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twice-inamillion · 3 days

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The Company

Caught

Angst (major life event, caught lying, depression)

Chapter 9

2,430 Words

(The unexpected happened. Now, Miyeon has to deal with the consequences of her actions that might impact everyone around her.)

“Come on, just one kiss.”

“I don't know, oppa. I don't want to get in trouble.”

Don't worry, no one is going to see us.”

“Okay, just one kiss.”

“See, it wasn't too bad. When do you think I can see you?”

“I don't know. The company is pretty strict, and my teammates and I are busy. I basically had to lie for them to let me out.”

“I really want to see you again.”

“Same, I miss spending time with you.”

“Click. Click.”

Unbeknownst to the couple, their little randevu will have long-lasting effects on both of them, especially Miyeon.

“Seems like someone is going to have a bad day tomorrow,” as the person across the street watches from the shop nearby.

The next day, Irene walks to her office after a long day of practice the day before. As she opens the door, she sees an envelope, picks it up, and places it on the table.

Seated, she tried to find an address but found nothing that would reveal who the sender was. She opens it and pulls out a card with a note saying, “Seems like the company doesn't know how to manage their trainees and stop them from dating.”

Irene opens the folded sheet of paper and sees a clear picture of Cho Miyeon, one of the trainees she personally manages, kissing a boy. Many things go through her mind and the last thing she needs is a scandal of the CEO’s upcoming girl group before their debut. Luckily, they haven't been confirmed, and he says, “I need to take care of this before it gets any worse.”

Meanwhile, Miyeon is running on the treadmill when she receives a message. She sees the name of Irene, her recruiter and the one in charge of her group. She thinks it's an update of her group's schedules and opens it, only to get a vague message, “Would like to meet with you in my office at 10 AM today.” Curious, she finishes her run and heads to her dorm to shower before her appointment.

“Knock, Knock. It's Miyeon.”

“Come in. Take a seat.”

“Thank you.”

“How are you adjusting to your group? Are you getting along with your members?”

“Yes, the girls and II are getting along well. We are so excited to debut.”

“HmmÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦ how are things going personally? Are you feeling stressed or worried?”

“Just a bit tired, but nothing more than the usual?”

“That's good. Do you have feedback or anything you want to share?”

No, the company has been great so far. I really appreciate it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Hmm, I think so.”

Irene tries to hide her irritated expression but can't comprehend why the person in front of her is lying straight to her face. “Then what about this?” as she takes over a folder and places the picture on the table.

“I don't know what this is.”

“Lies, this is you breaking one of the rules of your contract with us.”

Miyeon tries to think of what to say but can't think of any excuse and bursts into tears. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hide it. I'll break it off; I promise not to do it again.”

“That's not going to work. You broke an important rule. I don't think this is going to work between us moving forward.”

“Wait, you don't mean...”

“I'm going to ask you to get your belongings and meet me back tomorrow for off-boarding.”

“Please, don't do this, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I'll make it up; I'll work harder, just give me one chance. We're so close to debuting,” says Miyeon as she cries and pleads.

“You shouldn't hide the fact that you were dating; maybe if you told me, I could have been more lenient. Don't make this any harder, I don't want to blacklist you.”

“But... “

“Leave, I'm very disappointed in you.”

With her hands covering her face, she exits Irene's office and runs to the elevator. She puts her hood up and covers her face as she tries to exit the building and make it to her apartment.

“Hey Miyeon! Are you done for the day?”

“Sorry, I can't talk now,” says Miyeon as she tries not to let one of her trainee friends see her crying. She speed walks all the way to her room and lays on the bed crying until she falls asleep.

“Hey, Miyeon, wake up. You missed practice.” Slowly, she wakes up from her exhausting nap and sees Rose touching her shoulder.

“Hey, Rosie.”

“What happened?”

“They kicked me out,” as she begins to bawl again.

“Why? Who kicked you out? From the group?”

“No, from the company.”

“Wait, let me get the rest of the girls. Maybe we can figure something out, but don't cry.”

“Hmm, okay.”

Rose steps out and heads to the other room where Jennie, Jisoo, and Lisa are hanging out. “Miyeon is crying, she said that they kicked her out of the company!”

The members rush into the other and see Miyeon lying down, crying her eyes out. “What happened, Miyeon?” asks Lisa.

“Irene unnie called me into her office and they were kicking me out.”

“Why?”

“Apparently, someone took a picture of me with the boy I began dating before joining.”

“Why, Miyeon? I told you to break it off. Why didn't you listen to me?” said Jisoo.

“I didn't think they would find out. I haven't seen him since joining. Yesterday was the first time seeing him.”

“What's going to happen now?” asks Rose.

“I begged Irene to give me another chance, but all she told me was that I would collect my things by tomorrow.”

“I didn't think they would risk separating us before our debut,” said Lisa.

“What do you think is going to happen with us?” asks Jisoo.

Rose, trying to change the mood, says, “Maybe we can talk to the CEO about it and explain the situation. We can say that she won't do it again and will break up with him. We need to debut.”

“I'll contact Oppa and see if he can get us in touch with the CEO,” says Jennie.

The rest of the girls nod as Jennie heads to her room and calls you.

The phone rings, and you see that it's from your newest toy. You let the phone ring until you get multiple messages, “Oppa, please answer; it's urgent.”

“Alright, what does this girl want?” as you get your phone to call her back.

“Oppa, you finally answer!”

“What's the urgency?”

“Miyeon got kicked out of the group by Irene!”

”What do you mean kicked out?”

”Can I meet with you?”

”I get back in an hour.”

”Okay, I'll see you at your apartment.”

You get off the phone with Jennie and immediately call for Irene to come to your office. “Irene, come to my office immediately!”

”Yes, sir!”

It only takes a minute for you to hear Irene knock at your door before coming inside. “You need something, sir?”

”Can you explain why you kicked Miyeon off the group?”

Irene hesitates to answer, trying to figure out what to say, “I wanted to take care of things before letting you know, but since you are already aware, I’ll explain the situation.

“Go on.”

”Well, I received proof of Mieyon breaking one of the company’s rules. She hid the fact that she was dating someone and was caught.” Irene pulls out her phone and shows you the picture of Miyeon kissing and holding hands with someone.

”FuckÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¦”

”I called her to my office and came to the conclusion that it would be best for her and the company to part ways, thus kicking her out of the group as well.”

”I thought you did a thorough background check with all the trainees, especially with them.”

”I thought I did, sir. If I knew, I would have done something about it beforehand.”

”What are we going to do now? The group is scheduled to debut this year, and now they have one member down.”

“I’m sorry, sir. It’s my fault, I take full responsibility.”

”You should. Maybe I should disband your group as well.”

”No, sir. Anything but that. My members have practiced so hard, you can’t do that to them.”

”These girls were going to be my first girl group, so now look at them.”

“So what would you like to do?”

”Not sure. I’ll come up with something.”

---------

Jennie receives a text message and opens it, “Don’t come to my apartment. I know the whole situation. Can’t talk about it now, but some more information will soon come to you.”

Jennie is disappointed that she couldn’t do anything and tries to comfort Miyeon when all their phones go off. Then, they grab their phones and read the following message: “All members are required to attend the emergency meeting at the conference room at 9 AM tomorrow.” They all look at each other, worried and thinking the worst.

“Are we disbanding?”

----------

The girls arrive early to the meeting and wait for the news of their disbandment as a group. They look at the clock hung up on the wall as it approaches 9 o’clock sharp.

They see Irene walk and open the door of the conference room, “Thank you for meeting with me today. I’ll be hosting the meeting today. Miyeon, if you could head to the CEO’s office, he would like to speak with you.

The members look at Miyeon as she stands up and exits the door to meet the CEO for the first time.

”Alright, let's start the meeting. I’m sure you all are aware of why you are here. I won’t waste anyone’s time and just let you all know that moving forward, this group will only consist of you fourÃ¢â‚¬Â¦”

”What? What about Miyeon?” asks Jennie.

”She will no longer be part of your group. I can’t go over more details of her situation but she’ll need to move from your apartment immediately.”

“ButÃ¢â‚¬Â¦”

”Let me finish.”

”Okay.”

”You five were scheduled to debut at the end of the year, but now that there are only four members, things will be a bit different. Your positions will change, and your debut date will be pushed back.”

”Wait! We were supposed to be the company’s first girl group to debut. This isn’t fair!” shouts Rose.

“It was this or scarp the team as a whole and start over. Would you like that instead?”

“No, “ says Rose as she quiets down.

”This was something that the CEO thought was best and had minimal impact on the group.”

Irene goes on to explain more about the changes that will occur with the group.

----------

On the other hand, Miyeon stands in front of the CEO’s office and knocks at the door. She hears a response, opens the door, and is surprised to see you sitting behind a large desk.

“Oppa?”

”Sit down, Miyeon.”

”Okay.”

”You may know me as one of the staff members, but my true position in the company is CEO. I’m here to discuss your position in our company. You already know the details of the reason why you are here, and I won’t argue with you about it since Irene has already talked to you about it, right?”

”Yes, she did.”

”So here is what we decided to do with you. You will leave the group you are currently in and the apartment you are sharing with them. I went over your file and saw that you have a promise as an idol, so I decided not to kick you out of the company itself. Instead, I'm offering you a position as a junior assistant to Irene; of course, it would be that or leave the company itself, your choice.”

“But doesn't Irene hate me?”

“That doesn't matter. Sometimes, you need to work with people you don't like or don't like you. So what's it going to be?”

“I'll do it. Is there still a chance for me to be an idol?”

“That is up to you.”

-----------

“I know this will be a change for you all, but I hope you make the best of it. It's up to you four if you debut as a group or not. Do you understand?”

“Yes, we understand.”

“Okay, you can all leave.”

The members exited and texted Miyeon but got no reply. They head back to their apartment, and when they open the door, they see Miyeon’s things missing.

“Let's check the room.”

They see the door slightly open, push it, and see Miyeon's side completely emptied out.

“She's gone.”

Jisoo notices a folded sheet of paper and opens it, “Look, she left something.”

“Read it it, unnie.”

“I'm sorry to leave without saying goodbye, but if I did, I don't think I would have been able to let you girls go. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused and hope you can debut without any problems. I'll cherish all the memories we've made and will cheer for you four.

Thank you so much,

Cho Miyeon”

--------

It’s been a few days since Miyeon left the group. The members have tried messaging her but to no avail. They continue their practice, but this time, as a four-member group, they try their best not to listen to any of the rumors that the other trainees in the company spread behind their backs.

Miyeon wakes up early in the morning and prepares for her first day as junior assistant to Irene. She wears a semi-business casual outfit and makes her way to the office.

“Good morning, Irene.”

”Miyeon.”

”What would you like me to do?”

”Read this,” as Irene tossed a manual onto the desk. “Make sure to get yourself familiarized. We don’t want another incident, right?”

”No, ma’am.”

”Good, because I will make sure there are no second chances. Now, get to reading.”

Miyeon spends more of the day reviewing the material for her new position within the company. The concept of having time for friends or even a boyfriend is now a faraway dream. Her goal now is to do her best with the second change you gave her.

Miyeon looks outside the office window and sees her former members walking together; all she can do now is cherish the beautiful memories she made with them, her sisters.

#The Company #kpop girls #kpop angst #cho miyeon #miyeon #miyeon cho #k pop idol #idol #kpop gg #gidle fic

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freyito · 3 days

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while it's a very popular headcanon that boothill can't feel anything from the neck down, i think there's some validity to him still being able to feel, albeit, not exactly on a human level.

while on the outside what we see is metal, considering the fact that in his lightcone his guts are literally getting rearranged... there needs to be a barrier between the metal and wires or else they will get damaged more quickly and he will short-circuit more.

so.... he mostly likely has synthetic skin between the metal plating and his wires (also to keep his blood in, since his lc also confirms that he does. have blue blood ((or it could be metaphorical, who knows?)). now, there are definitely parts of him where he can't feel, like the barrel in his arm. i assume that the entire arm was cut off from the entire "nervous system".

which, on that note, considering his entire body was unsalvageable, they needs to create some sort of stand in for a nervous system so he can actually control his body. if he didn't, then he'd most likely be toyed with by the IPC, against his will (which is quite sad to think about.)

the nervous system paired with the synthetic skin i think would actually provide... some sort of sensation. I can't go into the details of it cause I am not THAT smart... but let's just saw it could be some sort of nerve mimicking device patched along with that nervous system.

Because he is so heavily plated (as in we literally dont see any synthetic skin or anything of the sort), the touch he feels is very very muted. It's be more like... he can feel the vibrations. So faint touch doesn't register, and it's something people would have to be more firm with. So... touch may not be that meaningful to him (aside from the face and the little bits of skin we see), but I believe he can still feel it, albeit, very muted and dull. It's kind of like when you wear knee braces or something of the sort with the plastic on it and the padding, and you tap it. Just, metal is a lot denser so it'd feel a lot more fainter.

I think he'd also have some phantom pains and touches, kind of like when you're in vr for too long and like your friend pokes at you or something, you know? Or what those with prosthetic limbs feel (which is a lot more accurate to this).

also for those who write him with a PEANITS.... he'd probably have that made out of entirely synthetic skin. And most likely would've had to do his own bottom surgery or get it done at some sketchy ass place, considering the IPC adjusted his synthesia beacon AND made him as a war machine, essentially. BUT good news.... that'd be the most sensitive part of him for sure.

#hsr #honkai star rail #boothill #boothill hsr

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whenerenfallsinlove · 2 days

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Coming out to Marauders boys as FTM!!

This is a thread on how I think Marauders boys would react to you being a trans guy if you were dating!! Keep in mind this is my version of fanon because I doubt any of them would understand you being trans in canon because it’s the seventies, except for probably Severus. Lets begin!!

Severus Snape:

- Okay so since Severus is canonically bisexual (confirmed by the terf herself) I definitely think that he would be the most understanding at first.

- Literally created a potion that helps deepen your voice so he would most definitely be on board with helping you transition

- Helps you bind your chest and if you get top surgery he’ll be by your side the whole time to help aid you because even though he’s very nonchalant and seems uncaring he can be very doting when it comes to romantic partners.

- Has no qualms with calling you his boyfriend in public and being open about it. Doesn’t care if he gets bullied for it he already gets bullies anyway as is so it makes no difference to him. Definitely hexes anyone who makes fun of you though.

- If neither of you have the money for you to go out and get a haircut or new clothes he will help you cut your hair and let you borrow his clothes even though he doesn’t have a lot. Will charm them to fit you if you’re shorter or taller than him or if you’re plus size.

- Makes you tea and pain relieving potions if you aren’t on testosterone and still have periods.

- Overall I just think he would be the best boyfriend to his trans partner!!

James Potter:

- SUNSHINE HIMBO BOYFRIEND!!

- A little hesitant at first because he’s never been with a boy before but once he fully realizes that you’re still the same person he fell in love with, just a different gender, he realizes it doesn’t matter to him and he loves you all the same. Pansexual king!!

- Will beat the shit out of literally anyone if they shit talk you for being trans. Doesn’t gaf about getting detention.

- Buys you as much clothes for your transition as you want because he’s rich.

- If you ever need comfort due to dysphoria he will go into his animagus form and let you snuggle with him like that and play with his antlers. He’ll also let you wear his quidditch jersey that’s covered in his scent on dysphoric days.

- If you start testosterone he’ll teach you how to shave and maintain your appearance. Will also help you with skincare if you need it.

- Literally just the best!! So giddy over you and shows you off to everyone because he can’t get enough of you.

Sirius Black:

- Is a bisexual king and has a trans brother and best friend so he already has experience in being around trans people.

- Just like James he is rich so he’ll buy you whatever clothes you want. You’re also the only person he lets wear his leather jackets and like Snape he charms them to fit you.

- Definitely helps cut your hair and helps you maintain it, and if your hair is curly he helps you maintain that as well so your hair always looks perfect.

- Unlike his past relationships he is in no way secretive about you and shows you off 24/7 so everyone knows he has the prettiest boyfriend. Will also beat the shit out of any bullies for you.

- Loves to snuggle with you in his animagus form while you have your period (if you have it) and rests his fluffy head on your belly where your uterus is to act as your personal heating pad puppy.

- Definitely helps you with getting your own style and loves to treat you like a doll as he dresses you up in clothes, especially his clothes, because you’re just so handsome.

Remus Lupin:

- Is trans himself so of course he supports you no matter what.

- Helps you transition along with him. Need help learning how to bind? He helps you with adjusting your first binder to get your chest as flat as possible!! Scared to take a testosterone injection? No worries he’ll do it for you!!

- Doesn’t have the money to buy you new clothes but he will always let you wear his clothes and he will charm them to fit you. He especially loves seeing you in his favorite Bowie t shirt and a pair of his boxers.

- When you first come out to him if your hair isn’t already a style you like he cuts it for you and gives you a head kiss after.

- Don’t ever worry about not having the things you need for your period if you still have one, why do you think he always has chocolate on his person in the first place? Not to mention he always has a heating pad, a mug of tea, and a good book for you whenever you need it.

- If you both start testosterone together you get to learn how to shave together and it’s really lovely.

- The best boyfriend ever!! You would make the perfect t4t couple and it would just be pure bliss.

Peter Pettigrew:

- Wormy!!

- When you come out to him he isn’t at all shocked and he loves you all the same, of course.

- Will help you with your first haircut and buys you new clothes when he can. But he also loves seeing you in his sweaters.

- Is perfect for cuddling if you have a period or are feeling dysphoric because he’s a big boy, and everybody knows chubby guys give the best cuddles. Not to mention he will absolutely cook for you if you’re feeling down.

- Loves helping you through your transition and absolutely loves showing you off. His favorite way to do so is by playing chess with you in the Gryffindor common room and kissing you whenever you win against him.

- Very doting boyfriend would do literally anything for you. Is always there to defend you as well. He stayed with you the entire time when you were nervous to use the mens restroom for the first time and went in there with you to make sure you were safe.

- Just the biggest sweetie pie ever and I love him!!

#pro snape #severus snape #professor snape #marauders fandom #the marauders #harry potter #james potter #sirius black #remus lupin #peter pettigrew #marauders era #marauders #trans male #trans reader #male reader #trans male reader #ftm reader

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badxwolf · 5 months

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I started crying when we saw the new TARDIS. I was so worried the rumours that it was going to be accessible would just be rumours, BUT THEY’RE TRUE!!! It’s fully 100% wheelchair accessible and that means SO SO SO much to me. When I was a little kid I thought there was no way I could be a companion because of my wheelchair but now there’s an accessible TARDIS and a UNIT agent WITH ROCKETS IN HER WHEELCHAIR!!! I feel so loved by this show and that means the world!

#i also fully believe that any console room could become accessible if necessary #like if the tardis knew someone in a wheelchair was going to come in i definitely think she’d just rearrange a bit #but this is confirmation and no adjustments are needed. it just is.#<3<3 #doctor who spoilers #doctor who #dw spoilers

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systemrestart · 2 months

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From Alison Bechdel's "Dykes to Watch Out For". Strip name "Au Courant", from 1994

I'd never seen this strip get posted, so I want others to see it. Mo, the character expressing 'concern' over the inclusion of trans women (as well as bisexuals) in lesbian culture, is often portrayed as being overly self-righteous, jumping to conclusions about others, and not critically examining her own biases and worldview. She was also the character in the comic commissioned for Transgender Warriors, where she learns she was wrong for being anxious about sharing a bathroom with a trans woman.

Mo is often either the butt of the joke, or receives a stark lesson in these interactions (whether by confrontation or just becoming socially isolated, because she's difficult to be around). And I found this framing important, especially as I've heard discussion of TERFs trying to claim Bechdel as one of them.

This comic was not made to validate Mo's opinions or feelings. The characters in Bechdel's comics are often messy, short-sighted, even bigoted. They're human. This comic does not valorize or 'condone' these flaws, merely shows them for what they are, as well as the consequences that come with them, and the effects they can have on your communities.

Transcript of the comic below the cut:

[ID: A "Dykes to Watch Out For" comic strip by Alison Bechdel, featuring the characters Mo and Lois. The conversation is as follows:

MO: Oh, jeez. Here's a submission for "Madwimmin Read" from someone named Jillian who identifies as a transsexual lesbian.

LOIS: Cool.

MO: The cover letter says, "I hope you'll consider changing the name of your reading series for local lesbian writers to be inclusive of transgender and bisexual women writers too." Oh, man!

LOIS: Guess it's time to get with the program, huh?

MO: What am I supposed to do? Have bi women and drag queens come in here and read about schtupping their boyfriends?

LOIS: Why not? I'm sure they'd have a unique perspective on the topic.

MO: Lois, I'm still trying to adjust to lesbians using dildos! What am I supposed to make of a man who became a woman who's attracted to women?!

LOIS: Love is a many gendered thing, pal. Get used to it.

MO: Well fine. Let people do what they want. But I'm not gonna add this unwieldy "bisexual and transgender" business to the name of my reading series. I don't even know what transgender means!

LOIS: It's sort of an evolving concept. I mean, we haven't had any language for people you can't neatly peg as either boy or girl.

LOIS: Like cross-dressers, transsexuals, people who live as the opposite sex but don't have surgery, drag queens and kings, and all kinds of other transgressive folks. "Transgender" is a way to unite everyone into a group, even though all these people might not self-identify as transgender.

LOIS: In fact, the point is that we're all just ourselves, and not categories. Instead of two rigid genders, there's an infinite sexual continuum! Cool, huh?

MO: How do you know all this stuff?

END ID]

#alison bechdel #dykes to watch out for #dtwof #transgender #lgbt history #thought it was important to share this. ive been reading a lot of dtwof #theres another strip im thinking of sharing about Mo being called out on her ableism #just not sure how to word my thoughts or if i should just post it or something #also let me know if the Transgender Warriors thing is wrong i got that info from another commenter and my copy hasnt arrived yet #and let me know if the transcript needs to be adjusted in some way for screen readers #anyways much love to my transgender sisters #EDIT: my copy of Transgender Warriors came in and i can confirm that the bathroom comic #was comissioned for it!!!

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bbeelzemon · 1 year

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just had paramedics called on me for the first time todayy

#'just' means like 9 hours ago ive been resting btw also im fine i was just scared #i was 90% sure it was a panic attack! but Both my parents having tons of heart problems was making me really dread that other 10%#that i wasnt so sure about #but i am fine it was a confirmed panic attack and nothing is wrong #i had some kind of mental revelation that ive been slowfully and painfully untangling ever since #but its going to be the literal turning point in my ENTIRE life. i am not the same person who woke up this morning #sorry everyone im late for updating you all about my newest medical history update today #no but seriously im bringing this up now because the next few days migjt be rough! for me #im going to try and keep it off the internet as much as possible but just in case i somehow end up doing it anyway i guess #hashtag rosies first honest to god panic attack <3 #im fine. and i will continue being fine. i will simply need an appropriately approximated mandatory adjustment period #yeah so ummm the thing i am astounded by the most right now is #i dont think i have EVER been SO truly angry in my whole. i have never felt the need to describe myself as 'furious' until today #boy they werent kidding that post traumatic stress disorder can COMPLEX #sorry just trying to be a little bit silly its called i get a little bit silly i just need a little controlled boost dose of normalcy here #im fine.

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candied-cae · 2 years

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And Who Are We At The End Of The World? - Needing To Do Something

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

Chapter 7/? - - - Read it on AO3

Word Count : 8,007

Summary: In the aftermath of their first throw down with Vecna, it's time everyone started trying to get ready for "normal" life. Considering normal would mean a state of constant fear for his return to ruin what's left of their broken town. But they've all got to start putting the pieces back together somewhere.

More ST Fics

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The rest of the day passed in a bit of a blur for everyone.

Susan stayed with Max in the hospital. She was a wreck as she held her daughter’s hand and just sobbed by herself. Across the hall, Wayne sat in a chair by Eddie and quietly watched over him. It might’ve felt awkward for Steve if he hadn’t practically slept through the whole day. Praise be to good hospital drugs and the doctors who order them. But he wasn’t the only one who practically missed all of Friday. Most of the Party slept the day away at their own homes. Even if they hadn’t missed so many hours over the days they were trying to figure out the Vecna thing, just the day before had been so rough that each of them felt tired all the way to their bones.

While they were all out of commission, the police did their job.

They spoke to Ms. Kelley, who was willing to talk about Chrissy’s panic attacks, hallucinations, and lack of sleep with them. She mentioned how Chrissy never wanted to say much, would outright refuse to say who it was, but always talked about someone important to her saying terrible things. Things that made her believe she’d never be enough. Not pretty enough, not skinny enough, not good enough. Someone she loved making her hate herself.

She had suspected that it was Chrissy’s mother because that’s just the kind of things mothers are so good at doing to their daughters. But, it wasn’t impossible to say that her boyfriend could’ve instilled these same ideas in her. That she could’ve feared him if she wasn’t ‘enough’. They reviewed her files at the school and saw a record of growing anxiety and fear right there in ink.

They stopped by Gareth, Jeff, and Bruce’s houses. Each of them confirmed what happened when Jason and his lackeys showed up at their band rehearsal. It all happened exactly as Lucas had said it did, and their families assured that they haven’t seen any of the kids in the Party come to see the boys or call their houses. So it was unlikely they’d have been able to make up the story and tell them what to say. And Gareth still had marks on his hand from Jason’s shoes that were pretty damning.

After that, they tracked down Andy. Found him alone, licking his wounds, back at Benny’s with the very same black eye Erica had promised them. They had him recount how pissed Jason was when Eddie joked at the basketball team’s expense in the cafeteria. And how Jason behaved when Chrissy didn’t show up for the afterparty. Admitted that, the next morning, when he made a joke about the body of a Hawkins student found on the news being Chrissy, Jason didn’t have a single thing to say about it. And he confirmed the night at Lover’s Lake that he was still going through Reefer Rick’s things when he heard all the commotion outside and couldn't go on the record for what happened to Patrick.

They even went to what was left of the Creel House. It was a complete devastation of debris. Like someone had ripped it apart right down the middle and everything has just kept caving in since. But they brought in excavators, and they started to uncover a lot more evidence. They found Jason’s body practically buried under the foundation with a lamp that must’ve nearly burned right through him from the looks of it. Along with various blood-splattered boards which later matched Jason, Lucas, and Max’s samples. They even found the gun Jason had bought, covered in his prints and missing two bullets, as well as a crushed Walkman with a Kate Bush tape.

Every little detail matched what the kids had said.

They might’ve not been able to find perfect evidence that Jason killed Chrissy… but they put together a lot more of the story. And everything that came to light, along with Jason’s unaccounted-for time, did point towards a very different answer than they had been expecting. When they took a look from this angle and noted: Jason’s pious rallying, the manhunt he initiated, on top of Max’s identical injuries, and the proof of Lucas's fight with him? All of it led to an explanation that Jason was an emotionally abusive partner, with something of a god complex, and skill with leading mob-like - or cult-like - behavior.

When that blend of superiority was butted against Eddie’s “I don’t give a fuck about your social hierarchy” attitude? When he was otherwise an undisputed king of the high school to everyone but 'The Freak'? That bred a lot of rage. And when Chrissy came to Eddie for weed to help her escape her boyfriend’s demand for perfection, Jason was so enraged that he broke into Eddie’s trailer, killed her for the treachery, and tried to kill Eddie until he ran off. He probably heard about the Victor Creel killings when he was younger and, when he was blind with fury, they served as an inspiration for the kind of pain he could inflict on someone.

From there, Jason killed Freddie for investigating the murder when he went off alone. Nancy might’ve even been next if she wasn’t busy talking to Wayne Munson and stuck with the police after. Then he killed Patrick for getting in the way of Eddie when he changed his mind. And finally, he chased down Lucas for leaving their side and helping Eddie, nearly killing Max as his revenge against him.

It made sense. And it meant that they almost ruined Eddie Munson’s life because things got out of hand too fast. They wouldn’t be able to officially close down the case and make a statement until they could actually talk to the guy, but it was looking like they’d be able to drop the charges on Eddie as long as his answers matched up.

The police still didn’t like how weird all the murders were. The level of cruelty and disfigurement while leaving no fingerprints or bruising… it was still incredibly weird and didn’t seem like anything that could be possible. But the mortician said, even though he couldn’t figure it out, that the science is always evolving.

“This could be something that makes more sense in the next five years than it does right now”, they excused. And so Powell didn’t worry himself with it beyond that. Decided it was something he didn’t need to understand today.

By the end of March 28th, the world was quiet for what felt like the first time all week for any of the members of the Party.

When morning breaks on Saturday the 29th though, Steve finds it quite loud again. A nurse was at his door bright and early to decide if he was really going to get to leave that day. She poked and prodded and asked way too many questions. Then she called in a doctor, who did the very same poking and prodding and asking. When they were satisfied, they handed him a plastic bag with the clothes he’d come in wearing, but then the clock struck 8 am. And Dustin and his mother arrived.

The boy was in another graphic tee under an open button-up but was missing his current favorite hat, the Thinking Cap. His mother, on the other hand, was in a long dress. It was a pale lilac color, covered with floral patterns, with a necklace and big earrings that matched.

There was less poking and prodding from these two, but they did deliver another barrage of questions when Steve just wanted to get dressed back into his gross clothes from two days ago because it would at least be an improvement upon the robe he was wearing.

He pulled on his WarZone branded get-up - even though it smelled like something he’d rather throw in the wash than wear - except for the brown leather jacket. He didn’t put that piece on. When he looked at it, he saw the dried, crusting blood. It wasn’t even just on the inside from his own injuries. The back was splashed with it.

From Eddie.

Eddie, who was still unconscious.

The doctor said it wasn’t anything to get worked up about yet. His body had been through a lot of stress and just needed more time to rest before he’d be ready to get up. Which was probably a good thing anyway since he couldn’t mess up his stitches if he wasn’t moving around.

Either way, the thought of putting back on the jacket stained with Eddie’s blood churned something in the pit of Steve’s stomach. He chose to shove the thing back into the plastic bag and try not to think about it. He fished his watch out of the sack and put it on his wrist before pitifully looking at the state of himself in the mirror. He’d gone ahead and cleaned himself up a bit the previous day between his naps, but his hair… oh his hair. It was the flattest it’s been since he figured out how all the different kinds of hair products worked. He combed his fingers through the locks for a moment before he just gave up. There wasn’t anything he’d be able to do to improve his current situation until he was back in his bathroom at home.

When he emerged from the bathroom, he honestly expected to see Wayne in the chair by Eddie again. It was already 8:17. But the chair sat empty. Well, it was none of his business what time the guy's uncle was going to be by. And if his gaze lingered on Eddie for a moment longer than was casual, because he remembered being the kid with injuries from monsters who didn’t have his family by his side... well, it didn’t matter.

Steve turned his attention to Dustin, who was gearing up for another hug, and smacked his hand on his head to ruffle his hair while holding him an arm's length away. He had to at least try and protect this newly forming scar tissue. But just as easily as Steve dodged Dustin’s embrace, Claudia had him in hers.

Steve was helpless. What was he supposed to do? Push away the woman kind enough to drive him home? Push away the most recent hug he’s shared with someone who wasn’t one of his rotten kids? Alright, maybe that line of thinking was bordering on ‘too sad’. Steve returned the hug and looked over his shoulder to see Dustin sticking his tongue out in tame retaliation. Guess the little stinker at least tries to tone it down around his mom.

When she released her hold on him, Steve did wonder for a passing moment when was the last time his own mother actually hugged him. At least, hugged him beyond the kind of polite courtesy she’d provide as she was headed out the door. Beyond the quick squeeze and “Call if you need anything” before she was rolling her well-used suitcase away.

But again, Steve’s head reminded him that those themes are ‘too sad’ for right now. Thankfully, there weren’t any tears trying to burst through that he had to fight back, otherwise that would've just been way too awkward to deal with so early. He just needed to get home before he had a chance for any more embarrassing moments.

“Alright,” he sniffled nonchalantly,” Let’s get out of here. I am so tired of these white walls and all that beeping.”

They stopped at the nurse’s station so he could complete his check-out paperwork, and within the next fifteen minutes, they were exiting the front entrance. As they walked into the parking lot, it was the first time Steve really looked at the Henderson’s family car. It was this mustard-yellow color that honestly made a lot of sense for them. They seemed like a bright, loud bunch - without being too gaudy like the TodFather was - but just a little more toned down, a little more down-to-earth.

When they started to climb in, Mrs. Henderson playfully snapped at her son for trying to take the passenger seat,” Dustin! Steve is our guest, you go in the back.”

“It’s fine, Mrs. Henderson.” He tried to shrug it off to just get on his way home,” I’m alright with the back.”

“Nonsense. Dusty can wait until we get you home to hop up front.”

The two boys looked at each other and switched doors, both unable to fight against her.

As Steve got settled into the seat, before Dustin had lowered himself in, Claudia turned to him and said,” And it’s really Ms. Henderson, honey. Didn’t want to correct you yesterday with you still laid up in bed, but I haven’t been a Mrs. for a little while now.”

Steve nodded without reply and cast an eye to the kid in the back, trying not to be obvious. He’d noticed that Dustin never talked about his dad, he wasn’t oblivious enough about the little guy to have not. He figured there was something going on there, but never was really sure how to ask. But that answered that question, at least a little bit more.

Dustin closed the back door and Steve was about to start giving his mother directions, when their driver waved her hand at him,” Don’t worry about that, I know where is it. The Sinclairs and I looked it up in the phonebook when we went out last night and picked up your car from by the lake. Wanted to make sure it was at your house instead of out there in the sticks.”

“Oh, you didn’t need to-”

“Hush. I told you, if there’s anything you need, to just ask us. All of us parents are very grateful you’ve been keeping an eye on our kids these last few years. Especially after the scare we had last night.”

As Ms. Henderson pulled to a stop at the red light, she turned over to look at him,” There aren’t enough words in the world to say thank you. The news says there’s already been over a dozen casualties. Our kids aren’t a part of that number. So if we can pick up your car, drive you home, or drop off groceries or casseroles or cookies, we will. We want to.”

Steve is left just looking at her, silenced as she casually turned her attention back to the road just in time for the light to go green. They pull through the intersection and he doesn’t know what to say. It’s not like he doesn’t know how to talk to adults or parents, but they’ve never done this kind of stuff for him. They’ll sidle up next to his mom and dad at parties to comment on his success in sports, they’ll grab his chin and croon over what a handsome boy he’s been growing up into, and they’ll smile to each other as they wax on without bothering to talk to him.

He knew how to handle that. Knew how to paste a smile across his face while saying “Thank you, sir” and “Thank you, ma’am”. Just like he was supposed to.

Joyce and Hopper were a little different. They’d known about how involved he was with all the Upside Down stuff, so it wasn’t really the same when they saw him. Joyce bandaged him up after he’d faced fights with Jonathan and the demogorgon, Billy and the demodogs - though the paramedics handled him after the Russian affair - but that was it. She cleaned him up, said thank you, and maybe looked at him a second too long. Like, maybe she was deciding if she could do anything more. But Jim would always emerge about then, and clap him on the shoulder so hard he nearly fell over with how woozy his head had felt after the fights.

It was nice the way they had looked at him and saw something more than other people did. But even that was all just the immediately after terror, coming down from conflict, cleaning up stuff.

And here, Henderson’s mom was bringing up food like she planned to check in on him.

That concept was foreign to him. That kind of being cared for isn’t something Steve knows about. Much less knows how to handle and respond to.

Which is why Dustin was his saving grace when he quipped in,” Seriously dude, she went crazy yesterday. Our kitchen is overflowing. You have to take something off our hands, or we’ll never finish it before it goes to shit.”

His mother glanced at him in the rearview mirror and commented,“ Dustin! Language. And I didn’t have anything else to do while you slept until 6:30.”

“I was tired!”

“Yes, you were. And, I do appreciate that you at least fell asleep on the couch.” She nodded before leaning over to Steve,” Our kitten, Tews, curled up on him the whole time. It kept the little baby out of my way while I was cooking, and it was just so adorable. I took these pictures-”

“Mom!” he tried to deter her, but Claudia pushed through.

“My favorite is this one where Tews had rolled over on her back and ended up right on top of Dusty’s face-”

“She tried to suffocate me!”

“It was very cute, Steve. If you wanted to see any of those.”

“MOM!”

Steve couldn't help the smile that tugged at his cheeks.

So this was the Henderson’s? They talked to each other. And not just asking for a basic rundown of how work and school were going. They spent time together, looked at each other, laughed, and teased… It was interesting watching the way they were with each other. Steve might've gotten pretty attached to Dustin over the last two years, but there was surprisingly little overlap between him and Dustin’s mother to have seen it before now.

“You know, Ms. Henderson, I think I would like to see that one.”

The boy in the backseat erupted at the betrayal,“ STEVE!”

“It’s really a very sweet photo. When you get to feeling better, come stop by the house, and I’ll show them all off to you. You can also see the photo albums I have of Dusty from when he was a baby-”

“STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!” he screamed to stop her,” YOU’RE BOTH EVIL! THIS IS CHILD ABUSE!”

By the time Steve and Claudia were done teasing the poor boy and came down from their laughter, they’d arrived at the Harrington residence. It was time for Steve to be alone again. He didn’t let the fact reach his face and instead kept the smile up as he began to climb out of the car. He pulled the house keys from the hospital bag and watched Claudia wait to drive away until he’d unlocked the door and waved goodbye. It was a small detail, but it stuck. She bothered to make sure he was able to make it inside before she left, just like Steve does for the kids, but has never witnessed from this angle himself. But once they were gone, down the road, Steve was met with silence.

Just like usual.

He dragged his feet through the entrance, kicked off his shoes, and let the bag fall from his wrist to the floor as he made it to the hall table where the house phone sat. It was right next to the tape recording answering machine, which had a little red light blinking up at him. He still felt weird about it. He’s the only one he knows who has one at their house, most people don’t like the idea of leaving a message and would just call back later anyway. But his parents got one set up when his father started taking more business trips, and they got the thing updated to the newest model pretty much every New Year.

He took a breath in before he pushed down on the play button and listened to the machine wind the tape back.

“Hello, Stephen.”

It was his mother’s voice that played from it. Because, of course, it was. She didn’t sound tipsy at all, which is enough of a surprise, considering Steve can hardly picture her without a martini in her hand. So, it meant she probably called yesterday morning before she'd had time for a drink.

“I’m sure you’re still at the hospital right now. We heard from a nurse down there at Memorial. She said you got a bit hurt in the earthquake, came in with a few friends. It sounded like it was a big one. But I know you’re an adult, and you can handle yourself.”

Yeah, he was just a little beat up with a couple of buddies. Not a big deal. Nothing to get worked up about. Nothing to bother getting on a plane and coming back home over. Why would anyone think to do that for their kid?

“When you get home, give us a callback. I-” There’s a muffled sound which was probably Mr. Harrington talking to her.

Because why should he want to leave his own voice for his son to listen to fresh out of the hospital?

“And your father wants to make sure nothing at the house got broken, so if you could check around before you call, he’d like to know. Anyway, we're needed at a lunch meeting with a couple of chair members and their wives, so we’re heading off. Don’t forget to check in when you get this, baby. I don’t want to worry.” And then the machine clicked to let him know that’s the end of the recording. That’s all she had to say, so she hung up the phone.

He just stared down at it. His dad wanted to know if anything of his was broken, but besides that, he had nothing he wanted to say himself. His mom just wanted a call back so she didn’t have to feel guilty or think about him too much… The perfect image of parenthood.

In the back of his mind, he whispered to himself,” She didn’t even say ‘Love you’.”

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

It’s not like he expected one.

His father never said it, and even with his mother, it was a rare occurrence. She’d say it easier when she was intoxicated. So maybe it was just his luck she called before their lunch, where she surely got a few glasses deep. It wasn’t a surprise, but it still stung.

He bit his lip and just walked away. Took the stairs slower than he usually does, trying not to jostle his fresh wounds, and he grabbed a spare set of clothes from his room as he made his way to the bathroom. If nothing else, he wanted a damn shower.

It wasn’t incredibly eventful. He shucked off the clothes that’d been dirtied with blood and grime and decided he didn’t even want to look in the mirror until he got cleaned up. When he stepped into the warm spray, he leaned back until it was pelting right into the crown of his head. He didn’t even move. Didn’t reach for shampoo or soap. Didn’t run his hands through his hair. Didn’t wipe away the water as it trailed over his closed eyes. He just stood in it, letting it hit him in the otherwise silent bathroom of the far-too-empty house. He couldn’t tell how long he just stood there, but, after a bit, the water didn’t feel warm enough.

He was pulled from his trance to turn the handle up. Just a little bit at first, but it still wasn’t warm enough. A little bit more, but it wasn’t enough. He kept turning it higher as the water steamed. Once he might call it ‘nearly scalding’ he left the handle alone and let the water strike into his back like it’d be enough to work over the knots and sore muscles. Like its almost burning touch would soothe the open scrapes left behind from the Upside Down.

And it doesn’t. But it does help.

Eventually, the world didn’t feel like too much to handle. Eventually, he was able to make himself turn the temperature down and go through his usual bathroom routine. Shampoo scrubbed hard against his scalp and washed out, conditioner run through the length and left to sit, soap on a loofa against every surface of his body until he started to actually feel clean… he even spared a glance at the razor he hasn’t used since he did competitive swim. But Dustin’s pestering wasn’t going to make him pick it up. Even if his dates didn't love to rake their fingernails through his chest hair, at this point, it was Steve's little spot of rebellion against the little nerd. He rinsed out the conditioner and stepped into the steamy bathroom. The mirror was fogged over, which was probably a good thing because he really hated looking at his stitches. Something about seeing the way they go into his skin usually made him cringe.

He pulled on the clean clothes - a dusty blue sweatshirt and a pair of jeans - before he rubbed the water off the mirror to see himself. And he still looked like a wreck. He was a clean wreck now, but a wreck all the same. Tired eyes, bumps and bruises, messy hair hanging around his face. He grabbed a small hand towel from the closet and shook it against his head until his hair wasn’t still dripping. Then he descended the stairs back to the kitchen, very intently keeping his eyes off the phone as he passed by.

He shuffled through the fridge and cabinets until he ended up with a container of honey granola and laid on the couch to eat it by the handfuls. Was there really a reason to go through the trouble of bowls or spoons if there was no one around to see his less than mannerly approach to breakfast? Steve flicked on the tv, and every channel he tried was running updates on the earthquake.

Statistics of casualties, injuries, missing persons, mass exodus, property damage, and seismic magnitude.

All of which made him feel like shit.

They were supposed to make sure this didn’t happen. They were supposed to deal with Vecna so that everyone else could just keep being ignorant and happy. They failed. And no one was even running the good news of Eddie’s innocence because the police hadn’t done a new press release yet. It was only a few minutes before he couldn’t keep listening to the cycling news stories. He pulled himself up off the couch and started thinking about stuff to donate, but he honestly wasn’t really sure what he should be putting together. Surely, the struggling people of Hawkins have no use for his trophies and medals, probably not the knickknacks his mom's interior decorator had strewn about the house, and nothing in his father's office would be much use.

He returned to the phone set, and instead of calling his absentee parents, dialed Robin Buckley’s house.

“This is the Buckleys.” a man’s voice announced when the line picked up.

“Hello, sir. This is Steve Harrington, Robin wanted to make plans about running donations over to the high school.” he got used to speaking through his introduction and including why he was calling with her parents. They still didn’t like him all that much, so it definitely helped to have a good excuse to call.

“Alright…” her dad replied.

A few seconds passed, some sounds of muttering and muffled movement came through, and suddenly Robin’s voice was the one in his ear,” Mornin’ Steve. You don’t want to sleep in before we get everyone together? It’s not even 10:30 yet.”

“Nah,” he shrugged, not like she could even see it,” I was asleep pretty much all of yesterday. Ready to do something.”

Ready to get out of this big, quiet, empty house.

“Well, I’ve already got a box packed over here, so I’m ready whenever you want to come by. Nancy called yesterday and said she and Dustin already had their stuff together, so we can drop by to grab them too.”

“Yeah, yeah. So, quick question, Rob; what sort of stuff should I be grabbing?”

“Umm…” She hummed for a moment, mulling it over,” They’ve got people who don’t have anywhere to stay sleeping on cots in the gymnasium, so blankets and sheets would be good. Clothes you don’t wear anymore. I think Nancy said she was throwing in some toys and books. All that sort of stuff people could use right now.”

“Okay, give me something like half an hour to get stuff together, and I’ll be at yours,” he told her.

“Sounds like a plan. But, you’re going to fix your hair for me, right?” her voice took the familiar lilt of her teasing.

Steve didn’t even answer, just rolled his eyes.

“Because as much as I was honored to see your natural display, it is unnerving to bear witness to ‘The Hair’ as it was the other night.”

“Jesus Christ,” he groaned,” You’re too much.”

He could hear her smile through the phone,“ You love me, though.”

“Debating that decision now.”

“And you’ll still show up for me anyway.”

“We’ll see.”

“Yes, we will.” She snickered before adding,” In 30 minutes.”

“Goodbye, Robin.”

“Bye Bye, Stev-”

Steve rolled his eyes again as he set the phone back on the receiver a moment early, just to be a little mean.

While he walked around the house, he bothered to mentally inventory the rest of it. His father’s office? Fine, only a few things fell off the bookshelves, but nothing was broken. His parent’s room? Practically pristine considering how often it’s vacant. Guest rooms? Look just like they always do. Closets, the attic, the basement? Nothing to note. Every square inch of the place was, at worst, disheveled.

In between tidying up a little, he put together a pretty good pile of spoils. A couple of spare linens and blankets, old and still nice clothes were the obvious things. But he didn’t really have any toys or games or books, so he thought to raid his parent bathroom closet. They had a huge collection of unnecessary travel-size toiletries. Both things they themselves had bought for travel, as well as items they brought back from hotels and such. His mom originally got into a habit of making his dad bring them home with him before she started accompanying him on his business trips, so she'd know he actually stayed at the places he said he did. And now that she just went with him all the time, she brought them home herself. Because she’s always had sticky fingers for small things she doesn’t need.

Now, they’ve got a shelf covered in mini bottles of shower products, toothpaste, mouthwash, and even deodorant that no one uses. They seemed like the kind of things that would be smart to bring in. He was a little proud of himself for thinking of it. He stopped by his bathroom one last time, to brush his teeth and run some pomade through his hair. Then he tucked everything away into the trunk of his car before finally returning to the landline. He stared down at it with buzzing nerves before deciding to bite the bullet and get it over with. He dialed for his parent’s rental in Washington.

“Don’t pick up, don’t pick up, don’t pick up…” he muttered into his hand as his teeth worried against his bottom lip.

Eventually, the ringing ended, and he was greeted with a voice telling him to leave a message or try calling the front desk at his father’s office instead.

“It’s Steve. I got out of the hospital okay and checked out the house. Nothing’s broken or damaged, the water's running and the electricity is working fine. Everything looks good over here. Uh, nothing on me’s broken, and I just stayed the two nights, so the hospital bill shouldn’t be too bad. Anyway, I was just checking in while I’m here like you asked. Going to head out in a bit, so you might get the machine if you call back again…” he found that his voice faded off a second too soon.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to punctuate the voicemail with an ‘I love you’ or not. He knows she’d probably like to hear it. Kids are supposed to tell their parents they love them, after all. But the pettier part of him says that since she didn’t say it in hers, he didn’t need to leave it for her in his.

“Bye.” he simply concluded before putting the phone back down and rushing to get out the front door in case one of them happened to call right back.

The drive to Robin’s is easy. It’s muscle memory for Steve at this point to flow through the suburbs away from Loch Nora down to her place on Redding Drive. As he parked his car in his usual spot just past her mailbox, he spotted her already waiting for him, seated on the steps of her porch. She stood up, bringing into her arms a box that looks light enough he didn’t feel like he needed to help her get it in the popped trunk.

She approached the car, but stopped a few feet away and looked at Steve like she was waiting for something.

“Well? Come on, let’s go,” he told her through the open passenger window.

A smirk found her lips,“ Told you you’d come for me anyway.” she chimed with that big smile as she dropped her items next to his and closed the compartment.

“Just get in. We’ve got places to be.”

“I know,” she said as she plopped herself into the passenger seat.

“So, how’re you feeling?” she asked, checking over him with searching eyes that made him feel like he needed to cover up more.

“I swear you’re probably the fifth person to ask me that today-”

She cut him off with a raised finger,“ Am I hearing you right? Are you complaining that people care about you enough to ask?”

He raised his own in opposition,“ I’m not complaining-”

“It sounds kind of like complaining,” she affirmed, connecting their raised fingers like they were Elliot and E.T.

He dropped his hand in defeat and simply told her,“ Buckle up, Buckley.” as he got ready to pull away from the curb.

“Yeesh, what’s got Steve Harrington tied up in knots?” she wondered as she clicked the seat belt into place.

After a beat of silence, Steve decided to just change the subject entirely as they drove away from her house,” So, have you heard anything from Keith about the state of our employment yet?”

”Not yet. My parents told me that the strip downtown looks fine, so there shouldn’t be any damage to the building itself. But I don’t know what the plan is doing to be about people going back to work right now. That new mayor had a segment on the news last night, said the city government was checking all the infrastructure in town before letting people back into the buildings and would take everything on a 'case-by-case basis to get Hawkins up and running smoothly again'. But there’s not even been a decision on if the school’s going to get back in session, and Monday’s only two days away, so I don't think that's really going to happen on schedule. Especially if people are living in the gymnasium right now. And he said the priority would be making sure the essential businesses kept up first; power plant, trash service, postal service, the bus route, and all that stuff. So I don’t know how quickly they’ll be getting to us kids with part-time-” she paused and motioned to him,” -or full-time jobs at the local video store.”

Steve was grateful for her rambling schpeel. It gave him a minute to get out of his head about his parents. He noticed that just listening to her talk could pull him away from a bad mood pretty easily.

“Damn… greatest Spring Break ever. There’s been half an apocalypse, we’ve got friends in comas, and now we can’t even save some more cash watching movies between customers.” he shook his head at the loss.

Robin sighed wistfully,“ You’re telling me. I had planned this week to finally get you to sit through Victor/Victoria…”

“That’s the Julie Andrews one, right?” he asked, pretty sure he remembered Robin saying she was the lead actress in it.

“Yeah”

“Well, if we still have jobs next week, I’ll let you pop the tape in, no difficulty from me.”

“Don’t make me a promise you won’t keep, Harrington. I can’t afford to have you break my heart right now, too.”

There was a somber tone at the end of the joke, Steve looked at Robin hanging her head out the window, and asked,“ We been thinking about Vickie?”

She nodded her head, but kept her eyes off of him,“ We’ve been thinking about Vickie. Vickie and her dumb, stupid boyfriend and the fact that he gets to give her dumb, stupid kisses. I know I said I was going to get over it because it was just my love life against the end of everything as we know it, but…”

“It’s not so easy to just get over it.” he knowingly finished for her.

She agreed,“ No, it is not.”

“Well, if it’s still bothering you, I’ll listen to you rant all night long.” she turned in her seat to look at him, so he shrugged and added,” I’ll even let you give me dumb, stupid kisses if you need to.”

He threw on a big pout and turned to her as Robin gasped and smacked his arm. He threw up a finger to add his condition,” Only on my cheek though! Because, no offense, but you’re a lesbian, Robin! I don’t like you like that! We are as platonic as platonic gets.”

She shook her head at him,“ Platonic with a capital P.”

“Platonic with a capital P,” he swore back.

“You’re so dumb.” she lovingly joked as she reclined back into the seat.

“So I’ve been told. But you still bother to keep me around anyway. Must love me or something.”

“Guess I must.”

By the time it was almost noon, Steve was pulling to the Wheeler’s driveway with Robin and Dustin in tow. They all go up to the door to knock and get greeted by Karen. She smiled at them and offered to have them inside to eat something, but they all noticed the other car in the driveway and the guests at the table, and just decided they’d rather be on their way than seated with some strangers while Ted grumbles about everyone eating him out of house and home. So Karen called her daughter down from her room. The girl came from the top of the stairs with an overflowing box of her own in her hands. Which, upon seeing, prompted the four of them to unpack their boxes and reorganize them all in the driveway. All the bedding went in one box, clothes in another, Steve’s toiletries sat on top of the canned food, and games and books were being put together when Karen came out with a final box of stuffed animals she said she just came across in the attic.

All four of them pile back into Steve’s car once they have the boxes sorted, Robin in the passenger with Dustin and Nancy looking mildly displeased in the back, and they started on their way. It was at the moment Steve was pulling out of the driveway that Nancy spoke up about something she noticed when she was brought home the day before.

“Did you guys see the government suits around town?”

“Yeah” Dustin answered simply.

“They came back?” Steve asked, looking in the rearview mirror for a second to catch Nancy’s eyes.

“Yeah. I didn’t think they would. El’s not even here anymore, and Hopper was, like, our only point of contact for them, so…” Nancy shrugged to Dustin and Robin who were looking at her,” I just figured we were kind of on our own. But I saw a few of them walking around a lot of the bigger damage sites while I was going home yesterday. The library, city hall, and I’m pretty sure one was waiting outside the hospital when we all left.”

“So how long have they been in Hawkins…” Steve mumbled, more to himself than anyone in the car.

Nancy started to answer anyway,“ No clue, but-”

“Why haven’t they tried talking to any of us?” Robin asked.

“I’m not sur-”

“Wait a minute,” Dustin interrupted, voice worried,” They’re not going to let Eddie take the fall to keep eyes off the Upside Down stuff, right?”

“Exactly why I brought it up, I think we need to talk to them and get them on the same page. To make sure they don’t start peddling some coverup story with falsified evidence that will mess things up for Eddie after we might finally have the cops on our side.”

“Yeah, yeah. Um, do we want to do that after we go by the high school or…?” Steve started to ask.

“Well,” Robin reasoned,” If they’re trying to keep an eye on things, they’ll probably have someone at the high school too, right?”

The two in the back seat nodded in agreement.

“Alright, so mission donate to the needy slash convince the government agency to not fuck us over?” Steve offered to make sure he knew where he was driving.

“Mission Supply and Demand” Dustin corrected.

Steve looked into the mirror and locked eyes with Dustin, a disappointed expression on his face. A little annoyed that the kid felt the need to one-up him, and a lot annoyed that he didn’t come up with the name. It was pretty smooth. The kid might have an inflated ego, but dammit if it isn't a little earned. Not that Steve’s going to say that to him.

“What? That was a good one!” Dustin argued.

The driver sighed and yielded,“ Mission Supply and Demand”

When they pull into the school parking lot, Nancy starts assigning them boxes. With his limp, she only let Dustin even look at the bedding, Robin got the food and hygienic items, Nancy took the stuffed animals, and Steve was piled with the box of books and games on top of the box of clothes. It takes practically no time at all for them to drop them off at the table and feel like they can’t just walk away.

Maybe they all felt guilty about not stopping all of this from happening… but, not even a minute later, they were all volunteering.

Robin walked the food over to the lunch station and starts helping out making sandwiches for pick up, Dustin trailed along to get a tray of water cups to pass out to everybody at their cots, and Nancy and Steve were shown to the apparel table to sort everything out by age. Nancy told Steve to keep an eye out for anyone who looked like the secretive government operative type, and they split the gym in half to make it easier. Leaving Steve the perfect view of one Vickie Nelson sliding up right next to Robin.

They were spreading peanut butter and grape jelly onto bread side by side, and for a second Steve was preparing himself to listen to Robin’s rant later. About how she should have done this, and shouldn’t have done that, and how stupid it is to hope… but then he saw her smile. Vickie was saying something, and Robin was smiling at her. A few seconds later and they were laughing together. Robin looked like she was stuck between being terrified out of her mind and thrilled beyond reason. But she was smiling in a special Robin Buckley way that said it was going really, really well. So Steve resigned himself to just smile back at them, and he’d ask Robin about how it went later.

“About damn time…” he hummed pleasingly to himself.

“What?” Nancy asked, having barely overheard the mumble, and not enough to be able to tell what he said.

“Nothin’. Was just happy Dustin’s managing fine without his crutch right now.” Steve answered with a nod to Henderson weaving between makeshift beds and asking if people were thirsty.

“Yeah, I was glad to see he wasn’t really needing it too badly today. That kid likes getting in trouble too much to be laid up in bed.” she agreed.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Steve replied with a warm chuckle, which brought a few of Nancy’s giggles to the surface.

And then Steve caught himself thinking about how comfortable it was, laughing with Nancy again. It was weird, the two of them. They were in fits of love three years ago, breaking each other’s hearts a year and a half ago, nothing to each other until monsters rose again last summer, and here they were now; organizing kid's clothes and laughing about Dustin Henderson.

It was weird, but it was right. He couldn’t figure any other way to think about it, besides it being right. He likes that he and Nancy are talking again. Perhaps, maybe just maybe, he likes-

“There!” Nancy whispered with urgency.

Steve turned to look over his shoulder and saw the person Nancy was pointedly looking at. It was a woman wearing sunglasses indoors, a navy blue pantsuit, with one hand permanently affixed in her pocket, probably holding onto a gun, while the other held tightly to a leather briefcase. She had a short cut of dark brown hair framing her face and bold red lipstick that, honestly, seemed like it would make her stand out a bit much for someone who’s supposed to be keeping a low profile.

Nancy put down the shirt she was folding on top of a stack and glanced at the team leader who told them to sort clothes.

“Cover for me,” she said quickly, as she stepped away from their station and towards the mystery woman.

Nancy took weighty steps across the gym floor to her. She set her face to look serious, determined to get the answers she wanted. As she closed in, the woman turned to her, but before she could speak, Nancy was starting.

“You’re with Doctor Owens’s team. Right?”

The woman paused for a moment and answered with only a recognizing,“ Nancy Wheeler.”

And for some reason, that just pissed her off more.

“I take it, that’s a yes.”

The woman looked around the room, pulled on an attempt at a sweet smile, and started to ask,“ Why don’t we take this outside-”

But Nancy cut her off,“ How long have you known?”

“Excuse me?”

She took a step closer to the woman and set her tone sterner,“ How long have you known we were having another situation in Hawkins before you bothered to show up?”

Her faux expression slipped a bit.

“We didn’t stop keeping an eye on this town after the girl left if that’s what you’re asking.” She breathed and, when Nancy didn’t speak up, continued to admit,“ We’ve known the whole time, dear. We’ve been here since the cheerleader-”

“The whole time? And you just- you just let it happen?” Nancy sneered the words out.

How dare they? How dare this staff who was supposed to keep things in check just do nothing? They didn’t step in, didn’t talk to anyone who knew, didn’t do anything to help them while they were left to try and fight off that monster Vecna-

“Let’s take this outside.” the woman repeated, insisting on the idea through her gritted teeth.

#This chap is doing so much #Diving into Eddie being confirmed not a murderer?#Starting the Hawkins' Moms Support Club for Steve?#Dipping into Dustin's Family Life?#Introducing Steve's Family Life?#The beginning of the Robin/Vickie that's going to be super cute (if for just a little while)?#Some more Badass Take-No-Shit Nancy time?#This chap did it all... BUT NEXT CHAP?!?!?!#Oh. Everyone needs to buckle in for the next chap.#I'm going to be doing some sad some happy some funny - and I swear on Dustin's mom... Eddie will get to talk!#And yeah - I'm adjusting the Everyone-Returns-To-Hawkins timeline a bit... don't worry. It'll be great.#Stay tuned ❤️✨#Steve Harrington #Eddie Munson #Steddie #Steveddie #Steve x Eddie #Nancy Wheeler #Robin Buckney #Ronance #Robin x Nancy #The Fruity Four #Stranger Things #Stranger Things 4 #Stranger Things 4 spoilers #Stranger Things 4 volume 2 spoilers #stranger things fanfiction #ST4 fanfic #Steddie Fanfic #Ronance Fanfic

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kulliare · 2 years

Text

had a therapy session today, my therapist greeted me with "I'm truly surprised whenever I see you book with me because I don't think you like me very much"

#my hemming and hawing for a good 20 seconds probably confirmed this in her mind #she's good and she adjusted her methods after frankly a mess of a first session so she's fine #i'm still such a mess right now i haven't felt this bad in awhile but also better than i was before the session #also got reminded that i have a 'big personality' and i still don't know what that means #i need to stop thinking and just think about the good things in my life (food)#maybe i'll pirate dragon age 2 and just get into that bc i haven't played that yet

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blondedmuse · 4 months

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MISERY BUSINESS

felix catton x reader

synopsis. ꩜ based off of this request.

author’s note. ∿ i need this man so bad it’s not even funny. smut (fingering, oral f receiving, fingering, unprotected vaginal sex, praise, marking, voyeurism I guess idk) it's been a while since I wrote something on this account and its not proofread so be nice, also a bit of a rushed ending??

word count. ⨾ 2.7k

The harsh thud of the car door closing awoke you from your mid-day reverie by the lake. The sun was beaming down on you almost bare body, only covered by a bikini. It was hotter than usual and everyone else at saltburn seemed to share your complaints. The heat aside the weather was pleasant—Felix on the other hand looked less than.

He looked annoyed, almost upset, even from far away. When he exited the car Oliver and Felix went their separate ways, Oliver looking just as unhappy. You wondered what happened in just few hours that could’ve soured their moods but it was only a few moments later when Felix approached you, grinning in attempt to hide the scowl he was dressed in minutes earlier.

Once he reached your figure he towered over your body as you laid on the dock. Having well acknowledge the heat now and your lack of clothing he discarded his shirt and quickly lowered his frame over yours so that his was barely hovering over yours.

“What’s wrong?” You asked.

He shook his head with a small grin. “nothing.”

You scoffed. “Liar.” He raised his brows.

“What’s wrong?” You prodded again. He dropped his head in hesitation, his lip between his teeth as he contemplated telling you what happened on his and Oliver’s road trip, what he felt, what the truth was—but he couldn’t. Not yet anyways.

He looked up at you. “I- Oliver just said something and it hurt me more than I thought it would.”

You sat up, the two of you adjusting your bodies as you did so. You stared intently at his face, watching how his eyes glossed over and how he could barely hold your gaze. It was a different demeanor than what other people knew, one of the more human parts that made people fall in love with him.

You lifted his face towards yours. “I’m sorry.” The silence that followed after your statement determined he wasn’t interested in sharing anything deeper than the surface of the matter.

He looked back at Saltburn then back at you. “Don’t be.”

You scrunched your brows. “Hm?”

“I don’t know,” He said earnestly. “It’s not your fault, I should’ve listened to you earlier. You kept saying you had a bad feeling about him and I didn’t really take it to heart…til’ now I guess.”

“Oh, Felix,” You sighed, cupping his face, your hand over his jaw subliminally believing that it would release the tension he held there.

“He’s out tomorrow.” His hand caressed yours as it rested on his cheek.

“Really?”

“Really.” He confirmed. “Maybe now I can get you, alone, yeah?” His body pushed yours back down on the doc so he was hovering over you once again.

"Felix," You laughed. "Always distracting me, aren't you."

"No 'm not," he mumbled, nipping at your earlobe. "You weren't doing anything important anyways."

"I was going to ask another question," You giggled.

"Okay," He answered, pushing himself so that he kneeled above you, a knee on either side of your torso. "What?"

When he was playful like this he was such a beautiful sight in front of you, you almost felt bad asking him a question as if you were ruining the mood.

"You're not really kicking him out are you? I feel bad."

He sighed. "I am kicking him out and you shouldn't feel bad, he’s in the business of misery it’s almost like his job to make people feel bad." He crawled back over you once again, something heavier within him now. You could see it in the way he clenched his jaw, his clouded eyes. His mouth made its way back to your body, this time trailing down your stomach, beginning to leave marks you knew you’d have to hide at the party tonight.

“Felix,” You frowned. “I just-”

He cut you off. “Enough, alright. He was a creep anyways, you said it yourself,” He told you and you nodded, internally agreeing.

“He’s going home after the party.”

The feel of his voice as he mumbled into your skin was enough for you to stop thinking about the situation for the moment. It wasn’t until nightfall you were reminded of Oliver's unrelenting presence—it was his birthday after all. Still, no matter where you were in Saltburn, you couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes upon you, you couldn’t help but feel that you were never alone.

"Can we go somewhere a little more private?" You asked Felix and he hardly registered the question. His hands up your dress the lights were dim, colored strobe lights bleeding in from the outside. The room was close to empty but the music could be heard throughout the house. You could ask him anything to anyone and it wouldn’t really mean anything—and it didn't help that the two of you were getting dizzy on champagne.

So, you didn't ask you question again but your eyes flickered to the maze that could be seen from the window and he understood what you wanted.

"Whatever you want, angel." He grinned, pulling his hands away to grab yours, taking you to the garden.

You scrunched your brows together. "I should be calling you that y'know."

He laughed with you. "You have wings too."

"But I'm a fairy"

"Close enough." You laughed to yourself as you and Felix walked through the house and towards the maze. There was a bottle of champagne in your left, Felix’s hand in your right, grounding you with each step. The more the time passed the less ideal it felt to walk in heels—you thought of ditching them all together. Still, they held the integrity of your costume, matching the chosen Midsummer Night's Dream theme. You'd dressed up as a fairy, donning flowers in your hair and a frilly slip dress, the costume obviously incomplete without wings.

Your heels pierced through the dirt once you’d made it to the grass, your feet sinking slightly with each step. You groaned to yourself, not going unnoticed by Felix.

“You okay?” He asked, stopping to turn to you.

“My heels,” You answered.

He furrowed his brows. “What about them?”

“Well…” You hesitated. “They’re killing my feet and they keep sinking into the dirt. They’re gonna get dirty.”

“We’ll we can’t have that know can we,” Felix replied, picking you in on fell swoop, your body now in his arms, your legs dangling from his grasp.

"Felix," You giggled his named through broken laughs, surprised with the immediacy of his action.

"What? You know I'd do anything for my best girl," He told you, returning the wide lipped smile on your face.

"I didn't ask you anything."

"You didn't have to."

You went limp in his arms as you sighed, comparable to an act of defiance as if you were annoyed, as if he did something wrong; but you knew he couldn't if he tried. He shook his head but the smirk on his lips was undeniable as he carried you the rest of the way to the center of the maze.

"You're insufferable, won't even let me carry you," He carped, putting you down and letting you lean against the cold metal of the statue as you put the bottle of champagne on the ground beside you.

"I did and you love me," You retorted, inching your face towards his, leaving a sliver of space between your lips. The bronze on your back that chilled your skin was a stark contrast to the heat radiating from Felix's body, from the warmth of the air around you. It was intoxicating, his breath on your skin and the breeze of the wind. Looking up at him you could see that carnal glimmer in his eyes when his hands roamed your body only moments earlier, and this morning on the dock. It was something you craved and that was something he knew and savored the fact.

"Well I can't deny that," He smirked before closing the gap between the two of you. You could feel the indent of his grin as he kissed you, his lips turned up into a wicked smile, something more depraved, but still, nonetheless, Felix.

"Why don't I finished what I started earlier, love?" He asked against you not bothering to pull away and you only moaned in approval. His lips traveled from yours to the lobe of your ear so he knew you could hear him clearly.

"You need to use your words, darling."

"Yes," You keened, wanting—needing more than what was being given.

"Good girl," He hummed, his hands drawing down the straps of your dress before they traced down the rest of your body all the way to your thighs. He hooked his hands under them, lifting you to sit on the base of the statue.

"This okay?" He asked, looking into your eyes for conformation, the raise of his eyebrows encouraging it verbally as well.

"Yeah," You sighed breathelessly. "But I still need you."

He smirked again. "Let me fix that then."

Felix's hands gently lowered the front of your dress, exposing your breasts and taking one of them into his mouth, moaning around it.

"You're beautiful, darling" He mumbled, groaning as his tongue slid over your hard nipple. His words were genuine but you couldn't help but feel a little cheesy, kicking your foot playfully at his leg and you felt his erection, hard as you did so.

"And you know that already," He chuckled, sucking your nipple more aggressively. "But it's true." His words made you ache with impatience, whine with desire. Felix pulled back before lowering himself to his knees, his eyes not daring to leave yours. Only when he licked an agonizingly slow, sloppy stripe against your clothed cunt his eyes focused on the sight in front of him.

You breath hitched in anticipation as he pulled down your panties with his teeth and taking them off, shooting you a wink as he pocketed them. Immediately after his gaze moved back to your wet pussy, wasting no time in tasting you.

He dropped his head and his tongue slithered to your clit, flicking the pearl a few times before wrapping his lips around it. Your core was hot against his face, your scent, heady and electrifying; he could spend hours between your legs. Your hand went to claw at his hair, your fingers entangling with his brown locks.

"Ri-Right there," You breathed, attempting your best to string a coherent thought together, but it was hard when one of his hands massaged the outside of your thigh while the other came up to your empty hand. Your fingers interlocking, his thumb kneading the side of your palm as he sucked harder at your clit. You squeezed it as you released strangled moans, strained from the attempt to stay quiet.

"You can be louder, love. No one else is going to hear you except me." You didn't believe him, swearing you heard something in the bushes move along with the fact that there was a full blown party happening in his house right now; but you couldn't help yourself either.

He slipped two fingers into you, eliciting a lewd moan with ease. Your legs pressed together and he almost felt suffocated at the momentary feeling of being entirely enveloped by you—but it was exactly what he wanted.

"Oh God, Felix," You fingers digging deeper into his scalp and he groaned.

His movements were mindless and uncalculated, but they had you reeling each time. He knew your body like a book, where to touch to have your head spinning. The longer he spent between you legs, the louder your moans got, your hips helplessly bucking up to meet his fingers and mouth.

"Atta' girl," he murmured against you core. "Cum for me, love, I can feel you squeezing me."

Your movements got sloppier, raunchier, as your orgasm approached swiftly. It struck you like a bolt of lightning, your body overtaken with rapture and relief. Felix watched as you come down from your high, his fingers still working you over.

"You did so well f'me," He coaxed, finally removing his fingers from your core and scaling up your body, his moving to cling to yours and swallowing any soft moans you had left.

"Need you," You whispered as his lips nipped at yours.

"Need me or my cock?" He chuckled, drunk on you.

"You know what I mean," You replied, hands already to undo the buckle of his belt.

He stopped you before you could go any further. "I know, I just want to hear you say it, darling."

You rolled your eyes in annoyance, the smile on your lips indicating otherwise. His brows darted up, goading you on.

"Please?" He pressed and you exhaled in pleasure, in desire.

"Need you inside me, Felix." The corners of his mouth turned up into that smug smirk you've known for so long and he nodded in thanks.

"As you wish, my love."

He was rock hard, heavy and hot in your hands, precum dripping from his tip. You were just as wet and desperate as he reached down as he lined himself up with your entrance, sheathing himself inside you without another moment of hesitation. His arms caged your body under him as he hissed at the feeling. He gave you a a moment, letting you adjust to his size, his cock completely filling you up as he was buried deep inside of you.

"You're so tight," He praised as he kissed you, moaning into your mouth as he began to move. The pace of his hips started slow, gently rolling into yours, your clit brushing up into his pelvic bone at just the right angle. Felix tuned into how your moans falter when he hit just right spot, the sensation going straight to your core.

"Feels so good," You keened as you wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing him closer to you.

"Yeah? Tell me about it," He asked as he increased his pace, the speed of his pounding becoming relentless, evoking obscene noises from you. You wrapped your legs around his torso, heels digging into his back as you gave him the perfect angle to go even deeper as his cock hit your g-spot repeatedly.

You were sure your nails were going to leave a mark as they clawed into his shoulders while his hand slowly travelled to your core, rubbing fast circles on your swollen clit to help you reach your climax. You clenched around him in a manner so desperate, cunt fluttering around his cock. You didn’t have time to tell him you were cumming, screaming and sobbing as ecstasy hit you like a brick wall. You arched your back as his name fell from your lips again and again like a hopeless prayer. He followed suit seconds later, soaked with you as buried his head into the crook of your neck. He came with a strident cry as he bottomed out, filling you to the brim. You went limp under him as he panted weakly with his voice hoarse in your ear.

Still hazy from your climax your eyes widened as you saw Oliver walk into the maze. Felix didn't hear him, but he took note of your expression.

"What? Are you okay? What's-"

You interrupted him. "Oliver." Felix's head whipped around to the man standing behind him.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Felix exclaimed and you pulled your legs from his torso and fixed your dress. Felix pulled up his trousers, buckling up his belt before fully turning to face Oliver.

"What are you doing here, mate? I mean, really?" You didn't say anything, composing yourself as Felix stood in front of you. Oliver opened his mouth to speak but Felix cut him off before he could explain himself.

"Actually I don't wanna fucking know, I've seen enough." He sighed and looked back to check on you.

“I think you should go,” You said to Oliver. “Before you do anything more to embarrass yourself.” The words were harsh as they came out of your mouth but you didn’t know what else to say. You watched as he walked away with his shoulders slumped, no doubt some guilt weighing them down.

“Are you alright?” Felix asked you, turning back around. You nodded still processing what had just happened as it seemed the champagne had worn off a while ago. You grabbed the bottle off the ground and held it up, offering it to Felix with a smile he didn't hesitate to reciprocate back.

"To Oliver's fucking party!" You laughed confused as ever, taking a swig of the bottle before he grabbed it from you.

"To Oliver's stupid fucking party."

#jacob elordi #felix catton #felix catton x reader #felix catton x you #felix catton x y/n #felix catton saltburn #saltburn #oliver quick #blondedmuse.nsfw #felix catton x reader smut #felix catton smut #jacob elordi smut

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supercutszns · 4 months

Text

a place with you; luke castellan

wc: 2.8k (got a little carried away whoops)

pairing: luke castellan x f! reader

synopsis: luke is used to people coming in and out of hermes’ cabin without a second thought. so when you’re having a hard time adjusting to camp life, he doesn’t expect you to stick by his side, even after you’re claimed.

warnings/notes: shy reader going through a tough time, hurt/comfort, pining, kisses, fluff, potential ooc luke i don’t know what i’m doing, most of this is prob inaccurate lol, i got wayyy too attatched to this i am sorry, title inspired by dragon eyes by adrianne lenker

Luke Castellan is the son of a messenger. He’s used to delivering, passing things along, letting them enter his life and leave him. Sometimes it makes him angry. At his father, at the world, at himself.

So when you passed through the Hermes cabin for the inevitable few weeks before getting claimed by your Godly parent, the last thing Luke expected was for you to stay.

When you first got to camp you were terrified. Luke remembers that much. He can still picture you in Chiron’s towering shadow as he led you up to Hermes cabin. He gave you the usual spiel about the cabin, the land of the unclaimed, but it clearly hadn’t quelled your nerves. You were wringing your fingers together when Luke first spotted you, your eyes blown wide in what he knew as shock and a sort of . . . grief. For a life you’d left for what Luke knows as a life you’d never really have. He’d seen it in so many campers before you. He’d see it many times after.

“This is Luke, Hermes’ head counsellor and one of Camp Half-Blood’s finest,” Chiron pointed him out to you at the entrance. After Chiron introduced you, Luke held your name in his memory. Not because there was anything particularly intriguing about you at first, to be honest, because he’d seen a lot of people like you that needed help settling in (although maybe not many his age). It was harder for some people to adjust than most. He knew that better than anyone.

“Nice to meet you,” he stuck out his hand for you to shake after Chiron left. “I’m Luke.”

You sniffed, shaking it without looking at him. You were so, so embarrassed. This whole time you’d been too stupidly overwhelmed to process anything. Why was this so hard for you? Was it this hard for everyone? “Hi,” you managed, and that was it.

Now, weeks after your first meeting, you’ve concluded that it was not, in fact, this hard for everyone. The camp is crowded but full of life. You’ve never seen more happy kids in your life. There’s a sense of community on the wind.

So why can’t you feel it? Why is it so hard to connect with people? To participate in the fun? Everywhere you look there’s people but it’s all just so . . . lonely. You don’t fit. You’re lost.

Luke wakes up at night when the cabin door creaks open. He’s already tossing, so it’s no surprise he catches it. Unfortunately, he’s supposed to be a good counsellor—sneaking out at night is against the rules, and you’ve gotta reign the strays back in before they cause a ruckus. Sure, Luke’s not exactly a stickler for the law, but the least he owes is to make sure everyone’s safe.

Groaning, he draws himself out of the comfort of his bunk but doesn’t get far when he spots a familiar silhouette slipping out the door. He knows it’s you. He’s been hearing crying at night, and this is confirming his suspicions. It makes him ache in a million different places. Every time he thought about approaching you he shut himself down almost instantly, because who the hell wants some random guy coming up to them in the middle of the night and drawing attention?

This time, though, he’s a little worried.

It’s chilly tonight but not too bad, especially when you’re huddled up in a ball on a hill in front of the lake, grass tickling your ankles. Your tears keep you warm.

It’s a sorrow that feels bottomless. You don’t know what’s gotten into you. You don’t know why everything’s so hard.

There’s a scuffling of shoes, and your name is carried to you on the heels of a breeze. Oh God. There’s someone else here.

You sniff and smear your tears on the palms of your hands the best you can but a little part of you only wants to cry more now that you’re all anxious, and you only have a few seconds to collect yourself before you turn around and see Luke, your cabin leader, with furrowed brows. “Oh, h-hi, Luke.” It’s hard to ignore the splinter in your voice. You curse yourself a thousand times.

“Hey,” he says hesitantly, eyeing you in a way that makes you feel entirely exposed. “You, uh, you know you’re not technically supposed to be out here, right?”

You start to scramble to your feet with an apology on your tongue but surprisingly he laughs, a gentle sound, and beckons you to sit back down. “No, no, I’m not gonna get you in trouble or anything, just . . . letting you know.”

It’s uncertain if you should keep sitting, but you decide to because well, you’re already down here, and things can’t go lower than this. Luke comes to sit next to you and you stare out into the sea like your life depends on it. “Wanna talk about why you’re out here?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“I mean,” Luke sighs, scooting a little closer to you. “Most people don’t up and leave in the middle of the night because they’re having a great time.”

The answer is too hard to say so you don’t reply.

Again, Luke sighs, and you try not to look at the shadow the moon casts on his admittedly handsome face. “It’s hard settling in, I know. It happens to a lot of people. I’ve . . . I’ve seen a lot of them, and it doesn’t get any easier.”

“Well it sure seems easier,” you snap, and your self-control flies away before you can stop it. “I have no idea why I can’t just suck it up and fit in here. Everyone seems so happy and it’s driving me nuts because I’m just so confused on why I can’t—why I can’t—process any of it.” Tears burn your eyes. “I’m just miserable. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

In the corner of your view, Luke’s face falls. “I’m your guide, you know that, right? I can help you.”

You sniff, embarrassingly pathetic. “I know.”

He comes even closer. “So why didn’t you ask?”

“Because I—I don’t know, you’re busy all the time with all the people in there, so I’m sure your job’s already stressful as is, so—”

“My job is to help you,” he says, a hand on your shoulder. “That’s what I signed up for. If you need something, I’m the one to ask.”

“I’m not sure you signed up for me crying like a baby,” you swallow, the ripples of the lake blurring together. “I mean, I’m like, older than half the kids here, and they’re all so much better than me. I’m not good at a—anything, and I’ve tried it all, and nobody’s claimed me yet, and I feel so weird and old and alone and . . .” It’s too much to think about so you dig the heels of your palms into your eyes, hoping the sting wards off the thoughts. “What if I’m nothing? Why am I here?”

You’re crying again, hiccuping into your hands. Shame sears into you. Luke’s arm curls around your shoulders and you realize how cold you are when he’s warm, so warm, and you want to cry even harder. You don’t even know him, but it’s the most tenderness you’ve received in what feels like years. “Hey, deep breaths,” he murmurs, rubbing your arm with his other hand. “It’s okay. Look at me.”

It takes a ridiculous amount of strength to heed him. His hand catches your cheek and you can’t bear to pull away. Something strange rustles in your stomach.

Luke’s taught instinct when faced with situations like these is to reassure that the Gods always have a plan. But he doesn’t feel like much of a liar tonight. Both his hands steady your face towards his, your skin damp and cold beneath his thumb. “It's not your fault. It always takes a little bit of time for people to get claimed, it’s never . . . well, you can never tell.”

“What if I don’t get claimed?” You say it so quiet you can pretend it was imaginary.

His eyes crinkle at the sides when he says, “Well, Hermes’ll always have a place for you.”

I’ll, Luke wants to say, I’ll. His father is not responsible for his cabin’s kindness.

“No one really prepares you for how overwhelming this is,” he continues, thumb rubbing the apple of your cheek. Your vision is clearer now, and Gods, he is handsome, isn’t he? Even when his eyes are forlorn. “It’s harder in a way when you’re older. More to leave behind. Less to look forward to. It’s easier when you have a friend. Or a great cabin head.” He tilts his head with a faint smile, “Lucky for you, I’m both.”

It almost makes you laugh, and that’s enough. “It’ll get easier,” he promises softly. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

Your cheeks burn. It’s hard to keep his gaze, so you blot at your eyes with your hands as Luke gently slides his off your face. “Thank you. Sorry for, um, all that. And the crying.”

He chuckles, “Don’t even worry about it.” You watch him rise in the throes of starlight. He offers you a hand. “Aren’t you cold?” He asks after pulling you up, and you sheepishly nod your head. He tosses you a sweater he’s been wearing, and it smells like firewood. Nostalgic, in a way. “I’m gonna poke around for some tea. Wait for me back at the cabin.”

Before he leaves, he squeezes your arm and that thing happens again in your stomach. “No need to be embarrassed, by the way. You can come to me anytime. I’m probably less busy than I look.” As he walked away, he added, “And don’t worry about the crying. You’re pretty either way.”

Either way. The tea doesn’t seem important anymore because your face is on fire.

Time reveals that Luke is right. He is a great cabin leader and a friend, and it’s hard to tell which he’s better at. You fall in with him right away. Soon enough, you’re drawn into your new life, so slowly you barely realize it’s happening. The days get shorter and you start wishing they were longer. The nights get easier. And when they’re not, Luke tucks you into his bunk and folds you in his arms until you drift off. You pick up a bow. A sword. Luke tells you to straighten your shoulders with a hand on the small of your back, and you swear it always lingers. You braid garlands of carnations for your cabin mates and they wear them with pride. It’s warm, your cheeks hurt from smiling, and things start to feel like home.

Until you’re claimed.

Now you’re a ghost in Hermes cabin, another empty bunk to be filled, and Luke stares at it until he can remember every last detail of what it looked like when it was yours. A beautiful, gentle daughter of Demeter, no longer in arms’ reach. He should’ve seen it coming.

He sees you with your siblings all the time. You’re so happy and he envies it. You belong there, he knows that, the way your face lights up at the dinner table and how you giggle when your half-sister presents you a flower. But sometimes your eyes wander, and something inside them dulls, until you look at him, too.

Luke’s place at camp is to be nothing but a funnel for lost campers to find their home. He’s a temporary stop in everybody’s journey. He’d made peace with it a long time ago. But here you are, messing it all up, because you still don’t leave him.

You beg him to give you another sword-fighting lesson. You sit next to him at bonfires. You pick him for partner camp activities. It doesn’t matter how many younger boys want to latch onto him for guidance—he sees you heading towards him, and he can’t imagine choosing anyone else.

But you’re always whisked away by your siblings, separated at meals and in sleep and in activities so it’s never, ever enough. Why did he delude himself into thinking you’d stay forever?

After weeks of distance from you, he’s elated when you have even a fraction of a conversation. “Hey, Luke!” You call out to him, and he finds you instantly. You’ve broken away from your siblings to get to him.

“Hey,” he smiles, and hopes he doesn’t look too pleased.

You lean a little towards his ear, and you smell like every wonderful thing in the world. “Can we hang out tonight? On the hill?” You’re a little bashful when you say it and it’s entirely endearing. Even now, you’re still so unsure. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” he says almost instantly, and it makes you look less nervous. “Yes. Absolutely. But don’t get caught breaking curfew now, you hooligan.”

Someone calls your name and you give a curt, playful nod. “Yes sir, camp counsellor sir!” He carries your laugh close to his heart until night falls.

You’re already there when he arrives, a vision in the moonlight before he even sees your face. “Hey, angel.”

When you turn around you look flustered. He won’t pretend like it doesn’t flatter him. “H—hi, uh, hello.”

There’s a moment where the world is still. The two of you, alone, for the first time in ages.

He sits down next to you, and it’s like the first time all over again. You get to talking, about your days, your anecdotes, your cabins. The strangeness of it all. “It’s so weird waking up in the morning and not having you yapping in my ear,” you remark, and he teasingly pushes your shoulder.

“Well, one of us has to be the talker, and it’s clearly not you,” he retorts.

You fiddle with blades of grass between your fingertips, weaving them together. “I’ll have you know I had a cabin-wide conversation about Capture The Flag yesterday, and I contributed greatly.”

“Oh, really?” He grins, knocking your elbow to steal your attention. “Look at you, coming out of your shell. I’m so proud.”

It’s hard to hold his gaze for more than a second. You’re afraid you’ll do something stupid if he keeps looking at you like that, but you almost want to. “Oh, shut up.”

He puts a hand on your shoulder. “No, I’m serious. I’m proud.” His eyes rake over your face. “You’re flourishing. You found your place.”

You can’t stop yourself from saying, “I kind of miss my old one.”

There’s a way he studies your expression that makes you feel utterly helpless. You wish you could dish it back to him, but you know you just look awestruck whenever you stare at him for so long. He’s quieter when he replies, “I miss it, too. A lot. Sometimes, I—” His face scrunches up like he just tasted something sour. “Nevermind.”

Frowning, you prod, “What? What is it?”

He sighs and turns to the horizon. This is the first time you’ve ever seen him struggle. “Sometimes, I wish you hadn’t been claimed. Sorry, that’s . . . that’s awful, I know.”

His surprise is evident when you say, “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t either.”

He turns back to you. “Really?”

“Really,” you nod, staring at the beads on his necklace. “You’re the only reason I’ve adjusted here at all.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.”

“It’s true. And I miss you.” A few months ago you would’ve kicked yourself for saying this. But Luke has a way of inspiring confidence in people.

“I miss you, too. So much.” He gently prys the grass you’ve been weaving out of your hands, now a small necklace. “But look at how talented you are. I’ll tell you, I’m lucky you’re still sticking around. For most people, Hermes is touch-and-go.”

Luke leans forward to tie the garland around your neck, and your pulse picks up. “This isn’t about Hermes, Luke,” you try to be firm but it comes out soft. “It’s about you.”

His hands stop fiddling and rest on your neck. When he speaks, you can feel his breath on you. And you have no idea that he’s been waiting to hear that his whole life. “What’s about me?”

It’s not fair, your inability to string sentences together only worsens right when a beautiful boy is this close to you. “Hermes isn’t—it’s not special because of your father, it’s special because of you.”

There is nothing else you can possibly think of saying with the way his fingers trace up your neck and hold your jaw. “Yeah, well,” he murmurs, “The only reason anything in my life is special is because of you.”

You don’t know if it’s a lie or not; you don’t care. His nose nudges yours. There’s a moment where you wonder if this is as close to Elysium you’ll ever get. Then he slips a hand to the back of your neck and pulls you to his mouth.

He kisses you in a near fury, then when he knows you’re not going anywhere, it’s the gentlest thing you know. It’s hard to believe this is even happening. Your hands weave through his curls but he holds you steady, and thank the Gods for that because you’re pretty sure you’re melting. You kiss again, and again, and again, until you genuinely think you’re going to pass out and you have to pull away.

“Aw, look at you,” he murmurs when you can’t meet his eyes, a playful lilt in his voice. “Still so nervous.”

“Would you shut up?” You press your face into the crook of his neck with a huge smile.

He kisses the top of your head. “Love to, angel.”

Luke Castellan is the son of a messenger. He’s supposed to believe he’s bringing the best of humanity to the Gods and glory above.

But screw the Gods. He’s keeping this one for himself.

#perrie’s fics #luke castellan #luke castellan x reader #pjo #pjo series #pjo x reader #luke castellan x you #luke castellan fluff #heroes of olympus #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #charlie bushnell #this is far longer than i wanted it to be so sorry.#don’t usually write in 2nd person or present tense so i’m just trying not to look at it #the evil men with curly hair have won again

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whencartoonsruletheworld · 6 months

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so like. fnaf movie. after night five, all outside observers know is "this 30yo guy with severe anger issues + his 10yo mentally ill sister just walked out of his collapsing workplace with an unconscious, stabbed police officer, saying that someone inside the building tried to kill them but we can't get into the building to check. we went to their house and the aunt who was fighting for custody of the child is dead on the floor. the guy's career counselor is missing, as is his babysitter and her family and apparently they're all dead in the building we can't get into." and like. that all looks suspicious as FUCK however we know that in the few-weeks timeskip both mike and abby seem happy and fine so it's not like mike was arrested or anything. he seems to be more adjusted and is happily talking with her teacher so i doubt he's under stress of interrogation or anything

there's a lot of implications there that mike mighta pulled something but it's all circumstantial evidence at best. i'm sure in jane's autopsy and crime scene evidence they couldn't find any evidence of mike being the one to attack her, esp since it was probably just golden freddy bopping her in the head so they dont even have the weapon, and if she was strangled they'd be able to tell it wasn't by bare hands and they couldnt get prints or anyth. especially if golden freddy is a FULL ghost and thus left no trail.

mike would be smart enough to only tell the cops what they need to know without mentioning ghosts to sound crazy. abby might be more honest with the cops just bc of #autism but they'd be more likely to consider her talking about ghosts and imaginary friends as a child's way of coping, and they cant get anything out of her that would incriminate mike. ADD TO THAT that mike has wounds that are clearly defensive and is SUPER banged up and his wounds would likely match his story way better than evidence of him attacking anyone, AND that there's likely footage and witnesses of him being in the pharmacy and then driving to work (and thus not in the area to attack jane), AND if/when nessie wakes up she'll probably vouch for mike as well, and the cops dont have anything on him

though i DO wonder if they would have records of vanessa patching him up in the police outpost. if they do, that would also back up mike's story as it's 1) far away from the aunt jane crime scene, 2) confirms that he and vanessa were working together, so either she's complicit in Crime™ or his story is accurate and she was helping him save his sister. him going to defend her instead of calling backup is also consistent with his personality of getting triggered and jumping into action around child abduction, esp w/ his sibling in danger

considering what abby would probably say, AND the history of freddy's, it's likely that they would come to the conclusion of is "someone [likely the og kidnapper from the 80s] found out that the guy working at freddy's had a sister, kidnapped abby from her house while her aunt was babysitting and tried to recreate the crimes, his story of him and vanessa defending her and escaping vaguely checks out." whether or not mike would incriminate vanessa by mentioning her dad was the killer is up in the air, and there's obviously some huge holes that are left from nobody believing that there are ghosts in the building but that would probably be the eventual conclusion

but throwing that all away, it would be really, REALLY funny if the rest of the town, being really fuckin nosy and getting into the juiciest gossip they've had in decades, took one look at michael "big teddy bear falling asleep on himself" schmidt and said "there's no way. there's no way this guy murdered his aunt, stabbed an officer and then destroyed his own workplace, especially when he really needed that job and was on sleeping medication," and then turned around to look at abby "neurodivergent in the early 2000s (ableist af time period)" "vocally hates her aunt" "doesn't talk to anyone and claims that she can see ghosts" "vaguely possessive of her brother" "claims that she found the guy who hurt her friends and got him jumped by a cupcake(?)" schmidt and said "oh my god. it was her."

and nobody's gonna directly say anything but they've got cautious eyes on the situation and someone quietly slips mike a copy of the bad seed to see if he has a realization but instead he's just like "hey this book kinda reminds of that golden freddy kid lmao. wonder how he's doin" and then we smashcut to golden freddy kid poking springtrap with a stick

#fnaf #fnaf movie #five nights at freddy's #fnaf spoilers #mike schmidt #abby schmidt #mine

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kitten4sannie · 14 days

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backstage bukakke with ateez ♡

a/n: is anyone in need of post coachella performance brainrot?? :33 and if any of you were wondering,, no i’m not okay 🙂‍↔️🫶🏼 without further ado, here’s a LOT more backstage debauchery (like i went insane….i should be in a padded cell rn….) except this time san brought the whole crew to help drown you in cum <333 enjoy the meal my dears bc i can never show my face in public again after this 😭😭

w.c: 2.4k

warnings: alcohol use, subby fem manager! reader, free use, domteez, gangbang, who’s the biggest menace here? that’s for you to decide 🫵🏼, this is just complete filth btw,, dirty talk, degradation/praise, pet names/name calling, so much cum….., yungi confirm the big cock allegations, hongjoong might have a captain kink idk, double penetration, anal, implied sloppy seconds/thirds/fourths kskssb, brief tit play, brief oral, cum eating, size kink, bulge kink, breeding, creampies for days, a bukakke as promised <3

Once the members sent out their last waves and finger hearts to the adoring fans and locals in the vast festival crowd, they made their way back to their temporary dressing room to catch their breath and have a celebratory drink or two. Brimming with adrenaline and energy due to their momentous performance, they erupted in enthusiastic greetings as soon as their dear manager entered the room, a few of them draping their arms around your shoulders to give you a quick hug.

“Manager-nim, did you like the show?” San spoke up, bringing his glass up to his mouth, taking a small sip of the potent liquor.

“You know you can just call me by my name, San, and I thought you guys absolutely killed it, like always,” you replied, scanning their faces, lightly adjusting the hem of your work blazer. No matter how many times you had all of their eyes and attention on you, you couldn’t seem to get used to it. It always made you feel hot under the collar, not knowing what was going through each of their minds when they looked at you the way they did. With interest. Hunger.

San couldn’t help but smirk, his dimples visible. You had taken the bait. He watched Yunho serve you a glass of whiskey. “You’re right. We’re way past titles, aren’t we? Especially considering the way I had you bent over for me right after our set last weekend.”

You choked on the liquor, your body suddenly feeling hot, especially under the heated gaze of the men standing around you. “S-San, behave yourself.”

He lightly licked at his lips, his gaze sharpening, ready to add to the growing heaviness of the atmosphere in the room. “Don’t act so coy now, sweetheart. You know better than that, don’t you?”

You bit into your bottom lip, looking up to Yunho for help, only to find that he was giving you an increasingly perverse smile, like he was reminiscing about something filthy.

Yunho reached down to wrap a lock of your hair around his jewelry adorned finger, sighing, “We could all hear the way Sannie fucked your brains out, doll, but you wanted us to hear, didn’t you? Even though you’re our manager, you’re still our good little slut, yeah?”

Something clicked into place inside your brain like it usually did when they talked to you like this. You could finally stop being so uptight and in control, instead allowing the eager members to do as they pleased with you. “Yeah, I am,” you nodded shyly, your insides on fire.

San took a step towards you, reaching out to run his fingers along your collar bone. “Can I ask you something?”

Your breath caught inside your throat. You knew what he was going to ask. You knew what they wanted. Despite the professional relationship you had with the members, you always seemed to end up in increasingly unprofessional situations with them. You couldn’t help it, not when they always made you feel so good. Wanted. Craved. “Say it, San….”

His pointer finger drifted down your chest, along the seam of your blazer, gazing down at you. “Can we make you our whore, Manager-nim?”

The members exchanged pleased glances with one another, some of them pulling at the crotch of their tailored pants.

“As long as someone locks the door, okay?” you answered underneath your breath, your eyes beginning to glaze over with lust.

San simply took a step around you, running his hands up and down your shoulders, coaxing you out of your blazer and unzipping your work dress, presenting you to his beloved members like you were a treat — one they would savor together.

“Don’t pass out on us now, baby,” San’s husky voice attempted to reach you through the fog you were in, his fingers gently rubbing at the fresh load that had splattered onto your flushed cheek, sliding his digits into your panting mouth for you to clean. “How many was that, hm? How many cocks have been inside you so far? Can our slutty manager remember?”

You stopped counting long ago, too fucked out to think about whose cock had already rearranged your insides and who had stuffed your ass full. You couldn’t even remember who had fucked your face either, but your sore jaw was proof that it was most likely one of the more gifted members. “I-i don’t know how many, just want more,” you whined out, looking up at San past your wet lashes.

“Yeah, you always want more from us, don’t you, baby? Want us to go to our limit? Want us to give you our all, huh? Are you going to milk us all dry like a good slut?”

You could hardly listen to his breathy, self-serving monologue, not with the way Wooyoung was gripping your hips and shoving his thick cock into you with abandon, like you were his own personal sex doll. “Uh-huh, wanna be good for you all…”

“How precious,” San sighed under his breath, all while he jerked himself off, beads of pre-cum spilling out of the twitching tip, watching the way his closest friend pumped himself in and out of your clenching hole, noticing the way his hips began to stutter. “Then, be good and take Wooyoung’s load inside that tight little cunt of yours, just like you took our Captain’s and Seonghwa’s earlier, okay? Can you do that for us, baby? Can you be our pretty little cum dump?”

You couldn’t speak, simply responding by squirting all over Wooyoung’s thrusting cock, just about ready to fall over from the overwhelming pleasure, but unable to with the way Mingi was behind you, his heaving chest pressing into your back, his ringed fingers lazily groping at your sore tits, balls-deep in your tight ass.

“Pretty baby, our pretty girl,” Mingi praised in a gravelly voice, his lips against your ear, squeezing your tits just as his groans began to crescendo, driving himself into you a few more times before he held still, previous loads leaking out of your ass and down the sides of his veined cock to the base as he filled you up again. “Can you feel that, babydoll? Feel the way I’m stuffing you full of cum? It feels so good, you want to cry, don’t you?”

All you could do was nod drunkenly, tears pricking at the corners of your hazy eyes, your trembling thighs growing more and more numb.

“Look at her, guys, she’s cumming just from being bred,” Wooyoung panted out, his hands squeezing into your sides, holding you still on his pulsing cock, not attempting to pull out until he was sure your inner walls were coated with his cum, chuckling smugly along with his fellow members at the way you desperately drew in another shaky breath and simply whined instead of forming words. “Poor slut can’t even talk. Someone should shoot their load down her throat. Maybe it’ll help ground her.”

“Way ahead of you,” Yeosang softly interjected, giving you a princely smile as he walked up to where you were positioned on the lengthy couch. He ran his slender fingers through your hair, slowly angling your head back as he did, bringing his slicked-up cockhead to your parted lips. “Say ‘ahh’, darling.”

Just as you obeyed, you watched Yeosang’s pretty flushed face contort in pleasure, reaching out to wrap your fingers around his pulsing length, milking it for all it’s worth, rope after rope of hot cum shooting into the back of your throat, a few dribbles remaining on your tongue. You were so full of cum, all of your holes were used up, and yet you needed more. “Not enough…More, please. I’m being such a good girl, aren’t I?”

San’s teeth sunk into his bottom lip, sharing glances with the other members, squeezing around the base of his cock to keep himself from busting right then and there. “Guys, I think we broke our manager.”

“Isn’t that the point? Look at her. She loves it,” Wooyoung pointed out, motioning to your blissed-out face, before he finally pulled out of you, reaching down to spread open your used hole, pleased sighs echoing inside the room. “Look, Sannie, her cunt’s all messy now. Ran through. Just the way you like it, huh, you sick fuck? You want sloppy seconds?”

San nodded his head, salivating, practically in a trance.

“Then, hurry up and shove your cock inside her before my cum leaks out,” Wooyoung tsked, climbing off of the cum-stained couch and smacking his hand against San’s ass to get him to spring into action, which he did, laying down on his back and sliding you down onto his cock inch by inch, but not before he tapped his leaking cockhead over your swollen clit a few times for good measure.

San’s dimples accompanied his shit-eating grin as he bottomed out, slowly running one of his hands up your lower abdomen to feel the outline of his stiff cock. “It’s so big inside, isn’t it, Manager-nim? Am I stretching you out nice and wide?”

All you could do was whimper pathetically, because not only were you taking San’s curved cock inside your cunt, but meanwhile Mingi had been showing Yunho the way your hole had begun to gape after the rough treatment you had taken, especially from someone with his size, knowing it was best that he prepped you for his best friend, knowing the term ‘horse cock’ didn’t even begin to describe what Yunho had to offer you. “It’s all for you, bro. Come and get it,” Mingi mused huskily, getting out of Yunho’s way so that he could replace him, one hand on your ass to keep it spread open for everyone’s viewing pleasure, as your hole slowly swallowed up Yunho’s obscene girth.

San and Yunho seemed to be in the middle of an intense competition, considering the way they both would continually thrust into you harder, and faster, grabbing at your tits and hips for leverage to fuck into you even deeper than before, if that was possible. “I-it’s not a–fuck–race, guys,” you cried out, suddenly being pressed back into Yunho’s warm chest when San sat up on the couch and folded you up, jack-hammering himself into you, using you like a cocksleeve.

“Yes, it is, and I’m gonna knock you up first, not this loser,” San grunted out in between shaky moans, smiling with his canines at you, then at Yunho past your shoulder, who responded by bucking his hips up into you so roughly, he had to wrap his arms around your middle to keep you in place.

“I’m fucking her ass, dumbass, I can’t even knock her up if I wanted to,” Yunho replied breathlessly, shaking his head, giving San a playful smile, before pressing his lips to your earlobe. “And I want to, tiny. Wish I could.”

“Not with that attitude,” San huffed, blowing his sweaty bangs out of his eyes, his vision beginning to blur with the sudden onset of pleasure surging through him. “I’m going to fucking–unnnh–fill up your slutty cunt with my cum, baby. Gonna make it so messy. And you’re, fuck, you’re so tight now. That’s our good cumslut.”

“The perfect cumslut,” Hongjoong interrupted in a low voice, suddenly towering over you, holding his cock near your mouth, nodding approvingly when you began to suck and lick at the tip. “That’s right. You love Captain’s cock the most, don’t you, pretty girl?”

Seonghwa pushed his way past the other thirsty members who were hovering around you like vultures, slipping his fingers into your hair and gently guiding you to his own cock, cooing at you approvingly when you let it hit the back of your throat. He smiled smugly at Hongjoong, who was now side-eyeing him. “Stay mad. It’s not my fault she has taste.”

“You better watch it, Seonghwa.”

“You can watch our slut suck my cock.”

Hongjoong grumbled to himself, reaching down to tug your head back just firmly enough to lead you back to his cock, before you took it upon yourself to sandwich their lengths together so that you could please them both at once. They stopped bickering and instead held onto each other, biting into their lips as their highs began to take over.

It was then that San and Yunho emitted similar sounding guttural groans, fully sheathing themselves inside you, their fingers squeezing tightly into your hips from either side.

“Cumming,” they both exhaled, resting their heads on either side of your shoulder, beads of sweat dripping down their jaws and along their straining necks.

Just as hot cum poured into both of your used holes, Seonghwa and Hongjoong began to shudder and grunt out obscenities, aiming their milky streams towards your lolled-out tongue.

San suddenly waved for Jongho to come closer, pulling out just enough so that obscene globs of cum began to leak out of you, making you whine. “Here, cum inside her, JJong. I want my favorite maknae to finish our cumslut off.”

Jongho gingerly positioned himself near your gushing entrance and plugged you back up with his thick, throbbing cock, his strong thighs smacking into your delicate ones as he vigorously bounced you on his lap. “Want it?” he simply asked near your lips, making you blush.

“Please!”

Just as Jongho pounded his load and the others deep into your womb, Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Mingi pushed their way closer to you, vigorously jerking themselves off in order to leave their own individual mark on you for the second or third time, extremely pleased with themselves once they covered their dear manager’s face and body in their cum.

Once you all came down, you found that you couldn’t quite operate your body properly, not when your lower half was completely numb and throbbing with residual pleasure. San and Yunho took it upon themselves to cuddle you from either side, while Jongho gently rubbed your tummy in circles, wondering whose load would knock you up first. Only time would tell.

“How was that?” San asked softly near your ear.

“We weren’t too rough with you, were we?” Yunho murmured, biting his lip.

“How are you feeling, Manager-nim?” Jongho added gently, patting your tummy.

You sighed gently, reaching up to pat their heads, smiling at the men around you. And to think you actually got paid for this. You couldn’t have asked for a better job. “Guys…I’m fine, and for the record, it was so good, I don’t think I can ever go back to having normal sex again. I’m a bit concerned, actually.”

The rest of the members began to laugh, and you joined along, before clearing your throat, suddenly feeling uncomfortably sticky, looking down to see what you had all done to the poor couch. “Okay, so, who’s going to clean this mess up? And, it’s not going to be me. I can’t move my legs. I…think you guys actually broke me.”

San looked over to Wooyoung, who was already rolling his eyes, pointing dramatically at him. “I told you!”

Apply for the taglist here ⇢ ♡

#ateez #ateez smut #ateez mingi #ateez x reader #san smut #san x reader #yunho x reader #wooyoung x reader #mingi x reader #wooyoung smut #yunho smut #mingi smut #ateez fanfic #ateez imagines #kpop smut #hongjoong x reader #hongjoong smut #seonghwa x reader #seonghwa smut

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fangswbenefits · 10 months

Text

Side Effect

Summary: Miguel has been acting off lately and you find out why… the hard way.

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x spider-woman!reader

18+. Feral Miguel. Rutting Miguel (side effect of the serum he takes). HEAVY breeding kink. Creampie. Fangs. Hormonal manipulation (mention of serums being injected).

You paced hurriedly through the long corridors of HQ determined to get an answer.

A proper one.

If Miguel O’Hara was growing tired of your casual relationship with him, he’d have to tell that to your face instead of avoiding you.

This had been going on for a couple of days, and you patience was now hanging by a thread. You had tried to reach him through your watch, but he’d either ignore you, or have Lyla come up with ridiculous excuses.

“Visiting Peter and MJ my ass,” you grumbled under you breath, your paces echoing loudly.

The moment you were met with the lab door shut, you stopped dead in your tracks.

That was weird.

“What?”

Approaching the scanner on the wall, you reached out your arm, allowing the sensor to read your dimensional travel watch.

That was really weird.

You flicked your wrist again, but were met with the same message.

This had to be Miguel’s poor idea of a joke, because it made no sense that he’d restrict your access to the very place you worked at.

Letting out a strained breath, you tapped on your watch, hoping to reach Miguel.

But it was Lyla’s orange hologram that emerged instead.

“What’s up, sugar?” she beamed happily, filing her nails.

You scowled. “I was calling Miguel.”

“He has redirected every contact to me,” she shrugged, checking each nail individually.

You pinched the bridge of your nose. “Why can’t I get in?”

“That’s classified.”

“Classified?”

She nodded with an obnoxious smile that only served to grind your nerves. “I work here.”

“So does Miguel and he is working now,” she said with another shrug.

Anger flared inside you as your worst fears were confirmed.

He was avoiding you in particular.

“Can you just open the door?”

“No.”

“Please?”

Her eyes narrowed behind her heart-shapped glasses. “No.”

“I really need to talk to him.”

Adjusting her long coat, she clicked her tongue. “I can pass him a message.”

That wasn’t good enough and he would just ignore it as usual.

“Lyla…” you started, putting on your most convincing fake smile with an equally forced sweet voice to match. “You know I’ve always like you, right?”

The AI scoffed. “Nah, flattery doesn’t work on me, sugar. It wasn’t programmed into my coding,” she grinned deviously. “But you’re free to suggest that Miguel adds it in a future patch.”

You shot her a death glare. “Fine. Just… tell him I’m here and… yeah…” your voice trailed off.

She winked. “Gotcha!”

The hologram disappeared at once and you were left staring at the large metal door in front of you.

You waited for a couple of minutes, before realising she wasn’t coming back with an answer, as you had expected.

A random thought crossed your mind when your eyes landed on the scanner, reminding you that there was another way in.

Miguel would probably get really angry that you were about to activate the emergency protocol, but you couldn’t care less at this point.

Tapping the pattern onto the pad above the scanner, you couldn’t help but to feel victorious as the door swung open, alarms blaring and a mechanical voice echoing through the lab.

“Emergency protocol activated. Proceed with caution.”

You only made it a few steps past the door, before something — or rather someone — flung you across the room with the weight of their body keeping you pinned against a wall.

A muscled forearm was at your throat, effectively caging you in.

“What the fuck?”

“Emergency protocol activated. Proceed with caution.”

The red alarm lights rotated hurriedly on the ceiling, but you were able to identify Miguel, as his weight dug further into you.

“What are you doing here?” he growled, the eyes on his mask narrowing menacingly.

Something wasn’t right.

Your spider senses detected an alarming accelerated heart rate from him, as well as increased body temperature.

“Miguel, let go! It’s me,” you grunted, clawing at his arm to alleviate the pressure.

“I know it’s you,” he said lowly, the digital mask vanishing.

From the corner of your eyes you saw him baring his fangs, droplets of paralysing poison dripping.

His pupils were fully blown and you felt fear rise inside you. “What are you doing?!”

As if your voice had managed to snap him out of it, he eased the pressure on you and took a few steps back.

“Lyla, deactivate the emergency protocol and resume the serum synthesis.”

“Got it, Miguel!”

The alarm was turned off immediately and silence took place.

Your breath was coming out in shallow pants, as you tried to make sense of what had just happened.

Was he that angry that he had gone completely feral?

“Miguel… what…”

He turned his back on you and paced to a nearby centrifuge, the screen atop announcing: <DNA stabilising sequence at 24%>

What was he doing?

“Leave.”

“Can we just talk?” you said, still keeping your distance. “I don’t know why you’re avoiding me, but barring my access-“

Miguel turned around to face you, a deep scowl had settled on his face, twisting his lips.

The glare he gave you was enough to send shivers down your spine.

“I need you gone. Now.”

Fuck. Was he that over you that he couldn’t even stand your presence around?

He had shortened the distance between you two, crimson eyes never leaving yours.

“Why? If you don’t want to be with me just say that,” you groaned in frustration. “Don’t stare at me like you’re about to split me in half. It won’t work.”

Miguel had effectively managed to have your back hit the nearby wall once more, just from the weight of his stare alone.

“I told you to leave. I can’t have you around me.”

“Oh, great!” you scoffed. “Thanks for being so direct.”

Miguel didn’t stop moving until his face was only a few inches away from yours. “You don’t get it.”

“You’re right. I don’t. We’re both adults, so you could have just said this a couple of days ago instead of acting like I’m some nuisance.”

His hand came to grip your jaw and you widened your eyes. “You’re on birth control, right?”

“What…”

He took a deep breath, fangs grazing his lower lip. “Answer me.”

“Yes. Of course.”

Wait… was he scared that he might have knocked you up?

His fingers loosened and he pressed his forehead to the wall right beside your head, groaning out loud.

“Miguel… what is going on?”

You wanted to him a comfort squeeze on his arm, but were too frozen to move.

“Why… why do you have to be on birth control?”

Was he pulling your leg? Was this his twisted version of a joke?

This time, you frowned. “What do you mean why? I don’t want to get unexpectedly pregnant.”

Miguel punched the wall with such force it dented the material and making you jolt.

“I’m rutting.”

Your eyes darted to his face as he straightened up, pupils still dilated and beads of sweat rolling down his temples.

“What… rutting?” you asked, mouth dropping open in confusion.

He growled impatiently. “Side effect of my serum. I usually have an antidote at hand when this happens, but I ran out of one of the components…” he paused briefly as if struggling to breath properly. “I had to go to Peter B’s Earth to get more.”

Oh. So that hadn’t been one of Lyla’s ridiculous lies.

You glanced over at the nearby screen:

Oh.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” you asked, wanting to bring him some comfort somehow. “We’ve been together for a few months.”

“It was never necessary. I always had the neutraliser for my serum at hand.”

You bit your lip.

He let out a low dark chuckle. “You have no idea how badly I’ve been wanting to breed you.”

This definitely wasn’t something you were expecting to hear from Miguel O’hara himself, and it made your heart skip a beat.

His arms were caging you, his talons digging deep into the metal right next to your head.

“Is… huh… is there anything I can do?” you asked in a whisper. “I mean… in the lab.”

He pressed his lower half into you at once. “Let me breed you.”

You flinched as his hard cock dug into your crotch and you let out a gasp.

“Can’t you just wait for the synthesis to be over?”

The sound of the metal being shredded tore through your ears and his lips nearly brushed yours. “I told you to leave, but you’re too stubborn, aren’t you?”

His breath was hot and you felt goosebumps rise throughout your body.

“Always running that mouth,” he growled, eyes landing on your lips. “Always defying me… and now I really, really need to breed you.”

For some twisted reason, his words and cock twitching against you were slowly swallowing your mind, causing you to abandon reason.

Miguel was a very dedicated lover, but you had never witnessed such yearning from him.

That was a novelty and it was doing wonders to your ego.

Even if there was a scientific explanation, you could help but plant a soft kiss on his cheek. “You can’t breed me… I’m on birth control.”

His hand came to grip your chin again and you saw anger flicker in his eyes. “There’s ways around that.”

Your eyes widened.

He wasn’t being serious…

… was he?

“Miguel…”

The grip tightened and he rolled his hips. “Let me. Please.”

You knew exactly what he was talking about. He had developed a serum that would neutralise all hormonal manipulation as a way to reset your body in case a spider needed to be injected with a serum.

You had helped him develop it.

Its efficacy neared 90%.

You guessed this neutraliser wasn’t able to prevent the side effects from his very specific serum.

And now he wanted to use it on you, so he could successfully breed you.

“Are you sure?” you asked, not sure why agreeing to this in the first place was sending such an adrenaline rush through your veins.

Miguel moved away from you, bolting to one of the desks, rummaging through the drawers.

You swallowed hard, but remained glued to the wall, heart hammering fast in your chest.

In a blink of an eye, he was on you again, holding the syringe in his trembling hand. “I’m desperate, but I need your words first.”

You clenched and felt wetness spilling from you.

How was this so arousing?

“What words?”

He moved to place a quivering kiss to your forehead and you saw the liquid wobble inside the container.

“That’s… not the compound we synthesised.”

“It’s more than that,” he said with another kiss. “It stimulates your ovaries.”

Oh… fuck.

He trailed kisses down your face, before pecking your lips. “I have to breed you. Successfully.”

Your legs nearly gave out at his confession and you nearly moaned as he ripped your suit to gain access to your bicep.

“Tell me I can do this.”

His cock was nudging you again as a reminder of his desire, and you nodded.

“No. Say it.”

He was rubbing your skin with his thumb right where he intended to inject the serum.

“Go ahead.”

“Gracias,” he whispered, planting another kiss to your forehead.

At this point, you were far too drunk in lust to think clearly and your lips parted in a pained moaned as you felt a sharp jab in your arm. He kept his lips on you as reassurance, as the liquid tore through your muscle.

Your heartbeat skyrocketed straight away.

You felt your knees buckle under you, but Miguel steadied you with both arms. “I got you.”

A gasp quickly turned into a moan as the effect of the serum consumed you with each passing second.

He trailed his hands down your body and gripped your hips.

“Turn around.”

You let him guide you, biting down hard on your lower lip, you panties sticking to your soaked folds.

More ripping sounds filled the air as Miguel tried to get rid of your suit, exposing your underwear to him.

You balled your fists and felt one hand on your lower back, adding light pressure. “Bend over.”

Doing as commanded, you felt more wetness spill from you as your body readied itself for Miguel.

The pressure increased. “More.”

Your panties were torn apart right away and you glanced over your shoulder, catching a glimpse of Miguel’s fangs peeking through his lips.

His thumb dragged along your folds, teasing your swollen clit and earning a whimper from you.

“Sorry, but I really need to be inside you,” he grumbled and you nodded.

Your heart skipped several beats, as you tried to control your breathing in anticipation.

The tip of his cock was soon pressed against your opening, and you squeezed your eyes shut.

“I’m sorry.”

Before you could inquire what he meant, your mouth fell open as he rammed inside you, bottoming out at once.

He didn’t wait for your to recover from the initial shock, and began pumping into you so ferociously, you had to grab a hold on the metal railing to your right to keep yourself from losing balance.

Miguel heaved a heavy sigh of relief as if he had been waiting a lifetime for this sensation.

Grunts and groans mixed with the wet sounds of your pussy engulfing his cock over and over again.

“Should have bred you sooner…” he managed to say in between snaps of his hips. “Developed that serum just for you…”

Miguel’s idea of dirty talk was effective. Too effective, because you couldn’t hold back from clenching hard around him, savoring the friction and feel of being stuffed full of him.

He picked up the pace and you thought you were going to die.

Not because it was uncomfortable, but because it was too overwhelming, and your body was responding to his in a way you had never experienced before.

You felt your lower abdomen coil at the sides and figured the serum had reached its target destination.

Miguel gripped both your arms and you let go of the railing, as he tugged hard to have your back smack against his hard chest.

“You’re so lucky this rut didn’t hit me harder,” he growled, hips never faltering. “I was barely able to control myself around you…”

Your eyes fluttered shut and you moaned loudly, feeling his pectoral muscles press into your back. This man was too hot and you found yourself thinking that not being bred by him would be a waste.

That genetic material deserved to be spread.

“Being on birth control with me…” he said through gritted teeth, and you felt his fangs nipping your ear lightly. “You. Deserve. To. Be. Bred.” he punctuated each word with a snap of his hips.

An intense wave of pleasure pulsated from your clit, and you recognised the familiar strings of an orgasm pulling you in and embracing you gentle with each stroke.

“Miguel…” you moaned, blinded by lust and desire.

The grip on your arms loosened briefly and he let your torso lean forward ever so slightly, angling your hips in a way that made him his cock hit you over and over again just where you needed the most.

“I want you full with my babies,” he gasped.

Your orgasm hit you with such force, you thought you were going to collapse and slide off his cock, but he wrapped one arm around you, not allowing you to part from him.

“You feel so good… tighter… tighter,” he urged, as your walls contracted around him rhythmically, faintly at first, but the next stronger than the one before.

You were far too gone to form any words and just let your lips part as an intense moan ripped through your throat.

Miguel was mumbling something behind you, but you couldn’t make out any words as you descended from your height.

Even through quivering legs and pulsing clit, you were able to feel it.

He was now pumping you full with broken snaps of his hips.

You glanced down and saw strings of cum dripping from where he was connected with you.

So much cum.

He wasn’t even slowing down, as he’d usually do at this stage.

Miguel kept on ramming into you from behind, sending more and more cum to drip from within you.

An animalistic growl left his mouth as he finally came to a halt, breathing hard.

He remained balls deep inside you, and you planted on hand on the wall to look in absolute awe at the cum dripping and dangling from your clit, a pool of it now at your feet.

“How did you cum so much?” you managed to say in between laboured breaths.

“I’m rutting, cariño. My body produces more,” he said, pressing a kiss to the back of your neck.

You glanced to the screen nearby.

“Maybe you can take the neutraliser now?

He slid his cock out of you halfway, before slamming it back, and you felt more cum spill out. “I don’t think so.”

Oh, you were utterly fucked.

In every sense of the word.

Masterlist

#miguel o’hara x reader #miguel o’hara #miguel o’hara smut #miguel o’hara x you #miguel o’hara x fem!reader #spiderman 2099 x reader #miguel o’hara x y/n #spiderman 2099

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rileyslibrary · 22 days

Text

The elderly lady who owns the convenience store in Simon’s neighbourhood needs help with a faulty fridge. You tag along with Simon and discover more about him than you ever expected.

A/N: Fluff. Cosy read.

———————————————————————

“It’s right there,” Simon says, pointing down the street. “Just need to take care of something quickly.”

You follow his outstretched arm to a convenience store nestled on the corner. Furrowing your brows, you glance back at the street you had just walked down, spotting Simon’s house. It’s very close, you think to yourself. Maybe a three-minute walk away.

That’s weird. You’ve taken that same road to and from Simon’s house many times, yet this is the first time you’ve noticed the store.

Turning your attention back, you look closer at your destination. No wonder you never paid much attention to it. The store seems old and rather inconspicuous, blending into its surroundings seamlessly. Everything is understated, from the building to its decor—if you could even call it that. To the left of the entrance, there’s a stand of old magazines, and on the right, a table with two chairs catches your eye. You glance up at the sign above the entrance.

“Mary Mart,” you read aloud.

“That’s right,” Simon confirms, opening the door and triggering a bell to jingle. “Mary should be inside.”

He holds the door open for you, yet his gaze remains fixed on something inside the store. You step in and follow his line of sight to a lady holding a newspaper up to her face. That must be Mary, you presume.

“You alright, Mary?” Simon asks softly.

Yup, that’s definitely her. The newspaper covers most of Mary’s petite frame as she sits behind the counter. She seems so absorbed by her reading that she didn’t hear you come in.

Simon sighs and shakes his head. He gently taps the back of the newspaper to get her attention. Mary lowers the paper to her nose, and her face lights up immediately at the sight of Simon.

“Didn’t see you there!” Mary shouts, lowering the newspaper to the counter. “You alright, my dear?”

“Yes, Mary,” he murmurs, “neither did you see nor hear us.”

“What?” Mary asks, letting go of the newspaper and cupping her ear.

Simon taps his own ear, indicating that Mary needs to adjust her earpiece. Mary’s eyes widen, and she quickly follows Simon’s lead, turning her earpiece on. She gives him a nod.

“Better now?” Simon asks.

“Much, much better,” Mary confirms, then turns to you with a broader smile. “And who do we have here?”

You politely nod, introducing yourself to Mary, but Simon interjects before you say much.

“So tell me, Mary,” He says, glancing towards the back of the store where the fridges are, “which one’s acting up?”

“Oh, I can’t remember, dear, but it’s hard to miss it,” Mary replies, sighing. “It’s the one with the towels underneath. Keeps dripping water.”

Simon nods, his gaze still focused on the fridges. He begins heading towards the back of the store, and you instinctively follow behind him.

“How lovely of you, Simon,” Mary’s voice sounds from behind you. “Bringing me some company while you take care of that fridge.”

You stop in your tracks, and Simon does, too. Point taken, Mary. You glance towards Simon, and he gives you a nod.

“She’s harmless,” he whispers, brushing your hair back. “And a pretty nice lady.”

“Don’t be long.” You whisper back. “We still need to go get some breakfast.”

Simon nods and continues to the back of the store. With a sigh, you return to the counter where Mary is and settle into a nearby chair.

“Anything newsworthy?” You ask.

“Nothing much, dear,” Mary replies, adjusting her newspaper. “The weather’s terrible, the economy’s getting worse, and people won’t stop killing each other.”

“Oh...” you murmur, “yeah, that’s bad.”

“Well, at least Boots has 20% off on all moisturizers,” she announces, slightly more enthusiastically than one might expect for moisturizers. She picks a pair of scissors from under the counter and starts snipping the voucher.

With Mary on a mission to get that 20% off of that newspaper, you take the opportunity to peek at Simon. He’s kneeling in front of the fridge at the back of the store, focused on the appliance. Occasionally, his brow slightly furrows as he inspects the faulty machine. Then he pauses, nods, and grabs tools or shifts his position to get a better look at it. You, on the other hand, have no idea what he’s doing, nor do you care. You are hungry and caffeine-deprived. You’re pretty sure Simon feels the same way.

Meanwhile, Mary has finished cutting through the voucher and returned to her reading. She often flips through the pages and snaps the newspaper to straighten it and remove wrinkles. Sometimes, she hums, acknowledging her current read. Other times, she clicks her tongue disapprovingly at whatever news she comes across.

And you? Well, you’re bored out of your mind, so you begin scanning the shelves and displays, taking in the assortment of merchandise neatly arranged throughout the store. Your eyes briefly pause on various items—a stack of magazines, a display of snacks, a row of household essentials—before finally settling on an old photograph hanging behind Mary.

In the photograph, a young man wearing a military uniform stands confidently. He appears to be in his late twenties and sports a well-kept moustache. Rather than looking straight ahead, his gaze seems to be directed right behind you. He looks confident. Strong. He feels present, even if he’s not here.

“Handsome, huh?” Mary asks, peering over her glasses before turning towards the picture behind her. “That’s my Walter right there.”

You clear your throat and nod. “Very handsome indeed,” you confirm. “Is he your husband?”

“Was,” Mary corrects with a wistful smile, her eyes drifting back to you. “My very first and last one.”

“Which war?” you ask, gesturing towards his uniform.

“You mean which war he served in or which war he died in?”

“Both,” you shrug.

“Served in too many,” she says proudly, lowering her gaze to her newspaper. “But the war my Walter lost had no guns or weapons.”

“I’m sorry,” you whisper.

Mary looks up from her newspaper, meeting your eyes with a tilt of her head and a warm smile.

“Coffee?” she offers but doesn’t let you respond. She has already turned her back to you, brewing a fresh pot.

“No, thank you,” you reply. “We intend to grab some on our way to breakf-”

“I don’t think Simon will finish anytime soon, dear,” she interjects.

“Then yes, please,” you reply, then mouth a silent ‘shit’ to yourself so that Mary doesn’t hear you. You peek once more at the back of the store where Simon is.

“He’s handsome as well, isn’t he?” Mary states, with her back still turned towards you.

You blush at Mary’s observation and look down at the gum assortment in front of the counter. “Yes,” you agree, nodding with a smile. “Yes, he is.”

“Met at the base?” She asks, pouring you a cup of coffee.

“You know where we work?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.

“It takes one to know one, dear,” she says, turning towards you and handing you a cup of coffee. “Milk? Sugar?”

“No, thanks,” you reply. “So you also served in the military?”

Mary’s expression shifts, her face lighting up as she lifts her index finger.

“Serve!” she exclaims, “Silly me; I forgot to serve the biscuits!”

She retrieves a plate covered with tin foil from below the counter and uncovers it, pushing the platter towards you. You politely decline, thanking her for the offer. But Mary insists.

“I made them myself,” she tells you warmly.

“And I’m sure they taste lovely, but-”

“Take the biscuit,” Mary commands sternly, yet still smiling.

You look up at her, and without looking back at the plate, you take a biscuit. You don’t know which one you picked, what flavour it is, or if there are any allergens in it. Mary’s assertiveness is enough to make you pop it right into your mouth.

Her smile widens. “Good?” she asks.

The biscuit is indeed good. Very good. But even if it weren’t, you wouldn’t dare say otherwise—not only out of respect for Mary’s age but also because something tells you she might have more experience than the convenience store owner she portrays herself to be.

“They are amazing, Mary,” you reply and swallow.

“Simon likes those too,” she states proudly. “I often bring some over when I bake them.”

“So you live nearby?” You ask, swallowing another bite of the biscuit.

“I’m his landlord,” Mary reveals, nudging the plate of biscuits closer to you, “help yourself to another.”

You oblige and take another biscuit, and Mary continues once you take a bite.

“So,” she begins, blowing the steam off her coffee, “I’ve seen you plenty of times in my neighbourhood.”

“I, um,” you lift one shoulder and idly pick up a pack of chewing gum from the assortment in front of you. “I do come by often.”

“I know,” she replies, sipping her coffee. “You’ve been passing by my store a lot lately.”

You subtly turn your head towards Simon’s direction, letting your hair fall to the side of your face to conceal your blushing cheeks from Mary’s view. Yet she doesn’t seem to let go.

“He’s a good lad,” Mary states. Always there when neighbours need him, ready to lend a hand.”

“Indeed, he’s very good with his hands.” You reply.

“You know best, my dear,” Mary remarks, smirking.

“I meant with fixing things!” You say, widening your eyes. “He’s good with his hands when it comes to fixing things!”

Mary chuckles knowingly. “He’s also quite popular with the ladies—both the single and the taken ones,” she continues.

“Oh, is he now?” You respond in a high-pitched voice, narrowing your eyes. You turn your body towards Mary, placing the chewing gum package back in its original position.

“Yes,” she confirms, leaning over the counter. “Simon never rejects the attention, being such a good-looking lad, but at the same time, he never reciprocates.”

“How do you know he doesn’t reciprocate?”

“Oh, you’d be impressed what people say in front of an old lady who, allegedly, forgets to switch her earpiece on.” She says, winking at you.

“So, women flirt with him, huh?”

Mary throws her head back and chuckles, flicking her wrist at you. “Oh please, my dear,” she says in between chuckles, “I would have practically done the same if I was fifty years younger and Walter wasn’t around.”

“And he doesn’t flirt back?” You ask.

“No, not really, but he used to be friendly with them.” She explains, tilting her head toward you. “And then something changed.”

You shift in your seat and lean forward. “What?” You ask, intrigued. “What changed?”

Mary leans closer, sliding the biscuit platter toward you.

“Mary, I should probably lay off the biscuits,” you say. “We’re supposed to be heading out for breakfast, remember?”

“Make it a brunch, dear, or whatever you young people call it nowadays,” she replies. “Simon won’t be fixing the fridge anytime soon.”

“How do you know?” you ask. “You just said he’s great at fixing things.”

“Not when there’s nothing wrong with the fridge in the first place.”

“What do you mean?” You ask, furrowing your brows.

“I detached the defrost drain to simulate water leakage,” she explains. “It’s an easy fix, but you can oversee it quite easily, especially when the fridge is as old as I am.”

“You tinkered with the fridge on purpose?” you ask, eyes wide with surprise. “Why?”

“Oh please,” she sighs, rolling her eyes, “I had to bring you both here somehow.”

You glance at the cookie platter. Understanding that you won’t get any more information from Mary unless you indulge, you grab another cookie and pop it into your mouth. Mary, the ‘insert-biscuit-here-to-continue’ lady, takes the cue and continues.

“And then, as I was saying, you began to visit more often,” she explains, glancing over at Simon. “And his reaction to all the attention shifted.”

“You need to elaborate a little bit more, Mary,” you press. “How exactly did it change?”

“Girlfriend!” she exclaims in a hushed tone, widening her eyes at you. “He says he has a girlfriend!”

You widen your eyes, just like her, and point at yourself. She nods and points back at you.

“And then there’s the toothbrush,” she continues. “He bought two! A green one and a pink one.”

“He gave me a pink toothbrush when I stayed over for the first time!” you whisper. “Said he’d bought it ages ago and forgotten about it!”

“He bought a pink toothbrush as a spare for himself?” She asks, and her eyes narrow. “Nonsense! It wasn’t too long ago, and I have the receipts.”

“You keep receipts for these things, Mary?”

“No, silly,” she shakes her head. “It’s for tax purposes.”

“Right, so, I’m the girlfriend apparently,” you murmur, massaging your temples. “But why are you telling me all this?”

“Simon isn’t much of a talker, dear,” Mary explains, her tone softening. “Not to mention the horrors he’s been through. Sometimes, you might even misunderstand him because of it. But I’ve known him for a long time. He’s like family to me. Sometimes, when words fail him, I feel the need to speak on his behalf.”

“So you’re looking out for him,” you conclude, slowly nodding.

“Like the child I never had,” Mary confirms with a warm smile, pouring another cup of coffee. “And I can see how much he cares about you. But he’s not always good at expressing it. That’s why I thought I’d give you a little hint.”

“Thank you, Mary,” you say. “I appreciate you looking out for us.”

“It’s my pleasure,” she says, handing you the extra coffee. “Now, how about you go over there and tell Simon to take a break? You can use the chairs outside while I go and reattach the defrost drain to the fridge.”

“Sure thing,” you reply and grab the coffee. “I just have one more question.”

“Go ahead,” she says.

“If Simon asks me what we’ve been talking about, what should I tell him?”

“Tell him I was rambling about the weather, the economy, and the 20% voucher from Boots,” she suggests, winking. “You’re a smart girl; that’s why he picked you. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

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