#from my surgery el oh el

[woso-dreamzzz]

Heart III

Mapi Leon x Ingrid Engen x Child!Reader

Summary: You get adopted

The day you get adopted, you wear a special dress.

You've got lots of clothes now that you live with Mapi and Ingrid. You didn't use to have so many before because you lived in the hospital but now you have lots and a new, super special dress for your adoption.

It's a busy day, Ingrid says, so you have to wake up early to get to the court. Ingrid's got a super special dress on too and Mapi's wearing a suit in the same colour so you can all match.

The judge who's signing the papers is kind of old with a big white beard and a happy smile. He goes through boring things with your case worker before he beckons you all over to sign the papers.

A picture is taken with you holding the adoption certificate as you stand between your new mummies.

It's still a busy day though so Mami stops off to get ice cream as you and Mama get nice and bundled up in the car. She pulls down the front of your dress to check your scar.

She does that a lot when something big has happened. She did it the first day you came home from surgery and after the first time you went out again.

"You're my mama now," You giggle when Mama pulls away, happy that nothing has changed with your scar.

"Yeah, I am." She's beaming at you and, even though you're strapped into your car seat, you lean forward to kiss her cheek.

She kisses your cheek too and Mami climbs into the car with a tub of ice cream for you.

"Oh, Mapi," Mama says," Don't you think that's a bit too much?"

"No such thing as too much," Mami laughs," Besides, it's a special day. She can have as much ice cream as she wants."

Mama rolls her eyes fondly as she starts the car and drives off.

Today's a very busy day. It was your adoption ceremony and the El Clásico so Ingrid makes sure to get to the stadium as quick as she can. They've been prepared for this ever since the date was confirmed.

Mapi's got a bag packed with a change of clothes for each of you so your special adoption clothes don't get dirty and Ingrid's also got a surprise waiting for you at the stadium.

She picks you up easily when you arrive and walk you straight into the changing room. Everyone else is already out doing the pitch inspection so Ingrid gets you changed into the shirt and shorts Mapi packed.

She kisses you on the cheek before pushing you over to Mapi, who has already changed out of her suit.

"Come on," Mapi says," Let's go and see the others."

You've never been on a pitch before. A few weeks, when you started coming with Mama and Mami to practice, you sat in the stands and coloured. You were still healing from getting your new Santa heart so Mama wanted to make sure that you didn't stress it out.

This is your first time on grass and it's a little scary. You wiggle your feet nervously as you stand on the side, grasping tightly to Mami's hand.

"It's okay," Mami says as if reading your mind," It's just grass. Nothing to worry about." She points over to where Pina and Patri are waving at you. "See? How about we head on over?"

Mami holds your hand as you jog over to her teammates. The grass is kind of springy under your feet and still sort of firm like if you were walking on the floor of the hospital.

You kind of like it.

"Mami," You say, puffing out your chest," I'm walkin' on grass."

"You are," Mami laughs," Feels good, huh?"

"Uh-huh!"

Mama shows you your special surprise when you return to the changing room. You reach out to touch it. It's got your new last name on it, 'Engen-Leon' for everyone to see.

"Do you like it?" Mama asks even though she already knows your answer by the way that you try to pull it over the shirt that you're still wearing.

"Love it!" You turn to look at Mami. "Look, Mami! It's got my name!"

"It does," Mami agrees as she helps you put it on," You'll look extra good when you walk out with me."

"With you?" Mama laughs with a shake of the head," You mean with me."

Mami laughs too as she laces up her boots.

"For what it's worth," Patri says from across the room," If you guys are struggling to choose, she can walk out with me."

"No chance!"

"Rock paper scissors for it?" Mami offers, holding her fist out and Mama rolls her eyes but still agrees.

Mami must regret choosing to play because Mama wins happily and walks out with you in your brand new jersey.

Both Mama and Mami are starting off on the pitch so you're left with Pina and Patri on the bench.

It's an El Clásico so it's very important Barcelona wins and Pina and Patri are eager for their own chances on the field even as the team go two-nil up within the first fifteen minutes.

Mami takes a free kick that flies straight into the goal from distance and instead of celebrating with the team she comes straight over to the sidelines to hug you.

You giggle as she presses a kiss to your cheek before returning you to your babysitters.

The score goes up to five-nil in the second half and Real Madrid concede a corner.

The team all line up to take it but it's Mama's head that hits it into the goal. She jumps and pumps her fist into the air before coming to the sidelines towards you as well.

She rains kisses down on your face and kisses the Barca crest on your chest.

"Mama!" You giggle as she keeps kissing you," You have to play!"

She kisses you one last time before cradling your face in her hands. "We'll finish up here," She says," And then we'll go get dinner, okay?"

You smile. "Okay, Mama!"

#woso x reader #mapi leon x reader #mapi leon #ingrid engen x reader #ingrid engen #woso community #woso fanfics #woso imagine #woso

[babydollmarauders]

SWEET SWEET BABY — JACK HUGHES

part of the el!hughes au

summary: in which y/n (lovie) gives birth to their baby boy

warnings: reference to porn (?), birth

notes: THIS TAKES PLACE IN APRIL 2024! (2.8k words)

not my gif

“five more days.”

Jack’s voice breaks me out of my reading trance, my eyes tearing away from my book that sits propped up on my overly large bump.

“hmm?” i hum, wincing as the baby pushes against my bladder.

Jack just smiles, he has one hand resting on my lower stomach, and the other holding our two-year-old to his chest as she naps.

“five more days,” he repeats, his sentence broken up by a yawn. “until his due date.”

“if he can stay in here that long.” i joke. it’s an ongoing worry of mine, that our baby boy is gonna come before his due-date like his sister did.

“he’ll do it.” Jack says confidently, looking down at my stomach. “right, little guy?”

our son, as though knowing his father is talking to him, kicks directly at Jack’s hand on my bump, resulting in a wide grin from Jack.

“told ya, Lovie.” he looks back at me, “he’ll wait. he just told us so.”

“go take your nap!” i laugh, pushing at his legs with my foot.

“okay, well i’m taking her with me.” he sticks his tongue out at me as he stands up, clutching Eleanor tightly to his chest with his good arm as he does so.

“that’s fine with me. peace and quiet.” i sigh, “maybe i’ll actually get to finally finish my book.”

“you mean your porn?” Jack teases, bending over to press a kiss to my forehead.

“it’s not porn! it’s romance!”

“porn with a plot!” his words are spoken with a dismissive wave of his hand in his post-surgery sling as he walks toward our bedroom.

“shut up!” Luke’s voice drifts out from his bedroom, and i can only imagine him with his pillow pressed against his ear. “i don’t wanna hear your freaky sex talk! some of us are trying to have a pregame nap!”

Jack throws his head back in laughter, the tips of my ears turning red at Luke’s assumption.

“go to sleep, before you upset my son.” i huff, waving Jack off.

“our son can’t get upset yet.” he reminds me, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“i know. i said my son.” i tell him. “Luke.”

“oh my god.” Jack groans, rolling his eyes before he turns and finally disappears down the hallway.

i hear our bedroom door click shut and let out a sigh of contentment.

Jack hasn’t given me any room to breathe for the past couple days. ever since we hit one week until the due-date, which is how early i had El, Jack has been hovering nonstop, just in case the baby decides he’s ready to make his grand entrance. but finally, it’s the last game of the regular season tonight, and with Jack, Luke, and El all taking naps, i get a couple hours to myself.

just me, my book, and the unborn child in my womb that is currently dancing on my bladder.

i heave out a sigh, bookmarking my page and shutting my book, letting it fall to the couch as i struggle to push myself up.

damnit, i should’ve had Jack help me up to pee before he went to sleep.

i finally, successfully, rise from the couch, waddling over to the bathroom and making it to the toilet just in time.

after washing my hands, i head into the kitchen and grab myself a water bottle and the tupperware of pre-cut fruit that Jack had prepared for me this morning, before making my way back to the couch.

**

my head is pounding, light pains in my stomach as i sit on the floor, waiting up for Jack and Luke to get home.

the Devils lost to the Islanders 4-1, and i know both the boys are gonna need cheering up. even though Jack sat in a suite the entire game and didn’t play, i know he feels the loss just as hard as the rest of his teammates.

El is wired from her two naps of the day, currently decked out in a princess dress with a lab coat over it as she plays doctor, checking my bump for any ‘boo-boo’s, but i don’t have the energy to fight her on going to bed.

El’s play stethoscope is pressed against my bump, her wild blonde curls falling over her eyes as she looks down.

“mama.” she whispers, standing up straight and cupping my face.

“yes, lovely?” i coo, tucking a curl behind her ear.

“baby heart!” she points to my stomach, bending back down to press her plastic stethoscope against the stretched out fabric of my shirt.

“yeah? are you listening to the babies heart?” she nods enthusiastically, the stethoscope bouncing from its connection in her ears.

she rips it out though when she hears the front door unlock, her head snapping up towards the living room entrance, waiting to see who it is.

as soon as Jack rounds the corner, her little legs take off; her feet slapping against the hardwood floor as she runs over to him.

“daddy!” Jack’s face brightens at the sight of her, a small smile playing on his lips as he bends down, allowing El to wrap her arms around his neck.

“hi, lovely.” Jack presses a kiss to her cheek as she pulls back. “what are you still doing up? how come mommy didn’t put you to bed?”

“mommy, doesn’t have a single ounce of energy left to fight her into bed.” i sigh, letting my head fall back onto the sofa.

“uncle Luke’s got it.” Luke swoops in, pulling El up into his arms. “c’mon munchkin, you wanna wear your Elsa jammie’s tonight?”

“dark vader!” El screams, making Luke wince as he starts toward the hallways to her room.

“what has uncle Quinn done to you?” he shakes his head as they retreat.

Jack sighs, looking down at me on the floor. he huffs out a chuckle and shakes his head at me as i stretch grabby hands out to him, walking over and helping me up off the floor.

“you okay?” i run a hand through his overgrown hair, staring into his ocean blue eyes.

“yeah,” he starts, pausing when he sees me flinch. “are you?”

“mhm.” i nod, gritting my teeth as a sharp pain shoots through my abdomen and back.

“are you sure?” he asks, flattening the back of his hand to my forehead as if checking my temperature. i swat it away. “Lovie, if we need to go to the hospital, just tell me. better safe than sorry.”

“we don’t-” i’m cut off by El storming into the living room in her Darth Vader onesie, Luke chasing behind her with her toothbrush in hand.

“we gotta brush your teeth Ellie-Bug!” Luke catches up to her with his long legs, but not before she can try and scramble up my body, her hands pushing against my stomach and causing me to cringe in pain.

“alright, that’s it, we’re going.” Jack announces, stepping back.

“no.” i stand my ground, crossing my arms across my chest. “i’m fine, Jack. it’s just a few pains. nothing i can’t handle.”

and my words would’ve been believable, if it weren’t for the gush of liquid that begins to trickle down my legs.

“fuck.” i curse, squeezing my eyes shut as Jack retreats to the linen closet to retrieve a towel.

“mommy! potty! go!” El screams, her little index finger pointing towards the bathroom.

“no, lovely, mommy doesn’t need to potty.” i lift a foot as Jack sets a towel down to soak up the liquid, oddly calm given the circumstances.

“hey, sunshine,” Jack’s voice is soft as he squats down in front of our toddler. “you know how mommy and daddy have been telling you baby brother is in mommy’s tummy?”

“baby!” El squeals, making to come and rub my bump like she usually does, but Jack holds her back.

“yeah, a baby!” Jack grins, “well now baby brother is ready to come and meet you, doesn’t that sound fun?”

my eyes water at the calm and gentle approach he has to explaining the situation to our sweet girl, and how excited she seems to get as she nods her head.

“okay, so mommy and daddy are gonna go to the doctor’s, and uncle Luke is gonna stay here with you. is that okay?”

“yuke!” she shouts, her head whipping around to find Luke, who’s currently attending to me as i waddle towards my bedroom to get changed.

“i’m right here, munchkin.” Luke switches places with my husband, probably the better choice, as i’ll need someone to help me peel these leggings off and put new ones on, and i think Luke and i would both rather he not be the one to do it.

Jack makes quick work of helping me sit on our bed, peeling my leggings and underwear off before he helps me into new ones.

“you ready, love?” i question, suspiciously eyeing him and his strangely serene demeanor.

“shouldn’t i be asking you that question?” he smiles, helping me off the bed.

“oh, i know i’m not. but are you?” he guides me back out to the living room, past El’s bedroom, where i can hear Luke reading her a bedtime story, and towards the front door.

“yeah.” he nods as he opens the door. “i’m ready.”

“oh good. then, can you push him out for me?” Jack laughs loudly, helping me into the car.

“unfortunately, i can’t do that.” he reminds me, my lips turning down in a frown. “but i’ll tell you what i can do.”

he pauses to round the car, sliding into the drivers seat. his hand slips into mine, lacing our fingers together as he looks into my eyes.

“i can hold your hand, and remind you that at the end of all that pushing, we’re gonna have our baby boy.” his forehead rests against mine, dipping down to kiss my lips before he pulls away and begins driving to the hospital.

“fuck you and your sweet words.” i sigh, gripping the car door and squeezing his hand as another contraction comes along. “shit!”

**

sweat drips down my forehead as i push. Jack stands beside me, his hand tightly clutched in mine as he whispers reassuring words in my ear.

“i want my mom!” i sob, tears streaming down my cheeks as i stop pushing, looking towards Jack, who’s eyes are welled up with tears.

“i’m sorry,-” he pushes my hair back from sticking to my forehead.

“i want Ellen!” i clarify, squeezing my eyes shut as another contraction hits and i’m forced to begin pushing again.

“oh lovie,” my husband coos, resting his forehead against the side of my head. “mom is on her way. i promise.”

we were lucky in the sense that Ellen and Jim had already flew into town yesterday to attend the boys game tonight and wait for baby boy to arrive. but my labor happened so fast, that he had just gotten ahold of Ellen before i was told it was time to push.

“okay, take a breath, y/n.” the doctor speaks, “i can see his head crowning so this next push should be it.”

i take three deep breaths before i feel another contraction, pushing one last time before the sound of infant cries fill the room.

Jack squeezes my hand as i fall back on the hospital bed, after labor chills making my body shake.

“good job, mom!” the doctor cheers, “you have a seemingly healthy baby boy!”

the nurse rests him against my chest, handing him over to me, and i let out another sob at the sight of him.

“oh-” i stare down at his sweet face, running a finger along his cheek. “Jacky, he has your nose.”

i glance up at my husband, who looks at our baby with so much love; as if he’s the greatest thing in the world. his tears have finally spilled over, his hand reaching out to hold the back of our son’s head.

“he’s perfect, lovie.” his voice breaks, catching in his throat mid-sentence.

“our perfect baby boy.”

**

“he’s an angel.” Ellen coos, staring down at the baby in her arms.

“isn’t he perfect?” i smile softly, still waking up from my nap.

its now eight in the morning, and after the four a.m. birth and then first feeding an hour later, i only got three hours of sleep before Jack woke me up and told me his mother was getting restless to see her grandson and he knew i wanted to witness the meeting.

Luke and El should be arriving any moment, so we’re letting Jim and Ellen meet him before they get here.

“absolutely perfect.” Ellen smiles, looking back at Jack and i. my husband lays beside me in the hospital bed, his head resting on my shoulder as he snores.

i can’t imagine how tired he must be. he stayed awake the entire time i napped, just admiring our baby boy and attempting to do some one armed skin-on-skin with the help of a nurse; who advised better of my husband than to use his other arm, which is still in a sling after his shoulder surgery just six days prior.

“he has Jack’s nose.” Jim chuckles as his wife hands the baby off to him.

“that’s what i said.” i grin, turning my head to look down at my sleeping soulmate. i crane my neck, pecking a kiss to his nose, which makes him scrunch it in his sleep.

the room door swings open, Luke stepping through with El clutched in his arms, and i carefully shake Jack awake.

“hmm?” he groans, his eyes fluttering open before he sits up.

“El is here.” i whisper, just before our daughter squeals.

“mommy! daddy!” Luke sets her on the hospital bed and she clambers up our legs, gingerly settling down on Jack’s lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“hi, lovely. did you have a good night with uncle Luke?” Jack asks, huffing out a laugh at the sight of her messily done ponytail. she nods, her curls bouncing on top of her head.

“her hair is wild, don’t blame me.” Luke huffs, taking the baby from his father’s arms.

“oh my god, he’s precious.” Luke smiles softly at the baby in his arms as he walks toward the bed.

“you see your baby brother, El?” i question, and her eyes widen as Luke hands my son back to me.

my daughter’s lips part, her hand reaching out to touch the babies foot.

“baby?” she whispers, looking up at Jack and he nods.

“yeah, lovely. that’s the baby that was in mommy’s tummy.” her eyes flicker between the baby and my stomach at his words, and i giggle.

“yeah, there’s nothing in there anymore, lovebug.” i tell her.

“baby.” she repeats, her touch raising to his tiny hands.

“hey, mom?” Jack calls out, Ellen looking over at him with raised brows. “you mind facetiming Quinny?”

“yeah, of course.” she nods, digging her phone out of her purse.

i feel a slight twinge of guilt as i hear the facetime ring, feeling a little bad to be waking Quinn up at five in the morning on a game day, but i know he’ll be excited to see the baby.

“mom? what’s up?” Quinn’s voice is groggy when the call connects, and instead of answering, Ellen just hands the phone to Jack.

“hey, Quinny.” my husband grins, letting El wave hello to her uncle.

“hey Jacky, hi El-Bell.” Quinn rubs his eyes, sitting up in his bed. “what’s going on? i have a game tonight, bro.”

“i know. but, i thought you might wanna meet someone.” Jack flips the phone around, pointing it to me and i hold the baby up better so that Quinn can see.

“oh my god.” Quinn’s seemingly more awake now, bringing the phone closer to his face. “you had him.”

tears well in my eyes, an overwhelming sense of longing for my big brother figure’s presence creeping up on me as i nod.

“i had him.” i confirm.

“he’s beautiful, guys.” Quinn smiles as Jack slots himself and El into the frame, showing off all four of us. “what’s his name?”

i share a glance with Jack and he nods, giving me permission.

“Elio Quintin Hughes.” i smile softly, my tears spilling over my waterline as Quinn gapes.

i hear Ellen let out a little sob, and i glance over to find Jim pulling her in for a hug.

“you named him after… me?” Quinn asks, and even through the phone screen, i can see tears glistening in his eyes.

Jack nods.

“it only seemed right.” i explain. “if it weren’t for you, Jack and i wouldn’t have met. you guys are the family that i desperately wished for growing up, and if it weren’t for you, i wouldn’t have it now either.”

tears stain Quinn’s cheeks, “i love you, y/n. and you too, i guess, Jack.”

Jack laughs, huffing out a “we love you too.”

we stay on the call for another hour, letting El talk to her uncle, and us telling him how the birth went, before he excuses himself, telling us he should probably get a bit more sleep before morning skate.

Jack hands the phone back to Ellen, who snaps a picture of the four of us squished together in the hospital bed.

my little family.

#el!hughes au #jack hughes #jack hughes x reader #jack hughes imagine #jack hughes fic #jack hughes blurb #nj devils #nhl fic #nhl imagine #faithlynn’s writings <3

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

The Princess & The Playboy (Part 6)

Summary: Sam and Max's plan to get their siblings invited to a party may have worked but Sebastian Monroe is a dangerous man and they may have just put not only their lives but their families at risk too...

Masterlist

Pairing: NFL Quarterback!Dean x Pop Star!reader

Word Count: 5,400ish

Warnings: language, family trauma/angst, kidnapping

A/N: Uh oh...

_________

Two Weeks Later

Reader POV

“Damn,” said Dean, shaking out his arm after you’d tossed him a football in the backyard. “I’m going to need your arm workout and no, I am not joking.”

“Oh my god, did I tell you the dance choreographer wanted me to learn to do a handstand so I could sing, upside down? I shut that shit down so fast,” you said, Dean gently tossing the ball back to you. 

“I’m sure you could do it. But I don’t blame you for not wanting to,” he said, catching the ball one handed. “Do you get a lot of say in that stuff? Dance moves?”

“That would require me to be able to dance,” you laughed, clasping both arms around the ball when he threw it back.

“She’s right. God awful dancer when it’s not choreographed. Miracle she can fake it as well as she does,” said Eric from the patio table, glancing up from his phone. “It’s four by the way.”

“Ugh. Why’d we say yes to this stupid party?” you asked. Dean shrugged.

“This guy donates a bunch of money to the Wolves charity every year. Plus Emma said it’s not a bad idea to go to a charity event together. Apparently it helps the public not think of me as such a scoundrel.” You tossed him the ball one last time, clasping your hands behind your back.

“I mean you are the big bad playboy corrupting the virtue of the sweet princess of pop,” you said, batting your eyes, twirling your hips. You grinned when he frowned, his eyes like a predator sizing up his prey. “I think the media is right about you. Such a bad influence.”

“Oh keep it up, princess, and I’ll tell them you ain’t innocent in the slightest.”

“Someone put me out of my misery,” groaned Eric, rising to his feet. “I’m getting dressed and going over protocols with the team. We’ll head out at seven.”

“Ain’t it kind of early to get ready?” asked Dean as you tossed him the ball one last time. Eric only laughed and headed inside, Dean cocking his head at you. “I know girls take a long time to get ready but three hours?”

“Shower. Shave. Makeup. Hair. Plus I told Sloane I’d help do her hair and pick out a dress,” you said, Dean humming. “I’m sure there’s a college game on you could watch for awhile.”

“I got some game film I can review,” he said, a heavy sigh in his shoulders. You wrapped your arms around him, Dean ditching the ball to return it. “It just never ends.”

“You love football, though,” you said, Dean nodding. 

“I do. But every year it’s getting to be more and more. I know you understand the pressure of it all. I just…I’m tired. I want to have more of a life outside my job,” he said, sliding his hands down your arms, taking your hands in his. “Does that make sense?”

“Yeah,” you said softly, Dean sharing the same sad smile you wore. “Me, I can have less tour dates and not put out an album every single year. I can make more wiggle room for myself. But I know you can’t. And sometimes I worry when I watch you play, pushing your body so hard.”

“I’m incredibly lucky I’m the least sacked QB in the league. I’ve had only one surgery and that was cause I broke my toe like an idiot on a coffee table. I don’t want to be like these guys that stay in too long and wind up with so much pain at forty. Or worse.” 

“I guess the thing to ask yourself is, do you want to keep going? Or could you walk away and be satisfied?” you asked. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes. 

“All I know is I used to put my head down, bury myself in the game. All I looked forward to was getting to the season, the start of a game, feeling that rush. This year…I’m looking forward to being done with work and games way too much. It’s like I’d rather be somewhere else…with someone else,” he murmured.

You nodded, squeezing his hands. “Nothing to decide today.”

“I know. Go get ready. I can occupy myself for a few hours.”

“Damn,” you said when it was nearly seven. Sloane looked down at herself alarmed, glancing back worried. “Sloane, you’re fucking hot.”

“I’m forty two,” she scoffed, smoothing out the floor length gown. “I’m not hot.”

“Hell yeah you are,” you said, Sloane tucking a strand of freshly curled hair behind her ear. “Eric’s going to fucking drool.”

“He better not,” she mumbled, taking a breath as she put her leg up on a chair and hiked the skirt portion up. She opened up her clutch sat on the end of the bed and slapped a very small thigh holster on her right leg, a smaller than usual gun inside. 

“Right. Cause really hot women packing heat are total turn offs for him,” you said, adjusting the strap that ran across your shoulder. She pouted and you handed her the clutch. “You said you could work with him tonight. We’re only bringing two of you inside and we wanted our best.”

“I can. He’s good about not speaking about anything but strictly work lately,” she said, sitting on the bed. “Does he seem…different to you?”

You knew why she was asking. Eric had told you he needed a few hours a week off for therapy a few weeks back. You practically jumped for joy that he was going to get some help to work through some things. Then it all shattered when he said it was related to his dad and needing to address some stuff he did to him as a kid. He didn’t share more but you had a feeling that had as much impact on him as his days in the military, probably more.

“It’s hard to tell with him,” you said, trying to respect his privacy. Plus, it actually was difficult to see a difference. Eric held everything close to the chest. Sometimes too much.

“Yeah. There’ll be no issues working together this evening,” she said, forcing a smile. You wanted to offer some reassurance that he was trying and maybe someday things between them could change. But honestly, you had no clue if they would work things out.

“Good. Well, let’s go see the boys.” A moment later you were coming down the stairs, Dean and Eric wandering out from the front hall in their tuxedos. Eric had always looked handsome when he dressed up but Dean?

He was walking sin in the tailored outfit, showing off his large shoulders and trim waist. You could feel the heat in your cheeks when he stared like he wanted to devour you then and there.

“Wow,” said Dean, a growing smile on his face, eyeing you up and down. It was a fairly simple dress. Black. One shoulder and a thin strap on the other. Form fitting up top before it became loose at the hips. It probably didn’t match black tie standard one hundred percent but it’d been sitting in your closet for two years and you finally had an excuse to wear it.

“Wow yourself,” you said, tugging on the lapel of his jacket. “Put you in one of these and you’d never imagine you spend literally every single day in flannels, henleys, and black tees.”

“Strange considering I’ve seen you wearing those clothing items a lot more yourself lately,” he teased, grinning down like a cat staring at the mouse it’d cornered.

“Oh, just a coincidence,” you said, Eric clearing his throat. You rolled your eyes, getting a roll in return. “You look nice too, Eric. I know you need the compliment on your appearance or your ego will bust.”

“Why did I take this job,” he mumbled to himself, staring at Sloane as she walked ahead for the front door. “You look beautiful.”

Sloane stopped dead in her tracks, looking over her shoulder at him, his gaze shooting to you. 

“I know you’ve wanted to wear that dress for awhile,” he said to you, Sloane rolling her eyes and walking outside. Eric closed his eyes when she was gone, Dean slapping his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, buddy. I’m sure my hyper observant protection agent didn’t catch the way you said that straight to her face and then pretended to say it to your boss.” Eric shrugged him off and grumbled on his way outside, harshly pulling the door behind him. “Damn. I was hoping they’d have some kind of fairytale moment or shit. He looked like he wanted to fuck her over the kitchen table.”

“I don’t know. We’ll just…wait and see what happens,” you said, holding out your hand. “Ready to go?”

“One sec,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. He slipped something elastic over your wrist, beaming when you stared down at it to find it was a friendship bracelet, like the kind from when you were kids. This one was black, gray and white, the LA Wolves colors. You turned it over when you felt a few square beads, expecting to see DEAN.

Your heart skipped when you saw MAX with a few beads separating it from SAM. You glanced up Dean, his green eyes flittering down to where he’d removed his jacket, right sleeve pushed up. 

Dean had always had Sam’s initials tattooed on his forearm. You remember that happened at some point in college, not too long after Sam went missing. The initials right below it were new though, his skin tinged a light pink from where the tattoo was still fresh.

“Is that-”

“Max’s initials? Yeah, looks like it,” he said, a coy smile crossing his face. You held out a finger, Dean humming it was alright to touch. A thick swallow was audible as you traced over the delicate skin, black ink soaked into the creamy canvas of his body.

“Fuck you,” you whispered, Dean’s face falling.

“Sweetheart, I’m-” he said as he wiped at your eyes, mascara coming away on the back of your hand. You laughed, shaking your head at him.

“Look what you did you sweet man,” you laughed, a few tears falling free. “Dean, you didn’t have to put his name on your body.”

“Brothers go on the arm. It’s kind of my thing,” he said, your bottom lip wobbling as a swell of emotion hit you. “Are you mad?”

“No,” you croaked out, squeezing your bracelet. “I wish they were with us.”

“Me too,” he said softly, wiping his thumb under your eye, stopping a tear from falling. “Y/N.”

You met his green eyes, thumb stroking your cheek with a barely there touch.

“You understand you’re my girl, right?” You nodded, Dean’s head tilting slightly, eyes scanning down to your lips slowly and back up just as lazily. “So. Am I yours?”

You held a finger to his lips and turned towards the front door, pulling it open, Eric and Sloane both leaned against an SUV.

“We’ll leave in thirty,” you said, pulling the door shut again, finding Dean with a raised eyebrow. “I need ten to fix my makeup. The other twenty is to show you exactly how much you’re mine.”

Dean POV

I stepped outside while Y/N used the bathroom, the brisk air doing wonders for cooling me down after what I could only describe as the most intimate handjob I’d ever received. It was the one thing that stuck out to me about sex with Y/N. Every other partner I’d had, it was about release, pleasure. With Y/N though, it felt different. A good different. Yeah, it was about the pleasure there too but it was…comforting in a way, joined together. 

Once Y/N had let go of her fear of it, intimacy turned out to be one of her favorite things in the world. And it was becoming one of mine too. She just made me feel safe. Whole again.

“Told you she’d cry about the tattoo,” mumbled Eric in my ear, hands clasped behind his back. “Surprised you didn’t get down on one knee yet.”

“We understand what we are to each other,” I said, adjusting the sleeve of my jacket. “The time for that’ll come eventually but I don’t think either one of us is in a rush to get there.”

“Ready!” exclaimed Y/N, rushing outside barefoot, the skirt of her dress bunched up in one hand, heels in the other. “How late are we?”

“Oh, only forty five minutes,” said Eric, Y/N jumping in the backseat when he opened the door. “Clutch?”

“I’m the purse tonight,” I chuckled, patting my pocket where her phone, a lipstick and extra hair tie resided. 

“Good. I usually get stuck with it,” said Eric, patting my bottom. “Let’s move it kiddos.”

“Hopefully this party doesn’t suck,” said Y/N beside me as we drove up a long driveway thirty minutes later, lips pursed.

“You hate parties,” Eric chuckled from the passenger seat.

“I hate parties where people ask me to sing at their kid’s sweet sixteen which is like, almost all the time,” she said, my hand reaching over and interlacing our hands together. “Sorry. That sounded bitchy.”

“It sounded like that’s really annoying to have happen all the time,” I said, the car slowing down behind another luxury SUV. “We won’t stay long, just a few hours. I know we have to do this for me.”

“Hey,” she said, voice firm. My eyes flickered to hers in the dark space. “We both have more money than we know what to do with. I’m perfectly happy to waste an evening if it means sending some of that money to a good cause. You getting some good press out of it is a bonus.”

“I ever tell you how wonderful you are?” I asked, heart swelling up as she blushed. “Want to go show off your reformed bad boy, sweetheart?”

“You were never bad,” she said, pecking a kiss on my lips. She grinned goofily and wiped them off with her thumb. “Lipstick.”

“You can take it off if you promise to put it back later,” I said, Y/N’s eyes flirting down to my groin, a wicked smirk on her face. “Down girl.”

“I’ll play with you later,” I said as we stopped. Eric slid out of the passenger seat as I opened the back door. I exited and held out a hand, helping Y/N down in her obnoxious skinny little heels. They looked like a death trap to me but she danced around on stage for three hours in them so if anyone knew how to work them, it was her.

Damn she was sexy in that dress. Almost as sexy as those red flannel pajama pants she wore last night. And that cozy blue sweater on Thursday. Or that-

“Stop staring at her,” said Sloane, pushing on my back so I’d move and she could slip out of the backseat. “You’re like a puppy obsessed with her.”

“Be nice,” Y/N chided, taking a step forward, letting me follow her lead. Eric and Sloane fell in place behind us, the driver staying with the car and driving off towards where the cars were being parked. 

A man in a nice suit opened the front door for us, revealing a grand hall that made Y/N’s house look like a starter home. 

“This guy is loaded,” I whispered in Y/N’s ear as we found ourselves quickly surrounded by people when they caught sight of her. There must have been three hundred people at this thing.

“Here we go,” she mumbled before putting on a big smile, immediately getting asked to be in a selfie with a woman in her twenties.

For the next thirty minutes it felt like we were bombarded, stuck not ten feet past the door in a never ending line of people wanting to talk to Y/N. Yes, some people were football fans but a vast majority were there for Y/N, some nervous, some practically jumping out of their skins.

“Damn dude, you’re beyond lucky,” said some guy to me as his wife took a picture with Y/N. 

“I know I am,” I responded, Y/N giving me a flash of a smile.

“She needs a break,” whispered Eric in my ear. I stepped forward and cut off the next gaggle of women that wanted to approach. 

“Excuse me, I need to steal Y/N for a minute,” I said, taking her arm and leading her down the large open hall.

“Thanks,” she said, grabbing a glass of champagne off a servers tray. She knocked it back and I started to scan the room in search of water for her.

“Hi,” said a teenage girl in a light blue dress, approaching slowly. She seemed out of place at the event filled with adults in designer clothes. “I’m Cecilia Monroe, Sebastian Monroe’s daughter.”

Ah she was this guys kid. That made sense. “Nice to meet you. We haven’t met your father yet. We’d like to thank him for his numerous donations to the Wolves charity over the years.”

“You have a lovely home,” said Y/N, the girl blushing, clasping her hand over her wrist in a failed attempt to hide her friendship bracelet. Y/N caught it and smiled. “Did you go to the tour this year?”

“Uh yeah. My dad got VIP tickets,” she said shyly, suddenly straightening her back. “I’ll be on the veranda. Please come find me when you’re through with my dad. It’s very important.”

She scuttled away, Y/N raising an eyebrow.

“I think you have a superfan,” I chuckled, Y/N biting her lip. “You think she’s a problem?”

“No. She’s a fan clearly but I don’t know,” she said, waving for Eric and Sloane to join us from where they stood together by a table of appetizers. 

“You two good?” asked Sloane, their eyes finding the young girl and watching her leave.

“Keep an eye on that girl,” Y/N said, nodding as Cecilia went through open back doors outside. They both readied themselves but Y/N shook her head. “Just watch her. This might be a Denver situation.”

“Denver?” I asked, Eric frowning. 

“Fan in Denver was being abused by her parents. Subtly asked Y/N for help at an event. Smart kid actually,” said Eric. “Sloane and I can try a soft approach with the girl, get a feel for if something is up, relay we can keep her safe .”

“This guy does have a lot of private security,” said Sloane. “If something’s happening, she may feel safer knowing we can protect her in the interim.”

“Let’s go talk to the girl,” said Y/N just as a man in a very nice suit came striding down the hall towards us. “I think that’s our host.”

“Eric, Sloane, go see what’s up. We can fend for ourselves for awhile,” I said. They scuttled away as the man greeted us, holding out a hand and shaking mine firmly.

“Sebastian Monroe,” he said with a pleasant enough smile. “And you two are the power couple my teenage daughter will not stop talking about.”

“Yeah, we get that a lot. We said hello to her earlier,” said Y//N with a fake smile, staying close to my side when the men looked like he was going to reach for her hand. “Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Dean Winchester,” I said, taking my hand back, the other wrapped around Y/N’s waist. The man only smiled though, like we didn’t need to introduce ourselves. “I’ve heard you’re a Wolves fan.”

“Oh not anymore than anyone else,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Although a signed jersey by you would certainly go for big bucks at our next charity auction.”

“We’ll have to make that happen for sure,” I said, not enjoying the way his gaze traveled down Y/N’s body. I’d seen it plenty of times tonight but his seemed the most sleazy of all. 

“Speaking of the auction, where are the tables? I’d love to donate,” said Y/N.

“Right side of the veranda, sweetie.” Y/N hummed, giving me a look to join her as soon as I could. “Boy, if I was ten years younger.”

I couldn’t hide my annoyance, Sebastian flashing me a smile. “Oh no. Please go ahead and tell me what you’d do if you were ten years younger.”

“Easy kid. Half the population would bone her if they could,” he said, sipping from the glass in his hand. He took his turn to eye me, a curious look on his face. “You know, I could be inclined to offer another sizeable donation to the Wolves charity for those kids if I could get one of those signed jerseys myself.”

I bit my tongue, both of us aware of the clear message. Refuse and good ol’ Sebastian stops donating a million dollars each year to kids in poverty.

“I’m sure you got one around here somewhere we could fix up,” I said. Sebastian threw an arm over my shoulder and I hide my cringe. 

“Good man. Come on. I got one right in my game room.”

Reader POV

There wasn’t really anything you wanted from the silent auction but you had found a general donation slip at the end of the table and jotted down your agent’s information. You’d looked around for Eric and Sloane or the girl when you finished but hadn’t found any of them which probably wasn’t a good sign. You frowned and walked over the railings edge, looking around the dim yard for any sign of them.

“Bruschetta?” asked one of the servers. 

“No thank you,” you said without looking.

“I must insist,” he said. You rolled your eyes, ready to give it to this guy but something seemed familiar about him. He handed you one on a small napkin as you kept staring. “Take a bite and smile, pretend it’s really good.”

You’d had more than a handful of dangerous fan interactions over the years but this felt…different.

You did as he asked, faking wide eyes at the average at best food. “Who are you?”

“Do not make a scene,” he said as you finished off the food. “I need to get to your bodyguards.”

“Are you trying to protect that girl? Cecilia?” you asked as you played along and took another piece off the tray.

“What? No. I don’t have time for this,” he said, stepping in front of you, your gaze narrowing. “Do not ask questions. Just get me and Max the fuck out of here.”

“Max?” Your heart skipped a beat, the food falling from your hand as you understand where you’d seen him before. “Y-You’re Sam.”

“We’re watched. Get your guards to get us out. Don’t get caught or we’re dead,” he said, turning away and offering a couple nearby food from his tray. You swallowed, instantly putting on your performer’s smile. The one you wore that time you had food poisoning during a concert and were throwing up between songs back in the summer. The crowd had no fucking clue you felt like shit while you gave them the show of their lives.

Time to act your fucking ass off. 

You walked past Sam without a second glance, wishing you could ask him all the questions swirling around in your head. Tell him he was going to be okay. Give him a damn hug and tell him he was safe now.

But you wore that damn smile, all while your blood was boiling. You’d had a lot of dark fantasies about what you’d do to the person that took Max. In recent weeks that’d turned to include Sam too. 

It turned out the monster was a hundred feet away from you inside some fucking mansion.

“Y/N,” said Sloane, appearing through a set of open doors in the house, catching your arm a little roughly. “Stay in public.”

“I need to talk-” She shot daggers at you, shutting you up. 

“Stay in public for the love of god or Eric will kill me,” she said, loosening her grip. “In forty five seconds I need you to be the biggest distraction in the world. Do not go in any rooms with anyone. Your fame will keep you safe but only if there are people around to witness it. Eric has eyes on him. Do not ask questions. Understand?”

“Sam’s on the veranda,” you whispered, Sloane nodding. Cecilia must have told her and Eric about your brothers.

“Go give us a shot to get them out of here.” You nodded and slipped inside, heart thumping away in your throat. Max was with with Eric. Wherever he was, he was with Eric. He was safe. And Sam should have been with Sloane by then. They were both safe.

As long as they got them out of this house and into the damn car before anyone could notice. Before all those private security guards seemingly on the edge of every room could stop them. Your driver was fast though. They just had to get the boys in the car and they’d be alright.

So you needed to be a distraction. A big fucking distraction and buy them time. You froze in the middle of the hallway, watching Sebastian leave a room with Dean by his side, horribly annoyed from the looks of it. An idea sparked in your mind, one you hoped Dean forgave you for someday. 

Yeah, you knew how to cause a big fucking distraction alright.

Dean POV

“You son of a bitch!” screamed Y/N. Normal people could scream loud. A goddamn professional singer that could belt out ballads while running? The whole house went silent at her ear piercing shriek. Even the string orchestra stopped playing. I stared at her as she climbed on top of a table in the center hall, my eyes going wide. “You fucking cheater! You’re a fucking cheater Dean Winchester!”

“Excuse me?” I said, a hundred already with their phones out with even more people piling into the house from the veranda. “Sweetheart-”

“Don’t sweetheart me!” she screamed again. What the fuck was happening? “You’re a cheating bastard! You swore you were different!”

“Y/N, get off the table,” I said gently, very aware of the many phones that were facing us, even some from the freaking staff and private event security. Y/N only backed away when I reached for her, fury in her eyes so visceral it felt like it burned. “Y/N what-”

“I know what you did with her! By the fucking cherry blossoms? Our cherry blossoms? You think you can sleep around on me? I’m the motherfucking Princess of Pop! The world fucking loves me!” 

Something was wrong. Besides the fact I hadn’t cheated, Y/N wasn’t one to scream at people from tabletops. She wasn’t drunk and she wasn’t on drugs. And we had no fucking cherry blossoms. Except for the fact it was the code to get in her house. 

Trust. She was asking me to fucking trust her right now in front of three hundred people while she tore down my reputation.

If my girl was losing her shit, well damn I was going to play right along.

“Oh get off your high fucking horse!” I shouted, Y/N flinching for a brief moment like it’d stung. “I never made you promises. We aren’t even fucking exclusive!”

“What?!” she shouted back as Sebastian came over, clearing his throat.

“Perhaps if you two could-”

“This bitch is a moron for thinking I’d ever want someone like her. Of course I’m dicking around with you! You really think I want some goodie two shoes like you?”

“Man whore!” she shouted.

“Fucking prude!” I screamed back, praying to god Y/N knew that every word out of my mouth was a lie. “No wonder no one wants to date you. Getting in your pants wasn’t even worth it!”

“Funny since getting in yours just takes a smile. I’m surprised you haven’t contracted every disease known to man you pig!”

“At least I get some! You’re wound up so tight surprised anything can fucking fit up there!” Fuck, I was really going to hate myself in the morning.

Y/N was halfway through screaming back at me when I felt both my phone and Y/N’s go off in my pocket.

YOUR BROTHERS ARE SAFE. HOST SECURITY KNOWS WE GOT THEM OUT. OUR SECURITY & FEDS ON THE WAY. ETA TEN MINUTES. DON’T TRUST LOCAL COPS. CORRUPTED. HOST IS BAD GUY. STAY AWAY FROM HIM AND GUARDS. DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO TO STAY IN PUBLIC. 

“What the fuck does brothers safe mean?” I asked, tossing my phone to her. Y/N caught it one handed, her whole body relaxing momentarily before tensing again, her rage suddenly on it’s true target.

Sebastian Monroe.

“Our brothers were here,” she grit out. She ripped off her heels and hopped down onto the floor, stalking over to Sebastian slowly like he was her prey. Her face darkened and I swore she looked ready to tear someone’s throat out. “Our baby brothers were in this fucking house! As your servers! Not of their free will! No. No, they were being watched. Forced. Last I checked, our baby brothers were kidnapped and they didn’t get un-fucking kidnapped.”

She gripped her heel tight in her left hand, right clenched so hard I saw the bone against the skin of her knuckles.

“I don’t care if you weren’t the one that took them. But you kept them and I’m going to fucking destroy you for it,” she growled, approaching him as my brain tried to catch up. 

“Y/N what are-”

“I saw Sam! And he was scared and said they’d kill him if he got caught talking to me. They’re safe now but Sam and Max were forced to live here. By him.” Her head turned towards Sebastian, his own head glancing at his security team. “What the fuck did you do to our brothers?”

It clicked for me what she’d been saying, what the text meant, why Y/N had acted so out of character. So full of hatred. But I barely had a chance to feel that same hatred. 

Because in the blink of an eye, one of Sebastian’s guards grabbed at Y/N and her fist shot out, connecting with the man’s jaw. He seemed alarmed at her strength and fell back, another guard trying to get their hands on her.

“Get off!” she shouted, kneeing another guy before flipping him on his back. But there were too many of them and I rushed forward, yanking her behind me just as Sebastian got in my face.

He eyed me up and down, smirking at me. “Oh you two just made a big mistake.”

He clasped his hands together loudly as his guards surrounded us, turning his attention to the rest of the party.

“Let’s give the love birds some privacy to sort out their issues,” he chuckled. “And maybe keep an eye on the open bar, hm?”

He spun back around and leaned in close, the stench of cigars and alcohol on his breath. 

“Get your brothers back here or I’ll fuck her up so badly there won’t be anything left to bury.” He gripped my shoulder, too forcefully. “And then I’ll bury you alive in the woods all the while the world will think you got in a drunken accident on the way home. After all you had a very loud and public argument tonight. With the friends I have in certain positions of authority…I can make even you two disappear like nothing.”

Y/N gripped the back of my suit jacket tight, a slight tremble in her hand as she listened to him speak.

“Get those boys back and get those guards back in the next ten minutes or I start cutting off pieces of the damn princess of pop.”

________

A/N: Read the Final Part here!

#supernatural #spn #dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #dean x you #spn fanfic #supernatural fanfic #dean x #dean winchester fanfic #football au

[itsscromp]

Jaime Reyes/blue beetle x reader platonic

Welcome to another blue beetle fic, It's closer and closer by the minute. Even though I have to wait an extra month as it doesn't release in Australia until September lol. But for this fic, if anyone has seen Homecoming, you'll get the idea ;) word count:849

Jaime, Your best friend, The freaking Blue Beetle !!!, holy shit. When you first found out he was Blue beetle when he rescued you from coyote, You had to calm yourself and not go full nerd. He did just save you, But once you recovered and went back to school.

"Jaime, we gotta talk" You had to whisper so that people didn't know he was Blue beetle.

"y/n I know but please not right here"

"I know I know but..." He was right you had to keep quiet but you had a million questions and zero answers.

During different points of the day you asked a question relating to blue beetle.

"Can you summon an army of beetles ??"

"No"

"Is the amour titanium or something ??"

"No, it's extra terrestrial"

"Ok ok... Is the suit fart proof ??"

"What kind of question is that ??"

After school Jaime decided to show you the powers of blue beetle

"Ok Y/n, follow me. I'll show my powers. Just please no more questions"

"Alright alright."

Jaime then brought Y/n to a rural area just near the edge of El Paso to make sure no one see's his identity.

"Ok before I show you my powers. There's one thing you gotta see."

He turned around and lifted his shirt

"What are you do.. OH MY GOD !!"

His back revealing the scarab, wedged right into his back. No surgery seems to be getting that off anytime soon

"I know, it took me a while to come to terms with it as well"

Their was silence for a bit.

"Look I trust y/n ok, they won't reveal my identity ok ??"

"Uhhh, who are you talking too ??"

Jaime sighed, It looked like he was talking to himself.

"Its the scarab, I don't know how but it seems I can only hear it and talk to it"

"That's freaky but awesome."

"It is, but It's like almost being nagged by Mom."

Quiet again

"Look scarab just trust y/n ok ??"

It would take some getting used too to see Jaime talk to scarab.

"Anyway, Now my powers, with them, I can be able to summon anything just by thinking to scarab what I want."

"Wow, that's so cool !!" Y/n was smiling wide.

"Alright, so the first thing... the armour. Originally I could only do it when I was in danger. But I figured out how to summon it at will."

Then Jaime stood there, shutting his eyes. Withing seconds. the blue beetle armour started to take over him, the pincers popping out, his face then turning into a mask, his eyes glowing yellow.

"Pretty cool right ??"

"Oh my... HOLY SHIT !!!" you were bouncing from pure excitment.

"That was awesome !!"

Jaime couldn't help but smile under the mask from your excitement.

"You ain't seen nothing yet amigo."

*queue sword*

"Final fantasy fan I see."

"What the buster sword is a classic."

"OK what else can you do ??"

Jaime then summoned arm cannons, his hands melting and reshaping into cannons.

"Hell yeah !!, these bad boys are my favourite"

"Woah !!, ok uuh, test it on that boulder"

"Say no more"

Jaime then aimed at the boulder and with one blast the boulder was completely destroyed. But as Y/n was still in awe from it they didn't see a big chunk of the boulder falling to your direction.

"Jaime the boulder, it's gonna crush y/n !!" The Scarab warned him, Jaime quickly then pushed Y/n out of the way and caught the boulder with his bare hands, Struggling for a bit before tossing it away from harms reach.

"Are you ok y/n ??"

"Holy... You. Have. SUPER STRENGTH !!!!!"

Jaime started smiling again before the mask disintegrated revealing his face again.

"That is the power of the blue beetle y/n"

"This is awesome !!"

"But y/n look, real talk here buddy. While yes this is awesome to see, you can't go telling anyone about this, not even your dad or my family. Only you know about this." He took your hand and squeezed it, in a way of seriousness. "Can you promise to keep this secret for me ok ??"

Your smile faded slightly knowing the seriousness of the cause, You squeezed his hand back. "I promise Jaime, I promise."

"Thank you y/n" He smiled and hugged you tightly. "Your a great friend you know that ??"

"Can say the same to you" You smiled as you hugged him back

Jaime saw the sun setting before realizing he's been out all afternoon.

"Oh mierda, I gotta get home before mom kills me, I'll see you at school tomorrow ok y/n ??"

"Shoot I should get home too" You saw a bus stop and had some money, so you then went to the stop.

"See you tomorrow Jaime !!!"

Jaime waved goodbye before grabbing his backpack and activating flight mode, zooming back home.

You smiled as soon as you saw him fly off, Your best friend was a superhero. A freaking superhero. El Paso was in safe hands with Blue Beetle.

Taglist:@callofdudes

#platonic #blue beetle #jaime reyes #jaime reyes x reader #blue beetle x reader #platonic x reader #reader insert

[dragonflylady77]

Mr Steve and the Monster Hunter

Only a couple of chapters to go now... @bigbangharringrove

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Ao3

In which Billy has BIG feelings

Chapter 5 - He's awake

Billy hears footsteps outside his door but whoever it is doesn’t knock. The footsteps move away after a minute. He keeps his eyes closed and goes back to focus on his breathing, content in the knowledge that his staff respect the Do Not Disturb memo.

He knows he’s on borrowed time. He’s been hiding out for a week and Max will no doubt come bursting through the door soon, of that he is sure. Once she decides he’s spent enough time wallowing. God knows she’s pestered him enough through the years about having feelings and working through them that she should know to give him some time to process them.

He nearly lost Steve to a fucking demogorgon. Even if Steve isn’t his to have, and might never be, that near miss in the Upside Down shook Billy to his core. He knew it was a bad idea to let Steve come with them and he regrets letting the guy challenge his decision and make him change his mind. Too many years have passed since Steve was anywhere near danger like that and he lacks the training Billy, Lucas, and even Will, have.

Billy

Yeah

He’s awake

Thank fuck

Relief floods his system and Billy feels tears flow down his cheeks. He does nothing to stop them. Steve is awake. He must be okay or El would have said something. Billy knows that the doctor said Steve will be okay physically, once he’s recovered from the surgery, but there was no way of knowing how he would be affected mentally.

Billy remembers all too well Robin and Max mentioning Steve complaining of ringing in his ears and migraines following one too many bumps on the head when they grappled with the Upside Down and its monsters fifteen years ago. Robin also mentioned something about Russians under the mall but Billy never felt the need to ask about that. No point rehashing bad memories.

The footsteps are back and this time there is a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Billy says with a sigh, getting off the floor in the corner of the room where he’s been holed up for a few hours. He glances at the opening door and finds his sister. “Hey, shitbird.”

“He speaks,” Max counters, sarcasm heavy in her voice. She stops on the other side of the couch Billy drops his sore body on. Maybe sitting on the floor wasn’t the best idea. “Are you done with your pity party yet? Your man’s awake, you should go see him.”

“Max…” Billy is tired of having this conversation. She doesn’t listen, and neither do El and Robin. The second they found out he was still harboring a crush on Steve, they started referring to him as Billy’s, and refused to stop. Heather usually rolls her eyes and changes the subject. Billy sighs and runs a tired hand through his hair. “He nearly died on my watch. He had to have surgery and was in a coma for a week, for fuck’s sake.”

“He’s alive, and confined to a hospital bed. Best time to confess your undying love, really.”

“Oh my fucking god, Max. It’s not gonna happen.”

“Oh yes it is. And you know how I know?” She looks way too smug and Billy hates it.

“Enlighten me, oh wise one.” He wants to roll his eyes but Max is within kicking range and he’d like to keep his shins unbruised, thank you very much.

“He asked where you were.”

“Ooooh, yeah, wow.” Billy has to laugh or he’ll start crying again. “Jeez, Max, you better get the wedding invitations in the mail, I guess me and Harrington are getting hitched!”

“Jesus, you really are a butthead.” Max sits next to him on the couch and Billy only narrowly avoids the punch to his shoulder because he leans away from her.

“You’re the one who came in here all excited for something that exists only in your brain”—Billy sees the look Max gives him and amends—“fine, and mine.”

“Billy, he asked if you were okay, and sounded worried after Rob told him what had happened. And I told him to think about why you have been calling him by all those pet names you like so much.”

“You didn’t! Oh my fucking god. Why?”

“Because, brother dear, you deserve to be happy, and I have it on good authority—”

“You mean Robin.”

“Yes, of course, I mean Robin, the lesbian mother of your child and kinda best friend of your soon-to-be boyfriend. Based on a chat she had with him the night you dragged him into the Upside Down, he only needs a little push and he’ll open his eyes to what he really wants.”

“Oh, really? And what’s that?”

“Stop being an asshole. You know I mean you. I am not at liberty to repeat what was told to me in confidence but if you do not go to him now and at least talk to him, I swear to God…”

She doesn’t finish the sentence and Billy does not need her to. He knows that she will follow through with whatever she threatens him with and it’s definitely in his best interest to not push her that far. She can be real scary when she wants to and he takes some pride in that. 

***

Billy hears Livi’s babble before he gets to the room and it makes him smile as he walks up to the open door. He knocks and waits. Livi is sitting on the bed across from Steve and whatever story she is telling him stops when she hears knocking and notices Steve’s attention is no longer on her. 

“Daddy!” Livi exclaims excitedly. “I bringed Mr Snorkles for Mr Steve to keep him safe.”

“That was really nice of you, princess,” Billy says as he walks into the room and stops by the foot of the bed. “Where did your mom go?”

Livi shrugs then turns on her knees and shuffles towards Billy until she’s close enough to wrap her little arms around him for a cuddle. “Me and Auntie Janie gotted a chocolate cupcake for Mr Steve and Mommy took me to give it to him cos Auntie Janie needed to get back to work.”

“I think she’s ringing Heather,” Steve adds, locking eyes with him.

Livy moves back to where she was before, and starts her story again. Billy feels the heat in his chest ramp up a notch. His fingers tingle as he notices Steve’s gaze move down then back up, stopping on his mouth before finding his eyes again. 

“Okay. Thanks.”

He really needs to keep his power under control around Steve, especially after what happened in the Upside Down. He makes a mental note to talk to El about it. Hopefully she has some special trick to ensure he doesn’t raze an entire city block if he ever gets his mouth on the guy. Fuck. Thinking about it only makes the tingles worse. Ugh.

“Right, sweetie, are you ready to go?” Robin enters the room and stops when three pairs of eyes land on her. “Hey, B.” She smiles and approaches the bed, stopping by Billy for a quick hug.

“Heather okay?” Billy asks, watching as Robin gathers their daughter’s coloring book and felt pens and shoves them in her backpack, then adds Mr Snorkles before she zips it up.

“Yep. She had another nap. Olivia, say goodbye, sweetie.” Robin busies herself getting Livi’s shoes back on.

“Mommy, I didn’t finish telling Mr Steve my story about the seals at the beach.”

“It’s okay, Olivia. You can tell me next time I see you. Or you could draw a picture about it, so I have something nice to put on the wall,” Steve says with a grin and Billy can see how taken with the idea Livi is. 

Once her shoes are on, and Robin has successfully wrestled the little girl into her green sweater, she gives Steve a wave. Billy picks her up before she can hop off the bed and wraps his arms around her as he walks them to the door, Robin following after she says her own goodbyes to Steve.

“I’ll see you soon, okay, princess?” Billy tells Livi, kissing her cheek. “You be good for Mommy and give Mama a hug when you get home.”

“Yes, Daddy.” Livi traces the scar on his left cheek with her finger in a move he knows well. Something is bothering her. 

Billy stops in his tracks and feels Robin walk around them and into the hallway. “What’s wrong, baby girl?”

They had a big talk about the incident once she and her moms arrived in San Diego last week. El had rung Robin then opened a portal to pick them up, quicker and safer. Heather had stayed behind at Billy’s house while Robin sat with Steve, and El had brought Livi to Billy because she knew his daughter would be the person to snap him out of the spiral he was in.

She lets out a little sigh and glances up at him. “Is Mr Steve gonna be okay without Mr Snorkles?”

Robin chuckles next to him. “Aw, sweetie, don’t worry. He’s gonna be just fine now that your daddy is here.”

Billy sends Robin a sharp look but she raises one eyebrow at him. He wonders what she knows but won’t tell him. She’s like Max in that way, hinting but not sharing. It’s infuriating but there’s not much he can do about it.

“B. Give me this child.” she says, picking up Livi from him and putting her down on the ground, holding her hand. She pats his shoulder with her free hand in that slightly standoffish way of hers he’s grown fond of over the years and gives him a grin. “Go get your man, okay?” 

“Rob…” 

“No.” She shakes her head. “No more running. He’s here. He’s alive.” Her eyes narrow as she stares him down with that eyebrow raised. “More importantly, he finally knows you are alive.”

Billy takes the hit. Robin, Max and El have been on his case for a few years now, wanting to know why he wouldn’t let Steve know he was alive. It wasn’t like he swore them to secrecy or anything, he just… didn’t see the point. Heather agreed with him, more out of loyalty and trauma bonding than anything.

Steve is a fantasy, an unattainable dream that refuses to die. Billy sighs. 

“Hey,” Robin pipes up again, squeezing his bicep. “You can have this, I promise you, if only you let yourself. I wouldn’t lie to you. You know that. Not about anything, but especially not about this. I know how long you’ve been wanting this. Wanting him. And I know you’re scared—”

“Daddy isn’t scared of anything, Mommy,” Livi interjects, making them laugh.

“Olivia, sweetie, I’ll tell you a little secret. Your daddy might not be scared of monsters, but he’s scared of being loved.”

Billy glares at Robin but says nothing because, well, she’s not wrong.

“I love you, Daddy,” Livi says, taking Billy’s hand in hers, as a show of proof. “And Mama and Mommy love you. And Auntie Max and Auntie Janie love you too.”

“Yes, thank you, princess. I love you too.” Billy smiles down at her and gives her little hand a squeeze.

She looks at him with her big blue eyes and he knows he’ll do anything she asks of him. “Daddy?”

“Yes?” As much as Billy thinks he braced himself for the inevitable follow-up question, when it leaves his daughter’s mouth, he finds that he wasn’t ready for it.

“Do you love Mr Steve?”

“Um…”

“Only I heard Mama and Mommy talk about it with Auntie Janie yesterday. The yelling waked me up.” She looks at Robin. “Sorry, Mommy, I know it’s rude to earsdrop.”

It never fucking ends… Now they have his daughter in on it. Billy takes a deep breath and decides he’s tired of fighting against the current. Maybe it’s time to listen to what the women in his life are telling him. He’ll shoot his shot and when nothing comes of it, at least, he’ll have closure and he’ll be able to move on.

“Okay. Fine. You win, Buckley. I’ll tell him. And when he kicks me out of his room, we can never mention it again.”

“Whatever, Hargrove. It’s gonna go so well I might hire a plane to write ‘I told you so’ in the sky at your wedding.” With another smirk, she picks Livi’s hand from his and nods towards the room. “Get your ass in there, B. We’ll see you later at home.”

“Good luck, Daddy!” Livi calls out as she follows her mother down the hallway. 

Billy stands there watching them disappear towards the elevator, wondering when he became so easy to read.

“Billy? You still here?” Steve’s voice reaches him through the door.

The open door.

Fuck!

Kicking himself for letting Robin drag him into this conversation so close to the subject of it and wondering how much Steve actually heard, Billy heads back into the room, forcing himself to walk all the way to the bed. The instinct to run is clamoring in his head and he stamps down on it before El shows up in his mind again.

He sits on the side of the bed instead of the chair, one knee bent, and lets himself look at the man in the bed. Steve looks exhausted, his hair needs a good brushing, and Billy can see the edge of some of his bandages in the vee of the hospital gown. The nurses had to shave Steve’s chest hair before the surgery and Billy knows first hand how itchy and annoying it’s gonna get when it grows back. 

The nurses have kept Steve clean shaven but there’s some stubble on his jaw now that Billy would give a lot of things to be able to touch. He blinks away but can feel Steve staring right at him.

“Hey,” Billy says, not sure about anything anymore. He watches, heart in his throat, as Steve’s long fingers tangle with his on the blue hospital blanket.

“Billy, look at me. Please?”

Billy does what he’s asked and there’s something in Steve’s brown eyes that makes the want inside him claw at his throat. His mouth is dry and his hands clammy, and he can’t remember how to make words.

The tingles are back in his fingers, and they’re moving up his arms and centering in his chest. The cup of water on the side table in his peripheral vision starts to float slowly up, then it’s the magazine on the chair. When the call button for the nurse starts moving off Steve’s pillow, Billy closes his eyes tightly and forces himself to take deep breaths and visualize the objects back where they belong.

He feels a pull on his arm, then he’s lying across Steve’s body with his head on Steve’s chest and Steve’s arms around him. He hears a clatter when his power suddenly cuts off and the cup crashes on the floor.

“Sorry,” he whispers. His heart stops when Steve starts running his fingers in Billy’s hair, and Billy suddenly misses his longer hair in a way he hasn’t in years, not since the Incident, when he woke up alone in hospital with a shaved head and a hole in his chest.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Steve whispers, his fingers moving from Billy’s head to his nape, then his shoulders and his back, tracing patterns Billy doesn’t try to decipher. 

Billy moves his arms closer to Steve, fingers almost touching his sides. 

“I’ve heard a lot about you, from a few people today, Billy.” Steve continues to stroke Billy’s back as he speaks and Billy lets himself enjoy it.

The soft touches feel warm and good and he never wants them to stop. Steve keeps talking.

“I understand why you wouldn’t let me know you were alive. Heather was very clear about the fact that you and I were not friends and you don’t owe me anything. But I owe you. I owe you, Billy.”

“No, you don’t.” Billy’s words are muffled by Steve’s hospital gown but Billy doesn’t want to lift his head. He can hear Steve’s heart and it’s beating a little bit fast, but that means Steve is alive and it’s the most beautiful sound Billy has ever heard, besides his daughter.

“I owe you an apology for not giving you a chance back in high school. Especially after that stupid fight at the Byers’. We could have become friends after that mess was cleared. Then you wouldn’t have been…” Steve stops talking and his fingers dig into Billy’s back a little bit. 

Billy gives himself a moment to imagine what that could have looked like, being friends with Steve that year, meeting at the quarry for a beer, hanging outside the arcade and having a smoke or two while the kids played their games, going to see Steve at the mall and make fun of that stupid sailor suit that looked so fucking good on him the few times Billy had seen him from a distance. Steve coming around to the pool while Billy worked and maybe, just maybe, stealing kisses in the showers once the pool was closed for the day…

Then Steve relaxes his hold and continues, “It took me a long time to put a name to how I felt and I did my best to avoid thinking about it, about you, but then you showed up at school to pick up Olivia and I knew.”

“You knew?” Billy whispers, wary of breaking the spell.

“Billy, I missed you.”

Chapter 6

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #billy x steve #harringrove big bang #harringrove bigbang #harringrovebigbang #dragonflylady77 #mr steve and the monster hunter #mr snorkles

[thewidowsghost]

I’m Right Here (Max Mayfield x Fem!Reader)

My first post surgery post! :)

This contains major spoilers for Season 4 of Stranger Things.

Main Masterlist

Within another heartbeat, (Y/n) (L/n), Max's girlfriend of two years, follows.

Max opens the door to the back of Steve's car, clutching an envelope.

"Max," (Y/n) jogs up the hill to stand beside Max.

"(Y/n), please, just wait in the car," Max says, not being able to bring herself to meet her girlfriend's gaze, knowing that soon, they would no longer be together.

"Max, just wait. Max, please!" Max can hear the grief in her lover's voice and she stops.

"(Y/n), just wait -"

"Just listen to me. Just, please," (Y/n) turns her girlfriend and lifts Max's chin with a finger. "I know something happened back there with your mom," (Y/n) says, her hand falling to brush Max's cheek with a thumb. "Was it Vecna?" she questions, her tone softening.

"I told you, I'm fine," Max replies and (Y/n) meets Max's blue gaze. "Okay? I mean, as fine as someone who's hurtling towards a gruesome death can be."

This time, Max catches the pain that floods into her girlfriend's gentle (E/c) eyes.

"Max," (Y/n) says, her thumb brushing across Max's cheek again, "you know you can talk to me."

"Yeah," Max replies.

"Then why do you keep pushing me away?" (Y/n) questions. "I want to help. I don't want a letter," she shakes the envelope in her non-dominant hand. Her other hand drops to her side. "I'm right here. I'm here. I love you."

Max just stands still, blinking once before she repeats the last three words (Y/n) had spoken.

"I'll be right back," Max turns away from (Y/n), charging over to where Billy Hargrove was buried.

(Y/n), defeated, turns back and grumbles her way back to the car.

. . .

About five minutes pass when Steve finally can't take it anymore. He charges up the hill, to kneel beside Max.

"Max," he shakes her shoulder. Then he sees her eyes, rolled up in the back of her head, the blue of her irises barely showing. "Max! Max! Max!" He repeatedly yells her name, attracting the attention of the other three teenagers hanging by the car.

(Y/n) is the first to charge up the hill, almost tripping over multiple tufts of grass. She skids to a stop on her knees, roughing up and staining her jeans but she doesn't care about that now.

"Max!" (Y/n) shakes her girlfriend's shoulder roughly, hoping to pull her girlfriend out of her living nightmare.

. . .

Max is pinned up against the pillar, vines closing around her neck and pinning her arms and legs to the pillar.

Vecna stands feet away and he takes a few steps closer to her.

Max watches him out of the bottom of her vision, her eyes crossing slightly when he stops - less than a foot in front of her.

Max whimpers, struggling against the bonds to breathe.

. . .

Dustin charges back up the hill with Max's cassette player and all of her tapes.

"What's her favorite song?" Dustin asks, spilling the player and tapes onto the ground.

"Uh," (Y/n) scrambles through the pile, finding the correct tape. She jams it into the player, throws the headphones onto Max's head, and hits play.

. . .

Max's favorite song, Running Up That Hill, begins playing inside of Vecna's mind prison, and Max's eyes fly open.

Max can see that a portal had opened up over Vecna's shoulder and she stares at it, watching as her friends try to wake her.

"Max, wake up!" she hears Dustin yell.

"Max, I'm here!" (Y/n) adds, placing both hands on Max's shoulders and shaking furiously.

"They can't help you, Max," Vecna says, turning back to his victim. "There's a reason you hide from them."

Memories begin flashing in Max's mind - her and (Y/n) dancing at the Sno-Ball, their first kiss, Max teaching (Y/n) how to skate, her and El getting ice cream at the mall.

"You belong here," Vecna says.

"You're not really here," Max growls.

"Oh, but I am, Max," Vecna replies. "I am," he raises a clawed hand above Max's head and lowers it until it almost touches her face.

. . .

Sobs rack (Y/n) as Max rises into the air. "Max! Max!"

Her friends around her also begin screaming Max's name.

. . .

More memories flash before Max's eyes - riding her skateboard around Mike in the gym, trips to the arcade with her friends, scaring the party members on Halloween, cuddling with (Y/n) on the couch.

"I'd be running up that road. Be running up that hill," the lyrics pierce through the fog that had been closing over Max's mind.

"I don't want a letter," (Y/n) shakes the envelope in her non-dominant hand. Her other hand drops to her side. "I'm right here. I'm here. I love you."

Max forces her way through her bonds, stabbing Vecna in the shoulder with a rock.

As the bridge of the song builds, Max charges for the portal.

Vecna stares after the girl, then raising his hand, sending rocks and parts of the house to land in the water.

One lands directly behind Max, and she tips, falling into the water.

Max scrambles to her feet, continuing to sprint for the portal.

. . .

Max's eyes return to normal, and she falls to the ground.

Max pants, her eyes wild, and (Y/n) pulls Max into her arms.

Sobs wrack both girls.

"I've got you. I've got you," (Y/n) whispers, pressing kisses to Max's cheek and hugging her tightly.

"I'm here," Max gasps, grabbing onto (Y/n)'s bicep and running her fingers down (Y/n)'s arm, "I'm right here."

. . .

(Y/n) returns from the bathroom of Mike Wheeler's basement to find that Max had disappeared from the couch they had been sharing for the night.

(Y/n) rushes over to Nancy, who was talking on the walkie with Eddie and taps her shoulder, her eyes gleaming with urgency.

"Hey, Eddie, I'm gonna have to call you back," Nancy says and the two teens run up the stairs, (Y/n) taking them two at a time ad they relax when they find Max at the table.

(Y/n) sits down beside Max at the table. "Hey," she reaches under the table to rest a hand on Max's knee.

Max pulls her headphones down on her neck. "Hey," she says.

Nancy sits down in another chair. "You okay?" she questions.

"I'm good," Max smiles over at (Y/n). "Someone kept blasting music in my ears throughout the night for some reason."

(Y/n) flushes, her cheeks reddening, but she knows Max was just teasing her.

"I'm right here," Max says, smiling a little more.

Word Count: 1122 words

#max mayfield x reader #max mayfield x fem reader #max mayfield x female reader

[winniethewife]

It's undeniably real (Layla El-Faouly x The Moonknight system x Reader)

Chapter 8: They're not enough

Warning: Angst, Hospital scenes, Hurt/comfort.

Last Chapter ~ Next Chapter

Words:1042

I wasn’t the same after that day, I wasn’t meant to be the same after…But will they ever look at me the same after this? Will they still love me the same? Knowing who I really am. Knowing the monster I could become? I feel like theres a bomb in my chest, any minute I will explode and hurt everyone I care about.

They sat in the hospital waiting room, Layla bouncing her leg as she stares at the doors to the surgery ward. Steven sits next to her, a bundle of nerves. The headspace unusually quiet as the moments pass, and they wait.

“Today is the beginning of your training, you will learn to be the greatest asset to the system, and you will learn to eliminate any target required of you. Is that Clear?” the headmistress spoke to me while placing the room.

“What is the system? I thought this was a school for advanced academics?” I asked confused. She gave me a glare, her ice blue eyes bore into me and I felt a chill creep over me.

“You will not question me, you will do as you are told. Is that clear?” She asked even more coldly than before.

“Yes…” I say. And that was the moment my whole life changed forever. Over the next four years I spent my weeks learning to fence, to shoot, to fight. I knew a thousand ways to kill a man, and there was no turning back. I never figured out what “the system” was or why we were meant to serve it. But I do remember the day it collapsed. The academy staff were panicking, it was days until graduation, a hundred of us trained to kill, now without purpose. I put on my uniform and walked out of my dorm. Just as I was turning the corner I hear the Headmistress calling my name…I turn as she Summons me to her office. I walk in and I take a seat in front of her.

“You know, you’re one of our best students of all my time here I’ve never seen a brighter woman and a more skilled combatant.”

“Thank you Ma’am.”

“I have to ask you to do something for me.”

“Anything.”

“I need you to forget, forget any of it happened.”

“What do you mean Ma’am?” I look at her confused. She held up this aerosol can

“I’m going to use this on you, It’s going to put you in a trance, at which point I’m going to have you forget everything from these last years. Before you say anything else I have to do this to everyone, but I wanted to tell you first…I am very proud of you, and I know you will be amazing.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.” Then time stopped and faded away.

~

I opened my eyes slowly and looked around the hospital room, Layla was sitting on the bed holding my hand.

“Layla…” I tried to sit up.

“Shhh…woah there, Habibi. Don’t move, we’re at the hospital. They got the bullet out of you. You gave us a fright there…”

“I...Did you..?” I couldn’t talk as fast as my mind was running, I wanted to tell her that I remembered, I wanted to ask if they had causght the cult I needed to know.

“No, we haven’t caught them, you come first you know this. Steven is getting us a flight out of here in a few days, the doc says you should be fine to go home by then.”

“But…”

“But nothing. We can get this figured out after you recover. Hanukah is soon, hopefully over the holidays nothing will happen. You will get better, then we can take them down.” She insists. Before I can make any other argument Steven comes into the room and his eyes widen.

“Oh thank god love, you’re awake!” Steven exclaimed as he rushed to my side, his hand cups my face, pressing his forehead to mine as tears stream down his face. Those sad brown eyes look into mine. “We were so worried darling. You can’t do that. Ever again.”

“Steven it’s not like I tried to get shot!” I laugh slightly running my fingers through his hair as he pressed his face to mine, the look of worry and his quivering lip, I smile and I kiss him softly, he hesitates before kissing me back eagerly, like the only cure for his sadness would be found in my lips, after a moment he pulls away.

“Sorry, Lovey. I know, I just…We were sure we were too late. I was so scared…I donno what we would’ve done if…”

“Shh…It didn’t happen okay? I’m okay, I’m going to be okay.” I reassured him, glancing at Layla who was wiping tears from her own eyes, I take her hand again and squeeze it gently. That’s when I knew…I couldn’t tell them. Not yet.

~

Once we’re back home, I think that it’s all going to be okay the nightmares will pass and things will return to normal, But I’m quickly proven wrong. Sitting up quickly from the bed after experiencing another terrifying nightmare, one I can’t tell what might be a memory or a made up thought, I look around our bedroom, tears streaking down my face.

“Babe…Another Nightmare?” Marc sits up from where Steven had fallen asleep holding me on one side while Layla lay on the other. I couldn’t even speak, I just nodded. Marc hummed and put an arm around me, whispering softly comforting words that I wasn’t paying enough attention to identify, my heart couldn’t stop pounding. Even as he pulled me into a closer embrace I felt the numbness return, a feeling I used to just associate with this forgotten past now lingers in my life, making unwelcomed visits even in the most intimate of moments. Marc says something directly to me and I completely miss it.

“Hm? What?” I tried to shake off the feeling but it just sticks around. Marc chuckles.

“C’mon, let’s get back to sleep. No more nightmares. I’ll keep them away.”

“Okay…I love you.” I say softly as he pulls me back into bed.

“I love you more.”

“Impossible.” I sleepily mumble, getting another chuckle from Marc.

~

Masterlist

Taglist: @redeyerhaenyra @summonthesoups

#moon knight #marc spector #x reader #jake lockley #layla el faouly x reader #marc spector x reader #jake lockley x reader #moonknight x reader #steven grant x reader #polyamory #poly representation #moon knight system #moon boys #layla el faouly #Spotify #steven grant #angst #hurt comfort #tw hospital

[xanadontit]

Read on for updates!

The new job is in commercial insurance which is a totally new field for me. I don't think I've mentioned it here but I have been out of work for some time. Tech and startups, man. Anyway, I was considering making a change in my search when my friend D asked if I'd consider insurance. Sure, why not? Great, because her husband (yes, That Guy) was making a move to his previous brokerage and thinks I'd be a great addition to the team. Before I knew it I had an offer and was enrolled in licensing classes. I passed my test and officially applied for my license last week. The job so far is chill; small boutique woman-owned place. Hybrid schedule with two days in the office. Pay isn't great but the benefits are outstanding and there's potential to make more money.

Speaking of the classes, I forgot how much I like school when I'm not worried about shit like the prom or in the middle of a breakdown. And the material was actually kind of interesting? Idk I had fun and am thinking about getting another insurance license and maybe one in real estate. Why not? If Heather Rae El-Moussa can sell a house why can't I?

In the midst of the job stuff and my stepmom's surgery my aunt (dad's youngest sister) passed away. She was taken off life support and cremated per her wishes; we weren't particularly close but she was a kind, gentle soul and I'm sad for my dad and his remaining siblings. Planning for her memorial has been way more complicated than it needs to be given how casual it is. There's also been a lot of "oh we can just do this ourselves" and friends? My confidence is not high. Can't wait to have to step in and make things happen then get shit for being so uptight and Type A.

MIL is coming for Thanksgiving (actually more like a week so kill me now) and after considering various logistics (all of us crammed into our house vs a hotel, etc.) my mom and stepdad and LARRY! have declined to join, which I get. Hell, I don't want to be here. E has decided to be weird about this so that's fun.

As much as lack of additional funds sucks not working fucking rules. I already miss unemployment, but I'm trying to sort out a new routine (mostly for in-office days) and ugh why didn't I marry some rich idiot from high school so I could not work allllll the time?

[medusapelagia]

8 Au-gust: Robots and Androids - Part 7

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 , Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8[...]

Rating: Mature Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson WT: Android Steve Harrington, Wanted Criminal Eddie Munson, surgery on the android Words: 1673

“Why do you hate him?”

“Apart from the obvious?” Eddie sighs, Dustin is a smart guy but it’s kind of annoying having to deal with him.

“Yeah.”

“Well, to be honest, he is not special enough to deserve my hate. But I hate all the androids, and he is an android.”

“It seems personal.”

It is personal. But he is not going to share his emotional baggage with a thirteen-year-old boy.

“Where did you learn about robotics?” Eddie asks him.

“Here. My parents are both scientists and working with El helped me a lot.”

The little girl doesn’t seem to be a robotics expert but she clearly cares about androids.

"You are good at it.”

“Mum says I’m a genius.”

“Don’t brag. But you are good. You changed that battery like a professional.”

“I was scared out of my mind, but we had to help him, you know right?”

No, Eddie doesn’t know. The android is just a  pile of circuits, he doesn’t deserve their help or their pity.

“He saved your life.” Dustin insists.

“Can you understand that it’s in his fucking code once and for all?!” Eddie snaps.

“It is. But it was an emergency situation. Stevie is clever, he could have found a solution and let you die on impact. But he saved you. He shielded you with his body. Isn’t that something?”

“No, because he is going to bring me back to the Central to be killed after a fake trial so, no. It’s not something! It’s annoying and frustrating, ok? I don’t like androids and I don’t like the one that captured me, that sounds so strange to you?”

Dustin sighs and goes back to his computer “You must admit that he is fascinating. I have never met an android like him.” he turns toward Eddie “Did you?”

“I don’t know why you think that he is so fucking special.”

“Because he has feelings. And emotions.”

“He has not.”

“Talk to him. Without being aggressive, and you’ll see.”

***

Eddie can hate S.T.E.V.E. as much as he wants to but the android is really useful. In the few days that they have spent at the outpost he has helped Hopper make some repairs, he has cooked for everyone and he has finally managed to fix the stupid radio.

“Are you really going to call the Central? I thought we were friends.”

“We are not friends. You are my captive and I have to take you back to the Central.” the android replies in his monotone voice.

“Oh… that hurts. I was starting to think that there was something special between us.” Eddie mocks the android who looks at him with his plastic eyes without expression “So, when are we leaving, captain?”

“Hopper and I have fixed the biggest damages but Dustin wants to take a look at the engines before let us leave. He doesn't want us to explode in the air.”

“You are like the kid's personal science project, you know that right?”

S.T.E.V.E. tilts his head, confused.

“He would die to study you. To open that metal head of yours and take a good look at your fucking circuits.”

“Maybe. But he didn’t do it. And he said he was sorry for replacing my heart when I said I didn’t want it replaced.”

“Your heart? It’s just a fucking battery!”

“And yours is just a muscle.” the android retorts.

“That’s not…” Fuck the stupid android, fuck them all! 

The android stares at him with his eyes with no expression “I know that it means nothing to you, but I’m sorry that I have to bring you back to the Central." the android pauses "All of this would not be happening if you weren't a murderer.”

“I told you a million times that I’m not a murderer!” Eddie sighs “But you don’t listen to me. You never did. After all, why should you care, right? Your stupid video says that I’m a murderer so that’s what I am, right?”

Stevie seems almost sad, which is not possible because he is a stupid tin can.

“Why should they lie?”

Eddie stares at him, that’s not the kind of question he was expecting from the android. Well, to be honest, he didn’t expect a question at all, but the more time the android has spent with the little group the more open he has become.

“They didn’t lie. They just turn the truth in their favor.” Eddie takes an e-cigarette, he knows that soon he will not be able to smoke anymore so he tries to enjoy what he can “I’m no saint, ok metalhead? I have destroyed androids and I never felt bad about that. I was protecting my people, and I’ll do it again in a heartbeat! And I don’t care about your opinion if you think that I am a murderer or whatever! I didn’t kill Chrissy, that’s all I’m saying.”

“You always speak about Chrissy, was she special to you?”

She was. She was the most special girl ever. She was so kind and pure… everything that Eddie never was and never would have been. And she died. Because of him.

“I didn’t kill her.” he tells the android, the e-cigarette still in his hand “But it’s my fault if she died. I made the bomb. I knew it was there and I knew that there was the possibility of some collateral damages. But I didn’t care. So, yes, somehow your dispatch is correct: I wasn’t the one that moved the bomb next to the bleachers, but I still killed her.” his hands are trembling and the androids take the e-cigarette with a kindness that Eddie didn’t know he possessed.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Those are the same words Eddie told him days ago when he was talking about his human companion.

“Do you miss him?”

“Uh?”

“Your partner.”

“Bi… Tommy?”

Eddie stares at him. What was that? A glitch?

“Are you ok?”

“I’m perfectly working, thanks.”

Eddie nods confused “What was the name of your partner?”

“Tommy. Tommy Hagan.”

No uncertainty. Maybe it was just a glitch. After all, the android took quite a hit and almost exploded just a few days ago. It’s probably a normal android’s reaction. Maybe he should turn him off and turn him back on. But there is no way the android will let him turn him off, so he shrugs and goes back to look at the stars.

“How many can you see?”

“Sorry?”

“How many stars can you see from here?”

“One hundred billion.”

“For real?”

“More or less.”

“Fuck. That must be amazing.”

“What?”

“Being able to see so far that you are almost looking back in time.” Eddie replies, amazed.

“I can see things that are farther, but sometimes I can’t see things that are close.” S.T.E.V.E. murmurs.

Eddie stares at him wondering what he might mean, but the android gets up “If tomorrow Dustin will decide that we have enough fuel to get to the next planet we will leave. Enjoy your evening.”

Eddie stays all night staring at the sky, conscious that it would have been the last time.

***

“Get up. We are leaving.” The android wakes him up, he has a coffee and a piece of bread.

“I thought we were waiting for Dustin’s ok.”

“We were. But some troops are coming in this direction and I will not let them get to this planet. So we are leaving.”

“What if the ship explodes in space?!” Eddie objects.

“You were the one that wanted to die of dehydration in a desert. If the ship explodes it will be a less painful death.”

Fucking androids and their stupid logic!

He gulps the coffee in one go and gets dressed holding the bread in his mouth while he ties his shoes.

Joyce is waiting for them with a bag with some supplies “For the journey,” she says and Eddie thanks her. Before leaving, Joyce takes Eddie’s elbow and whispers to him “He is special. Don’t be too hard on him.”

Eddie doesn’t answer back and starts to run to follow the android. The metal tin is right, those people helped them, and they don’t need other problems.

At the entrance, Steve is talking with the strange little girl, El.

“You don’t have to go.” she is saying “You could stay here. With me.”

S.T.E.V.E. caresses his cheek “I have to kid. I have to protect you.”

“But I can protect you! I can! I am strong.” she insists.

“I’m sure you are. But there are other people that deserve your protection, aren’t there?”

“Mum?”

The android nods, then he points at something on his arms and shows it to her “I know you can’t read it but this is why I can’t stay here.” 

“Because you are a lone wolf?” she asks.

The android freezes “How…”

“Are we going, tin can? Or do you want to wait for your friends here?” Eddie interrupts them and the android turns toward him.

“You are right. We have to go. Take care El.”

“Take care too Stevie.” she replies, waving at them until she is just a little white point in the night.

Hopper gave them a transport and a thermal suit, they will leave everything on the crash site and somehow the others will recover them.

“They are good people.” S.T.E.V.E. says.

“They are. And they are leaving in the old way. No fucking androids around.”

S.T.E.V.E. stares at him for a moment but says nothing.

He starts the ship and after a couple of tries, they are able to leave the surface and get into space.

“I’ll try to make a jump to the next planet.”

“Do you think it will work?”

“‘I’m confident it will work.”

"How many chances?”

“Good.”

“Tell me the number.”

“67%”

“Fuck.”

“They are good.”

“Ok. Just press the fucking button.”

Eddie has never prayed, but when the android moves the hand toward the jump button he takes the necklace his uncle gave him and holds it tight.

Tag list: @shunna, @yourmom-isgay I hope you enjoy it!

#android AU #Wanted Criminal Eddie Munson #Android Steve Harrington #tumblr fic #myfanfic #steddie #au gust 2023 #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things fanfic #writing challenge #medusapelagia fanfic #medusapelagia #my fanfic

[anexperimentallife]

Health update (bad news ahead)

I try not to mention health stuff too much lately because I'm sure y'all get tired of it lol. But basically, all I can say is it isn't good.

I'm trying to put off medical stuff as much as possible because we still have all the debt to pay off from El's paperwork debacle. Then after we get that paid off, we can FINALLY start saving for the SRRV again instead of doing immigration forms and fees every couple of months and flying out every three years to reset. THEN I can finally worry about catching up on all the medical and dental stuff.

My eye is worse. I'll eventually need cataract surgery on the left one, and will probably need surgery to fix what's left of the retina on the other one, thanks to the blood clot from long covid. We've been hoping the blood clot eye would fix itself over time, and I think I was starting to notice some improvement, but it got suddenly worse last night. (I'd show you a pic, but its gross.)

Man... I used to console myself by reminding myself I at least had one functioning eye lol. Not so much anymore. And I'm afraid of the surgeries, because right now at least the retina is good on one, and the lens on the other, so what if the surgery on one screws up? Do I risk the other one?

The ol' spine injury is acting up to the point at which I've had to double my pain meds for the past couple of weeks just to function at all, and have been able to do very little. I've been mostly homebound since the beginning of the last super typhoon. (I think I managed ONE trip to the supermarket since then, plus my daily balcony excursions.)

Let's see... Oh, and I need one more foot surgery, and a LOT of dental stuff done. And I haven't even started to see about my knees or hip yet.

No updates on the damage to my heart. Gotta get more tests later. Blood pressure has been mostly okay, at least.

So that's the update.

:sigh:

P.S. I interpret "likes" as letting me know you saw it; I know you're not pleased that my health is bad lol

#rob gets medical

[rybonucleic-ket]

another one

another scene rewrite

this one's really more of an addition but

yeah

Jonathan and Will heart to heart but Jon comes out to Will

jonathan/steve/eddie/argyle content I've been talking about (not much, but it's there)

and byler ofc

enjoy

---

Jonathan and Will stand in the Surfer Boy kitchen, water sloshing as they mix the salt in for El’s sensory deprivation tank.

Will looks out to where El and Argyle are force feeding Mike pineapple pizza, before looking back at the water, guilty for the spike of jealousy.

Jonathan pauses his stirring of the water, turning to look at his younger brother. “Do you remember that time you told me you got a Lego stuck in your nose?”

Will looks at him, startled at the random topic, confused. “What??”

“Yeah, it was like, it was like a construction guy. You’d call him Larry! Oh, come on, you don’t remember? He had like, the high-vis jacket and the removable hat?” Jonathan mimes taking off a hat.

The younger Byers looks at his brother, unsure of his point. “Yeah, vaguely.”

“Well,” Jonathan resumes stirring the water, “I remember it like it was yesterday. Man, I was..I was freaked. ‘Cause..’cause Larry, I mean, Larry was way, way up there! I don’t even know how you got him that far up. I had to do surgery, I..I had to get tweezers to pull him out.”

Will scoffs, amused, although still puzzled at the point of the story. “Bull.”

Jonathan laughs, “No, no, no, I swear on my life.” He sighs, his laugh trailing off. “I don’t know, I just..” he pauses, “…I feel like you used to come to me more for help. Or to just..talk, y’know? ‘Cause like, you don’t do that anymore. Not like before.” He pauses stirring again, sighing. “A lot of that is probably my fault. This past year…I know I’ve been distant.”

Will looks away briefly, before looking back at his brother. “Or stoned,” he responds, slightly hurt.

Jonathan nods his head in acknowledgment. “Or stoned. Yeah. But that has nothing to do with you. And that’s me dealing with my own shit.” he shrugs, “Hiding from my own problems. The truth is, I miss talking to you. I, like, really miss it.” He looks at Will softly, genuinely. “And I think, right now, we need to talk more than ever.” Will nods as his brother continues, “Because things are getting just complicated. A lot more complicated than Legos up the nose, you know?”

Will smiles, shaking his head in amusement.

“I just…I don’t want you to forget that I’m here. And I’ll always be here. No matter what. Because you’re my brother. And I love you.” Will’s eyes tear up. “And there is nothing in this world, okay, absolutely nothing, no Michael Wheeler, that will ever change that. You got that?”

“Yeah.” Will’s voice breaks tearfully, “And- and I’m always here for you, too.”

“I know.” Jonathan drops what he was stirring with, “I know you are. Come here.” He pulls his brother into a hug, Will clutching to him and crying into his shoulder.

They stay there for a bit, but as Will calms down, Jonathan admits, “I understand more than you think, y’know.”

Will lifts his face from where it was buried in Jonathan’s shoulder, pulling away to look at him, cocking his head.

“Argyle.” Will’s eyes widen in realization. “And, in Hawkins, Steve. Harrington, Steve Harrington.”

Will laughs in spite of himself. “Steve??? Really??”

“Yup.” Jonathan chuckles. “ And, uh, for a while, Eddie Munson.”

“Munson?! No way. How, he’s so loud, I didn’t think you’d…I mean, seems like you’d find him annoying.”

“Oh, yeah, Eddie’s walking migraine. He was also a fascinating guy and the only person that was nice to me.”

“….Nancy?”

Jonathan sighs, laughing with little humor. “One of the many problems I’ve been hiding from.”

“Did you…ever really like her?”

“I think so. For a while. Currently? No. Not for a hot minute.”

Will’s quiet for some time. When he speaks, he asks, “Then, do you know if…is Argyle..?”

Jonathan runs his hands over his face. “I uh, Argyle is….very aware of Nancy. But no, not entirely sure what’s going on with him.” He looks back to his younger brother. “Speaking of the Wheelers…give me the word and I will leave Mike on the side of the road for being an insufferable dumbass.”

“El would be so mad, though, you’d never live it down.”

“No, I think El’s seriously considering the Mike Wheeler hate club.” Jonathan raises his eyebrows. “ I do think you’d be mad at me, though. Thought I’d offer anyway.”

Will smiles, looks down at the freezer full of salt water, shaking his head. “Yeah, well, speaking of El, she still needs that salty water.”

it's on ao3

#will byers #jonathan byers #jargyle #stonathan #eddithan #jeddie #byler #stranger things rewrite #st4 #stranger things #stranger things 4 #will byers needs a hug #will byers gets a hug #will byers is gay #queer jonathan byers #ry writes

[transngin]

this might be random but do you have any headcanons of the Daltons/lucky luke cause now they are my hyperfixation and yes I've joined a pretty much dead fandom but I was to hear your thoughts.

(only if u want to ofc)

hiiii anon its been. so insanely long since ive thought abt lucky luke and the daltons rotated them in my small brain but i love looove them as a characters so very dearly to this day and id be more than happy to give u. some of my carefully thought out (brainrot induced) thoughts :]

- JOE ADHD KING. no but seriously this fucking guy is so nd and mentally ill in so many ways. hes collecting them like cool rocks (<- im nd and mentally ill (obviously) and have always related to him)

- i know the entire thing abt the daltons is how theyre only distinguished from each other when it comes to height but i love playing around w the idea that they have like. subtle differences in their appearance that you wont notice unless you squint and use a telescope. like william having heterochromia, jack having freckles and joe having beauty marks and whatnot (cant think of anything for averell when it comes to this trope sorry </3)

- aroacespec gay lucky luke is so real and true and my alltime fave sexuality hc. also a little transgenderism for him as a treat. sometimes

- adding to the former: luke telling ppl he got his diy top surgery scars from a brutal shootout

- i dont like the modern daltons cartoon (it kinda sucks) but i really really like how they characterized william in it (bookworm and man of many talents iirc) and i really like the idea of him potentially being a graduate/of higher education but sticking with his brothers out of loyalty/peer pressure (<- potential for him to be the black sheep of his family and give him more character than in the comics and the old cartoons)

- luke and joe's archnemesis relationship oh my GOD [head in hands] ive always loved the multiple layers of their dynamic and the "cool hero who loves toying with the bad guy" vs "batshit crazy unhinged small guy villain" thing they always got going on. lukejoe is so good whether its platonically or romantically or anything in between i still care them so much. funny guys who hate each other fight each other are friends are besties are outlaws kiss kill each other have repressed homosexual feelings have never had friends before killed people with no remorse and have issues. i like that in men

- t4t lukejoe is. so good. perfection

- while im a professional les daltons #hater i love that one guy who showed up for like one episode and was never brought up again except in the bg of some episodes. unlucky luke (small dark haired manloser) if youre out there...

- el gee bee tee hc lightning round:

cis bi (sometimes transmasc) joe [wtf is a pronoun i will kill you], transhet jack [he/him], nonbiney [he/him] william, unlabeled averell [he/she + any] and ofc aroace gay trans luke [he/they]. idc abt other characters enough to form opinions on them

- ill most definitely add to this later if and when i start binging the entirety of ll again but for now. thats all. come get your food lucky luke enjoyers <3 shoutout to the three of you who still enjoy this media despite its many many MANY flaws

#💌; ask #good god its been so long since ive been on here sorry guys #i have a life now thats why #lucky luke #the daltons #idc going in the tags bc i wrote that much and i want the world to see my vision (im right and i should say it) #so nostalgic looking back at the lucky luke posts i made when i was literally 14-15. insane #literally grew up on ll now as an adult i fondly look back on my childhood and teenage years when these fun guys altered my brain chemistry #im still insane abt lukejoe after all these years i think theyre the mlms ever #something something repressed old man yaoi #lukejoe

[darkwitchoferie]

Larkspur and Lily of the Valley

Just a quick aside before we get started, this is a Hanahaki AU (happy ending, I swear) so there is a little coughing up blood. It's cross-posted on AO3 here if you'd rather read it that way.

Steve sat cross legged on his couch, Eddie on the floor in front of him, the rest of their friends scattered around the living room, all watching Star Wars. It had been a little over a year since El had fully defeated Henry/One/Vecna, there had been no further signs that the Upside Down had continued existing after his defeat, and they were comfortably getting on with their lives. Robin had started taking a few classes at the local community college, just what she could afford for now. Nancy and Jonathan were visiting their families in Hawkins for the summer, having gone to California for college together. The kids were hardly kids at all anymore, having just finished their sophomore year, or freshman in Erica’s case, of high school. Eddie still lived, happily so, with his uncle, while Steve and Robin had gotten their own apartment in Hawkins’ only apartment complex.

Overall, things were going well for all of them.

Steve gently pulled his fingers out of Eddie’s hair as a coughing fit started. His allergies had been acting up for the last week, the cough getting steadily worse. As it subsided and he pulled his hand away from his mouth, he noticed a beautiful blue petal in his palm and felt ice slide in his belly as he stared down at it, eyes flicking to the back of Eddie’s head then down to the petal again.

Steve dropped the petal as Eddie turned around with a raised eyebrow. “You okay?” he whispered.

“Yeah. Damn allergies.” The lie, now that he knew it was a lie, felt heavy, but he smiled anyway and reached back out for Eddie’s hair. Through the rest of the movie, he focused on the feel of the curls between his fingers, sometimes just running his hands through his hair, other times winding the curls around his individual fingers, to distract himself until he was alone with Robin.

“I have to tell you something,” Steve said, turning to Robin as soon as they walked into Family Video for their opening shift the next day. He hadn’t gotten a chance to pull her aside after the movie because none of their friends had actually left the house.

“What’s up, Dingus?” Robin went about her normal routine, not tuning in to it being important until Steve didn’t respond right away and she turned to fully face him. “Oh. Serious face. Okay. Talk to me, Steve. What’s wrong?”

“I, uh, don’t have aller –” He was interrupted by a coughing fit. “It’s not allergies,” he said, opening his hand to show her the single petal in his palm.

“Oh Steve.” Robin blinked hard, eyes swimming with sudden tears. “What are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know yet. It just started last night, so I have time to decide. I just….” He trailed off, looking at the lone petal in his hand. “I guess this settles it, right? We’re just friends. He doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

“Steve,” Robin whispered, the tears she’d been holding back dripping down her cheeks as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist and tucked her head under his chin. She was the only one who knew about his massive crush on Eddie, having been there through his sexuality crisis and realization. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” he whispered, wrapping one arm around her and running the other hand over her hair. “Do me a favor? Don’t tell the others yet. I want to… think about my decision first. Okay?”

“Yeah, of course.”

For the next week, that’s all Steve did, think about his choices. Or, more accurately, agonize over how to tell his friends he was dying. He knew he couldn’t get the surgery, he wondered how anyone did really. He wondered how you could love someone so much that you had proof of it growing in your lungs and then made the decision to cut it out and forget them completely. He figured most people who did that tried confessing first, to see if there was a possibility of wooing their love only to be so completely rejected that forgetting them was the better option.

He knew he’d never put Eddie in that position. He didn’t want to confess only for Eddie to feel guilty or to pity him. He didn’t want Eddie to feel responsible when he died. He knew he’d never be mean if he confessed, the metalhead didn’t have it in him to be cruel. Not really. So he resolved to not tell anyone who his love was. Robin knew of course, but he knew she wouldn’t hold it against Eddie, and that was enough for him.

He briefly thought about leaving. Just getting in his car and driving until he couldn’t anymore. That way his friends, the people he cared about, wouldn’t be around to watch him die a slow and painful death. But, in this at least, he was too selfish. He didn’t want to die alone. And, even though being around him made it worse, he wasn’t ready to give up Eddie.

He ultimately didn’t get to figure out how to tell the rest of his friends. They were hanging out in the Wheeler basement, a week and a half after he coughed up the first petal, when he had a coughing fit and a small flower came up.

“What’s that?” Max demanded, catching the blue color before he got the chance to hide it.

“Larkspur,” Nancy said, leaning around him to look in his hand. “It’s a bunch of small flowers on a larger stalk. Where’d you…?” She trailed off, noticing the salvia around the flower.

Oddly, her explanation relaxed something in Steve. He’d been afraid that he’d already progressed to stage three – coughing up full blooms. But if larkspur grew on a stalk like Nancy said, than this little flower was closer to another petal than a full flower.

“Steve?” Dustin shook him and he looked up at the people around him. Judging from their faces, someone had asked him something and he hadn’t responded.

“Sorry, what?”

“Where’d you get the flower?” Nancy repeated.

He looked around at them all, finally finding Robin’s eyes. “It’s uh, well. I’m… I have Hanahaki, I’m blooming.” For a moment, the basement was silent. Then everyone exploded at once. Through the cacophony, Steve held Robin’s eyes, the only other person not screaming.

“ENOUGH!” Nancy shouted, silencing everyone else. “Steve, when are you going in for surgery?”

“I’m not. No, Nance,” he stopped her protests before she started. “You know me better than that. Too much of a hopeless romantic. I won’t guilt them into trying to love me, but I refuse to forget them.” He smiled, even as tears filled his eyes. He’d known he’d have to tell his friends, and it was oddly easier than he’d originally expected, but now it was really real. He was dying. And it would be painful. “Larkspur, you said?” He pinched the little flower between his fingers.

She nodded. “It’s traditional meaning is strong bonds of love, joy, and lightheartedness. In bouquets. Damn it, Steve.” She punched out at him, lacking any force behind the hit so it just glanced off his arm. He startled a little to see tears filling her eyes and a stubborn set to her shoulders. He reached out, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her in for a hug. He felt her shoulders shake with silent sobs as they were quickly joined by everyone else.

Later, when everyone had calmed down and stopped crying, Steve felt relieved that they knew, finally. And then he felt guilty for that, for traumatizing the people he cared about more than they already were by having them around to watch him slowly die. He did his best to ignore that feeling while Dustin was clinging to his side.

Later that night, when everyone had gone to their own homes, Eddie lay in his bed and stared up at his ceiling. All his flirting, his little touches, smiles, getting into Steve’s personal space was for nothing. Steve didn’t love him, never would. He loved someone else. Eddie tossed around on his bed, uncomfortable with the knowledge that Steve not only didn’t care for him the same way, but loved someone else enough to die painfully for them. He wondered who could possibly be stupid enough to not love Steve Harrington. Or maybe, whoever it was, just didn’t know him. In his opinion, to know Steve was to love him.

He rolled onto his side as a small coughing fit hit him.

~~~~

Steve knew, they all knew, that the bloom didn’t last long, usually about five weeks. The first week was just a cough and easily could be anything else. It wasn’t until week two, when flower petals started coming up, that you really knew you had the bloom. From that first petal, it took around a month for the flowers growing in your lungs to grow large enough to suffocate you. By the time his friends found out, Steve had already been coughing up petals for a week and a half and had about two and half weeks left to live.

Steve tried to not bring attention to it. He wanted to enjoy as much of what remained of his life as possible. He knew he’d reach a point where he wasn’t getting enough oxygen to do even basic things, so he wanted to spend time outside, wanted to hang out with his friends just being normal. But still, every time he coughed, everyone around him came to a stand still and waited to see if this would be the time an entire shoot of larkspur would come up.

Robin hardly ever left his side. And when she did, Steve could hear her crying or being consoled by Nancy. He took those few moments he had alone to write down what he wanted done when he died. He didn’t want to discuss it with Robin, didn’t want to upset her more, but he also didn’t want to leave them all without some kind of plan. Maybe it was silly of him to focus on that, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to make it easier, if that was possible.

He'd tried reaching out to his parents, but had only been able to reach his dad’s assistant who assured him that she would tell them as soon as she could. He held very little hope that they’d come back before he died and found that he really didn’t care. He was surrounded by people who actually loved him, and that mattered more.

They were out at the Byers-Hopper home, Joyce and Hopper having invited everyone over for a cookout. Steve was up in the driveway, letting Max try to teach him to skateboard when he doubled over with a coughing fit. When he pulled his hand away, there was blood mixed in with the handful of petals and individual flowers. Robin, having prepared for anything she could think of that he might need, passed him a bottle of water and the red bandana she’d taken to carrying around.

After rinsing his hand off, he looked up in time to see Max wipe the distraught look off her face. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“No!” She reached out, punching at his shoulder. “You don’t get to be sorry, Steve. I just….” Her anger dissolved as quickly as it came on. “I just wish it were different for you. After all the shit we’ve been through and this is what kills you? Not Billy, not the dogs, the bats, not even Vecna, though we all know they tried.” He tugged her forward into a hug and, though she tried to seem reluctant about it, she practically melted into his chest as soon as his arms were all the way around her. “I already miss you. How dumb is that? You’re still here.”

Steve said nothing, just held her as tears silently dripped down both their cheeks.

~~~~

Eddie tried to stay away from Steve as much as he could without making it obvious. Being around Steve only made his own cough worse and he didn’t want anyone to know. It was probably cruel of him to not tell them when he knew he would die shortly after Steve. But another, louder, part of him didn’t want to take the group’s attention away from Steve. His other friends were gone – Gareth’s family moved after the ‘earthquake’, Jeff had gone on to college, and Grant had been forbidden to associate with him if he wanted to stay at home and be supported while he went to the local community college. So Eddie suffered quietly, with only his uncle being aware of what was going on.

Wayne sighed as he dropped onto the couch beside him. Eddie reluctantly looked up from The Two Towers, recognizing the sound as being the one that meant Wayne had something to say. His uncle was usually a man of few words, only saying what he thought was important and little else.

“I know you think you’re doin’ what’s best by not bein’ around him, but are you sure? Ed, are you sure you want to be away from him?”

Eddie scrubbed his hand over his face. “I don’t want to be away from him at all, actually. But it’s… it’s too much to watch him suffer like he is. And for it to be over someone stupid enough to not love him.” Eddie broke off as he coughed up a small white petal. The petals had only started the night before for him and Wayne was very understanding about Eddie’s choice to not have the surgery. “I’ll go see him tomorrow. Think we’re all supposed to meet at his house anyway.”

~~~~

Steve noticed Eddie wasn’t around as much as the others, but he didn’t say anything about it. He didn’t want to pressure the man into watching him die, even if he did miss him. He knew having Eddie not around was making his coughing fits easier, not quite as painful. But still, he craved Eddie’s presence when he hadn’t been around all day. On those days, he called the Munson home just to hear Eddie’s voice. Maybe it was mean, since he figured Eddie was avoiding him, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to at least hear Eddie every day, even if he couldn’t see him.

They were in his and Robin’s living room, having another movie night, he first time Steve coughed up an entire stalk of larkspur.

He was doubled over the arm of the couch and could feel the flower making it's way up his throat, could feel it scraping and digging into his flesh as it made it’s way up. Part of him was oddly glad he was with his friends when it happened. He didn’t want to traumatize the kids any more than they already were, but he was so glad he wasn’t going through this alone.

He vaguely registered someone walking in front of him toward the kitchen, but was more focused on the flower coming up his throat and Robin’s hand firmly rubbing circles on his back. As soon as the stem worked it’s way into the back of his mouth, he reached in to pull it the rest of the way out. It hurt, the stems of the individual little flowers scraping his throat as he pulled, but it was over faster.

When he was finally able to get a decent breath and stopped gasping, Nancy handed him a glass of cool water that he sipped on to soothe his throat.

While they were all staring at the bloodstained, mangled proof that Steve was getting worse, no one noticed Eddie having his own coughing fit on the other side of the room. Or the small white petals he dropped to the ground.

Four days later, Steve was confined to his bed. Moving too much hurt now and could cause him more physical harm if he wasn’t careful. Every time he inhaled, it felt like there was a vice tightening around his rib cage. He was coughing up more whole flowers than petals now, so much so that there was blood on the corners of his mouth almost always. He was sleeping for an hour at a time, maximum, always waking up to a coughing fit.

His friends were with him as often as they could be, and as often as he would allow. He tried to make them go out, spend time outside, but it didn’t always work. Eddie came around less frequently and their phone conversations were cut short, usually by Steve coughing up a flower. Every night, after he’d finally made the others leave, he would curl up against Robin. He’d accepted his death, made peace with it as much as anyone could, so he didn’t cry. But he did lean into her and hold her while she did.

~~~~

Most of the group was over at Eddie’s. They were trying to let Steve get some rest, but all of them were too twitchy to stay away for long and the trailer park was closest to the apartment complex.

Everyone in the room stopped and stared as Eddie was consumed in a coughing fit. One they all recognized from Steve by now.

“What are they?” Max demanded as soon as it stopped.

“Not sure.” Eddie held open his palm, showing them the tiny, white, bell shaped flower he’d coughed up.

“Lily of the valley,” Nancy said.

“How do you know that?”

“I had a bit of an obsession with flowers when I was younger. I wanted to learn about all the different kinds that people can bloom. I – Before I understood exactly what the bloom is, I thought it was sweet or romantic that you could love someone so much that you could grow flowers for them, so I wanted to learn about them. Lily of the valley’s traditional meanings, if you wanted to know, are purity, love, happiness, and luck.” She sighed, tugging at her own hair.

“Of course they mean luck. Why wouldn’t they?” Eddie chuckled, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Who is it? Will you tell us that?” Dustin asked.

“Doesn’t matter, Dusty. He’s got his own bloom to deal with.” For a moment, no one said anything. In the clamor that erupted when they realized he meant Steve, no one noticed Dustin running out and getting on his bike.

“Why didn’t you tell us?!” Mike demanded.

“Steve needed you guys. I… I didn’t want to take anyone away from him.”

“Damn it, Eddie! How many times do we have to tell you that you are important to us too?”

“I know that, Nance. But Steve is worse off than me right now. I figured…. This is gonna sound bad. But I knew I’d have time, after he…. So I didn’t want to take you guys away from him when I still have time.”

They were all quiet for a minute. “I hate that that makes sense,” Lucas sighed.

“How long…?” Will asked softly.

“My cough started right after we found out about Steve, two weeks ago. So I’ve got, what, three weeks? I have time, guys. Focus on him, not me.”

Much to the groups collective annoyance, they found they couldn’t be too mad at Eddie’s reasoning. He had a point. But they were still upset that he hadn’t told them when the first petal came up.

~~

At first, Dustin wasn’t sure where he was going. He just needed to get away from Eddie for a bit. It was hard enough watching Steve die like this. Now he’d have to do it a second time, in exactly the same way, with no break between the two. He wasn’t sure if it was made worse by Eddie’s love being Steve, but it certainly didn’t help him. All he could think as he peddled his bike as fast as he could was that he was going to lose both his older brothers, one after the other, for the same damn reason.

He wasn’t that surprised when he ended up at Steve and Robin’s apartment.

“This isn’t fair!” Dustin stormed into the apartment, stomping back to Steve’s room. Some part of him knew it was unfair to be ranting about this to Steve, but he didn’t have anyone else to go to.

“What’s not fair, Henderson?” he asked, voice hoarse and a little bit of blood at the corner of his mouth.

“Eddie’s dying too,” he dropped on the edge of Steve’s bed, beside Robin, spilling the news like he was ripping off a Band-Aid. “He’s blooming too. And it’s not fair because his person is you and now I’m going to lose both of you! It’s not your fault, I know that.” Angrily, he wiped at the tears that were starting to fall. “But what am I supposed to do without you? Without both of you?! I mean I have –”

“Dustin, back up. Hang on. Did you say Eddie’s blooming and his person is me?”

“That’s hardly the most important thing here. Well, Eddie having it too is obviously important. But it doesn’t matter that his person is you because you have your own person and –”

“Dustin!” Steve shouted, then devolved into a coughing fit. Thankfully it was a normal one and no flowers came up, just a little bit of blood from how torn up his throat already was. “Eddie’s in love with me?”

“Yeah. Steve, why – What are you doing? You’re supposed to stay in bed! Moving can hurt you!” Beside him, Robin had already jumped up and was headed toward the front door and Steve’s car keys.

“Doesn’t matter.” Steve listed to the side as he tried to round the bed, thankfully being caught by Dustin. “Can’t drive. You have to.”

“I’ve got the keys!” Robin rushed back into the room, hurrying to Steve’s other side to support him.

“Steve?”

“Just get me there, Dustin. Take me to Eddie.”

“But –” Dustin’s eyes widened in realization. “Eddie’s your person,” he whispered. “Shit!” He jumped up, shifting to support Steve’s weight better as the trio hurried out of the apartment as fast as they could between bouts of coughing.

Steve felt like he was breathing just a little easier by the time they reached the car. Then had to hunch over to hack up an entire shoot of purple larkspur. In the car, he leaned against the headrest and closed his eyes so he didn’t have to watch Robin’s terrible driving. He must have drifted off because he heard the crunch of gravel sooner than expected. He opened his eyes to see most of the rest of their friends standing outside Eddie’s trailer. Robin squealed to a stop in front of the Munson trailer, causing everyone to turn and look at them.

“Jonathan!” Steve called. “Need help.”

“Steve! Did Dustin tell you?” Nancy rushed over ahead of Jonathan.

“Sure did. Help me inside.” Getting to the trailer was significantly faster with less stairs than getting out of his apartment had been.

“What is all the –” Eddie started to demand, flinging open the door just as Robin and Jonathan got Steve to the top step on the porch. He stopped dead as he caught sight of Steve. “Steve? Shouldn’t you be home in bed?”

“Why? Were you planning on dying? Because I’m not anymore.” Steve let go of Robin and Jonathan, fisted a hand in Eddie’s shirt, and hauled him forward with the little strength he could muster.

As first kisses went, there were definitely more romantic ones, sweeter ones. Less desperate ones for sure. But it didn’t matter. The second their lips met, Steve felt the vice-like feeling in his chest fall away. But it was over far too soon for his liking.

The boys broke apart, each hacking hard enough to double over. Steve, having had the bloom longer, dropped to his hands and knees. Some distant part of his brain registered that he probably looked a bit like a cat coughing up a hair ball. Robin knelt beside him, firmly rubbing her hand up and down his back.

“That’s it. Just gotta get the roots out. Breathe through your nose, Steve. You’ve got this. As soon as it’s up you can gross us all out with PDA with Eddie, I promise. You two are probably gonna be nauseatingly sappy, ya know that?” She murmured her own brand of encouragement in his ear as he felt the ball of roots work its way up out of his lungs and through his throat. That same distant part of Steve’s mind wondered why coughing up roots wasn’t the same as having them cut out. They both cured the bloom, technically, but only cutting caused you to forget the person you loved. He figured it had more to do with forcibly removing them than anything else.

Eddie’s ball of roots was smaller, having not had as much time to grow, so he hacked it up with comparative ease. He dropped to sit on the porch, leaning back against the trailer as Steve suffered with his roots.

“Drink.” He looked up to see Nancy standing over him, holding out a glass of water. He took the glass, chugging it down quickly. He wanted to reach for Steve, wanted to help him, but his limbs felt heavy and didn’t want to seem to obey him.

Finally, with a, quite frankly, frightening amount of blood, the roots that had been thriving in Steve were out, dropping off the edge of the porch. He collapsed sideways against Robin, heaving the first deep breaths he’d been able to take in weeks.

“Eddie?”

“’M here,” he scooted across to Steve, leaning into his shoulder.

“Drink,” Nancy instructed again, this time holding a glass out to Steve. He did as she instructed, sagging with relief at the cool water against his torn up throat.

“Henderson!” Eddie called out, lifting his hand. “Where’s – there you are. Henderson’s a good kid,” he said, turning slightly to look up at Steve.

“He is,” Steve agreed easily.

“You absolute fucking idiots,” Dustin said, collapsing to the porch in front of them, tears of relief in his eyes. The pair of them reached for him and he leaned forward, resting his head on Eddie and gripping Steve’s arm. The rest of the group joined them quickly, crowding onto the porch until there was no room left.

~~~~~

“That’s kinda twisted, you know that, right?” Nancy asked, a few years later.

“What do you mean?” Steve responded, despite knowing exactly what she was talking about. He and Eddie had finally bought their own home, with Robin of course, were finished moving in, and had invited everyone else over for a house warming party.

“Steven.” She raised an eyebrow as she pointed to the flowerbed in front of the house that was filled with larkspur and lily of the valley.

“Yeah, okay, it kinda is. But have you met Eddie? He’s kinda twisted.”

“It was your idea!” Eddie shouted from the living room. Steve just grinned and shrugged at Nancy’s questioning look.

“You’re both so damn weird.”

A/N: And they lived happily ever after, adopting random LGBTQ+ kids whose parents kicked them out and even having one or two of their own thanks to Robin being a surrogate.

The flower meanings Nancy gives to each of them are accurate, but it is also worth noting that both flowers are toxic to animals and humans if ingested. Larkspur causes respiratory paralysis and lily of the valley causes heart failure.

#steddie #hanahaki

[onxlydan1]

okay so like does anyone kind of hate the WWE fanbase or at least think the WWE fanbase can be a bit toxic sometimes-.

Okay so like I’m not gonna call or say any names because I don’t necessarily want to start any drama with this person or anger them because they can’t handle my opinion- so basically,

I was scrolling through TikTok, y’know just scanning through the videos on my for you page until I came across my friend’s live, so obviously I was pretty bored and I thought to myself “Oh ___ is on a live so I guess I might as well join since I’m pretty bored right now.” So then I joined and things were going pretty well, I tried saying hi in the chat but I guess my friend didn’t seem to notice, -btw there were 2 other girls on the live with her but like I said before, I’m not gonna call or say any names because I’m not trying to get into any drama. So basically, as I was saying, things were chill, nothing seemed too crazy or interesting and what I mean by that, is there was no really drama happening, it really just seemed like a normal live. So everything was basically chill until I mentioned Randy Orton. So basically I said “I’m so excited for Randy”, and nothing crazy happened. Just one of the girls who was friends with the girl hosting the live and the other girl on the live, and she made a little joke like, “Oh I’m not, I’m not excited.” And so I made a little joke too and I was like “OMG WHAT, HOW?” And then she responded saying “I’m kidding, I’m just kidding.” And y’know I laughed because I really would’ve been surprised if she wasn’t excited like everyone else, but it wasn’t really a problem to me. So then, I type another chat saying “I’m sorry ___, but Jey is getting RKO’d at SS” -Because in my personal opinion I feel like Randy is probably gonna be chill with everyone, except Jey. So incase anyone didn’t know, in 2022, Jey and Jimmy AKA the USOS were fighting Riddle & Randy AKA RK-Bro to unify the Smackdown & Raw tag team championships, basically like a Winner Takes All match, and so the USOS won, but the only problem was that the USOS accidentally injured Randy’s spine, he basically got taken out of action for a while, and had to have Spinal Fusion Surgery to heal his back. So as we know Survivor Series is coming up pretty soon, I mean it’s this Saturday, and so basically I thought, since Jey was half of the reason that Randy got injured and he’s the only half of the USOS who is on the RAW roster currently and I’m pretty sure Randy’s coming to RAW. So I basically thought to myself “I mean even though it was an accident and nor Jey or Jimmy ever intended on hurting the Viper Randy Orton. But I do feel as if Randy’s character is definitely one to hold grudges against certain people. And that’s why I think that at the end of Survivor Series, that Randy is probably going to RKO Jey Uso as revenge. Now no, I am not saying, that Randy is going to turn heel, or that the fans will start hating on Randy, I just think if you’re going to start hating on Randy again, that’s probably really stupid and dumb considering that he’s been out for almost 2 years now, and you’re going to hate on him over an RKO Outta Nowhere?? I mean, come on now guys, he’s the Viper for a reason, Randy is gonna RKO anyone who has wronged him or has tried to get in his way, which I do think that if Rhea Ripley tries to get involved with the Men’s Wargames match at Survivor Series, that Randy will not hesitate to RKO Rhea’s head off. So anyways like I was saying, I said how I thought that Randy was probably going to RKO Jey Uso after the WarGames match. And her and her friends started basically going off and me, like “Girlll, you did not.”, and saying like don’t even say another word or I’m literally about to mute you from the chat. So I thought she was joking because I didn’t think she was gonna take a comment like that, that seriously. But obviously, she did in fact take that comment quite seriously. So she said something like “Don’t say another word else or I’m going to mute you from chat.”i don’t remember exactly what I responded back but I do remember it was something like “another word” like kind of how when friends joke around like that after someone tells you something like “don’t say another word” and so I said that, and she said “Oh no you did not, like you’re actually testing me right now.” And then she muted me. I really thought she(1)

[displayheartcode]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

Tagged by @libraryleopard because she knows that I’m always reading something :-) And that I’m also procrastinating with my TBR list…

Tagging: @lavenderfables, @breha, @hauntedmoors, @pociondeodio, @folatefangirl , @longsightmyth, and @oswlld

Best book you’ve read so far this year

One of the best books I’ve read this year has been The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown. It’s about Andrea, recovering from a round of cerebral palsy-related surgeries, who makes a bucket list for the best summer ever. Except for one tiny snag about the girl she has crush on… I’m loving contemporary YA so much these days because of books like this! Andrea’s family dynamic is wonderful, and the disability rep is causally everywhere.

Best sequel you’ve read so far this q

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen! The first book was such a fantastic retelling of The Goose Girl that I had no clue how the sequel would exceed my expectations. AND THEN OH MY GOD WHAT A RIDE. I was jet-lagged from Ireland and just stayed in my room, so absorbed in the book that I almost forgot to eat.

New release you haven’t read yet

I’ve been told Lone Women by Victor LaValle is very much for me. If the reviews of his novellas are a sign, then I’m going to love this book.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

A Shot in the Dark by Victoria Lee! I love their horror/fantasy novels, so I’m very excited to read their romance debut. A copy has been pre-ordered and the book tour ticket has been bought.

Biggest disappointment

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand was just okay. The ending felt too similar to Sawkill Girls, and the whole book was like three different ones smushed together for EXTRA PLOT. At least the prose was pretty.

Biggest surprise

Pretty much everything about Yellowface by RF Kunag. You have a white woman on a one-way spiral of utter failure and a system that encourages her to make these choices. It’s a wild ride of a book. I cannot stress how accurate of a satire it is, too.

Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

GennaRose Nethercott! Thistlefoot was a delight! So much of my digital copy of highlighted because of how beautiful I find the narrative voice.

Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

Agent Fatma el-Shara’awi (from A Master of Djinn), I am free at seven.

Book that made you cry

I didn’t exactly cry, but There Flies the Witch by Mayonn Paasewe-Valchev made me misty-eyed. Only middle grade books have this power over me.

Book that made you happy

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston had me downright giggling in public. New favorite twist on the second chance romance trope!

#rachel in real life

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here friend and it's Friday, i'm getting over my 12th cold since the year started, and AO3 is down so if you don't mind I'll be ranting about my recent Buddie thought. So with all the discourse over if Buddie is actually happening I've been thinking about scenes and got stuck on 4x14. As you've noted that episode would be pretty shitty without Tim's scenes, and I'm fascinated by the choices made in the scene where Buck talks to Chris. Obviously we start with Buck barely holding it

together when he enters. They talk, and then Buck gets that text that Eddie is going to be okay. And he just breaks. Now if this was JUST about Buck having to tell his BFF's kid bad news, when Buck gets that text shouldn't he have been relieved and happy?? Isn't that what his reaction you'd expect if the same had happened to Chim or Hen? But it doesn't happen here and it's easy to say after everything, he's just so relieved but that's a pretty specific reaction. I'm thinking something like Sense and Sensibility, when Eleanor cries finding out Edward isn't married and forever beyond her reach. Its the reaction you'd expect from someone who's had to think about never having this person in your life and finding out it's not going to happen and hate to tell KR, that is NOT a platonic reaction. I don't know why that got stuck in my head recently, but I blame the absolute boredom of last season for not giving me something better to think about.

Oh no! I’m so sorry you’re struggling to stay well. 🥺 Also, Ao3 like...cannot be down, WTF are we all supposed to DO with ourselves? Introspection? Chores? Stop procrastinating on what we’re supposed to be doing? Sleep? I think TF not! Looks like “bitching about things” it is! Bring it on!

Okay, so you know my thoughts about the shooting specifically being good, but 4x14 in general being way overrated just because of a couple scenes which ignores how KR sidelined the firefam from Eddie’s injury/recovery and also sidelined EDDIE himself from what should have been his own story. (Unlike Buck who still got to have a whole spin-off thing from his ladder truck injury. At the time it happened it was about Bobby, but Buck still got to be centered in his injury and recovery, just saying). 

ANYWAY, that all aside, you bring up a VERY interesting point which is one of the things that people latch on to about this episode, and that, as you pointed out, nearly didn’t exist because KR didn’t think the audience needed to see Buck telling Chris about what happened to Eddie and Tim put his foot down. Now ostensibly, that was because Tim knew the dynamic is a favorite and a scene like that is right at the heart of the show and something at the time it was known for doing and doing well. However what we got was NOT an adult telling a kid some tough news, stepping out to take a call about an injured co-worker, letting out a shaky breath and sigh of relief, then returning to the kid to cheerfully give them the good news. Instead we saw someone the kid trusts enough to run away to when he’s upset, struggle to form the words, and then have a full-on sobbing breakdown when he found out his...”friend” made it through surgery while being comforted by the kid like they are a family. Not like Buck is just a co-worker and “dad’s friend” coming tell Chris what happened before leaving him to his grandparents or something like you would see if they were just “normal” friends. Tia Pepa and Abuela are still around, we see them at Eddie’s party, but it’s never even suggested that Chris stay with them, or one of them come stay at Eddie’s. Like????? They both used to watch Chris before and Chris is much older at this point and Carla is around to help. There’s ZERO reason why the two of them couldn’t come stay and watch out for Chris, or Eddie’s mom couldn’t come in from El Paso right away. I just...WHAT IS THE REASON?!

We have seen several members of the firefam get hurt and the only time Buck came anywhere even close to how he’s reacted to Eddie being in danger is finding Maddie in the woods and even that he’s able to be focused and present on her and is just relieved they found her. With Eddie, he’s completely lost and has to have Bobby pull him together during the well incident, and during the shooting Buck freezes first, then saves Eddie but looks one second from falling apart the whole time, and the second he isn’t actively keeping Eddie alive, he’s nearly catatonic. Speaking of other members of the firefam, we saw Bobby’s reaction to Athena being attacked, and Maddie breaking down sobbing (very much like Buck did with Chris) when she hears that Chim is alive, and how Chim broke talking to and about Maddie in regards to her leaving, hell we literally JUST saw in Tomorrow Hen having the exact same reaction to Karen nearly dying and the way she broke down when they got Karen’s pulse back and handed her off at the hospital. The parallels there are....very loud. Which begs the question WHY was Tim so adamant that this scene take place and give us all of that, only to ultimately do nothing with it? BRB gotta go scream into the woods about this for a bit.

“I don't know why that got stuck in my head recently, but I blame the absolute boredom of last season for not giving me something better to think about.” Okay but for REAL it is *crickets* out here right now. Probably because we went through 9 hours of show that was about 6 hours of filler that didn’t tell us anything at all. Not a great thing when your show is going to be off the air for 3 months.🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Thanks for giving me something to do while waiting for Ao3 to come back up, I am always here for the salt and the general “WTF is all this then?”-ness. And as always, it’s a delight hearing from you. Let’s all manifest some direction for 6b, a return to emergencies that mean something and actually pertain to the main characters and their arcs, FINALLY some good Ravi content, and most of all, Buck and Eddie being allowed to be friends on screen again. Considering that was something very loudly mentioned all season across the board, hopefully someone took some notes. Until then, I’m always here for your rants- excited, frustrated, or otherwise! 

#my sweet nonnie friends #sleeping at last anon #911 #buddie #kr go work on a cop procedural and leave our weewoos alone forever challenge #maybe they SHOULD make a spinoff about L and her cop family #then kr could go do that and OG could get her out of their hair #and we could all cackle in glee when it tanks and gets canceled before the first season is fully out #because literally NO ONE asked for that except for kr and ak #ANYWAY #that's probably the booze talking #peanut butter whiskey is sooo good it hot chocolate by the way