#by gifting him a headphone in his own colors

[lovecanyon]

Inside Y/N L/N’s Bag | Vogue | Dad!H

MASTERLIST | PATREON

“Hi Vogue I am Y/N L/N and this is what’s in my bag.”

After she introduces herself, Y/N looks down at the bag in her lap. The bag she had used every single day was a personalized Pleasing mesh bag. It was a light pink color and had a blue ribbon tied onto one of the straps.

It was clear that it meant a lot to her.

“What I carry with me everyday is this.” She says grabbing onto her bag. “You can fit anything in here. And the thing about this is, it’s technically Inez’s diaper bag.”

Y/N then grins at the memory of Harry gifting her the tote.

“This specific bag was gifted to me by my husband a while ago, right before he had launched Pleasing. My son actually loves this bag and has one of his own but smaller. He doesn't go anywhere without it.” Y/N shares.

Setting her carrier onto the wooden coffee table in front of her, the Styles woman reaches into her bag and pulls out a bag of candy. Beau's favorite type.

Y/N remembers the night when Harry had got their son addicted to the chocolate minstrels.

“My son is obsessed with these and when I saw them I had to get them for him.” She laughs. “I spoil my kids way too much.”

The next thing Y/N pulled out was her phone. Just a plain iPhone 14 with a case that she had stolen from Harry or borrowed it, so she said. Once she taps on the screen her face lights up.

Her lock screen was a photo of a newborn Inez sleeping on Harry’s chest with Beau right beside them.

She almost shed a tear.

“This is my phone, nothing special until you look at the lock screen.” Y/N grins. She loved her family so deeply.

After placing her phone onto the table, she slides her hand into her carrier pulling out a blue bandanna. It previously belonged to Harry until Inez came around and slid the bandanna off of her father’s head.

It was truly her favorite thing in the world. You could say it was sort of like a safety blanket for her.

“Harry’s bandanna or should I say Inez’s bandanna. That girl loves this thing so much.”

-

A small bag of diapers, bibs, toy trucks, hair clips that she had stole back from Harry, kids sunscreen, Love on Tour’s backstage/V.I.P passes, bandaids, Harry’s headphones, her family’s passports and a camera

“Since we’re currently on tour and always traveling I always have to carry my children’s essentials.” Y/N explains looking at all the items laid out in front of her. “You can never be unprepared.”

Just five years ago her bag was filled with very different items than now. She was now a mother and had a family with a man she’s always wanted to grow old with.

Two kids later and she’s become a changed woman, a better one. She’s always valued the life she had, especially right now. Y/N couldn't have been more happy.

“Another toy!” Y/N laughs, pulling out another toy from her bag. “A mini statue of our dog Kendall who was actually named after Kendall Roy from Succession since Harry is obsessed with that show.” She holds out a miniature dog in her palm.

Following the toy, she slides out a pair of rings that clearly belonged to Harry Styles since they were his initials.

Y/N leans forward and slips the rings into her back pocket. She remembers the last time Harry had lost jewelry. It was at Coachella and he went insane looking for them.

“We are not losing any more rings.”

Comments:

harryfan2 WHEN WAS THEIR WEDDING OMFG?????

harryfan10 best mother in the world truly

harryfan4 harry’s love for succession has me rolling 😭😭

harryfan8 this. is. what. we. needed.

harryfan13 THE LOCK SCREEN

harryfan7 i cannot stress how much i love this video

harryfan5 the literal girl version of harry

harryfan9 harry is finally y/n’s husband 🧎‍♂️

harryfan11 i’m literally crying

-

tag list: @harrysmatcha @harryspinkpillow @helen-with-an-a @florencepughily @peterparkerbae @toji-dabi-wife @fallonx @drphilssoulmate @cherriesrae @alienorknight @valluvsu @ayeshathestyles @hazgoldenstyles @eiffelmezarry @tsukishimawhore @renatavieira @michellekstyles @eleanordaisy @shawnsblue @agustdpeach @hannahnikohl @whoscamila @ch3rryrry @msolbesg @futuristicpalacegardenpsychic @youusunshineyoutemptress @cherryfragrancx @milkiane @golden-hoax @sunshinemendes8 @your--sweetest--downfall @melllinaa @tenaciousperfectionunknown @cashtons-wife @stellarossii @scenesofobx @manifestrry @lomlolivia

#harry styles x reader #dad!harry #harry styles #harry styles au #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x you #boyfriend!harry #husband!harry #harry styles writing #harry styles one shot #harry styles blurb #harry styles fake ig #harry styles fan fic #dilf!harry #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine

[hyperfixatedbastard]

sweet, sweet silence

Vox x Autistic!GN!Reader

Dating the CEO of VoxTek Enterprises has its perks. You always get brand new devices before they even hit the shelves, and occasionally, Vox makes things specifically for you - like noise-cancelling headphones.

Word Count: 1.3k

WARNINGS: none!

A/N: this is for the autistic homies but it works for anyone with sensory issues! 'tis based off of my own experiences so apologies if it feels inaccurate to anyone, i'm projecting so hard rn. this is also my first time writing x reader/2nd person POV so I hope I did alright! also, i do requests if anyone would like to see more of this kind of thing :)

Dividers

"Doll, c'mere for a second, would ya?" Vox calls out to you, gesturing for you to come to his desk with a 'come hither' motion. 

You raise a brow in interest as you approach your boyfriend where he's sitting in his rather eccentric chair, tinkering with...something. You hop up onto the desk, careful to sit in a spot that you know has no important screens or buttons (you learned the hard way). You don't say anything, instead just tilting your head and waiting for Vox to show off whatever he's been working on this time.

He finally lets you see what's in his clawed hands: a pair of headphones. They're clearly a VoxTek product—the blue and red color scheme gives it away—though you're certain you've never seen these on sale before. It's not uncommon for Vox to show off new products to you before they're released, though, so you don't question it.

He smirks as he holds the headphones out to you. It's not that sly, devious smile he so often has on his screen, though; it's that grin you have when you're about to surprise someone and you just know they're going to love it. "These are for you, darling."

On one hand, you get a little excited (free shit, fuck yeah!). But on the other, you're a little worried—you're not good at receiving gifts. It always ends up awkward because you don't really know how to express gratitude in an expected, neurotypical way. But Vox is well aware of that, and he can tell when you're grateful, so you push those worries to the side and take the headphones from him.

You look at them curiously, inspecting the foldable hinges, the ear cushions, and the small assortment of buttons on the speakers. You can tell that the three buttons on the right speaker are for adjusting the volume—increase, mute, and decrease—but you have no damn clue what the button on the left speaker is for.

"Well? Put 'em on," Vox encourages you, still with that expectant grin as he anticipates your reaction.

You do as he says and place the headphones over your ears. They're certainly comfortable, but you don't see what the big deal is. You already have headphones—they’re not great, as it’s damn near impossible to drown out the unbearably overstimulating sounds of Hell, but you manage. Kinda.

Just as you’re about to ask what’s so special about these headphones, Vox presses that mystery button on the left speaker, and everything goes blissfully quiet.

Your eyes widen as you get the first moment of true silence for the first time since you arrived in Hell. The sudden difference is initially jarring, but the relief is downright euphoric. 

During the entirety of your afterlife in Hell, it's been ceaselessly loud and often unbearable. The screams, the explosions, the gunshots—it's incessant, and you never get a moment of peace. The V Tower is not nearly as bad as the rest of the Pride Ring, thanks to a lot of soundproofing, but there's always something. Moans and other lewd noises fill the halls of anywhere within five floors of Valentino's studios. You can hear the screeching and yelling beneath the thrum of music emitting from Velvette’s section of the tower. 666 Studios isn't much better, with the constant chattering of the crew and bickering between newscasters.

Vox's lair office is by far the quietest place in the entirety of Hell, at least in your experience. The soundproofing here is much more effective than anywhere else in V Tower, and Vox is the only person ever here. He does talk and maniacally laugh to himself fairly often, but you don’t usually don’t mind that (and he’ll typically quite down if he can tell you’re having a rough day). But it’s far from perfect—there’s still the intermittent click-clacking of a keyboard, the constant whirring of the computer fans, the low humming of all the tech, and the audio from whatever security camera Vox is spying on. You can tune it out most of the time, but it all overwhelms you so, so easily.

And you aren't very good at hiding it (at least not with Vox, who’s too observant for his own damn good when it comes to you).

Which is why your dear boyfriend has just spent the past several days making you the best noise-canceling headphones Hell has ever seen. He knows what the constant overstimulation does to you, and he sees it far more often than he'd like to. You get irritated and snippy, and sometimes it gets so bad you have a meltdown. It's gotten less common over time, but it still happens way too frequently for either of your likings. 

“So, who’s the best boyfriend ever?” he hints, clearly fishing for a compliment. His voice is surprisingly clear despite the headphones practically deafening you—his words are muffled, but just loud enough for you to understand what’s being said. He's grinning at you like he's the one that just got the excruciatingly heartfelt present. 

Usually, you’d have a witty comeback to Vox’s attempts at getting you to stroke his ego (always followed by an actual, genuine compliment to ease his insecurities hiding behind that ego), but you’re drawing a blank right now. 

The gift is so thoughtful that you don’t even know where to start on expressing your gratitude. Noise-canceling headphones seem so obvious now, but this is Hell! Both you and Vox had died before this technology became commonplace, and not many people in Hell care that much about the noise. Vox made these headphones specifically for you. He doesn’t need them (he can quite literally just turn off his audio input) and he probably won’t make much of a profit with them as a VoxTek product. He’s a busy man, being a CEO and an Overlord, yet he took the time to make this for you himself, not even passing the project off to one of the poor souls that works for him. 

“Babe?” Vox calls out gently, waving a hand in front of your face. Oh, shit—you’re overthinking your response so much that you forgot to actually fucking respond.

You blink a few times, meeting your boyfriend’s gaze. His brows are slightly furrowed, in what you think is a mix of concern and amusement. He’s a little worried he’s fucked up somehow, but he knows you well enough by now to recognize when you’re thinking too hard about something. He actually finds it quite adorable, at least when you’re not about to have a panic attack from it. 

As he looks at you expectantly, you decide to just go with your gut (at least, that’s what you think you’re doing—you’ve never entirely understood what the fuck that phrase means).

You don’t give yourself time to second-guess your actions before you’re practically jumping into Vox’s lap—though it’s more like falling since you were just sitting on the desk. He lets out a little ‘oof’ of surprise before he chuckles and moves his hands to your waist, holding you steady while being careful of his claws. He smirks as you wrap your arms around him and bury your face in his neck, jostling the headphones a little but not enough to fuck with the noise cancellation.

“So…you like them, then?” Vox prompts, just wanting the confirmation even though the answer is already clear. You can tell by his tone that he’s still grinning proudly.

You just gently nod, inadvertently rubbing your face against the fabric of his shirt (fortunately, Vox is a fancy bastard with high standards when it comes to clothing, and he’d long ago thrown out any garment made with fabric that triggered your sensory issues).

“Thank you,” you murmur against his neck. 

His hands tighten ever so slightly around your waist, and his response is so soft you can barely hear it through the headphones. “Anything for you, doll.”

#hazbin hotel #vox x reader #vox x you #hazbin hotel vox x reader #hazbin hotel vox #vox hazbin hotel #hazbin vox #vox hazbin #the vees #autistic reader #gender neutral reader #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin vox x reader

[gaypirate420]

Happy birthday// Jasper W. Hale.

Jasper Whitlock-Hale x gn!reader.

Request: can I get a jasper wishin' me happy birthday? 🥺 Like Jas x gen. neut. reader. lots of cuddling falling asleep in his arms feelin' safe & protected from an abusive dad.

A/N: I really tried to put a lot of comfort in this one. I hope everything it's okay, anon! I got carried away with this request.

Tw: Abuse.

Throwing your body into your bed, you buried yourself with your blankets, creating a safe fort with your pillows, stuff animals and the most cozy blanket you have.

Your hands shake, eyes welling up with tears.

Your father keeps screaming from downstairs, always getting mad at the tiniest mistake from your part.

Now your head hurts from the hair pulling and your face has another bruise.

You sob quietly against your pillow and cover your ears with your headphones.

He doesn't shut up, his voice leaking through the music. Why doesn't he shut up!?

SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP.

You gasp for air, your body starts shaking when you hear his heavy footsteps approaching your door.

You hold your breath as you see his shadow pass.

A huge sigh of relief leaves your lips as he passed your bedroom and didn't bang at the door or try to force it open.

Jasper made his way to your home. A grin on his face as he holds two boxes with a shiny paperwrap in your favorite color.

Your boyfriend didn't have the chance to visit your earlier for your birthday, he sighs as he remembers that only because of his "brother" his plans for today were ruined.

But he's hoping there's still time to do something nice, maybe a nice walk through the woods at night. He makes his way into your room. Climbing up the window and open it.

You don't notice his precense yet, your eyes are wide awake and teary as you watch your comfort show with headphones on.

Someone uncovers you.

You see a pair of golden eyes looking at you.

Then a frown crosses his face.

"Darlin'?" He asks softly. Your wide eyes look up at him, your pretty face bruised and your hands shaking.

"Hi, cowboy." You smiled and try your best to sound happy and cheerful, as if that will distract him from the obvious bruise on your face.

"What are you doing here, Jazz?" You ask softly, your eyes find the two boxes he left on your nightstand, that make him frown more.

The blonde sits at the edge of the bed, his pale hand reaching for your face, he feels his blood boil when you flinch, he's mad you can see it but it's not at you, never at you.

"I...I brought you your gifts, darlin'." He whispers very softly and his finger gently strokes your cheek. It's takes you a couple of seconds but you lean on his touch.

"...today it's my birthday?" You ask in a whisper, that makes his heart break into a million pieces.

"Who did this to you, sugar?" He asked softly, golden eyes meeting yours, but there was something on his tone that was more demanding.

"....dad." You whisper, you felt like a child again, telling someone your father did something bad to you.

Your lips tremble and the welled up tears on your eyes fall down your cheeks the moment his arms wrapped around your trembling body. His strong arms holding you close.

Jasper wants to ask. He wants to know. He needs to know what happened. He knows your father isn't very gentle but he never thought of this.

He wants to know why you didn't tell him anything. Since minute one he'll have you out of your home, miles away from your father, safe and sound with him.

But your sobs makes him change his attention back to you.

His lips leave a tender kiss on your forehead, his thumb tracing circles on your back. His finger are cold but make you feel so warm. You sit there, feeling safe inside your own house for the first time in years. With Jasper here nothing could touch you.

You can breath.

In.

Holding the scent of Jasper.

Out.

Repeat.

Your teary eyes look up at his golden eyes.

"....I want to see the gifts, p-please." You speak in a soft and innocent voice, almost ashamed of asking for them in this moment, but you're too curious now and you don't want to think about anything that happened today. Jasper smirks, he sits you on his lap, you felt very light when he did that.

The vampire takes the first box, it's small and it fits on his hand.

"There you go, sugar." Jasper whispers gently, your face finally has a small smile on it. You take the small gift and open it.

"It's a cupcake." You smiled softly. Jasper nodded and took the small candle that came with the cupcake, burying it on the icing. Your smile widen with every movement he did.

He could feel them, your emotions, you're still scared and anxious but they're getting replaced by happiness very slowly. He light up the candle and lean over to whisper on your ear.

"Happy birthday to you." He began to sing softly, his voice very harmonious, his accent peeking through.

A couple of tears fall down your cheeks but this one's are happy ones, you're so happy Jasper is here. Holding you. Keeping you safe.

If your father walks through that door...

You don't want to think about Jasper hurting your father or even kill him.

But.

Could he- would he?

Do you want him to?

Well if you think about it— you shake your head from those dark thoughts and enjoy his soft singing. Jasper kisses your cheek, his cold lips leaving small kisses that make you tingle. Murmuring a happy birthday and how much he loves you.

"Make a wish, darlin'." He whispers as he holds the cupcake close. You take a deep breath and close your eyes. You think about your wish for a couple of seconds and blow out the candle.

You bite a part of the cupcake, your lips and the tip of nose stained with icing. You giggle and look at Jasper, you kiss his lips to stain him too. The blonde chuckles, you lean over to fetch the camera he gifted you last year.

You turn it on and scoop even closer to Jasper, he holds your hips in place. You point the camera at you and him, it's always tricky to get him fit on the photo with the height difference between you two.

You smile, he smirks and you take a couple of pictures. He bares his fangs in one, making you giggle.

The blonde kisses your cheek once more and grabs the bigger box for you. You shake it gently, it's not heavy but it's something big. You look up at Jasper with a smile on your face, he can feel your excitement.

You undo the wrap paper in a very gentle manner, you want to keep it as a memory, like last year's. Jasper smiles at your fingers grabbing the wrap paper with such delicacy.

It's a plushie. A very big and cuddly bunny. Jasper sees you hug it tightly and nuzzling with it. It seemed to pass your requirements. Before you can tell him you love it you hear something.

Footsteps. Heavy boots against the wooden floor of your home. Your father it's shouting your name, angry. Over and over again. Screaming his lungs out, demanding you to come downstairs.

Your body starts trembling once more. Gasping for air again, your eyes are locked on the door. You hold on the plushie tightly and use Jasper as a shield.

Jasper takes a protective hold of you, guarding you with his arms, his eyes pitch black. You can feel this change in attitude in him, his fangs bare and this rumbling sound, almost an animalistic growl leaves his lips.

The shadow of your father's feet stop infront of your bedroom door.

Jasper growls.

His eyebrows furrow.

He's waiting.

Waiting for your father to dare and open that door. Waiting to attack him, to lounge at him.

Yet, his hands are soft on your body, stroking your skin in a very comfortable manner, you hide your face on his chest, soaking his sweater with your silent tears. His pale fingers stroke your hair, you flinch again but notice his touch is gentle, it feels good, soothing.

But your father leaves. Like a magical change in attitude, thanks to Jasper and his gift.

"It's alright, darlin'." He whispers and kisses your forehead. His thumb wipes your tears away, you lean on his touch and let all those tears you been holding up for so many years to fall down.

Jasper caresses your cheek, he planted soft kisses on your face, his cold lips makes you feel a little tingle. He doesn't want to let go of you now.

"I won't let anyone hurt you again." He whispers with such conviction. You believe him.

You take deep breaths, the plushie it's squeezed by your arms.

You rest your head on his shoulder, his soft sweater against your cheek. Jasper covers you with a blanket, another kiss on your forehead, today they feel more special than before, healing you.

Jasper strokes your hair, a soft yawn left your lips, you snuggle against him, the plushie in between your body and his.

Another yawn and a following sniff, his fingers on your hair just feel so good, the blanket, the way he's holding you like you are the most important thing in the world. Kisses here and there on your forehead. It's so perfect. It makes you want to cry again.

You close your eyes.

Jasper's got you. You're safe with him.

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

A/N: Hey, hope y'all like this, I hope I did it right. Requests are still open.

#jasper hale #jasper hale x reader #jasper whitlock #jasper whitlock hale #x male reader #jasper hale x y/n #jasper hale x you #twilight x reader #twilight x y/n

[nanamiya3]

CEO nanami x fem reader - reader is nanami’s wiiife - mentions of food and gojo - reader probably has some anxiety and self esteem issues but it’s not super major - fluff & comfort - wc. 2.9k

hiii i haven’t posted in so long but i’m back just for this because what would happen if you visited nanami at work?? what would happen if he *gasp* forgot his lunch at home??

As Kento’s stay at home wife, your days usually go something like this:

The alarm rings at exactly 7AM, Kento’s glaring default tone waking you both. You frown, groggy and disoriented and still stuck in that land between awake and asleep as Kento’s arms tighten around your middle. He mumbles a little something, meant to be your name but completely unintelligible, before begrudgingly untangling himself from you. He rubs at his eyes and sits up, your soft, sleepy whines tugging at his heart. Kento heads to the bathroom as you head back to sleep, and he gets himself ready for the day while you curl up beneath the blankets. He cooks breakfast for both of you, wrapping up your plate and setting it on the counter with a sweet little note before wolfing down his own portion. He puts his coat on, grabs his briefcase and the bento you pack him every night, and presses a soft kiss to your forehead before leaving for work.

Except today, Kento makes a terrible mistake. He cooks breakfast, sets aside your plate, elegantly writes “this is the huckleberry jam satoru recommended, no promises that it’ll be good. endlessly yours, kento” on the sticky note by the food, tucks into the huckleberry jam toast (which is unfairly delicious) and eggs, dons his coat, grabs his briefcase, and kisses your forehead before heading out the door. The bento sits in the fridge, untouched and forgotten.

So, you wake up almost an hour after Kento leaves, yawning and stretching this way and that. You run through your typical morning routine before downing the breakfast with the huckleberry jam toast, cursing Satoru for being right about something for once and sending Kento a good morning and thank-you-for-the-breakfast text.

You move on, still oblivious to the bento sitting in the fridge, opening up your laptop to search for the perfect birthday gift for Kento. After an hour of research and brainstorming, you’re smiling down at the list of potential candidates: a new leather notebook (his current one is on its last leg, bursting at the seams with half-sentences and spontaneous thoughts scribbled across the pages), a new mouse (since his current mouse is apparently “too small” for him), a set of custom tailored suits in an array of colors (because if you walk into his closet and see one more row of sand beige suit jackets you might actually have to divorce him), a massage oil gift basket (Kento works so hard :( sometimes after a long day you give him a massage, letting the aromatherapy and kneading relieve his tension), a nude polaroid for his wallet (because… because… because he’s always calling you beautiful and pretty and before him you never actually believed it), and a pair of noise cancelling headphones (apparently Satoru makes the office too loud, and Kento’s been commenting on how noisy the newcomers at his gym are). The gifts aren’t very extravagant, especially considering Kento’s wealth, but you’d feel cheap if you used his own money to buy him an expensive watch that you both knew he’d never wear—he loves his current watch too much to replace it anyways.

Satisfied that you’re the best wife on the planet and deciding to treat yourself to a snack, you poke your head into the fridge and realize with a start: Kento left his lunch at home.

Knowing this is equal parts frightening and exciting. You’re worried, because Kento never forgets his bento, claiming your cooking is way better than the cafeteria that provides free meals for his employees. And, you’re excited, because Kento never forgets his bento, and that means you’ve never had to drop it off for him before. Kento doesn’t try to keep you away from his work—you’ve been to the dinners and charity events and whatnot—but he doesn’t encourage you to visit the office while he’s working either, claiming he’ll be too distracted to function. On the rare occasions that you do visit him, it’s late at night after everybody else has left, with you there to offer… moral support. So, while you’ve met most of the executives (like Satoru, who leaves a pretty abysmal impression), you’re still pretty unfamiliar with the actual office workers. And now, with the perfect opportunity to snoop around at Kento’s other life, you feel a small smile rising up on your lips.

You load the bento into your car, tucking it into the passenger seat gently. The drive over to Kento’s company’s building is filled with excited humming, and you’re grinning as you pull into in the underground garage after telling the security attendant you’re here to drop off your husband’s lunch. Kento doesn’t know you’re here yet, and if you’re being honest, it’s because you know he’d just meet you in the lobby to pick up the bento, signaling the end of your adventure. Even though you were certain Kento would never cheat on you, you knew there were definitely some people in the office that had feelings for him—look at him, for Christ’s sake! You wanted to figure out who: the receptionist? His secretary? Maybe even the head of HR? You’d never get all your snooping done if you couldn’t get past the lobby.

And of course, just because you wanted to get past the lobby, the universe didn’t let you you get past the lobby.

The issue is that you don’t have a badge. Every employee needs to scan their badge to get past the turnstile guarded by the receptionist and two security guards. So, you make a beeline for the receptionist, hoping to plead your case. You tell her your husband’s left his bento at home, holding the lunch up as proof. She remains stoic. You try again, telling her you’re Kento’s wife, that you’re married to the CEO. She laughs in your face, giving you a pointed once over. You’re upset now, because you know Kento’s out of your league but that’s not for her to point out, especially considering he’s miles above her as well. You narrow your eyes, setting the bento down on the counter with more force than necessary to text Kento that you’re in the lobby with his lunch. The receptionist tells you to leave the building. You spin the phone around, trying to prove to her that you really are messaging Kento, that you really are married to him, scrambling to find pictures from your wedding to show her—

There’s a tug on your arm, a rough “That’s enough” sounding from somewhere on your left and a firm “You need to leave” from your right.

You can’t believe this is happening. You try your luck with the two heavyweights about to throw you out of the building, pointing to your ring, pulling up the most recent picture of Kento you could find (a photo you secretly took of him at a small coffeeshop the two of you visited this past weekend). They shake their heads, rumbling about how you can’t enter the building without a badge or visitor’s pass, and then there are hands around your biceps, tugging you, and you’re digging in your heels, making a scene but beyond caring, twisting to try to go back and grab the bento from off the counter—

“Take your hands off my wife.”

Kento’s voice is loud, angry, and stern as it rings across the marble and glass in the lobby. The arms around you let go immediately, and you hang your head, nervous and ashamed about all the trouble you’ve caused. You hear Kento’s voice barking orders to the workers, you see him walking towards you, but your mind is a flurry of activity and it won’t settle down. This is so embarrassing—Kento just watched you get pushed around and he had to come to your rescue. What if you were interrupting a meeting? What if he’d been busy with paperwork before you texted him? What if he’d been mid-conversation with someone? What if he didn’t care about the bento at all? What if he’d already realized he left his lunch at home and decided it wasn’t worth trying to pick up? Maybe he’d already had lunch at the cafeteria and you were just bothering—

There’s a big, familiar palm caressing your cheek, a deep, familiar voice asking if you’re okay, a handsome, familiar blonde filling up your line of sight, a familiar warm brown pair of eyes catching yours. You snap out of your own head, nodding quickly, practically lunging to grab the bento off the counter, stringing together half-sentences and barely there statements in a rush to justify why you’re here. Kento’s nodding patiently, waiting for you to finish, gentle eyes watching your own dart around—he’s always been an excellent listener, attentively hanging on to your every word, even when you’re just stuttering out random, incoherent thoughts. You cut yourself off once you realize you’re probably wasting Kento’s time, extending the bento towards him, hoping your ramblings got your point across. He pauses, concerned about how jittery and anxious you look, before pushing the bento back towards you. You think your heart has just cracked and shattered so violently it was audible, because of course Kento’s already eaten—

“Why don’t we have lunch together in my office? We can share the bento and grab some food from the cafeteria,” Kento proposes gently. He doesn’t want you driving home while so nervous, and he’s more than willing to bet the receptionist said something nasty to make you so insecure and shaky. He knows you’ll overthink your relationship if left alone, so he wants to spend some time with you, making sure you don’t let anything that just happened get to your head.

And of course you agree, happy to spend time with Kento, letting him lead you away from the lobby. He’s murmuring a quiet “Wait right here” as you guys get to the elevator, walking back to the lobby to give the receptionist and security guards a stern talking to. He reprimands them for being so handsy and quick to judge, telling them that they’re to let you in immediately should they ever see you again. Kento’s exceedingly calm, but his low tone is steeped with anger, and he thinks these 3 should call themselves lucky given that they’re still employed. After a few more stammering “yes sir”s and apologies are divulged, he walks back to where you’re waiting, chewing on your lip while clutching the bento for dear life and stressing about how terribly wrong this has all gone. Kento’s hand travels down to your lower back as the two of you wait for the elevator, rubbing small circles to alleviate your anxiety. He apologizes again for how you were treated, asking if you’re okay, if you need anything, if you want to go home instead of coming up to his office. You shake your head—it’s rare that you get to share lunch with Kento on a weekday, and plus, now that you’re finally in the building, you want to maximize your snoopage.

So, the two of you make your way up to Kento’s office, some part of his body touching yours the entire way: a hand on the curve of your back, an arm snaked around your middle, his hand laced with yours. And boy do people stare. This is the Nanami Kento, so strict and efficient in his work that people doubt his capacity for emotion. It’s no secret that Kento’s married, but just knowing that he’s married is very different from actually seeing his wife. And when the Nanami Kento’s wife is such a sweet, pretty thing, there are some raised brows. It’s so shocking that some people actually do a double take, squinting to check that your hand holding the bento really does have a ring on it.

The whispers follow the two of you until you’re finally standing in front of his secretary’s desk, right in front of his office. Kento introduces you, and you give her a nervous smile, extending your hand for a handshake and regretting it immediately, worried it might be too formal. As for his secretary, her mind is racing as well, all the times she’s tried to get him to stay later for drinks with the team, clearly interested in hooking up with him drunk, all met with a kind but firm “My wife is waiting on me,” flashing back to her. She reaches up to shake your hand, exchanging pleasantries, but her eyes are locked on your other hand, the one with the ring, the entire time.

Finally, you’re ushered into Kento’s office, and before you can even place the bento safely on his desk, his arms wrap around you, pressing you to his front, breathing you in. You feel a smile creep up onto your face, setting down the bento and twisting to face him, dropping your head onto his chest.

All of them. Every single one. That’s what you’ve decided. Every single worker in this building is undeniably in love with your husband. You nuzzle against Kento’s chest, mumbling about needing to cover his face when he leaves the house. Kento peers down at you, a little confused, but you just continue to press your face into him, letting your mind calm down before reminding Kento about lunch. Kento, if we’re being completely honest, has already forgotten about lunch, but he quickly straightens up, adjusting his glasses while muttering, “Right… right… the cafeteria.”

And you’re excited to snoop around the cafeteria as well. You’ve heard Kento’s laments about the budgeting: “We allocate so much money to providing the free meals and they still can’t make a decent loaf of sourdough. Do you know how much it costs us quarterly to source the ingredients and pay all of our kitchen staff? Love, it’s ridiculous. Some of these guys get paid more than our office workers and their budget goes up every year, but I still can’t get a good loaf of milk bread. If I had the time, I’d proof the dough myself.”

So, imagine your surprise when the elevator opens up to what might be the most well-designed canteen you’ve ever seen—it’s practically a maze of food. You’re shocked and excited, hands flying up to cover your mouth, and Kento’s looking at you like you’ve grown a second head. “It’s just food,” he mutters, clearly unimpressed with his company’s cafeteria—the same cafeteria which you’re now realizing spans the entire floor and includes a traditional wood fired brick pizza oven, an entire sushi bar, a self serve gelato station, and rows of peking duck roasting in a rotisserie oven, just to name a few. You’re completely flabbergasted, pulling a reluctant Kento forward, insisting on trying every single dish displayed. He grabs a tray, dutifully following you as you ooh and ahh over every section, the furrow between his brows deepening every time the tray becomes weighed down by another plate.

Eventually, Kento stops you, worried about the structural integrity of the tray, how the two of you will finish all of this food, and the fact that the dish with the chocolate cake is sitting fully on top of the crab cakes. You’ve got the sense to at least look a little embarrassed, offering to help carry the tray knowing full well you’d drop its contents in a heartbeat.

Back in Kento’s office, the two of you sit side-by-side with the tray in front of you and the bento in front of him. Kento seems content with the home-packed lunch, shaking his head when you try to offer him a bite of your food. As for you, you’re quickly realizing you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.

“Wasting food is a sin,” Kento comments, pointedly glancing at the tray of food, still three-quarters full, his own lunch already polished off.

You blush, shooting him a half-hearted glare as best you could with a mouth full of food, doing your best to chew and swallow before giggling back, “You could at least help me! It’s your company’s food, if you don’t like it you should just change it. Come on, get to work!”

You’re both laughing, shaking your heads at each other, but Kento picks up his chopsticks and starts to help with the food. He makes faces at the butter and garlic steamed clams, claiming yours are better, but you just swat at him and remind him that lying is also a sin. He thinks you’re ridiculous, but even so, he cancels the rest of his meetings for the day, spending the remainder of his 9-5 feeding you bite after bite of chocolate cake, taste testing meringues off your tongue while lounging in his office.

And when Satoru barrels into the office to complain and ask Kento why he’s leaving Satoru to fend for himself at the executive meeting, he’s not the least bit surprised to find you curled up on Kento’s lap, dozing off while your husband reviews a stack of paperwork. Kento’s raising a finger to his lips, shushing Satoru, glancing down at you with so much love in his eyes Satoru might actually become physically sick. You shift in your sleep, snuggling up against your husband, and Satoru has to stop himself from laughing at how quickly Kento drops the file in his hands to stroke your hair, ensuring your nap is as comfortable and uninterrupted as possible. Kento almost forgets Satoru’s even there, slipping off his suit jacket (camel beige, starchy, ugly) and draping it over your curled up form, releasing a deep sigh when he hears obnoxious giggling and a singsonging “Nanaminnnn” coming from across the room.

“There’s a reason why I’m married and you’re single, Satoru.”

- yea, gojo stumbled out of the office with his hand clenched over his heart, pretending he was stabbed or some shit & everybody ignored him bc this is normal and he is dramatic (nanami pls throw away the tan colored suits)

#jjk fluff #jujutsu kaisen fluff #nanami kento #nanami jjk #kento nanami #jujutsu kaisen nanami kento #jujutsu nanami #jjk nanami #jujutsu kaisen nanami #nanami kento x reader #nanami fluff #nanami kento fluff #nanami x y/n #nanami fanfic #jjk x reader #jjk comfort #jujustsu kaisen x reader #nanami kento x you #nanami kento x y/n #kento nanami fluff

[1-800-local-slut]

Decisions

Rio x Black! Fem! Reader

Warnings: fluff, angst, sad ending, lies and deceit, mentions of drug and alcohol abuse, broken family, break ups, arguing, reader has a bad mom, mention of smut, kinda creepy Rio, abusive childhood, suicidal thoughts, recreational drug use, mentions of sex but no smut, Rio calls Beth annoying but make no mistake I love me some Beth, slight canon divergence, not proof read we die like men 💪🏾

Rio get’s close to the reader, due to him having an issue with her mother. He falls for her and they start dating but 8 months into their relationship she finds out the first six months of their relationship was a lie. She realizes she can’t trust him and dumps him.

PSA: The reader has an abusive mother and no father, there's only one mention of the reader getting punched in the face. If that's something that would trigger you then please don't read for your own sake

Please let me know if you guys enjoy!

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When he saw her for the first time, it was dark out. She was standing under the streetlight, waiting for her bus and Rio was standing in the bushes behind her. The light above made her luminescent, giving her dark skin and gorgeous glow. He didn't even know why it shocked him to see her there. He had been waiting for her after all.

It was a chilly April night, she was shivering. Rubbing her hands together and exhaling a puff of cold air. He even remembered thinking that it was weird how cold it was for April. She held her phone in her hand, her headphones lightly bled music. Rio could've stared at her all day, if only he wasn't here on business.

He needed to put some pressure on someone and this was how it needed to be done. Stepping out of the bush, Rio slid close to the target of the evening.

His eyes scanned her up and down, looking for some sort of entry point. She didn't notice him, he wasn't standing too close to her yet. With a final scan, he noticed the Jordan high tops that hugged her feet. Perfect.

Taking another step, a bigger step, he made sure his presence was known. Her eyes glanced up at him, a natural response. She carefully observed him, like she was deciding if she should take a large step away or just ignore him. The leaking music shut off and Rio fought back a smile. Best not to freak her out. It was time to finally put things into motion.

"Those shoes are nice, I was looking for a pair for my cousins quince gift but I couldn't find any in her size." Of course there was no way to start a conversation with a woman this late at night in t he middle of nowhere waiting for a bus without sounding like a creep but Rio was pressed for time.

She raised an eyebrow, and glance him up and down before she glanced at the time. Checking how much time before the bus came, smart.

"Thanks. I picked them up last week." Curt and to the point. Rio admired how quickly she went on the defense.

"They suit you. The color I mean. If you don't mind can I ask where you brought those? I just moved here, and I don't know where anything is." Her plump lips pushed into a straight line as if she was contemplating.

Mentally, he willed her to just go for it. Just take the bait, so the guy he had in the bushes who was about to take a few pictures for evidence could get something.

"Yeah, you just have to head to the store on 83rd. There's a place called Sole Symphony. You can get a good deal if you talk to the right person.

"Oh I passed that place on my drive in. I'm Rio, by the way." Extending his palm, Rio heard the bus pulling up behind them. Sure, he knew her name already. But what if he wanted to know more than just her name?

As she placed her hand in his and said her name, the doors of the bus slid open behind the two.

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"Baby what do you want to eat?" She was leaning on the arm of the couch, while Rio rested his head on her lap. Clad in one of Rio's black t-shirts, and a pair of his boxers that outlined that ass he worshipped. Under the lights of her living room, she still looked radiant.

"What, you can't cook?" Rio teased, only to be playfully swatted on his head.

"Stop being annoying, I'm ordering dinner because someone's stupid self forgot to go to the grocery store."

"I forgot to go because you wanted to play around all day, so had to I come home and handle business." Rio smiled, a true smile. A smile he hadn't had in a really really long time. She giggled and bent her face closer to his, and hummed. She rubbed her thumb over his forehead, in a way that made Rio shudder.

"I only did that because you finished all my weed and then got me the wrong strain. So maybe that's your fault?" Rio rolled his eyes playfully, and accepted the soft kiss she planted on his lips.

It filled him with a warm, thick feeling. If someone made love into soup, it was filling his stomach at this very moment. Giving him a full, heavy feeling that Rio never wanted to lose. After a second they pulled apart and Rio stared deeply into her eyes. She did the same, like she could see Rio baring his soul to her.

Every now and again though, he remembered though that this was merely temporary. He never, and he cannot stress how much he means never, let himself fall for someone he was using for business. Still, some rules were meant to be broken.

Whenever he remembered that fact, when he remembered that once his debt was settled with her mother (the whole reason he approached her at that bus station in the first place), his heart died a bit.

The past four months had been nothing but a mix of stress and bliss. Stress, the stress of accidentally hurting the person who broke into his heart. Bliss, from laying with her just like this. Every night, or going to dinner with her. How six months could change a man so much was beyond him. Just being with her, even if it was technically for leverage. Though he would never hurt her.

Still, if she knew, it would hurt her more than anything. It would be like a knife, piercing her heart before twisting and causing her to bleed out unstoppably.

Realistically, speaking anyone would be. If you knew your drug addict mother got herself in too deep and your boyfriend was only with you for leverage against her, you'd be pretty cut up about it, wouldn't you?

The drug addict mother, who started exhibiting psychotic jealousy at what seemed like the moment you turned 12 , and who punched you in the mouth after you refused to be nice to her new boyfriend, who you fought so hard to get away from after your nightmare of a childhood? Who told you everyday that not only were you not shit but you'd never be shit? The mother you don't even tell people you have, like the father you never met?

How would you feel to find out that after fighting your entire life just to live a life that wasn't filled with filth, bearing your entire being to someone (the only one who knew the truth), that finally when you found happiness none of it was real? All because of the mother who you don't even acknowledge, after fighting tooth and nail to get as far as you could from, was still giving you grief.

It killed Rio to know all of this too. To see the scars that she trusted him enough to explain. To explain why she's afraid to have children of her own, to understand what made her into the beautiful, strong and confident woman she turned into too. How could Rio hurt someone who accepted him so wholly?

It made him sick to think about. Honestly, he felt like a toxic rapper who does his woman wrong and everyone but her seems to know. He felt like the definition of shit.

"...be?"

"Huh?"

"Is thai food alright with you, babe?"

"Yeah. Yeah sorry I just dosed off for a moment." Just like that, her voice was like a light shinning through the dark. Her face reflected concern, and she ran a manicured nail over his cheek. On instinct he clasped her hand in his.

"What's wrong with you?" Her voice an even whisper. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her literally everything, and he meant everything. Everything about himself, not the partly fabricated tale he told her about his life for the sake of keeping her at an arms length.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Rio gave a small chuckle.

"Nah just thinking about you mamas." Rio smirked up at her and saw her playful eye roll.

"Boy, if you don't do something with yourself." She laughed with a the smile he'd fallen in love with, pinching him on his chest and he winced before letting out a laugh. Rio grabbed his pants from the side of the couch where he hastily threw them when he came home to 'handle business'. Pulling out his wallet, he plucked his credit card out of the folds. He chuckled and handed it to her, where it was gracefully accepted. Within seconds, Rio felt like he could feel the money being pulled from his heart and his card.

"I'm gonna go take a shower, you keep an ear out for the food." She announced, slipping out from underneath him and leaving his head to connect with the couch.

"Without me though?" He watched her walk out of the living room and to her bathroom, sliding the boxers off in the process. If anything she was relentless in her desire to tease him.

"Don't be gross." She chastised, tossing her shirt off behind her and Rio admired her perfect body before she was out of sight and the door behind her closed.

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"Flowers?" Beth raised an eyebrow at the large bundle in the back of his car. Rio glanced back, the flowers and immediate reminder of what was waiting for him right after this. He couldn't even fight the grin. This girl had him feeling butterflies, kicking his feet and giggling when she wasn't even there and it was only eight months.

"For my lady." It was Fall now. The changing leaves reminded Rio of his changing heart, his changing mind. How he changed so much in the last eight months in so many ways that he couldn't even describe.

Coming up on their eight month anniversary and Rio wasn't even close to playing when it came to celebrating. That big ass bouquet was just the first part. He had a pair of matching necklaces for the two of them, a set of twin cuban links with a nice romantic saying, 'Semper Fidelis' (Always Faithful) carved into them.

Especially since his relationship with Beth had been a recent source of anger between the two. In all fairness, Rio told her he was involved in the stock market, which technically wasn't a lie. She knew he did something illegal though and didn't seem to care as long as neither of them got arrested.

What he didn't explain was what a big tittied white woman was doing calling his phone in the middle of the night and why she sounded so upset when she answered instead of him. Or why there were so many calls between the two of them when Rio was at work when Rio requested she don't blow his phone up when he's at work. Or why when he came home early to have lunch with her he had to leave in the middle because Beth had been blowing his phone up during their entire meal.

Honestly though, Rio knew better than to trip about it. Shit, Rio knew he wasn't even feeling Beth's annoying ass like that. If it was him, some dude called his girl in the middle of the night then had the audacity to sound annoyed when HE answered the phone? He would've flown off the handle before the call even hung up. He'd be out of bed, pulling up his pants and boxers, grabbing his gun and his keys and half way into his shoes.

"You have a girlfriend?" Beth asked, eyes bugging out of her head, mouth open in shock. Why did she look like a salmon?

"You sound shocked. I got game, Elizabeth. Anyways, about your issue tell your FBI man that I hit or whatever." Pushing down the button, she still sat there gaping at him.

"What...?" She blinked, hushing her voice as if someone was gonna hear them. Part of him wanted to tell her to get the fuck out so he could get the fuck home. But in the past eight months, he learned how to have a bit more patience.

"Tell him we made love." Wiggling his eyebrows he made a motion for her to get out of his vehicle and she made her way out. Thank God.

Turning on his engine he winded down the window of the passenger window.

"Make me sound good." And with that he was gone.

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As crazy and inebriated as her momma was for most of her childhood, sometimes she was smart. Like when she taught her how to fight when those girls at school wanted to jump her. Like when she taught her and her sisters to never and she meant NEVER leave your sister in a pinch no matter whats going on between you three. When she taught her how to hot wire a car, and especially when to know if a man was lying.

There were more life lessons, like how to make a crack pipe on the go or how to hide from the police but what can you really learn from someone who was drunk as shit most of your life?

So imagine how shocked and confused she was when she realized 'dang. my momma was right, all niggas are liars.' because her boyfriend had been lying to her their entire relationship? Was it lying or omission? Was she gonna pack her shit and leave without a word to his no-good-low-down-lying-scheming-dirty-bastard self, or put hands on him and go to jail? Lots of decisions for a girl to make in one night. One thing she did decide on the moment she got that phone call from her mom this morning, and got those photos that were taken that first night they met: it was over.

She wished all she felt was anger but that was a lie. With Rio, no Christopher, things were easy. She really was in love, he made her heart swell up like a balloon. When she was at her worse, he was right there and understood and helped her in the best way he could. Understood her anger, understood her sadness. Whatever choice she made, he stood behind it no matter what. He wasn't the type of guy (maybe he could've been, it was clear that she had no clue who he really was) to just sit there and act like he always knew better than you. No, he listened to her, gave her an ear and when she asked for it advice.

This hurt. This wasn't just sadness and betrayal, it was despair. To know that after she fought to get away from her mother. After she got up, walked out that house with nothing but the clothes on her back and said 'if i'm homeless i'm homeless, but its better than being with you' and never saw her again it was only because of that woman that she met someone who she was so head over heels for.

Because of that woman she was sitting here, heart broken. She was sitting here, after sobbing her eyes out in disbelief, after deleting every single picture of the two out of her phone. She was sitting here drowning in rage and betrayal. No. No for once, she couldn't put all the blame on her.

Christopher made the choice to play in her face. He made the choice to waste eight months of her life. To lie, and say he loved her like would be the only woman for him. He probably was cheating on her with that white bitch (with a name like Elizabeth she had to be) and they were probably laughing at her for the past eight months cuddled up together. He made the choice and she fell for it. Outside, the lights of his car pulling up roused some sort of rage deep inside of her. A little voice in her head spoke, it said take a bottle to the backside of his head.

Taking the bottle of liquor next to her, and rearing her arm back over her head she pondered if she was really going to listen to that little voice.

It an easy decision to make.

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"You stupid fuck! Really Christopher, this is what we on?" The scream, and the bottle hitting the wall right next to the door was his greeting. Not a 'hi baby, how was work' like usual. He could already guess he was not about to hit tonight.

"What the fuck? What is your problem?" He yelled back, in this instance he was justified in his screaming considering the murder attempt.

"My problem? My problem? You dickhead, your my fucking problem! You thought shit was sweet? You thought I was just gonna let it slide?" She laughed, anger literally rolling off her.

Taking a moment to look around Rio noticed a few things: the photo of them that was on the table next to her couch was tipped over, the glass shattered the frame on the ground. There was a half empty bottle of wine and a broken glass in the sink. There was a manilla folder, one that he was praying he didn't recognize (but he was starting to think he did), clutched in her shaking hand. Her curly hair was a mess, like she'd been tugging at it in anger.

Sure he knew she'd always been a little bit crazy, he was actually really into it, but did he think this was how their eighth anniversary would start? Nope.

His stomach started to drop. It had been a few months since his business with her mother ended and he was truly hoping from the bottom of his heart hoping she would never find out. He ruled out her mother somehow finally worrying about her enough to tell her.

"What is that?" Rio asked, slamming the door behind him and stepping into the apartment fully. Her neighbors only needed to hear the first part of their exchange, nothing more. She took three defiant steps backwards. The lights were all off, and only the TV was on.

"Got this in the fucking mail today." She growled, throwing the packet at his face. Clear as day, the pictures he had taken of them. For proof. One the first night they met, two on their first date, three when they went to the arcade together and played every game you both could manage and he found himself really trying to impress her. That was when he realized her had a bit of a problem. Then a few more, but eventually they stop after the first two months of their relationship.

The next four months of them being together he resorted to threats and by some miracle her mother found a way to pay off her debts and he was done with her by month six. But not using her for only two out of eight months of their relationship was not a good look.

An awkward silence settled over the two, his stomach feeling heavy. He started to feel warm from shame and fear. The room felt like it was spinning and his mouth felt dry. Even before she said it he knew that he just lost the best thing in his life.

"And some phone calls. Not only did you fucking use me, you also threatened my mom and found my sisters houses?! You dickhead, I'll kill you." She roared, throwing a near by object, which he narrowly dodged.

"Why did you play in my fucking face? For eight fucking months you decided to play in my face and be laid up with me and act like you love me, are you serious?" His head hung low, shame and disappointment and anger. Anger because he knew one thing for sure, this was no ones fault but his. He made the decisions he made. That was on no one but him.

"What you can't fucking talk now? You don't know words? But when that hoe Beth called you could sit up on the phone with her about bullshit right?" She yelled. Rio couldn't even find words. Where should he even start? Beth seemed like the worse place to start.

"Right?" She yelled again, getting in his face before stepping back and breaking into deranged laughter putting a hand on her forehead in outrage. He was panicking. What did he do? Yell at her when he knew he was wrong? Yell at himself for hurting her? What was he even supposed to do in a situation like this? A dry and tear-filled laugh shook him from his thoughts.

"Why though? Why did you do this, I trusted you. I gave you my heart, I gave you my fucking everything. If you can't trust you, then what can I trust?!" The broken sob cut through Rio like a knife. She threw her arms out and drunkenly staggered a bit. She stared, eyes pleading for an answer. An explanation. Anything? But for the first time in a long ass time, Rio had no idea what to say. He felt his palms sweat, gaze still fixed on the photos.

She would never smile at him the way she was in those pictures again. And she grinned as bright as the Sun in each photo except for the first.

When she was still met with silence, Rio resigned. He wanted to say something. Damn, why couldn't he speak? Why was he just sitting there? She was just as confused (surely more confused) as Rio.

"I can't believe this. I let you in and you really sat there and played with me. And you really don't got shit to say either? Well guess what nigga, it's done. I'll die before you hear my voice again, before you ever seem me again. And I could sit up here and yell and scream at you but you know what my momma taught me? As worthless as she was she taught me one thing: the best way to hurt a man is to move on. Get the fuck out." And just like that, before Rio could even say a word it was all over.

The next few minutes were a blur. A trash bag with all his shit was thrown out the window after he was shoved out of her apartment. All the gifts he'd gotten her, the shoes, the jewelry, even her cart that had her name custom printed on it, were tossed out there too. Rio sat out there, outside her apartment complex for what felt like hours.

Shit it probably had been hours. The flowers in the back taunted him. He wanted to stomp on them, he wanted to kick and scream at the world. Why did he fucking do that? For his job of course. Fuck that job, look where it got him. Standing outside the apartment of the love of his life.

Worse, he didn't even speak to defend himself, and she tossed him out so quick that it left his head spinning. He wasn't even sure how he walked to the elevator and made his way to his car. He wanted to die, he wanted to collapse, he wanted to go all the way back in time and tell himself to call off everything and meet her some other way. Now he lost everything that could've been lost to him.

And it was all because of his decisions.

Taglist:

@eddiemunsonreader

#black reader #x reader #fem reader #x black reader #rio x reader #rio good girls fanfiction #nbc good girls #rio good girls

[saey707]

omg i’m so excited to see your requests are open! could i get hcs of heartsteel sett or aphelios (or both if you want!) and how they’d show their affection toward their s/o? thank you!! 🩵

✿ Prompt: How Heartsteel Aphelios shows affection ✿

♡ champion focus: aphelios ♡ tw: none! ♡ Gender-neutral reader

Author’s Note: Hello! Thank you for sending a request. I chose Aphelios for this one because I thought I could get more ideas from him! I hope I am able to fulfill it to your liking! Enjoy ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱₊˚⊹

Aphelios tends to keep to himself most of the time, so at the beginning of your relationship, it's vital to anticipate for him to take time to adjust so he can get comfortable with you!

When he does begin to acclimate himself to a relationship, he becomes quite the snuggle bug and prefers to always be the little spoon when you two cuddle.

But overall, Aphelios is the type to show affection through actions over physical interactions! Physical intimacy is difficult for Aphelios to display, so it's easier for him to communicate how much he loves you through what he does for you over touch.

Aphelios is the type to always listen to you and especially adores listening to you talk about your passions!

So long as you're willing to read his excited rambles about his love for the moon and stars (along with the extreme knowledge he has on even the diameter of the moon or when the next lunar eclipse will occur and where), he is more than happy to immerse himself in learning more about your interests!

Even though he can no longer sing, he can still write words to you that mean something. It's just one of the ways he can openly express himself and how much he loves you.

The gifts he gives you are always meaningful, stuff that just makes sense when it comes to him! Items include a moon and star pendant necklace, a pair of matching headphones to his own, and his prized NASA hoodie.

If you're a morning bird, he'll wake up early just to send you a good morning text. Inevitably, he'll go right back to bed after he sends it, but it will give you a reminder of how much he cares!

If you're a night owl like he is, Aphelios gets on Discord calls with you and sits in comfortable silence with you. It may not be much, but if you talk to him, he'll respond with his soundboards and communicate with you through the text-to-speech bot!

Any time he dyes his hair, he makes sure you're there with him so you both can have the same colors in your hair! If there is one thing Aphelios is obsessed with more than creating music, it's matching everything he possibly can with you!

Love songs!! The genius composer will definitely dedicate certain verses in the songs he writes to you. You're his purpose. You're why he always pushes and drives himself forward. You make him a better person and allow him to see his potential, particularly when he feels like he's drowning under the weight of being a star.

Aphelios will teach you sign language! It's one of the many ways he communicates with the world around him! Of course, he may be biased and teach you only the romantic signs, so don't let that stop you from doing your own research so you can communicate with him even more!

It took Aphelios some time to work himself up to this high display of affection: Sharing his mooncakes with you. Even though it is meant to be shared, he'd rather share it with the one person he loves most in the world. Giving you a piece of his mooncake is like giving you a piece of himself in his mind!

#saeybaewrites #request #headcanons #heartsteel #heartsteel aphelios #aphelios #heartsteel aphelios x reader #heartsteel x reader #aphelios lol #x reader #lol x reader #aphelios league of legends #aphelios lol x reader #aphelios league of legends x reader #league of legends x reader

[stargirlie25]

Me having a conversation with an e/riel. Feel free to fact check by looking at the books.

Me: Why do you ship Elain and Azriel?

E/riel: Well for starters, he was the only one to go save Elain when she was in hybern.

Me: First of all, Cassian offered first. Second of all Feyre was also there and saved her (what Elain said)

E/riel: Ok but still it was romantic

Me: But it was not. Because her sister ALSO saved her :) Feyre went to UTM and got tortured,SAed,killed people and died all for Tamlin anyhow...

E/riel: Well Madja said a mate knows whats wrong with their own mate and Az figured out that Elain was a seer.

Me: Elain being a Seer was not what was wrong with her. Also Rhysand figured out Nestas power.

E/riel: Az gave Elain truthteller when he had given it to no one ever.

Me: Only because Mor begged him with tears in her eyes to stay back. Cassian offered her first (again) and then Az offered her TT bc he would not have to use it. Not to mention, Elain only took it when Feyre assured her she would not have to use it. She gave it back without a glance

E/riel: Well Feyre imagined Elain and Az as ´´Death and his lovely fawn´´

Me: Okay. Well did you also catch when she said TT is the only connection between them? Not to mention something admirable about Elain is that she is always full of light. What literally takes away Light? Darkness=Azriel. Not to mention, Azriel is death and his home sucks the life from Elain. Not that Feyres aesthetic painting mind matters anything to me :)

E/riel: What about the fact that Lucien thought Elain was crazy?

Me: What about the fact when he travelled all around to find somebody on a quest so dangerous and the only confirmation he got was from Elain?

E/riel: Elain was wearing Cobalt blue the first time she met Az.

Me: Considering Elains devotion to Graysen, there is a high chance of her wearing that color for Graysen because his crest is cobalt blue. Even if its not true, Lucien wears a coat that´s fawn brown (exact same shade of Elains eyes)

E/riel: A smile and blush bloomed on Azriel in regards to Elain.

Me: Dont care. Thats just an action. Although since you say that, did you know that a smile bloomed on Elains face after her father died (who she loved dearly) in regards to Lucien?

E/riel: What about when a charged glance went through Elain and Azriel.

Me: Sexual attraction. Lots of characters have it like Feyre and tamlin,Aelin and Chaol,Azriel to Mor....

E/riel: Well, Azriel jacks off to Elain every night while looking at the gift he got for her.

Me: Dont be shy you dont have to say a gift. You can say he jacks off to headache powder. No problem. Almost like when Nesta slept with multiple men. Trust me, that does not affect me!

E/riel: Elriel is true mates because Az was the only one to smell Eluciens bond.

Me: Bryce smelled Nessians bound, Ruhn and Lidia smelled bryce and hunts bond, Tamlin smelled feysands.

E/riel: Gwyn is a lightsinger because Az chest sparked because of her.

Me: Well than ig Lidia and Bryce are lightsingers too. Get those evil bitches away from Hunt and Ruhn right?

E/riel: There is nothing romantic for Gwynriel

Me: Thats literally just your penny for thought. Why would i care when SJM provided common banter, mate language and history for Gwynriel, and scenes where they challenge each other when she said history,sparks,conflict,and challenge all makes a good couple.

E/riel: Elain gave two gifts to Az. Not lucien

Me: Headphones for Az bc Nesta and Cass fuck so loud? So romantic i cant! Im so glad my girl SJM is saving the good,meaningful gifts for Elucien.

E/riel: Az waited for Elain to come to the table and told everybody to not eat until Elain came back.

Me: he was thinking of his mother being a slave. Thats what the situation of eating when Elain was tending to everyone reminded him of. How his mother was treated. Its not romantic but it is a very sad thing to think about.

E/riel: Azriel loves Elain. He only has not thought about a future with her because he does not allow himself to!

Me: Honestly i don´t mind that you think that! Although that is not canon. Sleeping with Elain is the only thoughts he PLEASURED himself to. Not allowed himself as some say. Again, that´s just your penny for thought. He says ´´He hadn't gone that far with his planning´´ Meaning sexual thoughts is fine but anything further is like nope, nope,nope,nope,nope too far.

E/riel: Elain literally loses her newfound boldness around Lucien.

Me: There is so many more reasons that we could come up with than what meets the eye. Have you considered it was because she didnt know what to do. Or she saw the look on Lucien ´ s face and shrank because she did not intentionally cause it and felt bad? Or maybe she FELT Luciens pain and shared it because of the bond? So much possibilities to think of especially considering we have limited text and not the actual characters POV. Also i wonder how far she will shrink when she finds out about Az and Rhysands conversation in the bonus chapter. Or maybe she heard it already?

E/riel: Azriel actually gets Elain.

Me: The way he literally does not though! When Elain begs the IC not to kill graysen Az says its best for him to be killed in acosf. When Elain says nesta cant make choices for her and then Az says she should not be exposed to the innate darkness even though later we figure out Elain is willing? When Elain says she is not a child to be fought over and than Az says he will defeat Lucien in a blood duel with her?

E/riel: Scrying is dangerous! Of course Azriel did not want her too.

Me: Yet, he said ´´Nesta really should do scrying´´ but not Elain because he underestimates her. Which is the ONLY thing SJM provides to what Az could have been doing.

E/riel: Azriel listened to Elains laugh probably because he loves the sound!

Me: Maybe its because Elain never ever laughs like that around him or the ic He was literally monitoring them which means to keep tabs on someone which directly relates to his fricking job 😂. So many words to choose from and SJM chose monitoring.

E/riel: Az gave Elain a rose necklace.

Me: Ok and? Elain gave it back. She does not want that shit. He gave it to another person. It felt wrong to clasp it around Elains neck but it sparked something in his chest and made him smile for Gwyn.

E/riel: Lucien only sees Elain for his mate but Azriel sees her for her.

Me: Nope. His reason for wanting to kiss Elain was simply ´´What fi the cauldron was wrong´´ and refers to Elain as the 3rd. She is literally a theory or more so a possibility to him. One he has not thought through in the slightest. Also, Lucien was going crazy in hybern in regards to Elain before he knew of their bond AND Elain has not accepted the bond yet he still cares for her.

E/riel: Elain called Azriels scars beautiful.

Me: first of all, its a 50% chance she called his scars beautiful. Feyre said she was not sure which one she was complimenting, the scars, or the big glowing cobalt siphon atop his hand. Second of all, even if it was 100% fact that she said his scars specifically was beautiful, it seems he does not believe it at all. He tries to not to look at his hands. He does not want to taint her with his presence or touch her beautiful skin with his scars.

E/riel: His shadows vanish around Elain and lightens. They also do that around mor who he was in love with for 500 years. Also his shadows are like snakes ready to strike in regards to Elain.

Me: Shadows lighting and vanishing are the same thing. Light takes away darkness as darkness takes away light (another reason why they are horrible together) His shadows are losing its darkness around Elain and Mor. Mor was wrong for him. The amount of pain it caused him to be in Love with her? Want that to continue with Elain and Az? Azriel does not need his darkness to be hidden. He needs it to be embraced *insert Gwyn*

E/riel: SJM would never pass on a good angsty trope like forbidden love!

Me: firstly, the only thing forbidding e/riel is Elain herself. If she rejects the bond, she can be with Az all she wants and NO ONE has a say on that. Not Rhysand. Not feyre. Not cassian. Not Lucien himself. Although she hasnt after 2 years. There is an answer to why. Its not like Elain knows she has to wait until her own book to reject it. Second of all, Forbidden love is the absolute WORST trope to give BOTH of them. For Elain, she has always hid in the shadows of her sisters in the series and the fandom. You really think Elain Archeron always full of light wants to hide in the darkness and play out Azriel´s fantasies? As for Azriel, he has been secretly silently in PAIN loving Mor for 500 years. So you want him to go through it again with Elain? No. He wants the bond nessian and feysand have. The love they share. The joy of being with your equal. The connection of a mating bond. Being proud to showcase it to the world. Forbidden love would just tear them apart.

E/riel: SJM does not write about virgin romances! Plus Gwyn is a virgin!

Me: Yes she can. Gwyn already lost her virginity against her will so biologically she is not going through the bleeding and the actual losing her physical virginity. Although it is a fact she has never slept with someone. The scene where Cassian *ahem* first enters nesta is very descriptive and SJM describes the pain of Cassian entering her......So yes she can for sure write about Gwyn having sex. This is also goes against the statement that Gwyn cant have sex because of her trauma. False. She is interested in romance books and asks Nesta if the sex was good. I think Gwyn would enjoy sex with someone she trusts in and out.

#anti elriel #anti e/riel #anti elainxazriel #anti azriel and elain #pro elucien #pro gwynriel #elucien #gwynriel

[respectthepetty]

Love Tractor is a top for me!

It gave me color-coded boys in love. It gave me an oh-so-satisfying color exchange. It gave me the merging of two worlds. IT GAVE ME EVERYTHING! Especially in these last two episodes, so let me recap the delicious color journey that happened in these final moments.

Episode 7 started with Green Guy Yechan determined to win over Yul.

His Pink Person mother, as usual, was rough, but she's always rooting for her Green Guy son to get her a Blue Boy son-in-law.

So Yechan continues to wear Yul down by sneaking up on him while Yul uses his blue watering can.

And by wearing his Blue Boy's color while giving Yul his heart (Yechan is always giving Yul red items!).

So the barriers between them start to bend in Yechan's favor even when they are in their own colors.

Because Yechan gave Yul back the gift of music (with that blue melodica!).

So Yechan tries to recreate his blue dream and kisses Yul.

But the boys' moment is cut short by Yul's father.

However, Yul tells his father he is living his life the way he wants now and puts on his blue headphones while Yechan's green starts to make its way onto him.

And even though Yechan is miserable because he has to keep his distance from Yul so he can focus, Yechan makes sure to carry his Blue Boy with him wherever he goes.

After finding his Blue Boy passed out with his blue blanket

Yechan decides to take care of Yul, no matter what and continues to wear Yul's blue.

So both realize they are falling in love while wearing pink.

But Yechan has to be extra, so Yul's blue is obviously over his heart.

And even though Yechan wears a yellow shirt, it looks green when Yul hands him his blue headphones to share the song Yechan inspired him to finished. Yul gives Yechan the other half of the couples' bracelet, and Yechan declares that Yul is the most important-est.

They go on a little date where Yechan tells Yul that he knows he has to return to the city, but they can make this work.

And THEY KISS! But instead of it being the blue dream Yechan thought it'd be, it's a green reality!

Because Yul likes Yechan just as much as Yechan likes Yul, and Yul's world is with Yechan, so those red gloves go back to their proper place over Yechan's heart when he talks to Yul on the phone.

And even though Yechan is always happy to talk to his Blue Boy in their colors,

He still misses Yul dearly.

But Yul comes back, and reminds us all that they don't live in different worlds. They don't have to pick between the country tractor and the city car because they will always meet in the middle.

I LOVED IT!

#love tractor #yul x yechan #color coded boys in love #the color exchange #the colors mean things #love tractor the series #it's a top for me! #I loved it!

[crystalsnow95z]

your allergy fics are so good! would you be able to write one with jungkook? any caretaker, with jungkook coming into contact with something he's terribly allergic to but he wants to enjoy (like a bouquet of flowers or a cute kitten idk) and it sets him off sneezing a ton, with a super itchy nose. thank you!

I have plenty of mostly finished projects, but I can't bring myself to post them, so I keep working on new ones, and after months, I finally made one I like!

"Jaykay...Jungkook-ah.. wake up.. we're landing.." Hoseok shakes the mankae when his gentle approach doesn't work. "Jaykay your face is so puffy.." Hoseok smiles fondly, grabbing Jungkook's face and smooshing his face in between his fingers.

Jungkook moans in complaint, his eyes fluttering open to look at Hoseok. "Hyung..what time is it?" he grabs Hoseok's wrist to get him to stop attacking his cheeks, rubbing at his eyes. "It's morning still?"

"It is..Good morning Junggukkie." Hoseok smiles, feeling pride in successfully getting him to start moving. "It's because of the time difference. Remember?"

Jungkook studies his surroundings perplexed before his eyes widen with recognition when the sleep that fogged his memory dissipates, replaced with excitement. "Oh! I know! We're filming a music video!I'm so excited! We're going to be filming by a real waterfall and going to a garden with hundreds of different flowers and we're going to work with birds!" The memory of the meeting floods over him.

"We're going to get amazing photos. I wonder if we'll get to see a real toucan." Taehyung adds in his own excitement, leaning forward to talk to Jungkook.

"Toucan? Do you really think we can see a real one? I've seen videos of them and they don't look real." Hoseok adds in.

"Everyone, please return to your seats and buckle up." The boys hear the announcement, gathering up their things.

"Namjoon-ah do you have everything?" Yoongi asks, placing his tablet into his bag.

"Of course. You gifted me a holder for my passport after that incident in japan.." Namjoon pulls out the passport that was tucked into his shirt.

"That's because we almost couldn't perform.. you're lucky that man found it in the bathroom for you.. What about your headphones?"

Namjoon opens his airpod case, ears reddening when he sees there's only one inside, feeling around his seat until he finds it. "You knew i lost one didn't you hyung.."

"It fell out when you were sleeping." Yoongi smiles, then gasps in surprise when the turbulence hits, clutching onto the armrest, his stomach churning uncomfortably.

"You okay Yoongi?" Jin asks, taking out his headphones when he feels Yoongi's hand brush against his arm.

"I'm okay, my stomach just fluttered.." Yoongi swallows the saliva that filled his mouth, taking a deep breath. "It'll pass.."

"We're almost on the ground, and we'll have a few hours to rest." Jin reassures the daegu rapper, taking his hand.

"Thanks hyungie.." Yoongi speaks softly, squeezing Jin's hand.

"You don't have to thank me. Just take it easy until the shoot okay?" Jin gently runs his thumb across Yoongi's knuckles.

"We landed!" Jungkook says excitedly, unbuckling himself, but Hoseok puts his hand on Jungkook's thigh.

"Let's wait a bit to get off Kook-ah." Hoseok orders gently side eyeing Yoongi, who still hadn't regained the color in his cheeks.

"Yes hyung..." Jungkook settles back in, eyes sparkling. It doesn't matter if I have to wait. I'll be able to film with the birds and see the waterfall and take pretty photos for army.

"Is everyone finished changing?" Namjoon asks, looking over his team, frowning when he notices Jungkook's darker outfit in comparison to everyone else's vibrant colors."Jungkook, that's the wrong outfit..that's for the garden shoot.."

"Aish..I'm sorry Hyung.." Jungkook quickly starts stripping to switch outfits. "Everything looks so pretty from the carride and the hotel view..I got excited.." he casts his eyes down guiltily. I'm not some teenager anymore.. I need to concentrate and not make such rookie mistakes.. I should've noticed I didn't match..

"It's okay, just pay attention from now on, alright? We need to focus on filming. We only have so much daylight with outside shoots." Namjoon rubs Jungkook's back, helping him get changed to make it quicker.

"I'll pay attention from now on.." Jungkook promises shyly looking away from Namjoon. After switching to match the others in the mankae line, the seven boys leave the dressing room, Jungkook fighting the urge to run towards the sound of the waterfall.

Hoseok and Jimin links arms with Jungkook, keeping him at pace with the others. "Calm down Jaykay you don't want to risk getting hurt on this uneven ground before we even get there." Hoseok scolds him gently, leading him around a tree root.

"I'll be careful, sorry hyung.." Jungkook watches his feet carefully stepping over branches and stones that made it on the path. Taehyung and Namjoon walk ahead of them, taking photos of the scenery in front of them. "Why can't I run free with Rapmonie hyung and Taehyungie-hyungie?"

"What? You don't want to walk with me?" Jimin pouts, letting go of Jungkook. "Fine, go play with them."

"I didn't mean it like that Jimin-shii.. I just wanted to go ahead too.." Jungkook relinks his arm with Jimin pulling him and Hoseok to walk ahead with the others.

"Look Hyung! That tree.. it's filled with birds." Jungkook points our, his voice scaring the birds into fleeing in several directions.

"Kook-ah you scared them away." Namjoon frowns, watching them go with disappointment.

"I'm sor..ah..ah.." Jungkook puts his hand over his nose with an itch forms, breath hitching. "Ah..heygifh!"

"[Bless you]" Jimin speaks in English. "You okay? Not catching a cold are you? You did sleep the whole plane ride.."

"No, no I'm okay..my nose just had a bad itch.."Jungkook sniffles, wiping his nose with the side of his hand. "A feather must've tickled my nose or something..I haven't felt sick today."

"I can see the waterfall!" Jin announces, everyone looking forward, trying to spot it through the trees.

"Oh wow, it's bigger than I thought it would be.." Yoongi's eyes widen when he sees it, the boys rushing to get closer.

Jungkook bends down to take a photo of a cluster of flowers,trying to ignore the itch that annoyed the tip of his nose.

"Don't get too close to the water, Jungkook-ah. You need to stay dry for the shoot."

"I won't hyung..I'm just looking at the flowers.." Jungkook's breath hitches when another sneeze builds up, but he gently rubs it away. I can't be getting sick now.. we're spending four days in a tropical paradise.

"Did you get water in your nose Gukkie?" Taehyung asks when he approaches Jungkook, the younger jumping when he sees Taehyung next to him.

"Aish, Hyung you scared me.. I didn't hear you coming over the water. I don't know what's wrong with me, but .ah..agh..heh'ticgish!" Jungkook quickly covers his face, Taehyung grabbing the back of his shirt to keep him balanced. "Ugh. Thanks Taehyungie-hyung. I was fine earlier..I don't know why I'm sneezing all of a sudden.."

"Maybe it's all the flowers.. maybe you should take some medicine just in case.." Taehyung suggests, pulling Jungkook away from them.

"But I want to get some good shots for Army to see." Jungkook whines, but makes no attempt to pull away.

"We have to work now. We can take photos together later, and I can take photos for you if you can't get close." Taehyung promises leading him back to the others. "Is there any way we can get allergy medicine for Jungkook? His nose is getting red and stuffy.."

"I'm sorry, but we would have to go back to the resort for that.. I'll send someone to go get some. Do you think you can film until then Jungkook-sii?" The manager asks.

"Yes, I'll be okay. It's not that bad. It's just an annoyance.. I can still film.." Jungkook replies politely.

A female staff member digs in her purse, handing him a small packet of tissues. "Here Jungkook. Blowing your nose might help."

"Thanks Noona.." he bows, turning away from the others to try to clear his nose of the clear goo. "That's much better.."

As soon as the seven members get their makeup redone and the director gives them their directions, the boys get right to work going through the scenes and choreography.

"Jimin-ah..you weren't looking in the same direction as the others and you led on the wrong foot.." Hoseok scolds him when they were reviewing the clips, noticing Jimin was looking at Jungkook who couldn't stop sniffling, fighting off the urge to sneeze.

"I'm sorry.. can we do it one more time? I'll get it right this time." Jimin bows in apology to his members, looking at Jungkook when he does it. Jungkookie looks uncomfortable..I need to get it right the first time so he can get some time to rest.

Jungkook tries to hold back another sneeze when he sees Jimin's worried gaze staring back at him, but Jimin could see his nose twitching as the itch builds up.

"Noona will be back soon.." Jimin gently uses his thumb to wipe the tear that formed in Jungkook's tear duct. "You don't have to be tough for us, okay?"

"I'm not crying..my eyes are just watering because of my allergies.." Jungkook sniffles. "I'm okay..it's just irrita..ah..itdgitch! Heh'itchu!"

"Bless you.." Hoseok frowns, hugging Jungkook from behind. "My poor baby.."

"Jungkook-sii I got..you the medicine." The staff member who ran to the resort calls to him, out of breath from running back.

Taehyung rushes over to get the medicine from her, popping the blister pack to get the round pink pill for Jungkook, bringing it back to him. "Here Jungkookie, I got it."

"Thanks Hyung." Jungkook swallows the pill Taehyung gives him, Jimin getting him water to help it go down quicker. "Let's do the shoot again."

"You don't want time for it to kick in?” Jin asks, fretting over the youngest.

Jungkook shakes his head."No, I already got us behind schedule with all the touch ups.. I can do it.."

Jungkook and Taehyung rush ahead of the other members despite the older members calling to them,unable to hear them over the sound of the birds.

"Oh wow.. it's so pretty!" Jungkook's pupils take over his irises, his eyes becoming to round black discs, taking in the special guests for their music video. "Oh wow..This one's purple..I never seen a purple bird before!'

"This is [purple honeycreeper.] This one rescue. I thought he would be perfect for you ." The bird handler smiles when he sees the boys look surprised at his Korean skills.

"[Purple honeycreeper..]" Jungkook repeats the name in English. "[What's bird name?]"

"[Ah, right introductions...] I'm Gary and this bird here is Viola."

"Can I touch?" Jungkook asks, ignoring his body's warning. The medicine helped him yesterday, but at the moment he felt just as bad as he did the first day they were filming.

"Hold out finger." Gary tells him, showing Taehyung what to do by getting Viola to go on his finger. "[Step up Viola.]" He gives the command, letting her climb onto his finger.

The other members catch up, taking in the sights of the colorful birds surrounding them.

Jungkook holds his to Viola, gasping when he feels the bird use its beak to balance herself while she climbs onto his finger. "Look Hyung..i'm holding a bird!" Jungkook sniffles, turning to the man. "Can i pet?"

"As long as you only touch her head and neck." Gary gently ordered.

"You can't touch a bird anywhere else or it will think you want to mate." Yoongi tells Jungkook.

Jungkook turns to the handler, who blushes."Ah, that's true. It.. excites them if you touch its wings or chest too much.."

Jungkook nods, gently touching Viola's head, gently ruffling the feathers. Oh no.. not now..

Jungkook quickly places his hand on Taehyung's shoulder, hoping the bird would have a safe escape from the sneezes he could feel coming despite his efforts to hold them back. "Heh'heh..heygifh! Heh'itchu! Higtcvhsgh!"

Viola screeches, flapping her wings in fear jumping off of Jungkook's hand and jumping onto Taehyung's head, trying to get farther from the sound that startled her.

The other birds go into panic at the sound of viola, Hoseok clinging to Namjoon when they take flight.

Jungkook covers his face,trying to muffle the sound, but when the birds take flight the feeling only worsens. "Hehtichih!"

"[Woah, Woah. It's okay Viola.. it's okay..]" Taehyung tries to speak English for the frightened bird, Gary trying to calm his other pets down.

"Somethings wrong you need to get away.." Jin starts leading Jungkook away from the chaos, his heart racing in fear.

I can't breathe..I need to calm down..

Jungkook staggered away from the others, Jin keeping a tight grip on the mankae"Woah Jungkook I got you.."

"Heh..hehitxgh! Heh'itchu! Hey'itchi!" Jungkook let out another flurry of sneezes, holding Jin tightly. It wasn't the flowers..

"Here Jungkookie, look at me.." Jin gently leads his chin up, taking a nasal spray from the bag he was given as an accessory. "I got this just in case.."

"Thanks hyung.." Jungkook sniffles, taking it from Jin. "Heh'itchii! Hey'itchi!" He sneezes as soon as he puts it near his nose only amplifying the itch that plagued his sinuses.

"Here let hyung do it." Jin gently grabs Jungkook's chin, tilting his head upwards. "Try to sit still for me. I'll make it quick..okay?"

Jungkook nods, holding his breath to try to avoid sneezing on Jin as he swiftly sprays the medicine into one nostril than the other.

"Hei' etfhitch! Heh'itchu!" Jungkook's eyes water as he sneezes. "I'm sorry Hyung.."

"It's okay baby.. I know you aren't feeling well." Jin rubs the back of Jungkook's neck. "I think your allergic to birds Jungkookie.."

"I was around birds before..I was fine.." Jungkook sniffles, rubbing at his nose to try to ease the itch that threatened to cause more sneezes to erupt from him.

"You can develop new allergies Kook-ah.. I know how excited you were to play with them, but outside of filming I think you should avoid them." Jin tells him solemnly.

Yoongi goes up to them with a small packet of tissues,giving it to Jungkook. "They got the birds under control, but they want to give them time to fully calm down."

"That's good. I was worried I ruined the...heh..heh.." Jungkook felt the sneeze building, but it was only a false start. "Ruined the music shoot.." he finishes, his voice coming out as a nasally whisper, trying to clear his nose to see if that would ease the discomfort that was making him miserable.

"It's not your fault, Jungkookie. We could always make changes. What's important is that you don't suffer for the shoot. Even if you push through it, army will be able to see how much you're suffering." Yoongi puts his arm around Jungkook, pulling him close.

"I'll go get the others so we can see what our next move is. We'll figure this out together, okay Kookie?" Jin leaves to the filming site.

"Hyung I really wanted to play with the birds.." Jungkook sighs, knowing that all the members would agree with Jin.

"I know. Life sucks.. now you and Jiminie can suffer together." Yoongi teases him lightly, getting a small smile out of Jungkook.

#bts sickfic #bts boys #bts fanfic #bts sickie #bts #bts taehyung #bts jhope #bts namjoon #bts jimin #bts jungkook #bts yoongi #bts allergy #sick!jungkook #sickie Jungkook #jk #bangtan boys #bts jin #bts hobi #sick boy #bts jeon jungkook #bts jk #bts allergies #bts snz #sick jungkook #snz Jungkook

[sweveniv]

MAYOR ━━ h. ran. | chapter two. | masterlist.

Tokyo, Japan.

Izana and I arrived at the airport in Japan without talking much, the flight being so silent that it was deafening. During the flight, I couldn't stop thinking about an issue that had been bugging me for a while: the sudden appearance of information about an "ex-boyfriend" on the internet.

I mean, I understood the interest that the paparazzi and others had in my personal life, but where in the world had this information come from?

Kakucho arrives at the airport in a car and makes his way to where Izana and I are standing. It seems like he knows everything about Izana's schedule, even though he's not his secretary. As he approaches, I roll my eyes and scratch the bridge of my nose, feeling the exhaustion from the flight.

I want to interrupt Izana and Kakucho's conversation so much, but I know that if I do, it would just lead to a fight between me and Izana. Despite my exhaustion, I have to remain patient and endure it for now. I let Izana finish his conversation before finally speaking up, interrupting that they will drop me off first at my house.

We three head to the car, fifteen minutes had passed. I am near to falling asleep, but Izana speaks up and makes me roll my eyes even more. "We have a birthday party to attend, dinner time," he says. I nod in response, putting on my headphones to drown out the world around me.

As the car makes its way through the crowded streets of Tokyo, I notice that traffic is especially heavy today. I sigh and take off my headphones to ask Kakucho, "What's wrong? Is there an accident?" We're surrounded by a sea of people, and their faces are all contorted with annoyance. I can only imagine how miserable they must feel, stuck in this gridlock for hours on end.

"I think that BMW crashed into the Ferrari on purpose, judging by the damage done to the Ferrari. It's crazy." Izana observed the crowded area.

The three of us didn't let the accident faze us, and Kakucho drove us to Shoto. It was where all my siblings lived, each with their own property.

The Haitani brothers from Roppongi also had a property in Shoto - a magnificent mansion that was so luxurious, I couldn't even put it into words. The interior was breathtakingly beautiful, with marble floors, gold-trimmed ceilings, and plush furnishings everywhere I looked.

Apparently, it was Ran's idea to design the house this way. Haitani Rindou, Ran's younger brother, was kind enough to show us around the place. All I could think was that Ran has a good taste for luxury.

After a short drive, Kakucho parked his car in front of my house. As soon as we arrived, I immediately kissed Izana on the cheek as a gesture of respect and farewell. Izana acknowledged my affection with a small nod, his full attention still focused on his phone as he continued to play Candy Crush.

Curious, I spoke up, "How far have you made it in Candy Crush?"

Izana shrugged, "1,569. So shut up," he responded casually, still focused on his phone game.

I chuckled and closed the car door before walking to my house. When I looked in through the window, I saw Kakucho arranging my luggage on the living room floor. I felt a twinge of embarrassment and turned away, not wanting him to see me. Then he caught a glimpse of me and smiled slightly. He then bowed his head in a traditional Japanese gesture of respect and gratitude. I returned his greeting, and then he left.

As evening approached, I prepared for dinner wearing a suede tube dress in hot pink--a gift from Mikey last year. It was the first time I had worn it, and it looked stunning with a rose-shade lipstick to complete the outfit. The soft fabric of the dress hugged my curves, while the bold color gave me a confident and sassy look.

As I was putting on the final touches to my makeup, my phone chimed with a notification from Shinichiro. "I'm on my way there," the text read. "Izana and Kakucho have been at auntie's house for almost 20 minutes." I quickly grabbed my phone and replied, "I'll meet you outside in a minute." I put my phone down on the dresser and admired the stunning roses on my lipstick one last time before leaving the room to meet Shinichiro outside.

I walked out of my house and closed the door behind me, unaware that I had slammed it shut a little too forcefully. Mikey and Shinichiro, my two older brothers, watched me, and I gave them an awkward smile.

As I got into the car and sat down in the backseat, Mikey offered me a dorayaki, a popular Japanese pastry made with bean paste and cake batter.

"Really? Dorayaki before dinner?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

Shinichiro chuckled, and Mikey rolled his eyes upward before replying, "Just say if you don't want to eat it, Y/n."

Grateful for the food, I took the dorayaki and began to eat it while Mikey and Shinichiro chatted about their day. Despite the awkward mood, it was nice to be with my family.

As we drove through the bustling streets of Tokyo, I began to grow impatient. The drive seemed to be taking much longer than I had anticipated, and I let out a heavy sigh as we pulled up to our aunt's house.

The moment I stepped out of the car, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of my older sister, who was two years my senior. She greeted me with a warm smile and a big hug as I made my way over to her.

"It's great to see you, Sis," I said, returning her embrace. She gave me a playful poke on the shoulder and laughed. "It's only been a few weeks, Y/n. You're acting like I've been gone for years!"

I hugged Emma tight, taking a moment to appreciate the feeling of her warm embrace. I tried to hold back my tears as I thought about the memories we had shared while growing up together, how we went through every stage of our lives as sisters.

"Well, you know how lonely I can get sometimes when I think of the moments where we used to share a room and do girly things all day," I said, my voice choking up.

"But now you have your own family, and I wish you the best. Don't worry if I say this too many times, Emma, but I really, really want what's best for my big sister."

Emma hugged me back, wiping away my tears with a gentle smile. "I know, Y/n. You've always been there for me, and I have no doubt that you'll always be there for us as a family, no matter what. I love you so much."

As I pulled away from her embrace, I waved to her husband, Draken, who stood nearby. "Take care of her, Draken," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "She's the best sister anyone could ask for."

Draken smiled warmly at me. "I know, Y/n. I'm a lucky man to have Emma in my life, and I'll do everything in my power to make her happy."

As Izana took a sip of his light beer, he let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes.

"You girls are acting as if you two aren't neighbors," he said, directing his attention to me and my sister.

I raised an eyebrow and replied, "We may be neighbors, but don't forget that they're only in Japan for special occasions or if Draken has a business trip."

I raised my hand to flag down the waiter, eager to boost myself. "I'll have a champagne rosé," I said, flashing Kakucho a soft smile. He smiled back at me and leaned in, clearly eager to hear what I had to say.

Kakucho and I studied at the same university in the Philippines - the University of Santo Tomas.

Izana was the one who was paying for our tuition and the one who was sponsoring our allowance, especially for Kakucho, since I had other backup sources like Shinichiro, Mikey, and Emma.

It's funny how we both graduated with a bachelor of science in nursing, yet we both ended up pursuing completely different paths. I smiled as I thought about the memories with Kakucho, especially that reunion we attended last year.

There was one time that someone came up to us at the reunion - I think it was a friend from our Chemistry class - and asked Kakucho and me if we had become registered nurses yet. We both chuckled awkwardly and explained that we had chosen different paths after graduating.

After a few moments of us greeting our relatives and having some friendly chit chat, two luxurious sports cars pulled up in front of the house. One was a stunning purple Ferrari 458 Italia, while the other was a gleaming white Audi R8. I was surprised to see who got out of the cars as soon as they were parked. It was none other than the Haitani brothers.

Ran Haitani's lips curled into a mischievous smirk upon seeing me standing inside the house alongside the Le Rêve art by Pablo Picasso, which was hanging under an 18-light imperial neoclassical chandelier, as my hot pink suede tube dress glimmered under the light. I couldn't resist smiling innocently in response, and soon both Ran and his younger brother, Rindou, made their way inside the massive mansion, a home belonging to my aunt.

After the Haitani brothers made their grand entrance and chatted with our relatives, I couldn't help but chuckle softly at the realization that Ran, who is a well-known businessman with 28 branches of his clubs worldwide, is indeed famous, possibly even before my birth.

He's not only made a name for himself, but he's clearly quite adept at making women swoon over him, as evident in the way he sported a stunning dark violet three-piece suit with such elegance. Despite my amusingly flirtatious interest in him, I knew he was no match for my wit and charm.

Ran made his way over to me, holding a glass of Martini in one hand and a Fabiola cocktail in the other, a small, contented smile playing on his lips. When he offered me the cocktail, it was impossible to ignore the fact that he was much taller than I, causing me to feel slightly dwarfed in his presence. However, I took a sip from my drink and managed to muster the courage to utter the first words of a conversation.

With a mischievous smile, I turned my attention to Ran, fixing my gaze on his captivating lavender eyes. "So, Mayor, how's business going?" I asked playfully. Ran was renowned for keeping his business matters private, and generally speaking, he wasn't inclined to discuss such matters in a casual manner, but I knew I was an exception to this rule. Every time we met, I couldn't resist asking him about his various businesses, along with his work as a politician.

As he took a small sip of his Martini, Ran let out a delighted laugh, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "The usual," he replied lightly, continuing with his casual demeanor.

"My schedule is always full, but I'm happy to make time for you whenever you desire." His playful words resonated with me, and even though I knew he was trying to woo me, I couldn't help but chuckle in response, caught in the moment of our playful banter.

As Ran playfully stared at me, a twinkle of teasing humor in his eyes, I was momentarily caught off guard. He asked, "You're off to Paris next week, right?" His delivery was nonchalant, but his voice carried a hint of interest. Then, he swiftly pulled his phone out of his suit's pocket.

"Looks like Veronica, the friend I met in Italy, extended an invitation for my fashion show in Paris. If you have free time, you can come," I said nonchalantly, raising my eyebrow as I turned to his phone, which caught my attention as I wondered what he was reading.

My eyes widened in disbelief when he pressed the "Purchase" button for two Paris plane tickets.

"What the heck, Ran?" I exclaimed, my confusion mounting.

He shrugged and replied in his usual nonchalant manner. "The tickets are on me. We'll go together," he said with a smile. "I can't believe you!" I added before looking away from embarrassment.

The sound of tapping glass filled the air, immediately capturing our attention, signifying that it was time for dinner. Without saying a word to each other, Ran and I made our way casually to the dining hall.

As we walked, some new guests arrived, causing us to smile and nod in acknowledgement. However, I couldn't help but roll my eyes, as lateness was considered highly disrespectful in my family.

I leaned towards Ran and whispered, "I'll sit next to Shinichiro." Then, I proceeded to walk to the other side of the table, while Ran walked in the opposite direction.

A few minutes after dinner started, the conversation immediately shifted to politics and business, and the room was filled with the sound of discussion. Ran seemed particularly engaged in the topic, as he completely ignored the woman beside him who was trying to capture his attention.

Instead, he focused entirely on his steak, which he stabbed with his fork and began to consume, while the rest of the group discussed the state of the country and that of their neighboring regions.

I listened intently as my uncles, aunties, siblings, and other businessmen here discussed topics ranging from real estate investments to political unrest. One of my uncles, in particular, seemed interested in purchasing the Siargao Island in the Philippines.

My eyebrows rose up when the woman beside Ran called me, "Kurokawa Y/n? As in the Supermodel?" She said excitedly as I smiled to her in response; and surprisingly she smiled back to me, the innocent one.

She then took a sip on her champagne and said, "How are you, Kurokawa? Is it true that you and your ex-boyfriend went out in Barcelona? Damn, Barcelona is one of my dream place to go." She paused, then added with a hint of mischief, Ran's lavender eyes were fixed on me with a bit of jealousy.

He didn't say anything, but I could read his body language. I looked over at Ran, who appeared to be listening carefully to the conversation, his eyes shifting from the woman to me and back again. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but I had a feeling this conversation was far from over.

My brothers gave me questioning looks, as if they were waiting for me to speak up about the purported boyfriend that had recently made an appearance on my social media accounts.

Taking a deep breath, I set down my utensils and said, "Don't believe everything you see on social media. Most of it is fake."

"My niece is correct," my aunt interjected smoothly, a glint in her eye. "Let's not pay the rumors any mind and continue our meal." A small smile spread across my face as I chuckled appreciatively. I finished my food without allowing myself to be further distracted by the whispers and stares of those around me.

Despite the air of tension that had settled over the table after the woman's prying questioning, the dinner had continued on as planned, albeit with a distinct undercurrent of unease. I had no idea who this woman was, and yet she seemed to be fascinated by every aspect of my life, demanding to know everything from my likes and dislikes to my relationship status.

It made me uncomfortable, to say the least, but I did my best to maintain my composure, understanding that as a public figure, I had to be mindful of my appearance. Still, I found myself wishing for a moment of respite and decided to excuse myself and head out to the balcony for some fresh air.

As I brought my white Sancerre wine with me, I needed some time to clear my head and collect my thoughts. I couldn't afford to snap at anyone, least of all that nosy woman who seemed determined to get in my business.

As a supermodel, my reputation was everything, and any hint of impropriety could damage it irreparably. If I were to lose my temper, the consequences could be dire. I must not let that happen.

I sighed, realizing that I had a full week of fashion shows coming up in Paris, and after that, my email inbox would be bombarded with people wanting to collaborate with me. It seemed like I couldn't even have a day off here in Japan.

Even though I'm not a workaholic by nature, I need the income to support my luxurious lifestyle. My needs and wants are so expensive that I don't think I can afford them in my next life. The thought of not being able to have the things I want and need is overwhelming, but I have to keep pushing forward. I can't let the drama of life get the better of me.

My eyes widened in surprise as I felt a pair of slender hands snake their way around my waist, followed closely by the warmth of lips on my ear. As soon as I caught a whiff of his familiar scent, I knew it was the one and only Haitani Ran. The unexpected touch sent a shiver down my spine, and I couldn't help but shiver at the unexpected intimacy.

When I tilted my head to look back at him, he placed his chin on top of my shoulder and leaned his head against me. I could feel his warm breath on my skin. As he reached for the old fashioned whiskey that he had placed beside my glass, I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. The way he moved was like a cat, all fluid and graceful, and I found it endearing. I couldn't believe that he was already a bit tipsy, but I had to admit it was kind of cute.

"How was New York, Miss Y/n?" Ran asked in a soft, sensual tone, making my body turn around to face him. I trailed my fingertips along his jawline and answered, "Tiring." A soft blush rose in Ran's cheeks, and he leaned in to give me a soft, gentle kiss on the center of my nose.

I chuckled in response, feeling a warm, tingly sensation spread throughout my body. Ran's touch was so soft and gentle, yet there was an intensity behind it that sent shivers down my spine. Despite the exhausting day, I couldn't help but feel a surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins.

"How about you? How was work, exactly?" I asked him, my neutral expression returning after I realized what I was about to say. I didn't want to get involved in politics at all, but my family and friends were mostly politicians, and I knew how dangerous the world of politics could be. Just as I was about to drop the subject, Ran's eyes darkened for a moment, and his expression grew more serious.

"I heard from Kakucho that Izana wants you to move on top," I said, hesitating for a moment before finishing my sentence. The tension in the air was palpable, and I hoped I hadn't overstepped my boundary.

Ran as the President of Japan? It seemed like an impossible feat, especially when he was already busy as the mayor of Roppongi. How would he even find the time and energy to take on such a demanding role? I couldn't help but feel worried for him, knowing the kind of pressure he would face in a position like that. Ran's eyes seemed dark as he thought about the news and I could feel the tension rising between us.

"It's an insane request, Ran. Izana should know better than to ask that of you," I said, letting my concern bleed into my voice. Ran's expression grew darker, his anger and frustration clear on his face.

"Akashi Takeomi may be able to handle being the President since he's already Japan's current President and he's on his last term. However, that doesn't change the fact that being the President is a challenging job. All the commands, the money, the lives of the people - everything and everyone are in your hands after that," I stated, feeling a deep sense of unease in my stomach at the thought of Ran having to handle such a huge responsibility. It was a lot of pressure for any person, let alone someone like Ran who had such a large role in the underworld.

Ran's expression grew darker as he listened to my words, and I could see the weight of the responsibility weighing on him. He was always so calm and collected, but even he would be tested by such a difficult job. I couldn't help but pity him, knowing that he would have to deal with the stress of running a country in addition to his duties as the Mayor of Roppongi.

I sighed, feeling a sense of unease at the thought of Takeomi's presidency possibly being part of the Bonten's plan. For years, no one knew that the politicians were behind the running of the Bonten, one of Japan's biggest criminal syndicates. It was a sickening thought, and I felt my tummy churn at the reality of how deep the corruption ran in the Japanese government.

"It's making me wonder if Takeomi running for President six years ago was part of the Bonten's plan," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Since Bonten is the number criminal syndicate organization in Japan, and no one knows that these politicians are behind running the Bonten."

Every word I said felt like a lead weight in my stomach. I couldn't believe that the criminals were able to run so much of the Japanese government without anyone realizing. It was a scary thought, and I couldn't help but wonder what other secrets were being kept from the general public.

I looked at Ran, waiting for his response. Takeomi's last term as President meant that he needed to find someone to take his place, and from what Ran was saying, it seemed like he was the chosen one. I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease at the thought of Ran taking on such a huge responsibility.

"It's Takeomi's last term, isn't it?" I asked, wanting to see Ran's reaction. As he took a sip of his whiskey, Ran's expression softened, and he smiled at me.

"Yes, it's his last term," he answered, his voice low and serious. "But Rindou doesn't want me to run for President, because you know how hectic the job is in the Bonten right now. I'm afraid Koko won't be able to handle any of it once I become the President-" he took a deep breathe before speaking up again.

"Darling, you know I play a huge role in the Bonten. Ever since Roppongi has been under my and my brother's rule, I can summon hundreds of delinquents at a time. That makes us a great alliance or support to any gangs that are taking us in, and that's one of the reasons why we always have the highest positions. We're not just random delinquents, we are commanders, and our men are devoted to the Haitani brothers," he explained, feeling a sense of pride at the power he held over the criminal world.

"And the shipment of weapons from other countries, me and Mochi are the ones in charge of that. Some triads want to negotiate something by giving us, the Yakuza, their weapons - guns, rifles, bombs, grenades - in exchange for our top mad dogs in Bonten," he explained, his tone turning serious. "Of course, it's a ridiculous idea. Recruiting mad dogs is very hard, and we can't just let them trade for weapons. Kakucho's the one in command with those mad dogs from the underground because he himself is a mad dog."

The idea of exchanging weapons for mad dogs was ludicrous. Mad dogs were not expendable, and giving them away to another gang was a recipe for disaster. It was clear that the triads didn't understand the value of the men in Bonten.

"I didn't notice that I was captivated when Ran was talking, and he was getting more and more enthusiastic the more he talked about gang stuff. It made me think that this is really what he wants - the gang life," I realized out loud, my voice tinged with a hint of worry.

As I spoke, Ran's eyes fixed on mine, and I felt a sudden frisson of anticipation as he leaned in closer. Before I knew it, his lavender eyes were the only thing I could see, and his face was inches from mine. The wine kicked in, and I could feel my body heating up as he cupped my chin and pressed his lips against mine slowly, sending shivers down my spine.

As we kissed, I felt a sense of longing and desire wash over me. It was clear that Ran was heavily invested in the gang life, and I couldn't help but wonder how that would affect our relationship. But for now, all I could focus on was the warmth of his lips and the feel of his hands on my face. It was a moment I would never forget.

As he planted a passionate kiss on me, my mouth slightly parted. I brushed the bitter taste of the whiskey from my tongue and placed mine to his slowly, even though I could still feel it on his lips. The heat inside was so intense that I could feel the sensation of our actions and feelings scorching our bodies.

Ran responded, "I would do anything for you, Mi'lady," as he planted another passionate kiss on my lips.

"Even if it means sacrificing certain things or people, I'd do anything for you to be the happiest, I'll let you stand on top of the world," ran whispered to my ear as he kissed my jawline with his eyes closed.

He then trailed kisses on her bare shoulder while snaking his hands up and down to her waist and hips, feeling the curve of y/n. Suddenly, they were interrupted, causing ran haitani's eyes to widen in shock.

"Mommy what are you doing?"

thank you for reading! a heart and reblog will gladly be appreciated.

don't repost my work to any platform. thank you!

© sweveniv-niikosia.

#sanzu haruchiyo #ran haitani x reader #ran haitani #haitani brothers #haitani ran #haitani rindou #haitani ran x y/n #haitani ran x you #haitani ran x reader #haitani ran smut #ran haitani x you #ran haitani smut #tokyo revengers smut #tokyo revengers fanfiction #tokyo revengers x you #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers #bonten #bonten smut #bonten x reader #bonten x you #fanfiction blog #fanfiction #anime fanfic #tokyo revengers fandom #total drama #drama

[devilscastle69]

Streaming t//diapt - Uru//shihara

Hi. Idek what to say about this one

summary: ur//ushihara makes a discover about his strteaming audience and his roommates demand that he capitalizes immediately.

---

The summer heat continued baking down on Sasazuka, and it was the perfect excuse for Urushihara to stay put in his closet, the one sad fan whirring and blowing warm air against his damp skin. The laptop continued generating its excessive heat which was decidedly preferable to the resident NEET to the fresh summer air. As Urushihara scrolled through the bountiful sea of videos, he recognized a familiar screen name: his own.

Darklord666 Clip 1

So he’d gotten popular enough to have fans clip his best hits. A smirk spread across his face. So much for his streaming hobby being a “fruitless endeavor.” 

3.k views. One week ago.

Damn, that’s more than ten times the amount of followers he had last time he checked, and this video had gotten this many views in the span of a week. He clicked the video and adjusted the volume and leaned in to watch which one of his builds or jokes had taken off.

📹

“Oh this sucks. The hair colors are so limited.” Urushihara pinched the bridge of his nose and sniffled. “Guess you guys will have to point me towards some…cuhh-uh…hKSHhh’ieh! tssch! Ugh. wait” 

He adjusted his headset before reaching around offscreen until he produced a tissue. “HehkShhhieh! Ihhshhh’ihh!”

“Rec me sombe custumb condtedt,” he amended. “Oh…yeah, it’s ndot a—hYSHhh’ieh! ndot a cold, just allergies.” He blew his nose.

“Wait, I can get it through the game? Is it free?” He sniffled. “Oh and thanks.”

📹

Comments:

dandelion222: what is he allergic to

S.finder: @dandelion222 He said later in the stream that it’s dust

snzgirl: bless him <3 

sneezy123: god hes so sexy

supersnzr: the video quality is so bad but the content def makes up for it ;)))

Okay that was odd. He can’t see what was particularly sexy about that clip. He’d been sneezing for half of it. He frowned and clicked the next recommended clip.  

Darklord666 Clip 2

📹

“hyhSHhh’yyu! Tschh’iu! hpt’chhhu!” 

Urushihara fixed his headset that’d been displaced during the sneezing fit and gripped it as another sneeze shook him forward. “hh…hehhh….wa-waihht…ihhgKSHhh’ieh!” 

He wiped the screen with the hem of his raglan shirt. “Ugh,” he sniffled, “fail. You didn’t see that.” 

📹

Urushihara’s frown deepened. What the fuck? Why did this one have even more views. He skipped over the comments in favor of clicking the next video.

Darklord666 Clip 3

📹

“Yeah I wanted to do hh- rags t-to…wait…hehh…” Urushihara abandoned his sentence and squinted his eyes, nose scrunching in the lowlight. “HehhkSHhhihh!” This time the spray was visible and he hadn’t bothered to turn away from the laptop this time. “IhhSHhhiehh!”

“Oh hey thanks for the gift sakurablossom7.”

📹

Comments:

asters_in_bloom: heyy good find but maybe you shouldn’t put their screen names on these clips…

S.finder: @asters_in_bloom Others have commented the same thing. Going forward I’ll be sure to fix this.

asters_in_bloom: @S.finder ok but you didnt????

Dustyboi: i need him. im subscribing immediately. id pay him sm to sneeze all over my—

Urushihara stopped reading. Immediately. That didn’t stop autoplay from playing the fourth clip. The closet door abruptly flung open and he nearly tumbled out again, but managed to catch himself this time. He let out a groan of disdain before the inevitable scream fest began. 

“Urushihara!” Ashiya pointed at him as if he’d finally tracked him down. “Please stop talking to your friend “Chat” and come help me fold the laundry for once! Or if you’re going to sneeze nonstop, perhaps you should dust this time.”

“You’re just gonna complain that I’m doing it wrong,” Urushiahara complained, removing his headset. The sound of the clip did not stop, and it was then that he realized his headphones weren’t even plugged in. He blushed and paused the video.

“Why are you sitting here watching video tapes of yourself?”

“I’m not.” Urushihara shuddered and closed the computer. “Just figured out why I got so many gifts last stream.” 

Oh he’d fucked up. Royally. He could feel the way the atmosphere in the room had shifted, the way Ashiya’s mind had shifted into budget mode. “Gifts?”

“Money.”

“And why is that? How much money did you make?” 

This was humiliating, and yet something about the situation warranted sharing. He should want this to die a secret, but there’s a certain catharsis in discussing it. Without moving his eyes to meet Ashiya’s, he finally answered, “Apparently people like seeing me sneeze.”

“There are people who enjoy—”

“Like, dude, you don’t understand. They really really like it.’

Ashiya furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth as if he was going to ask him to get off his ass again.

“I don't even understand,” Urushihara added. “Like I made 1,500 yen last stream.”

“What do you mean they really like your—”

“You know how Sasaki Chiho looks at Maou when he does literally anything? Or how Sariel looks at—”

“Please speak no further.” Ashiya sighed and tilted his head. He raised an incredulous eyebrow. “To summarize, people are giving you money because of your incessant sneezing?”

Urushihara nodded.

“And you’re sure Chat is not paying you to cease and desist?” Urushihara opened his laptop and showed Ashiya the comment bold enough to make not just one but two demon generals blush. “No…further evidence requested. Excuse me.” 

Ashiya left the apartment. Perhaps it was all too much for him. Though Urushihara had at least eight thousand years on the guy, Ashiya had always been more old fashioned. Explaining that there in fact other people out there who would spend their free time watching other people play a game rather than playing it themselves had been a headache in itself. It was much easier to let him think he’d been video calling some guy named Chat. 

Urushihara quietly decided he was done streaming for the foreseeable future and ordered another delivery of a few bags of chips and a bottle of iced tea he could easily hide in the closet. He would’ve completely erased all memories of today were it not for what happened when Ashiya returned. 

***

“Dude, what the hell?” Urushihara cried when Ashiya yanked the closet door open once again. He was holding a bouquet of flowers with a sticker with a brightly marked down price. “What the fuck.”

“Do you remember the incident when Miss Sasaki brought his highness lilies?” Ashiya asked. A dark aura spread across the devil’s castle as his eyes zeroed in on the fresh chip bag in his hands. “I see you ordered delivery while I was out.”

“You’re a demon! Why are you trying to pimp me out to the sneeze fetish community?” he whined, fighting against Ashiya’s grasp on the door. 

“You call Chat this instant! It’s time you started contributing financially!” 

This was a mistake. All of it. Urushihara’s eyes were already starting to water from the putrid scent of the flowers Ashiya was continuing to wave in his face. 

“It’s time you learned the value of money. His majesty slaves over a hot grill all day, serving the people of Sasazuka, and he does not do it so you can waste all his—”

Speak of the devil. Maou entered the apartment. Surely he’d stop this human rights violation. 

“Dude, help!” Urushihara called out. 

Maou looked between his two demon generals, one holding lilies up to the other one's face as he shrunk back into the closet.

“Did Chi send those?” he asked obliviously.

“Ashiya is trying to pimp me out to strangers online!”

“He is exaggerating!”

Maou’s posture sagged. “What’s really happening?”

“Welcome home. As it happens, my liege, though his phrasing is crude, it is not far from the truth.” Ashiya moved a step back from the closet and faced Maou. He briefly explained the situation to Maou while Urushihara tried not to sneeze. It was becoming more difficult by the second. He brushed a few bright yellow flecks off of his shirt as Ashiya explained Chat’s sadistic tendencies.

“Okay, that…” Maou sighed and shot Urushihara a sympathetic glance. Hail Satan. “I get that we need the money, but—”

“He spent a day’s wages on Sims expansion packs.” Ashiya handed him a folded receipt from his pocket. 

Fuck.

“You’d better fuckin call Chat!” Maou hissed, pointing at him. “You think I’m made of yen?? I was saving to take Alas Ramus to the movies damnit!”

Urushihara sighed and opened the streaming app. He had indeed acquired another fifty followers since his last stream. 

“Dude, pleaseeee—”

“Let’s go, tech squad. How much yen can you make in one stream?”

“My record is uh…”

“2,000 yen, sire. I’ll bet with these he can double it.’

“Don’t come out until you’ve made at least 2,000,” Maou sighed. 

“Hi and welcome back to my channel. How are we doin’, chat?” He glanced up at the two demons standing over him and accepted the bouquet from Ashiya. He didn’t even have to take a whiff for the onslaught to continue. The scent alone was enough to drive his nose crazy. He couldn’t keep from scrunching it and sniffling, though each sniffle would bring in more of the sickly sweet odor. “So I got some of the expansion packs y’all rec…recommended. How about I make the, uh…cat—wait, I’mgonnasnNDSChhh’iuhh! H’KSChh’ieeh!”

Maou handed him a tissue pack, glare still intact. 

“We had a cat once. I was really allergic to it.” Urushihara blew his nose into a one-ply tissue before continuing. “No, that’s not why I’mb sneezing now. ‘Mb allergic to a lotta stuff apparently. Anyway…hahhhkSHhh’iew! Anyway, thangks for the gift, uh, Dustyboi…”

Save me, Dustyboi.

“Mby roombate can really stretch out 500 yen, y’kndow. Thanks, s-sakurabl-...hehYSHhh’iehh! Ihhpshh! Tschh! heh’ESCHhh’yew!”

Ashiya had moved on and went on to make dinner in the background. Maou sat in front of the TV with the volume on zero but with the captions on, though he seemed far more interested in Urushihara’s performance. 

Urushihara blew his nose again, knowing he’d have about a minute before he’d have to blow his nose again.. “Sorry guys, I’mb ndot gonnda be…able to…hh…st-stop sneezi’gg. Hehh’KSHhh’iehh! Mby roombate got flowers that I’mb allergic to. Yeah it’s that…it’s that bad. Anyway, here’s Silverfish the cat. We’re gonnda—H’ESCHhh’iew!—add himb ind…”  

Urushihara finalized the Devil’s Castle on the Sims and sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Yeah, Ashiya’s throwi’d himbself at Maou again. Just like in real life…”

“What did you say, you creatin?” Ashiya yelled from the kitchen which was, of course, part of the same room they were all in.

“Yeah they’re both hombe,” Urushihara said into the mic casually before losing control of the sneeze he’d managed to keep back for almost a full minute. “h’ESHhhu! Fugk…Ugh, thank you for the gifts. Mbaybe I cand afford better tissues now.” 

“Oh no, he has to pay off his debt first. Otherwise he’ll have to sell some of this streaming equipment,” Maou called from the living room portion of the room.

That did it. If Maou understood one thing about this world, it was appealing to the consumer. 

“Thangks for all the gifts, guys. Wow. Three-thousand yen!” Urushihara coughed and sniffled again. “Btw guys, I’m gudda be uploadi’gg a recordi’gg of this streab to mby chandel and all future streams. I’mb gudda…sndeeze…ah-agaid…Ehhshhh!-KShhh’ih! H’KSHhh’iew!”

He muddled through another twenty minutes of gameplay before people started expressing genuine concern in the comments. Suddenly there were about ten people regularly writing “bless you,” and “are you okay?” in the chat along with others calling him “poor thing.”

“H’KShhhieh! It’s okay, I’mb used to it. This is—hah…ieSCHhh’iew! KSHhhh! dothi’gg cobbared to whed we had the cadt I swear.”

In the background, Ashiya began setting the kotatsu for dinner. Somehow between the horny viewers and the sympathetic ones, he’d made five-thousand yen. 

“Okay…sorry guys. I godtta go. I’ll…I’ll be back tomborrow.” He gave a peace sign which he knew was ironic coming from him, but nobody needed to know that. 

“Five-k yen is gonna drop tonight, okay?” He then walked the bouquet to the trash can. Ashiya got up and stood in his way. 

“Save this one for tomorrow. He pulled a single lily out and left it on the table.” 

“Doesn't it suck busting your ass to make money only for someone else to spend it?” Maou asked with a smirk, crumbs sticking to the inner corners of his lips. 

Urushihara shrugged and went to wash his swollen face in the bathroom knowing that eventually the video of the stream would surely gain some income and exposure too. Next he’d report the accounts stealing his clips and make his own video compilations. And then nothing will come between him and owning his very own Switch. 

#snz #snzblr #sneeze kink #snz fic #sneeze fic #tdia//pt #i love luci #my writing #my fic

[soft-teddybear]

ateez - gifts they’ll give their s/o

genre: fluff

cw: none that I’m aware

summary: Christmas special! What would ateez give to their s/o as a christmas present and why.

disclaimer: this is a work of fiction made for entertainment and from my point of view of the members.

members under the cut.

seonghwa: thootless plushie.

he wanted to give you something to keep you company while he went away for his activities, but he wanted to be original and after thinking about it for long he finally got it: a toothless plushie with recording of his voice saying different things like i love you, stay safe, take care. seonghwa also made sure that the button was har to get while cuddling so it won’t scare you at nights if you press it by accident, he also got matching scarfs for the three of you so it could be part of your family.

hongjoong: personalised bag.

he would buy a bag of your favourite color and decorate it using things you loved: lyrics from your favourite songs, meaning full dates or things that remind you of special occasions or events in your life, everything to make it more you. for someone that didn’t know you most of i wouldn’t make sense, but you knew the meaning behaving everything and were surprised hongjoong knew you so well. the big was a big art piece of everything that represented and made your personality and it included things that hongjoong loved about you.

yunho: favourite drink gift card.

call it coffee, boba, regular tea, yunho know what you love to drink and that you drink it lots, so he thought of a gift card, but a normal one was boring so he went big. yunho got a membership card and added money to it, the equivalent of a drink for each week of the year, that way he could “invite” you for a drink even when he was away or busy whit his schedule. that isn’t stoping him from paying your drink every time you go out, no, he still pays saying that this way the gift could last longer.

yeosang: gaming set.

most specific a keyboard and headphones, you liked to play online video games with him when you couldn’t see each other, it was like a long distance date but your sent wasn’t the best and it caused problems. so yeosang helped you build your own gaming set by giving you part of it, on your favourite colours of course. that wasn’t the only reason thought, he wanted you to have a set that would also motivate you to do your school work and study and he loved your company while gaming so it was a win-win situation, a gift for the both of you.

san: matching jewellery.

he wanted to give you something to remind you of him even when he was away on tour or really busy to meet you, and he also wanted it to be discrete so he could use it on his daily life with out getting too much attention so a matching set of a necklace and a bracelet was. they has each other’s birth stone, so you’ll have san’s and san has yours, it was an expensive gift but he really didn’t cared because he wanted to feel you close and four you to feel the same but in a more discrete and fashionable way.

mingi: big coat.

it was an inner joke, you always steals his hoodies, jackets and coats because you “were cold” but in reality you just wanted to be hugged by his warm clothing full of his smell, so he bought you a big coat that matched most of your clothing, with a little extra gift inside a pocket: a bottle of his perfume. that way you could ad it to the coat or any other thing you wish that smelled like mingi. he made sure you knew you could still take his clothing but that he wanted to help you build your own style and maybe keep most of his coats to himself in the process.

wooyoung: photo album.

printed and decorated lots of pics of his favourite memories with you, all of them takes by him, the album was almost full of beautiful memories and had some empty spaces for you to fill them with your favourite. the decoration was so pretty too, some doodles, stickers, quotes and detailed that brought even more life to the images, they were really amazing and you almost cried while looking at it, because it was almost full because both wooyoung and you loved every single time you spend together, ben if it’s not really planed.

jongho: big teddy bear.

went extra because it’s dressed and smells like him. once you told him that you missed his cuddles, you were particularly needy that day so the statement came out dramatic, but jongho took note so when Christmas was near and he looked out for a teddy bear big enough to wear human clothing and bought him an outfit soft enough to cuddle with, he then spend lost of nights cuddling with the plushie and adding his perfume so it’ll smell just like him on the day he’ll give it to you. said day came and you cried a bit when you opened it because it was the most perfect gift.

n/a: Rosie Christmas gift, sorry if it’s a mess but i had to rewrite the whole thing besucase i lost the original and i was sad. thank you for supporting my work this year, it was really one of the highlight and it makes me really happy.

#rosie writes #ateez au #ateez #ateez x reader #ateez scenarios #ateez mingi #ateez fanfic #ateez yeosang #ateez san #ateez imagines #ateez wooyoung #ateez fluff #ateez hongjoong #ateez seonghwa #ateez yunho #ateez jongho #ateez headcanons #kpop imagines #kpop fic #kpop fluff #kpop fanfic #kpop scenarios

[solomiracle]

when i think of them, i think of...

inspired by this post by @shoccolatine, check it out!

LUCIFER

his smile — whether seductive, sadistic or genuine

reds, blacks/greys/whites, golds

his study — the skull on the wall, fireplace, the red velvet chair | you reading by the fireplace, enjoying the quiet crackling sounds as he works

his demon form — the red gloves, the horns, the wings, the peacock feather details on his clothes, the diamond on his forehead

his fur lined coat, his gloves, his tie

his eyes, specifically the reds at the bottom

apples, poison, fangs, blood

ghosts, grief, loss | him petting a sleeping cerberus as he sits by lilith's statue. he's silent, not wishing to disturb her

how much he loves his family — how he's willing to be a villain to anyone he feels may harm them, from you to his own father

cosmic and body horror, upside-down crosses, eyes, destroyed psyches, crackling, warped reality, the sound of bones snapping

the skeleton in his room

records, wine, comfortable silence, quiet nights

MAMMON

him laughing as he and you drive in a getaway car

his laugh, his smile, his sunglasses, his jacket

that little pose he does where his hand kinda covers his lips, usually done when he's feeling confident

his silliness — the dumb excuses for doing (or not doing) something, his even dumber schemes, running/hiding from lucifer, his tsundere-ness, how he says "yikes!"

gift boxes, jewelery, gold, silver, money (coins and paper)

casinos, the word "jackpot", poker, slot machines, cards, dealers

the casino fight scene in black panther, specifically the part where claw's hand thing shoots the cabinet and the money flies everywhere

his wings

his familiars | him petting and praising them for doing a good job, like catching stray grimm or reporting important info

him punishing people who don't pay back their debts — they find themselves in an empty street, fog rising and crows soon surrounding them

how much he respects lucifer, how he followed him into hell without question

how despite all the fighting and dumb stuff that he does with his family, he still values his role as a big brother

LEVIATHAN

this card (the pre-devil's flower)

him at his pc, laser-focused in on a game. he's glaring at the screen, fangs bared, determined to win

his room — the bathtub, the jellyfish, the aquarium, the figures, henry 2.0 in his little fish bowl

headphones, game controllers and consoles, screens, neon colors (greens, blues, purples), keyboards

anime, magical girls, figures, sparkles

his loud ass OOOOHHHHHHHHHWWOOOOOOOOAHHHHH voice line

his tsundere-ness and shyness, how he gets flustered so easily, how cute he is when he blushes, your love and affection for him being "too high level"

how he seems to have a soft spot for the twins

his demon form — the tail, the diamond pattern along his neck, his weird zipper jacket thing, his horns | (a fic i read where the author described his horns as antlers, and they headcanon-ed that they shed every season)

fish, colorful coral reefs, bright blue seas, bubbles, beaches, snakes

deep dark oceans, octopus/giant squids, sea monsters, ships, the navy, admiral uniforms, lotan

SATAN

orange cats, piano music, books, libraries, coffeeshops, soft greens and browns

him sitting in a greenhouse. sunlight filters through the glass walls and plethora of green plants. he's smiling as he reads a book, an orange cat sleeping in his lap

his professionalism — he has many connections, and he prides himself on his intelligence. "people respect someone who's well-informed."

how he's a gentleman, almost like a fairy tale prince

love and lovesickness | him writing love letters and poetry for you, a giant smile on his face as he comes up with the most beautiful words to describe you

him becoming incapable of reading love stories when you're away, for all he can think about is you while reading them. his fingers delicately trace the spines of his many romance books, but he refuses to open them. just the thought of doing so is too much to bear

his room — the beauitful shade of purple, the window, the books, the candles

fire, chaos, destruction, broken buildings and bones, screaming, rage, fangs

his eyes, a beautiful green

his demon form — the feather boa, the horns, the ribbon ribcage design on his shirt

the things that make him stand out compared to his brothers, compared to everyone — his symbolic animal is a unicorn (the only fantasy animal), his black eye shine, his butler outfit is the only one with three patches on the sleeves

his pose — one hand on his hip and the other on his chest, just like lucifer...

ASMODEUS

pinks, yellows, oranges, and more pinks

his cute smile and giggle

his demon form — the bat wings, the gradient horns, the bleeding hearts on his arm, the asymmetrical legs | (the redesigns i've seen from people where they include a scorpion tail)

scorpions, sand, heat, blood, bloodlust, hearts, gore, passion, obsession, love

diaries, glitter gel, sparkles, cute nicknames

spotlights, music, singing, stages, partying, drinking, clubs, sex

bunnies, strawberries, fluffy and fuzzy textures, fangs

his eyes | (the fics i've read where the author describes their color as champagne)

him lying in bed on his stomach, fresh out of the shower in a cute robe, slippers, and headband. he's writing in his diary, kicking his legs, smiling as he thinks about you

lipstick, blush, makeup, nail polish, influencers, devilgram, livestreams

(red) hearts, both the symbol and the organ

his positive energy — his ability to light up a room, how he wants everyone to join in and have fun, asmo nights, how he sees the beauty in everyone

how much he cares for his family — he painted their nails so everyone would know them as brothers, how he's determined to make sure satan feels included

his insecurities — he ties himself to his image and appearance, to the point that when you were the first to compliment his personality alone and not just his looks, he was surprised

how he acts like a helpless damsel in distress while also being the most viscous character

that scene in season one, where he said that if you were thinking about belphie while with him, he would rip your heart out | (it made my heart beat faster, but not out of fear)

BEELZEBUB

reds, oranges, yellows

the sun, bright blue cloudless skies

him being the cause of plagues and famines. a scene of him summoning swarms of locusts to gorge on crop fields, leaving nothing left, still unsatisfied

wheat and corn fields, apple orchards

his wings | (i saw someone describe them as fairy wings)

dense, mossy, and enchanted forests. twisting trees and twinkling fairies, mushrooms and flowers growing everywhere

bugs — bees, butterflies, flies, grasshoppers, beetles, locusts

bears, squirrels, lions, grass, honey, fluffiness, cuddling

his smile, how adorable his blush is

calling him beautiful or sweet, watching him blush in embarrassment. a big, ravenous demon turning into mush after being complimented by a human

how he loves his family more than anything — his extreme survivor's guilt over lilith, how he said he would die for lucifer, how he became enraged and even attacked lucifer once the truth about belphie's whereabouts were revealed

even with how he's a big brother to belphie, they're still twins, making him the youngest of the brothers as well — he has his own bratty behaviors, throwing tantrums, being a karen at restaurants, stealing food from levi every morning. he's the biggest brother, but he's still another baby of the family

his hair

his jacket and shirt | (they both look very comfy, and i would love to wear them)

hunger — hell's kitchen, banquets, expensive meat, clusters of grapes, plates, forks and knives

fangs, tongues, gore, cannibalism

BELPHEGOR

dark purples and blues, blacks, white accents

space — starry night skies, the moon, constellations

sleep, teddy bears, pillows, blankets, dreams, illusions, ghosts, nightmares, fear

the cow jumped over the moon nursery rhyme

cow print — it's on his pillow, his demon form's jacket, and his swimwear jacket too

his horns, which are similar to that of a dorset horn sheep

him looking down at sheep mc's bell in his hands, a solemn look in his eye. maybe mc's in the human world, or maybe it's been years after their death

regret and grief — not being able to save lilith, his love for humans turning to hatred, his fight with lucifer, the attic, lesson 16

how he and lucifer were said to be close before the attic...

beel, lilith, and love — he doesn't blame beel for saving him, and called beel an idiot for believing otherwise. he learned about the circus in the human world, and pretended to be a ringmaster while trapped in the attic. he let lucifer get rid of lilith's room, and said goodbye to her

his sarcastic and bratty little shit-ness — his "innocent" bitchass smile, his giggle, how he embodies the youngest sibling and baby of the family, the anti-lucifer league

a fanart i saw of him in his TSL outfit, the description being "the princess is locked in the tower for a reason..."

#from me #obey me #brothers #rambles #ensemble x mc

[extrastranszanepropaganda]

OK SO APH/ZANE/AARON IS THE POLYCULE EVER AND YOU CAN'T CHANGE MY MIND

I have a little MyStreet rewrite cooking in my head that’s got this pretty prominently so yeah! Anyways have some HCs!!!

Aaron

Acts like he’ll kill you, is actually a cinnamon roll

People thinks he’s smart, but it’s just because he’s really quiet

He’s actually really fucking dumb /affectionate

Has a very weezy laugh

He/she/they, though most people use he

(Considering having him FTM He/Him but I can’t decide)

Didn’t really know much about gender and sexuality and stuff instill his sister came out as lesbian and she gave him a crash course

Used to struggle with internalized homophobia thanks to her dad being an ass but is now very comfortable in his own skin

Love language is physical touch and is chronically touch deprived, especially due to their years of isolation (just like me fr)

Intimidating when you first meet him, but I can guarantee you he’s secretly shitting his pants out of fear

A.K.A Social Anxiety Prime

RBF

Is such a worry wart, especially towards Zane and Aphmau

Used to have consistent nightmares, but ever since sharing a bed with Zane and Aphmau, they’ve pretty much stopped

On top of physical touch, he likes to do small acts of service

If either of his partners have a nightmare, she holds them through it and wakes up early the next day so that way they wake up to hot cocoa with cinnamon and a splash of vanilla extract

His favorite food is anything with Cinnamon!

Aphmau

Acts like a cinnamon roll, will actually kill you

“Excuse me they asked for no pickles”

A plus sized queen!

She/Her but prefers masculine descriptors i.e. sir, Mr, boyfriend (looks pointedly at her being called the lord of phoenix drop rather than the lady)

Is super sweet and helpful unless you tick her off or mess with friends, at that point, may God bless your soul

Love language is acts of service and gift giving!!

This is super evident in MCD and it peaks through in Mystreet as well! So that definitely stays

Has a tendency to give too much and burn herself out

Anytime she finds a cool rock she has to keep it

Her giving you a rock is a big deal! It means she cares a lot, enough to give it away

Due to growing up poor she has a tendency to stock up on non perishable food and stress if they don’t have enough

Definitely had a crush on Katelyn when they were younger, it passed with time though

Is really smart common sense wise, really into logic puzzles and stuff

She knows everything. Your secret? I think you mean our secret.

Less so with book smarts but give her time and let her put what she needs to know in song form and she’s got it

ADHD

How does she learn these secrets? Well that’s between her and God

Her favorite food is Mangos and Mochi anything!

And last but certainly not least, Zane!

Looks like he’ll kill you, and depending on the day, he’ll either kill you or actually be a cinnamon roll

Was raised with ye old fashioned toxic masculinity drilled into his head by Garte leaving him really insecure about his gender and gender expression

Around college, he started coming more into his own and wearing makeup out and about (all of this up to now is p much cannon btw)

The divergence come when he also starts experimenting in other ways to like sometimes wearing skirts and the occasional dress

It still takes years for them to stop bringing an extra pair of more masculine clothes with him in case he gets too stressed or sees someone in public

They/He but doesn’t mind the occasional she

Asexual

While he really loves the colors pastel pink and purple, he still mainly wears black with those as accents

Has a backpack/bag they take EVERYWHERE

Going out? Take the bag. Going on a trip? Take the bag. Leaving the room? Take the bag.

Mans could survive the apocalypse with all the stuff he keeps in there. I’m taking sewing thread and needles, bandaids, Neosporin, fidget, toys, stuff, to doodle with, a book for when he gets bored, headphones, etc.

Has Autism

MLP Special Interest

Has emotional support Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle figurines in their bag (they remind him of Aaron and Aphmau respectively)

Mainly does vocal Stims but is not immune to hand flap propaganda

Sensory adverse (that’s what the point of the mask usually is)

Loves his mom very much, even if she can be a bit loud

Daddy issues, him and Aaron bond over this

His love language is quality time and gift giving (they regularly steal one of their father’s credit cards) (Garte has barely noticed)

Is the type to quietly sit beside or across from one of his partners when their stressed, maybe give them one of his hands and be a quiet comfort as he scrolls on the Internet, showing them cat videos/my little pony art

That or be like “You’re sad” throw a change of clothes at them and say “Get up we’re going to Olive Garden, don’t worry I’m paying”

Notices when his friends/partners look at something too long and you can bet your bippy that you’ll be receiving that during your next birthday/Christmas or maybe just tomorrow if he can’t wait

Honestly very book smart, he just doesn’t mention it

Has a PHD, though no one but Aphmau knows of what, the whole friend group have a betting pool on what it is and who will find out first (Aphmau didn’t count, she knows everything)

Loves hyperpop

Favorite Food is the pink Monster Energy Drink, dw that that’s not actually food

#aphmau #aphblr #aphblur #Zane #zane ro'meave #zane aphmau #Aaron #aaron lycan #aaron aphmau #aphmau au #mystreet #my aus

[slashersteve]

iii. winter

part three of confetti ✦ previous part ✦ series masterlist ✦ archive link

pairing: Single Dad!Steve Harrington/Female Reader

summary: As Hawkins enters the winter months, Steve starts thinking seriously about his romantic relationships - past and potential future ones - and isn’t sure he’s ready to let someone become a serious part of his and Cassie’s life. The problem is…he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about you.

warnings/extra tags: cursing, mentions of alcohol, the softest vanilla SMUT I’ve ever written like it's pretty vague but still enough to be considered nsfw so read at your own discretion, surprise character appearances, a parent trap alskjaskja, angsty tm so beware, daddy steve being my (your) beloved, go give @gothbitchshit a bouquet of flowers for dealing with me and these ridiculously long chapters, edited by me have mercy this chapter has been the beautiful bane of my existence

note: i publicly apologize for this being posted well into spring. Not to be a basic author note but *insert the horrors and atrocities right here* i also apologize in advance for something else in the end...anyway, I hope you all enjoy this extra long chapter of single daddy steve 💙

✦✦✦

Cassie loved the mall. 

She really just enjoyed the vibrant colors of it as it was the complete opposite color scheme of Hawkins itself. It was bright, and always full, and lively, especially when Christmas was just around the corner. If Cassie were being honest though, she would say she enjoyed going to Starcourt because her dad would get her ice cream every time, even on a day like this where snow covered the ground outside.

Also, it meant she could get the full day to be with her dad, even if he was busy behind the ice cream counter in his silly sailor uniform, complete with the white hat that read “AHOY” across the front that he’d somehow stuff his hair under. 

Cassie was given a matching one, but it sat on the table top of the booth she was currently sitting in, headphones placed over her head instead. She was nodding her head to the music, kicking her feet out to its funky beat. She hadn’t quite memorized the songs by title, rather by sound but she liked this one the most; really she liked all of them. 

It had all she had been listening to since Steve had given her your walkman you gifted her, and Cassie had been waiting on another mixtape from you (she had practically begged you when she last saw you last week, which was at a school presentation for school safety, she remembers…she also remembers looking over and seeing her dad pushing people just to stand by you).

In front of her was her over break homework packet, her math homework to be specific. Cassie prided herself in being good at it, having been applauded by her teacher Mrs. Holland numerous times in class. There were hardly any red marks on homework when it was returned to her, too, something her dad was always impressed by when she’d bring it back to him, especially if he hadn't helped her at all, so she wasn’t planning on falling behind. 

She counted away at the images of the apples. This particular section she was working on was on addition and she meticulously counted them all together with her candy cane themed pencil her teacher had passed out to the class the week prior. 

One…two…three…four…  

Twenty-two, there were twenty-two apples. She filled it in on the empty box behind the equal sign. 

The patrons were used to seeing Cassie here on occasion, though every so often somebody who was not from Hawkins and visiting from a neighboring town (as Starcourt was quite popular because of its size), would look at her and wonder why a little girl was sitting all by herself. 

If they asked Cassie, she’d simply point to her dad behind the counter and say, “I’m not alone! My daddy is right here!” Then, Steve would wave at her, and the person would awkwardly walk off. That was the typical Saturday spent at Scoops Ahoy, but today something different would happen, something neither Cassie nor Steve were expecting just a week before Christmas. 

In the middle of Cassie’s music playing, someone had taken off her headphones. She had gasped, feeling her heart jump out of her chest with fear and confusion as to what happened- she hardly got upset, and her streak still stands as the moment she turned to see who had done such a thing, her irritation vanished. 

“Robin!” Cassie shouted at the sight of the sandy blonde haired woman. She smiled widely at Cassie, opening her arms just as the little girl hopped into them, “I didn’t know you were coming!” 

“Long time no see, huh Tiny Harrington?” Robin Buckley had said, embracing Cassie warmly as it had been a while since she last saw her favorite child, “Where’s your dad? Is he- oh come on .” 

Her blue eyes darted to Steve behind the counter, not remembering the last time she’d seen Steve in the ridiculous Scoops Ahoy uniform they had to wear the summer they became unlikely friends. Cassie giggled, taking Robin’s hand in hers and leading her toward the counter. Steve had yet to see them, too focused on making a U.S.S. Butterscotch (complete with some peppermint candy swirls for the Holidays). He hadn't even heard Cassie shout Robin’s name so excitedly. 

Robin looked down at Cassie, placing a finger over her lips then winking at her as she rang the bell by the counter. Cassie giggled, but suppressed it as she didn’t want to alarm her dad.

“Be right with you,” Steve called back to her, and Robin scoffed and rang it again…then again…and then again. Steve’s shoulder’s visibly became tense, and he let out an exasperated sigh before he started to turn around. 

“Alright, alright what can I-” he stopped when his eyes fell upon Robin, and she smirked at him, “Oh my god, you didn’t tell me you were coming, Robin? Holy shit-” 

“I wanted it to be a surprise- and it certainly is, ” Robin gestured to Steve and then the entire place as she said, “You’re working here ? I thought you said you got a third job last time we spoke.” 

Steve’s cheeks became flushed, embarrassed that Robin had caught him red handed like this. The truth was that Steve was actually hiding this job from Robin, keeping his third job he mentioned in passing to her whenever they spoke over the phone very vaguely . 

“Daddy started working here in the summer,” Cassie stated, outing Steve even more and Robin’s jaw dropped, “I like it because I get free ice cream! He can get you free ice cream too, you know!” 

Robin looked at Cassie and ruffled her hair, “I spent way too much time in this place, I’ll pass on the ice cream, so hey…that just means more ice cream for you.” 

Cassie looked confused, but with Robin’s final statement she grew more content and nodded eagerly at the idea of more ice cream. 

“So all summer you’ve been working here, slinging ice cream- wearing the hat - you hated that hat,” Robin said, gesturing to him. Steve licked his suddenly dry lips, and turned away from Robin to finish completing the U.S.S. Butterscotch sundae as he said, “I needed a third job, and the manager remembered me…” 

“No way. I thought he might have you on the ‘Never Working Here Again’ list after the summer you well- we got fired,” Robin chided, and Steve laughed sarcastically as he turned and placed the sundae down, calling out the name of the patron. They took it, a few younger girls, and thanked him shyly before running off giggling. Robin scoffed at that, and Steve appeared to not even notice they were clearly crushing on the sailor who worked at Scoops Ahoy.

“Yeah…actually I had to bring Cassie up and he decided to give me the job when I proved she existed…hence why I’m wearing the hat and following…stupid company policy to keep the damn- ahem- dang job,” Steve finally replied, admitting that part to Robin. Robin crossed her arms, knowing that to be true as she had told Steve he could probably bring up that he’s a single dad and get away with anything. 

“Well, I’m not judging,” Robin lied, and Steve knew it, “You just could’ve been honest about it.” 

She wondered what other things he had been keeping from her…

“How did you find me anyway?” Steve questioned, glancing down at Cassie who was gazing up at Robin with wonder and disbelief in her eyes that Robin was here. It made him smile softly before his eyes lifted back up to meet Robin’s.

“Are you kidding me…ask any mom at the grocery store and I can get your entire schedule,” Robin said. She laughed at Steve’s horrified expression at the idea of that and waved him off as she said, “Joking. I asked Mrs. K and she said to check Scoops Ahoy. And here you are…she just didn’t say you would be working here.” 

She looked around, feeling nostalgia come over her from the memories in this mall ice cream parlor. She remembered the dread of being put on shifts with Steve Harrington, once King of Hawkins High and all around asshole, and then…she remembered the warmer parts, ones where they actually became friends and she started to actually have fun working and talking with him. He was very different than she thought he would be, and if someone had told her that first day she put on the silly sailor uniform and prayed a meteor would hit and kill her before her first shift with Steve that she’d consider him her best friend in the future…she would’ve laughed then cried into her hands dramatically.

“Robin, Robin,” Cassie was grabbing her hand, “How long are you going to stay? Please say for like… months .” 

Robin smiled at Cassie and replied, “Sorry kiddo, I’m only here for a few days because I’ll start to miss my other favorite person, but before you get sad- I have a lot of things planned for us, including finding you an early Christmas gift. What do you say? Want to go check out some stores while your dad slings ice cream into cones?” 

Her brown eyes lit up, and she turned to her dad as she said, “Can I go with Robin, daddy?” 

Steve crossed his arms over his chest, and said, “Did you finish your homework?” 

Robin rolled her eyes for Cassie, but she had practically ran to the booth, and snatched the paper off of the table before running back and waving it in the air. Steve took it, giving it a once over, before he nodded. 

“Yeah, go ahead- make sure you stay with Robin though, Cass, you know how crazy Christmas shoppers could be,” he told Cassie with a pointed look, Cassie nodded again. 

“I will, I promise!” 

“You know I’d never let anything happen to her, Popeye,” Robin said, bringing back the infamous nickname from their Scoops Ahoy days. Steve visibly grimaced at being called that, but he nodded, knowing that out of everyone he could trust Robin with his daughter. 

“Great, then we’ll come back, we’ll all go out to eat- hopefully you have a change of outfit- then we’ll catch up, yeah?” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Steve replied with a nod. 

So, the two girls were off, Cassie holding on tightly to Robin’s hand and already talking her ear off (though Robin could give her a run for her money for sure) as they exited Scoops Ahoy together and entered the crowd of Starcourt Mall in search of a Christmas gift for Cassie. 

✧ ✧ ✧

Cassie had dragged Robin to a lot of stores in the span of an hour and half, so much that Robin’s feet were already killing her, but she held on for Cassie as she seemed very particular on what she wanted…except the little girl wasn’t really saying what it was exactly. 

“You clearly want something specific, Tiny, so come on- spit it out,” Robin told Cassie after the fifth store they came out with nothing. She didn’t want to rush her, actually loving spending this time with Cassie as it had been since the beginning of the year she had enough time to make the trip down here from New York. 

It was unusual for Cassie to not say what was on her mind, so whatever it was…Robin was insanely curious. 

“Is it something your dad won’t approve of?” Robin gasped when Cassie didn’t reply right away, “Oh- well now you gotta tell me.What is it?”

Cassie looked up at Robin with wide eyes as she said, “I want… roller skates , but I can’t skate and I’m scared that Santa knows that so he won’t get me them, but I really want them.” 

Robin did not expect that. Not at all. She stared at the little girl blankly, and for some reason the only use of roller skates she could think of was one of those outdoor hamburger places where the service workers wear skates. Do they do that still? Robin shook her head at her thought. 

“So you didn’t ask Santa for them because you thought he probably wouldn’t give you them because you can’t skate?” Robin asked for further clarification. Cassie nodded, looking actually sad about it. Robin hummed in thought, looking around Starcourt, trying to remember a store here that sold roller skates for kids before she settled her eyes on Cassie, “Well thank god I’m not Santa. Let’s go find you some, Tiny.” 

Cassie was actually the one to drag Robin to the store, very clearly having had her eye on some already. She was the one dragging Robin now, up until they got to this sport’s store Robin doesn’t remember ever being here. Cassie led her toward the roller skates, saying hello to the worker who greeted them when they walked in, and then she stopped in front of a mini display. 

They were purple skates with yellow flower designs on them and the wheels were a darker shade of purple. Very clearly they were training skates for kids like Cassie who want to learn. And, Robin noticed, they were also on sale , which is very, very common around the holidays and good for Robin. 

“Oh wow these are cute,” Robin complimented them and Cassie nodded excitedly.

“I saw them when my daddy brought us here to buy more shoes!” Cassie told Robin, “I really, really want them.” She pressed her hands against the display, and just then the same worker who had greeted them was approaching them. 

“Is there anything I can help you with?” they had asked Robin. She looked at them, then pointed to the skates, telling Cassie to give them her shoe size. The worker nodded, saying they’d be right back and for Cassie to take a seat. 

She did as told, hopping onto one of the chairs and Robin leaned on one leg, wondering where Cassie might’ve found a sudden interest in roller skating. It can’t have been Steve, both him and her were horrible at ice skating that one year when Cassie was only 4 they decided to go to the ice rink set up in Hawkins Downtown for the winter. And he seemed way too busy to have suddenly learned how to skate properly…

“So…roller skates huh? Why the sudden interest? Your dad’s not skating again right? Because he’s horrible at it,” Robin said just as the worker returned with the proper sized skates. Robin shooed them away, deciding that she would help Cassie get them on herself. She knelt down in front of the girl as Cassie kicked her snow boots off, revealing candy cane themed socks. 

Cassie laughed at Robin’s jab at her dad before she said, “No, it’s his friend.” 

As Robin got the first skate on she shot Cassie a questionable look, “Friend? Your dad’s only friend is me .” 

Cassie nodded though, and then she said a name, your name, that Robin has never heard before in her life, at least out of Steve’s mouth. 

“She’s very nice! And I know that if I have these then she’ll teach me how to skate, she told me she used to skate all the time when she was little,” Cassie started to boast, a wide smile growing on her lips, eagerly talking about you . 

All Robin could do though was stare at Cassie with a bewildered look as she thought she? A woman? Steve’s friends with a woman?  

“Woah woah woah, wait- she’s your dad’s friend ?” 

Cassie hummed, “Mmhm, I really like her…and my daddy does too… a lot .”

She supposed that Steve was hiding a lot more from her than she thought, starting with him working at Scoops Ahoy again, and a mysterious woman Cassie claims he likes, in his daughter’s own words, a lot . Robin helped her get the other skate on, navigating in her mind this new information but deciding that she should get as much information as possible from Cassie before she definitely confronts Steve about it later. 

“A mysterious lady your dad likes… interesting …tell me more about her, my tiny friend. What is she like? How do you know your dad likes her a lot? What have you seen ?” 

Cassie stared at her, hanging onto every question before she looked away in thought, even placing her hand into her chin before she started to first tell Robin how nice you were, how she would give you carrots for lunch because she didn’t want them, she told her how you went apple picking with them and how you got Steve to actually bake (which shocked Robin very much), and how you even taught her to bake as well. 

She boasted on and on about you, before ending it on spending Thanksgiving together (something that made Robin’s jaw promptly drop in complete surprise), and telling her about your gift, gesturing to the walkman headphones that rested on her neck.

“Holy shit,” Robin said, pleasantly surprised by all this information, and kind of miffed that Steve hadn’t told her anything. She couldn’t even find it in herself to censor herself as her thoughts ran rampant. 

She knew Steve, before Cassie, before Cassie’s mom , and she knew him after as well…the possibility of him letting anyone in his life like this, so far as inviting them to a family dinner, seemed quite impossible…and well…at least she knew exactly what the main topic of discussion was going to be after Cassie goes to bed tonight…

Robin turned her attention back onto the skates Cassie was currently wearing, setting aside her intentions with Steve for now, and she stood up, and held her hands out. Cassie took them, and Robin could feel them shaking underneath his grasp. 

In fact, her legs were shaking too, like a newborn deer or something and it even made Robin nervous because she did not have good balance. She wondered if Cassie could ever want to learn how to skate…how you , and every other roller skater did it too. 

“I don’t know about this Cassie…” Robin admitted to her, but Cassie clenched her jaw and shook her head. 

“No…no I want them,” she stated, forcing herself to become more confident, “She will teach me if I have them…and then I’ll get good at it and maybe I can teach my daddy too how to skate.” 

The thought made Robin laugh, and she stepped backwards, Cassie rolling along with her, and almost falling forward and falling on her face had Robin not been holding her, “Gee…these are definitely not Steve of Approved…but honestly…looks like I have competition here with gift-giving…”

Robin’s eyes moved to the walk-man, before she rolled Cassie back to sit down and said, “Okay, I’ll get them for you…but I’m getting you literally every protection gear this place has to offer so your dad doesn’t have a heart attack.” 

Cassie almost cried with happiness, already kicking them off so they could gather the rest of her gift around the store. 

Afterwards, Robin decided to treat Cassie to a movie, buying her whatever snack she wanted and the largest popcorn as well. She enjoyed every second of it, giddy already because of the skates that were packed away into a shopping bag. 

Then, they returned to Scoops Ahoy just in time for Steve’s shift to come to an end. He had changed his outfit completely, wearing a striped sweater underneath the jacket he was currently zipping up and a pair of jeans. The outfit change made total sense considering the current snowy climate outside. 

Cassie was calling him, running into the ice cream parlor and he was quick to catch her and lift her up into his arms with a wide loving smile on his face. Robin strolled up a few seconds after, and Cassie hopped out of her dad’s arms and started to tell him that her Aunt Robin got her a gift. 

Steve stared at the large bag, and Robin smirked as she set it down on one of the empty tables as Steve said cautiously, “Uh…what did she get you?...What did you get her?” Steve was looking at Robin now almost suspiciously and Cassie climbed onto a chair. 

“Roller skates! She got me roller skates!” 

Steve’s brown eyes widened at Cassie’s answer, and Robin pulled out the box to show him the skates properly. 

“Robin- are you- are you serious?” Steve asked, being sure to not sound or look mad in front of Cassie, especially with how excited she seemed to be about this, but he was just concerned with how safe these things would be, already imagining Cassie falling and crying. The idea simply hurt his chest and filled him with fatherly fear. 

“Sure am,” Robin said, slapping the side of the roller skates like a brand new car, “Don’t worry, Popeye, I bought her the latest of protection gear, if she falls the ground would be more hurt than her.” 

Steve crossed his arms, still baffled by the gift. 

“Besides, I need to make sure I remain Cassie’s favorite aunt by coming to town once in a while and getting her whatever she wants,” Robin added, smiling at Cassie who was still beaming about the skates. 

Steve shook his head, amused by Robin’s statement and then he said, “I’m still not…I don’t know, I didn’t even know you wanted roller skates Cass.”

Cassie seemed to finally sense her dad’s hesitation, and she quickly turned to him and claimed that she would be careful, and that you could teach her. 

At the mention of your name, Steve felt the air in his chest release softly and his cheeks had grown quite warm, wondering how it didn’t occur to him that you were the reason for her newfound interest in this. It almost made him smile widely, but he settled on a small one that was barely visible. 

It was visible enough for Robin though who had made sure to look at Steve when Cassie mentioned you. She saw his flushed cheeks, his sudden hesitation all but vanishing in mere seconds. And then Steve settled his eyes back on the skates then at Cassie before he started to nod. 

“Alright, yeah, that’s true…she’s gonna love that you got a pair,” Steve said, voice filled with the warmth that matched his cheeks and now his chest. Cassie cheered, then Robin cheered too with Cassie, making Steve’s smile grow and uncross his arms. 

The three had gone out to eat at a diner after they left Starcourt, Cassie ordering belgian waffles for dinner, Robin’s treat again, before they were settling into the Harrington household. It was just a small house, two bedrooms, but the living room was pretty big for a small home. A Christmas tree was set up by the window in the front, lit up with vibrant colors and decorated with ornaments Cassie had made at school. Gifts were already set under the tree, wrapped pretty decently. 

Robin was lounging out the couch, having kicked off her shoes and she was watching Cassie roll around the living room, her head covered by a large purple helmet that matched the color of her skates and pads wrapped around her knees and elbows. 

She was laser focused, holding onto the wall for dear life and looking down with a determined look in her eyes as she rolled forward little by little. Steve was in the kitchen, and Robin could already smell the sweet scent of hot chocolate. 

With the heater kicked on, and the night still young, Steve came out holding two mugs, one for him and one for Robin, Cassie had declined any because she wanted to focus on skating during the hour before she would go to bed. 

So, while Cassie did that (trying not to crash into the tree for example), Steve and Robin decided to catch up. Robin told him about her job, and the new apartment she moved into with Vickie, she told him how Nancy and Jonathan were doing, and some fun anecdotes she knew Steve would get a good laugh at. 

Steve told her a few things, starting with the obvious that he was working at Scoops Ahoy again which made Robin tease him about it again. 

“Hey, like I said, I needed a third job, and he agreed to give me a set schedule, weekends only,” Steve told Robin as he leaned back on the couch. 

“No, no I totally get it, I just think it’s funny that you willingly put that uniform on again, you hated it more than I did,” Robin said, bending her leg against her chest and resting her chin on her knee as she laughed. 

“Yeah, but that was when I was fresh out of high school and still cared about my self-image, as a daddy now that wasn’t even a factor,” Steve said, smirking when Robin grimaced at him calling himself daddy . It was fine coming out of Cassie’s mouth, because Steve was her actual dad, but Steve calling himself that? It made her want to gag and Steve knew that. It’s why he said it in the first place. 

“If you’re not Cassie, I don’t want to hear you call yourself daddy,” Robin said, and Steve laughed in response. 

“Speaking of Cassie,” Steve started, turning his head to find her sitting on the floor defeated. He got up, concern crossing over his features for a second as Cassie looked up at him with a frown. She hadn’t fallen, no, they would’ve heard her crash and hit the ground. She was just upset that she wasn’t a master skater already. 

Amusement replaced that concern, and he held his hand out of her take and told her, “Call it a night, yeah? And don’t be so sad, Cass, it’s going to take more than one night of practice.” 

She sighed, and took her dad’s hand and he pulled her back up to her feet, rolling forward and he poked her sides slightly. Cassie giggled, finally smiling before he told her to get ready for bed. She complied, and Steve gave her a gentle push, letting her roll her way down the hall and toward her room. 

Robin got up, stretching her arms out before she decided to help out by taking the now empty mugs to the sink while Steve went with Cassie to help her take the skates and all the gear off. After a few minutes, Cassie came back out to thank Robin for the skates and to give her a big hug before she returned to her room for the night. 

Robin was walking around the living room, eying the various portraits that she hadn’t seen since she was last here. There were a few new ones, like Cassie in a tinkerbell costume in front of Mrs. K’s house next door. Her eyes shifted to the older ones, resting on Cassie when she was just a toddler before moving on to one of Steve and Cassie when she was only just born. 

He was sitting on a lazy-boy, one that used to be in Steve’s old house when he still lived with his parents. Steve was grinning widely, hair greasy and a mess, and he was holding Cassie who was bundled up in a mint green blanket against his chest. He was only 19 at the time, almost 20, and practically still fresh out of high school. Robin remembered when Steve had come to her and told her the news that he was going to be a dad. He was freaking out, and Robin could admit she didn’t help him calm down in the slightest. 

They both had just rambled, Robin shocked by him going to become a parent so young, and what he was going to do and then ranting off ways everything could go wrong and almost making Steve go into cardiac arrest at 19. It was Nancy who promptly calmed Steve down (and thus Robin too).

“Alright, I’m back- what are you doing?” Steve’s voice came from behind Robin, and she turned away from the picture and started to laugh. 

“I was looking at that photo of you and Cass, remember when you told me you were going to be a dad and I kind of sort of freaked out like I was the one about to be a dad or something-” 

Steve scoffed loudly, “ Yeah , you freaked me the hell out, Robin. I was ready to speed off to New York under a new name with all that shit you were saying! Thank god Nance showed up and talked me down.” 

Robin was laughing again, finding it funny now when it wasn’t funny at the time, and Steve started to laugh too as he fell back onto the couch and yawned loudly. Robin frowned, and joined him back on the couch.

“Oh damn, you’re not tired already, right? We have so much more to talk about, ” she said, knowing that she desperately needed to know more about this mysterious woman Cassie claims he likes so much, who got him to bake and joined him on Thanksgiving.

“I’m a daddy, I’m always tired,” Steve told Robin truthfully, to which she gave him a look for calling himself daddy again. He laughed and added, “I don’t really have much else to say-” 

“Oh that’s alright, I have something you can tell me about,” Robin said, cutting him off, “So during our little outing, Tiny Harrington told me something pretty interesting about this very pretty school office worker you seem to really like, care to share anything with the class?” 

Steve snapped his head toward her and he cleared his throat and turned his head back forward and said your name like it was a question. Robin nodded, “Yup, that’s it and you both keep mentioning her…so who is she? Tell me more about her.” 

Robin was now leaning in, needing to know more about this especially from Steve, the guy who hadn’t really been with anyone since Cassie’s mom, well there was one other woman, but she could hardly recall her face or even her name because of how quickly that flame went out. 

Steve pushed his hair out of his face and replied, “She’s just a friend.” 

Now it was Robin’s turn to scoff loudly and she said, “Oh really…do you normally invite friends to have Thanksgiving with your family and the Hendersons? Or to go apple-picking with you?” 

Steve nodded, “Yeah, yeah you can normally invite a friend to things like that.” 

He was very clearly deflecting, and Robin wasn’t buying it, not even when he added, “She’s super nice, really cool…moved here in the summer actually and you know, she doesn’t really have anybody or any family really nearby so I just…you know invited her to join me and Cassie…” 

Robin sighed, slightly disappointed by this and she started to say, “Steve…Steve, Steve, Steve, I know you…you don’t just let people in your life, in Cassie’s life, especially since her mom just up and left. I mean, there was what’s-her-face who you didn’t let her into your life at all which was why the relationship went up in flames in the first place… and now all of a sudden Cassie is telling me about this woman you very clearly like going places with you both and gifting her things…what aren’t you telling me?” 

He tensed up at Robin’s words, seeming to have forgotten that Robin was there for the majority of his life, even though she had promptly brought it up just minutes ago with that memory of him telling her the news. Robin did know Steve, probably more than anybody else in his life. She was there when Cassie’s mom was there, and there when she wasn’t , the aftermath of it all…Steve hated to think about that. He hated it, so he didn’t think about it.

He turned to Robin, who looked more serious now, wanting to know more about you, and wanting Steve to tell her. So he decided he should. 

“We really are just friends,” Steve started with, wanting to make that clear, “I mean…she’s something else , you know? Like…the more I get to know her, the more…amazing I realize she is.” 

He laughed nervously, pink dusting over his cheeks as his thoughts became consumed with you and the feelings you brought out of him.

“And Cassie absolutely loves her, I mean, she literally asked for skates because of her, and she seems to really like hanging out with me and Cassie too,” he continued, thinking of the smile you always put on his and Cassie’s face whenever you’re together, and he finished saying in a breathless voice like the mere thought of you took his breath away, “ Yeah … I really like her. ”

His heart was fluttering in his chest from having finally admitted that outloud to somebody. It became more real then, the feelings that would gather in his entire being whenever you were around, whenever you were even mentioned.

“Knew it,” Robin said, satisfied to get a confession from Steve, “So why are you still just friends then? Is she not interested or something?” 

Steve pressed his lips tightly together and shrugged, “I wouldn’t know, I never asked and…well, I don’t think she’s not interested, I mean… there is something there, like something electric…being with someone finally sounds good, but then-” 

Steve furrowed his brow, as he’s given many thoughts about this whenever it would come up, which was often especially following Thanksgiving when he was tempted to kiss you (and was positive you were going to kiss him too). It was all the same things that stirred inside of him, things that were almost unresolved from the impact Cassie’s mom left on him…he shut his eyes for a moment, the conflict swirling around in him and almost making his stomach hurt along with his head.

Robin was sitting cross-legged, hanging off of Steve’s last word, wanting to know what he was going to say next. 

He sucked in a tight breath then released it before saying, “I just…I don’t have time , you know? If there’s anything I learned from being with Brenda ,” Steve said, reminding Robin of the other woman’s name. Robin snapped her fingers and said quietly ‘ oh yeah Brenda .’

“From being with her, time is just not on my side with my jobs, especially now since I got a third one- I just can never be there for somebody else, I can’t commit to them in the way they want me to,” Steve tried to explain, “And…and I can’t do that to her, I can’t break her heart like that so…yeah she’s my friend, and it’s going to stay that way.” 

Robin frowned at Steve, slightly disappointed that it was still this that was holding him back, keeping him from pursuing any romantic relationship even when he seemed to want one. Hell, even watching him say that he and you were just going to stay friends he looked downright depressed and disappointed. 

She could only sigh, feeling kind of sad for Steve, and his luck with romance after Cassie’s mom, but she always thought that maybe he just hadn’t found the right person, and she still stands by that to this day. Somebody will come around, and for all she knows this right person for Steve could be you …and she feels like she’d know for sure if she met you and got to know you too.

“By the way you’re talking about this girl…I’d really like to meet her,” she said, making Steve look at her again and with squinted eyes he replied, “Absolutely not.”

Robin threw her hand over her chest, heavily offended by his immediate response and she said, “Why not! If she’s so amazing, I’d like to see it for myself. I’m not going to do anything that’ll embarrass you, scout’s honor.” 

“ Nope . No way.”

Robin rolled her eyes, wondering what on Earth she could do that’ll embarrass him more than he tends to embarrass himself, but something told her it was that if you met Robin , his best friend, then that would just let you into his life more…and honestly, maybe he needed that more than he believed he didn’t…

✧ ✧ ✧

It was cold. 

You were wearing more layers today than any other day since the snowy weather arrived. Your entire head was hidden underneath a gray beanie, and the bottom of your face covered by a baby blue knitted scarf you bought off of one of the student’s moms who sold them. 

Even in the confines of the coffee shop, you felt incredibly cold, and were concerned about a cough coming along, your throat a little drier than usual. It was just what you needed, considering the Holidays were just around the corner and you were going to spend it with Heidi’s family. You weren’t sure then, if you were getting sick, that you could go, which was quite disappointing. 

Your name was suddenly called, and you could already taste your favorite hot coffee, and were ready for it to warm your insides. Right after your name was called though, another name was called. You didn’t pay much attention, determined to get your coffee, that you hadn’t realized they had set the identical cups right next to each other. You just grabbed one, and turned away. 

“Oh, wait!” someone called before you could take a sip, and you turned your head to meet the blue eyes of a girl with short blonde hair and freckles decorating her cheeks, “That one is mine! My name’s on it…” 

You blinked and looked down, twisting the cup in your hand to see the name Robin scribbled on the side of it and not your name. You quickly apologized, feeling a little silly for not checking first and held it out for her to take.

“It’s alright, the cups look the exact same,” the girl, Robin, replied to you as she held your coffee out for you to take. She seemed like she was going to say something further, but stopped when her eyes glossed over your name written on the cup as you took it from her, “Oh… Oh …” 

She looked at you, blue eyes observing you closely and then your name before you properly switched. 

You turned away without another word, ready to return to finally take a sip and return to your car when the girl called your name this time. You stopped, thinking maybe you left something but only saw her standing there with her own drink and sheepish smile on her lips. 

“Sorry, I know I probably look like a complete weirdo , and even more so when I say this but…I think I know you, and that you probably know me too? At least by name?” she was saying, and you could only stare at her, trying to see if you could remember exactly who she was and if you’d seen her around here before or heard her name. 

You shook your head when nothing came up and replied, “I’m sorry, I don’t…I can’t really remember.” You laughed awkwardly and she did too. 

“I just thought maybe Steve would’ve mentioned me,” she said, his namedrop making you tilt your head curiously, “I mean he’s mentioned you quite a bit since I came back to town…just wondering if he’s ever mentioned his friend Robin to you.” 

She blinked rapidly at you, then smiled more widely at you. It took you a moment or two before your memory returned. Steve had mentioned her before, you remembered a specific time when you were looking for another movie to watch and he brought to the double VHS section and said something along the lines of “Yeah my best friend Robin made me sit through so many movies, I don’t normally do double VHS, but this one was really good.” And there were others too you would gradually remember.

“Oh yeah! He has! Uh, hi, this is so weird, not that you’re weird, I swear, just-” you laughed nervously, “It’s nice to meet you.” 

“Likewise,” Robin replied, stepping out of the way of other coffee patrons, “So, I hear you and Steve are pretty good friends too.” 

You nodded quite fast at that, then got a little embarrassed that you did so, especially when she raised both eyebrows at you. 

“Yeah I’d say we are,” you said, “Not as good as you two are I bet, I think he mentioned one time you’ve been friends since he graduated High School.” 

“Yeah, we worked at Scoops Ahoy together,” Robin said, and you stared blankly at her, not knowing what a Scoops Ahoy was. And you swore you’ve been to every place in Hawkins thus far, but not wanting to sound stupid by asking you just stayed quiet as Robin continued to say, “Anyway though, I’m sure you got places to be, I got places to be because you know, my mom is just dying to see me.” 

You couldn’t tell if that was sarcasm or not, but she bid you a good-bye before pausing and turning back to you to say, “Hey, wait, around like I don’t know 6, me, Steve and Cassie are going to that pizza place downtown…you should come.” 

“Oh,” you paused suddenly, then said, “I don’t want to intrude on a reunion.” 

Robin laughed at that, “You’re not going to intrude anything, you’re Steve’s friend, I’m his friend, it’ll be just a bunch of friends meeting for some pizza for dinner. I’m sure he’ll love to see you seeing as he talked about you so much.” 

You felt your cheeks heat up at that, then became too preoccupied with the heart in your chest leaping to see Steve again, something that’s become entirely common these days. You subconsciously counted down the days until you would see him again, though you’d never admit anything out loud. Also, she’s mentioned twice that he keeps talking about you…

Robin was staring at you expectantly, and you met her eyes before nodding and saying, “Yeah, okay that sounds like it could be fun.” 

“Yes! Alright, cool,” Robin said, a little too excitedly as she gave you a thumbs up with the hand that wasn’t holding her coffee, “Now, I’m going to go see my mom, and I’ll see you later, you know the one right?” 

You nodded, as there was only one pizza place in Hawkins, and waved a good-bye to Robin as she left the coffee shop before you. You dropped your hand to the side, then remembered that you were cold and that was the reason you bought a coffee. You lifted it to your lips, and drank the hot liquid, but it didn’t do much, as the thought of Steve had already made you warm enough.

✧ ✧ ✧

It was half after six, and Steve, Cassie, and Robin were barely being seated. Robin hadn’t anticipated the place to be so full, even though Steve told her it would be. It wasn’t a long wait, and Steve wasn’t impatient and neither was Robin, Cassie could be impatient, but as long as she had her walkman while they sat in the waiting area she was fine. 

Steve had noticed that Robin kept looking at the door every time it opened, eyes looking over every member of the family that was entering the pizza parlor. He had asked her if she was waiting for someone or something, thinking maybe she ran into the kids (they’re not kids anymore, Steve kept having to remind himself) who were home for winter break without telling him. Not that he would mind, but who the hell was going to pay for them to eat?

Eventually, Robin’s name was called by the hostess and they were led through the full pizza parlor and sat at a comfortable round booth that was actually elevated and underneath a dimly lit light. Cassie hopped in first, crawling on all fours until she was sitting right in the center of the table with a grin on her face and head banging as she was still listening to music. 

“This is a pretty big booth for just three people,” Steve said, eying Robin as he tried to see if she’d take the bait and just tell him who she invited to join them.

“Oh yeah, totally too big for three people,” Robin said, agreeing with him as she shot him a grin and sat down. 

“Right…” 

Steve sat down as well, thanking the hostess for the menus. He turned his attention to Cassie now, and tapped her nose to capture her attention. She looked at him and he gestured to his own ears. Cassie understood, and turned to turn off her walkman, then removed her headphones. They rested around her neck, a look Cassie Harrington had all the time, especially these days. 

“Welcome back,” Steve teased her as he handed her a menu. Cassie took it from her dad, giving him a toothy grin as her head was still nodding to nonexistent music. Steve chuckled and passed a menu to Robin, and then looked down, seeing he was holding two more. 

Robin definitely invited somebody else. 

At that moment, Steve looked up at the door, as Robin and Cassie became engrossed in their menus and were verbally deciding what toppings they wanted on each pizza they were about to order. 

He was looking for perhaps a kid, like Dustin, or Lucas as Robin mentioned running into him specifically, hell he even looked for Eddie Munson (Steve had seen him show up in the Family Video Store after he seemed to have vanished for weeks), but his eyes landed on you . 

You weren’t looking at him, your attention on the hostess as you spoke to her. The hostess had looked down at her clipboard, then nodded, telling you something with a smile before she turned around and started to walk in the direction of the table they sat at. Just as you lifted your eyes, Steve turned to look at Robin, all of it adding up at once.

“You didn’t- how- how did you even meet her? ” Steve was questioning her. Robin looked up from her menu, confused at first and then she grinned sheepishly. Before she could even answer, you were at the table. 

Cassie had gasped at the sight of you, and called your name excitedly while Robin grinned and looked at you. 

“You made it! I was afraid you wouldn’t!” Robin said, “Steve scoot over, jeesh, you too Tiny.” 

“No! Wait! I want to sit next to her!” Cassie announced, of which Robin seemed very intrigued by and Cassie said, “Daddy, you sit on the side!” 

Steve stared at Cassie for such a demand, but who was he to deny his daughter’s requests? He looked at you, finally, and you were looking at Cassie with a sweet smile on your lips before you turned to look at Steve. He sucked in a soft breath before nodding and scooting off of the seat. 

“Wait, do you want…” Steve gestured to your outerwear when he stood and you blinked before realizing what he meant. 

“Yeah! God I hate wearing all these layers,” you said with a shake of your head as you unzipped your large jacket. You were shaking out of it and Steve was suddenly behind you, reaching out to take your jacket off for you like the gentleman he is. You thanked him softly as he did, and he flashed you a sweet grin before you were moving to sit in the booth. 

“I didn’t know Robin invited you!” Cassie said when you settled in next to her. 

“She invited me this morning,” you told her, looking over at her then at Steve as he settled down right next to you. Steve slid a menu to you as well and you took it, another soft thank you being thrown his way. 

“Yeah, I ran into her at the coffee place, insane right? I mean I heard her name, because obviously Steve told me all about you,” Robin said, gesturing to Steve who snapped his head to look at her, “Cassie too , don’t look at me like that. Anyway, she took my coffee by accident and then we talked and now she’s here.” 

Steve shook his head.

“Yeah, that’s what happened,” you said, your cheeks a little warm as you were still a bit afraid that you were unwelcomed despite Steve literally getting up and helping you get your jacket off, “It’s not a problem for anyone here, right?” 

Steve turned to look at you, and quickly shook his head, “Oh no , never. You know I like seeing you.” He suddenly realized what he’d just said and cleared his throat before turning away to cough into his hand in an attempt to take the attention off that . 

You just sat there, pressing your lips softly together at his words, before you looked back at Robin and said, “Sorry for being late though, my car has been acting up especially with this weather.” 

You frowned at the thought of your car barely starting this morning, and then when you were on your way here. It started eventually, yes , but felt pretty much dead before that. Robin told you it was fine, as they were barely sat anyway.

“Wait what’s going on with your car?” Steve questioned, becoming concerned at this information. You shrugged. 

“It’s…wonky, I don’t know,” you said lamely, “It takes a few tries to start, then when it’s on it feels like it’s on the edge of breaking down.” 

Steve was shaking his head at the idea of that, and said, “You know I can take a look at it after dinner if you want me to. I’ve gotten pretty good with cars these past few years.” 

Robin hummed, “Yeah, it’s really weird…like the moment he became a dad he gained all the traits of one like barbecuing and…falling asleep early on the couch or something.” 

That comment made you genuinely laugh, and Steve got a bit lost in your laugh even though it wasn’t him who made you laugh, but he quickly shook out of it and laughed sarcastically at Robin before returning his attention to you. 

“I’m serious though, I can look at it…also I fell asleep on the couch one time,” he said the last part to Robin who reminded him that it happened in the middle of their conversation the night prior before looking back down at the menu. You laughed again, then rested your hand on his shoulder, and replied, “I’d really appreciate that, Steve. Thanks.”

You both just gazed at each other for a long moment, before Cassie was tapping your arm, taking your attention off of him. Steve smiled to himself, then turned to look at his menu. 

“Guess what Robin got me for Christmas,” Cassie started with eagerly. You hummed in thought. 

“Beats me, Cass,” you said after a moment, and she smiled widely before announcing the skates. You dropped your jaw, “No way! You want to learn to skate then?”

Cassie nodded, “Yes! Can you teach me?”

You were more than obliged to teach her, which made Cassie even more happy. 

Steve looked up from his menu, staring at you while Cassie eagerly told you all about her skates, and he licked his lips gently, and Robin stifled a laugh. He looked at her now, giving her a pointed look, pretending that he was irritated with her when he wasn’t. If he was being honest, he liked this, he liked you being here sitting between him and Cassie, with his best friend sitting across from him. It was nice…comfortable even.

It’s like you just fit . 

And the heat spreading over him at this thought made his chest sting, happy because he liked you so much , but indifferent because he did . It made no sense, no sense at all, but this was no time to dwell on it, especially with you right next to him, your legs slightly touching and your pretty perfume invading his senses. 

Thankfully, the waiter arrived, taking an order of drinks, and your pizza. You all decided on two large pizzas, and when you ordered some strawberry lemonade, Cassie did the same, something that did not go unnoticed by Steve. She never drank lemonade, in fact every time they came here she got apple juice, and what he saw was Cassie bright eyes gazing at you. It made that feeling in Steve even more vibrant, that Cassie seemed to look up to you so much that she got skates because of you, listened to disco, and now ordered the same drink. 

It really hit Steve, at this moment, how much Cassie really liked you. She of course liked everyone else too, as she took a specific liking to Robin who was there in her infant and toddler days, and then took a liking to Dustin and especially Max. She had never actually tried to mimic them though, Max never inspired her to want to learn how to ride a skateboard and the interest in Dungeons and Dragons was all part of Dustin’s elaborate plan to get her to keep a high school club alive. 

You weren’t doing any of that, just simply existing and being such a good friend , that damned word again, that became a constant in his and Cassie’s life and she seemed to want to be just like you. 

Steve was a bit baffled at this, shocked into silence really as you and Robin were talking now. 

“Oh yeah, we went to high school together, right Steve? But we didn’t become friends until that one summer we were forced to work together at Scoops Ahoy,” Robin was saying, finally capturing Steve’s attention, “It was a summer for sure, your dad wasn’t the catch he is today.” 

Robin was talking to Cassie now, who looked over at her dad and asked, “Catch?”

“Oh, no girls liked him,” Robin said nonchalantly, which made Cassie frown.

“But he gets free ice cream?” 

“Right? Seems foolproof huh?” 

“Wait- are you seriously bringing that up? Come on Robin, you know it was a tough summer for me,” Steve said, grabbing his drink and sipping out of the straw. 

“Because now it’s a funny memory,” Robin replied with a shrug, and turned back to look at you, “Have you seen him yet? At Scoops Ahoy?” 

You cringed slightly, knowing it was time to fuss up that you had no idea what a ‘Scoops Ahoy’ was, and told her so. The table went quiet, as if Scoops Ahoy was a home name of Hawkins or something when really it was just between the three people at the table with you. 

“You’ve never been there?” Steve was asking you, making you look at him and shake your head, “So you’ve never visited Starcourt then?” 

You shook your head again, “I’ve been wanting to, but…I don’t know if my car will make it that far…”

Steve just stared at you, then nodded as if he was impressed that you’ve never visited the highly popular mall and Cassie was the one to tell you that it was an ice cream shop. She told you about all the free ice cream she gets sometimes.

“ Free ice cream? That sounds like a dream,” you told Cassie and she giggled and said that it wasn’t. Her dad could get free ice cream whenever he wanted essentially.

“Well I mean, I can get you free ice cream too if you want,” Steve said, turning to you, and Robin almost rolled her eyes because it was painfully obvious that Steve really liked you, and it was such a burden to know he did, but wasn’t going to actually do anything about it. 

“Oh really?” you questioned, resting your chin on your hand as you met his brown eyes.

“ Yeah , I think I’m pretty much a professional like I’ve mastered the USS Butterscotch ,” Steve said, making you furrow your brows in confusion at such a name, but assuming rightfully it was just some kind of sunday they served. 

Robin asked how you and Steve met, and he relayed to her how you were dying from allergies and did a late run to the market to get medication, and he just so happened to working that night, then you said you ran into him again at the video store, a job, Robin relayed to you that he’s been at that job for a while. It was Cassie who talked about the carrot situation in more detail, which made Robin laugh because it is something Cassie Harrington would do. 

She watched as you, Steve, and Cassie spoke, laughing together, and she had noticed herself how much Cassie had taken a liking to you as well. It was Steve mostly, though, she couldn’t recall the last time he was so interested in a woman like this. That other girl he was almost with didn’t even compare to how he was with you, and maybe…he was like that once with Cassie’s mom, very early in her pregnancy. 

He had been at her side almost twenty-four seven. Robin had liked her, as there wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with her, just that it was painfully obvious that she didn’t feel the same way toward Steve. Steve had known that, since he had told Robin this when she brought it up one night during a late shift at the Family Video Store. 

He was aware, yes, but they were going to have a baby together, he couldn’t help how he felt, how he always felt about her really as they were friends. But honestly, he had told her, he just wanted their child to have both parents, it didn’t matter to him whether he and she were together, as long as Cassie had her mom and had her dad who at the very least liked each other. Of course, they all know how that story came to an end…

It was something that clearly continued to plague her best friend’s mind, if their conversation from the night before meant anything. Steve liked you, he admitted that to Robin, which is a major step for the guy, and seeing you, seeing how you fell into place with him, with Cassie, something felt different, yet all the same. He wasn’t putting on some kind of show, because Robin knew if she invited the other girl he was with for a bit, he would’ve been actually irritated with her, he would’ve sat through it and been polite, but he wouldn’t have been happy. He seemed like…himself again…comfortable, and she liked seeing Steve like this again. She really did. 

And now, she felt like she owed it to him to knock some sense into him, like how he helped her out with Vickie all those years ago, who still remained her beloved and favorite person ever to this day. He would be crazy to at least not try , because he liked you, and sitting here, she can tell that you liked him too. 

The pizza had come, and the conversation turned to Steve and Robin now, and you sat there listening with amusement written on your features of the summer they became friends, about working at Scoops Ahoy, then at the Family Video Store, how he threw her a graduation party at his house that almost failed because someone forgot to bring cups (It was that guy Eddie again) until a girl by the name of Nancy Wheeler got fed up and left to get some. Steve even made her a cake apparently, or at least attempted to. It was something, Robin had said about that cake, surely something.

“You said you’ve never baked before,” you said to Steve upon hearing this information and he turned to you with a sheepish grin on his lips. 

“It’s one of the major reasons I don’t bake anymore,” Steve replied, making you laugh and say, “You bake now though.” 

“Thanks to you, I actually like it now, honestly…you know I still get compliments on those cookies…” Steve said, leaning back and subconsciously stretching and resting his arms on the rest right behind you.

Your heart sped up at this gesture, and you shifted in your spot. Steve stayed staring at you, a small grin on his lips that hadn’t left since all of you started talking. You settled back into place, with his arm technically wrapped around you and turned away, cheeks hot and your heart feeling like it was blooming. 

The check had come around, and Steve had reached into his pocket, and cursed softly.

“Damn…I think I left my wallet in the car,” he said with a cringe before he started to stand, “I’ll be right back.” 

“Wait!” Cassie called in between you and Robin, and Steve paused to look at his daughter, “Can I go?”

“Come on then,” Steve said, fully standing. You were about to move, but Cassie was diving underneath the table and crawling out from the other side. Steve just stared at her before he laughed and told her to put her jacket on. She did, and then he held his hand out for her to take. When their hands clasped together, they were walking toward the exit of the pizza parlor, leaving you and Robin. 

You had felt slightly bad, as you didn’t get to learn much about Robin herself. So, given it was just the two of you, you asked her about herself and Robin let out a breath. 

“I hate this question…” Robin said, fiddling with her rings as she laughed awkwardly. Before you could apologize, she shook her head and told you that she lived in New York with her girlfriend, Vickie, that she moved there with her when Cassie was around four years old, so around two years ago. She attends classes at a college there, and works at this department store. 

“Oh, so it’s like the reverse,” you suddenly stated, “I lived in the big city, moved to this small town- you lived in this small town and moved to the big city.” 

This made Robin laugh, “Hey, yeah, that’s true . It’s pretty insane, overstimulating, a lot of smog, too many people…I don’t hate it though.” 

You nodded, your childhood and adolescent days coming back to you at once, and you replied, “Yeah, a lot of people, but…I think that’s part of its charm.” 

“Oh for sure,” Robin replied, turning her head to see if Steve was coming back. He wasn’t and she commented, “I swear if he dined and dashed…” 

“Oh…oh he wouldn’t do that…would he?” 

“Nah,” Robin shook her head, “He always pays…guess that’s one of his charms, among many, I suppose.” 

She was looking at you again, and you leaned back in your spot, eyes lingering on the door, waiting to see him come back. 

“It’s still kind of weird to me,” Robin suddenly said thoughtfully, “I mean, if high school me heard me say that Steve Harrington was cool, and I was willingly having pizza dates with him and his daughter- she would be absolutely baffled .” 

You turned to her, a curious look in your gaze and she went on to say, “I’m pretty sure every high school had the same hierarchy, so you probably know what I’m talking about. Steve had thee title…basketball captain, swim captain, other other captain, I don’t know I was in band but…he was literally called King Steve.” 

“ King Steve? ” 

You’d never heard anything like that, at your high school there was one guy, the football captain, who dated all the cheerleaders and all that. You could actually picture Steve that way, the hot, popular jock all the girls fawned over…considering the unofficial Steve Harrington fanclub here made up of Hawkin’s Moms. 

“Oh my god, he’ll hate that I’m telling you this,” she said, chuckling to herself, “It doesn’t matter anymore though, because that was just you know- a facade. But yeah, I actually didn’t like him, like a lot- he knows this- but you know, underneath it all- he’s a good guy, probably always has been.”

You turned thoughtful, thinking of Steve in such a way. It had been mentioned before, when Heidi said she dated Steve once in high school and cried over him, or when Steve had told you during what you dared called a ‘lunch date’ in his car that one autumn afternoon that he got a lot of dates at 13. He didn’t seem to be getting them now, despite the attention he receives. 

“I’m just glad you got to know him now ,” Robin said nonchalantly, “He still has those charms, obviously I know you know the ones…” 

She eyed you and you couldn’t lie and say he didn’t. Steve was pretty irresistible, and that stupid charm of his that lingered in your mind for days on end after every interaction you’ve had with him since summer still made your stomach twist and heart flip.

“Yeah…” you said, albeit a bit breathlessly that made Robin laugh to herself. 

Steve was opening the door to the parlor, snowflakes decorating his hair and his jacket. Cassie looked the same, and she shook her head like a dog and held her dad’s hand tighter, happy about the warmth the parlor was providing.

The first thing Steve saw when he walked in was you and Robin. You were in conversation, and he watched as you smiled and laughed, and nodded and responded to his best friend in that round booth. You were enjoying it, talking to Robin, and he sucked in a tight breath, head a little foggy, and he was kind of… happy that it seemed Robin liked you. 

Cassie was saying something to him, pulling him out of trance, but he hadn’t heard what she said

“Hm?” he hummed curiously, looking down at his daughter now, seeing her gazing up at him with almost concern. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Steve paused, then laughed weakly as he tightened his grip affectionately on her hand and replied, “That’s the million dollar question, Cass…come on let’s go.”

He returned to the table, overhearing Robin say something about how she witnessed the aftermath of him accidentally renting out the wrong movie to a girl. Steve didn’t ask what she was talking about because he didn’t need to be reminded of that, and he was glad that you didn’t ask, just suppressing a laugh as he approached. 

“Are we ready to go?” 

You were all outside now, Cassie giving you a big hug good-bye before she was in between Robin and Steve, holding both of their hands, her hands were covered in these bright pink knitted mittens that were vibrant against their dark gloves. 

“I’ll get your number from Steve,” Robin had told you, to which you eagerly nodded. Steve wanted to say some kind of joke, maybe why are you stealing my new friend already? But he really loved that you and her got along that well. 

“Alright, let’s get you in the car, Tiny,” Robin said, saying a final good-bye to you before taking Cassie with her. Cassie waved at you as Robin led her to the car, and it was just you and Steve now.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you soon,” you said, standing albeit a little awkward beside him and Steve, well he looked even more awkward that even Robin cringed when she glanced over at him. 

“Yeah, I’ll call you,” he said, and you nodded, flashing him a grin before turning away. Suddenly, as Steve saw your car, he called your name, “Wait, I said I’d look at your car!” 

You stopped, looking at the car, then at him, then back at the car. 

“Let me see if it’ll start first,” you told him, not wanting to stand out in this cold further or make him stand out in this cold too. Steve followed after you regardless, standing by the car door as you settled in and put the key into its ignition. 

It started the first try, by some sort of miracle. 

“Oh, oh it’s working now,” you said with the shake of your head, embarrassed that your car made it seem like you were lying just to get Steve to look at it or something. 

“I could still look at it though,” Steve told you, leaning over the open door to look inside before glancing over at the hood, as if itching to get it opened. It made you less embarrassed and you nodded, agreeing that eventually he should, or you should get it over to the mechanics. 

With that, Steve said a sweet good-bye before lightly closing your car door for you. He even remained there, watching you go. He was also making sure the car didn’t suddenly break down once it hit the street. It didn’t, thankfully, and he finally went to his car where Robin and Cassie were waiting with the heater already on.

It was quiet, for the most part, Cassie had put her headphones on again, kicking her feet to the beat and gazing out the window with a sleepy look coming over her face. She was definitely going into a food coma.

Robin had suddenly turned in her spot in the passenger seat though to look at Steve. He could see her almost perfectly in peripherals. She was grinning at him almost slyly.

“What?” he asked, acting like he didn’t know why she was smiling like that. 

“I like her,” Robin stated. 

Warmth not from the heater washed over Steve when he heard that, and he swallowed thickly and played dumb, “You like who ?” 

Robin gave him a look, and replied, “I’m serious…you’re right when you say she is pretty amazing and I’m going to say this because I’m your best friend and I can…” 

Steve came to a stop light, and turned his head to look at Robin. 

“You would be a complete idiot if you don’t at least try and take a chance with her.”

There had been a small, amused smile on Steve’s lips, a happy one at that as well, when he heard that Robin liked you so much, but hearing this, Robin’s bluntness Steve’s smile turned into a frown and something cold came over him, like the cold breeze of the upcoming blizzard outside. 

He turned his head forward, just as the light turned green, and he started to drive through the intersection. 

Steve knows this, it’s been gnawing at him, sitting there next to you, seeing how well you fit in, how almost perfect you were to him, how perfect you’ve always been whenever he was around you. He hadn’t felt like this strongly for someone, the way the thought of you made your head buzz and insides turn delightfully, which would of course be followed by this sick, hollow feeling that he couldn’t quite describe, much like how he felt when he realized Cassie was trying to be like you in that pizza parlor. 

God, you preoccupy his mind so much, and there’s a voice in him that says ask her out, you idiot , and then another voice says just kiss her, for the love of god just kiss her . He’s felt that one on occasion, when that electricity sparked between the both of you, when your eyelashes fluttered gently at him, your lips waiting for his…

Then, there’s that other voice, the one that came out the night before when talking to Robin. You don’t have time…you know what happened the last time you tried…it’s not worth it…it’s not worth breaking her heart over . 

Most of the time, that voice was louder. 

Robin looked at her friend who was deep in thought, and reached over to pat his shoulder, “I’ll demote you back to dingus, I will.” 

That at least made Steve laugh, and he replied a little weakly, “Honestly…that’s only fair.”

✧ ✧ ✧

“Steve, I’ve only known her for like two days, if you count the day you finally told me about her.” 

Robin’s voice was coming through the phone. 

It was about a week after Christmas, and you had dropped by the market one night just before Steve’s shift ended to give him some gifts. You had finally made more mixtapes for Cassie, the bag full of them, and for Steve, you went simple and got him a Christmas card with an ice skating penguin wearing a red beanie on it with a gift card inside. It was quite a bit of money, and you insisted that he needn’t to get you anything in return. You didn’t really have anyone to buy gifts for, besides for Heidi and her family and a secret santa at the school, and wanted to do something nice.

Steve was touched, really touched, so much that the voice that kept telling him to kiss you had to be fought off with a mental broomstick. And now, he was kind of freaking out about it and had called Robin almost immediately during his break at the Family Video Store the next day. 

“It was just nice, alright, and I don’t want to get her something bad…god why am I freaking out about it though?” 

“Because you like her, dingus,” Robin teased from all the way in New York, she was on her break at her job too, “Get her like…I don’t know a mug or something, teacher’s love those. I actually love those.” 

“No…no she’s not a teacher, at least not yet,” Steve replied, pressing his hand against his face, feeling a bit ridiculous about how much he was overthinking this. 

“Get her one, speak it into the universe for her,” Robin suggested, then said like she read his thoughts, “You’re overthinking this Steve, and that’s a lot coming from me. I can’t just tell you what to buy, you know her way more than me.” 

He sighed into his hand, “What the hell am I doing…” 

“You’re a big guy, Steve, you’ll figure it out… oh hey…what about a candle?” 

She was very clearly looking at a candle someone walked by holding in the department store she worked at part-time. 

Another reason why Steve was freaking out was because he was going to see you very soon, like tonight soon and the store’s would be closing earlier than usual so that he’d have to go straight to Starcourt after his shift ends. 

He had invited you to the Wheeler’s annual New Years Eve party, yet another almost family thing he wanted you to attend because quite literally everyone in his life would be there, the kids (Not kids, anymore, Steve), Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers, Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper… everyone . 

Robin did offer some good, basic presents, a mug, a candle…but what else? He wanted to at least add his own touch to it. 

With a good-bye to Robin, he was back at work, still inside his head of what to get you when Heidi, who he has known since high school, approached him at the counter. 

“Just returning,” she told Steve, placing them down on the counter in front of him. Steve nodded, turning to the computer set up until his eyes rested on her name again. He remembered then that you had mentioned you were going to be spending Christmas with her and her family, which could only mean that she was your friend as well. 

Steve stopped typing for a good second, turning his head to look at Heidi who was poking around the new concession stand they had set up (it was Steve’s idea). She seemed particularly interested in the kettlecorn, and Steve cleared his throat as he said, “So…Heidi…how was your holiday last week?” 

She looked up at him, and replied, “It was great, how was your Christmas with Cassie?” 

“Oh great, we spent it with the Hendersons, like always…” he trailed off, unsure of how to smoothly mention you and then try to see if she can help out in any way for getting you a gift, “Who’d you spend it with?”

Heidi answered her own family, and he said, “Nobody else?” 

He wanted to kick himself for making it so obvious. He could literally see it in her eyes when it clicked he was trying to bring you up without actually saying it. Steve hadn’t talked to Heidi like this in a long time, not since high school and not since they dated for like a month or so, he talked to her at the office, yes, but he talked to everyone there. Mostly you these days, if he was being honest.

“Wait…” Heidi trailed off and then asked if he was talking about you. Steve chuckled, and nodded, deciding to just own it. It wasn’t weird, it wasn’t suspicious, he was just asking about his friend . At least that’s what he tried to convince himself to make the anxious, racing of heart stop.

“Yeah, yeah I mean her…you’re pretty good friends, huh?” 

Heidi leaned on the counter, an intrigued look crossing her features and she said, “Yes, I think so, though…I don’t think we’re good friends like you and her are…” 

Steve took the tapes Heidi returned, trying to nonchalantly work while talking to her.

“I doubt it,” Steve replied, because if he and you were such good friends why couldn’t he decide on what kind of gift to get you. Heidi chuckled. 

“Right,” she said, not buying it clearly, “Is there something you want to ask me about her?”

“Well…” Steve started, then cleared his throat before continuing to say, “I want to get her something for Christmas, a little late I know, but she got me and Cass something and I just want to return the favor.” 

Heidi rested her chin on her hand, “Do you not know what to get her?” 

“I just need some ideas,” Steve replied quickly, making her laugh. 

“Well, maybe we both are just as good as friends with her, I had trouble getting her something too,” Heidi replied honestly, and that did make Steve a little more relieved, “I got her perfume, and my kids made her a s’more set, she seemed to love it. You know…I think…anything simple, really. She’ll love anything, especially if it’s from you .”

Steve thought it was the same for him, as he displayed that penguin Christmas card on his nightstand like it was some love letter. Heidi looked a little excited by this information, like he just told her some secret. He’d forgotten this quality of her, and found it oddly comforting in a way that she still held this aspect of her.

He finished processing the return for her, and she asked him if that’s all he wanted to ask. He nodded to her, and grinned politely. 

“Yeah, yeah that’s it, thanks Heidi,” he said, and she grinned back at him and turned to leave. He supposed a candle and a mug it was…still he hated how cheap it felt. You deserved more than that, but it would have to do. 

He had about an hour more to brew up some more ideas anyway.

Meanwhile, Heidi had called you the moment she could. You were at home getting ready for the party tonight when the phone rang and you answered, this was as Steve was rushing to Starcourt after his shift ended, and Heidi relayed everything to you. 

“You said there was nothing going on, you liar, he’s getting you a gift,” Heidi said, and you sucked in a sharp breath. 

“Friends get each other gifts, you got me one, I got you one,” you said, trying to play it off even though it was quite obvious there was something more between you and Steve, something strong and unspoken, something ready to burst any moment now. 

“Yeah, but I’m not him , he likes you, and you like him,” Heidi practically beamed, “I knew you weren’t immune to Steve Harrington’s charm. I mean, his daughter visits you all the time when she can…you got him to bake cookies…you spent Thanksgiving with him…he practically shoves the faculty just to stand by you at mandatory assemblies…he likes you.” 

“He’s a good friend,” you replied, cheeks feeling a little hot. 

And just like what Robin was saying about Steve to him when she first came to Hawkins, or what Dustin Henderson had said to his girlfriend Suzie, Heidi had said, “I don’t think you realize how insane all of that is for Steve freaking Harrington. Okay, he’s been practically off the market since Cassie’s mom just up and left town.” 

You frowned, and reminded her how she told you her friend had dated him. 

“Okay, but barely , she broke it off because he was never around, he never made time for her, he definitely didn’t invite her to go to a Holiday dinner, and she met Cassie like maybe once , twice at the most and that was by accident,” Heidi explained quickly, and you were going to say something, but she was speaking again, “And here you are, coming in from the city and making him trip over himself. I’m impressed, I really am.” 

You tried to fight the feelings mustering up in your stomach, “It’s not…he’s my friend.” 

“I find it interesting how he was saying the same thing,” your friend commented. 

“Because we are just friends,” you tried to emphasize, but knowing already that no matter what you said, your friend wouldn’t believe you. At this point, you were trying to convince yourself it was all you and Steve were, all that you would ever be because then if it never happens, you couldn't be disappointed. 

You’d just learn to live with the feelings and bursts of warmths that occur at just the simple thought of him, at the idea of seeing him, if anything, you were already doing it. Steve was a friend, a good friend, and you didn’t want that to change. 

You didn’t tell Heidi any of this, feeling almost embarrassed by your outlook, plus, you didn’t want to admit to her that you did like him, a lot. She can continue speculating, and you can continue pretending she was wrong. 

“I have to go,” you had told her finally after a couple more exchanges, “I have a party to go to tonight.” 

“With Steve ?” 

You scoffed and told her a good-bye and a “Happy New Year.”

She was giggling, and told you the same before you hung up. You hoped there would be alcohol at this party, and had you any left of your favorite wine you had brought to Heidi’s Christmas Party last week, you would’ve definitely started drinking now. 

✧ ✧ ✧

Steve had always been convinced that the biggest New Years in Hawkins was the one Karen Wheeler threw every year. It was practically full, every room decorated with streamers, tinsel, party hats, appetizers on every available surface and an abundance of alcohol. 

Now, it wasn’t a crazy party, like the ones he used to attend in High School and go to school the next day with a hangover, but it was pretty big and exciting. Overwhelming too, and he had warned you about it too. 

You seemed comfortable among his friends, although he considered them more as family, even after Cassie had taken your hand when you first arrived and started introducing you to everyone as ‘Her daddy’s girlfriend.’

This horrified Steve, as when he told Karen and everyone that he was inviting you, he made sure to not make the same mistake of Thanksgiving where he didn’t tell Dustin or Claudia that you and him were just friends. 

You were amazing though, just laughing when Cassie announced you as his girlfriend to everyone present and said, “Well I am a girl, and I am his friend.” 

“Exactly!” Cassie replied, a toothy grin that made Steve become suspicious of his daughter’s intention with that comment, as she’s never said anything like that about you before. He couldn’t really dwell on it though, as Cassie was eventually dragged away by the kids (Not. Kids. Anymore. Steve), leaving the adults like him upstairs.

There were a lot of people here, Steve had warned you prior that there would be, but everytime his eyes would find you across the room, he’d find you smiling and talking to someone, though he noticed it was mostly Claudia, who was absolutely delighted to see you again. 

“So…she’s really just your friend , Steve?” 

Nancy Wheeler was suddenly beside Steve, a woman he hadn’t seen for longer than he’d seen Robin. Steve turned away from you, and looked at her. 

“What?” 

Nancy laughed, “Nevermind. How have you been? Robin told me you’re working at Scoops Ahoy again…” 

Steve grimaced, but should’ve figured Robin would tell her this. He spent the next few minutes catching up with his old friend (And high school girlfriend), Steve telling her that he read one of the stories she reported on in the paper a while ago that gained immense popularity, and so on. She had done a lot, and really all he had to report was that he was working three different jobs, and made one new friend, which was you. 

His drink was gone by the end of it, and he excused himself to go some more in the kitchen and decided before doing so he should go down to the basement to see what Cassie was up to as it was going to be close to midnight and she might fall asleep. He walked down the steps of the basement, already hearing loud cursing that irked him. The ambience of the basement was suddenly not very Steve Approved. 

They were playing a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, Cassie included , sitting in between Max and Lucas as Mike Wheeler spoke dramatically, leaving everyone, including Cassie, on the edge of their seats. Well, except Max. She was giving Mike an unamused look. 

“Shit, I knew we shouldn’t have done that,” Dustin cursed when Mike came to the conclusion of his overdramatics, and Steve scoffed loudly. 

“Hey, hey, there’s a child present,” Steve told them, resting his hands on his waist. All of them looked over at Steve, and it was Max who said, “Well now there is, you just walked in..” 

There were cackles from everyone and Steve shook his head, unamused with that comment even though he felt like he walked right into it. 

“Yeah, yeah just watch your language. I don’t want my daughter cursing like a sailor,” Steve replied and they all sighed, a chorus of begrudging apologies and eyerolls being thrown his way. 

“What are you doing down here, anyway? Wouldn’t you rather be with your girlfriend?” Mike asked, leaning back in his seat and giving Steve a look. 

“Seeing if my kid’s alright, and she’s not -” Steve sucked in a breath, not wanting to waste it on telling everyone that again as the way they all looked at him told him they weren’t going to believe him otherwise. 

“She’s the same girl from the video store, right?” Max suddenly asked, making Steve pause for a moment and she added before he could respond, “The girl’s whose number you couldn’t get.”

“What?” Steve asked. 

“She was at the video store,” Max repeated, “Come on, you remember. Lucas, you were there too.” 

Lucas looked confused and Max scoffed at him.

It had taken Steve a moment before he remembered what Max was talking about, how in the summer one of the first times you met was in the video store and Max had interacted with you for even a few seconds. 

“Yes, it’s the same girl,” Steve told her, and Max snapped her fingers and gave a pointed look to Dustin, “I told you it was her.” 

“How was I supposed to know that? I wasn’t even there , I was just relaying the information of Steve’s new girlfriend,” Dustin said, before Lucas was suddenly nodding. 

“Oh, oh I remember her now,” he said, then looked at Steve, “Wait, if she’s his girlfriend then that means he did get her number.” 

“I thought it was pretty much established that he didn’t,” Max replied to her boyfriend. Steve watched as the short back and forth ensued, Cassie looking in between the two everytime one talked, and his expression became bemused as Max ended with, “He didn’t get her number.” 

She was right, he didn’t, but why he was offended by that he had no clue, because from what he remembers- he didn’t even ask for your number that day, in fact it wasn’t until a few weeks after he did (he was NOT going to tell them that though)…soon the conversation turned toward you though in the span of a few seconds. 

“I like her, she seems nice,” El had said, and Will had agreed with his sister. 

“She’s also cool, remember when I told you guys she’s interested in learning to play Dungeons and Dragons, so already better than Steve,” Dustin said, and all of them full-heartedly agreed. Steve knew it was just meant to tease him, so he didn’t take that to heart that much. 

“Right, well, I was just checking on Cass, so watch your language and please don’t make my daughter think I’m lame with your comments,” Steve said, pointing at all of them, and it was almost majestic how all of them snorted one after the other for that comment. He scowled, and was about to turn before Cassie called out to him. 

She was getting out of her seat, and then standing in front of him as she asked, “When are you going to give her our gift?”

Steve blinked for a moment before answering, “We can do it now, go get her and I’ll go grab it from the car.” He was already digging into his pockets for his keys, but Cassie was stopping him. 

“I’m playing!” she declared, “You give her it.” 

Steve furrowed his brows at his daughter and asked, “Wait, so you don’t want to watch her open the gift we got her?”

His daughter was shaking her head, but Steve felt like he saw something in her eyes, something mischievous and all in all suspicious . 

“I think I’m getting sleepy too,” Cassie said, then yawned dramatically after. Steve squinted his eyes at her, wondering why she was acting so strangely.

“Just give her the gift yourself Steve, jeesh,” Mike called, anxious to get back to the campaign and spend as much time as possible on it before the clock struck 12. Steve gave him a look before looking back at Cassie who was giving him a very sleepy smile. Sighing, he nodded and said if she’s that tired then she should lay down before he kissed her head and turned to go back upstairs. 

Cassie watched her dad go, before she turned and eagerly skipped back in her chair between Max and Lucas. 

“What are you up to, Cassie?” Max asked suspiciously, and the little girl could only laugh.

Steve had left the house, grabbing the gift from the backseat and came back in to find you. You were in the living room, sitting on the couch beside Nancy and having a conversation when Steve was suddenly placing his hand on your shoulder to capture your attention. 

You hummed as you looked up at him, cheeks a little warm from the alcohol you’ve consumed since you arrived at this party and smiling sweetly at the sight of his soft stare. 

“Come with me,” Steve told you, and you nodded, turning to tell Nancy you’d be right back. Nancy held her drink up to her lips as she said, “It’s almost midnight, don’t be away long you guys.” 

You chuckled as you stood up, taking your cup with you as you followed Steve into the kitchen. You stopped in front of the island at the center, and turned to ask Steve if everything was alright only to be met with a bright red bag being held in front of your face. 

You blinked softly, your mind moving a little slow that it was indeed a gift for you. The gift that Heidi had told you he was getting you. 

“Oh you didn’t have to…” you said, gazing at the bag. Steve shook his head. 

“No, I wanted to…Cass threw something in there too for you, by the way, I think it was a huge candy cane and a pencil, sorry to spoil the surprise.” 

You chuckled at that, taking the bag from Steve and twisting around so you could place it on the counter. Steve moved to the other side of the counter, leaning on it with both forearms as he watched with his brown eyes you start to take out the red tissue paper. 

The candy cane showed up first, and it was pretty big, the middle of it wrapped with a big red bow with a tag that said from Cassie in all caps. You smiled warmly, setting it aside gently before digging more into the gift. You didn’t find a pencil, but you did find a bag of carrots tied with the same red ribbon as the candy cane.

You laughed loudly, before your other hand covered your mouth and you tried to contain that laugh especially when you looked up and saw Steve’s face. He was completely dumbfounded staring at the carrots. 

“What the…when the hell did she put those in there?” He asked, bewildered by the reveal, “She said she put a pencil in there!” He pointed at them, before he turned his head toward the entryway to the basement, where he knew Cassie still was, knowing that if she was here she’d be laughing just like you were. Maybe that was why she was acting so weird…she threw carrots in there without telling him. 

You held the bag of carrots to your chest and said, “ I love them. Don’t know what’s going to beat these to be honest, but we’ll see.” You shook the bag lightly, feeling that it was pretty heavy, and something clinked together in there.

Steve turned back to you, horrified by what you just did and you shook it again lightly to freak him out some more before setting the carrots down and digging deeper into the bag. Your hand wrapped around something, and you knew what it was before you even brought it out. 

It was a bottle of wine. 

“ Oh .”

You looked at it closely, already feeling your mouth water just a little and you said suspiciously, “How did you know I was out?” He laughed at that, leaning away to push his hair out of his face nervously before leaning back down.

“I remember you bought that like weeks ago,” Steve told you quickly, “Then you bought it again before Christmas…I assumed it would be gone.”

You grinned widely, and set it down. You really can’t believe he remembered that. 

“There’s more in there, like two more things. Robin helped me figure out what else to get you.” 

“Then I know it��ll be good ,” you teased, making his sweet smile turn into an amused one. You took out the next thing. It was a candle, a three-wick one to be precise and you gasped loudly, tearing off the tin lid and bringing it up to your nose. 

You welcomed the sweet, vanilla scent of it, and sighed loudly. Steve was staring at you expectantly, eyes a little concerned as if he was afraid you weren’t going to like it. 

“You like it? Because I like this candle too, a lot, I’ve gone through like three of them and I thought you’d like it too,” Steve told you, and you smelled it again. 

“Are you kidding? It smells so good,” you replied, still holding the candle up to your face, “It’s so sweet, thank you.” 

You inhaled it again, before setting that aside too. Steve continued to watch with anticipation as you finally pulled the last item out. It was wrapped in paper, so you meticulously removed it before you realized it was a mug that said ‘ World’s Best Teacher.’ A little cheesy, but incredibly sweet as he said, “I know you’re not a teacher yet, but hey…when you are , you have the mug to prove it.” 

You just stared at the mug, your cheeks hurting from how much you’d been smiling and you lifted your eyes to meet him as you thanked him, “Thank you Steve…and Cassie too wherever she is.” 

You set the mug down beside the other gifts, feeling slightly overwhelmed (and a little shameful as all you got Steve was a card and giftcard). You relayed this to him and he laughed softly at you. 

“I literally displayed that card,” Steve said, before his cheeks turned red with embarrassment that he’d just said that, and he coughed into his hand before asking, “So you liked them?”

You nodded, “Yes, although…I think the carrots were my favorite,” you said jokingly. Steve scoffed at you, though the smug grin on his lips showed that he knew it was just a joke, especially as he watched you gaze almost lovingly at the three things he chose for you. 

You loved the gifts, you loved the candle, the wine…the mug …you loved…

You paused your thoughts, as they were about to say you loved him . It was silly…ridiculous even…to say you loved him. You could lie to yourself and say the love you felt for him was platonic, but you knew it was a lie. You fell in love with Steve Harrington. 

He was still looking at you, still leaning on his forearms on the island across from you, brown eyes soft and warm. Your heart just bloomed in your chest, and butterflies just erupted in your stomach, and then…you were leaning in without thinking. 

Steve went still when he felt your lips against his, having not been expecting it, not at all. You were kissing him, literally kissing him. His mind short circuited and he couldn’t keep up with it, that when you pulled away he almost thought it didn’t happen if not for the tingle left on his lips by yours. 

“I…”

Your voice was breathless, and your eyes horrified as you realized what you had just done. You stepped back, pressing your lips, that were surely tingling like Steve’s were, together and you said, “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have…”

Steve’s mind caught up with him in an instant, and he stood up straight, not wanting you to go all of a sudden. 

“Wait…” he told you, stepping out from behind the counter and moving toward you. His body was engulfed in warmth, mind with disbelief really at what just happened, and he stood in front of you, looking at you almost tenderly. 

You stared back at him, still embarrassed, body a little rigid and tense and he opened his mouth to say something more, anything, and he seemed to be stuck on what he wanted to say, eyebrows furrowing and a frown overcoming his lips before he dropped his head slightly and said, “Don’t be sorry.”

Your own eyebrows furrowed at this, cheeks heating up somehow even more , not understanding what he meant. Suddenly, you felt his hand on your cheek, his touch electrifying, and then his hand was underneath your chin, making you tilt your head upward.

Your breath hitched, not being able to take your eyes off of him. His own brown gaze had flickered downward, resting on yours lips, the lips that were just on his and then…his eyes met yours and he was leaning in again. 

You held your breath.

Then, just as you felt his lips just barely graze yours, the sound of somebody running up the stairs ripped you and Steve out of this moment. He was stepping away from you quickly, and you backed up too, your back hitting the wall just as the door was flung open and Max, Lucas, and Dustin were there wearing their New Years Party hats with a noisemaker in each of their mouths. Dustin had two in his mouth though, weirdly. 

“It’s almost time for the ball to drop,” Dustin stated, voice muffled as he shifted to the side to let Mike, El, and Will walk by the both of them, stalking toward the living room. Cassie was behind them, wearing a party hat and holding another in her hand, which she held out to you. 

“Let’s go!” she said eagerly. You couldn’t really deny her, just standing almost motionlessly as Cassie took your hand and began to pull you. You cast one last look at Steve, who was just standing there with an unreadable expression on his features. 

It was Lucas who stood there silently, looking between both you and Steve, seeing whatever it was that Max and Dustin (and understandably Cassie) seemed to not be seeing at this moment, unless they were just ignoring it. He crossed his arms and hummed quietly to himself. 

Cassie managed to pull you away then, smiling cheekily as she dragged you toward the living room where everyone would be gathered when they ring in the New Year. Steve watched Cassie take you away, expression turning almost sad .

“Hello? Earth to Steve?” Dustin said, then blew the noisemakers, making Steve jump and give him a look. 

“I heard you, Henderson, jeesh,” Steve said, turning so he could place all your gifts back into the bag. They watched him do so, Lucas with a now knowing look in his eyes and Max with a raised brow. Steve walked to the living room without looking at any of them. 

They watched him go and Lucas said, “They definitely just made out or something.” 

“Well, why wouldn’t they? They’re dating,” Max replied, walking away first. Lucas huffed and followed after her while Dustin stared at the empty kitchen, knowing that Steve and you weren’t actually dating and just playing along with the joke. 

He shook his head and said, “ Seriously ?” to himself.

✧ ✧ ✧

It was almost two weeks into the New Year, and with Cassie starting school up again, Steve dove himself into work. He did this because it was the only thing that kept him from thinking about New Years, from thinking about you . 

And it was hard work because now that he knew how your lips felt against his, he couldn’t stop thinking about you, every crevice of his mind was overtaken by you. You consumed him completely, and if it took focusing on making ten USS butterscotches, rewinding tapes all night, or restocking a bunch of ravioli cans to get him back to a more stable state of mind, that’s what he was going to have to do. 

In the meantime, you had been doing the same. One of the assistant teachers had been out for a while for the afterschool program at Hawkins Elementary, and you offered to fill in. It was easy enough to distract you, as you were doing what you loved and wanted to do for a living, but the moment you were left with your thoughts it was just of Steve and you felt confused, a bit ashamed, and incredibly heated, as when you closed your eyes you could still see the way he looked at you, and feel his large hand on your chin, so close to leaning in and kissing you again. 

Your heart fluttered in your chest at the memory, and heat pooled in your stomach. 

Then, the shame would settle in cruelly, because now it felt like you couldn’t be around the guy, too embarrassed, and fearful that he didn’t want to be around you. You felt sick at the thought of that. 

Until the day Cassie came to see you. 

The conversation had been brief, considering it was at the school library, and it ended with her asking you to join her and her dad ice skating.

“I…I’m not sure, Cass,” you said, voice soft as you were still in the library. She was holding a stack of paperback books, and was shaking her head.

“But you have to, it’s going to close, and you said you could teach me to skate,” Cassie declared, making you sigh at the little girl. 

“ Roller skate,” you replied, and she shrugged then paused before she batted her eyelashes at you and said, “My daddy wants you there, he said we can go only if you go.” 

You stared at Cassie, watching as she said ‘ pleaseeeee’ before sticking her bottom lip out to really sell the puppy dog look she was giving you. You weren’t sure if she was telling you the truth about that, as Steve would’ve called you, but you also didn’t want to say no to Cassie. 

She had made that expression to you before, when she was practically begging you to help her and Steve bake, and you didn’t have Steve to scold her. You knew then that you were for sure going to join them ice skating, and your stomach twisted at the mere thought of seeing Steve. 

What the hell were you going to say to him? You felt like puking, the anxiety was too much, but Cassie had got you to agree to it. Saturday, tomorrow , at Scoops Ahoy in Starcourt (As the skating rink was set up in their parking lot). She had skipped away with a smile on her lips, probably happy knowing she got her way. 

✧ ✧ ✧

It wasn’t a busy day at Scoops Ahoy, as it usually goes in the Winter. There were quite a few people who enjoyed a nice scoop of ice cream or a sundae on even a day as cold as this one, which was probably the coldest day of the season. Still, even with those types of people it wasn’t busy, so Steve was able to easily hold down the fort on his own until his shift ended.

He mainly stayed in the back, doing extra work in counting the inventory of the freezer. He made sure, too, to stay close to the window, so he could hear if any customers approached the counter.

Eventually, the bell did ring, taking his focus away from the numbers on the clipboard he was currently looking over. He didn’t look up, wanting to finish what he was doing first, so instead he called, “Be with you in a moment!” His voice muffled as he had a pen between his lips.

He pulled the pen off of its cap, and it remained between his lips as he quickly jotted something down beside the vanilla ice cream portion. When he finished, he suddenly felt compelled to look up. When he did, he almost spit the cap out on the floor. 

It was the person who had been plaguing his every thought when it wasn’t focused on a task, the person whose lips had touched his if even for a second. It was you , and he had to blink a few times, wondering if he’d become so overworked that he hallucinated you. 

When you smiled sweetly at him, and waved a gloved hand at him, he knew for sure you were real. 

He’d never seen you here before, never , and he suddenly felt, for the first time since high school, very self-conscious in his silly uniform. Thank god he decided to go without the sailor hat today. He very quickly started to move, setting the clipboard aside and taking the cap out of his mouth before he smiled back at you and scrambled to the door that led back to behind the counter. 

“Hey!” Steve said, his voice a little higher than usual, especially when he saw you did a quick glance at the uniform, and he quickly asked, “What- what are you doing here?” 

At his question you lifted your eyes at him and tilted your head as you replied, “I uh…Cassie told me to come. I don’t see her anywhere though?” 

You turned away from Steve, as if not wanting to make eye contact with him as you gestured around the parlor, which made his heart tear, but not when he realized what you had just said. Cassie told you to come?

“Wait- she told you to come here? Right now?” he asked. You nodded, finally looking at him. 

“Yeah, she said something about going ice skating with you both? And well, she conned me into agreeing,” you said, then laughed lamely at your own joke. Steve didn’t laugh, not because he didn’t find it funny, in fact he liked when you laughed at your own remarks, but because…Cassie wasn’t here , and they never discussed going ice skating. Well they did, but the answer was no . 

“If you don’t want me to join because- well- I mean- you know - I can go, I really don’t mind,” you were starting to say, but Steve was suddenly resting his hands on his waist and shook his head.

“No! Well…I mean…I think she conned both of us,” he replied incredulously, “We’re not…she’s not even here - I won’t even see her until tomorrow because she’s at a sleepover.”

This had visibly taken you off guard, your eyebrows that were once furrowed were not raising before you opened your mouth and let out a breath. 

“She is?” you asked, “When was that planned?” 

“Earlier this week,” Steve replied, shaking his head in disbelief. What was Cassie thinking? Creating a fake plan and making you come all the way down here? He was genuinely confused by her strange behavior. Immediately, he started to apologize for her, “I’m so sorry, I don’t know why she would even do that. I mean, I know she wants to go ice skating really bad, but- I didn’t think she’d make something up in order to go ice skating, but, she’s not even here -” 

“No, no it’s okay, maybe I misheard her,” you said, though you were sure you didn’t, but decided to convince yourself that you did. You rather ended up laughing, finding a bit of amusement in the situation. Steve listened to your laugh, the awkward feeling he dreaded when he would see you again was replaced with a familiar warmth.

He laughed too, finally. 

“I know you said it’s okay, but yeah I’m sorry,” he said after laughing, and you nodded. 

“Well…since I’m here I can’t help but recall…” you trailed off, and Steve’s stomach twisted pleasantly, thinking you were going to bring up that New Years kiss, but you lifted your eyes away from him and looked at the menu before finishing with, “...that you said you’d make me a…what was it? A USS Butterscotch ?” 

Steve tilted his head, then laughed breathlessly as he remembered he did technically say he’d treat you to some free ice cream that night. Your eyes averted back to his, and he reached to grab his scooper from his uniform and flipped it expertly as he said, “Coming right up…and maybe, if you want , just to get Cassie back…we could go ice skating and make sure to tell her all about it.” 

The thought made you giggle, imagining his daughter’s face realizing her whatever little trick she had planned backfired and that they still went ice skating without her. 

Soon you were sitting at a booth, Steve sitting across from you and pushing the well-made sundae toward you, then he slid over a spoon as well. 

“I think this is the best one I’ve made,” he admitted to you, though his leg was still bouncing underneath the table, nervous for some reason that you’d hate it. He felt ridiculous because it was ice cream and he’s never met anyone who hated it, especially if it was free and as beautiful as the sundae he just made for you. 

“I like the cones as sails,” you commented, leaning down to admire the piece of art he’d made in an Ice Cream parlor, “It’s cute .”

“ Cute , yeah it is,” he said, though he wasn’t looking at the sundae and you noticed it. You smiled, your heart pacing in your chest before you took the plastic spoon from him, grazing your fingers with his in the process. That was an accident, but a happy one as Steve sucked in a tight breath as he watched you scoop some onto your spoon, taking a cherry one one of the scoops with it. 

It was good, really good, so much that you went for a second spoonful immediately and Steve grinned, “Enjoying it?” 

“This is delicious, damn, I bet it tastes even better in the summer,” you said before taking another spoonful, “Also, I didn’t say , but I love the uniform.” 

You meant it too, the sailor costume suited him somehow, and you thought the shorts looked pretty good on him too. You did feel bad, just a bit, that he had to wear shorts during the winter though. 

His cheeks turned red, and it made you chuckle into your spoon, “Hard to believe no girls liked you when you first worked here, honestly, I think I would’ve been in here everyday to see King Steve serve ice cream.” 

“Believe me, I would’ve had a much better time if you were in here all the time back then,” Steve replied, “You’d probably skate in on your disco roller skates or something, because more than likely you would’ve worked at the old skating rink.”

“ Old skating rink?” you asked, and he nodded and told you that there had been a skating rink where the mall’s arcade is now, but there was a fire a few years back and they never brought it back. You hummed with interest as you ate more of the ice cream. 

“Yeah, they had these uniforms too, not as ridiculous as this ,” he said, patting himself on the chest, “But it was vibrant, and I think they had to wear glow sticks , and then they’d be playing disco music constantly, you would’ve loved it.” 

“Was…” you suddenly paused, the question you were about to ask feeling like one that would overstep a boundary. Steve tilted his head curiously at you, and you shook your head as you averted your attention back to the ice cream. 

“What?” 

“Nothing,” you replied quickly, “Just a dumb question I don’t need the answer to.”

“Well, now I gotta know, come on…just ask,” Steve said, feeling his heart starting to blossom in his chest. He wondered if you were going to ask about New Years, even though it would seem quite random in the conversation. 

You set the spoon into the sundae, and said, “I was just going to ask if…Cassie’s mom was one of those girls.” 

Steve paused, not expecting that out of all questions. It’s never come up in conversation with the both of you, but it wasn’t all surprising after a second of contemplation. She had been looming over him lately. He shifted in his spot, and inhaled before he said, “Nah. She actually knew me before …we were actually friends …but…yeah it’s a long story. It uh…we actually worked at the video store together after me and Robin got fired from Scoops and well..yeah you know…I guess it does say something that we didn’t get together when I worked here.”

You were relieved he had replied. He leaned back in the booth, a troubled look coming over his features as if he didn’t know what else to say, and you cleared your throat as you ate another scoop then set the spoon down. 

“Sorry for asking, it isn’t my place,” you said, cheeks turning warm and feeling stupid, but he quickly shook his head. 

“No, no , it’s alright,” he said, “I mean Cassie had a mom, obviously, she’s just not here and I can’t be mad at you for being curious.” 

You smiled tightly, and he reached up to smooth his hair back before he exhaled softly and said, sensing you weren’t convinced it was okay, “Seriously. It’s okay. I can even tell you more actually, if you want. She…she was my friend once, then we weren’t friends for a while because she skipped town, then one day she came back and we were friends again and uh…then well… a year later Cassie was born and she left again .” 

He was purposely not telling you specifics, and you weren’t going to press him, still feeling like you were overstepping even though he assured you that you weren’t. You took the spoon again, messing with the ice cream and tearing your eyes away from him as you said, “I’m sorry.” 

Steve shook his head again, then waved his hand for added effect, “You don’t have to be sorry about anything…you know…like on New Years.” 

At the mention of it, you froze, having thought that him not mentioning it meant there was silent agreement to not bring it up and just forget it. You were doing so well not being so awkward. You looked up at him, seeing his cheeks were a little pink before he leaned both hands on the table between you and shot you a sweet grin, and he said, “We were both a little tipsy.” 

For some reason, that made your heart drop and you realized you maybe thought he was going to declare his love for you or something. Not wanting to show it on your face, you were quick to take another scoop of ice cream and stick the spoonful in your mouth before you forced yourself to laugh.

Steve’s eyes flickered your expression without you noticing, a frown flashing over his lips before he too forced a laugh out. Then, both of you were saved by the bell. He turned his head, seeing a family standing by the counter and his eyes flashed to the clock. This would for sure be his last customer before clocking out, before you both go ice skating to spite his trickster of a daughter. 

Meanwhile, as he excused himself, you made it your goal to finish the sundae as a distraction from the conflicted feelings that were stirring inside of you. 

15 minutes had passed then, and before you knew it Steve was emerging from the backroom in a dark red sweatshirt and loose dark gray sweatpants while holding his winter coat in one arm. He certainly looked like someone who was expecting to go straight home after work, because after all it wasn’t planned and you told him that you didn’t have to ice skate if he’d rather go home. 

“No way. I’m not gonna let Cass do this to us without consequences,” he said as he shrugged on his coat, then helped you put yours back on like it was second nature. You didn’t even notice as you put your arms through the sleeves and he pat your shoulders down. 

“We could always just say we went ice skating,” you said, and Steve shook his head. 

“No, we’re doing this for real,” he said, determined to go ice skating even if it was starting to snow outside again, because after all the ice skating rink was set up in the parking lot of Starcourt. Couples, families, groups of teens already with their rental skates on skating in a circle by the time you were out there with Steve, holding your respective rental skates.

After getting the skates on, you placed your beanie on your head, and then your gloves while Steve pulled random gloves from his coat pocket and placed them on his hands as well. You wondered if he was warm enough as you observed him, eyes flickering over the snowflakes that decorated the strands of his brunette hair. 

You were a bit jealous of them, then felt ridiculous for being jealous of a damn snowflake. You scowled at your silly thoughts as you stood up, balancing on the skates with ease and Steve lifted his head at you then did the same. Although, he wasn’t as elegant as you. Immediately his arms spread out, and his legs twisted awkwardly. 

“Oh shit ,” he said, desperately trying to balance on the blades and you could only stand there staring at him, amusement replacing your self-embarrassment. 

“Are you good?” you asked, and after a moment he managed to keep still and without looking up from the ground he replied, “Totally. I’m totally good. Don’t worry about me.” 

You furrowed your brows before you said, “Have you ice skated before Steve?” 

“ Yeah ,” he said, trying to step toward you confidently but then cursing when his foot bent slightly. You caught his hands this time, laughing softly, “I’m just not, you know, good at it.”

“I find that hard to believe,” you said, letting his hands grip yours tightly as he found his balance again. You weren’t even on the ice yet. At your words, Steve lifted his head to meet your eyes, and your faces were in such close proximity that his cheeks grew warm. 

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“Just Robin went on about how you were good at everything in high school,” you teased, starting to step backward toward the ice. Steve grasped your hands tighter, and replied with a nervous laugh, “Everyone has their weakness. I wasn’t a hockey player, I was a basketball, baseball, tennis, badminton…” he trailed off purposely with other sports that had nothing to do with ice skating, making you giggle. 

“Are you sure you want to do this then? Like I said we could always just say we went ice skating,” you said as you were right at the ice. Steve nodded confidently. 

“I mean, I already got the skates on, and then I have a skater to help me so…” 

“Well, I am better at roller skating…but if we both fall and get hurt at least we’ll have evidence we went ice skating,” you said, half-joking as you yourself were a bit nervous. You were for sure more of a roller skater than an ice skater, but it seemed like Steve didn’t know the difference. A skater was good at all kinds of skating to him. 

“God the last thing I need is to get injured,” he said, hands still clasped tightly around yours, “ Oh my god .” 

You were on the ice now, gliding backwards and pulling Steve with you. His legs spread out, he nearly fell onto you as you laughed. 

“Should we have brought Cassie’s elbow and knee pads for you?” You teased again, and he laughed sarcastically.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny,” he said then panicked when he almost slipped, and would’ve fallen had you not been holding onto him, “Yup, yup this was a bad idea,” he told you, eyes wide and cheeks even more red from embarrassment and the cold weather. 

You shook your head and said, “We’re already here! Come on, let’s at least skate one lap.” 

From afar there was a shout, then laughter and you both turned your heads to see someone had fallen and their friends were laughing at them. They flipped them off before moving to stand, and Steve grimaced, already imagining that to be him . 

“Here,” you removed one hand from his, and his eyes grew even wider, believing for a second you were going to do what some parents do when teaching their kids how to swim, just throwing them into the water so their survival instincts kick in (except you were going to leave him, a grown man, on a sheet of ice wearing knives for shoes), but you kept a firm hold on one hand, “Just focus on staying balanced, and if you think you’re going to fall…well let me go so I don’t go down either .” 

Steve glided away from you, but found a nice balance by just holding your hand. Truth be told, he was starting to get an idea, as it really wasn’t his first time ice skating. Just after the first time he vowed never to do it again, yet, here he was with the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about even before that tipsy (though you both knew you were anything but tipsy that night) willingly ice skating. 

“ One lap ,” Steve told you, and you squeezed his hand. 

“One lap,” you repeated, then grinned as you glided forward, Steve’s wobbling legs struggling to follow suit. 

From an outsider's perspective, you and Steve appeared to be a couple on some sort of date, and since there were people there who recognized the pair to be you and Steve, such as Holly Wheeler with her friends, and a few faculty members of Hawkins Elementary, it seemed to them that it was a date. That you and Steve, as they all suspected, were together romantically. 

Your laughs could be heard by them as you passed by, and whenever you were looking forward, Steve would be looking at you with adoration in brown eyes, blinking only to get the snowflakes off of his thick lashes because he didn’t want to have any other reason to take his eyes off of you. 

He was clearly, so desperately, in love with you from the eyes of others, clear to everyone but the two people it should be clear to. As far as you both knew (or convinced yourselves really), you were just friends who decided to skate together in the beginning of the final snow storm of the season, as the wind picked up and the snowfall became more frequent. 

You had skated more than one lap, your hands not leaving each other even once as you shared this moment together, and you would’ve gone for more had the rink decided not to close early. Both of you were disappointed, hating that the fun was over so soon, hating that you’d have to leave each other again, all so you both can go home and lay in your respective beds with warmth bursting in your stomachs at the thought of the other. You would both look at the phones, thinking if you should call the other, if the other would pick up right away because these feelings were killing them too. 

It seemed though that the night wouldn’t end that way, as Steve had walked you to your car like the gentleman he was, and it didn’t start . You were practically shivering as you attempted to start it again, twisting the key in the ignition and getting nothing. 

“Well damn ,” you said with a scowl, and a chatter of your teeth as Steve furrowed his eyebrows before he cursed himself. 

“I said I’d look at your car and I never did,” he said, finding a way to blame himself for your predicament, but you were quick to brush it off. 

“No it’s my fault, I had plenty of chances to get it looked at and I just…never did,” you laughed, feeling foolish, “It would break down in the middle of a snow storm though.” 

Steve laughed too, though it was more of a pity laugh before he said he’d be more than happy to take you home, promising that there’d be working heat in his car. You didn’t have to be asked twice, letting him lead you toward his familiar car. 

✧ ✧ ✧

The blizzard had gotten worse by the time Steve pulled up to your house, pulling the car into your empty driveway carefully with a hyperfocus driver’s in the snow should have. His lights were barely able to capture your garage door, stepping on the breaks as he did. Your seatbelt locked, and you bounced forward slightly as he quickly apologized. 

“It’s so bad out there, god,” you commented, not blaming him for almost crashing into your garage. You also silently thought to yourself it was just as well that your car broke down and Steve had to take you home. You probably would’ve never made it here had you had to drive alone from Starcourt. 

“ Yeah ,” Steve agreed, looking through the windshield as the wipers worked overtime to get the snow off, “I hope I can get home in this.” He shook his head with discontentment, and you blinked, an idea popping in your mind. 

“You don’t have to…we can put your car in the garage, and you can stay until it dies down a little?” you suggested innocently. Steve looked at you now, looking quite touched by your invitation and you offered a small smile. 

“Would it be okay to ask for something hot? Like coffee?” he asked you, and you chuckled. 

“You read my mind.”

It’s how you found yourself in your kitchen with Steve Harrington for the second time, except this time neither of you were covered in various baking ingredients. You were in front of your french coffee press, the thick scent of coffee beans filling the atmosphere. Steve was rubbing his hands together, desperate to feel some kind of heat as your heater was barely kicking on.

The wind blew outside, causing the boards of your windows to knock together loudly and then your house to shake momentarily as well. Steve looked around, and then blew into his hands as he said, “You mind if I take the couch? I doubt this is going to go down anytime soon.” 

You glanced at him, the idea of him sleeping over making your heart leap of your chest, as you felt the last thing you needed was the man you desperately wanted romantically, but couldn’t have to be sleeping under the same roof as you. You wouldn’t be able to sleep, but who would you be to refuse a friend , especially in a storm like this. 

You poured coffee into one of the mugs you had taken out of the cupboard, clearing your throat as you said, “No, I don’t mind, I’ll get some extra blankets and pillows after this…I actually wonder if Cassie is okay.” 

“Oh I know she’s loving this,” Steve replied, noticing you were pouring coffee into a mug and staring at the steaming mug with anticipation, “She’s probably only upset she’s not home because when blizzards like this happen I usually make her hot chocolate and we sit in the kitchen just listening to it or in the living room staring out the window. Weather like this intrigues her.” 

You smiled, and said, “That’s good. I’d be scared to death at her age, honestly.”

You held the mug out for Steve and he gladly took it, inhaling deeply and practically moaning. You laughed at that, cheeks becoming inflamed as you put creamer into your coffee to sweeten it up. Steve did the same. 

“Yeah, me too,” he replied to your prior statement, “I actually used to think the house was going to blow away and we’d end up halfway across the country.” 

“Honestly, at this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised,” you said just as another sharp gust of wind passed and gave a violent shake to the house. Steve looked around again, looking nervous now that it may be true, but the number of blizzards he went through in his childhood alone was enough evidence to know that it simply wasn’t possible. It was one of the main reasons he made sure Cassie wouldn’t have to endure a bad storm or blizzard like this alone.

Steve took a sip of his coffee then, not caring that it was still too hot to drink, and just wanting to feel some kind of warmth as it seemed your heater was struggling to fight against the cold. It should’ve been the first sign that something was going to happen. 

You leaned into your counter, holding your own mug with both hands and breathing in the steam deeply and closing your eyes.

“This is kind of nice, actually,” you admitted as you took a sip as well, listening to the harsh winds and Steve agreed.

“Thanks for letting me stay, by the way,” he told you, “I thought maybe I’d be pushing it by asking.”

You shook your head, as your concern wasn’t with him overstepping any kind of boundary. 

“Don’t. I mean, we’re friends, Steve,” you willed yourself to say into your coffee.

Steve averted his eyes to yours, seeing you were looking mindlessly at nothing, and he pressed his lips together before breathlessly saying, “ Yeah , friends.”

You both silently drank your coffee, enjoying its warmth and enjoying the way it eased the sudden awkwardness between the two of you. It was a perfect distraction, for the time being, until you both wanted more.

As you poured a second round of coffee into his mug, Steve cleared his throat and said, “ Great coffee.” 

You thanked him cheekily, and Steve dragged the mug closer to him, keeping his gaze on you as you poured more into your own mug. He didn’t know what to say, unsure, but there was a sudden hard gust of wind, and then it sounded like something crashed . You both had jumped, you were thankfully not holding the coffee, and before either of you could question what just happened, you were suddenly engulfed in darkness. 

“God, the lights went out!” you called, hands grasping your kitchen counter as you navigated in the darkness. Steve noticed you sounded further into the kitchen, and blinked his eyes a few times trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. 

“Got any flashlights?” Steve asked you, speaking the direction of a drawer being opened and rummaged through. 

“In the garage,” you told him, and then he saw a small flicker of light. You were holding an ignited match, and then, you were lighting a candle to at least give some light for your venture to the garage.

You approached Steve then, holding the lit up candle in your hand and Steve was immediately met with the familiar vanilla scented candle he had in his own house, the same candle he had gifted you on New Years. 

“Hey…I know this candle,” Steve said, and you chuckled softly as you replied, “ Yeah , huh, it’s like you knew we’d need this.” 

Steve inhaled deeply, loving the smell and you did the same, and said, “I love it so much.” 

Your face was illuminated by the candlelight, casting a pretty glow on your features and Steve had to release a breath, a breath of which almost blew the candle out. This made you laugh and lean away from him to make sure he didn’t and told him to follow you. 

You and him had gone into your garage, you picking out the flashlights that Steve turned on so you more light than the candle. It was the harsh cold in there that made you both realize that if the power was out, then you wouldn’t have your heater . 

“We’re going to freeze,” you said in a dreadful tone, already feeling a chill coming over you. Steve was holding your only working flashlight, and shined it around your living room as he said something about body warmth , before he paused and said, “We can light a fire? Have any wood?” 

You promptly looked over his body warmth comment, since he seemed to do so, and you paused as you remembered that in early December Heidi’s husband had given you a bunch of firewood because he had cut too many. You had planned to use it, but never found the time to actually start a fire, so it simply sat in your garage. You relayed this to Steve, and he seemed more than happy to go and get them. 

“We should bring all the blankets and pillows you have out here so we can sit on the floor,” Steve told you, and you nodded, turning to go grab those while Steve busied himself with starting a fire. You had decided, as well, that you were going to light various candles, or at least the ones you could find. 

You placed them on a few surfaces located in your living room, and just as you set down the last one, a fire was ignited in your fireplace and Steve was leaning over it, rubbing his hands in front of the growing flames and nodding as if proud of himself that you weren’t going to freeze to death, not on his watch. 

The sight made you smile, thankful that Steve was here and thankful that you never used the firewood. He turned then, looking around the dimly lit living room as he noticed there were more candles and you watched his brown eyes flicker all over the room until they finally found you. 

“Ah, there you are, come on, it’s warmer right here,” Steve told you, and you set down the candle and obliged. You fell to the ground next to him, not before grabbing one of your blankets, and sighed at the heat that emitted from the well lit fire. 

“Better?” he asked you and nodded. 

“ Yeah ,” you said, holding your hands out to the flame and Steve gave a nod as he said, “Good.” 

After getting a bit warm, Steve suddenly laughed and said, “Got any more of that wine I got you? Could help warm us up a bit more.” 

You were quick to stand, loving that idea, and Steve seemed surprised that you in fact did have the wine. You took the flashlight, and he listened to a bit of rustling in the kitchen and the sound of a cabinet being opened and closed followed by the sound of glasses clinking. 

As you were setting everything on the counter, there was another gust of wind that shook the house violently, and you almost dropped one of the glasses. You looked around, then shook your head and wondered as you grabbed the wine if you had a battery operated stereo. 

You did, actually, and thought Steve might appreciate something playing over the harsh sound of the blizzard going on outside…even if it was just disco music. 

It actually amused Steve, as he poked at the growing fire, and then started to busy himself with setting up the blankets and pillows you had thrown on the floor more comfortably, when he suddenly heard music from behind him. 

“So we don’t have to listen to this blizzard threatening to blow my house across the country,” you said with a giggle as you walk toward him, already feeling the warmth of the crackling fire. Steve grinned, and told you it was a good idea and you settled onto the floor beside him, holding out a wine glass to him. 

“Is this the same one I got you on New Years, or is it a whole new one?” Steve asked you as he took the wine from you, determined to be the one to pour it like the gentleman he was. 

“It’s the same one,” you said, holding out your own glass and watching him pour the dark liquid in it, “I didn’t have time to drink it…and if I did, we would’ve even had any because I wouldn’t have had time to get another anyway…” 

“Well, thank goodness for a busy schedule,” Steve joked as he finished pouring some into his own glass and he lifted it toward you, “Cheers.” 

You clink your glass with his with a soft laugh before you settled into the nest of pillows and blankets and begin sipping your wine. The house warmed up gradually, or at least in the living room where you sat, and the wine, even after a couple of sips, was doing its job as well. You felt a warm heat settle in you caused by the alcohol, and was growing more content with the situation you found yourself in with Steve. 

Plus, the fire was pleasant to just stare at him, the wood crackling and embers glowing. 

After another minute of silence, Steve turned to you and said almost jokingly, “So…I’m gonna be here for a while. Plenty of time for us to exchange our life story, actually.”

He laughed softly after and so did you, but then another silence fell before the both of you.

As Steve sat there, thinking about how to follow up with that, he suddenly thought of your question from earlier in Scoops Ahoy, and while he really didn’t mind you asking, he did wonder why you asked anyway. So, he brought it up again and that dread crossed your face was apparent. 

He thought it was cute though, seeing you distressed about it when you didn’t need to be and said, “I just wanna know. Did someone say anything because this town talks.”

You turned to him, leaning your elbow on the couch you were leaning on and told him that Heidi had brought it up, which didn’t surprise him.

“I was just curious,” you said lamely, “We were talking about you, and then it just came up about her leaving or something.”

Steve was about to sip his wine but stopped midway, ears almost perking like a dog’s reaction to the sound of a crinkling bag when he heard you and Heidi were talking about him. 

“You were talking about me?” He asked, adding a teasing element to his voice. You looked at him, and scoffed slightly, seeing him grin slyly at you even in the dim lighting from the fire.

You were going to lie to him, say that he was brought up in conversation because of Cassie or some school event, but something suddenly compelled you to tell the truth of the contents of the conversation before the New Year’s party, before you kissed him and he almost kissed you again. You brought your wine up to your lips, downing most of it in order to muster up whatever courage you could.

Steve was already holding the wine bottle out in order to refill your glass. You held it out to him as you spoke.

“Well, she was just saying that you’ve never spent so much time with another woman since Cassie’s mom,” you said, keeping your eyes on Steve to observe his reaction, “She seems to think that it’s because you like me…”

Saying it outloud had you inwardly cringing, as you felt like a teenager again trying to tell her crush that she likes him and hopes he likes her too. These feelings had a way of bringing that out, so much that you just kept talking.

“I keep telling her we’re just friends though,” you added quickly when he was done pouring wine, “But you probably know how she is…” 

As you continued to talk, finding excuses for what you’d just said, Steve could only watch you, drinking his own glass of wine, slightly amused by your rambling. 

“But that’s a lie because she did tell me that you had seen someone else, I don’t know her name but-”

“Brenda?” Steve said, and the sound of him speaking and you froze, realizing you had started to ramble and immediately shrunk in your spot as you forced yourself to meet his eyes and shrugged weakly. He sipped the rest of his wine, then went to pour more in his own glass, “God, this town probably knows more about my life than I do.” 

He laughed weakly, and you sighed. 

“I don’t purposely go around asking about you, by the way, I like to learn whatever it is about you with you, like now,” you said nervously, and Steve half-smiled at that. 

“Even if you did, I can't blame you, I don’t really talk about that part of my life because…well I’m more concerned with Cassie,” he said, then coughed slightly, “But uh- what else did she tell you?” 

You blinked softly, then said, half-lying to yourself, “For the record I don’t take her words to heart…but she said that…well you never did things with Brenda that you do with me.” 

Steve was very quickly reminded by Robin’s words the first night was back in Hawkins for a visit. She was right, Steve thought, Steve doesn’t just let people in his life. He doesn’t just invite anyone to Thanksgiving, and now New Years , go apple-picking with anyone who isn’t his daughter, and or suggest going ice skating when he knew he wasn’t very good at it. He doesn’t do these things, not since…well Robin had brought that up too . 

“It’s silly, I try not to think too much about it because-” 

“She’s right,” Steve suddenly said, and stared at the flames of the fire for a moment before he continued to say, “I didn’t do any of that with her…I haven’t done a lot of things with anyone since Cassie’s mom…until now that is.” 

It was a big step for him to even say anything, feeling slightly nervous, and you tilted your head gently. He pressed his lips together before chuckling breathlessly, hating that the thought of her mom in this context still bugged him so bad. 

But he did say you both would have time to share each other’s life stories, even though it was jokingly. He sipped his wine again, then licked his lips nervously before he said, “I was just not comfortable letting anyone into Cassie’s life, and she had told me she understood and would be okay with it…but I guess she changed her mind and forgot to let me know.” 

“So it just didn’t work out,” you said, and he nodded. 

“Yeah, and it made feel terrible, and stupid honestly, but…Cassie’s my number one priority, and always will be…after what happened with her mom…I have a hard time with you know, romance ,” he laughed bitterly at the end of his sentence, and it made you frown as you could tell it wasn’t out of amusement. 

“Did you love her?” 

It seemed only natural to the conversation for you to ask.

“Did I love Brenda? No,” he said, then felt bad how easily he said it, “God that sounds so bad...it just wasn’t really a loss like Cassie’s mom had been. Only disappointing.”

You pressed your lips together gently, then said, “So you loved Cassie’s mom.”

Steve paused. He never really thought of her in that aspect anymore, as he struggled to admit he had any romantic feelings toward her because of the frustration of her just leaving Cassie. But he did love her, he couldn’t change that…

“We were never… together though, always just friends, and when she came back to Hawkins a year after we graduated and worked together at the Video Store…we decided to hook up. It was one night, and then…she was pregnant,” Steve told this without warning really, but you were intrigued by the story you wouldn’t admit that you wanted to hear. You’d rather it from him, then anyone else to know what happened. 

“So… yeah I did love her, at least after, I mean, she was pregnant with our child you know? Totally unplanned, and I wasn’t about to just leave her, so I stayed and then I fell in love…but I guess I was the only one...to fall in love and to stay.”

He downed the rest of his coffee, and you took a sip of yours. 

“That’s… a lot ,” you said truthfully, not knowing what else to even say. Steve nodded. 

“Yeah, yeah you’re telling me,” he said, placing his mug down for the last time, “What about you? Have any tragic love stories?” He was attempting to lighten the mood after his short rant, and you could only shake your head. 

“Like that one? No , I’ve never had the time,” you said, which was something Steve could relate to, “I was really into my studies, always to myself, I barely even had friends …then you know, my dad got sick, so I stopped my life to be with him at the end of his...and now here I am.” 

You gestured around the room, and Steve shook his head as if he were in disbelief, “Really? Is it just me, the single dad in the room, who has a tragic love story?”

You laughed and shrugged, and he said, “Yeah…it’s rough , but…at least I have Cassie…and well… you .” 

He was taking a risk saying that to you, knowing he meant more than just as a friend. You found yourself smiling weakly at that, the heat of the room and alcohol intermixing with the normal warmth Steve always made you feel.

You sipped your wine slowly then, and you asked him if he could tell you what happened with Cassie’s mom. Steve looked torn by the question, eyes falling to the wine as he swirled it nervously and let out a breath. 

“I still don’t know the answer to that,” Steve said bitterly, then shook his head, “For a while, we just co-parented you know, then one day she dropped Cassie off and just…never came back.”

You looked saddened by his words, and Steve took another long sip of his wine, finishing his second glass. You grabbed the bottle, pouring some more in your glass before holding it out for Steve. He held his glass out, thanking you quietly. He hated talking about this, but maybe it was time he did. 

“Did you ever find her?” 

Steve shook his head, laughing bitterly at that. 

“Nope, and I tried. I really did, but…she just vanished off the face of earth.” 

You kept your gaze on the side of Steve’s face, even as you sipped your wine. You could barely see him in the dim lighting of the fire that was still ablaze in your fireplace beside the both of you. Steve sighed, rotating his wine glass again before he started to speak again.

“I was so fucking mad,” he admitted,  “Not because I had to take care of Cassie myself, no I could handle that, I was practically doing it already, it was just…you know… Cassie . She didn’t understand that her mom just left her.”

The memories of those days that followed flooded through his mind, memories that still made Steve mad. Cassie was so young, too young, and he remembered how every morning she would sit in the living room by the window just waiting for her mom to show up. He kept looking for her during those days, calling around, even actively going out , but her trailer was practically abandoned, everything left behind but all her clothes, the same suitcase she used when she stayed with Steve and his parents during the last month of her pregnancy, and her car. She just dropped Cassie off and left, and it was planned. 

He didn’t realize his fists were clenching, and his body was becoming tense. You did though, frowning softly as you reached over to touch his shoulder. Steve turned his head a bit, feeling your touch bringing him back to reality. 

“I remember her just waiting by the window for her to just show up, then just watching her give up …” he continued, now looking at you, “And…to be honest, I’m so fucking scared what that is going to do to her. Right now she is okay, she is happy , but what happens when she gets older and when she asks me what happened to mom? And I have to tell her that her own mom abandoned her? And it’s suddenly a concept she fully grasps? What the hell am I going to do?”

He was asking you, even though he knew it wasn’t fair to. Cassie wasn’t your responsibility, but as the months turn into years the question has just been gnawing at him everytime he looked at his little girl, remembering her little face of defeat when she started to realize her mom wasn’t going to come back to her. When she stopped sitting by that window.

It broke his heart, and he wished somehow that he could’ve shielded her from it all. 

“It’s…not really the same thing, but…” 

You actually speaking made Steve’s eyes flicker back to yours. 

“I mean, I was also the daughter of a single dad, as you know,” you started, “My mom passed away when I had barely turned 5. Her funeral is one of the first things I remember, but even then it’s a little fuzzy. I barely remember her actually or even how she looked aside from a few pictures we had, but my dad never put any of them up again when we moved. She didn’t abandon me, not like Cassie’s mom, but as a kid who barely understood death it kind of felt like it.” 

You shifted in your spot, eyes looking at the fire now and it was Steve’s turn to stare at you. 

“My dad was always gone too, always working, and I never really had a constant person beside him in my life and even then, he wasn’t really constant. He had to work, you know, keep him and his daughter fed. We had our special moments though,” you smiled to yourself, though it was sad he worked so much you still cherished when you’d go out to a burger joint sometimes, when he saved up to buy you your first pair of roller skates, almost enough to make you overlook the years you spent by yourself. 

“There were some, like my fifth grade teacher I mentioned, you probably don’t even remember,” you laughed, but Steve shook his head.

“No I do, you brought her up when we were baking,” Steve said, and you felt a bit flushed that he remembered something as small as that, but promptly blamed it on the alcohol sloshing through you and making you warmer than usual. 

“Yeah, she was there for a bit, but then we moved- for the last time thankfully- to the city where there was more work for him,” you continued, “And…I was alone again. I did fun stuff, it’s where I was first introduced to disco…” You lifted your hand, gesturing to the boombox that had been playing the occasional 70s disco hit in the background of your conversation.

Steve smiled at that, disco suddenly taking a place in his heart in a way he never expected it to. 

“But I was alone , and a lot of the time I resented my mom, my dad too because at times it felt like they both left me,” you said, “I didn’t have anybody but myself, and…it certainly affects me even to this day.” 

You took a break to take a sip of your wine, in fact, you were chugging it and Steve just watched you. Despite Steve getting to know you, he knew what you meant. Every snippet of your life, from how you reacted to dinner with the Henderson’s in November, he could see how it does, and he understands it too in a way. It was easy to feel like your own isolated island. 

You set your glass down after downing it and turned to Steve, “Anyway, my point is, I was alone, you know? And Cassie…well it’s going to happen, she’s going to wonder why her mom left her and it will hurt, but…she’s not going to be alone. She has so much support from Robin, Dustin, Claudia, those abundance of kids who absolutely adore her, she just has so much love , but more importantly…she has a great dad.” 

Steve’s heart swelled in his chest by your words, so much that he felt like he was feeling it in his throat. He swallowed thickly, cheeks becoming flushed. You smiled at him, eyes looking quite foggy from the amount of wine you’ve both consumed.  

“I know I’ve barely got here, but…Steve, you’re such a good guy,” you were saying now, expression turning serious, “I can see why everyone is so obsessed with you here, and it’s not just because of your good looks…that’s just an added bonus. You’re a good guy.” 

He smiled at that, and you sighed softly, turning your body toward Steve and reached with the hand that wasn’t holding your wine glass to gently grasp the back of his head. Steve was a little disoriented by this, but his vision cleared when he saw you were at eye level with him. He grew still, just staring back at you breathlessly.

“Cassie is going to be okay because she has you .” 

It felt like something clicked into place when you uttered those words to Steve. He opened his lips, wanting to say something, but not knowing what. His mind picked up on the music that was playing, the soft, funky beat of the Bee Gees “How Deep is Your Love” flowed through the boombox’s speakers, traveling through the room and reaching Steve. 

He was gazing back at you, the fire illuminating half of your face and intensifying your gaze. It was warm in here now, from the fire, the wine, from you . His breath hitched, feeling that electricity again, except it was stronger, more intense and Steve couldn’t ignore it any longer. 

Then you come to me in a summer breeze…keep me warm in your love, then you softly leave…

“I wish I met you sooner,” he suddenly said, and you gently nipped your bottom lip and said, “Me too.”

Perhaps it was the wine he was drunk off of, or perhaps it was you he’s become drunk off of - it didn’t matter. He parted his lips, gently licking them before his eyes flickered down to your lips. He couldn’t take it anymore, and when he met your gaze again, and saw the tender way you were looking at him, he couldn’t stop himself, not like he could at Thanksgiving, not like he could everytime after that. He wanted to kiss you, he needed to.

He started to lean in slowly, up until his nose gently nudged yours. You did not stop him, in fact, you were guiding him toward you, inviting him to kiss you. He let out a hot breath, realizing that you wanted this too, even though it was silly to think for a moment that you didn’t, and he closed the space in between your lips like you had done in the Wheeler’s kitchen, laying his mouth on yours softly and sweetly. 

Your lips fell together in a tender kiss, and your hand on Steve’s head drew him closer to you. You dropped the empty wine glass you held, landing safely onto the pillows and blankets still gathered around you, and he felt this hand rest on his cheek.

You were warm, so very warm , and his head became dizzy and he too had dropped his wine glass. Except his glass still had wine in it. The glass tipped to the side, its contents spilling and staining one of the pillows and the carpet that peaked out between the pillows it had fallen on. 

Neither of you noticed, and if you did, you wouldn’t have cared anyway. 

His hands were on your waist now, pulling you toward him without parting his lips from yours, and you let him lead you to wherever he wanted you to go. Soon, you were straddling him, your legs sitting on either side of his and you finally pulled away. 

“ Steve ,” you said his name, voice breathless and tainted with wine just like Steve’s was. His hands rested on the expand of your thighs, brown eyes shining as he looked up at you. 

“Is this okay?” he asked you, voice low and an octave lower, “I can stop…we can stop.” 

You moved your hands to his hair, leaning forward to press your forehead against his, being able to see him better than he can see you. The light of the fire behind you now, the only light being from the small candles placed on various parts of your home, but he could feel your face against his, and he could feel you nod .

Like your lips were a magnet, he was kissing you again, combining your breath together as he consumed your lips with his with an intensity that had you falling against him and letting his kiss lure you into a state of mind that was just him . 

He kissed you, and he kept kissing you, tongue sliding between your wet, parted lips and licking into your mouth softly and almost sloppily. His hands started to move on their own accord, one upward toward the small of your back, lifting your shirt ever so slightly.

Your hands had started to wander too, without you realizing it. They were now flat against his chest, feeling the fast beating of his heart against your palm, and the other moved downward, gently grazing his ribs. 

He shuddered against you, eyes flickering open and lips parting from yours. He realized too that his hand had wandered, feeling the heat of your skin against his own hand, and he looked up at you, eyes questioning. You sucked in a soft breath, leaning away from Steve. 

“Sorry,” he said, referring to his hand that was moving up your shirt. You sighed deeply. 

Steve’s eyes had fallen, but when they did they caught the sudden movement of your hands. You were grabbing onto the hem of your shirt, and he snapped his head upward. No words escaped his mouth as he watched you remove your shirt and told him the same thing he told you on New Years… ‘ don’t be.’

“ Fuck ,” Steve said, wishing his eyes would adjust better, and he heard you laugh quietly, as if someone will hear you both, and you grabbed his hands, making them move to your abdomen. 

“Are you okay with this?” you asked him this time, perhaps a little too late, but you weren’t really thinking. 

“How could I not be? You’re so god damn beautiful,” he told you, and you melted into his lap when he did. He chuckled sweetly at you, then leaned up to kiss you again before his hands started to move against you, and he said again, breathlessly, “ God damn …” 

He sounded nervous as he then bit down on his lower lip, feeling your skin tremble underneath his touch. Goosebumps followed where his hands started to move, just over your sides and then upwards until he was touching your breasts. 

You hummed when he did, back arching slightly and he licked his lips, eyes moving from your breasts back up to you. He leaned in, pressing gentle kisses onto the skin of your neck, your collarbone, and lower to the mounds of your breast. 

You threw your head back softly, mouth falling open as the sensation of him kissing you where you were most sensitive. His brown eyes stayed drawn on you, and he drew his lips away to kiss back up your neck and just underneath your chin. 

His hands followed, now on the back of your hair as he brought you forward to crash your lips together in a more fervent kiss, more desperate, and hot. His tongue swirled in your mouth, colliding with yours as he drank you up second by second. 

His arms then were wrapped around you, feeling the slight tremble of your legs and before you knew it, he was leaning away and making you lay down. You fell against the soft blankets beneath you, arms falling over your head and Steve had taken his shirt off as well before he settled on his side next to you. 

His eyes were dark, you could tell that much by the light of the flames, and you reached your hand forward, falling into the temptation to touch his chest that was full of hair. He released a breath through his nose at your touch, smiling as he was amused. It had been a while since he’d been with anyone intimately like this, and when he felt your hand massaging his chest, he remembered how past partners had done the same. It felt sweeter coming from you though, and he placed his hand over yours and leaned in to press a chaste kiss onto your lips before moving your hand away to place a kiss against that to, then place it back over your head. 

He had other ideas, anyway. 

“Is this what you want?” he asked, voice almost a whisper. 

“Is this what you want?” you asked him back, voice a little shaky. He wasn’t ashamed to reply yes , and you stared at him for a long second before nodding, saying yes, me too . 

He smiled softly, eyes drawing over your face and down your body before he brought his hand upward, stopping at your lips. You kissed the fingers there before parting your lips for him, tremors rushing down your body as he pressed his fingers inside of your mouth…

He didn’t ask you again, and neither did you…not when his fingers were buried deep inside of you, making you come undone, not when the rest of your clothes came off, when you kissed each other all over…especially not when you were underneath him, his hips thrusting at a languid, sensual pace, his length pumping in and out of you.

The fire was dying beside you, but you didn’t need it anymore. You and Steve were keeping each other warm. 

You were caged in underneath him, seeing nothing but Steve gazing lovingly at you from above. His chest hair rubbed against your own chest, creating a delicious friction with every thrust of his hips that filled you up. 

Your hand dragged across his back, your nails scratching his shoulder blades, making pleasurable chills run up and down his back. His mouth was hovering just above yours, parted and releasing soft grunts and pants that intertwined with your own. Then, he was leaning down, lips only grazing yours as his tongue touched yours as his hips moved faster. He grunted, moving away as he did so.

Your back arched upwards, breasts pressing against his chest tightly and moaned his name out softly. He looked back down at you, smiling almost lazily. He pressed his lips against your cheek, before resting his head on your forehead, keeping his brown, hazy eyes open and on you. 

You tensed up underneath him, heart thumping out of your chest and lips releasing a cracked moan of his name as pleasurable heat washed over you for the second time that night. Steve kissed you, riding you through it, and whispered sweet nothing against your lips as he too came undone.

✧ ✧ ✧

It was warm when you woke up, your body cocooned in the thick covers you brought in the living room the night before. You were immediately met with an ache that buzzed over your entire body, but it was not unwelcome. It was a reminder of what just happened the night before, of the night you spent with Steve. 

Your eyes fluttered open then, adjusting as you stared up at the ceiling of your living room. Heat encompassed over you at the thought of last night, at the thought of Steve, and you looked next to you, expecting to see him, wanting to see him, but the space next to you was empty. You frowned then, starting to sit up when you heard movement in your kitchen. 

You sat up completely, turning your head and peering into the kitchen, only to see that man you were expecting to see laying in the pile of blankets next to you standing in front of your stove, his hair sticking it various directions and only wearing his boxers and an apron. 

It was a sight that took your breath away, especially when you could make out the marks that were left on his neck by you .

Then, you smelled the killer breakfast he was making. Eggs, bacon…was he making pancakes ? That made your stomach suddenly growl, and as if Steve had heard that, he was turning his head and meeting your eyes. 

“Good morning,” Steve called to you, his lips pulled upward in a sweet smile. A smile was brought to your face, cheeks feeling even warmer as he said, “Hungry?” 

You started to move to stand, tearing your eyes from Steve as you searched for an article of clothing to put on, only for your eyes to land on the stain left on your carpet. 

“Oh…oh damn ,” you said, “When did that happen?” 

Steve placed the bacon he’d just finished cooking onto a plate when he turned to see what you were talking about, and instantly he cringed when he saw you staring at the wine stain. His memory of the night wasn’t that hazy, but he could not recall how the spill even happened. It was a little lighter though, considering he spent a good 20 minutes after waking up trying to clean it. 

“I really tried to clean it,” Steve told you, wiping his hands with a paper towel. 

You could only laugh, turning and looking up at Steve as he came into the living room.

“It must’ve happened…well… yeah ,” you said, purposely not saying when you guys started kissing, and you turned your head to see Steve holding your sweater out to you, a smile on lips, and cheeks dusted pink. 

“ Yeah , I figured,” he said, understanding what you meant. You thanked him quietly as you took the sweater and he turned away, back toward the kitchen as he told you that he hoped you didn’t mind him making a big breakfast like this. 

You put your sweater on, then found your undergarments and placed those on too. The hem of your sweater stopped just below your thighs, and you finally moved to stand as you said, “No, no I don’t mind at all…”

Steve was holding two plates now, flashing you another sweet grin before setting them down on the small dining room table you had in the kitchen. You noticed even coffee was made, steam rising from the mug and as you got closer, you noticed that he had even prepared it the way you did. He must’ve watched you make yours the night before…

You sat down in the chair, right in front of the plate and coffee and when you saw the fluffy pancakes, you sighed with delight, “God, I fucking love pancakes…” You took the syrup from the middle of the table.

Steve laughed at this, taking the seat across from you. He had discarded the apron, choosing to just be shirtless which you mildly appreciated as the pancakes had consumed your hungry self entirely. 

“I remembered you told me that,” he told you as he took the syrup you were holding out for him. You paused as you sliced a part of the pancake with your fork, and glanced at him. He was looking at you, still smiling, and he said, “Go on and taste it. I wasn’t lying when I said I make good pancakes.” 

You did as told, Steve watching you intently for a reaction, and you hummed, and nodded as you chewed. They were the fluffiest, perhaps most perfect pancakes you’ve ever had. Steve had not been lying that day in the grocery store back in Fall, and had you already not been in love with the guy, this would’ve been the dealbreaker. 

“It’s delicious ,” you said finally, but you didn’t need to tell Steve that. He was already smirking smugly as he said, “I know” before taking a bite of his own pancake. 

You ate the rest of your breakfast pretty quickly, as it seemed your previous nightly activity drained all of your energy and finally, as you both washed the dishes, you asked him if the blizzard cleared out. 

“Yes,” he replied, then quickly added, “Streets aren’t clear still…so I think I’m gonna have to stick around for a bit longer.” 

Steve was looking at you a certain way, brown eyes telling you something he didn’t dare want to say out loud. Your heart flipped in your chest, then warmth that would turn into heat flooded you all over. Neither of you had said anything upfront about your night together, like you were avoiding it, but he wanted to stay …and without checking if he was lying about the streets not being cleared yet, you were more than happy to let him stay.

You spent the rest of the morning in your bedroom, tangled into the sheets with Steve. There were no excuses now, as the wine could’ve been blamed for the night prior. The only thing that was making your mind hazy was Steve himself, and the feeling of his hair between your fingertips as your back arched and you moaned his name…

✧ ✧ ✧

Steve was staring at the ceiling of your bedroom, one arm wrapped around you and the other folded and resting underneath his head. He liked this, he liked the way you felt in his arms, your bodies pressed tightly together, legs tangled together underneath your blankets. 

It had been almost 15 minutes since holding you like this, just laying together in silence and he liked that too. 

You shifted in your spot gently, untangling your legs from Steve’s in order to stretch them and he looked down at you as you decided to move away from him completely, saying,  “I’m gonna turn the heater off for a bit.” 

Steve nodded, as you removed yourself from the bed, holding one of your loose sheets around you. He watched you go, heart fluttering in his chest as you flashed him a sweet grin before turning and disappearing into your hallway. 

He sighed, smiling to himself as he moved to sit up and then run his hands through his now slightly greasy hair. There was a mirror on the dresser to his left, so he could see just how messy his face was, but he could also see the fresh marks you left on parts of his neck and chest. Right next to the ones from last night. He even touched them, feeling his stomach flood with heat, wondering if either of you could go another round because after all it had been quite a while and you just made Steve absolutely insatiable that he didn’t even want to leave after breakfast.

You had come back, holding a pile of clothes in your arms. It was the clothes Steve had discarded in the living room the night before and just never put back on. 

“Here,” you said cheekily as you placed them on the bed then went to the dresser. Steve took that moment to reach out and grab you. You gasped softly as he did, and he was grinning widely at you as he pulled you onto his lap. 

“Hi,” Steve told you, hands sprawled out on your bare thighs, gently squeezing the flesh there.

“ Hey ,” you replied breathlessly, moving your hands toward his hair as if it were second nature by now. He sighed through his nose and leaned up to kiss you again, and already, again , you were putty in his lap. You weren’t sure if you were ever going to get enough of Steve Harrington, especially now that you’ve gotten an actual taste of him. 

God, it was so easy to fall in love with him and you weren’t sure you’d ever want to be with anyone but him.

It was that thought that had you pausing, and Steve had felt you suddenly go still against him. He opened his eyes and leaned away to give you a curious look before asking what was wrong. You swallowed thickly, leaning away from him as well, but not leaving his lap. 

“Steve I…what…what is this?” you asked. He blinked gently, and you could see his eyes grow thoughtful before he peered back up at you. He was going to say something, but for some reason you were suddenly scared he was going to say it was a one time thing (thought one time turned into a few times that your sheets were gonna smell like him for a while), so you said, “I’m not expecting anything…we were pretty drunk last night…” 

Steve stared at you, before he licked his lips and said, “We weren’t drunk this morning…” 

The dread in your stomach gently faded at that, and you replied, “I don’t know…those pancakes were so good they did something to me.”

He laughed at that, and his laugh made you laugh as well and he kept his gaze on you the entire time, as if he loved watching you laugh and smile. You pressed your lips together in a smile, and he said, “I don’t…I don’t want it to be a one time thing, if that’s what you’re asking.” 

His expression had grown serious, and his hands that were squeezing the flesh of your thighs turned into gentle rubs, as if he was nervous. 

“ I like you ,” he said, though his voice sounded a little forced, because he didn’t want to use the word ‘like’ because his feelings for you were more than that, though you didn’t know that. You would take what you could though, and force yourself to use the same word as well, even though it was quite clear to you that you were completely in love with him. 

“So…what now then?” you asked softly. 

He sucked in a breath. The truth was, Steve didn’t know, well he did know, but he still wasn’t sure about it because he had suddenly thought of his daughter. The thought of Cassie made Steve frown, and a weird feeling crossed his chest that made him doubt the decision he was about to make. Steve wanted to be with you, but his stupid mind had started to talk him out of it, telling him he wasn’t going to work , you didn’t deserve his flaky nature, or to wait on him when he was too busy for you…he didn’t want to do that to you, just like he had told Robin the first night she came back to Hawkins. 

But then he also thought about the other thing Robin had told him…he’d be crazy if he didn’t at least try .

Alas, it was the thought of Cassie that halted any decision making on Steve’s part, as he realized that he was supposed to pick her up almost an hour ago, which was not helping the case in his mind. He forgot his own damn daughter, not that Delilah’s mother minds, nor does Cassie and Dee herself, but he still felt horrible. 

“Shit, I’m sorry, I have to go, ” Steve told you, failing to realize before he said it that he didn’t answer your question as he gently moved you off of him.

 Your heart had fallen down to your stomach, and Steve caught the expression on your face as he pulled on his boxers, and was grabbing his jeans. It was one of heartbreak, and it tore him inside to see it. It made him pause with his jeans halfway on, and he opened his mouth but nothing came out as he felt ridiculous with his jeans only up to his knees, so he pulled it on and buttoned it before walking toward you. 

“No! No, that- that wasn’t my answer,” he told you, fear in his voice that he messed up. 

“Steve, it’s okay-” you tried to say, but he reached over to gently touch your cheek and kiss you without really thinking. You went still as his lips pressed gently against yours, and he leaned with a soft sigh. 

“I’m late to pick Cassie up, that’s all,” he assured, his hand still on your suddenly very hot cheek, “I just…I want to talk again, okay?” 

“Okay,” you said, because you were at a loss of words of what his sudden kiss meant and didn’t know what else to say. Steve seemed content with that and nodded, before he gently swiped his thumb under your eye and told you earnestly, “I’ll call you.” 

Now you could only nod, and he returned that nod before grabbing his shirt and putting it on. You could only sit on the bed, the sheet still the only thing covering your bare body, and you watched him quickly put his shirt on, inside out but you doubt he cared as his concern was forgetting to pick his daughter up. 

He did spare you one last glance and small good-bye though before he was rushing out of your room and down the hall, where you could hear him cursing as he put his shoes on before you heard him open the door to your garage. 

When you could no longer hear him in your house, you suddenly felt very cold without him there, and you hugged the sheet around you tighter, already missing him and the warmth he always brought you. 

And you waited for that call, standing idly by the phone whenever you were home, keeping your stereo off even as you eventually scrubbed away at the wine stain on your carpet that would just not come out. When you folded all the blankets, washed the wine glasses, and tossed the empty one in the trash. It was pushed to the back of your mind for about an hour, when you called a towing company to get your car from Starcourt, and take it to the mechanic in Downtown Hawkins. When you got home though, it was night time, and you waited.

You waited for it, even the following day, and the day after that…you would even find yourself gazing at the door, wondering if he was going to walk through those doors, apologizing for not calling because he’d rather see you instead. 

But he didn’t. Steve was never the one to walk through the office doors in the days following the night and morning you spent together, was never the one on the other side of the line if your phone did happen to ring. You told yourself that you weren’t hurt, trying to convince yourself that when you said you weren’t expecting anything you were telling the truth. 

You fell in love with Steve Harrington, and then…well, you were sure that if he didn’t call or make the effort to see and speak to you even after everything he told you before he left your house in such a rush to pick Cassie up…then it must be his way of saying that nothing, nothing was to come from what happened between the two of you. 

He was busy, you knew that, he told you relationships weren’t his forte from the beginning, everyone did, and yet, he was so easy to like, even easier to fall in love with that you didn’t stand a chance. Still, your heart couldn’t try and rationalize his actions like your brain, and you were completely and utterly heartbroken. 

And then, you wondered just what the hell was Steve freaking Harrington’s reason for all this.

#its here #late #but HERE #listen to how deep is your love if you CAN #i wrote SO MUCh #steve harrington #it's so long i dont even wanna give a word count aslaskjaklsja #cause oof #stay tuned for spring #it'll be shorter than this bad boy #i say but then i end up writing for a thousand years #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington imagine #single dad steve au #stranger things #stranger things imagine #confetti series #lys writes again

[miracleandplagueau]

MIRACLE AND PLAGUE -- ALL LINEUPS + DESIGN NOTES

Good luck to anyone reading this, I spent good 1.5 hour on writing this out instead of studing LMAO

JIAYI DUPAIN-CHENG -- WONDERBUG

- She designed the jacket herself. There's a clover logo on the back with a hidden signature.

- One of the bracelets (the ribbon one) is a matching gift from Alya. She has a similar one.

- The red fade is a side-effect of the Wonder

- In her hero form, her irises or pupils aren't visible

- The symbol on her belt is the chinese symbol of luck

- She has two yoyos in the pockets on her sides - one is a spare one

- Her capette is supposed to resemble Tikki's "wings"

- She has small metal guards on the top of her hands/gloves

- The anthennas are tied into her hair

ADRIEN AGRESTE -- CHAT NOIR

- His hair fade is dark brown. I chose a softer shade because black-black did not look nice

- Adrien is wearing clothes from his father's brand. It's most evident because of the butterfly logo on the front of the sweater

- Cat ears and tail real

- The tail has a little ball on the very end. It's in order to imitate Plagg's tail and It gives some personality to the design.

- He has three sticks attached to his belt

- The whiskers are barely visible but they're there!

GABRIEL AGRESTE -- MONARCH

- He's wearing darker clothes to reflect on his gloomy personality and in order not to stand out as he's trying to avoid attention outside of his home

- The coat was designed himself - similarly to Jiayi's jacket that she designer on her own

- His hair color is light purple and most of the time comes off as silver which is definitely to his advantage

- The hero form has little antennas that usually bend along his hair

- Transformation is definitely more combat-based despite the power being suiter for long-distance

- The back material resemble butterfly wings and allow him to fall slower If needed

- The additional set of eyes serve a purpose of supporting his eyesight as glasses don't appear in his hero form

ALYA CESAIRE -- RENA ROGUE

- The ribbon on her wrist is matching with Jiayi

- She wears a beret sometimes

- The shirt is a reference to a video game character she's a fan of

- The sleeves of the jacket are made out of leather

- The mask resembles a fox with spiky parts under her eyes. It also has a white part running down from her forehead

- The brown shoulder parts are actually short fur. So are the side cuts on the pants, they're also fluffy

- While the tail takes a form very similar to the Wonder itself, it still functions as a regular tail

- Her ears are very pointy and long

- Mismatched socks

CHLOE BOUGREOIS -- QUEEN BEE

- She technically shouldn't be walking around with open shoulders, but she uses her father's influence to avoid following the dress code.

- The scrunchie she's wearing to make her bun has little strings that are meant to look a little like antennas

- All three of her designs have yellow-dark stripes, in hero form's case It's yellow-red.

- In her second design, she's wearing Wonderbug merch

- She has little fluffy cuffs on her wrists that are similar to Pollen's fluff

- Her boots are meant to look very similar to Pollen's legs, even with the weird "extension" at the back

- The "wings" have little hanging jewlers at the endings, making them look more decorative than functional yet It continues to serve a similar purpose to Monarch's wings

- The anthennas are a bit thicker at the end in comparison to Monarch's

NINO

- I don't have much about Nino yet, I still need to design his hero form

- I gave him a little braid on the side with colorful marbles at the very end

- He always gave me the skaterboy vibe so I went along with it and gave him knee guards (mismatched like Alya's socks :p)

- Ripped sleeve from an old fall

- Big headphones replaced with earbuds and a red hat to add more red

SABRINA RAINCOMPLIX

- Her first design is very similar to her original

- She's wearing a semi-formal attire with elements from the school's uniform

- Her second design is very opposite to Chloe's usual style/style that she chose to hold on to while in Chloe's presence

- It's a mix of everything, but motifs like mushrooms, suns, space. There's also a ton of accessories (like bracelets and moon-themed jewlery on the glasses) and things that let her personalize everything a bit more like patches on the pants.

- She's wearing a headband with a blue flower

JULEKA COUFFAINE

- I gave her a slight tweak to the outfit, but nothing very big so I'll pass on design notes

- She's wearing a matching necklace with Rose

LILA ROSSI

- Lila's hair is braided into a long braid with front hair being stylized after fox's tails

- She's seen wearing parts of her school's uniform - most notably the red jacket

- Her eyes are green with yellow tints at the lower part

- Volpina's form might not look that far off, but there's a few very important parts to mention

- As Monarch's power isn't strong enough to actually make a form fully resembling a fox holder, Volpina looks more like a Jackal. Jackals from afar are generally similar to a fox with the exception of longer ears and muted colors. Her flatter tail, ears are supposed to look like that

- The shorts are simliar to the ones from the canon design

LUKA COUFFAINE

- Luka's style was revamped completely, giving him a more individual, indie-rock kind of style.

- The ripped jeans are matching with his sister :D

- He's got snake bites now

- I left the blue jacket from the canon, just making it bigger and worn only for colder weather

- Luka has freckles on his shoulders

NATHANIEL KURTZBERG

- A bunch of changes made but I don't have too much notes about it

- He usually has his hair down whereas it looks very similar to canon, but occassionally the hair is tied up

MARC ANCIEL

- Half-star on the shoes

- Two chains pinned to the shorts: one is a regular chain, second is the thin, longer one

- Colors present on the T-shirt: purple, magenta, pink, yellow-y, muddy green + the star

ALIX KUBDEL -- BUNNIX

- Her hair is a little shorter than in canon

- The hoodie is cropped while the shirt underneath is just plain

- Fingerless gloves that also act as hand guards for rollerblading are often seen

- She has a scar under her right knee

- Unlike the usual fade, Bunnix has a light/blue strike in her hair

- That round, fluffy, cloud-like motif is present along the entire hero form

- The mask has three freckles on each side

NATALIE SANCOEUR

- A Gabriel-brand broch

TIKKI

Dark shade fading from her lower limbs

Four arms

Little wings on the back - she can fly without them anyway

Long "eyelashes"

PLAGG

Much more fluffier

The tail has this off spiky part at the very end

Long long whiskers

NOOROO

Fluff at the chest and the ends of lower limbs

Similar fade as tikki, but a lighter shade instead

Also long "eyelashes"

TRIXX

Fluffy

POLLEN

4 Anthennas

Thin limb endings unlike other insect-like Kwamis

The wings are very thin

Points of bending (limbs) are bend backwards (see lower limbs)

DUUSU

Bird-like legs

Pattern on the tail are actually additional eyes

The chest is made out of colorful, small feathers

WAYZZ

Hard to touch

Shell on the back is brown with green moss-like spots

TUZIN (RABBIT WONDER)

Cloud-like theme present

Extremely soft to touch

Ears are deformed, they are naturally stylized and are supposed to look unrealistic

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