re starting a book club at the cafe?” asked Nancy, making her way down the table to join them. “I’m in.”

“Really?” Robin asked. “I mean, you really think it’s a good idea?”

“I told you babe,” June sighed, “it’s an amazing idea. We’re thinking about Tuesday nights. We’ll feature one book a month. I’m partnering with Terry, who owns the bookstore. He said he’ll make sure to order extra of whatever we pick so people can buy it directly from him instead of having to drive into the city to find it.” She shrugged. “I mean, it’s a win-win for both of us, you know?”

“I also mentioned a live music night and maybe a poetry night where people could come in and perform,” Robin added, posture straightening as her confidence built seeing that everyone thought it was a good idea. “That’s why I was in the record store today. I was talking to Tom about the local bands he knew of. We want to get the word out but we need to know where to find the people to give the word.”

“Yeah. But we’re thinking of waiting on the live music for a couple months. I want to make sure we have the book club thing down before I try adding in anything else. If that all goes well, then maybe in a couple more months we can phase in poetry night.”

“The Hideout would probably be the best place to find bands,” Jonathan offered as he headed down to join them as well, his arm slipping around Nancy’s waist. “I mean, that’s where Corroded Coffin always played.”

Robin nodded, “I know but we want to host a variety of music. I think The Hideout is pretty heavy stuff. Not that we don’t want that too but it would be nice to do a variety to get more people in.”

Steve snorted, “Yeah. Not everyone wants to listen to a bunch of screaming. Makes my ears want to bleed.”

“You know, Matt works with a guy who’s in a band. They play more acoustic stuff. I could talk to him and see if his friend would want to play at your shop,” you told them.

“That would be great. Like I said, it wouldn't be for a couple months. Probably not until the end of summer but I wouldn’t mind lining up some talent so we have a schedule and are ready to go when it’s time. Plus that would give us some time to figure out logistics.”

“If you’re looking for something Monday through Friday, you could always eventually add a local artisan night too. People who make things could have small displays in your shop and in front of it. From my experience, people love that kind of stuff,” Nancy said. “There’s just something so gratifying about finding that unique something special that you can’t find anywhere else because it’s not mass marketed. You know?”

“That’s not a bad idea, either,” June agreed. “And I love getting to support artists and small business owners. Especially given that I am one.”

“Oh, I wanted to ask, would it be okay if Eli stayed over tonight?” asked Nancy, turning to you. “Jere has been bugging me all day since we were all going to be here together. We rented Space Jam and he refuses to watch it without Eli.”

Steve glanced over at you, eyebrows wiggling suggestively at the thought of the two of you having a night alone. You weren’t used to having Eli gone as much as he was these days. He usually wound up hanging out with one of the gang or having a sleepover at least once a week but you’d learned to appreciate any time you could have alone with Steve.

“Yeah. Absolutely. I’m sure he’d love that.” A soft smile lifted the corners of your mouth as you glanced down the table, watching as the boys took turns shooting straw wrappers at Dustin and Lucas, a skill that Hopper was apparently teaching them. The man was like an over-sized child sometimes.

“Thanks. We’ll bring them both back around lunchtime tomorrow if that’s good for you,” Jonathan said, him and Nancy sharing a smile. “Give you some morning time too, you know, if you need a little extra.”

A couple hours later found you strolling next to June as Steve and Robin argued ahead of you. Everyone had headed home and the four of you decided to walk off some of your food first. You were only able to catch a word here or there of Steve and Robin’s conversation and had no idea what they were arguing about. But considering it sounded playful, you weren't worried. If there was such a thing as platonic soulmates, those two were it. They bickered like siblings but their love for each other knew no bounds. That was obvious to anyone who witnessed their interactions for even a few minutes.

“So, it seems pretty serious with you and Robin,” you observed, hooking your arm through June’s as you walked along the main street.

A smile like a crescent moon curved the raven-haired beauty’s lips, “It is, I think. I’ve been crushing on her for months. I didn’t think she’d ever get the nerve to say anything. I mean, honestly, I wasn’t even sure if she liked me for a while. The girl never made eye contact with me. I knew she was into girls but I just figured maybe I wasn’t her type and she didn't want me to get the wrong impression or something.”

“Oh, she liked you,” you laughed, pausing to look in the window of the general store. Eli had been begging you for the Batcave playset that had come out a couple weeks ago. With his birthday coming up next month, you were going to need to stop in and get it. If you waited too long, it might not be there and you’d never hear the end of it. “She liked you a lot. I just think she was scared to say anything.”

“Obviously. But she’s…I mean, she’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. She’s so kind and thoughtful. I love the way she rambles when she’s nervous. It’s just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. And those little freckles…I just want to kiss each one.” She giggled. “I often do, actually. It’s only been a few weeks but somehow I just know. I know this is going to be something amazing. I know it’s going to last, you know?”

You curved your lower lip in, nodding as your eyes instantly moved to Steve, “I do know.”

“You sure seem to. You and Steve are the freaking cutest. Anyone watching you two can see it’s something special.”

It was special. It was everything. It was more than you could have ever imagined you’d get in life. After losing it all, you’d never expected to find something this magical again, someone this amazing. You knew exactly what June meant because you just knew. You knew that Steve was it for her. You knew six months from now, six years from now, sixty years from now, the universe willing, that he would still be by your side and you would still be just as deliriously happy.

Robin shoved Steve, his hand coming to her face and shoving her back, both of them laughing. You watched the exchange with amusement. You already loved both of them so much. They had seamlessly been sewn into the fabric that was your life. What girl not only got to have the perfect guy but also the amazing people who came along with him? Sometimes it felt like too much, like you couldn’t possibly deserve this much.

“Are you two talking about us back there?” Robin questioned, walking backwards ahead of them.

“Only good things,” June promised.

“My girl's not complaining about how I don’t hang up my towel after a shower?” Steve asked, spinning around to face them. “Or how I leave little hairs in her sink when I shave? Or how she trips over my shoes because I don’t put them by the door where they belong?”

“I can accept all of those things if you can accept how I hog all the blankets at night,” you replied. “Or how I take showers so hot you feel like your skin is melting off. Or how I always take the last of the coffee and don’t make another pot.”

Steve stopped walking, waiting until you were right in front of him. His arms wrapped around you, hand locking at the small of your back, a gentle kiss pressed against your lips. Those lips, so damn soft. The man always had a ChapStick in his pocket. You knew because you’d run it through the washing machine more than once.

“I can accept every single one of those as long as it means I get to have you,” he whispered, his lips pressing softly against your nose.

“Did we just watch them exchange vows?” teased June. “Because those sure sounded like vows.”

“Seriously, when are you two just going to bite the bullet and move in together?” asked Robin.

Steve’s eyes went wide, zeroing in on you, examining you and you knew why. He was waiting. Waiting for you to sink into the dark abyss of an attack the way you had the last time moving in together had been brought up. You hated the way his body tensed, readying himself to try to pull you out of it. You hated that he assumed you would fall apart at the mention of the future with him.

Because you weren't. You weren't panicking. The two of you spent more nights together than not these days. You had toothbrushes at each other’s places. You had a drawer with a spare change of clothes for those last minute decisions to stay over. He had a thermos in your cupboard for his coffee for work when he woke up at your place.

“Robin, we’ve only been dating for a few months,” Steve urged, darting a warning glance at his friend. “We’re taking things slow.”

Robin guffawed, her head thrown back with loud laughter, “Moving slowly? You sleep at each other’s houses every single night.”

“Not every night,” Steve argued.

“Practically,” she stated. “You already act like a married couple. Aly packs your lunches for work for crying out loud.”

You shrugged, “I mean, I’m already packing Eli’s and mine so I just…”

“I don’t care that you pack his lunch. But if you’re packing lunches, taking turns picking up the kids from school, and sleeping next to each other every single night, what’s the difference if you just go from two houses to one?”

“She’s not wrong,” June agreed. “You’re basically living together in two different spaces. Just sell one. It’s definitely more economically logical. You’d only have one house payment.”

“And if you sell one, you’d have a decent chunk of change. You could use it for…oh, I don’t know…a wedding?” Robin’s eyebrows wiggled tauntingly.

“We haven’t…I mean…we’ve talked but not…” you stammered.

Steve’s hands found yours in an attempt to ground you. Oddly, you didn’t need it. This talk about weddings and living together, talk that used to make your heart run a marathon, that used to suck the air right out of your lungs, wasn’t doing anything. You just didn’t know how to respond. After the hospital incident, you hadn’t really discussed it anymore.

It wasn’t like it wasn’t there, a thought that kept jabbing at your brain every now and then. But you’d been happily just going along the way you were. If he had Jere, you would stay at his place so Jere could have his things. If he didn’t, they stayed at your place. Miles had even gotten comfortable at both houses. The dog was at home at your place, leaving dark hairs everywhere that you could never seem to fully vacuum away. Somehow you always went to work covered in him but you didn’t mind.

But did Steve want to take that step? He’d told you that he hadn’t meant it when he said he liked his space. But the man had been living on his own for a while. He didn’t have to be attached to a child seven days a week. If you moved in together, he would have Eli around all the time. Maybe he wanted to be able to head back to his own place, his sanctuary of peace and solitude.

“Okay Robin. Your suggestions and opinions are duly noted,” Steve said, putting an end to the discussion. “Thanks for the input.”

Robin shrugged, grinning, “Just wanted to get my two cents out there. Voice the idea into the world. Because we both know you two will never do it if left to your own devices.”

____________________________________________________________

Steve stroked your hair as you lay with your head on his chest, the two of you relaxed back on a blanket. A cool breeze tickled his skin, crickets creating a soundtrack for your evening as you enjoyed a moment of quiet together in his backyard. Stars twinkled like diamonds in the night sky, the half moon providing what little bit of light you had.

He felt completely at ease with you right here where you belonged, cocooned in his arms, your hearts beating rhythmically against one another, sharing each other’s warmth to ward off the chill of the early summer evening.

He’d been expecting you to go into a full blown anxiety attack earlier when Robin started talking about moving in together. He’d expected another call to 911 when you'd mentioned marriage. But he’d never been so glad to be wrong. You had taken it in stride. You'd stammered a bit, looked a little nervous, but you hadn’t lost control. It was a small step in the right direction.

Steve hadn’t broached the subject of living together since that night when he almost ruined everything. You were spending most nights and mornings together as it was. It wasn’t enough. He didn’t think it would ever be enough but you seemed to be okay with it and so it was what he would make himself okay with for now. He’d made a silent vow not to push you anymore and he’d stuck to it, waiting for you to let him know when you were ready for the next step.

Had he wondered if you never would be? Of course he had. With your past, your struggles with anxiety, it concerned him that this could be what your relationship looked like forever. You frozen in place, terrified to move even an inch in a forward direction. Him never saying anything for fear of pushing you away. The two of you at a standstill, your relationship never evolving, never changing past two people who dated and stayed over at each other’s places.

Steve had thought you'd fallen asleep until you said softly, “Maybe Robin has a point.”

“Hmm?” he questioned, pulling himself from his thoughts.

You lifted your head, placing both hands over his heart before resting your chin on the backs of them. You took his breath away. Every time you looked at him it was like he had forgotten just how beautiful you were and he was stunned all over again. Every damn time. His fingers slid a strand of hair behind your ear.

“I said maybe Robin has a point,” you repeated, turning your face into his touch, your lips pressing a kiss to the center of his palm.

Steve snorted, “Robin’s never right about anything.” At the look you gave him, he relented. “Okay. Fine. Yeah, she has some great ideas about June’s cafe. I think those things will really help bring in the business. We’ve yet to see but maybe she does have a point.”

“Steve, that’s not what I’m talking about.”

His heart stuttered in his chest. You couldn’t be saying what he thought you were saying, right? No. That was just him getting his hopes up far too high. It had only been a little over a month since that night in the hospital. There was no way you were going from barely able to breathe at the idea to suddenly saying you should move in together.

He swallowed, trying to rein in the desire that was raging in him for you to open your mouth and say those words. Because if you didn’t, the disappointment would come crashing down on him like an avalanche, his heart crushed under the weight of hundreds of tons of rock and rejection.

“So, what are you talking about?” he asked, attempting to keep the hope he was feeling out of his voice.

Your head tilted, your mouth curving into a gentle smile, “I mean, we are practically living together as it is. We’re just doing it in two different spaces. It does seem kind of silly, doesn’t it?”

Steve swallowed hard, nodding, barely trusting himself to reply with more than that. He wanted to grab onto you, pull you into him, kiss you breathless, and beg you to move in together. To choose a place. He didn’t care which. If you wanted to keep your place, that was fine with him. He just wanted you to be in his life, all of it, every day for forever.

“I understand if you’re not ready. I know you’ve probably gotten used to having your own space. I’m sure it’s nice to come home to a quiet house on the days when Jeremiah is with Nancy and Jonathan. So, I’m not pressuring you or anything. I’m just saying maybe it’s something to think about?”

He nodded. Emotion was clogging his throat. He knew he needed to say something. He needed to respond to you but he couldn’t seem to get sound past the lump in his esophagus.

You blinked quickly, burying your head against his chest again as you muttered softly, “Anyway, just a thought. No big deal. I wasn’t saying we have to do it now.”

Jesus Christ, he chastised himself. Open your mouth. Say something. His arms wound around you tighter. Those beautiful eyes, eyes he hoped he was lucky enough to look into for the rest of his life, opened wide. He traced the back of his hand over the soft skin of your cheek.

“Move in with me,” he urged. “Or I’ll move in with you. I don’t care. But let’s move in together.”

Those perfectly pink lips arced up on both sides, “Really?”

“Yes, really. Invade all of my space. I told you, I don’t want space. I don’t want quiet. I don’t want alone. I just want you. You and Eli and Jeremiah. I want you to fill up all the space until there’s none left.”

“Are you sure? You’re not just saying that?”

“Honey, I’ve never been more sure of anything than I am of you,” he said. “I know I want you forever. I know you’re it for me. I don’t need to wait and see. I don’t need time to figure anything out. I’ve known from the moment I saw your face that you were going to be something special in my life. And you are. I want you and everything that comes with you.” He cradled your face in his palms. “I want this face to be the first thing and the last thing I see every day.”

Tears sparkled in your eyes under the light of the moon. “Me too. Maybe it’s quick but I don’t care. I thought I needed to move slowly. I thought I would need time to know if this was right but I don’t. I feel it, so deeply in my bones. You’re right. This is right. I was worried about Eli but I don’t have to be because I am certain. I love you and so does he. It won’t matter if we decide today or six months from now. I will be completely certain it’s you.”

“So, your place or mine?” he asked.

“I…” You paused, inhaling sharply.

“It’s okay if you want to keep your house, honey. My house is just a house. Your house holds a lot of memories for you. I know that. I truly don’t care where I live as long as you and the boys are there.”

“No. I mean…I don’t think I want to keep the house. That house is full of memories but they’re memories from a different life. I want to start fresh. I want to build new memories with you. I don’t need the house to remember. Those memories will always be with me but I’m tired of living with a ghost and that’s what it feels like there. I mean, I should probably talk to Eli about it and see how he feels. But what would you think about buying a new house? Something we choose together? Something where we can create our own history and stories?”

“I think that sounds perfect.”

And it did. A whole new space where you could choose things together. You could slowly make it your own. A house that you would turn into a home by filling it with love and a shared history. A place where you could raise your boys together and then a space for just the two of you when the boys were grown and out creating their own futures. Four walls that would contain all the memories of your years, the happy and the sad, that you would look back on years down the road.

“I love you,” you whispered, beaming from ear to ear.

“I love you, too. God, I love you so much.”

You pushed yourself up, resting both knees on either side of his hips, straddling him under the stars in his backyard. Miles lifted his head from where he lay observing on the deck and Steve raised his hand, his command for stay. The dog released a heavy sigh but dropped his big head back down on his paws.

“You are everything I never thought I could have.” Whispered words as your mouth, hot and sweet, covered his, your tongue teasing, flicking and brushing over his lips, teeth, and tongue. “You are a damn dream, Steve Harrington and I hope I never wake up.”

Your words, transmitted on your breath from your mouth to his, traveled throughout, spreading, inhabiting every single space. His hands ran over your body, grabbing and squeezing, as he made a vow to himself to keep you feeling like that. To ensure you never woke up, never looked around and doubted your choice right here on this blanket, never was disappointed to find the dream wasn’t your reality.

You ground your hips over him and hissed at the feel of rock hard denim pressing over your clit. One hand slid up your shirt, taking your breast in his palm, while the other slid underneath your skirt, grabbing a handful of your ass. You rocked harder against him, whimpering when he sucked your bottom lip into his mouth between kisses.

Steve sunk into your mouth, taking the kiss even deeper, his tongue exploring, gliding and dancing over yours. His hand on your ass grabbed onto the lacy fabric covering your hip, his fingers wrapping around it, wanting to tear it off of you and bury himself to the hilt right now.

“Should we…?” you tried but gasped when he pinched your nipple, rolling the pert little bud between his thumb and forefinger. “Should we go inside?”

“No, honey…can’t wait…wanna fuck you right here…under the stars…” he mumbled against your skin, sucking and nibbling a path up your neck to your chin. “Wanna have you under me…take you in the moonlight…”

A squeak escaped you when his arms came around your waist, flipping you to your back beneath him. His fists came down on either side of your head, taking in the sight of your wide eyes, parted lips, flushed skin.

“Fuck, you’re so damn beautiful,” he growled, his lips crashing down over yours again as your fingers dove into his hair, your legs locking around his waist as your heat sought out the friction of him again.

“But neighbors,” you protested weakly when his fingers wrapped around the edge of your panties, yanking them down and away, tossing them carelessly somewhere in the yard. “What if someone sees?”

“No one’s gonna see,” he assured you, his lips traveling down your body, lifting your shirt to press open mouthed kisses over the soft skin of your stomach. “Maybe Miles, but he won’t tell anybody. He’s good at keeping secrets.”

You giggled at that, the sound filling his ears, delighting his senses. It was one of his favorite sounds in the world, maybe his most favorite. It was a sound he wanted to cause you to make every single day but it’s not the sound he wanted right now.

Sliding down the blanket, he slipped his head under your skirt, taking your pussy in his mouth, and that’s when he got the sound he wanted. You choked out his name when he sucked on your clit like a throat lozenge. You writhed, whimpered, when he licked you from top to bottom, swirling his tongue over you teasingly.

The taste of you made him feel drunk, his head fuzzy in that delicious way when the world just goes soft. He wrapped his arms around each of your thighs, holding you in place, as he feasted on you. Your back arched, fingers tangling in his hair, as he flicked his tongue over your clit.

“Jesus, Steve,” you groaned, your hips rocking against his face, seeking sweet release.

Fuck, he would never get enough of you. Your taste. Your scent. Your sounds. The way you felt. He could spend the rest of his life buried between your thighs happily and it still wouldn’t be enough.

You were panting softly above him, your chest rising and falling rapidly. Your thighs trembled around his head and he knew you were close to coming undone. Steve wrapped his mouth around your clit and your entire body froze as you cried out his name loudly. He gently lapped at your sweet center, not stopping until he felt you relax beneath him.

“Steve…” Your voice was raspy with lust, your fingers threading through his hair, leading him up your body. He stared down at you, the way your skin glistened under the faint light of the moon, your eyes heavy, your lips curled in a satisfied smile. “I think the neighbors might have heard me.”

He grinned, pressing his forehead to yours, “Let them. Then they all know you’re mine.”

“I am, you know? Yours. Just yours,” you whispered, bringing his mouth to yours again, kissing him deeply.

Those words did something to him, scratching an itch in his brain he hadn’t even known was there before this woman came into his life. Steve worked at his belt, undoing his jeans and kicking them down his legs, needing to be inside of you.

Nestling himself between your legs, he took his cock in his hand, sliding the tip over your clit and through your folds, teasing. You moaned, low and deep, your eyes fluttering as he slipped just the tip in before bringing it back out to run through your slick tauntingly. Your feet slid over his calves, your hands slipping under his shirt, nails running over the skin of his back.

“Steve…stop teasing…” you pleaded.

“Lift up your shirt for me, honey,” Steve told her. “I want to see all of you while I fuck you.”

You obeyed, tugging your shirt up and over your head, leaving you lying beneath him in nothing but your little black skirt and a scrap of lacy pink fabric that was so sheer he could see your nipples, dark pink and hard. He couldn’t take it anymore, his hand grabbing onto your hip as he thrust inside of you, burying himself in your heat.

“Oh fuck, yes…Steve…” you groaned, your nails digging into his flesh.

Jesus, you felt so damn good. He thrust again, sinking even deeper into you if that was possible, both of you moaning. Your legs locked around him, your bodies melding together until he could barely pull out. His hips rocked into you, small movements that kept him sheathed the whole time, his cock dragging over your walls.

“I love you…Jesus Christ, honey…I love you…so fucking good…you feel so fucking good,” he grunted, rutting against you, chasing his own high as he felt you already starting to tremble beneath him again.

“Love…you…” you panted, fingers gripping his shoulders, your mouth catching his for a moment before you broke off, head dropping back. “Don’t stop…please don’t stop…oh god…Steve…right there…I’m gonna…”

His head fell back, riding it out as your pussy clenched down around him, clinging to him as you rode out the wave. He was almost hyperventilating as he thrust into you hard, fingertips digging into the flesh of your hips, his eyes squeezing shut as his own orgasm crashed down over him with force, spilling into you.

His cock throbbed within you as your pussy pulsed around him. He dropped down, his elbows on either side of your head, his hands cupping your cheeks. You looked like a fucking vision glowing and flushed in the subtle light of the moon above them. Your hand came to his cheek, smiling up at him, looking as satisfied as he does after he’s power washed every damn thing outside of his house.

“You’re mine, huh? Just mine?” he teased with a smirk, thumb coasting over the curve of your cheekbone.

You turned into his touch, pulling the tip of his thumb between your lips, “For as long as you want me to be.”

“Careful what you wish for, honey because that’s a long time. I’m thinking forever.”

“Works for me,” you beamed, grabbing a fistful of his shirt, pulling his lips down to yours.

Chapter 20

Taglist: @katethetank@roxiehorrorshow@sapphire4082@bakugouswh0r3@frostandflamesfanfic @mix-matchsocks @mushy-mushroom04 @palmtreesx3 @littlebookworm86 @eddies-trailer-babe @cheesewritings @emilyj444 @daisyhollyxox @angelbabyivy @the-fairy-anon @loritate7311 @k-k0129 @antiquecultist

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my little story! 😊 And replies and reblogs are always appreciated if you enjoy it. I love to hear what you think! ❤️❤️❤️ Only one more chapter to go and then this story will come to an end.

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angyalikira · 6 months

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five dates with mike schmidt

pairing: gn!reader x mike schmidt

genre: fluff

warnings: none

part 1/5

°:. *₊ ° . ° .•

first date // pizzeria

It happened very suddenly. He didn't mean to ask you out – at least not yet – but he couldn't stop himself. His body was just rushing with adrenaline and excitement any time he was close to you.

You were at the mall, going around shopping when you saw the hot security guard. It's not the first time you have seen him, but today you decide to finally talk to him. Both of you guys were in the same coffee shop, him being right behind you waiting to order. As you tell the barista your order, you tell them that you will be buying the guy behind you his drink too. Your words were almost a whisper, wanting to keep it as a surprise a bit longer. When it was his turn to order the barista told him about your plan and he seemed taken aback by that. No one has ever done something like this for him before. Right after he orders he looks for you in the shop and when he stops you he swears his heart just flipped. You were the prettiest person he has ever seen and your cute smile had his whole face blushing. He tried to play it cool and went over to you.

"Uhm so thank you for the coffee… You sure it wasn't a mistake? I-I really just don't want you to regret it and i just wondered why you did it and-" he nervously starts to ramble but you cut him off before he can overthink it more.

"It definitely wasn't a mistake, Mister cute security guard. Your job seems draining so I thought I could make your day a little better by buying you a drink." you smile at him sweetly and his mind blanks. This feels like a dream to him.

"That's sweet… I appreciate it a lot. I infact did not have the best day today but you totally changed that now…" he admits while twiddling his thumbs as he looks at you.

As you both of your coffees are ready you try to come up with an excuse to talk to him more. It seems like he is trying to do the same thing because he keeps on opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to say something but decided against it after all.

"So how is it being a security guard? Any difficult people you had to deal with?" you finally decide to continue the conversation.

"Uh it's okay… not too bad, not too great honestly. And yeah I had my good share of rude people. But that's part of the job." he tries to make it sound as cool as possible without trying to come off too cringy. You of course notice but find it cute.

A few more words are exchanged but it seems like you both have a difficulty to keep the conversation alive for some reason. You feel frustrated because you really wanted it to work. But if it's not meant to be then you should respect it.

"Well I have to go now, enjoy the rest of your day." You start walking away and wave as a goodbye. But before you could walk more than two steps he stops you with his words.

"Wait! Uhm I know this is sudden but… would you maybe, only if you wanted to of course, i wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable… but would you want to maybe meet up again sometime? I would love to get to know you better." he sweetly says as he looks at you with his puppy eyes. It seems like he naturally does them and it makes your heart flutter. You turn back to him and smile.

He is horrible at sudden ideas sometimes but he manages to come up with something quickly.

"I would love that. Any ideas where or when?"

"How does today sound? Once i am done with my shift? Or is that too early for you? We could also maybe do tomorrow-"

"That's perfect, so where would you take me?" you ask him as you teasingly tilt your head to the side. This does wonders to him because he gets more flustered and is even more in awe of your beauty.

"There's this great pizzeria close to here if that sounds good to you?"

"It's a plan then. Can't wait to see you after work then." You smile and wave goodbye to him. As you walk away he wonders how his day went from being so unlucky to so insanely good. His motivation levels got so high after his encounter with you and no one could ruin this day for him anymore. He even caught himself smiling at the thought of meeting you later.

After his shift he quickly gets home, showers and dresses in some nicer clothes. Nothing too cheesy but he wouldn't want to embarrass you in public with looking bad either. Abby noticed the change in his behavior and kept teasing and asking him who he was meeting up with. He of course said it's only a friend so Abby would leave him alone but she's not a stupid girl at all. Once he is on his way, he almost runs to the place in excitement. He really does not want to mess this up.

As he walks in he sees you already sitting at a table. He stops in the entryway, clearly affected by your pretty and cute outfit choice. But once your eyes meet his, he comes back to reality and joins you at your table.

"I'm so sorry that you had to wait for me… You look absolutely stunning by the way." he sheepishly admits as he scratches the back of his head.

"Thank you. You look pretty cute yourself." you tell him as you lean your head on your hand. It's like time has frozen, his eyes widen at the compliment and he gulps jn nervousness. You wish you could take a picture of him right now.

"Have you ordered yet?" he changes the topic so he can focus on your conversations again.

"No not yet. Was waiting for you." you look at him with anticipation. "So which pizza do you recommend?"

"I uh recommend the salami pizza… Or is that too basic for you?" he feels like he could've given you a cooler answer but he is bad at improvising. Especially since he eats the same type of pizza every time.

"Ohhh i love a good salami pizza. Already a plus point for you." a chuckle escapes your lips.

You guys spend the evening getting to know each other and laughing a whole lot together. Mike gets more and more comfortable with you with each second that passes and his nervousness is almost completely gone too. Only almost because he still can't believe he is on a date with such a pretty person.

As he walks you home he stays close to you in a protective manner but still in a respectable distance. Your comfort and safety is more important to him than any of his stupid feelings. Once you arrive at your doorstep he almost jumps in joy – you live pretty close to him, meaning he could easily meet up with you more easily. You turn around to face him and you feel like your breath was stolen. In the moonlight Mike looks even more handsome and his eyes are shining with so much care and appreciation. You wish you could spend even more time with him but you don't want him to lose any more sleep (after he admitted to you that he kind of struggles with his sleeping).

"I also really enjoyed today. I hope we can repeat that soon." he doesn't quite know what to say and he hopes he doesn't seem interested because he is in fact the absolute opposite of that.

"I really enjoyed today, Mike. I'm really glad now that i got the courage today to buy you your coffee." you admit as you try to maintain eye contact with the pretty man in front of you.

"I might take you up on that offer." you chuckle as you poke his chest with your index finger.

"And hey, it seems like we love pretty close by so you could pop in whenever you feel like it! You're always welcome at my place. And i'm sure Abby will like you too."

To Mike it feels like you just marked his heart as his because his heart feels like exploding once again.

He stands there starstruck for a few more moments and tries to comprehend this past evening. As he walks home, he prays that this wasn't just a lucky day.

"Good night Mike. I hope you can sleep well today and i'll see you very soon i hope." you give him one last smile, wave goodbye to him and walk inside.

#fnaf #five nights at freddy's movie #five nights at freddy's #mike schmidt #mike schmidt x reader #mike schmidt/reader #fluff #first dates

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thevilqueen · 9 months

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Villain ~ Vil Schoenheit

Word Count: 1 530

Pairing: Vil Schoenheit x Reader

A/N: This is pure fluff with a hint of angst. Please let me know what you think!!

The most beautiful rose you had ever seen had the sharpest thorns. Its perfume was sweet and delicate, intoxicating anyone who got too close, and its petals were the brightest colour, catching anyone’s eyes in an instant. Yet its stem, covered in thorns, dissuaded even the bravest from touching it, making it a lovely but lonely flower. Something you could only desire but never have. This rose was Vil Schoenheit.

“Your posture is appalling. Are you trying to give a good or a bad first impression?” was the first thing he told you, his sharp eyes studying you on your very first day at Night Raven College.

Back then the words had failed you, taken off guard by his rude comment. You had wondered shortly if this was how the other housewardens welcomed their students before brushing the thought away. Taking too long to answer, Vil had proceeded to scold you and you quickly understood that there was a certain way to behave at Pomefiore if you wanted to avoid his harsh criticism.

You weren’t used to most of these unusual requirements, however, and while you were obedient, valued your appearance and knew how to make a good impression when needed it remained difficult to keep up with Vil. So, soon you started resenting him, talking back at him whenever you felt like his comments were unnecessary and even considered changing dorms for a short moment. The vice housewarden had convinced you otherwise at the time, however, and it was only later that you found yourself being grateful.

You didn’t understand for a long time why Vil had settled his eyes on you, why you were the one he decided he needed to shape into something better. It drove you crazy, did he dislike you so much that he felt the need to change you into someone you were not? Yet was it not the person you were trying to be that looked back at you when you stared at your reflection?

When the realisation hit you, it was guilt that washed over you. Of course, Vil was looking out for you. He didn’t change you. He helped you polish the sides of you that you wanted to ignore instead of embracing. It had been hard to understand. After all, when a rose’s thorns pierce your skin and you find yourself bleeding, it’s hard to believe it was just trying to hold on to you. Surely there was another way to nurture you and you wondered why Vil chose this way of doing so.

“Is it not how you would expect someone like me to treat you?” he asked you, one cold winter night. “No matter how good my intentions are, I’ll always be the villain.”

It was only later that you understood the true meaning of these words. Vil grew up trapped into the role people around him had assigned to him, the villain. While this seemed to be a constant in his acting career, he had turned it into a constant in his life too. It appeared tragic, a self-fulfilling prophecy, but you knew better. The villain wasn’t only evil, he didn’t only bring pain and desolation. He helped the hero grow and you were the hero Vil chose that first night you met. While you knew he longed to be the hero too, it had always appeared to you that he had the most important role.

“You always liked the villains better, of course, you wouldn’t understand,” he had told you chuckling, a beautiful smile on his face.

“How could I not? They always seem to overshadow the hero to me.”

Villains or heroes, to you, there wasn’t anyone Vil couldn’t overshadow. You wished he believed that as much as you did but you figured there was no harm in reminding him. He did seem to resonate with that belief more with time though and it was rather mesmerising to witness. Then the time Vil’s thorns didn’t sting as much anymore had crept. Maybe you were used to its sharpness and while deep into your skin, it felt like this was where it should remain or maybe it was its petals that you were touching now.

Surely softness wasn’t what most people would associate with Vil, you weren’t even sure this was what he evoked to his fans, as kind as he was to them. Even to you, the realisation that it wasn’t only poison that came from his touch took its time to settle. Vil was gentle, though, if people watched closely they would see. Someone as meticulous as him could only handle those he loved with care after all.

However, you remained terrified of getting too close even though like roses grow over plants and walls he had done just that with you. Rumours of you two dating each other were recurrent and if there was someone you trusted more than yourself it was him. The love you felt for him was endless but what was the separation between friendship and romance? Did it really matter?

Few were those he had dug his thorns so deeply into but would that ever guarantee he would never change his mind? You had seen him nurture Epel the way he did with you and you had heard the stories of Rook and him. If Vil was always looking for his next work of art, could you be sure to be his masterpiece?

As doubts crept into your mind, Vil could feel your once unmoving body try to free itself from his canes. Was it too painful to be held so close by him? Could it be that he had bled you out completely? What about the soft petals he had let you touch and his calming perfume? Was the price of holding the rose so close to your heart not to your taste anymore? The sharpness of the pain from this rejection was too much to handle.

“Doesn’t the villain ever scare you?” Vil had once asked you.

“No, I don’t think their love is meant to hurt.”

Did you lie or did he hurt you? You didn’t know what to answer when he asked and you couldn’t help the tears from blurring your vision. Maybe you did lie but there was nothing scary about your best friend. So why?

“I would hate to disappoint you,” you said instead of answering his question.

“Then don’t.”

You had expected him to say that and it made you chuckle. Vil remained as serious as ever, though.

“I can’t compare to you,” you explained, still trying to make sense of your feelings.

“Of course not, no one can.”

Vil wasn’t perfect, no one could be but he was so blindingly close, to you, that it was hard to look at sometimes, you were reminded as you studied him. It was well past his bedtime and he looked as flawless as ever as you welcomed him with all your imperfections. Was this what attracted him to you? This didn’t even seem unlikely, it made total sense to you. There were a number of things that you shared with Vil and this was one of them.

This was when you understood. The both of you were so desperate to help the other that it almost felt like a competition. You were as similar as you were different after all. Only Vil understood that there wouldn’t be one without the other, though. Maybe because he was always able to see what you couldn’t.

“If I’m the villain, then you are the hero,” he said, moving closer to you. “Therefore we can never stand together as equals but,” he paused.

“One can’t exist without the other which is why both are so important,” Vil continued. “You told me that, don’t you remember?”

“I do,” you said, smiling.

“It looks like you forgot, though.”

You chuckled.

“Maybe I do sometimes forget.”

“I do too,” Vil reassured you, his voice gentle, “but you always helped me remember. So why not let me remind you too?”

You couldn’t help smiling as the tears that had gathered rolled down your cheeks. His fingertips brushed them away and he smiled at you. How foolish you had been, this wasn’t the first time Vil helped you stand tall and proud and it was no different from the previous times.

“If you really are the villain,” you said. “Then there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Vil laughed, his lilac eyes shining beautifully as they got smaller and the melodious sound filled the air.

“Only you can say such nonsensical things,” he replied, smiling.

“Exactly, which is why you won’t let me go.”

You were right and it was tightly that Vil held you, his soft lips kissing your cheeks before finding your lips. The action was hesitant at first but as soon as you kissed him back, the confidence he was known for followed. He smiled against you, the tenderness of his petals instead of the sharpness of his thorns feeling your skin. This moment was euphoric and neither of you would ever let it end for you made each other bloom endlessly, in a way most heroes and villains didn’t, though.

#vil schoenheit #twisted wonderland #twst #vil schoenheit x reader #vil schoenheit x you #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #👑.the evil queen writes

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ralvezfanatic · 2 months

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Not-so-secret Valentines

Spencer Reid x Luke Alvez

Spencer gets a secret valentines gift and can't exactly figure out who it's from. Luke helps him figure it out.

Prompt: "if you’re still wondering who left those flowers at your desk, i think i’m ready to put your mind at ease.” || Taken from @scealaiscoite prompt list | Changed a bit but was inspired by the prompt.

Also available on AO3

A/N: I keep seeing these prompt lists and decided to finally use one, ofc with Ralvez because I love them so much. Also.. this was supposed to be a short blurb id how its almost 3k 😭

Word Count: 2.7k

Spencer got into work early like usual, with only Emily and Garcia, except this time he walked in alone. Luke was running late. Supposedly, his alarm didn't go off and he didn't wake up on time, so he was behind schedule.

Although Spencer didn't completely believe it, he also didn't think Luke would lie to him. There wasn't any reason to lie, they were honest and open to each other.

It just felt hard to believe Luke would sleep in late when he wakes up early to go on a run before work, but mistakes happen Spencer told himself.

“Boy Wonder!!! Hellooo! Do you like the decorations? I put them in myself, came in extra early to set it up!” Garcia greeted him happily, walking up to him.

Spencer looked around the office quickly and nodded, it was decorated with hearts, streamers and all Valentine decorations Garcia could find. It looked nice, but just reminded Spencer how single he was.

“Yeah, it looks nice Garcia. Really nice.” He nodded again, pressing his lips together to form his slightly awkward smile.

“Where's Newbie?” She asked when she noticed the lack of the other agent. They've been arriving at work together for a while now, and they're always hanging out together, so seeing them alone feels odd to the team sometimes.

“He was running late and told me to go because he didn't want me to be late either.” He looked to the side as he spoke, checking out the desk which all seemed to have something on them.

Garcia looked at him for a moment, and it was obvious that she was thinking of something but decided to leave it be. “Alright then. It's a bit rude that he'd make you come alone on Valentine's Day but whatever.. he'll be hearing from me.” She said, muttering the last part as she left.

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows, confused by her comment. He didn't see why'd it be a big deal. They were friends, Luke had no obligation to be with him On Valentine's Day. He has spent almost every single Valentine's Day alone, so what did it matter.

He didn't mind, not at all. It was just a silly holiday for business to make money off.. at least that's what Spencer told himself every year. In reality, he wished he had someone to spend it with. Just once at least.

Actually, he wants to spend it with Luke.. but that's just because they're good friends. Since Luke joined, they both have been wanting to spend time with each other.

So it makes sense that he wants to spend Valentine's Day with Luke. Friends could do that right? Of course they can, people do it all the time.

Maybe not to the extent Spencer wants to..

He wants to cuddle with Luke, be held and kissed by him.

But that's not going to happen, so Spencer just heads to his desk. He's met with a small heart shaped box with a hand written note from Garcia.

“Happy Valentine's Day Boy Wonder! - Garcia :)”

Spencer smiles at the note and puts it down before opening it to find a bunch of his favorite sweet treats. He makes a mental note to go out to buy her chocolates as a thank you, then carefully puts the note to the side and the box on top of it so it doesn't accidentally fly away.

He then starts to work on some files, trying to make the day pass so he can go home and eat some takeout. Alone. On his couch. Doing nothing. Being single. Again, for what he feels is the hundredth time.

Luke finally arrives to work, being the last to get in. He walks down the desks, passing Spencer and stopping to greet him.

“Morning Spence. Sorry about this morning, I have no idea what happened with my alarm.” He apologized as he stood by Spencer's desk.

“Oh yeah no problem, things happen. It's fine.” Spencer assured him, smiling up at him.

“I'll be sure to fix my phone though, don't worry” Luke added on.

He was about to say something else when he noticed the heart shaped box on Spencer's desk, his usual grin faltering slightly.

He wondered who gave him a gift. He didn't think it could be from the team. So was it someone from another unit? Did Spencer know them? Did he like them too? Did he have a partner he wasn't aware of?

Luke tried to calm down and looked away from the box and back at Spencer, who didn't seem to catch Luke's over-thinking.

“Uh, I'll talk to you later. I should probably get to work now.” Luke smiled before heading to his desk.

The rest of the work day was as normal. They fortunately didn't get called to a case, so everyone (who had plans) were happy.

Luke had a gift he really wanted to give, but he didn't have a moment to do so. Spencer never got up for long, his coffee cup had been refilled by some kind coworker, and for some reason, Spencer hadn't finished it yet.

Luke was annoyed, wishing the team wasn't so kind and let Spencer get up to get coffee himself. (He says this but he has refilled and even bought coffee on multiple occasions).

After what seems like forever, Spencer finally got up. Luke subtly watched him walk down the office and head to the bathroom. He practically jumped up as soon as Spencer entered the bathroom and took his bag.

He grabbed a small box from Spencer's favorite donut place, and another box of chocolates and a card, quickly heading over to place them on Spencer's desk.

They looked so much better than that small heart shaped box, he thought to himself.

He didn't really care who saw him, he was sure the team knew about his crush on the doctor.

He smiled, wondering how Spencer would react to the random gifts. He wondered if he'd figured it out it was from him. He hoped Spencer liked it, even if he didn't figure out it was from him.

Luke headed to his desk, sitting down right on time as Spencer exited the bathroom.

Luke pretended to work, typing at his computer and looking at a case file trying to seem distracted.

Spencer approached his desk and his eyebrows furrowed as he noticed the gifts. He looked around the bullpen, searching for who did this, or someone who seemed like they knew something. He looked over at Luke, but he seemed busy in his work, just like everyone was.

He sat down cautiously and checked the items on his desk.

He first took the card, the front being a small cup of coffee with the words “Words cannot espresso how much I like you.” He let out a quiet laugh, finding the joke amusing. He opened it to read “Happy Valentine's” with a small hand written addition and a heart.

As he read the note, his eyebrows furrowed again and he looked up to scan the bullpen once more.

Luke had been watching Spencer since he sat down, waiting for his reaction. He smiled when he saw him laugh as he read the card, glad that he liked his choice, even as cheesy as it was.

He watched him look around the office again, and he quickly looked back at his case file, hoping Spencer didn't notice him. He wanted to keep it a little secret for a while, just to mess with the genius.

He looked up again and saw Spencer move onto checking the donuts, and he felt his heart melt as Spencer's face lit up. Luke had bought his favorite donuts in heart shapes and wrote a small note on the inside of the box. “I donut know how to tell you that I love you.” with a nervous donut doodle on it. Or maybe sad? Scared? It wasn't a very good doodle..

Spencer felt his cheeks go hot and he closed the box quickly, (after taking out a donut).

He decided to check the chocolates at his house, not being able to handle any more cheesy comments.

All day Spencer kept wondering who gave him the gifts. He asked around, but got no answers, and as much as a genius he was, he was dumb too

He had a small idea who it could be, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. Spencer tried to think of everyone he knew and would get him all these items. He made a list and removed people one by one, until only Luke was left. Then he'd remake that list, thinking he was just being delusional.

Finally, around noon, he gave up. Even though he kept asking his friends about it, they would give him no response. Not even Garcia knew, and he was sure she would have helped more.

The bullpen was mostly empty, everyone seemed to have decided to go out for lunch, leaving only Spencer and Luke at their desk, Emily and Garcia in their offices.

Spencer looked at the boxes on his desk, trying to figure out this mysterious Valentines. How could he solve crimes and find serial killers, but he couldn't find the person who liked him?

Well, he had figured it out ages ago, but he just didn't think it was possible.

Spencer let out a sigh and stood up, going over to the coffee machine to refill his empty mug. He poured in some coffee, then added about half the container of sugar and stirred it.

“So.. still trying to figure out the mystery of the treats?” Luke asked as he approached Spencer with his own empty mug.

“Um.. yeah. I can't think of anyone who would get me all this, and write these little notes. I mean I barely talk to anyone! Like not to seem sad but you guys are my only friends. Other than the nice barista at that coffee shop and the people at the bookstore near my house, I don't have many non-work friends.” Spencer frowned, taking a sip of his coffee to taste it.

Needed more sugar.

Luke felt a bit saddened by Spencer's response, but kept his face the same. He grabbed the pot and poured himself some coffee, adding a normal amount of sugar unlike the tall genius.

“Could it have been the same person who gave you that other box?” He suggested with a small shrug

“The heart shaped one? No, definitely not! Garcia would have given it to me directly, and she wouldn't have denied giving it to me anyway.” Spencer shook his head, oblivious to his friends' jealousy.

Oh.

Luke felt a bit stupid now.

He should have known Garcia would give Spencer a Valentine's gift. They were best friends, why wouldn't she?

He took a quick glance at the other desks, seeing similar boxes on their desks.

She got them for everyone except him.

Ouch?

Luke turned back to Spencer who was adding in more sugar to his coffee.

“Well, I could tell you who it was.” Luke said, taking a sip of his coffee.

Spencer looked at him, his eyebrows raised slightly as he stopped stirring. “You could?”

“I could.” Luke nodded as he set his mug down.

“How would you know? Nobody else knew anything, why would you know?”

“Because it was me.” Luke replied, looking up at him, waiting for a reaction.

Spencer stared at him for a second, unable to believe what he just heard. His face was flushed and he couldn't come up with a response.

“What? You? You like me? Since when? Why?” Spencer spat out, flustered at the small confession.

Luke let out a small chuckle and nodded, finding Spencer's reaction adorable.

“Yes, me. I gave you all that, cheesy puns and all..” Luke sheepishly smiled as he remembered the notes he wrote.

“But why?”

“Because I love you. Since the day we met, I've liked you. I mean, I thought you were drop dead gorgeous the first time I saw you, but after getting to know you more? Hearing you talk so passionately about things, your intelligence, your kindness, everything about you. I fell in love.. and I fall deeper everyday I’m with you.” Luke confessed, his voice genuine and soft as he looked into Spencer's eyes.

Spencer was a complete flustered mess, his brain was useless. He couldn't come up with a response, his face only flushing a brighter red.

“Was that too much? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drop all that on you at once.” Luke apologized, noticing Spencer's silence, feeling bad for his sudden confession.

“No! No it's okay. A bit much to take in but.. give me a second.” Spencer shook his head, trying to clear his mind, and assured Luke that he was alright.

“I love you too.. You've always let me ramble on about useless information, and you even ask me about it. You look genuinely interested in what I have to say too. And you're just so kind to me. You don't think I'm weird, even when I clearly am. And you're really hot too.. Like you're hot and super nice to me! Like honestly, how could I not like you?”

Now it was Luke's turn to blush. He felt his heart melt at Spencer's own confession, but chuckled at the last part. He looked down and shook his head before looking back up at Spencer with a grin.

“You think I'm hot?” Luke asked, a smirk on his face, stepping closer to him.

“Yeah, a bit.” Spencer smiled, leaning towards Luke slightly.

“You're not that bad either.” Luke whispered, leaning in and holding Spencer’s cheek.

He looked into his eyes, silently asking for permission before going further. Spencer nodded softly, his eyes shining with love for the other man.

Luke leaned in and pressed a kiss against Spencer, who quickly melted into the kiss.

Garcia, who decided to go question Luke about this morning and see if he deserved the small box of treats she got him or not, was found with the cutest sight at the coffee machine.

She let out a squeal and dropped the box from excitement, which scared the agents and made them pull away immediately.

“Oh my gosh!! You finally confessed to him? Here I was, going to question you about this morning, but this makes up for it even better! Oh I dropped your box, but honestly that is on you guys because how could you kiss in the office and not expect me to squeal when I see?” Garcia rambled on, bending down to grab the box and rushing over to the new couple.

“Garcia-” Spencer started, but was quickly interrupted by her continuing on.

“Oh newbie I was so mad at you for ditching our boy wonder here this morning! I took back my gift too, like how could you leave him alone on Valentine's? You didn't deserve my gift!” Garcia handed Luke the slightly dented box of candy as she spoke.

Luke looked at her and then the box, and listened to her. “Thank you..” He nodded before looking at Spencer and back at her.

“I had to leave him because I wanted to get something for him as a surprise.” Luke said, feeling a need to explain himself after Garcia's rambling.

“And I think it was worth it.. I hope?” He laughed as he looked at Spencer for his approval.

“Oh yeah definitely. I didn't mind taking the train after getting those donuts.” Spencer joked, knowing that's not exactly what Luke had meant.

“See, it was worth it to Spencer, and that's what matters.” Luke smiled, going along with him.

“Ohh, you guys are so cute already.. the rest of the team is gonna hate that they missed this! Oh I should text them” Garcia smiled excitedly as she got her phone out.

Luke laughed at her eagerness, while Spencer just seemed a bit lost now, but neither did any attempt to stop her as she walked off, texting the team.

“Happy Valentine's Day cariño..” Luke smiled softly, turning to Spencer.

“Happy Valentine's Day.” He replied, leaning in to press another quick kiss to his date (and soon to be boyfriend).

#luke alvez #spencer reid #criminal minds #ralvez #ralvez fic #spencer reid x luke alvez #fluff #valentines day #valentines fic #criminal minds fic #criminal minds fluff

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em-writes-stuff-sometimes · 11 months

Text

I really hate to drop and run, but I’ve posted the latest update just before I step away from fandom.

It might be a couple days, it might be a couple months. I’m not sure. I’ve been receiving some anons that, as a general consensus, are telling me that I was a bully for addressing the content stealing because I have a bigger platform and the other person isn’t a native English speaker. My job was brought into it in a way I was uncomfortable with, and I was told rather rudely that it’s not anyone else’s problem that I choose to spend as much time as I do making content (which, weirdly, I don’t think I’ve ever complained about, per se). I’m being told I am a bitch, a cunt, that I should k*ll myself, that the whole thing was an overreaction, that I was wrong to call the other person out. I’m being told that all I do is stir drama, that my life must suck because I’m such an attention-seeking slut, that I’ve lied about both plagiarism cases and that I attack everyone I’m threatened by. I’m being told in anons, and even in reblogs, that I have nothing to complain about and that the other individual was justified in their behaviour. According to these anons, I’m a liar, I’m toxic, I’m the reason fandom is so awful right now, I’m a narcissist, and I should leave the fandom.

Okay, then.

I came with receipts. Even my call-out post was polite. I did not call this person out until they were rude to me and indicated they were unwilling to resolve this issue. I do not believe I should be subject to criticism and abuse for defending my work. Sure, perhaps “all fanfiction is plagiarism”, but in some instances, my work was literally taken from within mere days of posting, and in the SAME fandom for the SAME root pairing. This is not coincidental. This is not something I ever thought I would be demonised for being upset by.

I refuse to allow myself to be degraded and gaslit into minimising a problem created by another user, and mocked for having feelings over that. I was polite to this person. I was kind to this person. They proceeded to insult me, and so, with no further recourse, I took the situation public as I was recommended to do so by my fellow writers. I have never lied about this - I did publically post it when my attempt at private mediation failed. My intention was to force their hand. It worked. Is this kind? No, of course not. Was I aggressive? Yes, perhaps. But these are the wrong questions to ask.

See - why do I have to tolerate being treated unfairly? Why do I have to bite my tongue and lay down so others can walk all over me? Why is it that the fact that people follow me means I am not allowed to ever voice my upset about the manner in which I am being misused? I don’t understand - are all plagiarism call-outs “starting drama” now? I’m particularly upset by this. I do not bait drama, and I do not start shit for the fun of it. I guess there are those who think I should’ve just let them continue; after all, it’s only fanfiction. Not a big deal, right?

I was polite. Until I wasn’t. I did get angry when, after being confronted by all this, they doubled down, making several manipulative posts about me across platforms and blocking me from my right to respond. I’ll apologise for the tone, and I regret posting links to their crossposts - which I did take down not long after posting them, though this is perhaps redundant now - but I am not sorry for being angry. I am allowed to be angry. Maybe it’s “just fanfiction” and I “don’t own any of this stuff anyway”, but it’s my writing, my hours, my research, and my enjoyment that’s being cheapened by all this.

To those of you who have a problem with this and with me - at least do me the courtesy of letting me know you think I suck so that I (or my friend, who I will be giving some measure of access to my account) can block you back. I don’t want you being part of my space if I decide to return, and nor do I have to live up to everyone’s simultaneous expectations of me. I feel powerless after being told so many times that I don’t have the right to protect my hard work. I’m sorry you’re disappointed in me, but I don’t have any obligation to act the way you - a bystander, who has no idea how much I’ve worked on my writing and how much happiness it has brought me - deem it morally correct to do so.

So, I’m done with fandom and with writing.

For now at least, that is. I’m sad and drained and I no longer enjoy being part of an environment where I am being attacked for something I didn’t start. My passion has been obliterated. My joy sucked away. I feel alone. And this person has continued to make mocking commentary about me on their Wattpad account after reactivating, showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. I’m done.

I’ll be turning off anons for at least a while, even if I feel ready to come back tomorrow. I probably won’t be responding or posting or even really checking in that often, because just the sight of Tumblr is making me anxious and unhappy at the moment.

I do hope I’ll see you soon. If not - thank you. Thank you for being part of this journey. I love you all for being in my life, even if it wasn’t for long.

Bye xxx

#em gets personal sometimes #em writes stuff sometimes personal #personal updates

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wisteria-cherry · 9 months

Text

forty days and forty nights (day fourteen!)

(two weeks woah)

(and don’t forget to comment!! i love interacting with u guys, it makes me day :))

the outing with mina went exceedingly well. there was never a lack of conversation, and it turned out that both of you enjoyed each other’s company. of course, it was hard not to enjoy mina’s company— her energy was contagious.

you told her about how bakugo had come into the shop injured (“who does that?!”) and she’d laughed, seemingly curious. she then told you that he prioritized self care because he knew he couldn’t be a hero if he was injured, and she too found it off that he came into the store before getting treated. the two of you couldn’t find a reason as to why he did such a thing (although mina insisted it’s because he liked you).

you were still pondering this when the familiar sound of the bells startled you out of your thoughts. you frowned. it was bakugo.

“shouldn’t you be at home, getting rest?” your brow furrowed. “you’re still hurt, y’know.”

“i wanted coffee.” bakugo grunted.

“i oughta not sell you anything.” you huff. “and make you go home and rest.”

“i’m fine, dumbass.” bakugo rolled his eyes. “fuckin’ drama queen.”

“fine.” you exhale. “medium black coffee.”

“finally.”

minutes later, when you give him his coffee, you decide to ask one more time, just to make sure.

“…are you sure you’re ok-“

“yes, i’m fine, holy shit.” bakugo interrupted. “piss off already.”

“oh. okay.” you chewed on your lip anxiously.

“…”

“are you-“

“yes.”

“okay.” you take a deep breath. “well… how was work?”

“didn’t work today.” bakugo grunted. “shitty doctors wanted me to rest.”

“and you still came here?” you arch an eyebrow.

“drinking coffee ain’t the same as beating the shit out of villains.” bakugo scoffed. “in case you haven’t noticed.”

“i guess that’s fair.” you agree reluctantly.

“the hell’re you so worried for, anyway?” bakugo glared.

“you’re my friend.” you shrug. “and you’re hurt. not a good mix.”

“tch. worrywart.” he rolled his eyes.

“it’s for good reason.”

“whatever.”

the two of you fell into silence. however, you were beginning to notice something— the silence, at least in your eyes, was more comfortable than it once was. the sort of silence between two people content with simply being in one another’s presence.

but there was still a little bit of awkwardness.

“tell me about the villain.” you prompt. “that did this.” bakugo blinked.

“what, you think you’re gonna go beat ‘im up?” bakugo snorted. “in your dreams, dumbass.”

“i’m just curious is all.” you laugh. “i don’t do violence, trust me.”

“‘course you don’t. you work at a coffee shop.” bakugo scoffed. “i’d take you down in less than a second.”

“sure.” you agree skeptically.

“don’t gimme that shit!” bakugo roared. “i can and i will! fight me, right now! i’ll kill you!”

“if you kill me,” you remind him calmly, “i can’t make your coffee.”

“i’ll just—“ bakugo angrily and frantically looked for an alternative, taken aback by your retaliation. “—have someone else do it! you’re not the only damn employee!”

“i’m your favorite.” you joke lightheartedly. bakugo only tches.

“whatever. you’re off the hook. for now.” he grumbled.

“good to hear.” you pause for a moment. “hey, bakugo.”

“what?”

“don’t come in hurt like that again.” you say. you pause again. that sounded kind of rude. “please.” yeah, good save.

“i’m not even that hurt.” bakugo scowled.

“i should’ve called an ambulance.”

“quit overreacting, geez. i don’t need a goddamn ambulance.” he rolled his eyes.

“fine.” you huff. “but if that happens again—“

“it won’t, god!”

“…promise?” you ask quietly. yes, you joked about it, but it really had been a scare to see him like that. bakugo seemed to pick up on that, and he sighed.

“yeah, yeah, promise.” he relented.

“thanks.”

“so…” you speak after a brief moment of quiet. “when do you go back to work?”

“tomorrow.” he answered sourly. “i wanted to work today, but the fuckers wouldn’t let me.”

“really?” you grin. “bakugo, are you a workaholic?”

“no.” bakugo tched. “i just work hard. i can take breaks when i need to, dumbass.”

“like the party.” you confirmed.

“yeah, that.” bakugo snorted. “didn’t even wanna go to the stupid thing.”

“then why did you?” you blink.

“already told ya. none of your damn business.”

“right, right, secrets.” you grin. “so mysterious.”

“whatever. i’m allowed to have secrets, dumbass.” bakugo glared, to which you only smiled.

“i know you are.” you reassured him. “but i think it’s funny that such a trivial question gets you all defensive.”

“i’m not defensive!” bakugo snapped (defensively). “you’re just nosy as fuck!”

“sorry!” you laugh. “i’m just curious!”

“you’re a dumbass, you know that?” bakugo rolled his eyes.

“only for you.” you tease, to which bakugo only huffed. “hey, you never did tell me about that villain.”

“tch. if it’ll get you off my back about the damn party, then fine.” he agreed reluctantly. “his quirk had something to do with blades. tons of ‘em, kinda like whips. pain in the ass to dodge.”

“that sounds scary.” you remark.

“scary?” bakugo looked up from his coffee to meet your gaze. “i wasn’t scared.”

“you weren’t?” it was impressive. you already knew that if you encountered someone like that, you’d be shaking.

“naw. it was nothing.” bakugo looked back to his coffee. “‘sides, that was one of the first things we learned at ua. fear’s a luxury pros can’t afford, or some shit.”

“fear is a luxury.” you repeat, pondering it for a moment. “i’ve never thought of it that way.”

“‘course you haven’t. you’re a civilian. you get to be scared ‘cuz you’ve got heroes to protect ya.” bakugo grunted. “i’m one of the protectors. i’m the protector.”

“that’s.. kind of sad,” you admit. “not being allowed to be scared.” bakugo snorted.

“like hell i’m scared.” bakugo smirked. “villains don’t scare me.”

“what does scare you, then?” you lean on the counter curiously. bakugo seemed to do a double-take.

“the hell d’you mean?” he asked, brow furrowed.

“what’re you scared of?” you shrug.

“that’s not your business either.” bakugo narrowed his eyes as he gripped the handle of his coffee mug tighter, promptly closing himself off. you figured this was fair. it’d only been two weeks since you met, obviously there are going to be boundaries.

“right, my bad.” you smile. “if it helps for anything, i’m scared of spiders.”

“spiders?” bakugo gave you a look of pure scorn. “they’re tiny. why the hell would you be afraid of them?”

“they’re creepy.” you huff. “with all their legs and eyes.”

“yeah, sounds terrifying.” bakugo smirked. he was mocking you. the nerve.

“hey, don’t mock me!” you pout. “that’s not fair. at least i’m sharing.”

“i don’t have to share if i don’t want to.” bakugo flipped you off. you, being the bigger person and more mature of the two stuck your tongue out at him.

“what’re you, a kid?” bakugo snickered.

“no, i’m offended by your crude obscenities.” you inform him.

“yeah, well, get used to it.” bakugo now flipped you off with both hands for good measure.

“i oughta kick you out. the customers will be horrified.” you tease.

“you won’t.” bakugo grinned maliciously. “you’re lucky to have me at this place.” you roll your eyes.

“you’re so humble, bakugo,” you tell him sarcastically.

“i don’t need to be humble. i’m the goddamn best.” his insufferable smirk widened.

“i should’ve known.” you sigh dramatically. “what have i gotten myself into.”

“buckle up.” bakugo grinned viciously. “you’re with the pros now. no goin’ back.”

“in your dreams, dumbass.”

tags: @k0z3me @cherryblossomclarity

#bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugo #bakugo katsuki #bakugo x reader #bakugou #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha #katsuki bakugo oneshot #mha #bakugo slow burn #coffee shop au #pro hero bakugou #pro hero bakugo x reader

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canirove · 11 months

Text

The Princess & the Football Player | Chapter 9

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"How did David manage to get the whole thing closed down?" Declan chuckles.

"Perks of being a princess" I smile.

For our double date, Declan and Mason wanted to take us to play golf. But since neither Roberta nor I have ever played, going to an actual golf course was too much, so they decided to give the next best thing a go: mini golf.

David found a place, made some calls, and here we are, with the whole place for just for the four of us.

"So, how are we making the teams? Bffs vs bffs?" Mason asks.

"Hell no. We've never played golf before, that wouldn't be fair. Let's do couples" Roberta says, giving him one of her most charming smiles. "Don't you want to teach me how to hold the stick?"

"Golf club."

"What?"

"That's how the stick is called. Golf club" Mason says, getting closer to her and giving her a look that makes her giggle.

"Oh, God" Declan whispers next to me.

"Yep" I chuckle. "But hey, while they are busy flirting, we can take advantage of it and win."

"We aren't going to flirt?" he asks, trying not to smile.

"I didn't say that. And I am a woman, I can do two things at the same time. Can you?" I say with a mischievous smile.

"Watch me" he says as he leans forward, his face very close to mine.

"Ok lovebirds, who goes first?" Roberta asks, ruining the moment. Though maybe I should thank her, because if Declan kept getting that close and looking at me like that, I would have definitely ended on the floor after my knees had given up.

"Princesses go first" he winks.

"Alright then" I say, picking up one of the small balls.

"Are you sure you've never played before?" Mason asks me while I get ready.

"Nope. Why?"

"You are a natural" Declan says.

"Does that mean you won't be teaching me how to hold the stick?" I pout.

"If you ask like that" he says with a cheeky smile, moving to stand behind me. "The body is perfect, but the hands..." he says, putting his on top of mine, slowly moving them. "There. Give it a go now."

"Ok" I say, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding, missing his body against mine the moment he steps back.

"Nah, you are lying. You've played before" Mason says after the ball almost goes in.

"Beginners luck" I shrug.

"Or maybe she has a good teacher" Declan adds.

"My turn! Do I also look like a natural?" Roberta asks Mason.

"Almost. There are some things that need improvement" he says, moving to stand behind her and making her giggle. Again.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"My God, they are disgusting" Declan says while we watch Mason helping Roberta for the millionth time, her giggles being heard everywhere.

"Don't be mean!" I say, giving him a little push. "I'm sure you've also had girls behaving like that when you’ve taught them how to play golf."

"You are the first girl I’ve taken to play golf” he says.

“Really?” I ask, my cheeks feeling warm.

“Yep. And besides Lilith, I haven't dated that many girls.”

"Anything I should know?" I ask, arching an eyebrow.

"They just liked me for my job, not for who I really am."

"That sucks. I'm sorry."

"It’s ok. Has that ever happened to you?" he asks.

"In my case it's been the opposite. I've hooked up with boys while on holidays who liked me for who I am, but who ran away and never looked back the moment they found out about my title."

"That won't be Declan" Mason says, joining us. "As you know, his mum is a big fan of yours, he's known who you are since forever. And he's also had a crush on you since the moment he started to be interested in girls."

"Mase!" Declan says, his eyes going wide.

"You hadn't told her yet? That's rude, bro. But now you know, Eleanor… Dec has always fancied you" Mason says with a mischievous smile. "He had a photo of you on the inside of his wardrobe, one where you were wearing a black dress. I think it was from your 18th birthday."

"Oh my God, I remember it! People went nuts because they realized you weren't a little girl anymore" Roberta says.

"She was not, was she, Dec?"

"Shut up" he replies, pushing Mason.

"I think I may still have that dress” I say.

"You do?" Declan asks, regretting what he had said the moment those two words left his mouth.

"You definitely need to find it and see if it still fits!" Roberta says.

"And you need to ask her out somewhere where she can wear it" Mason adds, patting his best friend on the back. "Like Italy, for example. We should go there once the World Cup ends. It's the perfect place to have a romantic dinner."

"Oh, yes! We can go to my granddad's villa!" Roberta says, definitely already planning everything on her mind.

"And then you can imitate those photos from last summer that you liked so much, the ones with the Italian guy. Do you still have them on your phone?" Mason smirks.

"I hate you" Declan says, walking away while his friend just laughs.

"Instead of laughing, you should be thanking him for not hitting you with his golf club" I say, following him while trying to ignore what Mason just implied. That Declan may have done things while thinking about me, and that he wouldn't mind repeating what Damiano and I did last summer.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"This is it, Eleanor. If it goes in, we win" Declan says.

"And then you kiss to celebrate" Mason chuckles.

"Are we kissing to celebrate that we are losing?" Roberta asks him with a cheeky smile, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"We can kiss for whatever you want. Them winning, us losing, the sun coming out today, you being the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world..."

"Eleanor, please. Let's end this before they start taking off their clothes" Declan says.

"Ok" I laugh.

"And they've won! Are we kissing now, Mason?" Roberta says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"We definitely are" he replies.

"See? Disgusting" Declan says.

"But cute. They make a nice couple."

"They do, don't they?" he smiles.

"So, what do I get for winning?" I ask.

"You? We both won."

"But look at the numbers. I was the best player, I deserve something."

"Do you want me to kiss you like they said?" Declan asks. He is looking at the floor, but I can see that he is smirking.

"The day you kiss me, I want it to be because you want to do it, not because I've won something and that is the prize."

"Who says that I don't want to kiss you?" he says as he looks up, his eyes meeting mine and making my heart skip a beat.

"I... I mean..."

"Now that this is over, can we get something to eat? I'm famished" Mason says. Saved by the bell.

"Eating Roberta isn't enough?" Declan says, his eyes still fixed on me.

"She's very tasty, but I need something else" he replies, making her giggle.

"I think they were selling burgers at the door. Or we can order something" I say, trying to avoid looking at Declan. If I keep doing it, I'm pretty sure I'll end up melting.

"Are you allowed to eat burgers? If you do, you'll probably have to burn them later in the gym" Roberta says.

"There are other ways to burn those calories" Mason says, grabbing her by the waist and kissing her cheek while she, once again, starts giggling.

"Ok, let's go before this starts getting even more awkward. Shall we, miss mini golf?" Declan says, offering me his arm.

"Miss mini golf?" I chuckle as I take it.

"That's your new title after today. Eleanor, Princess or Wales, heir to the English throne, miss mini golf" he says with a smile that makes me giggle like Roberta.

#declan rice #declan rice fanfic #declan rice imagine #football fanfic #football imagine

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cricket-reader · 1 year

Text

Everything Is Going to be Okay

Masterlist | A03 | Wattpad | Recommendations | Inbox

Summary: the team gets held up at a base where one of the members of the team decides to give herself up in exchange for the safety and freedom of her teammates.

Warnings: language, creepy pet names, past abuse/torture, abuse/torture, sexual harassment, sexual assault (not detailed), non-consensual touching/stripping

Word Count: 2,089

Prompt: Team Dynamics, hostage situation, take me instead, recorded message, rescue

A/N: day 6 of March Trope-A-Thon by @amonthofwhump (not proof read, sorry for any errors)

They weren’t sure where everything went wrong. One moment, they were in an abandoned base for some type of extremist group that they had never heard of before, or so they had thought, and the next, three members were being held hostage in the northwest wing of the base.

One member, who was assigned to the northeast section, had previous experience with this group. She didn’t say anything because she didn’t want the repercussions that would follow. Surely, they would have to go through a long process of questioning her to see if she was an undercover agent or not. It would be pointless. So she decided to save them all the trouble.

As soon as she heard things go awry, she separated herself from the group she was assigned. There is no doubt in her mind that they’re looking for her. Quickly, she recorded a message for her team. She had to explain to them why she was giving herself up. It was the only way to make sure that the rest of the team got out safely. She told Friday to deliver it to the team.

She ran to the southwest section as fast as she could. She didn’t want them to do anything to the guys before she could reach them. She wouldn’t allow that to happen.

A man met her outside of the room they were being kept in. He immediately smiled when he saw her familiar face. “Hello, nice of you to return.”

“Let them go, Charlie,” she grumbled, not up to conversing with any of these assholes. He wasn’t at all surprised that she was so rude. He didn’t even appear affected by her grumpy attitude.

“What are you offering in return?” Charlie smirked, knowing full well that she’d offer herself up. They were never able to break that part of her that was always so selfless. At that moment, it seemed to have paid off.

“You know damn well what I’m ‘offering’, asshole.”

He grinned, wanting to hang this over her head like a piece of meat to a dog. When she had left, she told them that they’d never see her again, that she’d die before she’d end up stuck with them again. Yet there she was. “I wanna hear you say it, sweetheart.”

“Take me instead, alright?” She snapped.

“And how can we be sure you won’t just turn around and kill us?”

“I’m not stupid. You of all people should know that. I’ll go with you guys willingly. Beyond that, I can’t promise I’ll comply.”

“Good enough for me, sweet cheeks.”

Anger flared in her every time he used one of those god damn pet names. That was definitely something she didn’t miss.

She was taken away to an exit before she could check to see if the others were released. Luckily, they didn’t remove her earpiece, so she was able to hear the group’s confusion as they were released without any harm coming to any of them. That was all she honestly cared about, so when the man held out his hand, she willingly gave over the earpiece.

The man was surprised that she complied so easily, but he definitely wasn’t complaining.

Of course, they had a sedative to inject her with when they arrived at the white van they’d be taking her in. She didn’t fight, as promised, when they injected her.

The men made sure to strip her body before they left. They didn’t want to take anything that might have a tracker on it.

When she woke up, she was lying on a standard cot in a cell. She sighed but didn’t make any movement. There was no point in getting up.

It seemed like hours before the door was opened. She didn’t even bother to look at who entered. She didn’t care.

“Glad to have you back, pretty thing.”

Her gut twisted hearing the voice she never wanted to hear again. An onslaught of memories that she had tried her hardest to erase from her mind came flooding back.

No matter what, she wouldn’t let him see that something as simple as his voice had affected her. She had to stay strong for the sake of her dignity. He would only be satisfied if he knew what effect he had on her anyway. And she absolutely refused to give him any more satisfaction than having her back already did.

“I missed you,” he sincerely said, “I missed the feeling of your body against mine.”

She didn’t respond. She just lied still on her back, looking at the ceiling.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be like that, baby.” He moved to sit next to her on the bed. “I know at least a part of you missed me too.”

She internally scoffed. In his dreams, she thought. She always knew that man was deranged. That only proves her point. Who on earth would ever miss the man that repeatedly raped them? She didn’t have Stockholm syndrome.

She didn’t even flinch when his hand found her calf. She just closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for whatever he was going to do to her.

It was as horrible as she remembered it being. During the time she was held down to the bed as he assaulted her, she stared off, focusing on a spot on the ceiling. She didn’t cry unlike the first few times. She had no tears left to cry. Not after everything she had been through.

When he left the room she felt like a shell of herself. She was on the road to recovery. She had just begun to receive touch from her teammates, who never so once showed any bad intentions, without dissociating. All of the progress she made on her own without the help of anyone was flushed down the toilet. It had taken her so damn long to recover and she was back to square one. It wasn’t fair. Not in the slightest.

The next time the door opened, Charlie had some food for her. She didn’t sit up. She just lied there, staring at the same spot on the ceiling. Even when he threatened to take away her food, she didn’t move. She knew that Charlie’s threats were empty anyway.

He would never allow anyone but himself to keep food from her. He was the only one allowed to touch her, the only one to allow her to have clothes or blankets. He was in charge of her. Everything she got was from him.

She supposed that she should be grateful. She was being fed well and taken care of. He could have beat her and starved her until she was on the brink of death.

But he didn’t.

He loved her. In his own sick, twisted way, he loved her.

Unfortunately for him, she didn’t give a shit about his feelings. He could treat her like a princess and apologise until he turned blue and she still wouldn’t forgive him. He didn’t deserve forgiveness.

She turned her head to look at what food he had offered her today. Charlie had left, she couldn’t tell you when he had, but she was alone again. Being alone there was a relief. It was the only time she truly allowed herself to have any emotions or reactions.

Sitting up, she winced at the uncomfortable feeling in her gut. She hadn’t felt that for such a long time. She had almost forgotten what it was like.

There was a bowl of soup on the tray. Wild rice soup. There was a dinner roll and a salad for her as well. He had even gone all out and got her a dessert. Sure it was just a simple fun sized candy bar, but she never usually got anything sweet unless she did something really good. It was probably a welcome back gift, she mused.

Picking up the tray, she placed it on her lap before digging in. She was able to stomach the food despite what had just transpired mostly because she had grown accustomed to it all those years she had been trapped with him. Even though she hadn’t been with him for years, everything was still ingrained into her brain. It was as if she took a very nice extended vacation from this treacherous place. She only wished it could have been longer.

The next day was marked by Charlie bringing her breakfast. She was glad that he didn’t decide to join her as he used to do. She didn’t think she’d be able to stomach eating around him that time around.

The whole day passed by pretty uneventfully. There’s not much to do when you’re trapped in a room with nothing to occupy your time with, after all.

She didn’t want to keep track of the time she spent there because it was too depressing, but she knew that a lot of time had passed. He had come into her room plenty of times for his own entertainment. Whether it be by using her body or just simply attempting to have a conversation with her unwilling self, he managed to find time every day to visit her at least once.

She wondered how the team was doing in her moments alone. Briefly she had wondered if they might be searching for her, but she brushed off the idea. She didn’t know why they’d bother. After all, she did give herself up—even if it was for the greater good.

After a session of abuse that had been particularly rough, she was exhausted. Sleep pulled her into unconsciousness almost as soon as she was alone.

It didn’t feel long until she was woken up by the door opening. That time, however, was different. Instead of the calm way that both him and Charlie used, this was rushed; frantic.

The door slammed against the wall, probably making a dent if she had to guess. She tried not to move, but she couldn’t help but to flinch. Memories of past experience told her that whatever was in store wasn’t good.

If he ever slammed the door open, he had usually been pissed off. And that meant he’d take his anger out on her. She’d remember the bruises that he would leave on her body after days like that. It made a shiver run up her spine.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a metallic voice say “I found her.”

Sitting up, she had seen Tony wearing his latest suit. He retracted the mask and rushed to her side.

He was so relieved to find that she had no fatal injuries. The team had feared the worst when she had disappeared, only her suit and comms left behind. But she was alive. Alive and well, so it seemed.

“Nat, bring the go bag to my location,” Tony ordered, checking their surroundings. There were no visible torture devices in the room which was a bit of a relief.

“You’re not hurt anywhere are you?” Tony asked, looking over her body once more, that time a bit more closely. His heart stopped and his face paled seeing a white substance between her legs. There were fresh bruises on her hips that made his gut twist in the most unpleasant way. They should have found her sooner.

“I’m fine, Tony,” she murmured, placing her hand on his forearm. It was both a relief and a great stressor that he knew the truth at last. She had never told anyone because she didn’t want to be viewed as weak, or lesser than everyone else on the team. But not having to keep such a prevalent part of her life a secret lifted a weight off of her shoulders.

Natasha came into the room soon after with a duffle in hand. She unzipped it and grabbed out some clothes for her to wear before they left in the Quinjet. Tony left, not wanting to invade her privacy any more than he already had. Plus, he figured Natasha would be best equipped to handle the situation.

“He can’t hurt you anymore,” Natasha assured her after she got dressed, holding out her arms out in case she wanted some physical comfort. She didn’t expect it, but it would be better to offer than not.

She crashed into Natasha’s arms, finally letting years of unshed tears fall from her eyes.

Natasha soothingly rubbed her back as she sobbed into her chest. Tears came to her own eyes as she whispered words of affirmation to her.

“Everything is going to be okay.”

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