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writtenbymisunderstoodnerds · 1 month

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Are you sure they like each other? (Alyssa Naeher x Reader)

Barely edited and I don't know if I happy with this, but I wanted to put something out. I hope you enjoy :)

Summary: Alyssa and reader are together, but very stoic and not affectionate in public. Think the team know they're together, apparently not. Start to question if they even like each other. Alyssa and reader turn into soft, love sick people when alone.

Warnings: Tiny bit suggestive, some swearing

Words: 3.3K

Alyssa had slipped out, taking our bags up to the room while I was surrounded by some of the team. I had offered to help, but she had insisted I stay to catch up, leaving before I could protest. Neither of us would be considered extroverts, though I was the one who liked to talk a bit more. Kristie pulled me into a tight hug before a few of the girls following suit, "How was your break Y/n?"

"It was pretty good. Alyssa and I just took it easy. Spent some time fixing up some of the stuff around the house I haven't had the time to do. Visited family, that sort of thing."

Confusion covered their faces, Kelley being the first one to speak up, "Wait. You spent the break with Alyssa?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. Alyssa and I had been together for almost 5 years, living together for 3. It wasn't something that had been hidden. Our relationship wasn't public knowledge, but friends and family knew we were together, or so I thought anyway. We weren't an affectionate couple in public or even with our friends, barely ever touching past an occasional hand on the back, a short hug after a game or if we were going to be apart. Occasionally, we would hold hands at home with family or I would lay with my head in her lap during movie night. I loved Alyssa more than words would describe, there was no doubt in my mind she felt the same. Public affection just made us both very uncomfortable.

"Why wouldn't I? We live together."

"Wait what? You and Alyssa live together?"

"You didn't know? We weren't hiding it. You know we're together right?"

Kelley looked as if I had grown a second head, "You and Alyssa are dating? No we didn't know that! What the hell Y/n?"

Alyssa's hand touched my lower back, letting me know she was there before dropping back to her side. "What's happening here? Why is there yelling?"

"Apparently they're just finding out we live together and have been together for the last almost 5 years."

"5 years?!? And you didn't tell us?"

Even Alyssa looked confused at this point, "What do you mean didn't tell you? It was never hidden. We assumed you knew."

Accusatory glares were sent our way while Alyssa and I just stood there confused. This was not how I expected my morning to go. "You've never kissed, held hands, cuddled or done anything remotely couple like. How were we supposed to know?"

"We've held hands a few times and I sleep against her on the bus sometimes. I get her coffee and breakfast every morning, Alyssa gets me flowers every week even at camp. Pretty sure we've mentioned our anniversary before. We say 'I love you' to each other all the time. Did none of you find that weird?"

"You're always sitting next to each other on the bus so no and we just figured you were close friends or something. I think there's been one time that you've gotten flowers from her in front of us."

"I've seen that a few times actually, but its always when she seems to have a bad day," Tierna spoke up.

Alyssa shrugged, "Well yeah, I get them every week, but if she's having a bad day then I'll get them on that day to cheer her up. Look, we just don't like PDA, we weren't hiding anything from you. We really thought you knew about us. And before you even ask, no we're not going to prove it. Now we're going to our room."

As soon as we entered our room, I flopped down on the bed, scooting over slightly when Alyssa lay down next to me. I pushed myself into her arms, leaving kisses on her jaw, her hand slipping under my shirt to draw random patterns. "You unpacked my stuff."

Alyssa held me closer, kissing my forehead. People held the impression that Alyssa disliked physical touch, which she did with most people. In reality, Alyssa loved cuddling with me, she loved holding my hand and kissing me. Just touching in general actually. When we first started dating, it was a welcome surprise. I expected some affection, but not as much as I received. There was definitely no complaints from me, I loved cuddling with my partners. "I always do, don't I?"

"You do and I appreciate it, but you don-"

She cut me off with a quick peck before speaking up not giving me the chance, "My love, how many times have you said I don't have to, yet I do it anyway?"

"Pretty much every camp," I mumbled against her neck, knowing what her response was going to be. It was always the same.

"Exactly. I do it because I love you and I want to make your day a little bit easier so how about you just accept it and let me do it."

It wasn't that I didn't like it, in fact I loved that she did it. I just always felt slightly bad when people did things for me. "Fine. I still can't believe they didn't know about us. I really thought they did."

"So did I. Maybe they just don't listen to us at all. It was all kind of entertaining though."

"It was, I can't believe they were so clueless. I have a feeling Emily is going to be annoying though. She had her mischief face on."

Alyssa's hand traveled further up my side as she rolled on top of me, "Unfortunately, I think you're right, but right now there are other things I would rather do than talk about Emily."

---

Just as I sat down for breakfast, Emily and Kelley slid onto the chairs in front of me. They just stared at me until I snapped, asking what they wanted. This was not what I needed early in the morning especially when I had only been awake for like half an hour. Alyssa was always down for breakfast after me, preferring to take her time to get ready and do her puzzles, while I just wanted coffee.

"So you and Alyssa are together right?"

"Uh yeah, why?"

"Just checking. How long have you been together?"

"Almost 5 years."

"How did you meet?"

I looked at between Emily and Kelley, trying to figure out why I was being interrogated once again, about my relationship. At this point, I was pretty sure the team believed we were lying or something. "You know this already."

"We forgot."

Alyssa approached, giving me a quick smile which I returned, "Perfect timing. I'm being interrogated about our relationship again."

"Why?"

I shrugged, pushing Alyssa's breakfast in front of her receiving a quite thank you. I didn't answer Kelley's question, instead deciding to eat breakfast before it got cold. "Are you two being forced to be together?"

Both of our heads shot up at that. It was such a ridiculous question. There would be no logical reason for us to be pretending to be together especially considering we weren't public knowledge. I bit back my laugh before answering, "What? What makes you think that? Why would that be a thing?"

Emily shrugged, "You just don't seem to like each other like that."

"Go away Kelley," Alyssa mumbled before going back to her breakfast. I ignored her again, getting up for Alyssa's coffee instead. When I returned, Kelley and Emily were still there, giving Alyssa a suspicious look. I handed Alyssa the cup before sitting down again.

"Thank you love."

Emily narrowed her eyes at us, "Suspicious."

Alyssa rolled her eyes while I flipped Emily off. This whole thing was starting to get old. "Go eat your breakfast."

Later that day, we were back in our room, enjoying the time we had before practice. Alyssa was reading, while I lay in the sun on the balcony. I started to want cuddles. I wouldn't say I was clingy because it was true. We could spend hours doing completely different things. Sometimes though, I just craved touching or being held by her. I gave her a few minutes before calling out to her, knowing she would come to me without hesitation.

Alyssa groaned, but got up, slipped off her shirt and sat down behind me with my head in her lap. We met in the middle, lips connecting briefly before I wiggled around to get into a better position. Alyssa eyebrows raised, amusement shining in her eyes, "Comfortable?"

I smirked, lacing my fingers with hers that rest on my stomach, "Very. Do you like me Lyssa? Is someone forcing you to date me?"

"Not even a little bit. Don't you know I'm only with you for your body?"

"That's what I thought. Maybe I should confess that I'm only with you for your abs."

She smirked at my response, "I had my suspicions. You're obsessed."

"Not my fault they're great abs."

Fingers ran through my hair as Alyssa leant down to kiss my forehead, "You know I love you right Y/n/n? I don't want you to ever doubt that because I don't show you affection in public."

"You know how I feel about PDA, I don't like it, I never have. I have never once doubted your love for me Alyssa and I hope you haven't doubted mine. I love you."

"Good. I have never doubted your love either."

---

Anger and worry coursed through me when I saw Alyssa go down. It was always my worst fear during games, but it didn't really happen during practice. I know we got competitive, there was no reason for it to happen during practice though. I ran up, kneeling beside her, hand grabbing hers, "Are you okay Lys?"

"This ones going to hurt," Alyssa winced, but quickly grabbed my arm when I turned to Rose who had taken her out. "Hey, it's not her fault, it was an accident. Go see if she's okay and be nice."

I took a breath to calm myself down before walking up to Rose. Rose started fidgeting nervously as I walked up to her, "Hey, are you okay Rose?"

"Y-yeah. S-sorry"

I hugged her, feeling her relax against me. Hugs weren't necessarily my favourite thing except when it was with Alyssa, but I knew Rose liked them and I didn't want her to feel bad. It wasn't actually her fault. "Rosie, it was an accident. Don't beat yourself up because of it, but maybe don't make a habit of taking out out keeper during practice, we kinda need her."

---

"You guys coming to dinner?"

"Uh yeah, just going to drop our stuff off."

Once we were in our room, Alyssa sat on the edge of the bed as I knelt behind her, arms wrapping around her shoulders loosely. She lent back against me with a sigh, kissing my hand. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Think my shoulder might bruise, but I'm okay hun. Don't worry so much."

I lift her shirt over her head, lips meeting the spot that was already starting to bruise then moving around to her neck, cheek and lips, "You know I can't help worrying about you, even if it's a bit ridiculous."

Alyssa turned around, pushing me back and hovering over me, "Well, I'm the same so I can't really say anything. I love you Y/n/n."

I looped my arm around the back of her neck, pulling her down so I could peck her lips, "I love you Lys, but you need to get off cause we need to go down for dinner."

She rolled off me with one final kiss before standing up, "Fine."

"Shirt."

---

My eyes fluttered open to the feeling of lips being pressed to every part of my face and neck. I giggled, arms wrapping around her neck to bring her lips to mine. You wouldn't guess it, but Alyssa always kissed me softly, as if I was something precious. It honestly drove me crazy.

Alyssa pulled away slowly, grin plastered across her face, "Happy anniversary love."

My grin matched her, as I pecked her lips, "Happy anniversary Lys. I love you."

We spent a little longer in bed than usual, lazy kisses and cuddles shared before reluctantly dragging our selves out of bed and into the shower. Unfortunately, we had training today so we couldn't give in to the clear desires we both had, instead rushing through the shower and downstairs before there was anymore temptation and we ended up late.

Alyssa and I were discussing dinner plans when we walked into the meal room. We never went out on our anniversary, always staying in and just being with each other in the comfort of our own home. This year was different because we were in a hotel, but we would make do. Just as we sat down, Kelley sat across from us, our conversation ending as we waited for her to say something. "Do you guys even like each other? I mean you guys just seem so indifferent around each other, sure you talk and even joke around sometimes, but it's no different then if you were talking to team mates, we've never heard you talk about anything remotely relationship like."

My arm rest on the back of Alyssa's chair, playing with the baby hairs at the base of her neck. That wasn't a usual occurrence, but it was our anniversary. I was feeling a mix of different, slightly overwhelming emotions from love to happiness, and nerves from the fact I was proposing tonight. I just wanted to be close to her right now and the usual leg against mine wasn't enough. Alyssa must have sensed it because her hand rest on my thigh under the table, squeezing gently as I spoke, "Of course we do. We were literally just talking about our plans tonight for our anniversary."

"That was talk about your anniversary? It sounded like you were talking about grocery shopping."

"We were, but in relation to our anniversary."

"So what are you going to do for your anniversary?"

"Chill out in our hotel room. We never do anything big."

"Yeah okay. That tracks with the appearance of your relationship."

Alyssa had gone back to our room after training while I had gone to the store to pick up a few snacks to sneak in and some flowers for her. She always got me flowers so I wanted to return the favour for once. We were planning on ordering in and watching movies before likely ending the night doing inappropriate cuddling. It was our favourite way to spend our anniversaries. Thankfully, we had an off day tomorrow so we could get away with it.

After placing the bag down on the table, I called out for Alyssa, getting a response from the bathroom almost instantly. My arms wrapped around Alyssa when she emerged from the bathroom, leaving a lingering kiss against her lips. Her eyes dropped down to the bouquet in my hand, a small smile appearing. "This isn't your actual gift, but you always get me flowers so I thought it was my turn. Your gift is running late."

"They're beautiful, thank you Y/n/n. You know you didn't have to get me anything."

"I know, but you also always get me something despite me saying the same thing, therefore shut up."

Alyssa laughed, pushing me away gently and taking the flowers, "You speak to me so romantically my love."

I pulled her back into me, peppering her face with kisses, "I love you."

"I love you. I ordered dinner already, it should be here soon. Also here," Alyssa handed out a small wrapped box. Inside was a gold chain with a small keepers glove attached. It was something I had mentioned wanting, a way to have her close when she wasn't there physically.

"You remembered. I love it Lys."

"Of course I did."

After a short make out session and dinner, we cuddled up in bed to watch a movie. Maybe 15 minutes had passed before I started getting restless. My focus dropped from the movie, instead playing with Alyssa's fingers. I never was the best at staying still. My mind soon drifted to the pool downstairs, it had been a while since I got to go and the urge was suddenly there.

When I shifted position once again, Alyssa chuckled and paused the movie, "I've lost you haven't I?"

I grinned up at her, kissing her softly. Alyssa always knew me so well. "Do you want to go swimming? It's late so no one will be around."

Alyssa knew I loved swimming so she agreed pretty easily, after some teasing of course. We made our way down to the pool, both wearing tank tops and shorts. No one was around so it didn't matter what we wore. I jumped straight in, swimming around a bit while Alyssa sat on the edge of the pool. After a few minutes, I swam up between Alyssa's legs resting my arms on them as I lent up connecting our lips in a lingering kiss.

"Come in."

"It's cold."

"Love, it's a heated pool."

"Okay fine, I just enjoy watching you swim around."

"But, if you come in then we can cuddle, kiss," My hand ran up the inside of her thigh, "Touch."

Alyssa instantly slid into the pool, arm wrapping around me and pulling me against her. "You're a tease."

My hands slipped under her tank top, nails scratching down her back and over her stomach, "It's only teasing if I leave it at that. Just wait until we get ba-"

A loud voice interrupted the moment, annoyance crossing Alyssa's face as she stepped back slightly, but didn't let me go. "Oh my god! They really are together."

I groaned, turning to glare at Emily and Kelley, "Fuck off and stop ruining our anniversary."

Once they were out of sight again, I pulled myself out of the pool, Alyssa rest on my legs as I had done earlier. "What are you doing?"

I pulled the towel that I had hidden the little black box in closer. Inside was a a plain gold band with a round cut diamond. Alyssa didn't often wear jewelry and she liked simple things so I knew she would love it. "I have something for you."

"You waited until we were at the pool to give it to me?"

"Well it wasn't the original plan, but I got nervous." My fingers laced with hers, Alyssa looking up at me curiously. "Never in my life did I think I would fall for someone as hard or fast as I did with you. From the boring, quiet days at home spent doing housework or errands to the movie nights and dinner dates, I love living life with you. I love the adventures we've had, I love working with you, fuck, I just love being with you Alyssa. I look forward to every new day because I get to do it with you. With you by my side, anything is possible. This is a shit speech, but I'm nervous and you love me anyway."

Alyssa chuckled, tears already forming in her eyes before I revealed the little box. "I love you Alyssa, I love you so much more than I thought possible. I want to live life with you forever. With that being said, Alyssa Naeher will you marry me?"

Arms wrapped around my waist tightly, lips connecting with mine, in a soft, emotional kiss, "Yes, yes I will marry you Y/n."

I slipped the ring on her finger, connecting our lips again. Alyssa pulled away too soon for my liking, reaching for her own towel, pulling out a black box similar to the one I had moments before. Alyssa opened it, revealing a plain rose gold band with three small gems set into it. I soon realised it was both our birth stones and one I wasn't quite sure of. "You beat me to it, but will you marry me Y/n?"

"I suppose I can't say no seeing as I just gave you a ring."

Alyssa laughed, sliding the ring onto my finger before kissing me again. "These are our birthstones, what's this one?"

"When we first started dating."

"I love it, I love you."

A crash from behind us instantly caught our attention. About half the team stood there, sheepish smiles in place and a phone pointed in our direction. Seeing as they were caught, everyone started talking over each other, congratulations being thrown our way. I rolled my eyes, turning back to Alyssa. "Let's get out of here before they surround us. We have celebrating to do."

#uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #woso x reader #woso imagines #alyssa naeher x reader #alyssa naeher imagine

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roosterforme · 5 months

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Adult Education Part 9 | Hangman x OC

Summary: Jessica visits Beta Brewing and meets one of Bradley Bradshaw's former fraternity brothers. He's flirtatious, and she's surprised by it. But nothing surprises her as much as the way Jake can be so sweet and sexy at the same time. But she doesn't know he's only ever been like this for her.

Warnings: Fluff, smut, swearing, 18+

Length: 6600 words

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Female OC

This story is part of the Beer Boy and Sugar universe but can be read on its own! Adult Education masterlist

Seriously, who let Jake on my masterlist!? Banner by @mak-32

Bradley Bradshaw helped Jessica climb up into the backseat of the idling vintage Ford Bronco with her notebook, a pen and her overnight bag. He somehow looked even more handsome in jeans and a tie dyed shirt with a backwards cap than he did in his uniform. "I can't thank you enough for doing this," she said as he released her hand and smiled.

"It's nothing," he replied casually with a shrug of his broad shoulders before closing the door. But it was definitely something to Jessica. It had been a very long time since she had friends. She watched as he climbed back into the driver's seat and leaned over to accept a kiss from his wife. His handsome cheeks flushed a little bit as he cleared his throat and asked, "Ready to hit the road?"

"Yes," Jessica said as she buckled in for the half hour drive up to Beta Brewing. Advanced Calculus was turned around in the front seat, handing her a snack box filled with mixed berries and artisan cheeses.

"Bradley packed these for us," she said with a grin as she held up a second one. Sure enough he was blushing a little more now.

"Thank you," Jessica gushed, biting into a ripe raspberry and thinking about what Jake might be cooking for dinner later tonight. She'd never eaten this well in her entire adult life.

"It's nothing," Bradley said again as he turned onto the highway. "So how much beer do you think you'll need for this fundraiser?"

"At least two kegs?" Jessica said as she ate some of the cheese that was practically melting on her tongue. "More than that will kill my thousand dollar budget."

"I think you're better off with three," Advanced Calculus said. "I know you don't have a final headcount yet, but with the way Bradley and Jake drink, you'll run out with just two."

Bradley laughed. "You really think Jake and I could drink an entire keg of beer ourselves?"

"The two of you drank the equivalent of a keg of champagne on New Year's Eve," his wife replied easily as she fed him a berry.

"Ah yes," he rasped, "the inception of Dr. Tits." Jessica laughed as Advanced Calculus smacked his shoulder. Bradley looked in the rearview mirror and asked, "You know about Dr. Tits?"

"Yes," Jessica replied, recalling the story of drunk Jake and the low cut dress. Of course Advanced Calculus had been a good sport about it.

"And you still want to date Jake Seresin? He's a goddamn menace."

"He's actually much less annoying since he met Jessica," he wife remarked.

"Shit. You're right," Bradley mumbled. "Okay, you actually have to date him. You're never allowed to break up with him either."

After that, Jessica got some inside scoop and funny stories about her boyfriend. Apparently he tried to sleep behind the bar at their Navy hangout on his birthday last year. And at Starbucks, he likes to give Hungman as his name just to see if the baristas will say it, but at least he leaves them a nice tip for their troubles. And neither Bradley nor his wife could ever remember Jake having a girlfriend since he graduated from the Naval Academy.

"Here we are," Bradley said as he pulled into a parking lot right next to a beautiful cliffside beach. Beta Brewing was written in huge graffiti lettering on the side of an industrial building. Bradley wrapped his arm around his wife and headed toward a door off to the side with a sign that said Tap Room.

Jessica followed behind them and asked, "What was your friend's name again?" She was suddenly very nervous that she was going to sound like an idiot asking for a deal on this guy's designer beer.

"Dev Borah," Bradley said, pulling the door open for the two women to go first.

"He's nice," his wife promised. "You'll like him."

Jessica took a few steps into the bar area that smelled delicious and was decorated like a tasteful fraternity house. "We open at noon!" boomed a voice from the long bartop. "Sorry!"

Bradley chuckled and said, "That's bullshit. You can't turn away a Beta Gamma brother."

"Oh shit!" the other man with dark hair and a big, beaming smile said as he looked up and slammed his palm down on the countertop. "Bradshaw! I completely forgot you were coming up today."

Jessica watched as Dev popped up from behind the bar and gave Bradley some weird, elaborate handshake before they both started laughing. "It's good to see you man. Been a few months," Dev said, eyeing up Brashaw's wife. "And it's honestly rude of you to try to keep this one away from me."

"Hi, Dev," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I still can't believe the two of you got married. That's fucking wild," Dev replied before focusing his attention on Jessica. A crooked smile appeared on his lips, the kind that let her know he would have been quite a handful when he was in college. "And you're Jessica?" he asked, reaching out to shake hands with her. "Damn. I've gotta get down to San Diego more often."

She laughed and shook his hand. Maybe she didn't have anything to be nervous about after all. This man seemed like a goof as he took the three of them on a tour of the brewery and back into the areas he assured her were top secret.

He also seemed to understand the entire process involved here. He answered all of their questions about brewing beer and the business end of things. "We're shipping as far as Pennsylvania now," he said when Jessica asked about distribution. "Making it hard for me to crunch all the numbers myself, but I'm really particular about who I let in on the details." When he stopped in front of an industrial looking door, he punched a code into the keypad and said, "Let's dip into my personal stash."

The room was his office, and it was massive with floor to ceiling windows and a view of the cliffs and the beach. Jessica watched him open a stainless steel refrigerator and select a few bottles and cans from his collection and line them up on his glossy desk. "This is incredible," she remarked, looking out the window while Bradshaw gazed longingly into his wife's eyes and said something about only drinking the good beers. "Your whole setup is incredible."

"Thanks," Dev said as he opened a bottle of beer called Greek Week and handed it to her. "Started the whole thing myself about seven years ago."

The beer was absolutely delicious, and Jessica wondered if she could buy a six pack or something to take to Jake's place. "I like this beer. Can I get it in a keg? For that event I believe Bradley mentioned to you?"

Dev smiled and said, "We don't keg this one. It's a limited release of 500 bottles."

She almost choked on it. "500 bottles and you're letting me have one? Are you insane?"

His laughter was contagious, because soon she was laughing too. "You can have one. His wife can too, if she wants. But Bradshaw gets one of the regular beers. That's what he gets for never helping me with my homework. That asshole graduated top of our fraternity."

"Yeah, I absolutely did," Bradley said, winking at his wife as Dev handed him a different beer. "Sugar made sure I spent plenty of time in the library. Studying." His wife looked a little bashful, but she accepted her own bottle of the limited release Greek Week beer and sipped it.

"If you want kegs," Dev said, "we can walk through the warehouse so you can see what's available. I have a few brews that were aged in barrels and a few others as well right now. You can try some samples in the tap room and take whichever kegs you want."

Jessica nodded and finished her beer. "Sounds great. I'll probably need three kegs, but I have a very limited budget, so two might have to work."

Dev just waved her off. "We'll talk about it down there." He led the way through a labyrinth of hallways and down an elevator to the warehouse. "Careful," he told Jessica with a wink as he held a door open for her. "Usually I don't let anyone in here with high heels, but I don't think I could tell you no to anything you wanted to do."

Jessica looked down at her jeans and heels and then back up at him. "I'll be extra careful."

"Let me know if you need to hold my hand," he said with that same grin before leading the way toward rows and rows of kegs where a handful of employees were working. "Point out the three you want unless you want to taste them first."

"I've tried all of them," Bradley told Jessica. "There's no such thing as a bad beer made at Beta. They are all good."

She didn't want to cause any extra work for anyone. She just wanted the event to be successful which meant staying under budget. "Can I just take three of your least expensive ones?"

"Is that really your deciding factor?" Dev asked, waving someone with a cart on wheels over.

"Yeah," she replied with a wince. "I'm sure they're all great! The Greek Week was amazing! But I need this fundraiser to be as successful as possible, and the finances are tight."

Jessica wondered if she could come back up with Jake and his truck one day to pick them up, but Dev asked, "Can you fit three of them in your Bronco, Bradshaw?"

"Yep," Bradley replied, his arm draped casually around his wife's shoulders.

"Okay then," Dev said to the man with the cart. "Load one keg of Gamma Rays, one of East Coast Girls, and one of Nerd Core into the fancy blue thing parked outside."

Jessica's math brain was swirling. "How much do I owe you?"

Dev shrugged. "They retail for three hundred apiece, but you can have them at cost."

"Well, how much is that?" She was starting to panic now.

Dev was laughing again. "I'm not going to charge you a penny for the kegs. It's on me."

Bradley laughed, too. "That's just bad business, man. Didn't you study accounting?"

"Nah, I studied girls," Dev replied, smirking at Jessica as she blushed. "Come on, I'll send you home with some bottles."

Once they were in the tap room, Jessica insisted on paying for two six packs of beer while Bradley and his wife picked some out of the coolers as well. "I can't thank you enough," Jessica told Dev as he ran her credit card. "This whole thing is just really important to me getting tenure at my school, and... just, thank you."

"Don't mention it," he said as he handed the card back to her. "Bradshaw can make up for it in manual labor when I do my next brewery expansion."

Jessica looked to her left to where Bradley was setting down the beers he wanted to buy. "N-No," she stammered. "I wouldn't want anyone to have to do that!"

"I'm kidding," Dev promised as he took Bradley's credit card.

"You could come to the fraternity event!" Jessica blurted out. "And I could definitely promote your brand, too."

Dev tossed the card back to Bradley and shooed him away with his hand. Jessica thought she heard Bradley laughing behind her as Dev leaned a little closer, his perfect smile back on his face. "Just to clarify, are you asking me on a date?"

Her jaw dropped open. Would it have been that easy for her to get a date with him? She was shocked. He owned a brewery worth millions of dollars. "Oh. No. I have a boyfriend."

Dev shook his head. "Not surprising in the least. Email me the details for your event. I'd love to come, even if it's just an excuse to see you smile again."

"Okay," she said softly, taking both six packs in her hands. "And thanks again."

Jessica stumbled outside into the sunlight where Bradley and his wife were practically making out next to the Bronco which was filled with three kegs of beer. Even when she approached them, he didn't bother to remove his hands from her butt, but Jessica supposed that was a good sign that they considered her a friend as well.

"So? You ditching Jake for Dev?" Bradley asked, laughter in his voice.

"No!" Jessica replied. "But I can't believe he gave me the kegs for free. Really, it's thanks to you."

"Don't worry about it," Bradley replied, opening the door for her before walking around to the passenger side for his wife. "Dev's loaded, and he's nice anyway. So if you ever do decide to ditch Jake, you have options."

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

The Longhorns game was on, dinner was ready to go into the oven, and Jessica just texted that she was on her way. Jake was lounging on the couch, ready to spend the rest of the day and all night convincing her that she should show him her pretty green underwear and let him take it off of her.

He bought a new box of condoms, just in case. He felt a little weird digging into an open box for her, so he just tossed the last few he had, deciding to start fresh. In a lot of ways, that's what he was doing. Starting fresh.

Everything around him was spotlessly clean. There were new sheets on his bed. He had Sam Adams seasonal beers in the fridge. He had his couch ready for snuggling. He just needed her.

When she knocked, he rocketed off the couch, fixing his hair on the way to his door. "Hi-" The words died in his throat and he grimaced as he was met with Bradley Bradshaw, but at least he was holding some beers. "Rooster."

"Hangman," came the response with a smirk. When he pushed his way inside, Jake saw his wife was behind him, and then he finally saw Jessica.

"Jake," she sighed breathlessly, and he collected her up in his arms. He kicked the door closed as she kissed him, but he was wondering why there were four people in his condo instead of two when all he really wanted to do was take Jessica to bed.

"Hey, Baby. How was the brewery?"

Bradshaw was laughing as he made his way to the kitchen. "You can kiss your girlfriend goodbye. Dev Borah wants her. He just texted me asking how serious Jessica is with her boyfriend."

"Who?" Jake asked, wrapping his arms a little tighter around Jessica.

"The beer guy. His fraternity brother," she replied, kissing him softly. "Bradley's just kidding."

"He's not kidding," Bradshaw's wife said as she picked up one of the journals on the coffee table. "Dev really texted him."

Jake didn't think he actually had any cause for concern as Jessica wiggled her bag down her arm and let it drop to the floor so she could snuggle against his chest. "Why don't you text him back and tell him to fuck off," Jake told Bradley who was now rooting around in his refrigerator.

"What are you making for dinner?" he mumbled. "Bruschetta chicken? Sugar loves it when I make that for her."

"Bruschetta chicken?" his wife replied, also hustling into Jake's kitchen.

"Fuck," Jake whispered, "they're never gonna leave."

"Sorry," Jessica mumbled. "Bradley insisted on carrying the beers I bought up here for me. I got you a bottle of this one called Greek Week which Dev told me is a limited release, and I think you'll really like it."

Jake kissed her lips softly and asked, "What's it going to take for you to forget this Dev guy all together?"

She blushed for him and glanced toward the kitchen before she said, "I didn't wear my pretty green things for Dev. I wore them for you."

A smirk instantly appeared on Jake's face. Images of Jessica's bare pussy rubbing on his khaki uniform pants while she whined for him filled his mind. He would just have to make sure he was very good for her every single time, because there was no way he was giving her up now.

"Can we stay for dinner?" Rooster asked from the kitchen. "I want to compare recipes."

"No," Jake drawled as Jessica's lips found his neck in the briefest of kisses. "I'm going to say this as nicely as I can: Get the fuck out. Please."

"So rude," Bradshaw's wife replied, but she was smiling. Jake watched her lean in and whisper something to her husband.

His eyes went wide immediately, and he was nodding as his tongue darted out to lick his lips. "Yeah, I can do that for you, Sugar," he said softly, but Jake still heard him. Then Bradshaw cleared his throat and said, "See you on Monday, Hangman. Bye, Jess." He dragged his wife behind him as he made a beeline for the door, and she waved as she laughed.

And then they were gone, and Jake was just thankful it wasn't awkward at all when Jessica whispered, "I was afraid they weren't going to leave," as she ran her fingers up underneath his Longhorns shirt.

"He would have stayed, but she's a good wingwoman," Jake replied, kissing her temple, his lips meeting the cool plastic of her glasses. "And I just want to spend time alone with you. You want to sit on the couch? Have a few beers?"

The Longhorns game was on mute, but he'd lost interest in it anyway as Jessica carefully stepped out of her high heels. Now she really had to look up at him as she started to unbutton her blouse, and Jake's hands were on her denim covered hips immediately as he felt his cock twitch in delight. He was shocked and about to suggest taking things to his bedroom when he lost the ability to speak. She shrugged out of her blouse and draped it on the arm of the couch leaving her in a sheer, white camisole and her green bra.

"Sure," Jessica replied casually like she wasn't nearly stripped bare from the waist up for him. "I'd love a beer. Want to try that one called Greek Week?"

"Yep," he grunted in response as she pushed against his abs until he was sitting on the couch.

"We can share it," she whispered as she walked into his kitchen like she belonged there. Even from behind, Jake was entranced. The white fabric looked soft and stretchy, and he wanted to know for sure. He also wanted to see her without that silly little shirt on at all. "Fuck."

He watched her open the bottle and take a sip before heading back his way. When he patted the spot on the couch next to him, she settled in with her legs folded up and her knee resting on his thigh. He was plainly hard in his briefs and gray sweatpants as she leaned on him. He had a great view of her tits down her nearly nonexistent top as they were pressed together now.

"You want some?" she asked, looking up at him and adjusting her glasses. He wanted everything. It was actually fucking crazy how he reacted to this woman.

He leaned in and kissed her. "I want some of you, but I guess I'll try the beer as well." Then he took a sip, and it was good, which kind of pissed him off. He didn't know anything about this Dev guy, other than the fact that he was in Bradshaw's fraternity back in college in Virginia, but now he was imagining him flirting with his girlfriend.

When he handed the bottle back to her, she took another sip before setting it on the coffee table. Then she settled back against him, her hand grazing his cock through his sweatpants. She gasped. "Are you comfortable?" she whispered as he ran his fingers up her bare arm.

"Not really," he murmured, watching her head tip to the side in pleasure. He ran his lips along her soft shoulder. "You're teasing me right now."

"I'm not doing anything," she moaned. "Jake."

But he was too busy sucking gently on her pulse point below her ear while he worked his fingers underneath that pretty, green bra strap. She was half sitting on his lap now, reaching back with her hand to brush his cock again, this time intentionally.

Her breath was a soft whimper as she asked, "Don't you want to watch the Longhorns?"

Jake pulled his lips away from her and paused with his right hand on her hip and his left fingers dipping down inside the front of her bra. He watched her trace the head of his cock through too many layers of fabric with the tips of her pink painted nails.

"If you want to play games here, Jessica, I'm afraid you might lose, Baby."

That one sentence was enough to have her spinning around to face him, straddling him and sitting back on his thighs. "You didn't answer my question," she whispered, looking at him like she meant business in her decadent little outfit. She ran her hands down the front of her body to the button of her jeans and asked, "Do you want to watch the Longhorns?"

His fingers flexed on her hips, and he leaned back against the couch, eyes fixed on her as she unzipped her jeans and let him see some of that green lace thong. She wiggled herself against him and reached for his left hand, guiding it inside her jeans. And if he thought her shoulder was soft, then the skin above her panties was heavenly. He was aching as he stroked her, watching her chew on her lip as her glasses slid down her nose a bit.

Then she reached for the bottom of that white camisole and pulled his clean off over her head, tossing it toward her previously discarded blouse. Jake groaned at the sight of her pink nipples pressing against green lace. And there was a tiny green, satin bow right there between her tits on her bra. He couldn't decide if he wanted to chew it off or rub his nose on it, so instead he leaned forward and kissed it before pressing his lips to the swell of her right breast.

She smelled like expensive perfume and she tasted like a dream. Her fingers were soft in his hair as he continued to toy with her panties, but he brought his other hand up along her ribcage to join his lips on her tits.

"Jake," she said firmly in what he could only imagine was her stern teaching voice. "Do you want to watch the Longhorns?"

He pulled his mouth away from her tits and reached up along her back to her bra clasp. He suddenly pulled her closer, making her gasp as she sat with her jeans pressed to his hardness and her hands on his shoulders. Then he looked her in the eye. "Jessica, the only thing I want to watch right now is your pretty pussy taking my cock."

Jake smirked as her mouth fell open, and she stared at him. Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths as he licked her lips and undid one of the hooks of her bra. "And maybe the way your gorgeous tits bounce for me," he added with a smirk.

A moaning, whimpering mess. That's what was sitting on his lap right now. He watched her reach back and guide his hands so he was undoing the second hook closure on her bra. Then she pulled her hair to the side and let him guide the green lace away from her body. The way the straps slid down her arms was making him throb, and he kissed the soft skin in their wake. Then her breasts were free of the fabric, and she was looking at him expectantly as she chewed on her lip and stifled a moan.

"Baby," he gasped, throat suddenly dry as he let her bra fall to her lap and took her in his hands. She rolled her hips forward as he moulded his hands to the perfection of her tits and buried his face between them. Two flawless handfuls. And they were real. He could hardly remember the last time he'd been treated to something this exciting.

He had his mouth everywhere on her, sucking one nipple and then the other between his lips. Licking long stripes from beneath each breast up to her collarbone and back down again. He squeezed and caressed and nuzzled until she started to shake, his name starting to sound desperate on her lips. "Jake," she moaned like a wounded animal, shoving his hands inside her open jeans and grinding.

But he reminded himself that a horny quickie was not right for the first time. Second, third and fourth? Yeah, absolutely. But not right now. "Will you let me take you to bed?"

"Yes!" she practically shouted, fingers digging into his shoulders. He stood up, Jessica clinging to the front of him, and carried her to his bedroom with his hands on her ass. Her lips were on his neck, and he could hear the needy sounds she made as her nose pressed to his ear.

There was soft afternoon sunlight filtering in through Jake's bedroom windows, and everything looked dreamy as he set Jessica down on the floor at the foot of his bed. A bashful smile ghosted across her lips as she reached for the bottom of his Longhorns shirt and guided it up his torso and over his head. "Oh," she gasped, and Jake nearly purred as she ran her fingers through his chest hair. "Ohh." Then her hands trailed down to his sweatpants, and it was over.

"Jessica," he growled when she reached inside and yanked them down his hips. He was so hard in his black briefs, he had to beg her to be gentle as she pulled them down as well. Then she was stroking him with her small hands, giving him a few experimental pumps.

He had to squeeze his eyes shut and take a deep breath when she whispered, "That's enough teasing, don't you think?"

"Get on the bed."

With a soft squeak, she did as she was told, scrambling onto her back so her tits shook invitingly. But he needed to focus here. He needed to be good. Great. Spectacular. This was his girl, not just some girl. His cock was bouncing as he watched her pull her jeans down over her soft hips and thighs, leaving her in just that sinful green thong.

He crawled on top of her, propping himself up on his elbows, and he let his cock rest on her thigh as he kissed her lips. "You're so fucking beautiful, Jessica."

Her fingers were back in his chest hair before she looped them around his neck. "So are you."

He hummed against her lips. "I bought condoms this morning. Give me a minute to get them?"

But she shook her head. "I don't want to use a condom with you."

The noise he made was actually perverted, and he thought his eyes were going to roll into the back of his head when she pressed her pussy up against him. "You want me to skip the condom?" he ground out, his hand cupping her breast. He stroked her nipple as she whined the word yes over and over again.

"Please," she gasped. "I'm clean. I got tested last year. I haven't had sex in a year."

"Oh my god." She hadn't had sex in a year. How was that even fucking possible? Pretty face, perfect body, smart as hell, and she wasn't even getting fucked? "Jessica, are you on birth control?"

"Yes. Are you clean?" she asked, and Jake just kind of froze there. He had never skipped a condom before. Even at his drunkest. Even in the bathroom at the bar. Even in the bed of his truck on the Fourth of July. He had used a condom every single time he'd ever had sex since he was sixteen years old and lost his virginity. And right now he was afraid he was going to cum after two seconds inside her without one on. And if this perfect woman went a year without sex, she deserved to have him last an hour.

"I'm clean," he confirmed, and she pulled him down for a kiss.

"Then what are you waiting for?" she whispered before swiping her tongue into his mouth.

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

Jessica was so turned on, it felt like her skin was on fire. She was making this pitiful noise at the back of her throat, and she couldn't seem to stop no matter what she did. She was already thrusting up, rubbing herself on Jake like a needy cat, back arching off his bed. If he didn't fuck her soon, she was afraid she might start crying.

But right now he was just kissing her forehead and cheeks and looking at her while his golden chest hair teased her breasts. His cock was heavy on her thigh, and she needed it inside her. It was an absolute necessity right now. The fact that she could go from completely normal all morning at Beta Brewing to a filthy mess for him right now was startling.

"Baby," he whispered, shaking his head. "Jessica."

Then he let one hand trail down her body and slip inside her underwear, and as soon as he touched her clit she sighed in relief. His fingers were sure and steady as she stroked the back of his neck with both hands, scraping along through his hair with her nails.

"Jake," she gasped, and he kissed her lips as he fucked her with one long finger. But even when he added a second, she already knew it wouldn't compare to his thick cock. She was aching for it. He was going to make her beg for it, she needed it that badly. It had been a year since she had sex with Brian in his office, and he was nowhere near as big as Jake. This anticipation was almost too much now.

The swirl of his thumb on her clit was delicious though, and Jake trailed his kisses down her neck to her chest. He pulled her nipple gently between his teeth before sucking. Her back arched off the bed again as she rode his fingers. "Oh god," she moaned. "Jake."

Okay, okay. He seemed to know just what to do with his mouth and hands to make her wild. Just the right amount of pressure. Just the right speed on her clit, too. All she needed was for him to fuck her.

"Please?" she asked softly. Then she reached for her glasses. Maybe that was the problem. They always seemed to be in the way for activities like this, so she took them off.

That seemed to draw him out of his daze as he released her breast and gasped, "What are you doing, Baby?" His face was blurry to her now, but he still looked handsome.

She ran her foot along his bare leg up to his hip and brushed his cock. "I want you," she whispered, hips jerking as he continued to work her clit. "Thought maybe you'd want me to lose the glasses?"

"Back on," he instructed sternly, so she slid them back on her face. Then he kissed her lips again as he drew his soaking fingers out of her pussy and used them on her clit in place of his thumb.

When she ran her fingers along his face, he moaned into her mouth. "Jake, please," she whispered, breaking the kiss and shaking her head from side to side. "I need it."

He groaned and laughed softly, and she was searching his face. "I want to make you feel so good, but you do a number on me Reedy. I'm a little concerned I'm gonna come immediately."

"You are?" she whimpered.

He nodded and kissed her softly. "Yeah." She watched him pull away from her to gently ease her thong away from her pussy and down her legs. He held the green fabric to his nose and grunted, keeping it in his right hand as he took his time to press kisses along her thigh before kissing her pussy. She bucked against his face, already clenching as he kissed her again and again. Then he brought his hand down to his cock and pumped a few times before lining himself up with her and pressing the tip inside.

Then his face was hovering over hers again as he planted his hands near her head. His kisses were a little desperate, but so was she. Then he started to move, and it was everything she needed. "Jessica," he hissed, his face contorting in pleasure as he filled her all the way, stretching her out.

And if he was the one who was afraid of coming right away, he had nothing to worry about. She was whimpering, she felt so full. He was thick, and the stretch was so good, it was almost painful when he started to thrust. She laced her fingers through his silky hair, pulling him closer so he could feel her lips quivering.

"You're so big," she moaned, and he absolutely devoured her mouth just the way she wanted him to. Her fingers tightened in his hair as he rocked into her, and when he brought his fingers back to her clit, she was already fluttering.

She slowed him down just a little bit with the roll of her hips, and then it was perfect. He actually felt perfect to her. Whispering her name against her neck and moving his fingers just right as he kept her full. When he gasped, "Baby," she clenched around him, and it brought on a tidal wave.

"Oh," she moaned, digging her fingers into his neck as she rolled her hips and started to come. She was whining for him as he sucked on her collarbone, and she just kept getting louder. Her voice was strained to her own ears. There was a crescendo of her gasping his name, and then she was just panting softly and shivering beneath him, her hands limp by her sides on the bed as her pussy continued to clench.

Jake met her gaze, still fucking her as he combed his fingers back through her hair. Then he smiled, as she bit her lip and whimpered his name. "You feel good?" he asked.

"So good," she whispered. Jake adjusted her glasses and kissed her before tucking his hands underneath her and lifting her up. He flipped them so he was on his back and she was straddling him, and she had to brace her hands on his chest.

She combed her fingers through his chest hair again, and now she was the one leaning down to kiss him. She felt powerful now that she got her pleasure and felt sated. She was ready to give him what he wanted. "Do you feel good?" she asked, turning his question back around on him.

Jake responded by propping himself up with one hand and wrapping his other arm around her waist. "Incredible."

As she leaned back a little bit, she kept her hands braced on his shoulders, and sure enough, his gaze drifted down to watch as she slowly slid herself up and down along his cock. God, he was thick, and she could tell she was really gripping him. "You wanted to watch me take your cock, didn't you?"

Sweat was breaking out on his forehead, and he swallowed hard. "Jesus Christ, you're gonna be a fucking handful." Then he thrust his hips up, ramming himself deeper, and she shrieked in delight at the stretch.

"Do it again!"

So he did. And again after that. And again. His head was tipped back now as the tempo increased, and she pressed him flat on his back again as she rode him. He seemed so much more confident now too as he brought his hands and mouth up to her breasts. His white teeth looked so pretty as he ran them against her peaked nipples, and she fucked him a little faster. But his trimmed pubic hair was rubbing her clit at this angle, and the faster she went, she realized she was getting close. Again.

"Fucking gorgeous," Jake muttered, switching from her left nipple to her right and sucking. And then she bucked her hips, and he looked up at her as she parted her lips and tried to speak. But she just made another embarrassing noise, and her hair fell in front of her glasses as she sank all the way down around him.

But this time she took him with her, his fingers tangled up in her hair as he grunted, "Jessica." Pleasure rippled through her, not as intense as the first time, but it was still incredible, and she eased herself down to rest against his chest as his hips slowed as well.

Jake carefully ran his fingers through her hair until she could see his face again. "There you are," he whispered, coaxing her a little closer for a kiss. His cheeks were flushed, and he looked like he was as affected by everything as much as she was. His movements were languid and unhurried, and the smile on his face was dreamy and genuine. Had she ever been with a man who looked at her like this after he unloaded inside her? He wasn't even making any move to get up yet.

"I really like you," she blurted out, immediately embarrassed.

"Yeah, well, I just made you come, so..." he said with a little shrug as he ran his thumb along her lips.

"It's not that," she said, letting him trace her lips before she continued. She looked down at his neck as she whispered, "You seem excited by me."

"I am," he confirmed as she started to sit up. "Where you going?"

She wiggled her hips and let his softening cock slide out of her. "Just going to get cleaned up."

Jake's left hand shot out to hold her in place as she straddled him. He was propped up on one elbow, staring at her pussy as she felt his cum dripping along her thighs. "Oh my god," he growled. When she looked down, she watched his cum drop onto his abs, and she could feel herself blushing.

"You're looking at me like you've never enjoyed a creampie before."

He sat up so she was straddling his thighs and making an even bigger mess. "I haven't. I've always worn protection in the past."

She was shocked as she let her arms slide around his neck. "Always?"

Jake kissed her as her forehead came to rest against his. "Yeah," he whispered sheepishly. Maybe that's why he seemed to get a little nervous for a minute there. But Jessica was so incredibly turned on right now by this information, she was about to ask him if he could go again yet. But he was holding her so sweetly now, just cradling her against his bigger body and kissing her like there was nowhere he'd rather be. "Okay, Smart Girl. Let's clean up, and then I have something I want to show you."

"What is it?" she asked as he stood with her in his arms.

He ran his nose along her jaw and kissed her. "Oh, you'll love it, Baby. It's a spec sheet on the new Super Hornet outfitting."

She gasped. "Jake. Really?" This had to be the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for her.

He chuckled softly as he took her into his bathroom. "It's an archive copy, so a few things have been redacted, but I have it all memorized so you can work out the math as many times as you want."

"You're a dream," she whispered against his lips.

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

Nice to see Dev again! It's been a while! Nervous Jake, I love you. He almost fumbled things for a minute there with his woman. Are we taking bets on round two later in the weekend? Think he can keep it together? Thanks @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls

PART 10

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justagalwhowrites · 6 months

Text

New in Town - Ch. 9: Second New Year

Ringing in the New Year after you and Joel's first year together. The last chapter of New in Town, found in its entirety on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Best Friend's Dad!Joel Miller x Female Reader

CW: Smut :D. No use of Y/N. Age gap (reader is 35 Joel is 47, not a focus of the fic). Minors DNI, 18+ only

Length: 6.3k

AO3 | First Chapter | Previous Chapter

“Sarah, if you don’t stop fucking with that it’s never going to stay,” you said, glaring at her in the mirror as you drew on eyeliner.

“It’s driving me insane,” she groaned, leaning so close to the hotel bathroom mirror that she was fogging it with her breath, adjusting the false eyelashes for what had to be the millionth time.

“Yeah, because you keep fucking with them,” you said. “You have to give yourself time to adjust to them. Or just take them off because I’m not spending half the night fixing them for you, drawing the line in the sand now.”

“You are absolutely no fun,” she said but she smiled all the same. “It’s New Year’s Eve, I want to look extra good. Plus Nick thinks the long lashes are hot and I am ready for hotel room sex.”

“I didn’t hear that,” Maria called from the bedroom where she was putting on her dress.

“Hotel room sex, hotel room sex, hotel room sex!” Sarah called back.

You laughed, picking up your mascara.

“I don’t think it works like Beetlejuice where you say it enough times it just shows up.”

Sarah laughed back.

“Fuck I hope not,” she said. “Really don’t want to manifest hotel room sex in front of my aunt and my mom.”

She said the last word with a drawn out teasing edge and you had to pull the mascara wand away from your face so you didn’t end up with makeup in your eye from laughing so hard.

“Swear to God if you don’t stop calling me that I will marry your dad just to spite you,” you said once you calmed down again.

“You’re basically already married anyway,” Sarah said. “For the record, I would be fine with it.”

You paused for a second, putting more mascara on the wand and looking at her in the mirror.

“Yeah?” You asked.

“Yeah,” she smiled at you in her reflection. “But don’t expect Mother’s Day gifts from me if it ever happens.”

You snorted, returning to your makeup.

“Better get a bouquet, box of chocolates, the whole nine for holding your hair when you get drunk.”

You couldn’t believe it was already New Year’s Eve again. The last year had gone by so fast it didn’t seem like it could have contained quite as much as it did. But you’d spent almost the entire time so blissfully happy that it made sense that the time felt so damn short.

Things with Joel had been going so well before Sarah found out that it was hard to believe it could really get better, but it did. Not feeling like you were hiding from the most important person in both your lives was like losing a weight you didn’t even know you were carrying. Neither of you were dancing around talking about how you were spending your time now, not being careful about what pictures you sent her and not having to just pretend like a huge part of your life didn’t exist when talking with her.

When she went back to Seattle after Thanksgiving, the three of you started having weekly FaceTime calls, you and Joel sometimes on your couch or at his kitchen table or even in a hotel room in New Orleans once when you decided to get away for your first trip together as a couple.

That Christmas had been the best you’d ever had. Not that there was much competition but Joel and Sarah both had completely brought you into all their holiday traditions. The driving around to look at Christmas lights with a thermos of hot cocoa, the annual trip to Mi Tierra in San Antonio so you could properly appreciate the Christmas lights that apparently were up year round. When Sarah came back to town a few days before Christmas, she dragged you and Joel to the mall and made the three of you take a picture with Santa. You got some funny looks in line - three full blown adults with nary a kid in sight - but Sarah whispered something to woman getting ready to take the picture and she smiled and nodded, helping the three of you get arranged for the photo. You sat lightly on one of Santa’s knees, Sarah on the other, Joel leaning against the side of the large chair. Joel insisted on getting the actual printed photo and, when you picked it up, they also handed you a candy cane and a small Santa figurine. You frowned at it for a second.

“First Santa visits should be commemorated,” the woman behind the counter smiled. “Merry Christmas!”

You looked at Sarah for a second, worried you might cry and she smiled.

“You have a Christmas decoration now,” she said. “But if you really don’t want it at your place, we can add it to the Christmas village at Dad’s!”

You just hugged her and she laughed, hugging you back.

That Christmas, the figurine and the picture sat on the book shelf in your living room, right where you could see them from your couch. The perfect image of the kind of life you’d always wanted to have, one that was filled with people who loved you.

This year, the figurine and picture were at Joel’s because you were, too.

Your lease was up in the fall and, by that point, the two of you were having a hard time remembering the last time you’d slept apart. You were wondering how to broach the subject with Joel - did you just ask if you could move into his house? Was not quite a year of knowing each other too soon? Did you just find a new apartment and never mention it? - when he brought it up one night over dinner.

“Your lease is comin’ up soon, right?” He asked and you froze for a second, a bite of enchilada on your fork half way to your mouth.

“Yeah,” you said when you remembered how to move and respond again. “Six weeks I think? They want me to decide whether or not I’m staying within the next two…”

“Have you thought about if you might want to move in with me?” He asked, his jaw tense but his eyes soft. “Only if… you know… you thought you were ready for that. Just figure I’m at yours or you’re at mine most nights anyway and…”

“Joel,” you smiled, setting your fork down and leaning on the table with your arms crossed in front of you. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Only if you wanted,” he said quickly. “Not tryin’ to… I dunno… put pressure on you or something. Never tried to do this before so…”

You pressed your lips together, trying not to laugh. More at yourself than at Joel. Because of course he was thinking what you were thinking. Of course you were in the same place on this. Of course you were both nervous about bringing it up to each other.

“I’d love to move in with you,” you said once you were sure you had yourself together. “As long as you’re offering because that’s what you really want and not because you think you should.”

“Oh I want it,” he was smiling now and leaning toward you across the table. “Was considering just taking stuff from your place and moving it to mine, get you in the door before you even knew it was happening.”

“That what happened to my sexy underwear?” You teased.

“Nah,” he waved you off. “I stole those to jerk off with when you’re not there because you don’t live with me yet. Can have ‘em back when we unpack the moving truck.”

You moved in a few weeks later. Joel cleared out most of his closet, his jeans and button downs taking up only a small corner of it to begin with, and built you shelving for your purses and shoes. He made space for your things throughout his home, for your favorite pots and pans in the kitchen, for your decorations in the living room. Setting aside the bits and pieces of his life to make sure it could hold yours, too. If he’d asked you to marry him in that moment, you’d have said yes in a heartbeat.

“Oh shit,” you sighed, rifling through your makeup bag. “I think I left my fucking lipstick in my room…”

You went to get your room key from your clutch but Sarah plopped a tube of lipstick in front of you first.

“Use mine,” she said. “I’m almost ready and I don’t want to waste time with you up down three floors and all the way over to your room before we go to the party. I want cocktails, I want music and I want to flirt with my hot boyfriend while I wear a slutty dress.”

“Maria is still getting dressed, I’ve got five minutes…”

“No you don’t!” She called from the bedroom before coming to the bathroom door and turning around. “Zip me?”

You laughed and obeyed, Maria adjusting the dress a bit before turning back around.

“Hey sexy mama!” You whooped at her. “That looks like it was made for you.”

“Right?” She flung her long braids over her shoulder before admiring herself in the full length mirror on the bathroom door. “My pregnancy boobs have shown up but the bump is still in hiding. It’s the perfect dress moment, had to take advantage of it.”

“Hear that little one?” Sarah said, looking toward Maria’s lower stomach. “You’re making your mom look hot!”

“Hotter,” you corrected. “They’re making their mom look hotter.”

You settled for Sarah’s lipstick and the three of you headed for the elevator to go meet up with the guys.

Your first New Year’s Eve with Joel had been far more low key. Sarah was in town and Joel invited Tommy and Maria over to watch the ball drop. You’d ordered pizza and gotten drunk and played charades with your boyfriend’s family and, at midnight, kissed Joel so deeply that you could taste the champagne on his tongue.

This year, you had plenty to celebrate. It was Maria and Tommy’s last one before they became parents - you highly doubted they’d be up until midnight next year. Sarah had gotten promoted and you’d gotten her a job at the Austin branch in August. She had moved back to town just a few months before you moved in with Joel and the three of you had found a comfortable - if unusual - dynamic as a family. And it felt like you had finally found everything you’d ever truly wanted.

Instead of staying home this New Year’s Eve, you all decided to go to a party at one of the nice hotels in Houston. You’d all gotten hotel rooms so no one had to drive and the boys had all gone on ahead to the rooftop bar to hold a table while the three of you got ready to go.

“Crap, one sec,” Sarah said, frowning at her phone as the three of you went for the elevator. “Left something in the room, wait for me, OK? I don’t want to try to find them on my own!”

You and Maria watched her run back to her room - where the three of you had been getting ready - and you frowned as she tottered on her high heels.

“Is she acting weird?” You asked as Maria leaned against the wall.

“Sarah?” Maria laughed. “She’s always weird.”

She came back a few minutes later, tugging her dress down as she went and a little breathless when she got there.

“OK,” she smiled and took a deep breath. “Now we’re good!”

You were almost giddy as you rode the elevator up to the party, feeling the thud of music through the elevator doors before they opened.

It was hard to say why you were just so excited. It wasn’t like you’d never been to a party before - you and Sarah had rung in the New Year at a party a lot like this one that your office had handled the advertising for in Seattle one year - but it felt like something new. Like you were stepping into the first year of your life where everything had finally fallen into place.

“Hey!” Tommy yelled, standing and waving his arm over his head as he saw the three of you leave the elevator. You could barely hear him over the thud of the bass. “Over here!”

“How many beers do you think he’s had?” Maria asked conspiratorially and you laughed.

“Probably the same number mine has,” you replied, smiling at Joel as he craned his neck to get a better look at you.

“Holy hell woman,” he said, getting out of the round booth as you got to the table. He pressed a kiss to your cheek and dropped his voice low. “Not sure I’m gonna take that dress off you later, might need to leave it on.”

You smiled as he gave you a squeeze and you sat down, Joel sliding in beside you, one hand of his going below the table to the inside of your thigh.

One thing that hadn’t changed in the last year was just how insatiable the two of you were for each other. You kept waiting for it to calm down a bit, to stop looking at him and immediately start thinking of how to get him alone and naked as quickly as possible. But Joel was still the single sexiest man you’d ever seen and was still far and away the best in bed. You couldn’t help but want to fuck him all day every day. You were just thankful he seemed to feel the same way about you.

One of your favorite things about living with Joel was your after work routine. When you managed to make it so you left the office around the same time Joel left his job site, you’d join him in the shower, your hair in a knot on top of your head to keep from getting too soaked, Joel still a little sweaty and dirty from a hard day’s work. Sometimes, you just enjoyed each other. You loved the quiet intimacy of it, of being in such a private space together in just your skin, helping him wash the day from his body before he pulled you against him under the water. Other times, Joel pressed you against the cool tile and fucked into you, hard and fast and eager, making your back arch as your leg wrapped around him, the heat of his mouth and the steam filling you when you kissed him.

The new routines had just given you more reasons and opportunities to fuck, it seemed, instead of sex getting lost in the monotony of daily life. Sometimes it was in the middle of late night TV when you were both getting tired on the couch. Sometimes it was when you were putting away laundry. Sometimes it was when you were making dinner.

It was just that, sometimes, it required… additional boundaries.

Sarah had a key to Joel’s place, of course, but she quickly learned that she needed to announce herself before just coming in the door when she wasn’t expected, her walking in the house without warning when he was deep inside of you while you were draped over the kitchen counter was a little too close for comfort for all three of you.

“I have literally never wanted to know less about your sex life,” she shuddered a few hours later when you were sitting in Joel’s back yard, fully clothed with a beer in your hand.

You laughed.

“Never wanted you to know less about it so that works just fine for me.”

You, Joel and Sarah all had dinner together at least once a week, another routine you’d come to love, and you got Sarah all to yourself most days over lunch, happy for the chance to laugh with your best friend.

You weren’t sure life could get much better.

“Oh sweet!” Sarah said as the waitress came by the table, tray of drinks in hand, passing a cosmopolitan to Sarah. “Who knew this was just what I wanted?”

“Happy to take credit for that,” Nick smiled, kissing her cheek and you smiled at him. He was a relatively new addition to Sarah’s life but he seemed promising. You’d never seen her quite so giddy over a guy before and you were trying not to mention it so you wouldn’t jinx it.

When she finally owned up to being hung up on the man, though, you were going to start teasing her as relentlessly as she’d been teasing you. You were getting double wedding jokes lined up and ready, waiting for the perfect moment to hit her with it.

But it was a holiday. You’d take it easy on her for a little while longer. Assuming she stopped calling you Mom.

Joel had been paying attention too, it seemed, and the server handed you a mojito. Appropriate, since you’d just been lamenting the fact that you didn’t have fresh mint at home just two nights before.

“How often are you really gonna muddle mint for a drink?” Joel asked, barely contained smile on his face.

“At least once in a while!” You laughed. “Come on, we could do a whole herb garden in the yard…”

“You are not gonna keep a garden alive.”

“Yes I will!” You protested. He raised his eyebrows at you, incredulous. “If I have the motivation of cocktails I will.”

“Fine,” he sighed but still smiled, kissing your forehead. “In spring I’ll build you a garden and you can kill as many herbs as you want, Beautiful.”

“Is this supposed to bribe me into you not making me a garden?” You teased, taking a sip of the drink.

“Baby, I will make you whatever makes you smile,” he kissed your exposed shoulder. “But if I’m saving the lives of some poor, innocent plants by ordering you a cocktail…”

You laughed and kissed him, the scratch of his facial hair on your skin comforting and familiar.

The party really picked up not long after you got there and you, Sarah and Maria went to dance while the guys hung back to talk for a bit.

“You don’t think they’re being too hard on him do you?” Sarah asked, watching the table.

“Oh I’m sure they’re being super nice,” you said. “Joel and Tommy have never been protective of you, not once.”

“Oh God,” she groaned but she smiled.

“Wouldn’t worry too much,” you laughed. “It looks like he’s weathering it well.”

“Hold on,” Maria smiled and shook her head. “We can get him some help…”

She started waving to Tommy, who clapped Nick on the shoulder and got out of the booth to join his wife on the dance floor. You looked at Joel, eyebrows raised, until he met your gaze and you saw him sigh and smile before heading your way.

You put your arms around his neck and kissed him, pressing tightly to him and feeling every line of him through your clothes. His hands went to your waist, pulling you closer.

“You tryin’ to distract me?” He asked when you pulled away.

“Trying to get you to play nice,” you teased.

“Always play nice,” he said as you turned around in his hold, your ass going back against his hardening length. He lowered his lips to your ear, his breath hot on your skin. “Except when you ask me not to.”

You resisted the urge to drag him back to your hotel room right that second. Instead, you pressed yourself harder against him, moving your body in time to the pulsing, thrumming rhythm. His hands slid to your hips and you couldn’t help but think of how they felt on your bare skin.

But you managed to keep it together for a few songs, dancing until you were breathless and you really couldn’t take it anymore. You draped yourself around Joel again, pressing your lips to his ear.

“Order me a water and another mojito,” you said, your hand sliding into his pocket, brushing his half hard cock through his jeans, as you grabbed your phone. “And check your texts.”

You didn’t give him a chance to respond, just meeting his wide eyes for a moment before slipping into the crowd. You went around to the pool area of the rooftop, far quieter than the bar and the dance floor, the lounge chairs all stacked up next to a storage space that looked like it would provide the perfect cover from the dance floor. You took a selfie with just a glimpse of the thudding party in the background and texted it to him.

“Come find me.”

It didn’t take him long, coming around the corner while glancing back over his shoulder, looking nervous. You grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him into you, your back against the storage room.

“You are up to no good,” he said, pressing you back against the wall, his mouth covering yours, his body warm against the cool night air. “Tryin’ to get us kicked out of the damn hotel?”

His hand went to your breast, anyway.

“We can keep our clothes on,” you panted against him. “Be very well behaved. Like that time in the bathroom.”

“Fuck, Beautiful,” he groaned, putting his thigh between your legs, your skirt covering part of his jeans. He rocked his hips against you, his hands going to your waist, the outline of his hard cock against your stomach. “Wanna make me come in my pants like a fucking teenager?”

“Don’t think we’re making it to midnight any other way,” you were needy, aching as you ground your pussy down on the straining muscle of his leg.

“Still gonna let me fuck you later?” He kissed down your neck, rutting harder against you, your hands on his shoulders, grip tightening.

“You think I’m starting a new year without you inside me as soon as possible you’re insane.”

He laughed a little and nipped at your collarbone before pulling you tighter against his leg, making you moan. You started working yourself harder and faster against him, pulling him tighter to you, your wetness soaking your panties.

“You’re close, aren’t you, Baby?” He asked, voice dark. Your motions stuttered but you nodded frantically against him. “Gonna come all over my fucking leg aren’t you? Come from just riding my fucking thigh?”

You were close enough that you’d lost the ability to speak. You just nodded again and he kissed you, hard and messy and deep and you pressed yourself firmly against his leg as you fell apart, the tight coil inside yourself snapping as your clit throbbed against him.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He gasped as he pressed his cock hard against you and you felt him throbbing there, spilling into his jeans before slumping against you. His nose brushed yours for a moment and you smiled, kissing him lightly.

“You’re going to kill me,” he laughed a little breathlessly. “More than a year into this and you still want me to fuck you so bad you’re dragging me away from a party?”

“That’s nothing,” you teased. “Wait until we’re really old and we’re finding ways to sneak around the nursing home.”

He laughed and kissed you again.

“Love you so fuckin’ much.”

It was easier to focus on the party after that. Tommy gave Joel a look when you made it back to the table and Joel told him to mind his own business and you laughed and drank your mojito.

By the time midnight rolled around, you’d been pleasantly tipsy for more than an hour, draping yourself over Joel at every opportunity when you weren’t dancing with Sarah and Maria. As the countdown started, the six of you crowded onto the dance floor with everyone else, champagne in hand, Joel’s arm around you as he held you to his side.

“Three, two, one!”

Joel turned you to him and kissed you before you’d even had a chance to yell happy New Year and you sank into him, almost forgetting about the drink in your hand until some of it dribbled down your wrist, making you laugh against his lips.

“Couldn’t let a second of the year go by before I kissed you for the first time,” he said, his lips still close to yours. The knot of heat and wanting that had eased after your antics earlier was back with full force.

“Good,” you said quietly, drinking in the hungry look in his eyes.

“It’s supposed to be a toast, you insatiable weirdos,” Sarah laughed and you laughed back, separating from Joel far enough to raise your glasses and toast with your new found family.

It wasn’t long before all of you made your way to the elevators, piling into one with a handful of strangers, you happy for the excuse to stay pressed tightly against Joel.

“Good luck!” Tommy said, a teasing edge to his voice when the doors dinged open on your floor.

You frowned at him, confused, as the doors closed and you laughed a little as Joel led you back to the room.

“Why do you need luck? Is Tommy under the impression that you have to work to get sex out of me?” You teased. “Because it’s sweet that you’d protect my honor that way but we both know that’s a damn lie.”

“Tommy’s just a dumbass,” Joel replied. “Ignore him, that’s what I do.”

You laughed, the tail end of your buzz waning.

“Thinking we should take full advantage of that jacuzzi tub,” you said as Joel unlocked the hotel room door. “And use it to research the investment of a hot tub in the back yard…”

“You’re insatiable,” he teased, opening the door for you.

You laughed and were so busy looking at him - his thick, dark hair that was flecked with gray; his plush lips; his soft eyes - that it took you a second to realize there were roses and petals all over the room, a bottle of wine chilled in a bucket on the small table.

“Joel?” You looked back at him and he just shrugged, smiling.

You went further into the room and realized that it wasn’t just flowers and wine. There were framed pictures of you and Joel from the last year of your lives together. One of the two of you on Bourbon Street, another from when you decided to actually take those wine tasting classes you’d talked about, one from your second Longhorn’s game. There were at least a dozen, each one making it look so, so obvious that you made each other happy. That you gave each other the lives you wanted.

You picked up the picture by the bedside, the first selfie you’d ever taken together. You were hiking and you’d held your arm out far enough to try to capture some of the view behind you. You were smiling hugely at the camera, hair grimy with sweat, Joel’s arm around your shoulders. But he wasn’t looking at the camera. Instead, he was looking at you. Looking at you like you were the only thing worth looking at. Looking at you like you made him happier than just about anything else on Earth.

“What…” You trailed off, looking up from the picture to see Joel, on one knee with a box in his hands at the foot of the bed.

You gasped and jumped, your hands covering your mouth on instinct, eyes wide. Your feet moved before you really realized what was happening and it seemed sudden that you were right in front of him.

“Joel,” you breathed, trembling hands slowly leaving your face.

“For a very long time,” he said, his voice assured. “It felt like I’d gotten the only good thing I was going to get out of life. I had Sarah and seemed wrong to ask for more than that so I wasn’t lookin’ for it. Wasn’t lookin’ for you. But then I found you - or you found me, anyway - and I realized just how good life could be as long as I got to live it next to you.

“You are the single best person I’ve ever met. You’re so smart and funny and creative and kind and the most fun I’ve ever had and I can’t imagine anything better than getting to live the rest of my life with you. Will you make me the happiest man on Earth and marry me?”

***

Joel wasn’t sure his heart had ever beat this fast. Maybe when Sarah was first born and there were the torturous few seconds of silence before she started crying, not sure how anything about pregnancy or babies worked. Definitely never since.

But the silence between you seemed to drag on for an eternity even though he knew it could have only been a second or two. That didn’t stop his heart from racing.

“Yes,” you nodded, your voice thick, tears in your eyes. “Yes, yes, yes, yes yes!”

You damn near tackled him and he laughed, catching you and holding onto you as he lowered the two of you to the ground on a bed of rose petals.

Joel, Tommy and Nick had been in here getting everything set up while Sarah and Maria kept you busy in Sarah’s room. There was a brief moment of panic when Sarah texted that the three of you were headed to the party and Joel had to ask her to buy at least two minutes because they were walking to the elevator themselves.

“I’m so happy for you, man,” Tommy said, clapping Joel on the shoulder as they headed up to the party. “You deserve this, you really fuckin’ do.”

“She ain’t said yes yet,” Joel said, feeling the nerves all sudden and hot under his skin. “Don’t jinx it.”

“She’ll say yes,” Tommy said, sounding so confident. “Don’t ask me WHY but that woman adores you. She’s gonna love it.”

He hoped you did. He hoped you loved the idea at all, that you loved the proposal, that you loved the ring. Sarah had helped pick that part out so he was more confident of that, finding a piece that was elegant without looking dated, something that he hoped you’d like wearing for the rest of your life.

Because that’s what he wanted. He wanted you, wanted to make you happy, for the rest of your life.

He slid the ring onto your finger, the diamond catching the light as he did.

“Are you serious?” You asked, looking from the ring to him.

“Serious about spending the rest of my life with you?” He asked. “Can’t think of anything better.”

You threw your arms around his neck and kissed him, hard and needy. He leaned into it for a moment before he pulled back from you.

“Should move to the bed,” he breathed. “Gotta treat my fiancee right.”

You just nodded quickly and Joel got up before helping you to your feet.

He tugged your dress up and over your head - as much as he wanted to fuck you in the sexy little thing you’d been tempting him with all night, the need to feel your skin was too great - and eased you down onto the bed.

You moved to the middle of it and Joel got undressed, his eyes watching you hungrily, the glint of his ring on your finger making him somehow even harder. You removed your bra and cast it aside before you slipped your panties down your legs and tossed them to the side, leaving you exposed and bare. You were everything it seemed like he’d ever wanted and you were his, the proof of it right there on your hand. He fisted his cock, pumping himself once, twice, as he climbed between your legs.

He wanted to make this last. He wanted to go down on you and swallow your pleasure until you were screaming with it. He wanted to kiss every inch of your skin. He wanted to tease you with his fingers until you were begging for his cock. But he wasn’t sure he could, not that moment. He had a feeling you wouldn’t be leaving the bed for a few days after this.

“Joel,” you panted, watching him, pupils blown and back arched. He smiled. For some reason, you wanted him like he wanted you.

“Yes, Mrs. Miller?” He breathed, settling between your open legs, the apex of your thighs hot against his skin. You moaned and rocked your hips up against him, your needy little clit pressing into his skin.

“Fuck,” you moaned, closing your eyes, fingers gripping his bicep tightly. “Love the sound of that…”

“You have no idea, Beautiful,” he said, kissing you, grinding his cock against your dripping slit. You moaned, the movement of your hips stuttering for a moment before you adjusted the angle so the tip of him was catching on your entrance with ever pass, just enough for the most sensitive part of him to be enveloped in your tight, wet heat.

“Need you,” you were almost gasping with it, desperate and wanting. “Please, please, need to feel you, I need…”

“Always going to give you what you need, Baby,” he said, his cock dipping further into you this time before he pulled back and pushed himself against your clit again. “Always gonna take care of you, always.”

He pushed into you then, firm but not to fast, your breath catching on your throat as he did. Joel kissed you, trying not to think about how damn good you felt, how it seemed like he belonged right there, deep inside you.

“Fuck,” your nails dug into him but he held on. “Fuck, you feel so fucking good how do you feel this fucking good?”

He could only moan in response, fucking into you, feeling you open up to him, your walls gripping him tight. He stayed still inside you for a moment, savoring it, the feeling of you around him while he was over you, the way you held onto him.

But he couldn’t last that way for long. You - his fiancee. His fiancee, no one else’s, you belonged to no one but him - felt too damn good for him to last too long inside of you and he had to move, he had to.

So he did, starting a little slower but still firm, pressing his hips into you so your hot little clit was against his skin.

He could feel you starting to tighten around him, like your body was trying to pull him deeper somehow, your lips messy and desperate when they found his, trialing little kisses over his body when they don’t.

“That’s it, Beautiful,” he panted into you. “Come for me, can feel how close you are, just let go for me, let me feel you. Need to feel you…”

You gasped his name and pressed your whole body tight against him as you came around him, your pussy fluttering around him, working his cock, all warm and soft trying to pull him as deep as you could take him. He fucked you through it, hardly able to hold off his own orgasm, the aftershocks of yours still rippling through your tight channel when he emptied himself into you until he didn’t even have the strength to hold himself up anymore, collapsing on you, his head over your shoulder so he could smell your skin and your hair. Fuck, he loved that smell. Fuck, he loved you.

After a minute, he adjusted the two of you so you were draped over his chest, your arms all soft and pliant, close enough that he could feel your heartbeat on his skin, feel your soft, little breaths on him. You held up your left hand, turning the ring back and forth in the light.

“You’re sure about this?” You asked, glancing up at him as you fidgeted with the ring.

“More sure than I’ve ever been about anything,” he said. “Would make you Mrs. Miller tomorrow if you’d let me.”

You laughed a little at that, putting your hand down on his chest and taking a deep breath.

“Doesn’t seem fair,” you said softly.

“What doesn’t?”

“You’ve given me so much,” you said. “You’ve given me everything I’ve ever wanted - everything. Feels like I’m not holding up my end.”

“You kiddin’ me?” He scoffed. “You’re so perfect I have to remind myself that you’re real sometimes, that I’m not just imagining you. You make me the luckiest man on Earth every damn day by just breathing in the same room as me. If anything’s not fair, it’s that I got too greedy asking you to marry me. Should know to quit when I’m this far ahead.”

You laughed and pressed your lips into his chest, looking at the ring again, twisting it this way and that with your thumb.

“Make you a deal,” you said, adjusting your head so you were looking at him.

“What’s your proposal?” He asked, teasing.

“You take care of me,” you said. “Make sure I’m not getting too overwhelmed or overdoing it at work or just getting too in my own head. I’ll take care of you, make sure you take time for yourself, make sure you relax, make sure you know how great you are. Deal?”

He smiled a little.

“Deal, Mrs. Miller.”

You smiled bigger.

“Excellent, Mr. Miller.”

He kissed your forehead.

“Don’t have to change your last name, you know,” he said, giving you a squeeze. “I can always just call you that for my own damn enjoyment without making it official.”

You laughed a little.

“No, I want to change it,” you said. “Sarah was right all along. I think I’m going to make a great Miller.”

A/N: Ahhh! I hope you all loved reading the story of Joel and Sarah's best friend as much as I loved sharing it! These two are so fun and so sweet, I'm so glad I got to give them the happy ending they deserved.

Thank you so so much for being here, for following along with this little story that started as a one shot based on a request that came in after I wrote another one shot as a request. I so appreciate that you're here, that you've spent your time with this fic and these characters and all of your support. This corner of the internet means everything to me and it's because you're a part of it <3 Love you!

Taglist: @fanficismydrug

#fanfic #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x oc #new in town #joel miller smut

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elsfleur · 10 months

Text

⋆·˚ ༘ * TRUE BLUE PROLOGUE

ellie williams x reader

summary: being a miller is the closest thing ellie has felt to being safe, love no longer an unknown currency she felt unworthy of– though when she and her sister sarah fall in love with the same girl it is sure to ruffle some feathers in the peaceful life.

content warning: unrequited sarah miller x reader, pining and anticipation, mentions of marijuana usage, alternative universe plot, light nsfw content, based on this joel fic, this is only a prologue i’ll write it only if you guys want me to

word count: 557

🕊️ ʾ ⠀

sarah miller was the textbook definition of charm in its very own exclusive personification, from the bright eyes to the citrus perfume, she was a radio song that got you tapping your fingers to the rythym on the wheel in the midst of a particularly stressful day, a silver lining. ellie miller on the other hand, was more similar to beer or sushi, an acquired taste. a good fantasy for cold nights but not quite the company you’d aspire to keep in warm mornings. and it would’ve been fine, truly, neither of them cared for their differences or evoked sibling rivalry, together in all that mattered and oh so far apart in the aspects that didn’t– there was a homely peace in the miller household that exceeded expectations for such strong personalities and it would’ve remained so if it wasn’t for an unexpected similarity between the sisters: their taste in women.

“ellie are you listening?” joel cut her off from her thoughts, his voice managing to echo past the loud music blasting through her headphones quick to be pushed down to her neck as he beckoned the girl over from her place at the couch towards the kitchen table where her sister stood chuckling disapprovingly, pouring treats into small colorful containers “is she ever?” sarah joked, getting slapped in the arm playfully.

“what, are we prepping for a candyland party or just bulking up for winter?”

“sarah is having a friend over”

“a friend” ellie repeated in raised eyebrows looking only at the blush that crept up her older sister’s cheeks ever so subtly as she shook her head, sending ellie a small glare for the implication joel had thankfully not caught on “what’s his name?”

“her name” sarah cleared her throat “anyways it doesn’t matter the point was you need to help me get these up to my bedroom” she shoved two of the containers into ellie’s hands before trailing off to their inconveniently shared room she was apparently being kicked out from for the day. as they finally reached the door, sarah motioned her elbow to stop the doorknob opening bringing ellie’s attention to her confused, a shy whisper being mumbled and misunderstood.

“i said…” sarah sighed “could i borrow your, you know, your green today?”

“no girl is gonna buy that you’re a stoner if you keep refering to weed as my green you might aswell be calling it the devil’s salad you know that right?”

“jesus christ ellie i’ll pay you back”

“see you could’ve started with that” ellie smirked “do you even know how to roll a blunt though?”

“well if you can do it it can’t possibly be that hard”

“ha ha ha you’re so funny” she pushed past her to open the door placing down the candy on sarah’s nightstand “but seriously, who’s the girl? to get little miss goodie two shoes to start fake smoking she deserves a praise from me who have been trying to be a bad influence for years”

“hmm how do i put it in ellie words” sarah joked, but genuinely wandered in her brain “you know how you felt that time dad bought you a telescope and you managed to see a blood moon for the first time up close? that’s what being close to her feels like to me. all of the time”

🕊️ ʾ ⠀

#ellie williams x reader #the last of us fanfiction #elsfleur #lesbian #ellie williams fanfic #ellie x reader #ellie williams #ellie x fem reader

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dawnsedits · 3 months

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There's an Endless Road to Rediscover

Aquaman 2 spoilers ahead!

Mera and Orm were best friends, once upon a time, but she had to accept long ago that the boy she used to love had become a villain she had to defeat. It was the only way to save the world, and imprisoning him was the only way to protect Atlantis. But when life brings them together one last time, she discovers that her best friend isn't as lost she thought.

(Or: Five times Mera and Orm had history, and one time they had a future.)

Mera & Orm ~ 7.4k ~ AO3

“Clear out, guys. I have private stuff to discuss with my wife.”

Arthur’s voice stirred Mera from her nap. The guards outside of her hospital room obeyed, swimming out to take up new positions at a discreet distance as he drifted inside. He perched on the edge of her bed, gathering one of her hands into both of his, rubbing nervous circles around the back of it with his thumb. “How are you doing?” he asked.

“I’ll be back to full strength in a day or two,” she assured him. She pushed herself more upright, waving off his attempt to stop her. “What are you up to?”

Tense at her side, he watched the last straggling guard reach his distant position. “There’s only one person who might know where to find Manta,” he said lowly, “and I’m about to go break him out.”

Orm.

Even unspoken, his name hung heavy in the water. Atlanna had spearheaded the negotiations, fighting tooth and nail to keep him in an Atlantean prison, but once it became clear that continued arguments would only spark a war – a war that neither the Brine Kingdom nor Xebel would support, leaving Atlantis alone to fight over a single man – even she had swallowed her protests and allowed them to take him. They all had, largely relegating their varying levels of guilt and grief to private conversations and locked boxes in the backs of their minds as the years swept on without him. The Fishermen would never let him go, and they were forbidden from so much as checking in on him. What more could they do, besides carry his memory with them and take care of the kingdom he had left behind?

Risk war once more to break him out, apparently.

The thought had certainly crossed her mind, not to mention Atlanna’s. She had even convinced Mera to go to her father together to request that he send spies to locate where the Fishermen had imprisoned him, a request that he did, much to their surprise, begrudgingly oblige. It had only ever been a fantasy, though. A fantasy that neither queen could make a reality, not with the fate of their kingdom at stake. No matter how much they loved the boy he had been.

“You were friends, weren’t you, when you were kids?” he asked. “You don’t talk about him much, but I think Mom mentioned that at some point.”

Mera sat on the balcony of her bedroom in the Atlantean palace, her legs swinging over the edge. Orm sat cross-legged beside her, snacking on some tuna and watching sharks and other animals swim peacefully by. “That one has a cool scar,” he said, pointing at a hammerhead with a jagged gash across its gills.

“It does.” She squinted at the shark, studying its form. “Do you want to see what I figured out how to do yesterday?”

He looked at her curiously. “Sure.”

Biting her lip, Mera held her hands a few inches apart and concentrated on the water between them, feeling every molecule. Her palms glowed blue as she twisted them together, picturing the hammerhead, and slowly, a miniature version of the shark took shape, outlined in the same glowing blue. Orm stared, his eyes huge with awe. “Whoa.”

Mera grinned. Carefully moving her hands so they were above and below the recreation instead of beside it, she started moving it in slow, small circles, its tail flicking back and forth. Its outline wavered, bubbly and unsteady, but Orm didn’t seem to notice. “Can you make a mosasaur?”

“Maybe,” Mera said. “Or I could do this.”

Closing her fist, she turned the shark into a ball and lobbed it at Orm’s face. “Hey!” he yelped, spluttering. “I’m gonna get you for that.”

“You’ll have to catch me first!”

Pushing off the balcony, she dove towards the seafloor, the levels of the palace flashing past her. Orm leaped after her, abandoning his tuna, and they raced around and through their home, scattering schools of fish and startling the servants. Their laughter rippled through the water, a joyful soundtrack to a carefree moment that she wished would never end.

“Yes,” she admitted, speaking the words aloud for the first time in… she didn’t know how long. “He was my best friend.”

That’s why it broke my heart to save you in your first battle. That’s why I tried until the very last moment to convince him to follow his mother’s teachings. That’s why I’m glad you didn’t kill him to take the throne, and why he still haunts my nightmares when I think about him in that place.

“And you still worked with Vulko to take him down.”

Arthur’s voice held no edge of accusation, no bladed question wondering how she could do such a thing, but her locked box of guilt rattled dangerously regardless. “It was the right thing to do.”

He nodded, drumming his fingers against her hand. “What was he like?” he wondered. “You know, before all of that.”

Mera closed her eyes, picturing the smiling boy who used to play soldiers and pirates with her. “He was curious,” she murmured. “He loved stories and languages, and he had his head buried in a book every chance he had. It didn’t matter if it was fiction or non-fiction.” Despite the pain of remembering, a nostalgic smile crept into her expression. “He was shy, at first, always following Atlanna around like he was her shadow, but once he let you in, he was as eager and playful as Junior. We used to call each other ‘silly.’”

“Silly?” he exclaimed. “You, I get. I mean, you use your fancy superpowers to throw Junior’s pee in my face. But him?”

“It started as a code word,” she explained. “Our way of talking about Atlanna in public after her execution, especially around his father. It evolved into a nickname as time went on, I suppose.” She frowned. “I don’t remember when we stopped using it.”

“Probably when he turned into a dick,” Arthur said. She pursed her lips. “Sorry.” He looked at her, twining their fingers together. “It must’ve been hard for you, having to turn against him.”

She firmly ignored the rattling box. “It was the right thing to do,” she repeated.

He tilted his head sympathetically, brushing his lips across her knuckles. “That doesn’t mean it was easy.”

“There must be another way,” Mera protested, pacing around their safehouse. She hated how dry the air felt, making her skin itch, scraping against her throat and lungs. She hated hiding from her father, from her best friend, from the people she had believed she could trust. She hated this.

“There is not,” Vulko said, impossibly calm amidst her constant movement. “I know how much you care for him, Mera. I care for him as well. But-”

Her heart screamed against the plan the vizier had laid out, screamed against the mental image of her best friend dying at the hands of a stranger. “Then why are we essentially plotting to kill him?”

“The boy we knew may very well have already died with his mother,” Vulko said gently. “He has fallen too far into his father’s influence since her execution – Orvax has made certain of that. The best we can do now is protect our kingdoms, even if that means one day placing Arthur on the throne that Orvax has taught Orm to never surrender. You know this, or else you wouldn’t be here.”

Mera stopped dead in her tracks, her shoulders slumping with defeat. “I know.”

“No,” Mera allowed quietly. “It wasn’t.”

He sighed. “Am I doing the right thing now? He’s in prison for a reason. If the Fishermen find out-”

“Hey.” Mera cut him off, squeezing his hand. “For all of his flaws, there is one thing about Orm that has never changed: He is loyal to Atlantis. He will do what is necessary to protect it, as will you. If breaking him out helps you do that, then it is the right thing to do.”

Arthur met her gaze, unease glittering in his eyes. “What about when I have to send him back afterwards?”

Mera shook her head helplessly. “You don’t have a choice.”

“He’s still my brother, however much I hate him,” he insisted. “He’s still your best friend. He’s still Mom’s kid. She thinks she can hide it, but we all know how much it kills her, leaving him in there. We all know what they’re doing to him. Sure, he deserves prison, but how is that the right thing?”

My best friend died with his mother.

The old mantra swam through her mind, the only thing that had eased her conscience as she plotted his downfall. It grated against her heart just as much now as it had on her first day working with Vulko, but it was as instinctive as breathing. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, Arthur. His imprisonment, however cruel, protects our people. We all know that as well. Including him.”

The corner of Arthur’s mouth lifted. “You do pay attention when Mom watches Star Trek.”

Mera huffed a tiny laugh, grateful for his ability to find humor in any situation. “Sometimes.”

Relaxing, Arthur leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I love you.”

She leaned into the kiss, welcoming every ounce of comfort he offered. “I love you, too.”

With renewed purpose in his strokes and one last squeeze of her hand, he hopped off her bed, heading off on his mission. She resettled as the guards returned to her side, determined to heal in case he needed her, but peace eluded her without her husband by her side. Grief and rattling boxes stalked her dreams, the sea carrying her tears away as her heart ached for the boy she used to know.

-----

He did need her, of course. Fortunately, her father was visiting her when Topo arrived with his message, and she hadn’t allowed him to leave her behind. Ignoring his protests and her lingering pain, she plunged into the wreckage of Devil’s Deep with Atlanna, racing into the chaos to rescue their husband and son. They split up when they found Arthur alone, Mera waiting outside the volcano with him while Atlanna went after Orm. She returned with him pinned to her side in a white-knuckled grip, and Mera’s breath caught in her throat, the remains of her burns twinging in empathy with his smoldering wounds. Swiping aside the debris still flying around them, tugging Arthur along with her, Mera led the way to the refuge of a nearby island.

Watching Atlanna help Orm out of the water and tend to his wounds, her well-worn mantra failed her.

Hardly conscious at first, he clung to his mother, irresistibly reminiscent of the way he used to cling to her when he was nervous at big events. Even as he regained enough strength to sit up on his own, he still seemed to huddle in her shelter, comfortable only in the safety of her arms, a comfort Atlanna was more than happy to give. She never let go of him except to get more seaweed, as attentive to him as she always had been when they were young, paying little attention to the conversation happening around them until Orm joined it. As much as their lives had changed since her sacrifice, their love for each other evidently hadn’t wavered in the slightest.

If that hadn’t changed, if his loyalty to Atlantis hadn’t changed, was it so impossible to believe that more of her best friend had survived the years than she and Vulko had assumed? Hope dared to glimmer in Mera’s heart. If my best friend died with his mother… can he be resurrected with her, too?

Her father’s words sliced through her thoughts. “Why is he even here?” he demanded. “He should be on his way back to prison.”

A wave crashed against the rocks behind him, punctuating his question, and she flinched from the spray. Why does it even matter? she asked herself. He’s going back regardless of what he does here.

“We should hear what he has to say,” Atlanna said, shifting slightly closer to Orm, her grip on his knee tightening, not quite able to hold the king’s gaze. Orm watched him out of the corner of his eye, successfully cowed by his anger, unable to defend himself.

Mera recognized those old reactions, remembering the tension that had always pulled taut between those two and Orvax, remembering the way they had always bowed to him in the end, no matter how much pride they had to swallow to do it. She hadn’t realized it then, but Atlanna had been walking the finest of lines, balancing shielding Orm from his father’s abuse with playing the subservient wife to protect her secret family, and Orm had always been caught in the middle, his mother’s child and his father’s pawn. They were performing that dance again now, the two of them against the world, just vying for a little bit more time together before more powerful forces tore them apart. Another part of their lives that hadn’t changed at all.

There’s still so much we cannot do.

“I made that mistake once,” her father retorted. “That’s why I know he can’t be trusted!”

He had a point. Orm’s silence spoke to that. Family or not, best friend or not, he had done terrible things to the surface and the undersea kingdoms alike, lying at every twist and turn and leaving a vast trail of destruction in his wake. A moment of vulnerability with his mother didn’t change that. He had upheld his end of the deal, fulfilling the service Arthur had broken him out to provide – it was time for him to return to his penance. The time he had already spent outside his cell had been a massive enough risk as it was, and every extra minute, every extra person who knew only increased the likelihood of the Fishermen discovering he had escaped.

“And he cut off my claw!” the Brine king added, waving the appendage around for emphasis. “This thing took a whole year to grow back.”

But it did grow back.

Maybe it was childish, maybe it was foolish, but didn’t he deserve a second chance? Not everything he had done was irreversible, and they were trying to forge a more forgiving Atlantis. They had all lost too much to archaic ideals and Orvax’s petty whims to follow the old ways, and Orm was trying to help. It was a second chance that could never go anywhere, but what he had done, he had done for Atlantis. He deserved this chance to protect the kingdom they loved from his own mistakes.

If that also gave Atlanna the chance to see her son again, to hold on to him for as long as she could… Mera linked her leg more securely around Arthur’s, her stomach churning at the mere thought of anyone taking Junior away from her, of knowing that he was in pain every day and never being able to ease it. I would do the same in her place. Who am I to take this chance away from them?

Her voice died in her throat, logic caving to emotion. She couldn’t say a word to support her father, and Arthur took it a step further.“Look, he wants to stop Manta, same as we do,” he broke in, looking defiantly at the two senior rulers, as if daring them to argue with the one true king. “And just for the record, the only reason we made it this far is because of him.”

Atlanna smiled beneath watery eyes at her older son, silent gratitude for the defense. Orm stared at his brother, Mera’s own surprise reflected in his eyes. No one could say that her husband was known for his tact, but for him to so boldly stand up against the two kings who had just saved his life, entangling themselves and their soldiers in a situation that could start a war in the process, and in support of the brother he hated, no less? It was a new level of daring, even for him.

No. You don’t hate him anymore, do you?

Arthur leaned forward, giving Orm his full, undivided attention. Taking his cue from his brother but still uncertain, he directed his next words only to their mother. “I saw the Lost Kingdom.”

Atlanna stared incredulously, not quite committing to a definite answer when Arthur asked her if that was possible, carefully phrasing his question to place the uncertainty on his own lack of knowledge rather than any doubt that Orm spoke the truth. Even when her father questioned him, even when Orm recounted a story no one had known for centuries, Arthur’s attention never wavered. He believed his brother. He trusted him. Enough that Orm picked up on it, gaining confidence even as he carried on explaining something impossible beneath her father’s withering stare.

Something has changed between you two.

It had been hard to miss Arthur’s concern when he told Atlanna that Orm was still trapped in the volcano, and Orm’s relief when they stumbled out of the water together, but she had chalked it up to the heat of the moment, to Arthur’s innate instinct to protect and Orm naturally being glad to be alive and reunited with his mother. Yet when Arthur decided it was time to go and stood up, he ignored the lingering wobble in his step to go to his brother, and Orm actually took the hand he offered, rising with his help as much as Atlanna’s. The heat of the moment was long gone, but the care remained.

They’re beginning to love each other, she realized, stunned. Part of her had hoped for this once, when they were young and Orm was still his old self when he was out of his father’s sight, hoped that maybe the stranger Vulko put so much faith in could learn to love him enough to save him. She had caught a glimpse of that long dead dream when Arthur spared him, but this… He’s forgiving him. Truly, genuinely forgiving him. And if Arthur can forgive him…

“Don’t get reattached.”

Her father spoke so only she could hear, joining her as the others walked away. She rose to meet him, matching his volume – though, she suspected, for entirely different reasons. “My husband trusts him,” she said, emboldened by their unity. “That is enough for me.”

“Arthur is blinded by familial connection,” her father said.

“Please,” Mera scoffed. “Two days ago, Arthur hated him more than anyone. If anyone here is blinded by familial connection, it’s you.”

He bristled, anger etched into the lines on his face. “He is not my family.”

“Yes, he is,” Mera hissed. “Don’t deny it. Not to me. I saw the look in your eyes when your spies informed us where he was being held. I remember how you loved the boy who welcomed me into his home when you and Mother left for the front lines. He was meant to be your son-in-law, and there was a time when that meant something to you. It still must, because you wouldn’t still be this furious at him if you didn’t care. You are taking this far more personally than Arthur ever has.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but she swept on. “Orm has suffered for what he did, Father. He has suffered more in the last four years than most people will in a lifetime, and his only reward at the end of this is to return to that death sentence. Yet here he is, helping us however he can. If our kingdoms survive this, if your grandson still has a world to grow up in next week, then it will be in no small part due to his aid. He wants to fix the mistake he made by bringing Manta into our world. Arthur and I are not the blind ones for trying to see that good in him despite all he’s done. You are blind because you refuse to see it at all.”

His stance only hardened, his fists clenching at his side. Mera spun on her heel and marched after her family, holding her head high even as a not-so-tiny voice in the back of her mind wondered if she was placing too much faith in the man who had very nearly succeeded in killing her and Arthur.

It matters to me. It matters to me if my best friend is still beneath the armor.

-----

Her home was burning.

Mera screamed into the night, terror and agony and rage like she had never known tearing out of her throat. If she had been in the water, the ocean would’ve been roiling around her. She staggered away from the flames, away from the porch where she had sung to her son and told him about life in the ocean, closer to the shallows where she had given birth and heard his first cries. Months of memories flashed before her eyes, more precious than she had ever known was possible, and she could feel every single one of them slipping through her fingers like sand leaking out of a shattered hourglass. She was a daughter of Xebel, a queen of Atlantis, one of the most feared warriors in all the kingdoms, and she had let Manta take her son. What had been a fleeting fear on the island had suddenly become her reality.

The man willing to destroy the world just to kill her family had her baby.

“Mera.”

She screwed her eyes shut. The agony made her weak, her knees threatening to buckle beneath her, and the terror made her panic, her empty hands shaking. She couldn’t focus on those emotions. Clenching her fists, sucking in ragged breaths, she imagined tearing every drop of water and blood out of Manta’s body. She imagined making him scream as her son must have screamed when he was ripped away from his grandfather. “I’m going to kill him,” she snarled.

A hand grabbed her arm, not painfully, but far too roughly to be Arthur or Atlanna. “Mera.”

She whipped around, yanking her arm from Orm’s grip. “Where is he?” she demanded. “Where would he take Junior?

“I don’t know,” Orm said, his voice, his entire demeanor steady. Infuriatingly steady. “You need to calm down.”

“Calm down?” she repeated, fury teetering dangerously on hysteria. “That man took my son. Do you know what I’m feeling right now?”

“No.” His voice dipped. “I don’t.”

“Of course not,” Mera snapped. “If you did, you wouldn’t ask-”

“Yes, I would,” Orm interrupted, “because I do not care what you’re feeling. You need to keep your wits about you.” He paused, glancing at the trio on the ground, Atlanna trying to soothe Arthur and care for Tom at the same time. “I don’t know much about family, but I do know that Junior will need you alive at the end of this.”

Her breath hitched, anger cracking in the face of a hope she hardly dared to consider. “You think…”

“I do.”

He almost sounds… gentle again.

Almost. There was a roughness to it, an edge he might not know how to shake after so many years following in his father’s harsh footsteps, but… it almost sounded familiar. It almost sounded like…

Hesitantly, he laid his fingertips on her arm, a featherlight touch that was suddenly her only anchor in the smoky night. “You will get him back, Mera. And when you do… a child needs their mother.”

The words plunged her back through the years. Back to her early days in the Atlantean palace, when Atlanna first took her under her wing and Orm had been her only friend in the kingdom. To when her father broke the news that her mother had been killed in battle and Orm was the first person she swam to for comfort. To when Orvax sacrificed Atlanna and their roles reversed in an instant, with Mera being the only person in the world that he could be open with about grieving for the mother everyone else called a traitor. Back to all the broken years after that, Orvax’s influence poisoning the sweet and silly boy she loved, until Mera had no choice but to turn against the villain he became.

“You cannot be reckless,” Orm said quietly. “You need to calm down.”

Not a day went by when she didn’t miss her mother, when she didn’t lament the lifetime of victories and milestones she had never seen. Atlanna’s execution had cut her like a trident to the heart, too, alongside turning Arthur against Atlantis and destroying Orm in every way imaginable. Arthur and their family would never let Junior face what he and Orm had gone through, but… No. I cannot let him grow up grieving. Not like we did. I need to survive this, too.

Slowly, in stuttering movements, she forced her fists to open. The anger began to dissipate. In its place, the terror and agony flooded in, her knees weakening and her hands shaking again, longing to hold her son. Tears welled in her eyes, stinging far more than the smoke and heat, and she grabbed the closest support she could find.

She grabbed Orm’s hand.

He twitched in her grip, startled. Inwardly, she cringed, realizing what she had just done. But she didn’t pull away. She couldn’t make herself let go. Desperate for any shred of comfort, aching for the days when Orm had always been the one to give it to her, she only clutched his hand harder. He dropped his gaze to the contact, and for a moment she feared he would pull away, that he would let go and abandon her amidst the wreckage.

He didn’t.

He held her gingerly, but he did hold her. He left their hands hanging in the air between them, letting her hold on for as long as she needed. Letting her hold on until her father arrived and she could fall into his arms, their fingers catching as she let go, almost reluctant to make the trade. It was more than she had thought she could ever ask for again. For now… it was enough.

She looked back at him, hovering near his family, consulting with the medics while Arthur and Atlanna held Tom. Maybe my best friend is still here.

-----

Mera gathered Junior into her arms, choking down a sob, his tiny coos the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. I will never let go of you again. She backed up to Arthur and Shin, twisting to shield him from Manta, glaring at the villain as he took his broken helmet off. Arthur touched her back, nudging her towards the door. “Go,” he ordered.

In any other battle, Mera would’ve resisted. She would’ve stayed to fight beside her husband, taking her vengeance, defending the kingdom they had both sworn to protect. Today, though, she didn’t hesitate to obey. Orm had been right – killing him didn’t matter. Only her son did. With Junior against her chest and Shin running ahead of her, she bolted for the exit, listening to the sounds of a scuffle behind her. Running footsteps. Arthur grunting. Bodies hitting the ground.

A trident hurtling through the air.

She whirled around, hair flying. Her eyes widened. It hurtled straight at her, deadly points aimed true at her head, already too close. She couldn’t dodge. She couldn’t summon a wave of water and ice to strike it aside. She could only watch it come, leaning back in a last-ditch effort to keep it from hitting Junior.

A shadow raced into the room, skidding to a halt beside her. The loud clang of metal on metal shuddered through her. The trident stopped dead in its tracks, inches from her face. Her eyes slipped to the side, landing on her savior.

Her gaze landed on Orm.

She had given him a chance. A chance to redeem himself, to fight for what was right, to simply see his mother again and get to know his brother before surrendering himself to his death sentence. She had given him a chance, and now, with his outstretched fist clutching the trident, he was repaying the favor. He was giving her the chance to live, to see her son grow up, to live the happy life he would never know.

He was protecting Junior from the heartbreak that had darkened her childhood and ruined his life.

“Mera,” he rasped. The trident lit up, that ominous green glow spreading out from his fist, reaching towards her and Junior. His entire body beginning to shake, his face twisting in pain and fear, Orm forced out a single word. “Run.”

Please don’t let this be the end.

She wanted to thank him. She wanted to stay with him. She didn’t want to leave him to fight this without her, like she had so many times when she had let the Fishermen take him, when she had schemed with Vulko, when she had gone home to Xebel and her father’s arms and left Orm alone with a tyrant who never loved him. She was an adult now, a queen with all the power they had never had as children, and she still wanted to do a million things they didn’t have time for, and a million more that the baby in her arms made impossible.

All she could do was take the chance and flee, an explosion of magic and her best friend’s screams following her out of the room.

-----

“They’re safe,” Mera whispered to Junior as Storm rocketed out of the churning water, Arthur and Orm on his back. “They’re…” She trailed off, swallowing. “Your dad is safe.”

As is your uncle.

The seahorse bucked as he arced downwards, propelling them towards the iceberg her father had dropped her and Shin on. Arthur didn’t miss a beat, kissing her exuberantly and bending to check on Junior, but Orm landed clumsily, panting, exhausted from whatever had transpired after she fled, from the wounds she knew all too well hadn’t yet fully healed. Aside from returning the trident her father had lost in the battle, the two of them exchanging a significant look as he handed it over, he hung back, separating himself from the reunions.

For now.

She thanked Shin with a kiss on the cheek and smiled at the Brine king and her father’s banter, but her thoughts stayed with Orm. Arthur stepped away from her, joining his brother, and Orm only greeted him with a nod, resigned acceptance in the set of his jaw. Mera busied herself with Junior, dreading the inevitable. Dreading Arthur confirming that there was no more stalling, that her brief reunion with her best friend was over, and she would never see him again.

“As far as I’m concerned, your debt is paid.”

What?

Arthur’s words drew everyone’s attention like a magnet. Mera’s head snapped up. Her father gripped his freshly returned trident tightly, bracing himself. The Brine king stopped complaining about his claw, and Shin shifted, unaware of the stakes but sensing that something significant was happening. Orm’s eyes widened, resignation transforming into disbelief, into something that couldn’t quite be called hope. “Not everybody’s gonna see it that way, though.”

You’re actually-

She cut herself off, waiting with bated breath as Arthur glanced at her father. He looked around, catching her eye. Please, she urged with a pleading gaze. See the good in him. It’s still there. He’s still there.

Looking back at Arthur, he said nothing, simply not objecting to his silent question. It was enough. Shoulders loosening, Arthur continued, “It’s too bad you went and got yourself killed back there.”

We are. I love you, Arthur Curry.

Before anyone could change their minds, Mera jumped in to back him up, to offer Orm a new chance that could go somewhere. “Yes,” she added, nodding at the endless expanse of ocean and shattered ice surrounding them. “With all this ice…” A grin broke across her face – the same grin she had once given him every time she had an idea that would get them into trouble. “It would be impossible to find the body.”

Orm stared back and forth between them, stunned, baffled, struggling to process what they were saying as Arthur told him to lay low and stay close. She couldn’t blame him – even she could hardly believe it. After so many years of trading Orm’s life for Atlantis’s security, Arthur had finally found a solution that protected both. Nothing quite made it sink in until her father nodded at Orm, confirming that he would go along with the lie, a hint of his old fondness softening his features. “Thank you,” he said, his tension easing, “brother.”

Arthur offered his hand, and as Orm took it, Mera looked at her son. You will get to know your uncle after all.

A weight lifted off of Mera’s shoulders. A weight she had grown so used to carrying that the guilt had become part of her, a weight that had crushed a part of her soul that she had kept locked away until now, when she could straighten up and look forward to a bright future with her whole family. Her best friend was back – scarred and changed, yes, but back, rescued from the ashes of his father’s destruction by his mother’s love and his brother’s forgiveness. He had fought for them, comforted her, and saved her and the little boy she loved more than anything. It was all the proof she had ever needed, and he wasn’t going to die alone in prison.

But his return came with a goodbye.

“Wait.”

He paused before he could jump off the iceberg, turning back to her, and now there was true hope in his eyes. She closed the distance between them, snow crunching beneath her feet, and stretched up to kiss his cheek, too. The last time I did that, you were still shorter than me. “Thank you.”

Junior babbled a happy agreement, and for the first time in their lives, Orm smiled at his nephew. “It was the least I could do.” Sobering, he met her gaze. “I’m sorry, Mera. For everything.”

The apology bled with history, with the regret of a lifetime of wrongs and agonizing choices that had driven them apart, but Mera only cared about the genuine step forward he was taking. “I know,” she said, more relieved than she could ever put into words to take the step with him. “Me, too.”

Shoulders slumping slightly, he let himself lean against her, just as he had before he learned how to hide his exhaustion at long formal events. Mera dug her heel into the ice, sharing his weight gladly, embracing the return of the trust she had lost long ago. “You know more about family than you think,” she murmured. “Don’t forget that again, silly.”

Unused for so long, the old nickname simultaneously caught in her throat and rolled off her tongue, strange and familiar all at once. He smiled at it, a tiny, nostalgic upturn of his lips. “I won’t,” he promised.

They lingered for a moment more, savoring the ability to be together again, with no more lies and bitterness dividing them. The locked box she had harbored for so long melted away in the comfort of his presence, a memory to be left in the past, unnecessary in the light of a path forward. “Go on, then,” she said eventually, finding the strength to let him go in the knowledge that they would reunite again soon. “Be safe.”

Devoid of the chill of the false politeness they had used as armor for years, the words warmed the air around them, and she pressed a little harder against his arm when he returned the sentiment just as sincerely. “You, too.”

Pushing off her shoulder, he turned and leaped into the ocean. Mentally, Mera started running through cover stories, mapping out when they could begin pushing the Fishermen for an updated treaty. Arthur stepped up to her side, wrapping his arm around her, and together they watched his brother disappear into the waves, swimming towards his freedom. Swimming, she assumed, to once again find safety in their mother’s arms.

This time, no one will tear us apart, she vowed. I won’t let them.

-----

Mera landed lightly on the end of the dock, spring sunshine warm on her skin. Tucking the tablet she had brought under her arm, she strode towards the lighthouse, searching for one landbound family member in particular. Following the sound of his voice, she found him sitting in his chair on the porch with Junior, uncle and nephew equally content as he read Pinocchio with more awkward versions of the ridiculous voices Arthur used, Nemo curled up at his feet. Mera couldn’t help but pause, enjoying the precious sight that had become commonplace, yet never seemed to lose its novelty.

Nemo interrupted the moment, pricking his ears and trotting over to her with a happy bark. Orm broke off when he caught her looking. “Look who’s here, Junior,” he said, closing the book while Mera scratched Nemo’s back.

Junior’s disappointment vanished the second he saw her. “Mama!” he exclaimed, reaching for her eagerly.

Beaming, Mera joined them in the shade, trading the tablet for her son. “Hello, sweetheart,” she greeted, kissing his forehead. Even all these months after his kidnapping, holding him felt like a miracle, his weight a comfort in her arms. “Were you having fun with Uncle Orm?”

He answered with an enthusiastic string of noises that she took as a yes. “That’s g- Wait.” Amongst the adorable nonsense, she swore she caught a word. “Did he say Ormy?”

“Unfortunately,” Orm muttered. Nemo pressed against his legs, wagging his tail. “I’m going to kill Arthur.”

The front door opened as she laughed. “Mera!” Tom said, sweeping her into a hug. “We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow.”

“We finished early. A first in diplomatic negotiations with the Fishermen,” she said wryly. Tom chuckled. Orm stiffened, glancing from her to the tablet. “We didn’t want to all rush off as if we had somewhere to be, so Arthur and Atlanna stayed behind for the celebrations. I got to come share the news.”

“Ah,” Tom said. “In that case, why don’t we give the two of you some privacy?”

Kissing him again, promising to see him soon, Mera passed Junior to his grandfather. As they stepped inside, Nemo following on Tom’s heels, she took a seat on the end of the couch beside Orm. “Atlanna sends her love.”

“She always does,” he said fondly, though his attention was clearly elsewhere. He handed the tablet back. “An early ending seems like a good sign.”

“It is,” she said. Fidgeting with the edge of his sleeve, he leaned forward, watching her power up the tablet and open the notes she had taken. Tilting it so he could see, she scrolled to the section that concerned him. “As soon as the new treaty goes into effect, peace between Atlantis and the Fishermen Kingdom no longer hinges upon your imprisonment.”

She let him take the tablet, holding it delicately, as if the slightest wrong move would erase the words on the screen, destroying everything they promised. He read them again and again, seconds stretching into minutes as he took it in. Mera waited patiently – they had time. When he finally spoke again, his voice cracked with emotion, with joy and anxiety and everything in between. “I can go home.”

“Not yet,” Mera cautioned. “They were furious that Arthur broke you out to participate in the battle, and it took a great deal of care to remove this without raising further suspicion, since we brought no proof of your death. We still have to be careful that your return doesn’t make it appear as if we’ve been harboring you since the battle.” Unwilling to leave it on a pessimistic note, she finished, “It won’t be long, though, with this signed.”

Orm set the tablet down, his eyes drifting to the ocean, aching for the tantalizing freedom still just out of reach. Mera laid her hand over his. “Atlantis isn’t your only home anymore,” she reminded him.

He took her hand, holding tight. “I know,” he murmured. “I still miss it.”

“It hasn’t been the same without you,” she said, meaning every word. She had been looking at all of their old haunts and hiding spots with new eyes lately, looking forward to when he could fill the empty spaces with her again, to when he could help her tell their stories to their family and show Junior all the best parts of growing up in the palace. “I can’t wait to see the look on the Fishermen queen’s face when you come back.”

His laugh didn’t reach his eyes. “I understand why she did it. I certainly sent people there for less.”

“We all understand why she did it,” Mera said, running her thumb over his knuckles. “That doesn’t mean you deserved it.”

“I did,” he whispered, leaving his mouth open as if he meant to continue, but no words came out.

“No, you didn’t,” she said firmly in his silence. “And even if you had, you’ve more than atoned for your mistakes since then. You deserve to go home.”

He drew in his legs, massaging the knee that had never quite healed after his years of torture. She didn’t press him further, letting her touch speak for itself. Finally, he asked, “What if the people don’t accept my return?”

“I don’t care.” She cupped his cheek, guiding his gaze to hers. “You are family, and you belong with us, whether we’re here or in Atlantis. We will bring you home, and if anyone has a problem with that, we will fight for you. All right? We haven’t come this far to give up now. We love you, Orm. I love you. Your homecoming may not be an easy path, but it is a path I will make sure you can walk.”

He weighed the speech, searching for the “but,” for yet another one of the caveats that had shadowed his entire life. “All right,” he said at long last, tilting into her touch without protest, accepting the reassurance. “Thank you.”

“It’s what best friends do,” she said. It’s what I waited too many years to do. Nudging his good knee with her own to take any bite out of her words, she added playfully, “Don’t make me regret it.”

He gave her a small smile. “I don’t know. If Arthur makes me sit in on any debates between your father and the Brine king…”

“Oh, don’t worry,” she said. “There’s always a good prank to play on him when he inevitably falls asleep. It’s far more entertaining than it used to be. Besides,” she continued mischievously, “I suspect he’ll hardly have a chance to rope you into anything before you come back up here to see Stephen the first chance you get.”

He shook her off, tugging his hand away, clearing his throat as his cheeks reddened. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Of course you don’t,” she teased. “That’s why you’re looking at anything but me. Tell me, how many times has he texted you today?”

The door swung open again, Tom reemerging holding a case of beer as well as Junior. “So,” he said, “are we drowning our sorrows or celebrating?”

Visibly grateful for the interruption, Orm took the beer from him, focusing far too intently on freeing three bottles. “Celebrating.”

Tom grinned softly, giving Junior to Mera and taking the bottles that Orm handed him, giving her the other once she had Junior settled. “That’s great news, son.” Popping the cap off and sitting on Mera’s other side, he held it out. “To the future.”

Relaxing in a way he never had around his first father, Orm clinked their bottles together. Mera added hers to her in-laws’ toast, the sound pleasant and promising above the gentle crashing of the waves against the shore. As much as she had appreciated keeping secrets for Orm instead of from him, protecting him instead of betraying him, she was more than ready for this era of their lives to end once and for all. Soon, her months of leading the negotiations would come to fruition, and nothing would stand between him and being a fully-fledged member of the family both above and below the surface. They would both, at long last, have everything they had ever dreamed of and more – perhaps not in ways they had ever envisioned, but they would have it together.

In the end, that was all that mattered.

“To the future,” they echoed.

#mera #orm marius #mera fanfic #orm marius fanfic #aquaman #dceu #my fanfic.#aquaman 2 spoilers

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kaiwewi · 1 year

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Romanticide

tw: blood, gore, dead body, serial killer Synopsis: Crime Scene Photographer explores the villain's latest murder scene.

Crime Scene Photographer froze before they’d so much as crossed the doorstep.

They’d kindly been told in advance just how unsettling the villain’s latest murder scene was by a traumatised-looking, young police officer whom Crime scene photographer had met outside the hotel. The poor thing had been white as a sheet, slouching on the side walk with a bottle of water, and hadn’t managed a sentence longer than five words in that shaky voice of his.

He was probably new, barely looked a day older than 20. But he had neither been overly sensitive nor grossly exaggerating. A scene like this surely could shake even the most senior officer.

Hair-raising might be a fitting word to describe it.

Then again, in a way, one murder was like any other murder, irrespective of the circumstances. In the end, they were all the same in that one crucial aspect – some unfortunate soul had lost their life. And death didn’t know nuances, didn’t come in different shades of dead. Regardless of how the deceased had died, they could never be any more or less dead than any other dead person.

At least to the victims it would probably make no difference anymore what their respective killers decided to do with their earthly remains once the deed was done. – An observation Crime Scene Photographer deemed in equal measure upsetting and comforting.

Today’s victim – a white, middle-aged male by the looks of him – had been put on display on the floor, arranged in a way that guaranteed an unobstructed view to whomever would open the door. The discovery would stop the person in their tracks before they’d even had the chance to set foot in the room.

The body was a piece of art, meant to be seen yet not disturbed.

In the hand of his outstretched arm the dead man held a flower, apparently a red rose, as if he was presenting it to whomever would walk in on the scene. Empty eyes stared up at Crime Scene Photographer, unwavering, daring them to come and take a closer look at his offering.

With a small shake of the head, Crime Scene Photographer wrenched their gaze away from the victim’s face and focused their attention on the surroundings instead.

The air was thick with a sweet floral scent, almost completely masking the faint odour of death lurking underneath. Had Crime Scene Photographer closed their eyes, they could have easily dreamed themself away to that adorable flower boutique Lover had taken them to only days ago. A charming store filled with the aroma of what must have been hundreds of different plants.

This scent, however, seemed somewhat less fresh, slightly unnatural in its pleasantness. Possibly a floral fragrance or some kind of flowery perfume. Otherwise, it would have been highly unlikely that a hotel room containing merely a handful of flowers would smell so strongly as to conjure the image of a whole garden centre.

Though that kind of impression may well be the purpose of the entire arrangement.

Flower petals in various vibrant shades of blue and yellow painted a stark contrast against the lush green carpet covering the floor and, with the dead body laid out in the midst of it, the scene transformed into one of a person sleeping on a spring meadow.

Goosebumps formed along the back of Crime Scene Photographer’s neck.

Taking a nap in a flower field was what they’d done on their first date with Lover, five years ago. It had been the best date Crime Scene Photographer had ever been on. Lover had prepared that adorable little picnic for them, with one of those iconic picnic baskets one often saw in old picture books. So much more romantic and aesthetically pleasing than any of the dates their previous partners had ever suggested. Lover had even brought a picnic rug matching the fabric lining the inside of the basket. Absolutely everything had been perfect.

There was no basket here, and the dead man on the carpet in front of them didn’t have a picnic rug either. Although with his blood pooling around his body, dyeing the carpet a dark greyish brown, it almost appeared like he did.

Crime Scene Photographer swallowed against the feeling of something thick stuck in their throat.

If they took a photograph and just blurred it enough, one might even be able to innocently assume the bloody mess of spilt guts all over the man’s midsection to be nothing more than a string of cocktail sausages, arranged in the shape of a heart. And while that still wouldn’t explain away the arrow protruding from the dead man’s chest, perhaps something so thin might not even be visible at all on that blurred a picture.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding.” Crime Scene Photographer said, the words merely a breath, barely audible through the fingers of the gloved hand they’d pressed to their mouth. Even though they weren’t usually one to go weak in the knees over a crime scene, they allowed themself to lean against the door frame for support nonetheless, just in case.

After all, this wasn’t just any regular murder.

A heart, a red rose, a golden arrow.

Such a high amount of romantic imagery found at a single murder scene. No wonder the investigating officers and the media had so aptly, if sarcastically, dubbed this serial killer The Romantic.

Admittedly, a rather catchy title. Hardly surprising it had so quickly caught on, especially with how often that name was all over the news nowadays.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, Crime Scene Photographer forced themself to return to the matter at hand. They had an important job to do here and those pictures were not going to miraculously take themselves.

They took a step forward, finally crossing that damn doorstep, and placed their bag down onto the floor, leaving it leaning against the wall. Their fingers curled around their camera with a giddy twitch as Crime Scene Photographer made their way over to the dead body.

They’d take their pictures, doing a bloody fantastic job at it (no pun intended), and the moment they were done, they’d come up with some excuse to take the rest of the day off. Nothing was going to keep them from running straight home and jumping into Lover’s arms. Not today.

“Okay,” they mumbled, willing their hands to cease their trembling. They licked their lips. “Here we go.”

The camera came alive with the touch of their fingers, the click of a few buttons, the expert manipulations of its settings. The moment Crime Scene Photographer peered through the viewfinder, their hands were entirely steady again, like they’d never been shaking in the first place.

After all, they were a professional and prided themself on being perfectly capable of the same kind of emotional detachment surgeons and physicians practised in their own lines of work.

Viewed through the lens, a scene was both closer and further away at the same time, both far more and far less personal a matter. There was a certain sense of entitlement, too, like they owned everything they captured with their camera. Like they were a higher being observing the world from the outside, rather than a participant living inside of it and thus subject to its rules and limitations.

To all intents and purposes, taking pictures wasn’t just some job. It was a passion.

Crime Scene Photographer was an artist.

Just like the villain.

The Romantic was so many things all at once: A painter, a sculptor, a visual artist with a fondness for details and a penchant for melodramatic displays. A poet, composing their odes and poems in blood and gore and romantic imagery – each of their victims an ardent confession, each murder scene another extravagant love letter.

Crime Scene Photographer had never before known such a devoted lover.

The two of them were kindred spirits.

The current crime scene was but another monument to their secret love, a thoughtful gift laid before Crime Scene Photographer in an act of adoration. Yet another milestone, immortalised through photographs and newspaper articles.

They had finally vowed to worship each other, one murder at a time, for as long as they both shall live.

———

For my other stories, visit my [MASTERLIST] ♥

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fangirlshrewt97 · 2 years

Text

Smoke Curling Around Us

@burningsheepcrown is a hazard, but we love her anyways. Here is another Dhruya fic prompted by her doodle, which you can find here.

Also I wrote this on my phone, I hope there aren’t any glaring typos I missed.

///

Dhruya hissed in relief as the acrid burn of tobacco hit his lungs, a small relief to the migraine that was building in the back of his skull. The new IG had called for a meeting of the heads of all the divisions as well as some of the local heads of the smaller departments. And then proceeded to yell about them all being collectively incompetent.

Dhruva knew there were political machinations at play here that he was unaware of, but hearing the man lecturing them about not doing any work properly really made him want to scream. Not doing any work, as if Dhruva hadn't spent nearly a decade at this job, giving everything to it. Everything.

"I'm surprised you still smoke."

Dhruva stiffened at the sound of the voice that still made a regular appearance in his dreams. He resolutely stayed staring ahead as another body came to stand beside him. A flash of fire lit up his peripheral vision as Daya lit up his own cigarette and took a puff.

He took in another inhale of the cigarette. "Its only on rare occasions. These things will likely kill us anyways though."

Daya hummed. "Considering you apparently still work yourself to the bone, I still have my bet on you being your own cause of death."

Dhruva scoffed. "Did you sleep through that whole lecture we were just subjected to? Apparently we are useless and lazy."

"You know me Banga-" Daya started jovially.

"Don't." Dhruva cut in sharply, turning his head to glare at Daya.

The years had done wonders to the man, standing in front of him in a suit that made his shoulders seem incredibly broad. He had shaved some of the hair at his sides, and there were even a few flecks of white Dhruva could pick out. His eyes still took up half his face though. And the glasses, new, suited him. In fact they seemed to magnify his eyes.

Daya's smile dropped at Dhruva's interruption. "You don't get to be angry ASP garu. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant DSP garu."

Dhruva gave him another withering glance and marched to his office. He ran a hand through his hair, taking another big puff from his cigarette. He wished the burn extended to his heart too, it would lessen the pain.

But before he could get to his chair, a hand grabbed his arm, spinning him on his heel until he was pressed up against the wall of his office, hidden from view of anyone walking by the hallway. A convenient blind spot. Of course the bastard spotted it immediately.

"Stop walking away from me Dhruva." Daya growled, and it was only the second time Dhruva had ever seen him so clearly angry but holding it in. He still looked so damn beautiful.

"It was for the best Daya. We agreed-" Dhruva tried to protest before Daya got in his face. The lingering cigarette smoke was starting to irritate Dhruva's eyes. Daya grabbed a hold of his tie, tightening the fabric in his hand. It didn't even cross Dhruva's mind to push him away, not when his body felt like a live wire just from the close proximity.

"We didn't agree to shit. You unilaterally made the decision you thought would be best for us, and I let you walk away because I was scared too. But it's been five years, and I know. I know neither of us have found anything that came close to what we had." Daya growled, pulling the cigarette away from his mouth to quench it against the wall and dropped it on the carpet. He did the same to Dhruva's. The younger man couldn't see past the redness of Daya's lower lip.

"So? Are you going to say you leaving was still the right choice?" Daya asked, eyes hard.

If there was one thing Dhruva had learned in the past five years, it was that he wasn't as strong a man as he pretended to be. He grabbed at Daya's head and hauled him in for a kiss, a messy thing more noses and teeth clashing. Daya's glasses were biting into the skin of his nose. But they fixed themselves quickly, this rhythm familiar to their bodies even if their hearts and minds were out of practice.

Shit, they had to go back to the meeting with the IG in a few minutes. Dhruva moaned as Daya grabbed at his thigh, pulling it to wrap around his waist so he could grind their hips together.

"Dhruva..." Daya growled, and Dhruva whimpered. How many times had he heard that exact sound in his dreams in the past five years. Fuck he would let this man do anything to him.

Daya ducked down to suck on Dhruva's neck, and the younger man clutched at Daya's hair as he tilted his head to give him better access. Dhruva rolled his hips once, making Daya snarl against his skin as he slammed Dhruva's hips with his own.

And then suddenly Daya was an arms length away and Dhruva was left half collapsing against the wall. Daya looked deranged, lips shiny with spit as his pupils were dilated so large only a tiny ring of chocolate could be seen.

"Daya ..." Dhruva pleaded, but the other man stayed away.

"Here's what going to happen," Daya said, and god when had they become this way. But then again hadn't Daya always been the braver if the two when it came to matters of the heart? "You are going to clean yourself up, we are going to suffer through the rest of the stupid meeting, and then you are going to take me to your house."

Daya whimpered as he nodded clumsily. Daya's stare pinned him as well as his hands had. He reached forward to lightly caress Dhruva's cheek with the back of his hand. The gentleness of the action was in direct contrast to his rough behavior, and Dhruva felt some tears burn at the edge of his eyes. When he opened his eyes, Daya was standing close again. "You are going to take me to your bed, and I'm going to show you exactly why you were wrong. Understood?"

Dhruva felt a tear fall, but it didn't get far as Daya grabbed his chin and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Enough breaking each other's hearts Bangaram."

And then he was gone before Dhruva could force his eyes open again. His chest was heaving as he struggled to breathe. His hands were shaking, and he desperately wanted another cigarette. But Daya had given him orders, and orders were one thing he was really good at following.

Taking a fortifying breath, he tried to fix his tie. He only had 2 minutes to make himself presentable.

///

Forgive me for the title, I had no idea what to call this thing.

Feedback is appreciated!!

Tagging (Please please work, Tumblr I beg you): @rambheem-is-real @budugu @bromance-minus-the-b @junebugyeahhh @hissterical-nyaan @obsessedtoafault @hufhkbgg @yehsahihai @rorapostsbl @bluesolace1 @fadedscarlets @alikokinav @chaotic-moonlight @rambheemisgoated @rambheemlove @jaganmaya @burningsheepcrown @lovingperfectionwonderland @rosayounan @iam-siriuslysher-lokid @thewinchestergirl1208 @dumdaradumdaradum @ronaldofandom @jjwolfesworld @percikawantstoread @kashpaymentsonly @jeonmahi1864 @zackcrazyvalentine @stanleykubricks @m3gs1mps4a @tulodiscord @teddybat24 @sally-for-sally

#rrr #dhruya #dhruva x daya #dhruva #dhruva film #daya #temper #temper film #my fic #my writing #dhruya fanfic

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ask-healthy-light · 8 months

Text

After Light's introduction of the two Grey Unicorns, they stepped forward and bowed to Amethyst and the Young Pony, but even though they were well aware of the danger this being of Shadow could pose, they merely smiled, and said it was a pleasure to meet them; and the Pony politely replied in turn, and told them they were pleased to make their acquaintance, introducing themselves as Shining Star.

For a moment, both Stygian and Starswirl glanced at Amethyst, who silently looked at the Young Pony as a bittersweet smile grew upon her face, before she whispered to then to be careful; for although she knew how terrible the atrocities were the Fallen King had committed, she did not want either of the two to get hurt, since she knew not how connected they were, nor how it would affect the other.

It had been years since she had last seen or spoken with Star, and she knew not whether she had the strength to lose them again, so, as her eyes welled up with tears, she pleaded with Light, Stygian, and Starswirl, and asked them with a breaking voice to help them; and the three put their hooves to their chests, swearing they would not hurt Star nor Sombra, and promising they would do their best.

At the same time, back up top, after Stygian and Starswirl had ventured into the dark depths of the underground prison to meet Light and Amethyst, the rest of the group now had little to do but wait, either for them to call for help, or to return without needing help; but as Spike tried his best to suppress a yawn, it became clear that they could not merely stand here, and idly wait for any news.

None knew what to say to alleviate this situation, and the area fell into an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the passage of townsfolk, politely, yet apparently obliviously, asking the Royals in the group to step aside so they could pass; but even though the group had to spread out to make way for townsfolk, to their relief, none noticed the great and dark pit in the floor next to the Heart.

With a subtle gesture, Luna asked Nox if she wanted to join her back to the Market, where she hoped to find some trinkets or other special items that neither of them had ever been given the chance to get, but also to see if they came across the strange Pink Pup again; for though she knew not whence these thoughts came, she felt it was important for them to see what it was carrying in its satchel.

The Dragon-Pony discreetly nodded to her Mother, whereafter Luna smiled, before she trotted over to her Sister, and asked her if she wanted to join them to the Market, after making sure everyone down below was all right, of course; but Celestia merely shook her head and placed her hoof on her face, as she admitted she would like some time to herself, since her head ached for reasons she knew not.

Hearing this, Eclipse stepped forward, still carrying the now even more exhausted Dragon upon their back, and told Celestia that they would stay close to the entrance in her stead, while she returned inside to rest her mind; for though she appeared to be doing well, they knew not whether there were any powers dwelling within the dark prison, that could have afflicted her while she was down there.

A warm smile grew upon the face of the Solar Princess as she thanked Eclipse for their offer before she politely refused, and said that she would spend some time in the light of the Sun, instead; but since they were Spike's guardians, she asked them to stay close, should Stygian need more help than what either Starlight or Starswirl could give him, as Spike may swiftly need to be brought thither.

As Nox and Luna headed to the Market, waving goodbye for now to the others, Eclipse nodded in turn, before they turned to Sunburst and Starlight, and asked them if there was anything they would like; and Starlight replied that she would like some tea, and be given time to rest, as the journey here, though quick, was exhausting and intensive, as she had to use a lot of her magic to hold the spell.

Both her former mentor and best friend smiled, and headed inside, leaving Celestia by herself.

At that moment, Celestia's horn started to glow with a familiar feeling and energy…

(Thanks for reading! And if you enjoyed, please reblog! Thanks in advance!)

Send an ask or request! | Start at the beginning! | Next part!

Featuring: Nox Lunarwing from @nox-lunarwing Solar Eclipse and Twilight Sparkle as Twilight Eclipse from @asktwilighteclipse And King Sombra from @ex-king-sombra as the Pony behind bars

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washipink · 1 year

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The Rain Review (Finale)

If you’ve been with my blog for the past week or so, You’ll know I’ve been reading a childhood favorite webcomic of mine, Rain by Jocelyn Samara. And you’d probably be wondering what happened to my review of the comic Year-by-Year. The answer? I went on a road trip for a few days and couldn’t help but read the whole rest of the comic. So today I’m here to talk about my overall thoughts.

For the uninitiated, Rain is a slice-of-life webcomic that started in 2010. It’s about a transgender teenage girl of the same name navigating her senior year at a Catholic high school. There’s a LOT of romantic and gender-related drama. Friends are made and lost. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll see yourself in the characters somewhere along the line.

My experience with Rain prior to this project only goes up to about 2014. I started reading it in middle school on Smackjeeves.com. Y’all remember Smackjeeves? I miss it every day. Apparently it redirects to a shitty webtoon clone now. IDK where I’m gonna find peoples’ sprite comics produced in 2013 now.

Anyway, I bring this up to say that I had stopped keeping up with Rain even though she was a major part of me accepting who I was. When I found out that her story had come to a close, I had a real need to find out how.

This time, there won’t be a plot summary because this comic ran for 11 years and it takes me long enough to do just 1. That and, if I may spoil my final opinion, I really want you to give it a read for yourself.

ART

I want to get this one out of the way because it’s a very common critique that even I hold to some extent. The art in Rain is a clear indicator of the era its artist hails from. In 2010, anime and manga had just hit the American mainstream. Everyone was reading those “How to Draw Anime” books and took a lot of notes from them. To showcase, here’s a page from Chapter 1, the first color page in fact.

This page is actually one of the busier pages in terms of art. Jocelyn doesn’t usually do background details much, if at all. Usually, backgrounds are depicted as solid colors that are associated with specific locations. Grey for the apartment, sky blue for outside, light green for school, etc. But the way Rain is drawn here bears a striking resemblance to the styles a LOT of people were using at the time.

While Jocelyn’s style stays rooted in, shall we say, American who got really into anime, her techniques evolve over time. Especially in terms of displaying what’s going on with limited background detail.

As an example, I really enjoy this scene. Rain and Emily are, in universe, speaking over the phone right now. But neither of them are holding their phones to their ears. They’re looking at each other as if they’re in the same room. Jocelyn uses a gradient background to signify that the two of them are NOT in the same room, but as they get closer during their conversation, they get physically closer in the panel as well.

This page is taken from 2014, about 4 years into the comic’s run. You can see that Jocelyn’s brush choices have changed. Everything is far smoother than it was toward the start. While the overall style is as simplistic as year 1, her technique has changed a lot.

That comfort with her work only continues to grow. Below is a panel from a bonus page that released after the comic’s conclusion. The line work is the cleanest its ever been.

STORY AND CHARACTERS

Now this right here is the REAL meat of the comic. Regardless of any feelings I had on the art, the characters really endeared me. And this being a slice-of-life teen drama, they had plenty of time to learn, grow, and clash against one another.

The majority of the conflict in Rain comes from people being set in their ways. Rain’s whole gaggle of queer friends is hiding from the school’s principal, who refuses to acknowledge that maybe there’s nothing wrong with being a little gay. One of the most compelling ongoing threads in the comic centers around Rain’s brother and sister trying to understand and accept her. These personal stakes were a really enjoyable break from the kind of thing I usually read. In Rain, there is no world to be saved or villain to defeat, but there IS a prom to go to. Sometimes, that’s all you need to tell a good story.

The comic has this small-town vibe I care for a lot. Sometimes, a character will exit another’s life and you’ll never expect to see them again. Then they’ll end up dating Rain’s aunt or something. Word spreads fast in Centerville. People are gossipy. Sometimes, you tell someone something and it reaches ears you didn’t want to hear it. That gossip is what makes things so dangerous for Rain. If the wrong person finds her out, then EVERYONE finds her out. The same goes for all her friends.

There’s all kinds of flavor of queer in this comic in a way that mirrors real life friend groups. We have a tendency to find each other like that.

With all kinds of queers being hormonal teens, things get messy FAST. There’s a lot of things that happen in this comic that I feel like baby gays need to see. There’s a point where a gay boy and a trans girl start going out because... this just happens sometimes. Nobody is “the villain” in this scenario. They both just tried to explore themselves and found mixed results.

That’s one of the big themes of Rain. Self-exploration. Every chapter, we’re learning more about these characters as they learn more about themselves. Nobody stays in the same headspace for too long. They’re constantly evolving.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Rain is ABSOLUTELY worth the read. It’s actually a really easy read. I was able to finish it in about 2 weeks, so I’m sure it won’t take up too much of your time. But, it’s a really heartwarming story that I’m sure a lot of us can relate to. Thanks for going on this journey with me. And be safe, Rain Beaus.

#Amy's Rain Review #Rain webcomic #Rain LGBT #Rain by Jocelyn Samara #Jocelyn Samara #lgbt webcomics

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triskhellion · 10 months

Text

Sunday Snippet

tagged by @dear-massacre

from Honey Wine

The Compact had been between shifters, magic users, the fae, and the majority of the Hunter clans. It was the result of years of determined negotiation and sacrifice, including numerous attempted and successful assassinations by those who wanted the bloodshed to continue. But in the end the supernatural beings came together and presented a united front to the Hunters, most of whom chose to change their ways and survive.

As of 23 years ago, the days of all-out, species or classification based violence which had embroiled countless generations and decimated races, clans, covens and so on, were over. Coyotes vs. wolves. Fae vs. kitsune. Druids vs. witches. Etc. The myriad and ever changing combinations of belligerents that existed over the years. And of course Hunters vs. them all.

It didn’t mean that no one could ever act against a member of another group (there was an entire section on justifiable force,) but that any such conflicts were to be kept to a personal level and were heavily frowned upon unless for a very good reason. There was a council with representatives from each people that oversaw the handling of rogues.

And so the Argents had ostensibly become upstanding, non-homicidal citizens, never mind that such hateful attitudes were extremely unlikely to simply just disappear. Gerard’s daughter had seemed more than willing to accept a courtship with her newly of age 16 year old son and that had been enough for the great Alpha Hale. Apparently, the bar for concern about his well-being had been physical violence and it turned out that they’d been wrong in that assessment too. Not that they had taken his word for it.

Derek clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, letting out an involuntary whimper-growl at the painful memories.

“Who goes there?” a drawling and amused male voice called out from nearby, snapping him back to the present.

Derek startled and jumped up, spinning around to look for its source. How did he get that close to someone without noticing?

Searching intently with his more heightened senses he soon realized that he still couldn’t hear their heartbeat and breathing or scent them in the air, which could only mean one thing: magic. Of what kind he had no idea.

Cautiously, he crept closer to what he figured was the one place within range that a person could remain unseen. Assuming they weren’t also invisible somehow. Derek shivered at the thought, looking around anxiously as if that would do any good were that the case and feeling even more vulnerable.

Neither magic wielding humans nor the various fae had given him or his family any real trouble before, but he was out here alone and one could never know. The fae in particular often had a mischievous streak and he was currently outside of the considerable stretch of the Preserve that was part of the Hale territory.

Knowing that whoever it was likely already had the upper hand and could attack him if they wanted to he supposed he might as well try to face the being that he was dealing with. When he peeked around the other side of a large, uneven tree stump he saw what appeared to be a brunet young man in his late teens, maybe 20, sitting sideways and half sprawled across the seat — no, throne — that had been carved into where the trunk had broken and fallen over some time ago. His head was resting against the back of the recess, long-lashed eyelids closed above an upturned nose and cupid’s bow lips. An open flask of some fruit flavored alcohol was held loosely by the slender fingers at the end of a dangling arm.

Derek tried not to make a sound, but the magical youth knew that he was there, staring.

“Hi,” came that syrupy voice again, tousle-haired head abruptly turning to look straight at him with a raised eyebrow and an impish smirk. His laughing eyes were the color of amber honey.

“Now I know there aren’t any regular wolves around here, so unless you’ve escaped from a sanctuary or some wannabe House Stark super fan somewhere — and are unusually chill in the presence of strangers — I’m going to assume you’re a Were.”

Derek nodded in confirmation and the unknown supernatural’s grin widened. He was suddenly glad that he’d gone out in his wolf form because otherwise he was sure he’d be blushing under the inquisitive gaze. Well, visibly blushing. The thought of shifting now and standing naked in front of the attractive and self-assured young man on his forest throne only made Derek even more flustered.

Consider yourself tagged if you want to play along!

#sterek #sterek fanfic #wip #sunday snippet #it's kind of long #that's what she said

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thatoneao3writer · 9 months

Note

i got a very small boost of inspiration and motivation, so i finished something thats been long overdue (unfortunately not the thing youre probably thinking of :( unfotunately my long running fic for ttau continues to be neglected) but i hope it can be enjoyed regardless :)

ps- the last edit of this prior to tonight was MARCH 22ND 2022 its been well over a year :')

but without further ado, i present a pretty adequate one shot that i just finished ten minutes ago

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Punz was 7 when the family next door moved in, bringing a young, white-haired boy with them. Punz would see the boy every day, heading to and from school, wearing a frog-themed bucket hat that complemented his pale skin and hair very well. Secretly, Punz thought the boy was very nice looking, but he had yet to speak to him, even though he only lived one house down. He was too shy to initiate conversation, so he stuck to playing endless video games every day after school, alone.

On the first day of second grade, as Punz walked into his new classroom for the year, he was excited to see the white-haired boy at the back of the classroom, sitting next to an empty seat. As Punz started to make his way towards the empty seat, the boy looked up and waved at him, smiling brightly. And to Punz’s eternal shame, he immediately tripped and felt his face go bright red with embarrassment. What a way to impress. Nonetheless, he continued to the back of the classroom, keeping his head down to hide the apparent blush on his face. He resigned himself to the fact that he had most likely ruined his chances of becoming friends with the boy, until he felt a very light tap on his shoulder. He turned, expecting a jibe, but was instead presented with a smile, and the offer of a handshake.

“Hi! My name’s Boomer! What’s yours?”

Punz smiled, and that was the beginning of a special friendship that neither ever wanted to let go of.

The two were automatically inseparable, and always getting into trouble, whether it be in school or at home. One was seldom seen without the other. Punz was there for Boomer’s very first swim meet, ready to congratulate him and hug him, and Boomer was there when Punz’s baby brother, Purpled, was rushed to the hospital after accidentally swallowing one of Punz’s legos, and Punz broke down, crying, thinking he had killed his baby brother. Boomer had stayed with him the whole time. His moms’ had been pissed after that one, rightfully. The two were together when Boomer came out to their family as using they/he pronouns. The two were together when Punz found out about his moms’ jobs, and how dangerous they truly were. Their time together had been the best years of either of their lives, and Punz was finally ready. He had had a crush on his best friend for years, dare he say since the very first time he had even caught a glimpse, and it was all about to come to an end, for better or for worse. He had finally worked up the courage to confess.

One summer’s night, eleven years old, Punz had asked Boomer over while his moms were out on a job, the two climbing onto the roof with tons of snacks and treats for them to share over stories and jokes. The two laid on their backs, staring up at the stars, when Punz rolled to his side and cleared his throat. Boomer looked at him and smiled, and Punz felt his skin warm slightly, combatted only by the cool night air.

“Hey, Boomer… can I tell you something?” Punz asked, sitting up abruptly. Boomer smiled at him warmly.

“Of course man.” They nodded. Punz swallowed nervously, and looked away, taking a deep breath before turning back to his best friend and opening his mouth to confess-

“Boomer, I-”

-and was cut short by Boomer pressing a kiss to his mouth. He closed his eyes and let his hand fall to his friend's shoulder, before Boomer quickly leaned back, looking worried and nervous.

“Punz, I am so sorry. I- I shouldn’t have done that. I’ll… I’ll go. I’m so sorry.” He breathed, standing up with tears in his eyes. Punz was about to stop them when they were interrupted by two police cruisers pulling into the driveway, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

Everything after that was a blur. Finding out that both of his moms were dead, both found with multiple gunshot wounds to the stomach. A slow and painful death. And even then, it wasn’t until Punz was an adult that he saw the case files, showing pictures of his moms’ wrists tied together behind their backs, skin bloody and raw. A sure sign of struggle.

But that was years in the future. Right now, Punz was experiencing the worst shock of his life. Right now, Punz was sitting on the couch, his moms’ couch, in his moms’ house, numb. Right now, Punz’s little brother was in the next room with one of the police officers, cleaning up his toys. Right now, Boomer was there with him, holding him and trying their best to get him to ‘please, please, say something. Anything.’, while Boomer himself tried not to cry at the look of absolute blankness on his best friend’s face. But eventually, they had to let Punz go. The two young, and now motherless boys had to go into foster care. In the city, miles upon miles away with no hope for a kid like Boomer to visit.

And Boomer had to go home.

And face his own family.

And tell them what had happened.

And cry themself to sleep that night.

And the night after that.

On the third night, Boomer went back to the house next door, and used the hidden key in the flower pot to go inside.

All they wanted was some of Punz’s clothes, the stuff he had been forced to leave behind.

So Boomer took the hoodies that were left and the basketball shorts and the hats and the blanket off of his bed and went home.

And they cried themself to sleep once more.

But this time, they were surrounded by the familiarity of their best friend.

And that just made everything worse.

By the fourth night, Boomer decided he’d had enough. They pulled on Punz’s favourite hoodie, the white one with the black stripes. It was way too big for him, but they rolled up the sleeves and packed their bag, filling it with snacks and water and money. He grabbed his phone and climbed out the window.

It was chilly out, but it was a beautiful night. Boomer opened the maps app on his phone, and set the location to Essempei, before starting on their journey to the city. 7 hours. That's how long it would take to walk into the city from the suburban neighbourhood they lived in. 7 hours.

He didn’t make it very far.

3 hours into the walk, nearing one in the morning, a surveillance camera outside of an abandoned warehouse caught a glimpse of a young, white-haired boy, who stopped to grab a snack out of their bag on the side of the road, when a white van pulled up next to them.

The kid startled, attempting to grab their bag when three people, dressed in all black, jumped out and grabbed their arms, throwing them in the back of the van and speeding off without a trace.

The next morning, when Boomer’s parents found them missing from his bed, all of the local authorities were notified.

But nothing was ever found.

But even sixteen years later, they still look the same.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Boomer didn’t know, there was no way they could have known.

He doesn’t even know if he wanted to know.

Boomer had resigned themself to the knowledge that they would never see Punz again years ago. Boomer had known that Punz probably thought he was dead, if the man was even still alive himself. The chances were high. Punz had probably moved on, a long time ago. He probably heard about how Boomer had gone missing, and accepted it for what it was. The end.

Boomer had certainly thought it was the end.

But they suppose not, seeing as Punz was in front of him. Right in front of him. Albeit clearly drunk, but still. He was here. Here in this shitty bar, hidden away in an alley in the downtown area of Essempei.

Boomer would have been stuck in this neverending train of thought, standing in the doorway like a dumbass, if it wasn’t for Punz turning around, forcing them to make eye contact. The man did a double-take, almost spilling his drink as he stared in disbelief.

“Boomer?” He yelled over the music, wincing immediately from the volume, “Boomer?”. They nodded, and Punz smiled. It had been years, but his smile hadn’t changed one bit. He was still the same kid Boomer grew up with, still the same kid he fell in love with.

But this Punz was drunk.

So drunk that when Punz stood up to walk over to Boomer, he swayed and almost fell. When the two hugged, Boomer could smell the strong, pungent scent of hard liquor.

And then Punz started crying.

“You bitch…” He sniffled, looking up at Boomer with wet eyes, “I thought you were dead. Why the fuck would you do that? Your parents were devastated, I saw them on the news the day you disappeared. Why?”

Boomer stayed quiet. What could he say? ‘I missed you. I wanted to see you again. I wanted to bring you home. I wanted to finally tell you how much you meant to me.’ They can’t tell Punz any of that, so they say, simply, “It’s what felt necessary.”

And then the man in his arms collapses.

Boomer worries for only a moment before the barkeep shouted at him from across the room, temporarily easing their concerns.

“Hey kid,” the barkeep shouts, waving a bit of paper, “don’t worry too much about it. I wish I could say that this didn’t happen a lot, but I’m no liar.” They set the piece of paper on the bartop, tapping it lightly. “I’d normally do it myself, but if you’re able, call this number for him. It’s his partner.” The barkeep smiled tightly at him, tapping the paper one more time before continuing to serve the patrons at the bar.

Boomer just nods, mind wandering as he drags Punz to a booth, snagging the paper off the bartop on the way there.

‘Of fucking course” They think to themself as they pull out their weathered cell phone. ‘Of fucking course he’s dating someone. You idiot, you expected this to happen, so why are you so fucking suprised?’ He groans, pulling on his hair just a bit, a nervous habit they had never managed to do away with, even after all these years. They take a couple deep breaths as the phone rings, waiting for the call to go through.

“Hello?” someone says on the other end of the call. Their voice is a bit deeper, so maybe- “Hello? Is someone there?” the person repeats. Boomer snaps out of their daze, clearing their throat for a moment.

“Uh, hi? This is an old friend of Punz’s. The barkeep gave me your number?”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

anyway, hope you enjoyed, i thought about pasting this on ao3 with the other ttau stuff but i figured this could be left for people who follow this account to read

also for the record i actually do remember what the original ending of this was supposed to be (ik its suprising given how much important stuff i tend to forget) it was supposed to go on for a bit longer and end with boomer taking punz home and ending up meeting punz's partner (sam nook) but its a miracle i even finished this so there was no way i was writing all that

Look at what Hayden made

#ttau #ask #pumz #hayden

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moviemunchies · 1 year

Photo

A few years ago, Funny or Die released a trailer that was a parody of a string of biopics of music artists, featuring Weird Al Yankovic. Seeing how popular it was, and the potential in it, they decided to make it an actual movie.

Billing itself as the true story of Weird Al and his life, starring Daniel Radcliffe, the final result was Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

Alright, so it probably won’t take a lot of research to work this out: despite the assurance of the actual Weird Al before the movie begins, very little of this movie is remotely true. Yankovic seems as if he’s had a fairly low-key and well-adjusted life. But because this is parodying big name singer biopics, it has to hit all those beats. So there’s the dream-forbidding parents, the alcohol, the drugs, the bit where the singer alienates his band and his friends, by being a jerk, and selling out. And probably some violence in there too, because why not?

The result is a movie that is absolutely ridiculous in just about every way, and it is GLORIOUS.

[As a side note: there are a few minor details in the movie that are true, surprisingly enough. For instance, Weird Al’s first single was recorded in a bathroom, though not in a bus station. I didn’t know that before this movie.]

There have been a lot of essays written about this movie, I’ve noticed while looking up other reviews. I don’t know what the heck they’re talking about, because this movie’s not that deep, but if it does teach us anything, I think it’s that Hollywood has a formula for these kinds of films. Biopics tend to be incredibly exaggerated as they are, which you understand for the sake of drama. But especially when dealing with artists and musicians, they manufacture so much drama and misery in an artist’s life to make them more cinematic.

So yes, obviously, Weird Al Yankovic did not have a shootout with thugs from Pablo Escobar’s gang. But it’s a biopic, it needs to be ridiculously exaggerated in order to fit with the genre. It otherwise wouldn’t fit. That’s the point the movie is making in doing this ridiculous storyline that has very little basis in reality.

I don’t really have much else to say about this movie? It is pretty amazing to see the sheer number of big names in this movie? Not just in terms of celebrity cameos and guest appearances, but in who they’re playing. So many of the random celebrities in this movie are playing random celebrities from the time it’s taking place in. Apparently some of the big names practically begged to be in the movie once they heard it was in production.

So if you’re into Weird Al, and you’ve got Roku, it’s worth looking up this movie. It’s not for younger fans–the violence and drugs (neither of which were part of the real Yankovic’s life, as far as anyone can tell) would probably not make this a family film. But for its intended audience it’s loads of fun.

Just… please, don’t ever take it as anything close to a serious biography.

#Movie Munchies #Weird Al #Weird: The Al Yankovic Story #Daniel Radcliffe #Weird Al Yankovic #review

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infitsovermisfits · 2 years

Text

What's Shakin' Baby? (2) - Eddie Munson x GN! Reader

AN: i wanted to finish this before my birthday (4 days ago now) and instead i broke my glasses ;-; happy birthday to me ig. ANYWAYS it's finished now- it took me so long and i really apologise for that ;-; I'm a perfectionist and it takes me a while to write these... I mean, look at the size. It's also difficult for me to work when I'm burnt out and tired all the time, and considering i stayed up till 7am to write this (dw I'm sleeping as soon as i post this) then yeah. That starts to take its toll eventually. I'll say that I had a lot of fun writing this- i understand not everyone likes fluff but to those i say ok? go read something else there's a multitude of fics I'm sure you'll find what u like :) PERSONALLY i liked Dustin and Eddie's friendship in s4 and it's clear Gaten and Joe have great chemistry... But hear me out: Eddie and Max. Do u really think Eddie saw Max moping around, all sad around the trailer park and just didn't do anything about it? Nah. Sarcastic little sister and Goofy older Brother? Ya. We were truly robbed of Max finding someone like Eddie to confide him and realise could be a good sibling to her that doesn't yell at her and make her afraid. (arcade idea stolen (with permission) from @intergalacticaquarium if you, like me, think Eddie and Max should have had a friend/siblings dynamic in s4, I encourage u to read their fics about them. They are v wholesome.)

WARNINGS: gender neutral reader, reader is 20, L O N G and slow burn forgive me i got v carried away, reader smokes, fluff, tooth-rotting fluff at the end, i promice, mentions of billy being a bad older brother to Max, Max opening up a bit about Billy trauma, Eddie being an amazing older brother to Max (along w yn ofc), eating food, negative self-talk, slight angst at the end, brain empty, no more thoughts, lmk if i missed something

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | MASTERLIST

15,915 words (holy shit i know)

The following day, you found you were driving back home from your trip into town with Eddie, blasting one of his mixtapes and singing along happily. As suspected, there wasn't anything interesting in the various stores and boutiques that had opened up since Starcourt shut down, but you still had a delightful day. You almost forgot how fun Eddie was to just... Be around. Even if he hated following you through the stores, his comments on the people in the store or the mannequins or the stupid slogans on the shirts made it difficult to not burst out laughing in the middle of the otherwise silent store. You did eventually have to drag him out so you wouldn't get kicked out when you flicked your gaze over and he was shifting the mannequin's hand around to be a middle finger. He finally pulled you into a Goodwill- the best decision you had made that day because apparently, you hit a jackpot- someone retired a bunch of Metal merchandise and it's probably the most quiet Eddie has been while sober and conscious in years. You both meticulously searched through the numerous Metal band t-shirts (some of which neither you, or Eddie had heard of, surprisingly), unsown patches he could add to his battle vest and various band pins. Eddie kept mumbling to himself about 'how lucky he got' as well as 'how someone could ever give this up'?

Collectively, you spent almost two hours sifting through all the clothes there and eventually buying close to ten things each. You stopped by a McDonald's to eat something, sitting in his car and talking about some bizarre thing that had crossed Eddie's mind at that moment, and as you drove home, you excitedly pointed at the Palace Arcade,

"Holy shit! That place is still open!?" You grinned eagerly, trying to turn your head to look over your shoulder at the passing building,

"Uhuh. If you came here a couple of weeks earlier, I would have taken you," he said playfully,

"What? Why not now?" You frowned, looking back at him,

"Cause school's out for summer. It's gonna be crowded as fuck with stupid kids stealing all the good prizes," He pouted, and you lit up at his comment,

"Aww," You grinned, "I'm sure we can just find your disappearing ink somewhere else out of town-"

"No, no, no," He grinned, "Buying something is not the same as winning it in an arcade after busting your ass on Tetris for an hour," You laughed softly at his comment,

"You played Tetris for an hour and all you could get was disappearing ink?" You grinned. At first you thought it was a joke- you remembered Eddie's whole phase with with the ink, realising he could draw whatever he wanted, wherever and no one would see it. He grafitied a lot of rooms in Hawkins with stupid messages and crude drawings, not to mention his room was full of glowing drawings under the black light he brought... You quickly realised he wasn't joking about spending an hour on one game and your eyes widened, "No-"

"Babe-" He said quickly,

"Eddie-" You said in a warning tone,

"Babe-" He repeated, his eyes widening and a grin spreading across his lips,

"Are you telling me you played Tetris for an hour... And all you could afford was disappearing ink?" You asked, mouth opening in shock,

"I'm not answering that," He huffed, "I don't like your tone,"

"How bad are you at Tetris?" You laughed, "It's a simple game, how-"

"Okay, well," He smiled, "Now you're just being mean-" He commented on your laughter,

"Eddie-" You managed breathlessly,

"It's a hard game!" He protested,

"This is like the rubik's cube all over again," You teased once you calmed down a little,

"It is not! Do not disrespect the cube like that"" He whined,

"The cube!!" You said amused, laughing,

"Can you stop making fun of me, babe?" He cast you a glance with a bright grin on his face,

"I'm not making fun of you; you're just funny, Eds," You grinned, shaking your head, "I'm simply reminiscing on that week that you locked yourself away in your room, almost losing your mind over that thing," You said,

"Yeah. And then a possum tried to kill me and cursed it," He said playfully,

The possum incident occurred in early autumn a few years ago. Before he disappeared for the week, Eddie picked up a new strain of weed from Rick. He talked your ear off about how it was real, authentic shit, grown in pristine conditions, and supposed to be better than anything he had ever sold or tried before. He'd been so excited to 'test' the product that he left his bedroom window open while he was greened out and a possum snuck in during the night. He didn't realise at first, but when he discovered it... It was safe to say that nothing could beat that phone call- hearing Eddie screaming about the 'demonic' marsupial hiding away in his closet and crudely describing it as a 'screaming rat that wants to eat him' was confusing at first. When you pulled the receiver from your ear, you almost collapsed laughing as you could hear him yelling from his trailer. It took you a while to collect yourself before you arrived in his home- Wayne was already there, attempting to usher the terrified creature into an empty laundry basket with a broom, while Eddie stood on his bed and rambled about 'demons' and 'cursed cubes'. Seeing you made him yell at you for laughing at the scene, and once you calmed, you moved your focus to help Wayne. You felt bad for the older man, considering he usually slept during the day for his shifts at the Plant, and who reprimanded Eddie about closing his windows at night so creatures don't find their way inside,

"It didn't try to kill you, Eddie," You told him as he parked his van outside his trailer, "It was more scared of you than you were of it," You pat his shoulder as you unbuckled the seatbelt and got out, heading for the back of the van to collect your bags,

"Why'd it have its mouth open then?" He grinned, opening the back for you,

"Because that's what they do," You reminded him, "They don't have thumbs, or spikes or knives, so they open their mouthes to be all scary," You explained, smiling as he rolled his eyes. You cast a glance at the bags, "Damn... We gotta wash all of these," You mumbled as you grabbed yours, which had been set on the right,

"Possums are terrifying," He muttered under his breath as he walked back to his trailer,

"Yeah, yeah," You rolled your eyes, "Hey, meet me at mine in like, ten minutes," You said, "I got watermelon in my fridge," You smiled,

"Yeah, I know. I was there when you bought it," He said with a grin, "Save me a beer," He said, before disappearing into his trailer.

A while later, you'd set the clothes you bought in the washer, opened the beer for him and got busy cutting up the watermelon. Eddie quickly entered announcing himself with a cheerful 'Hey baby!' the thick smell of cigarettes fluttering through the air behind him. Glancing up to give him a small smile, you noted he was shirtless, yet still wearing the same pair of dark jeans he had on before. He hated shorts, so he opted to find the jeans with the largest rips and holes in them instead. It surprised you when he walked up behind you, wrapping an arm around your waist and pressing a kiss to the back of your head. As you tried to feed him a chunk of the fruit, he playfully moved out of the way, grabbing the beer and mentioning that he was smoking, so he couldn't eat. You rolled your eyes, before telling him you should go sit outside, considering your AC was busted and it was cooler there than inside. There was a thin layer of sweat on your forehead, and you didn't want to stay inside longer than you had to. You eyed the spider etched into his right shoulder- how dare he not mention he got a new tattoo?

"You're staring," He said in a sing-songy tone, distracted by fishing out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pockets, causing you to blush and glance away from him,

"Shut up, Eds," You said with a small smile, following him outside and sitting in one of the seats you had on the porch, before grabbing a watermelon slice to eat. You gladly accepted the cigarette he offered, leaning over so he could light it for you and inhaling deeply,

"You dig the new ink?" He asked playfully, sliding a notebook you hadn't noticed he brought along off the table into his lap and flicking through the pages. You eyed him; the cigarette tucked between his teeth and plump lips, his brows drawn together slightly as he focused on the contents of the pages; big brown eyes darting over the words scribbled inside, "Drew it myself," He said, lifting the book up to show you the spider,

"Holy shit, Eds, it looks so cool!" You grinned, taking a bite of the melon,

"Thanks!" He said proudly, picking up the pencil that had fallen from between the pages and flicking to a half-empty page, "Took me forever deciding where I wanted it," He mumbled,

"It looks good where it is, babe," You told him, giving him a small smile and eating some more of your watermelon slice, "Oh- Hey Max!" You called, seeing her approach from the entrance to the trailer park on her skateboard. Considering she didn't look up at your loud yell, you guessed she must have her headphones on, "You think she's still super into Kate Bush?" You glanced over at Eddie,

"Probably," He murmured, the word muffled by the cigarette between his lips. His gaze flicked up to you, then Max in the distance, and then settled back to the notebook he was busy scribbling away in,

"Mh," You hummed. You took another drag before straightening and raising a free hand to wave at her as she approached. Seeing you, she effortlessly stepped off the board, walking a few steps and picking it up, before pulling the headphones off of her head and letting them sit around her neck. She came to a stop before the steps up to your trailer, glancing between you and Eddie,

"What?" She asked sharply,

"You having a good day, Red?" You heard Eddie ask,

"It... Was fine," She said, a little confused by his question,

"Anything fun happen?" You asked, leaning your elbows on your knees and letting your head rest in your hands, smiling at her, "Oh- you want some watermelon? I just cut it up- it's from the fridge so it's nice and cold," You offered, glancing behind you and picking the bowl up from the table, extending it out to her

"No," She shuffled in place a little,

"Damn... That's a shame," You said, setting the bowl back in its place, "Well, if you want any, you know who to ask," You told her, "Are you more into smoothies, by any chance?" You asked, "I have a blender and crazy experience making thick juice," You offered, smiling at the sight of the corners of her lips involuntarily lifting. She turned on her heel to walk to her neighbouring trailer,

"C'mon, Red," Eddie chimed in, "Their smoothies are a work of art- and that's coming from me," He called after her,

"Whatever," You heard her mutter before she quickly climbed the steps and entered the trailer,

"Damn," You sighed, leaning back in your chair and finishing the cigarette, stumping it out in the recently emptied ashtray,

"I could hear it from here," You heard Eddie chuckle to himself. You turned your body to look at him, leaning an arm on the table,

"Kate Bush?" You asked,

"Good, old Katie," He grinned. You gave him a playful glare,

"If you dare disrespect her, Eddie, I swear-"

"Wh- Disrespect?" He set the pencil between the pages of his book and closed it, setting it on the table, "When did I ever say anything disrespectful about Kate Bush, babe?" He said defensively, though there was an amused look on his face,

"You didn't, but I know how riled up you can get," You grinned, finishing your clice and setting the rind back into the bowl, "About what constitutes as 'real' music," You mimed air quotes before grabbing another slice,

"I would never say a bad thing about Kate Bush though, babe," He said, "Promice. Hand on heart; cross it and everything," He said, drawing a finger in two lines over the ink on his chest,

"Good," You raised your brows, "Cause she's like... Crazy amazing,"

"I know," He grinned, "I was the one who introduced you to her," He smiled,

"Cause the song came on the radio," You teased,

"In my car," He said with a smirk,

"Whatever," You rolled your eyes, sitting back in your chair and biting into the watermelon, quickly licking the juice that spilled onto your fingers. It was delightfully cold, thanks to you putting it in the fridge as soon as you got home from the grocery store earlier today. You only wished you could buy some stronger alcohol, or make a cocktail...

"Hey... Come here," Eddie mumbled, catching your attention. Once your eyes were on him, he removed the cigarette from of his mouth and tapped his leg with his free hand, shifting his legs so they were spread slightly wider apart,

"Why?" You asked, though you set your slice into the bowl and stood up without much hesitation. His smile simply widened as you approached him, carefully sitting in his lap and wrapping your arms around his neck. He hummed pleasantly, wrapping an arm around your middle to pull you closer,

"Missed you," He said simply, before tucking the cigarette back between his lips to take a drag,

"We spent the entire day together, babe," You reminded him, pulling the cigarette out of his lips and placing it between your own as he tilted his head back to exhale the smoke up into the air,

"Mhhm, and you dragged me around all these stupid stores and didn't let me have fun," He grinned, leaning forward to press a kiss to your cheek and taking his cigarette back,

"You almost got us kicked out, again," You grinned,

"I was just helping the mannequins express their feelings," He said with a nonchalant shrug. Your eyes flicked down to his neck, smiling and allowing your hand to gently caress the soft skin, "They've probably been stuck there for years in those awful shirts. I could sense a lot of anger coming from those plastic things," He said,

"You're a true hero, Eds," You smiled, "For mannequins all across America," You grinned,

"I work one store at a time," He said with a small smile. You laughed as he took another drag, "Can't believe we scored gold in that Goodwill," He said proudly,

"I know, right?" You grinned, "I finally got my own Pantera shirt," You said excitedly,

"I wonder who gave all of those shirts away," He muttered curiously,

"Someone cool?" You said, shifting a hand to play with strands of his hair, running your fingers through,

"Or someone lame," He suggested, glancing at the movements of your hands as your fingers began to carefully braid his hair, "In any case, we lucked out. You're like a good luck charm," He said with a proud smile,

"Me?" You asked amused, grinning as he moved his hand to touch yours, pulling your fingers away from his hair and pressing a kiss to the back of them,

"You," He murmured, brown, doe eyes meeting yours. He set the cigarette in the ashtray, letting both his hands wrap around you,

"Bet if you went to the store earlier without me you would have found those shirts anyways," You mumbled, rolling your eyes,

"Nah," He said, "But they'll make good replacements for all the shirts you stole from me," He said playfully, causing you to laugh,

"Maybe this is my way of giving them back to you," You joked,

"That's a really stupid way of giving me back my stuff, babe," He said, "Making me pay for my own stuff?"

"Eddie I'm j-"

"I know," He laughed, "I just like to tease you," He smirked, leaning back in his chair with a small sigh, "So! We have the rest of this wonderful day together. What do you suggest we do?" He asked, watching you expectantly. It was only the beginning of summer- the days would grow longer and hotter, and you'd be forced to get the AC fixed so you could seek comfort in the coolness of your home. That meant you couldn't really hang out in there. Eddie's trailer was always an option but it felt a little strange just inviting yourself there- besides, Wayne worked nights at the Plant, which meant he had to sleep all day. You couldn't play the TV too loud or yell or listen to loud music... You let your mind run as you leaned over Eddie, pulling the fruit bowl closer so you could munch on a slice as you thought. You'd already been and raided the nearby stores, and Hawkins was a shithole with nothing interesting ever happening here. The only thing left was...

"What about the arcade?" You said, raising your brows, "You can win me a teddy bear," You smiled,

"How romantic," He grinned, "But be warned, it will take me like... Six hours on Tetris to get enough tickets to afford one of those," He said, causing you to laugh,

"Damn- does the arcade even let people stay that late? Especially if they're awful at the game they're playing," You teased,

"Fine- you're not getting anything from me," He huffed playfully,

"Eddie- no!! Play anything but Tetris," You plead, grinning,

"Fine, fine. I'm pretty good at Pinball," He said, arms leaving you momentarily so he could stretch them above his head,

"You can't win tickets with Pinball. Also- pinball is the lamest game you can play at an arcade," You said, holding the slice out for him to take a bite of,

"Hold on-" He said surprised, gently moving your hand out of the way, "What did you just say?"

"Pinball is the lamest?" He opened his mouth in shock, and you smirked, moving the slice against his lips so he was forced to take a bite of the pink fruit, "What are you? An old man?" You grinned,

"Old men aren't the only ones who play pinball, babe!" He protested, yelping softly as some of the juice spilt out of his lips and down his chin. You laughed as he reached a hand to wipe his face and smirked, swallowing the food in his mouth and grabbing the slice from your hands,

"Yes, they are!" You laughed, shaking your head and getting off of his lap, "Oh my God- Eddie," You managed between laughter, having to lean your hand on the side of your trailer, "I have never met anyone who goes to an arcade thinking 'I'm going to play pinball', what the fuck?" You laughed,

"Listen- okay, okay. Since you think this is so fuckin' funny-" He said standing and following you as you stumbled inside your open front door, hardly breathing through your laughter, "-You haven't been here in a year, and, like, a bunch of the good machines broke down," He rambled,

"So it's the machine's fault you're horrible at the games," You grinned as you stepped into the warmer home, "Not your horrible game skills?" It was only a few degrees difference, though the change felt astronomical,

"Yeah- it is," He said, groaning as he followed you, feeling the warmth against his skin, "Shit- what's up with your AC?" He asked, watching as you removed the mass of black from the washer,

"Broken," You huffed, grabbing the basket and heading back outside,

"Why didn't you ask Wayne to fix it for you?" He frowned, walking to the broken machine and tapping it,

"He's asleep, right?" You said, glancing over at him, "I don't wanna wake him and waste his time," You sighed,

"Babe, your house is unliveable. I'll get him to fix it for you-"

"Don't we have plans to go to the arcade?" You asked, trying to quickly change the topic as you moved outside to the now empty line you shared with Max, beginning to hang up the wet shirts,

"Yeah, but-" He tried, following you quickly,

"Do you think Max'll wanna come with us?" You asked, glancing from her trailer, then back over your shoulder to see him standing on your porch and watching you. With a dejected sigh, he moved to sit down, his legs hanging over the edge of the porch, "Do kids nowadays even play arcade games anymore?" You asked more yourself as you got back to your task, running a hand over the wet, upside down 'Pantera' print,

"Of course they like arcade games," he said with a huff, "Everyone likes arcade games,"

"Good," You smiled, "I have faith in the new generation once again. And maybe she plays games that aren't Pinball or Tetris," You teased, "Maybe she's actually good," You added, "Maybe-"

"I swear to God if you make fun of me again..." You heard him say in a mock threatening tone,

"You'll what?" You grinned, setting the empty basket down and looking at him. A large grin spread over his face and he quickly hopped off the porch, "Oh no- Eddie, no-" You yelped as he suddenly grabbed you, picking you up and spinning you around and cackling, "Put me down!" You laughed loudly,

"You take everything you said back or I throw you in the dirt!" He said playfully,

"How about I don't!" You grinned, grabbing at his hands. He laughed again, setting you down but still holding on to you tightly. He opened his mouth again to say something, although-

"Gross," You heard from nearby, causing your head to look in the direction of the voice,

"Oh, hey Max!" You grinned at the red-headed girl now standing nearby in the shade between the two mobile homes. Eddie loosened his hold on you, letting you brush off your clothes and gather yourself, "We were just looking for you-"

"Why?" She asked,

"Well, uh... Eddie and I are planning on going to the arcade later and we wanted to know if you wanted to join us," You offered with a pleasant smile. She watched you with a frown, glancing between your faces, before narrowing her eyes,

"What's in it for you, huh?" She asked sceptically,

"Nothing...? We're just going to have fun and play games. Maybe get some milkshakes later or something?" You offered, glancing over at Eddie,

"C'mon, Red," Eddie piped up, moving to stand next to you, "It'll be fun; we used to go to the Palace all the time-" He gestured between you,

"Didn't we call it 'Our Palace' at some point?" You grinned, glancing back at him,

"Hell yeah," He grinned, "God, I used to kill on those pinball machines," He gave you a look, while you laughed at his statement, "Christ," He mumbled, rolling his eyes at your reaction, though smiled fondly at your laughter,

"Don't mind him- we played games other than Pinball," You assured her, "Have you ever been there, Max?" You asked the girl, and watched her cast her gaze downwards momentarily,

"Yeah... I used to go a lot, actually. It was the first place I'd go to when I first came here from California," She said, "I stopped going a few years ago... Cause of school? Haven't really been there since," She admitted,

"All the more reason for you to come with us!" You said eagerly, "Please? We promise we'll never bother you again," You plead, putting your hands together to emphasise your point. She glanced back at you and sighed,

"Fine," You both grinned happily, "I'll have to ask my mom,"

"That's fine- you be ready by 6," You told her eagerly, before grabbing Eddie's hand and dragging him back to your trailer,

"See you later, Red!" He called after her, laughing slightly as you dragged him inside your trailer.

It took a while for you to get ready. You had brought in the rest of your watermelon inside so the flies and wasps wouldn't gather around the fruit, eating the slices and trying to get Eddie to eat them with you, before cleaning your hands and changing into your outfit for the evening. Eddie left at your request to get ready himself, allowing you to freshen up and get ready in peace. Once you were finished, you walked out to meet up with Eddie and Max. Coincidentally, you walked out of your trailer at the same time as her, giving her a small nod and mentioning that Eddie was going to be your ride to the arcade. Once you locked your trailer, you joined her in the short walk over to his, lighting up a cigarette on your way there. Max had also changed and was holding a blue zip-up jacket for later in the evening, when the temperature would inevitably drop. Her hair, which had previously been braided, was out in loose waves and framing her pale face. She glanced at Eddie's trailer as you stopped, leaning against his van. You could faintly hear Black Sabbath playing from his open bedroom window,

"He's late," Max pointed out,

"He is... As usual," You let her know, "But he's our ride, so we gotta wait," You said with a sigh, "He's probably fixing up his hair- it usually takes a while, he's got a lot of it," You joked, smiling softly as she let out a quiet, breathy laugh,

"Yeah. Right," She nodded, eyeing the cigarette in your hand,

"Speaking of hair," You gestured to her, "Where's your Anne of Green Gable's schtick?" You asked,

"Didn't seem fitting for an arcade," She mumbled,

"Course," You smiled, "You excited to try any of the games there?" You asked,

"Excited?" She smiled slightly, "Do I look like a kid to you?"

"Well, you seemed eager to go," You shrugged, "I'm excited. I'm sure Eddie is too- oh! And if you're any good, you could teach him how to play Tetris!" You grinned,

"He doesn't know how to play Tetris?" She asked, blinking her wide eyes in surprise, "But it's so easy...!" She said, and you laughed softly, nodding,

"I know, right?" You smiled, glancing over her "He excels at DnD though... That might be the only game he's good at. As annoying it is watching him play the games and loose them, it's pretty funny," You grinned,

"Sure," She smiled slightly, glancing around in silence,

"I think your hair's cool, Max," You told her, "Pretty colour and all that," You said with a nod,

"What about my hair?" Eddie asked, walking out of the trailer and meeting you at the foot of the stairs,

"Not yours," You said, rolling your eyes, "Max's," You gestured to the girl. Eddie glanced over at her and nodded his head in a silent hello, before plucking the cigarette from your lips and taking a drag as he twirled his car keys in his hand. He was wearing a Metalica shirt under his leather jacket,

"Nice hair, Red," He complimented, "Now are you two ready for the greatest night of your lives?" He asked, glancing between you with a grin,

"In Hawkins?" You smirked, grabbing your cigarette back from his hands, "Never," You winked. Your grin widened at the way he looked at you after your wink,

"Right- not grand enough for you, Your Majesty?" He waved his hand in a mock bow, grabbing the door handle to the passenger side and pulling it open for you. With a grin, you stood a little taller,

"No. It never is," You said in a fancy tone, "Now take me to my Palace, your highness," You said playfully,

"Jesus fucking Christ you are both awful," Max muttered, shaking her head,

"You wanna be called your highness too, Red?" Eddie asked with a smirk,

"I was promised a ride to the arcade," She said, "My mom gave me a 9 pm curfew, so..."

"Right- and we're losing daylight," Eddie clicked his fingers in understanding. He walked over to the back door, opening it and gesturing for her, "M'lady, your chariot awaits," He said dramatically, smiling at her. With another eye roll and a 'whatever' muttered under her breath, Max climbed into the back. You shut the door after her and climbed into the passenger seat, while Eddie moved around to the drivers side, and you drove off into town,

"Did you eat dinner yet, Red?" You asked, busy shuffling through the tapes you found in the car,

"Huh?" She asked, "Oh uh... Yeah," She said quietly,

"Is that a lie?" Eddie asked, glancing in the rearview mirror to see her face. You did the same, watching her blink, before quickly glancing out of the window,

"...No," She said in an unconvincingly way,

"Well I haven't," You chimed in, "But I'm not hungry right now," You said quickly, seeing Max glare at you through the mirror, "We should go buy pizza after we finish up at the arcade," You glanced over at Eddie,

"Hell yeah, we can stop by a Pizza hut and get those breadsticks you like," He grinned, giving you a knowing look,

"Nice- sound good to you Max?" You turned your head to look over your shoulder at her. A small, involuntary smile spread on her thin lips, though she quickly turned her head to try to hide it from you,

"Sure... Sounds good," She confirmed, glancing down at her feet and shuffling them slightly. With a satisfied smile, you looked back to the tapes you had left discarded in your lap, continuing to flip through and listening to the gentle clatter of plastic against plastic,

"Here," Eddie mumbled beside you, reaching over and opening the glove compartment. Thankfully, you were at a red stop light. Curiously, you watched his hand as he shuffled through the stuff thrown there carelessly. Your eyes focused on his rings, faintly glittering in the light from outside. You always had a fondness for them, loving the way they looked against his rough hands, and how cold they felt compared to the warmth of his skin. He finally pulled a tape out, and you glanced over the cover, "Put this one in," He said softly,

"'Kill 'Em All'," You read, sliding the tape out of the cover and looking it over, "Is this new?"

"Nope. I just lost it," He said, smiling once you set the tape in and placed the others back, "And then found it again when I was cleaning my van a few days ago. Hey, Max, you good with loud music?" He asked as 'Hit The Lights' started blaring loudly from the speakers,

"Yeah," She said softly. You expected another annoyed 'whatever' but the girl just kept silent, looking out of the window,

"Good- loud is good," Eddie smirked, giving you a glance and winking back teasingly,

"Hah- yeah," You grinned as the heavy guitar riffs came in and you turned the music back up. The ride into town wasn't too long, though by the time you arrived at the arcade, your hair was all messed up, considering you had rolled the windows down and spent the majority of the ride nodding your head to the music and laughing along with Eddie. Max was silent the whole time, only staring out of the window at the houses zooming past the van. Her hair covered her face so you couldn't see her expression, though it didn't appear she minded the loud music, or the way the car shook at your limited dancing, or your screaming along to the lyrics. You hopped out of the parked vehicle, glancing at the spinning 'Palace Arcade' sign, then flicking your gaze to the building. The lights were already lit, though the sun's light drowned them out so you couldn't appreciate the bright colours they'd usually cast across the parking lot. Outwardly, it was still the same as you remembered when you were there last year, and since you drove by it earlier today,

"Ready?" Eddie asked, coming to stand beside you, hands tucked into the pockets of his leather jacket and a small smile set on his lips as he watched you, "Also, is this our..." he trailed off, shuffling his boots against the gravel bellow, "Uh... How do..."

"Our...?" You looked at him expectantly. He opened his mouth, but the words fell short and he found himself unable to look at you. You narrowed your eyes, before realising, "Like our first date?" You asked, "As a couple?" He smiled at your words,

"Uh... Yeah," He nodded, "My first date with you," He said fondly, "I should have taken a camera," He huffed,

"We can always take a picture after," You nodded to the building, before walking forward so you could stand in front of him, "I'm looking forward to this date with you, Munson," You said, watching the grin forming on his face,

"I'll make it worth your while, babe," He said, walking forward to press a kiss to your forehead. You hummed pleasantly, before glancing back to his van,

"I love going out on dates and babysitting," You said playfully, "Speaking of-" You knocked on the back window, causing Max to jump, startled. She hadn't moved since you parked, appearing distracted. She gave you a confused look, before you pointed to the arcade behind you, "We're here!" You said, opening the door for her. She slid over, considering she was on the other side, and hopped out, looking at the building before her, "Hey, are you okay-"

"I'm fine," She said quickly, giving you a stern look. You held your hands up in surrender,

"Just making sure. We can always uh... Do something else," You offered,

"No, I just..." She sighed, glancing in the car as Eddie locked it, "I left my jacket in there," She told him,

"Oh, that's fine. It's warm now anyways and we'll come back," He gave her a reassuring smile, "You'll get your precious jacket back soon. Now come on! Let's play games," He said excitedly, eagerly walking over to you and grabbing your hand, pulling you towards the arcade.

Inside, it still looked the same, aside from a few new machines you were excited to try. You glanced over your shoulder to make sure Max was still following along, motioning for her to join you at an ATM to exchange the ten dollars you had brought along for quarters, one by one. Once you all had your money, you followed Eddie as he made a beeline to a machine,

"Pong?" Max asked as he slipped the change into the machine,

"Yeah! We used to play this all the time," Eddie said, glancing over at you with a wide grin, "You ever play?" He asked Max,

"Have I ever played Pong?" She asked with a slight smile, moving to stand next to him, "I heard you can't even play Tetris," You laughed as Eddie cast you a glare,

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm not losing to a child," He said, determination clear in his tone,

Eddie did, in fact, lose to Max. Badly. And when he started getting low on quarters and playfully frustrated, he insisted you tag in. She was good- really good. Normally, losing a few rounds would hurt your ego, but considering how much she was smiling and laughing now was worth the shame of losing to a freshman. She eventually pulled you away, bored of her near-constant victories to play air hockey,

"I'm with Max!" You said quickly, moving to stand next to her,

"Two against one? That's not fair!" Eddie whined,

"Fine- you play against her and I'll be the ref," You said, searching through your pockets for a dollar,

"And let her beat me again?" Eddie protested, "Hell no,"

"What is it, Munson? Are you afraid to lose to a child again?" You teased, leaning your hands on the side of the table,

"Yeah, Munson," You heard Max say besides you, handing you a dollar that you could put into the machine, "Looser buys us all candy?" She offered. He smirked, moving his hand out for her to shake,

"You're dead, Red," He grinned playfully, taking his spot at the end of the table and watching the rather intense game.

Eddie graciously bought you all a bunch of Nerds, Pop Rocks, Pixie Stix and Fun Dip. Max mentioned something about wanting to play Dig Dug and disappeared off down the aisles to find it, sneakily stealing the full bag of candy with her while Eddie distracted you with his annoyed mumblings of losing two games to a freshman,

"Aw man, my candy necklaces," You pouted when you noticed she was gone,

"C'mon- I wanna show you something," Eddie grinned, grabbing your hand and pulling you to another game,

"But what if she eats all of our candy?" You asked with a soft smile,

"First of all, I don't think it's humanly possible to eat that much candy at once without your teeth falling out," He said, casting you a glance,

"This is coming from the same Eddie Munson who won't eat his fruits and veggies?" You teased,

"Shut up," He rolled his eyes with a smirk, "Anyways," He glanced up at the name of one of the machines, before gesturing to it,

"Centipede?" You read the writing at the top, "This one's new, right?" You asked, not recognising it. Eddie nodded,

"Go ahead," He motioned for the machine,

"I don't know how to play it, Eds," You said, "Don't wanna waste my precious quarters on a game I'm not gonna be good at,"

"Then let me show you," He prompted,

"You and your history of being awful at games?" You asked playfully, digging through your pockets for some change,

"Babe," He whined, "Come on, please?" He smiled. With a sigh, you moved forward, placing your quarter in and straightening up. It surprised you a little as he moved up behind you, putting his hands over yours and resting his chin on your shoulder, "Here, like this," He said softly, considering he was so close to your ear,

"Okay," You started the game, eyes darting over the screen as he started it, "Woah- why does it split up like that? What?" You laughed softly as you shot at the bug. Eddie moved his hands over yours so his fingers pressed against yours on the buttons. You'd played games together multiple times- Eddie behind you with a gentle hold on to your hands, occasionally fighting for control over the buttons and laughing as you playfully yelled at him to get off because you were going to get a 'Game Over' and waste your money. All in good spirits of course. You revelled in the closeness of him in this sort-of hug. Now you were finally together as a couple, it felt different. The gentle kisses he'd press to your cheek and neck, or simply blowing cold air onto your skin, grinning as it caused you to shiver, were incredibly distracting, but you couldn't deny that it felt nice, and beautifully intimate,

"Damn, you've been making fun of how bad I am at Tetris when you can't even play Centipede," He smirked, pressing another kiss to your cheek before letting go of you, standing to the side, grinning proudly,

"If you weren't distracting me, Eddie, I might have won," You huffed, "Or at least get a high score," You huffed, glancing at the flashing 'Game Over' screen. You glanced down at the names next to the high scores, noticing 'Mad Max' filling some of the bottom slots- could that potentially be your red-headed companion, blissfully distracted by you and Eddie and eagerly tapping away at the buttons on Dig Dug? Glancing up higher, through the less familiar names, your eyes widened at the top two, "No-"

"Yes," Eddie grinned beside you,

"No," You repeated, jaw-dropping at the two names at the top, "You beat Henderson at this!?" Your eyes widened, glancing over at him smiling proudly,

"Kid's got a vendetta against me because I kicked his ass on here," He said, "I wanted to see how you would do," He said,

"You just distracted me the whole time, Eds! I had no chance!"

"Uh- I helped?" He said, "And now you can't make fun of me for being bad at games," He grinned, "Here, watch me, it's honestly really simple," He playfully pushed your arm so you'd step out the way,

"And here I thought your gaming talents ended at DnD," You teased, folding your arms and watching him straighten up, hair bouncing once he placed his own quarter into the machine,

"I'll let this one slide, but if you offend me one more time," He held up his finger in mock warning,

"You'll what?" You challenged, grinning, "Huh? Huh? What're you gonna do Munson?" You grinned, moving to stand very close to him. He only smiled down at you, soft eyes flicking over your face, and making you momentarily forget your playful conflict. He quickly broke the eye contact, glancing at the screen, then looking at you with a slight glare,

"I'll make you walk all the way home," He settled, smirking proudly and starting the game, quickly tapping the buttons,

"Oh, yeah?" You asked, looking over his shoulder at the screen. He clearly knew what he was doing, fully focused on the screen. Leaning closer to his ear, your grinned, "Make me," You hissed, quickly moving away and smirking at the way his eyes widened and he looked at you quickly. You were already walking away towards Max, though you glanced back and blew a playful kiss at him, "You better win that game now, babe!" You called back to him, watching him shake his head and grin, glancing back at the screen, "How's it going Max?" You asked, looking over her at the screen, "Holy shit- you're on round six!?" You said proudly,

"Yeah," She murmured, concentrating hard,

"How are you so good at Dig Dug?" You marvelled, staring at the screen and then glancing down at Max's hands as she expertly played the level,

"Got a lot of practice back in California," She mumbled, blue eyes darting around the screen in full concentration, "They have the same machine up there. And I spent a lot of time here when I first came to Hawkins," She said, a small smile appearing on her lips as the screen flashed brightly, indicating she passed the level,

"Nice, Max!" You grinned, lifting a hand up for her to high-five, "Max... MADMAX? You've had the top high scores on this game for years now," You smiled as her hand slapped against your own, "That's real talent kid," You complimented,

"It's a simple game," She shrugged, though the smile didn't leave her lips. She ended up scoring sixty-eight thousand points and you grinned, feeling like a kid at the sight of all the tickets pouring out of the machine, "Damn," she hissed, standing back as the screen displayed 'Game Over',

"What?" You asked with a small smile,

"I got third place," She said with a small frown, "I used to be way better," She glanced at the high scores that both displayed MADMAX,

"Are you hearing yourself?" Eddie spoke up, grinning. He had quietly joined you a few moments ago, holding a bunch of tickets he won at Centipede, "You got third place-" He leaned over to tap the screen, "-And first, and second. You're the entire podium!"

"Still. I should have done better," She said, glancing around at the other machines,

"Meh- I say you did great," Eddie grinned, reaching over and ruffling her hair, "C'mon!" He eagerly scooped up her tickets, swiftly moving to another machine, "Let me show you how it's done!" He said, stopping at the Pacman machine and shoving the tickets into your arms,

"Eddie's awful at Pacman," You whispered to Max, earning a small laugh from her that caused you both to lighten up as he started playing, "He always loses, but he likes the noises,"

"Babe, stop throwing me under the bus like this- Max, I'm great-" The telltale sound of Pacman dying came from the machine, "The fuck!?" He exclaimed, causing you to laugh as he smacked at the console,

"Eddie, don't break it!" You quickly grabbed at his arm, smirking, "My turn," You pushed him away with the tickets and focused on the game as the next round started, "See, what you're doing wrong is you're going after the power-ups first; you only go after 'em if the ghosts are chasing you," You muttered, "Max, get over here to watch the pro," You grinned, standing aside so she could watch you,

"Pro?" Eddie asked amused, "You got on the leaderboard once, babe. Humble yourself," You gasped at that,

"Excuse me, how many times have you been on the leaderboard, Munson?" You challenged,

"Well, on Centipede and Dragon's Lair-"

"I don't give a shit about those- I'm talking about Pacman," You smirked, "How many times have you beaten the first level of Pacman, Munson? Huh?" You teased, managing to kill one of the ghosts with the immunity buff,

"Damn- you can't even get over the first Pacman level, Eddie?" You heard Max ask from beside you,

"The game's hard!" He protested, though you could hear the smile in his voice. He stood behind you, an arm snaking around your waist and his head resting on your shoulder as he watched your movements,

"Get the cherries!!" Max chimed in, from the side. She sounded so happy- and when you completed the level, your small audience erupted into eager cheers, Eddie gripping your shoulders and shaking them slightly,

"Max- you do this level now. We'll take turns!" You said eagerly, ushering her to take your place and grinning as she started playing, "Eds, you can watch," You teased, turning to see him looking mock offended,

"Wh- Why!?" He whined,

"Uh- you cost us one of your lives," Max chimed in, "You're not touching this game again," She said playfully,

"Hear that Munson?" You smirked, glancing back at the screen to watch Max play,

"Well, I'm the one holding all of your tickets," He said, indicating to the large mass of tickets he held, "I can easily go cash these in for a bunch of sticky hands and worms on strings," He teased,

"You wouldn't have those if it wasn't for our skills!" Max grinned,

"She has a point, Eds," You grinned, "That'd be stealing," You said, to which he huffed and rolled his eyes,

"So no disappearing ink?" He pouted at you,

"Why are you so hung up on the disappearing ink?" You asked with a wide smile,

"Because it's cool!" He grinned, "And you can only see it with a black light!" He grinned. You made a face, sticking your tongue out,

"Yuk- I don't want to go near you with a black light-" You muttered,

"Shit!!" Max cursed as Pacman's death sound effect played from the machine. She hit it with her hand, wincing at the impact. With a small frown, you walked over to her as 'Game Over' flashed across the screen,

"Hey," You said, "It's fine! I'm kinda tired from all these games. Why don't we cash in our tickets and go... Eat pizza?" You suggested, glancing from Eddie to Max,

"Sure," She sighed, and you gently touched her shoulder walking to the prize counter and looking over all the things on display. From puzzles to gimmicky items stacking the shelves behind a clerk, and plushies hanging from the ceiling on strings, you let out a small sigh, eyes settling on a lava lamp momentarily, before rolling your eyes at the 'grand prize- 10,000 tickets!' scrawled underneath it,

"You ever get one of those?" You asked Max, pointing to the assortment of large teddy bears, dragons and various other stuffed toys,

"No... I doubt we'll be able to afford any of them," She shrugged, "Usually I could only afford the candy," She sighed,

"Me too. I did get a mug one time though. With Kermit the Frog on it," You smiled, "Spent a lot of time on solo pong though... Not too much fun playing it by yourself," You said, "I still have it. I drink hot cocoa out of it every winter," You smiled softly,

"You?" Max asked amused, "You like the muppets?" She smiled softly,

"What can I say? I have a soft spot for that funky little green guy," You grinned, clicking your fingers, "Too bad we can't afford any of the cool toys," You huffed,

"Whoever told you that?" Eddie grinned, appearing out of nowhere, "Let's get these counted," He gestured to the large ball of tickets. It seemed to have doubled in the few moments he was away from you, and when he placed them on the counter for the employee to count, you noticed two sticks of unopened tickets in his back pockets. How he managed to get those was a mystery to you. Catching you staring, he gave you a wink, "I'm gonna head to the bathroom. You guys pick out a good prize," He said playfully, walking behind the machines, away from the employee's view and pulling the two wads of tickets out, unfurling them to try make it look like they came from the machines,

"Where the hell did he get those?" Max hissed to you, eyes widened mouth agape as she looked from him to you,

"Eddie... Has his ways..." Was all you could say, stumped as to where he even found them, "I sort of figured it's best not to question things like this by now," You told her, glancing at the tickets. He promptly returned with another ball of unfurled tickets and a proud smirk on his face as the employee sent him a glare, considering they had to count more tickets. You heard him briefly mention he forgot them and attempted to distract the employee in hopes that'd get you more tickets. You moved to the side with Max, glancing at the prizes that were worth thousands, "Got your eye on anything, Red?" You asked, leaning your elbows on the glass counter, "Perhaps a Carebear?" You suggested,

"What about that?" She pointed,

"You're talking about the Popples?" You smiled, "I always loved those- my family could never afford them but I always thought they were so cute," You said,

"What even are they?" She smiled,

"Don't know, and I don't think I care. They just look cute for kids," You shrugged, "Which one d'you want?"

"What?" She asked, her smile faltering,

"What?" You mimicked, moving one of your arms so it was leaning on the counter, "I asked you to pick one," You nodded to the toys,

"Are... You sure?" She frowned, "They're your tickets..." She said, brows knitting together,

"You won more games than me," You winked, "C'mon Red, just-"

"But what about you?" She asked quickly,

"What about me?" You smiled, "C'mon, Red. This is for you- you deserve a reward for wrecking a super Senior and a college student at arcade games," You rolled your eyes. She was still looking at you with a confused look. You glanced back at the plushies, "Fine. Get a Care Bear instead," You prompted,

"But do you-"

"C'mon Red!" You groaned, "Look how sad Funshine Bear looks!" You pointed to the smiling yellow bear, "It's begging for you to take them home!" You grinned. She looked at you with wide eyes, still searching your face, as if she was looking for any hint of a lie, or... Some other emotions. She quickly looked back at the high-end prizes,

"We've got a good nine 'k' built up; that means thousand," Eddie grinned at you,

"Proud of you for learning that one, babe," You smirked, patting his chest gently, "You can get so much disappearing ink with that," You teased,

"Well now I'm not gonna get any," He pouted playfully,

"So what are you getting?" The tired employee said, glancing between the three of you. You looked at Max expectantly,

"Care bear; care bear," You quietly chanted at her confused face. She smiled slightly, rolling her eyes and looking back at the prizes,

"Can I get the... One of the Popples?" She asked softly, moving to place her hands on the counter, pointing out the one she wanted to the employee,

"You still have three thousand left," They said, placing the toy in front of Max and removing the price tag. It took you a while to choose through the various smaller prizes, trying to spend all your tickets so you had zero left. Your purchases included: three sticky hands for each of you; a few string worms for Eddie; matching space-themed keyrings for Eddie and you; disappearing ink; a bunch of temporary tattoos; and finally, more candy. You soon left, climbing into the van and speeding away. You grinned, throwing Pez pellets from a shitty dispenser at Eddie as he attempted to catch them in his mouth while he drove you to Pizza Hut.

Eddie brought up that you should probably share the pizza and then asked about the toppings you would both like. Max was mostly quiet, and you were fine with most things... That was until he jokingly brought up getting pineapple or banana. Even Max joined your fierce protests against them. You ended up getting half just cheese and half with toppings you mutually agreed on with Max, considering how iffy Eddie could be with certain ingredients,

"This'd be so good if it was Hawaiian," Eddie smirked at you over a mouthful of pizza,

"Eddie, you're very close to losing your speaking privileges," You grinned as he threw his head back and laughed, "Why are you so insistent on getting pineapple and banana on our pizza? You want to watch the world burn that bad?" You asked,

"You are correct, my dear," He smirked,

"That poor worker at the arcade wasn't enough for you?" You smiled at him,

"They counted wrong. And if they didn't want me to find their extra tickets, they should have hidden them better," He shrugged, "Besides, you know I'm only kidding about the fruits, right?"

"I knew you were joking," you gave him a sceptical look, before glancing over at Max, "He hates fruits," you let her know,

"Really?" You nodded with a small hum,

"Yeah, he does," You smiled, "I work at Sam's Smoothie Shack and I basically have to force him to drink the smoothies I make," You said, before glancing over at him, "Speaking of you hating fruits," You glared at him, "If we did get pineapple or banana, you wouldn't even eat it,"

"Nope," He smirked,

"So why would..." You trailed off, confused,

"Just to piss you off," He grinned,

"Eddie that'd be such a waste," You huffed, rolling your eyes as he laughed again,

"But it would be funny!" He said,

"Whatever," You smiled, looking over at Max, "Hey why aren't you eating?" You asked,

"Oh, I... I can have more?" She asked uncertainly. You looked at her, incredulously,

"Of course you can!" You smiled, "You think we can eat this whole thing just by ourselves?" You said, gesturing to the partially eaten pizza,

"Well..." Eddie said, before wincing your name as you kicked him under the table,

"Max, eat as much pizza as you want. We can even ask for a to-go box if you wanna take this home and reheat it later," You smiled at her, "It's no good cold, so get to eating," You reassured her, before your attention quickly snapped to Eddie, "You too- I don't want to hear any more about your weird pizza combos," You said, tapping Eddie's hand as he reached for another slice,

"Speaking of-" He smirked, "What if we put the pizza in a blender?" He smirked as you groaned his name in protest, "What? You expect me to drink mushy, blendy raspberries but not blended pizza?" He grinned, starting up yet another playful, bickering session between the three of you. At least Max was having a good time.

When you left, the sun had almost set, only a sliver of orange left, sitting far on the horizon The sky was primarily filled with a wonderful dark blue and speckled with bright stars. You remembered learning that most of them were likely suns at the centre of other galaxies, likely filled with their own solar systems, full of their own people or aliens... But most of them were likely dead, the visuals of them exploding into novas or supernovas taking light years to reach the earth and your gaze. But who cared if they were all dead? As long as you could see them, they were real, right?

You hummed along to the quiet music, the same Metallica tape playing quietly now as you stared out at the darkened houses and streets of Hawkins. The city was so much more peaceful at night, when the inhabitants were sleeping and the streets were relatively empty, safe for the occasional fox or cat that darted across the street. When you were younger, you thought the darkness was scary; some unseen monster hiding away in the shadows. Now, it just felt serene and calm- a small, anxious, part of you maybe still believed there were monsters lurking away somewhere, but with Eddie at your side... Actually, he probably wouldn't do a lot to scare them away. He'd likely run away. But he'd run away with you so... Technically, you were in safe hands?

"What's on your mind?" He asked softly, his hand coming to rest on your leg, gently moving over your knee. You sighed, shifting to lean back in your seat and stretching your arms above your head,

"Hawkins... How quiet it is," You said softly, glancing over at him to see him smile, "You,"

"Me?" He asked surprised

"You," You grinned softly at the feigned disbelief on his face, "I had fun on our first official date, Eds,"

"I'm glad," He smiled, gently squeezing your leg, patting it, then putting his hand back on the gear shift, "Mine or yours?" He asked,

"Mine- I gotta collect my laundry before someone steals my Pantera shirt," You sighed,

"Already so attached?" He asked, smiling softly as he put his leg back on your knee. You placed your hand over his, skimming your fingers over his rings,

"Mhm," You smiled,

"Aw," He cooed, smiling softly, "By the way, I asked Wayne if he could fix up your AC," He said,

"Wh- Eddie," You said with a small frown, "You... Didn't need to," You said,

"Mmmh, I kinda did," He said, giving you a look. As you looked away, getting ready to protest again, he said your name to try and get your attention back on him, "I've known you the better part of my life, and I know that you're just gonna leave it broken and complain about it never being fixed," He said softly, "I wanted to do something nice for you," He glanced over at you. You couldn't stop the small smile that found its way onto your lips,

"Remind me to pay Wayne back for his kindness," You sighed, leaning back in your seat,

"I won't," He said with a small smile, "Besides, if you want me hanging around you all summer, you better have that thing fixed because earlier today?" He huffed, "I thought I was gonna die!" He said dramatically,

"Uhuh. Yeah," You smiled at him. With a sigh, you cast a glance in the rearview mirror, catching sight of Max in the reflection, "You good, Red?" You asked softly, turning your head to look at the girl in the back. She was staring out of the window blankly, eyes shutting slowly with the gentle lulling of the van. You smiled to yourself, "Max," You prompted, making her sit up and look at you,

"Yeah?" She hummed tiredly,

"Are you alright?" You asked again,

"Uhuh... Yeah," She nodded, fiddling with a hairband around her wrist. Her jacket was draped over her legs, as if it was a blanket,

"Beating us at arcade games tired you out this much, huh?" She smiled at your words,

"Maybe," She mumbled, leaning her head back against the seat and turning her head back to the window. You shifted back so you were sitting straight in your seat with a small smile, glancing at Eddie. He was already looking at you with an affectionate smile, but averted his gaze back to the road when you caught him staring.

The rest of the drive was quiet; the usual loud music turned down so you could only faintly hear it. It was peaceful: you humming along to the melodies; Eddie's fingers tapping along to the beat; the road stretching out into the darkness before you. All too quickly, he was pulling up in front of the Munson trailer at Forest Hills, and the sound of the three doors opening echoed into the quiet,

"You good going home by yourself, Max?" Eddie asked, walking around to stand next to you,

"Yeah- make sure you don't forget your jacket or your prize," You smiled, leaning your back against the van and glancing at Max as she walked in front of you,

"Right," She looked over them, before looking up at you, "Can you hold this? I want to put my jacket on," Eddie quickly moved forward, taking the plush from her as she thanked him. He looked over the Popple's face, handing it back to her,

"Cute," He commented, setting his hands in his jean pockets,

"Are you sure you don't want it?" She asked, holding the creature in her hands and looking it over with a small frown, "I mean, isn't this like a couple thing to do? Win prizes at arcades for each other?" She glanced between you,

"Mmh- but you can also get them for friends," Eddie said. You felt him tapping your shoulder, and when you looked at him, he was holding a lit cigarette out for you to take, "It's yours to keep, kid," He smiled in reassurance,

"Oh!" She looked over the stuffed animal again, blinking and with a look of bewilderment on her face, "Uhm... Thanks, Eddie," She nodded her head to him, then thanked you quietly, "Tonight was... Was good," She said,

"No problem- I'm glad you had a good evening," You said, taking hold of Eddie's hand once he locked the van, "Ready to go home now?" You asked, nodding towards the two trailers,

"Sure," She said quietly, still staring at the toy, transfixed. She followed after you silently. The night was pleasant, a soft breeze blowing through your hair and sending a chill across your skin. At your shivering, Eddie took the cigarette from your lips and held out his jacket,

"You'll be cold," You said with a frown,

"You'll be warm," He said with a smile, causing you to roll your eyes and take the jacket from him. It was warm from his body heat, and the smell of cheap cologne and weed filled your senses- the comforting smells of home, "See? You look better in my clothes anyway," He said, moving an arm around your shoulders with a smile,

"How cute, Eds," You said, taking the cigarette back from him and placing it between your lips to take a drag. You finally made it to your trailer, picking up the laundry basket you had left behind and quickly taking down the shirts, folding them as you stacked them in the basket. Glancing over you saw Eddie sitting on the top step of your trailers porch, quietly talking with Max as he smoked your cigarette,

"You got a name for the little guy?" He asked, nodding to the plushie in her hands,

"A name?" She asked quietly,

"You never named your stuffed animals as a kid?" He asked, raising his brows,

"No..." She said,

"Well, I think he deserves a name," He pointed to it, "How about... Frederik... Frederik the First," He smiled, "He strikes me as a... Thing with an 'F' name," He said,

"Why the first?" She asked,

"First one to get a name from you. And it rhymes," He explained,

"It's alliteration..." She said quietly,

"That's the one with the letters being the same?" He asked, taking a drag as she nodded, "'F' and 'F'. Huh... Well, if you don't like Frederik the First, give him a different one... Or her!" He smiled, moving his arms out. She regarded the toy for a moment, thinking,

"Francis the... Fast," She said, glancing up at him for approval,

"Cause he's fast?" He smiled,

"Well yeah... She kinda looks like a rabbit I had back home in California," She said, moving a hand to touch the soft fur on the Popple's face, "She wasn't called Francis, she was called Hoppy,"

"That's cute," Eddie said, nodding, "Predictable for a rabbit but what can you say?" He shrugged, "Did she like hopping?"

"Mhm," She hummed softly, smiling at the fond memory, "Yeah she... She was great... And then she ran away," She frowned softly, "My stepbrother... He forgot to close her cage... I cried for weeks hoping she would come back," She said with a small frown, "But she never did..."

"Well," He sighed, "Things like that happen," Eddie nodded, "I had a puppy that ran away," He sighed sadly,

"Really?" She asked,

"Mhm. My dad got super drunk and left the door open. I was, like, eight?" He put a hand on his chest, "My first heartbreak," He said dramatically, leaning backwards on his arm, "Sometimes I still think I can hear Lucky barking for me to let him back in," He sniffled as you approached, setting the basket by your front door with a small laugh,

"Eddie, you better not let anything that's whining under your window inside," You smiled, taking a seat next to him. Eddie moved an arm around your waist, drawing you closer to him, "Last time you freaked out over a possum," You reminded him,

"I'm smart- I won't let a possum back inside, babe," He shifted his head to kiss your cheek reassuringly before his gaze travelled back to Max. She had gone quiet, still staring at the toy in her hands, "Are you sure you're okay, Max?" Eddie asked, the worry clear in his tone as he watched the girl standing before you. She glanced up, and from the faint light, you could see faint tear tracks were staining her face. She quickly whipped it dry, a look of anger crossing her face, before it quickly faded. She opted to look away from you both instead. You let the tense silence hang in the air, glancing at Eddie and meeting his concerned gaze as you both figure out what was best to say to her. Slowly, she moved to sit down on the bottom step,

"Metalica... The Four Horsemen... Billy liked those songs," She mumbled, more to herself. She drew the toy close to her chest, hugging it,

"Billy "The Asshole" Hargreeves listened to Metalica?" Eddie muttered in disbelief; you shoved his shoulder slightly at the comment, "What!? Is it so hard to believe that waste of space gave them the time of day?" Eddie said with a frown,

"Eds, he was her brother," You hissed, glancing at Max, "Sorry h-"

"No, it's fine. Billy was... An asshole," She sighed, rubbing her clothed arms with a small frown, "The music just reminded me of him... And the way that things used to be when he was still around," She said softly. You remained silent, letting her talk. Somewhere deep down, you felt she needed this- to talk to someone, "They weren't great... I mean, he drove me to the arcade, but he never went inside like you did. Sometimes he got out of the car to talk to a girl. He never went inside to play games with me..." You heard a small sniffle, "He never won me prizes, or let me keep them... We were never close, but I still cared for him... And maybe that was my fault,"

"Your fault?" Eddie asked softly. She shook her head,

"That... We weren't close," She sighed. Did she want to say something else? "He was my step brother. He barely tolerated me in California. He hated that we were related. I thought if we moved to Hawkins things would be okay... But then they weren't," You frowned softly, brows drawing together, confused,

"H-" Eddie started, but you quickly tapped his chest with your free hand, drawing his attention,

"Shh," You hissed quietly. In the dim, moonlight, you might have seen the twinkle of fresh tears rolling down her cheeks, had she not moved her head to look downwards and pick at the fraying material of her shorts,

"Today was one of the best days I've had in a while," She admitted, and though you couldn't see her face, you could tell she had a slight smile on her lips from how her tone shifted, "And all you guys did was play games and ate food with me," She said quietly,

"Well, sometimes that's all you need," Eddie smiled, leaning forward to ruffle her hair, "Eat food and play games with your friends. You let us know anytime when you want to go back down there and kick ass at Dig Dug again. Or Pacman," He glanced over at you,

"Mhm," You confirmed, "We're always here for you, Max," You said, reaching a hand over to place it on her shoulder, "Us... 'Trailer Trash' gotta stick together, right?" You gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back with a small nod, whipping her face again,

"Sure..." She stood slowly, looking at the plush in her hands, shaking slightly,

"You have a goodnight," Eddie wished,

"You guys too," She said, waving a hand. You watched as she walked the short distance to her own trailer, waving once again as she noticed you watching her, before unlocking the door and disappearing inside,

"I hope she's doing okay," You mumbled softly, letting out a sigh and rubbing a hand over your face,

"She's okay for now," Eddie murmured beside you. You felt a gentle kiss being pressed to the side of your head, "We did what we could... Come on- it's getting cold, even for me now," He said, moving his hand to rub your arm. With a grimace, you stood and grabbed the laundry basket, while he stubbed his cigarette out,

"I just wish we could do more for her... Do you think it's too much if I bring over lunch tomorrow? Or breakfast?" You frowned, glancing over as he stood up, throwing the butt of his stubbed cigarette into the darkness,

"How about you just invite her if you run into her?" He suggested. Glancing up at him, you saw him offering a hand out for you to take, "We let her know today she has us if she needs us. And she has her mom to take care of her," Gently sliding your soft hand into his rougher one, you let him pull you towards your front door got your keys out,

"Yeah, but if she's anything like mine was..." You trailed off with a long sigh, "But you're right. At least we made sure today was a good day for her," You smiled softly to yourself as you entered your home. A soft sigh left your lips at the coolness inside- you'd have to bake Wayne cookies or something as a thank you present, "We can go to the arcade some other time again," You said, "Since she said she liked it,"

"We'll go whenever you want, babe," he said from behind you, entering after you and locking the door behind him, "Where's that camera of yours?" He asked, walking around,

"It's up on that shelf-" You pointed it out for him, "I brought it all the way back down to Hawkins with me. It should still have some film. You want a beer?" You asked as you headed for the kitchen, sliding the jacket off of your shoulders and setting it on the back of one of the dining chairs,

"Nah- not really," He said, approaching you with the camera and turning on the kitchen light,

"Oh?" You murmured surprised, turning and leaning your arms back against the kitchen counter, watching him curiously,

"Not thirsty," He said with a wink. There it was again. You grinned, moving so you were standing next to him, illuminated by the overhead kitchen light. He held the camera up, snapping a picture of the two of you together, smiling into the lens. As it instantly printed, he grabbed it, shaking it and setting it off to the side to develop "Kiss me on the cheek?"

"Why?" You asked with a smile

"For the picture," He smiled holding the camera up again as you placed a hand on his shoulder to get closer,

"Is one for me and one for you?" You asked in an amused tone, standing on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek,

"Mhm," He hummed, snapping another picture and shaking that one out too, "We'll have these ready by tomorrow," He said, setting the camera down next to them and looking at you,

"That's good. I'll look at them before work," You smiled,

"Work," He sighed, moving closer to you and setting a hand behind you on the counter to prop himself up as he leaned down to kiss your cheek, "Do you have to go?" He asked with a small pout,

"Unfortunately," You smiled at him, "You can always come and visit me though- you're my most valued customer, Eds. Even though you never buy anything," You said playfully, setting a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezing it,

"Right," He said with a frown, hanging his head so his hair bounced. You reached a hand up to gently play with the ends of his loose curls, "God... I..." He groaned softly, moving and beginning to pace slowly across your kitchen,

"What's up, Eds?" You asked, folding your arms and shifting to lean back against the counter, watching him,

"I don't know," He said, his hands moving to rub over his face and eyes, "I guess just... I've been thinking about... Things a lot," He said with a frown, "Mostly you being so far away from me in Franklin... I mean... We're the same age and I'm still in... Fucking high school..." He muttered to himself angrily,

"Hey, Eddie," You said softly, gently putting a hand on his wrist, "You know that's not-"

"But that's the thing- it is my fault," He said quickly, exasperated, "I mean, I'd love to graduate and leave with you, but I just fucking can't get through this year," He huffed, "The first time I failed it... I never cared about... Education or whatever and then... It was all so serious in Senior year... With graduation and with college," He sighed,

"Yeah, that... Was stressful," You frowned softly, remembering back to two years ago. How stressed you had been the whole time about passing all your classes, actually getting into Franklin college, and applying for financial aid. Since he failed, you graciously delayed your plans of leaving for a year- not fully ready to accept being so far from Eddie for such a long time, and not trusting yourself to survive that long without him... But when he flunked the next year too, you knew you couldn't wait for him any longer... You had to live your life and... Do something. And although your separation was heartbreaking, you vowed to come back the following summer. And here you were, and here he was in your kitchen... "But we got through it right, Munson?" You tried assuring him, "Here, come on, it's been a long day we can talk about this tomorrow," You said softly, moving through the kitchen to walk to your bedroom,

"I didn't want to graduate that first year," He suddenly admitted. You froze, glancing at him,

"What?" You asked in surprise,

"The first time. I guess I failed on purpose- missed O'Donnell's final because I knew there was no way in hell I'd pass it so I just... Didn't show up," He sighed, shoulders sagging. He crossed your room, sitting heavily in your desk chair, "I never told you because of how embarrassing it was, and you were already mad at me-"

"No, I was never mad-"

"You were pissed off, babe," He said quickly, pointing at you, "I could see it... Sence it... You fucking... You could have left me that first year- You should have-"

"Wait, Eddie, hold on, cause yesterday you were pissed that I left without you," You frowned,

"Yeah, and at myself that I didn't just go with you," He sighed, "All because I was afraid about moving on with my life... Seeing Wayne so disappointed I failed wasn't the same as seeing you," He frowned, sitting heavily in your desk chair, "You were walking around so sad everywhere... Because of me," He said,

"No, Eds, it wasn't because of you," You said quickly,

"Don't bullshit me," He said in a sharper tone than intended, wincing himself, "Shit, sorry," He muttered. With a frown, you walked over to him, kneeling on the ground before him and reaching out a hand to place on top of his,

"Eddie," you said softly, "I know how hard school is for you. Even now. But I never looked down on you for failing. I never felt angry staying here. Annoyed maybe, but never angry at you," You said softly, squeezing his fingers and feeling the cool metal of his rings pressing against your skin, "I just... Wish you could leave with me already," You sighed, "See how much better the world is outside of Hawkins..."

"Yeah, and I'm trying," He said in an exasperated way, "You have to believe me I'm-"

"Good," You said quickly, cutting off anything else he might have wanted to say, "Because I miss you a lot," You moved his hand and pressed a kiss to the backs of his fingers gently, as he had done to your before, "And I can't wait to have you annoy me every day of my life again," You smiled softly, standing and moving to your nightstand so you could set your alarm clock to four am.

Eddie went quiet at your statement, seemingly moved by your tender gesture. He was leaned back in your swivelling chair, moving side to side slightly with his hands clasped together and a faraway look in his eyes. He was playing with his rings, having slid the metal pig's head a little further up his skin so it was loose, twisting it around his digit. His legs were spread apart widely; he had removed his shoes at your front door. There was a deep frown set on his face, corners of his plump lips downturned, and his brown eyes missing their usual Munson spark,

"Okay..." You sighed, sitting on your bed far enough so you could lean your head back against the wall and letting the heavy silence surround you momentarily. You glanced over at him, thinking for a moment, before smiling to yourself, "You... Remember when we were younger? And we'd make all these plans about our futures?"

"Yeah, but we... We were kids, man," He frowned, running a hand over his face, "Kids don't think about money and bills and... College and graduation," He rambled,

"Plans are plans, Eddie," You said softly, giving him a small smile, "Besides... It was always our future. Never my future, or your future. Ours. We always wanted to be together, no matter what came our way," You reminded him,

"And you still want that...?" He asked, the uncertainty clear in his voice. It always broke you how hard Eddie was on himself, how disbelieving he was that you wanted him to stick around. If only he knew just how much he meant to you,

"Are you kidding me?" You smiled at him, "Of course I do... Come here," You said, even moving a hand to pat your leg, the same as he had done to you earlier today. That made him smile, along with your reassurance. With a sigh, he stood up and walked over to you,

"You mean it?" He asked sheepishly, placing a knee on your bed before sitting down, half on, half off,

"Yes, Eddie," You said, reaching a hand out and grasping his tightly, "God, what I would give to just... Leave with you right now. Get you out of Hawkins for good," You smiled at him warmly, "Drive out somewhere, find a cute little place-"

"Why don't we?" He asked hopefully, "Like- like right now?" He offered, his smile returning to his lips as he looked at you eagerly. Truthfully, there was nothing you wanted to do more right now... Though realistically, it was near impossible,

"Well, I can't exactly have long-term guests staying in my dorm room..." You sighed,

"But you came back here to make money for next year, right?" He asked; you nodded your head, "So you can move out?" You nodded again,

"But the thing is with my rent here, I'll have t-"

"Move in here with me," He blurted out, and your hand relaxed in his, eyes blinking in disbelief,

"What...?" You whispered. It felt like every emotion flooded your brain and your veins at once, circling through your body and making your heart race and your stomach drop,

"Just- Wayne'll understand, he loves you!" He said excitedly, grabbing both of your hands in his, and shifting closer to you on the bed, "That way you won't be paying rent here; you'll be keeping all your money, staying with me, which is a great bonus, personally speaking," He rambled with a bright smile, making you let out a small, surprised laugh, "And you just gotta focus on work-"

"Eddie, you realise I would never-" He frowned at your words, "-stay free of charge right?" You finished quickly, his expression relaxing, "If your uncle even let me stay, I'd at least help him out with the rent and paying for utilities- I could also get a second job and-"

"But you're not... Saying no?" He asked, "If I talked to my uncle and he said yes, you'd move in with us?" He asked hopefully, eyes full of longing and hope. You smiled softly. His eagerness had caused him to shift closer so he was mere inches from your face,

"I'm not saying anything until you talk to your uncle about this," You said, a smile spreading across your lips, "I know how impulsive you can be, Eds. I don't want to finalise anything just yet," You stated, "But... I'm not going to decline or pass up on an offer like that," You barely even finished your sentence and he was already grinning wide and wrapping his arms around your middle. He laughed in delight, leaning on you so you were forced to lay back on your bed with him on top of you, nuzzling his face into your neck eagerly,

"You mean I'll get to wake up to you every morning for the rest of my life?" The proposition didn't sound too bad. You couldn't deny that the times Eddie had stayed overnight at your trailer had always left you feeling happier and significantly more well-rested. Though you were not a morning person, waking up to the sight of him in your kitchen, humming along to himself between drags of a cigarette in just his checkered pyjama pants while he made coffee was an image you had burned into your mind, and made you want to leave the warmth of your bed. The memories of waking up in the middle of the night, tangled in one another arms on the couch with the TV static glittering against your face, forcing you to press your face further into his neck and feeling his lips ghost over your forehead were your personal favourites. Going to sleepovers and leaving wearing his clothes because you purposefully forgot to bring something to sleep in, and were too drunk or stoned to walk across the park to your home, eventually forming a collection of black band shirts that you'd find yourself wearing when your heart ached for him in the middle of the night, crying against the cotton that so faintly clung to his smell... You wouldn't need them anymore... You'd wake up to him every day...

"Only if-" You started, though quickly stopped due to his groan of disagreement,

"Indulge me, babe," He muttered into your neck, lips ghosting over your skin causing you to shudder, sighing as his warm breath fanned against your flesh. Lifting a hand up to stroke through his hair, you smiled softly, shutting your eyes and letting your mind run, "What would our lives look like if we lived together?" He asked you,

"We'd wake up like this," You started, feeling his lips moving into a grin at your words, "You'd wake up first. You always do, Eds..." Your brow furrowed and you opened your eyes, "Wait... Does that mean every time I'd fall asleep on you-"

"I never wanted to wake you up," He mumbled. His voice was delightfully low next to your ear, "You always hated getting woken up by anyone... It's a good thing you're so cute. I'd be pissed off if anyone else used me as a personal pillow," You laughed softly at that,

"I... Wow..." You hummed. You couldn't even count the number of times you had unintentionally fallen asleep on him- on his couch, in the movie theatre, in the forest when you got too drunk or high... And he always...

"Mhm- it's wild how long it took you to realise I was in love with you," He sighed again, "Continue, please. I was enjoying myself," He said, "We wake up..." He started for you again,

"You worm your way out of my arms eventually," You smile softly, "You go to the kitchen to make us coffee. It takes me a while to realise you're not there... I get up-"

"Oh, be realistic, sweetheart," He chastises, causing you to laugh,

"I thought it was our fantasy?" You smiled,

"Yeah, but come on," He laughed, "Don't be unrealistic," He said playfully,

"Fine. I lay in bed until you bring me coffee... We get to drink it together... I'm probably wearing one of your shirts- the AC/DC one's my favourite-"

"Oh yeah, do you have it by the way?" He asked, "I've been looking for it everywhere,"

"Uh... Yeah," You admitted, embarrassed, "I took it with me... To remember you by," He smiled again, and he pressed another kiss to your skin,

"Damn, babe, am I really that forgettable?" He says playfully,

"Of course you're not, Eddie!" You say quickly, "I just... It gets lonely out there without you, you know?" You said with a small sigh,

"You can keep it," He grinned, "The shirt. It looks better on you anyway. Keep going," He murmured again,

"Right... So... We drink our coffee in bed... I'll probably tell you about some wild dream I had- or you will. And we'll laugh about that," You smiled, letting your eyes open slightly to watch your fingers as they gently separated the strands of messy curls, "And then... We'll smoke something?"

"It's your day off work?" He hums,

"Mhm. No work that day," You smile, "Maybe it's a weekend? We'll either go outside and enjoy how cold it still is, or just open the window and lay back in bed," You mutter as you watch your hands delicately working through his hair, avoiding pulling on the knots, "Maybe you have your guitar and you're playing something for me?" You smile, "I'm laying in bed... Or on your lap,"

"What song?" He whispers,

"I don't know," You match his quiet tone,

"Oh c'mon, babe," He says normally, kissing your neck again, "What song do you want me to play?"

"I can pick any song?" You smile,

"Anything in the entire world," He murmurs, "For you, I'd learn any song,"

"Romantic," You mumbled, humming, "Could you play me 'Rip Her to Shreds'?" You grinned,

"Blondie? Really?" He asked amused as he sat up to look at you, placing his chin on your chest,

"Hey! You said any song," You smirked, moving your hand to play with the hair framing his face, "Maybe you could throw in 'A Shark in Jets clothing'?" You asked,

"What is it with you and Debbie Harry?" He grinned,

"Have you seen- Have you heard Debbie Harry? She's amazing!" You grinned,

"Mhm," He hummed half-heartedly, before moving his head to the side so he could lay on your chest, "I'll play you the Shark one- I always liked that one better,"

"You listened to Blondie for me?" You smiled affectionately,

"You left the tape at mine," He said, "Though I can't say I'm tempted to steal your Debbie poster," He grinned, sitting up and looking across your room at it,

"I used to lay awake at night and just stare at her," You sighed playfully, eyes scanning over it, "She's just so beautiful," You breathed,

"I'm getting jealous over here, baby," He said playfully, causing you to laugh "Why didn't you take her to Franklin with you?" He asked curiously,

"I guess I just forgot..." You sighed, "And she looks better up here," You smiled to yourself,

"Or... You secretly came back for her, and not me," He said playfully,

"Bingo, Munson," You said playfully. You let your eyes fall shut tiredly as he moved off of you, laying next to you. His arms remained wrapped around you, but he pulled your body closer to his chest, "Today was a good day," You murmured,

"It was?" He asked,

"Mhm," You hummed, opening an eye to look at him, "Because of you," You gently touched the tip of your finger to his nose, grinning as he wrinkled his nose,

"Cause of me?" He asked softly,

"Mhm," He smiled at that, "You always make my days better, Eds..." You said softly, setting a hand on your cheek and leaning forward to gently kiss him, "I love that we can kiss now," You grinned, quickly kissing him again,

"Mhm," He hummed against your lips, "You have no clue how long I've wanted to do that," He sighed, leaning his head back on your pillows and shutting his eyes,

"How long, Eds?" You smiled,

"Mmmh," He hummed, opening his eyes and looking up, thinking, "So... You remember in junior year-"

"Here we go," You rolled your eyes,

"Let me speak, babe," He smiled,

"Oh, sorry, do go on," You smiled, reaching out and beginning to play with his hair again,

"Mh... In junior year, we skipped Phys Ed together to smoke behind the gym. It was your first time, and you started coughing like crazy," He smiled,

"Ugh- I still remember how bad it burned my throat," You commented,

"Uhuh- and look how far you've come," He grinned, "Anyways- we both went back inside to change. You got dressed first, as usual. Some Seniors had apparently seen me stealing their cigarettes and decided to beat the shit out of me for it," You winced softly at the memory. It was outside- he was already changed into his Hellfire shirt and ripped black jeans, but by the time you got there, the white fabric was speckled with his blood,

"Shit, I remember," You frowned, the images of him being punched, then thrown to the ground, body curled and arms raised to try and protect his face as he got kicked flashing through your head,

"Yeah..." He muttered, absentmindedly reaching a hand up to touch a small, faint white scar stretching from the bottom of his lip down to his chin, left as a reminder of the incident, "Thought they'd kill me until you came and saved me," He glanced over at you. He poked at your downturned lips with his finger gently, but you quickly grabbed his hand, interlocking your fingers,

"I don't like that memory," You frowned at him. His face bloomed into a soft smile, and he moved your hand to press a delicate kiss to your fingers,

"Well I do," He said softly, "Because when they saw you, they ran. And then... God, they probably kicked me in the head too hard because I thought you were my guardian angel," He closed his eyes, setting your joint hands on his chest, "You were so worried for me," He smiled, teasingly,

"Because I thought they were going to kill you," You said sternly, watching him unamused. He kissed your hand again, just to watch your expression soften slightly at the gesture,

"You picked me up off the floor and skipped sixth period just to take care of me," He said softly, glancing up again in remembrance, "You had this look on your face... Your eyes were shining so much, I thought you were going to cry for me. You babied me a lot- you said I could have a concussion and I should go to the nurse," He smiled,

"That's not a happy memory, Eddie," You said softly, moving your face closer to him,

"No... It's not," He agreed softly, "But do you know why I realised I was in love with you then?" He asked softly,

"...No," You admitted softly,

"Would you like to?" He asked with a smile, the curve of his lips widening as you nodded, "I realised that someone, someone in all of Hawkins, cared about me," He said with a gentle sigh,

"You have Wayne-" You tried to say quickly,

"I know," He said quickly, "But family caring about you is different to friends- or lovers," He spoke softly. He let go of your hand, and moved it to slide against your cheek, "See, you could have left me there. Pretended you never saw, pretended to be confused or worried about my black eye and split lip next period... But you went out of your way to make sure I was okay- I think I remember you mumbling something about covering my hospital bill if I actually had a concussion," He smirked as you looked away with a blush,

"Of course, I care about you, Eddie," You said softly, frowning,

"Yeah... I know now... And I realised then that you really did that day," He said softly, "And I also realised," He said softly, sliding his hand down to your chin and tilting your head with his fingers so your eyes locked, "That I was in love with you," He murmured before his lips touched yours, sealing his words.

The kiss was slow, and gentle, years of yearning and affection pouring into one another. It was beautiful, not sad or interrupted like the first one you shared yesterday, and you could feel warmth flowing from your chest across your whole body. It really felt like you would be floating away, if he wasn't holding you down, pressing you closer against him, one hand running up and down your arm whilst his other kept a gentle hold on your face. Your own hands roamed from his neck down to his chest, feeling his heart beating against your gentle fingertips. You smirked against his lips as you traced a heart with your fingers, sighing as you felt him pressing his tongue against your lips in a silent ask for permission.

Though you didn't go further tonight, you went to sleep knowing you were with someone you loved and trusted completely, and that he'd still be there by the time you regained consciousness made you feel safe, above all else. And knowing he wanted some sort of future where you were there for him, and he'd be there for you made you feel elated. You knew it was rare to find someone you could happily call your 'soulmate' in this world- but Eddie was your person. Your soulmate. Yours...

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