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vinvantae · 9 months

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Unmasked

13/16

<<< previous part

Word count: 3.9k

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The sun crept across the floor of the room, crawling towards your bed as it slowly began to rise and you hadn’t slept a wink. Charles had told you he had a late meeting but when he had crawled into bed that night, trying not to wake you - you couldn’t help but wonder what kind of meeting would run until that time. It wasn’t until you saw the tweets last night saying everyone had met without you that you felt a pit in your stomach.

Your eyes flickered to Charles as he slept beside you, the sheets pushed down his torso as soft breaths passed through his lips. Why would the whole grid meet without you? Why would Fernando, Esteban and Max leave part of the way through? All of the questions were buzzing through your head and you knew you could wake Charles to ask but if he hadn’t told you about the meeting in the first place why should you?

Instead you sighed and grabbed your phone off of the dresser, wincing as bright light of the screen before you turned it down a little. Your lock screen was flooded with notifications - at first you thought maybe you had done something but when you realised that it was your fellow drivers tagging you in posts on instagram the uneasy feeling settled a little.

They were all making posts supporting you.

From Lewis and Seb to Kevin and Lance. Each of them had posted something on their profiles about how they stood with you - some more detailed than others but each showed just as much respect for you. Your eyes welled with tears as you read Seb’s words especially, the image was simple but he had poured his heart into the caption - and you felt so much love for your former teammate. He had been there for you through thick and thin and hearing just how much you meant to him in such a public forum was enough to bring the first genuine smile to your face since you were assaulted.

As you scrolled through instagram, taking in all of the kind words from your rivals - you couldn’t help but notice those who were missing. Fernando was no surprise as he was very old school about dealing with your criticisms but it was a little disheartening to see that Max, Pierre and Esteban had not posted anything.

And neither had your boyfriend.

The man who had spent the night in your bed hadn’t posted a single word on any of his social media platforms and you weren’t the only one who had noticed. Rumours that you and Charles had broken up was trending just below the IStandWithThirty hashtag the drivers had been using.

“...Charles.” You whispered, gently shaking him.

He grumbled, snuggling further into the bed. “Too early.”

“The internet thinks we broke up.”

His eyes snapped open and his once relaxed face was overtaken with confusion. “W-What? Why?”

“I don't know, maybe it’s because the rest of the grid has written these posts supporting me but my own boyfriend hasn’t?” You raised a brow. “What happened in that meeting, Charles?”

“Sebastian and I didn’t like the way you were being treated and we wanted to do something… so we called the meeting and suggested doing what the others have been doing - posting their support. But Max and Esteban weren’t happy, said it wasn’t enough and both stormed out of the meeting - and Pierre was angry at himself for how he treated you so joined them.” Your teammate felt it best to be honest with you, you’d seen this outpouring of support from your rivals but not your own boyfriend and childhood friends - he didn’t want miscommunication tearing what you both had down. “...And after I sat with it, I agreed with them. I didn’t want to post some blanket statement, you deserve more. You deserve better.”

He studied your face, your eyes flickered across him. “Charles-”

“Before you say you don’t deserve more, just… just don’t.” You watched as he sat up, bringing up a hand to cup your jaw - a thumb brushing softly over your skin. “I just want to show I stand with you with more than just a post, Cherie.”

You lent into his touch. “I love you, and appreciate you.. So much. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but… to stop the internet from thinking the worst of us, maybe you could’ve done both?”

He watched as the corner of your mouth lifted into a playful smirk and he chuckled softly, leaning in to press a soft kiss to your forehead. “Probably. Max just got in my head, said he was disappointed in me for not doing more for you.”

“Max said that?” It was your turn to look confused - since the Dutchman had discovered the truth, it was true the two of you had reconnected but you were surprised by his willingness to speak up against your boyfriend. “...do you know what he has planned?”

“No. I need to find him though - he joked about burning down the FIA HQ but I’m not 100% sure he was joking.”

“...we definitely need to find him.”

***

Pierre groaned as the knocking on his door persisted, only seemingly getting louder - so begrudgingly he pulled some clothes on and climbed out of bed. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he crossed the hotel room and opened the door to see you and Charles.You shoulder barged him out of the way and stepped into the room. “Morning to you too.”

“What is Max’s plan?” You looked more like the y/n he’d grown up with than ever - arms folded across your chest, frown etched on your face and foot tapping impatiently. “Because I like you guys but I’m not having you rioting for me.”

“I don’t know, I couldn’t find him and he wasn’t answering his phone.” Pierre approached you, eyes flickering across your face. “But I’m not going to help you stop him, if I find him I’m following him. You deserve to have people fight for you.”

“Pierre, I don’t want you to get in trouble for me.” You whispered. “It’s not worth it.”

The eldest driver looked over your shoulder to your boyfriend who was leaning against the wall. “Bet she’s used the same line on you, huh?”

“I don’t know how many times I can repeat myself. But, I want to do this right, Pierre. In a way where we do what needs to be done but none of us end up out of a seat or in major trouble.” The Monegasque explained. “That's why I was leaning towards just making a statement.”

“You posted something?”

“I should’ve done it in the first place, people were thinking we broke up. Just because I want to do something more, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t give people a reason to question us.” Charles stepped closer to you, eyes not leaving Pierre. “We need to find Max, I don’t want to stop him, I just need to know what he’s planning.”

Pierre considered for a moment, before he looked back at you. “I hope you know, you’re stuck with me. Whether you like it or not, I’ve got a lot of making up to do… so, I’ll help you find Max.”

You wrapped your arms around him and sunk into his hold as he returned the favour, squeezing you tight as if he was making up for lost time. Charles watched the interaction unfold - this wasn’t like any other time Pierre had touched you before. It was innocent - like you both had gone back in time and he could almost see you both as kids again.

“Now c’mon, there’s an angry Dutchman on the loose.”

It took the three of you nearly the whole day to find Max, asking everyone who might know something until you realised you were missing the least but somehow most obvious person. Esteban. He’d followed Max out so of course he knew where he was - in fact, when you ended up finding the redbull driver, the two of them were together at a small cafe nestled away in a narrow street hidden from the crowds.

“Now, this is not something I’d ever thought I’d see.” Charles chuckled, pulling up a chair for you both at the table. “I know you’ve moved passed the stuff in the past but-”

“We’re not exactly best friends, I know.” Esteban smiled, standing up to greet you. “Hi y/n, it’s really good to see you again.”

You shook his hand. “You too, Esteban. Please don’t do anything that will get you in trouble.”

He laughed softly and shook his head. “I could do with some trouble.”

“What do you have planned, Max Emilian?” You huffed, sitting beside the Dutchman - narrowing your eyes a little. “I know you could get away with murder being Christian’s golden boy but I still don’t want you getting barred or disqualified or whatever just for me.”

“Nothing that bad y/n. Look…” Max sighed, leaning forward a little. “I just don't think that an instagram post is gonna do shit. The people who use violence aren’t going to read some preachy text.”

“So you’re not going to tell me what you’re up to?”

He shook his head. “Nah, you’ll just try and stop me. I know you probably don’t think you’re with all of this but despite us growing apart over the years, I still care about you. And I can’t just sit by while these dickheads, who are my fans, get away with hurting you.”

“Max-”

“C’mon, y/n, I’m not naive. I’ve seen photos of the guy, I see the profile pictures and usernames… a lot of these twats are my fans.” He grumbled. “So, hopefully, if they listen to anyone, they’ll listen to me.”

Charles placed a gentle hand on your thigh. “Why don’t you go back to the hotel, cherie? I’ll make sure whatever they plan isn't crazy. Okay?”

He smiled softly as you jut your bottom lip out in protest, before nodding and standing up from your chair - casting your eyes one more time across the unlikely group before you. “Just… don’t be stupid.”

“How can we? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” Max grinned, making you gasp and smack him playfully upside the head. “Sorry, sorry. Kidding.”

“You better be.” You turned to Charles. “Text me when you’re on your way back, please?”

The Monegasque nodded. “Will do. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

You took a deep breath before leaving their fates in their own hands - you had no idea what they were planning and honestly? At this point you weren’t sure you wanted to know. Instead you hopped into a cab and started messaging your fellow drivers, thanking them for their kind words and support on instagram. Even after you reveal, you had really only spoken to those who had known who you were before - so when Lando asked if you wanted to join him and Carlos for a beer, you decided to go.

Maybe it would take your mind off of the scheming Max was doing with your boyfriend and childhood karting rivals.

“This is a pleasant surprise.” Carlos smiled, as you sank down into the booth beside Lando - a gentle smile on his face. “If I thought you were out of Charles’ league before, you definitely are now.”

You laughed. “Thanks Carlos. And thank you, Lando for inviting me out - I’ve been wanting to get to know everyone better.”

“Are you kidding? I can’t believe you said yes.” The young Brit grinned, you could tell why everyone liked him - he had this boyish charm. “This is sick. I’m hanging out with the Thirty!”

The pink took over your cheeks within an instant and you rubbed the back of your neck. “It means a lot that you don’t see me any differently now you know I’m a girl.”

Lando took a sip of his beer, ignoring the buzz of his phone against the wood of the table - more interested in what you had to say. “If anything that just makes you cooler.”

“So, colour me curious.” Carlos spoke up, propping his elbows up on the table. “Who knew about you before? Obviously Charles and Sebastian, but who else?”

“Just Max and Lewis. They both had me figured out so I just came clean, but it was only really a few weeks that they knew.”

Carlos huffed a little and leant back in his chair, strong arms folded across his chest. “Can’t believe my own teammate knew and I was blind as a bat, I thought I’d noticed him acting differently around you.”

You frowned. “What do you mean?”

Carlos raised a brow. “Well he went from being super suspicious of you one minute, to indifferent. He told both me and Daniel he expected you but neither of us believed him… sorry about that.”

“I wouldn’t have believed him either, y’know?” You smiled reassuringly. “That was kind of the whole point of the story that the team came up with.”

“You got me there. Well, cheers to this new friendship, aye?” He grinned, the three of you clinking your beers together - Lando’s phone continuing to buzz on the table. “You gonna answer that, mate?”

Lando huffed and picked it up. “Some of the others want to crash later, turn it into a real party but I was only gonna stick to a couple of beers.”

“…I mean… I could party.”

Carlos grinned. “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

And that is how you ended up doing shots with Carlos and Daniel - as the evening had progressed the music had got louder and the bar had gotten more crowded. It was distracting you from the fact Charles still hadn’t texted you despite you having sent him a few question marks. You were scared of what was taking the four of them this long to plan - there was no way this wasn’t going to be trouble.

“You okay?” You felt a warm hand on your shoulder, Lando gently tugged so you were facing him - his eyes were somehow still bright beneath the flashing lights of the dark club. “For someone who ended up on the podium, you don’t seem to be particularly happy.”

“Lannn.” You whined, leaning into him a little - the alcohol buzzing through your veins. You thrust your phone in his face, the bright light of the screen making him squint a little. “Why hasn’t Charles’ text me?”

He chuckled softly, draping an arm across your shoulder - coaxing you gently towards a booth where a few other drivers were sitting. “Uhm, not sure. Where is he?”

“Planning some dumb thingy with Max, Pierre and Esteban. They’re going to get in trouble for me and I don’t want that.”

Lando shook his head. “It’s cus they care about you, I bet. They wouldn’t do this for just anyone… Pierre and Esteban in the same place? Those two haven’t got on since they were kids, you know that better than anyone.”

“You think that’s why?” You pouted softly. “I’m gonna text him again.”

“Okay, y/n. You do that… I’m gonna get you a glass of water.” He patted you gently on the shoulder before heading back over to the bar, leaving you in the company of Carlos, Daniel and George.

You shuffled further into the booth and tucked yourself under Carlos’ arm, the Spaniard squeezing your shoulder. “You okay, hermosa?”

“Charles is ignoring me.” You grumbled, propping your chin up on his shoulder - whatever he was wearing smelt manly, and with Charles preferring a more subtle fragrance it was noticeable.

Daniel laughed. “Well that’s not very nice of him is it. Are you having a good time though?”

You nodded. “Yeah, it's nice to get to know you guys. Just can’t help but miss Charles, he’s my rock. Feels weird having fun without him.”

“His loss then, hmm? You can have a great time with us instead.” He chuckled, his eyes boring into yours, a kind smile on his face.

“Oh can she now?”

You moved your gaze from Carlos’ dark eyes to the source of the voice to see Charles stood in front of the table with his arms folded across his chest - his brow raised. “Charl.”

“Did you not get any of my texts… or calls?” He said, sitting beside you in the booth - wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you away from Carlos and into his side.

“Did you not get any of mine?” You frowned, fishing your phone out of your pocket - eyes widening a little when you saw none of your messages had gone through to your boyfriend. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” Charles teased, leaning in to kiss you. “Were you worrying, Cherie?”

“…maybe.”

“And did you get drunk to distract yourself from the fact you were worried?”

Your cheeks flushed. “…maybe.”

He laughed and thanked Lando as he placed your glass of water on the table. “Thanks for your text mate, I was starting to think I’d lost her.”

“I saw the non-delivered when she showed me her phone so I thought it might be a two-way issue.” The Brit smiled softly. “You gonna stay for a bit?”

“Only a little while, I think this one has had enough fun for both of us.” Charles smiled at Lando before looking down at you - your cheeks flushed a pretty pink. He let his gaze wander to Carlos for a moment but the Spaniard didn’t meet his eyes.

Not another one. He groaned internally. Sooner or later he was going to have to put a flashing neon sign above your head to remind the other drivers that you were his girlfriend. It wasn’t purely selfish either, there had been one too many tweets calling you a paddock bunny, so he didn’t want to give anymore fuel to that fire. So if he had to give Carlos and Lewis a not so friendly warning, he would. Pierre had become less of a concern since the two of you had reconnected - the Frenchman starting to see you as more of a little sister, like he used to back in the day. But Carlos and Lewis didn’t have that connection with you - so you were just this insanely talented and beautiful woman to them. He hoped that his relationship with you would be enough to keep them at bay but he couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

“Charl.” Your warm hand on his jaw brought him back to reality - your eyes were transfixed on him when he looked down at you. “Where did you go, amour?”

“Nowhere, cherie, I’m here with you.” He smiled, the sparkle in your eyes was enough to put him at ease - it didn’t matter what the others did. You were as in love with him as he was with you. He pressed a chaste kiss to your temple. “Wanna go home?”

“Yeah, but kisses first please.”

You keened as Charles curled a hand around the back of your neck, pulling you into a searing kiss. You draped your arms over his shoulders, letting him lead the show you knew he was putting on for the others - he didn’t have to say out loud that he had felt jealous of Carlos, but it was never going to be Carlos. It was always going to be him.

As you pulled back, you let your eyes meet his as you smiled. “I love you.”

“Je t’aime, y/n.”

Lando gagged, reminding you that you weren’t alone - Charles relished in the way you hid your face in his neck. “We get it, you love each other. Get a room now, gross.”

You made sure to give each driver a hug before letting Charles lead you outside to grab a cab - you watched him as he tapped away on his phone, his breath leaving his body in soft clouds. When he caught you staring, you weren’t embarrassed, you simply stepped closer and let him wrap you up in his arms. “Charl, are you going to tell me what you boys were planning for so long?”

“Mhmm, I don’t know. Don’t know if I want to ruin it for them. I promise you it’s nothing crazy.” He pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, before opening the door of the taxi for you both as it pulled up on the street. “Now, early flight tomorrow, need to get you to bed.”

“Fiiine, only ‘cus you’re pretty and I love you.” You giggled, tilting his chin down so you could kiss him before sliding into the taxi. “I will get that plan out of you by the end of the night.”

He rolled his eyes playfully, climbing in beside you - going to protest your claim but when you pulled him in for another deep kiss, his words were stolen from him and his mind was distracted by your hands running all over him, a hand ghosting over his belt. “Even if that means we get a fine for fooling around in this taxi.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Your playful smirk told him that you absolutely would so he used all of his willpower to move your hand away from his trousers. “Okay, okay… So here’s what’s going to happen.”

He pressed a kiss to your lips, pulling away so they were ghosting over yours - the way your breath hitched in your throat was delicious but he was going to behave. It was his turn to smirk now, his hand trailing up your side.

“This is what’s going to happen, Cherie.” He purred, pressing a kiss to the pulse point under your jaw. “We’re going to go back to the hotel, get some sleep and in the morning I’ll tell you all about what Max has planned okay?”

You were in no place to protest, your brain foggy with lust as he pressed kisses along your neck and jaw - so you simply nodded, dipping your head to catch his lips in another kiss. “Can… Can I add one more thing to the agenda?”

When your eyes met his, you could barely see the green - his pupils blown wide and he seemed to have as much trouble catching his breath as you did. His strong hands gripped your waist and he pulled you in closer. “If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, then we can definitely add you… add that to the to do list.”

He captured your giggle with a kiss, not wasting a second as the taxi pulled up outside the hotel. After a generous tip to the poor cab driver, your teammate took your hand in his and led you through the hotel. With a swift kiss as a distraction, he swiped the keycard from your pocket and opened the door.

You kicked your shoes off and turned to face your boyfriend. “Well we can tick off going back to the hotel on the to-do list…”

Charles chuckled and took your waist in his hands, pulling you closer. “What was next?”

“Let me remind you.”

*******

Next part >>>

Hope you enjoyed ❤️❤️ what on earth are those boys up to 🤔

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#unmasked fic #f1 fic #f1 x reader #f1 x you #x reader #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc x reader #leclerc x reader

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crimetimesteadicam · 3 months

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ok @morporkian-cryptid tagged me to do this fic author interview so here we go...

if you would like to do this, i am officially tagging you, yes you, right now. tag me back so i can see your answers

1 How many works do you have on AO3?

i got 40

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,044,749

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

sorry like none of these are lupin iii. a blight on my lupin iii blog

Wabisabi (991 kudos) - Spirited Away. idk it's short and cute, read it

BONES OF BLACK MARROW (952 kudos) - Homestuck. the infamous cyoa cannibalism sex fic. scrolling through the things people say about it in the bookmarks is always so funny

Cum mortuis in lingua mortua (925 kudos) - Homestuck. no clue why it has so many kudos lol it was like the first long thing i've ever wrote (a whole decade ago??? jesus). it's a d&d/discworld joke

Vanitas vanitatum (914 kudos) - Homestuck. the same d&d/discworld joke except the LI is turbo depressed. notable for being the only fic i ever outlined and edited and that's why it whips

Supermassive Retinol Overdose! (677 kudos) - hey look, a lupin fic made it on here!

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i do when i have something meaningful to say besides "thank you!" i don't have a lot of thoughts about my own work so therefore i tend to not respond if there's not a direct question :( my head is empty. i always respond to every single comment on the last chapter of longfics though because i'm always impressed people read that far lol. genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading all that

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

idk uhhhh i wrote a series once where two of the main couples break up at the end, but it wasn't really angsty

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

they all end pretty happily

7. Do you write crossovers?

if i did it was so long ago i don't remember it

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

no but people used to send passive aggressive hate about my art in fics once in a while. hasn't happened in like 2+ years

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

yes. every kind. EVERY KIND

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

a bot will sometimes scrape my high kudos homestuck fics and plant them on a junk ebook site

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yeah i think like 7 of them got translated into russian and do numbers on ficbook.net

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

in the past me and my friend would sit around a laptop and scream laugh write our way through crack fics

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

right now it's jiglup and fujilup

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

i finish almost all my WIPs because i'm a freak. if i don't finish a WIP it's because some dramatic life event happened. this has only occurred two times

15. What are your writing strengths?

im a funny binch

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

i don't outline or edit or re-read any of my fanfic. i just type it and then eyeball it for typos and then post it. i COULD outline and such to really make the narrative nice and tight, but i don't find it very fun to do (for fanfic) and this is like, my relaxing wind down hobby. i just wanna have fun haha. the only reason my fics like, make sense, is because i write at least one ending scene first thing and always aim for that, and also i write out of order so i kinda know the route of the story

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

it's fine if it makes sense to do it there as a narrative device

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

h-hetalia crack fic.....

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

once i figure out how to draw zenigata it's over for you bitches. luzeni hours on da clock

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

for lupin iii fic, i like Lightkeepers the best

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gaemms-chamois · 6 months

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random unorganized darknights trio + paprika musings bc sometimes i'm hit with like a pang of Brief Worry that i'm completely misinterpreted blabla that usually doesn't last too long bc i then go back to my state of I'm Just Vibing but ig at some point i just gotta let it out publicly once and be done with it lol

this is messily written Please Understand this isn't meant to be a grand thought piece

fuuuck ok well this is like very specifically abt the w, ines & paprika part now

like don't get me wrong on this. i joke abt wines moms and stuff but i dont genuinely mean it in the way of wahh wow littol family for reals kinda deal?

less on wines 'adopting' paprika, moreso paprika imprinting on them like a duckling after she was saved by them. paprika adopted them lmao. i cannot possibly interpret either w or ines as Maternal in such a way.

it's moreso that i think it's nice that this little sarkaz merc became part of the story, a girl who all her life since she was infected at a young age, was presented with becoming a mercenary being basically the only option for her.

and then, as annoying as w can be, being shown that she does have different options.

i just think it's sweet that paprika, judging by her voicelines, clearly looks up to w and ines. which is just amplified by the fact that w and ines are notoriously not the most popular people on rhodes lol. and she calls w annoying but still keeps knitting stuff and wanting to gift food to her. like if she often seeks out w and ines to tell them how well she did on something, when they are on the ship, etc. that'd at least indicate that those two humor her.

ALSO IT'S UNOFFICIAL BUT SHOUTOUT TO THAT LITTLE CHUZENJI ART WITH PAPRIKA AND W, INES & TOTTER WEARING KNITTED HATS SO CUTE

OKAY WOO DARKNIGHTS MERCENARY TRIO AND STUFF

cool yeah obviously i fucking love them. i'm not very good at words though and i tend to keep my more elaborate thoughts to just discussions between friends who know how i tick djsfhdfs

just the other day i was smiling to myself during a walk bc holy shit all three are actually playable now and that's not just wishful thinking anymore. anyway chapter 13 also happened and more stuff with the trio happened and Cool Lots of things Happening and my brain is full

they're so found family to me, like in an utterly unconventional way. i mean c'mon with how they act sometimes like- ykno. but like have y'all seen the new furniture set and descriptions that came with hoederer's release it made me go insanse.

but i think especially in ines' case it just kinda highlights that best. considering ines' arts can figure people out (putting that in rather vague terms), it truly means something when someone with her capabilities and temperament has people she chooses to stick by and actually trust. even if she pretends she doesn't by verbally denying it.

like waugh Okay they have a lot to unpack and shit but with them being reunited (take that, W file that said W needs companionship but her friends aren't around anymore) and having a COMPARATIVELY more ""relaxed"" life than before (that one Hoederer file where he just has rather regular days on rhodes), it's just nice to imagine they can finally have something better and figure stuff out. as complicated as the three of them are.

with that said i think it's a given that i despise a nuclear family treatment of the three (aka mom ines, dad hoederer, daughter w).

for one with me being highly doubtful w was a kid/teen at the start of darknights (young? sure, but not that young), which just seems like such a...widespread belief that i really do not get? arknights always put a LOT of emphasis on when a character's story was about them being a kid, 0 of that with w. like something about her expression and big cloak just gave people some different impression, even though she literally keeps looking the same aside from a change of clothes. only instance of w being called a kid during that time i can think of is that one boiler worker in her files but that seems way more like any typical old guy calling anyone on the younger side a kid. hell, even hoederer was called young in darknights, like in a sarkaz's lifespan i can believe that.

and also...hoederer had somewhat of a mentor-like role for w, but if anyone tries to tell me ines ever acted maternal towards w i will chew through your walls. read through darknights memoir and actually pay attention to ines, both w AND ines were pettyass women and they made that so very clear. cannot fathom how anyone can see ines as having been motherly towards w

seriously just feels like a case of Well there is man and there is woman....and this other character so clearly these are mom, dad and kid.

that's not even me being biased towards w/ines, just how i objectively see it. hell, i even ENJOY ines/hoederer, but my enjoyment of it is limited bc for some reason ppl like to make it weird by shoving w in as some daughter. i promise it's completely possible to like ines/hoederer without trying to fit in w as a kid figure

anyways yeah like cool i like these characters I Guess. Look at them

#gaemms whistling #arknights #long post #this is horrendously written.#the worst part is i'll never do any of my favorite characters justice bc EXPRESSING IN WORDS IS THE HARDEST THING FOR M

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armpirate · 7 months

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UNDER HIS SKIN || JJK || Ch. 35

Pairings: tattoist!jk x fem!reader

Genre: smut, angst, friends to lovers, tattoo au, virgin reader.

Summary: They say there are two versions for every story, and it's important to hear both of them. Everybody is hearing your side of the story, but it's just fair to get to know his.

After breaking up with his girlfriend, the only thing he wanted was to have fun with no attachment. You wanted to get rid of your virginity, and he wanted to tick you off his list. What he didn't expect was getting so emotionally attached to you that he would regret the deal.

Previous || Next

MASTERLIST

Aprox. time of reading: 13 minutes

Chapter warnings: smut, oral sex (male receiving), non-protected sex, dirty talk

Ever since I came back to our table, I haven't been able to think about anything else that isn't that picture. Not because of the content itself, because I know Y/n would never do something behind my back, and I really doubt she'd choose Jin if she ever did, basically because of all the consequences that would come right after. It activated something that I thought I overcame when we both decided to be exclusive. The possibility of Y/n finding someone better has always been in the back of my head, because I genuinely think she could do way better than me.

A few times she interrupts my inner monologue, she tries to cheer up the mood by making some jokes or being touchy, but it only makes me disconnect from my thoughts the short seconds it lasts.

—Is something wrong? —she asks, wrapping her arm around mine and squeezing it.

—I'm just a bit tired —I lie, after hearing her ask the same question a few more times.

—Do you want to leave and get some rest? —she suggests, resting her chin on my shoulder—. I've already finished mine. And I'm sure it won't be a good idea for me to get another one.

When I feel the weight of her head on my shoulder, I can't help but turn to her. Her big eyes are looking at me with a shining light I'm not able to describe, but it for sure works on making me feel more relaxed.

I nod at her question, making her move away from me so she can stand up and follow right after her.

—Tae isn't here today? —she frowns, trying to find him among the customers.

Honestly, I'm glad Tae and her get on well. At first, I was afraid he'd be too harsh on her after everything that happened with Areum and Leslie. But Y/n's personality captivated Tae instantly, and even made him protective of her sometimes.

—No, he didn't feel well. So Brooke is in charge of the place.

—I hope he feels better soon —she mutters as we head outside—. Tell him that if he needs something...

—I will —I cut her up.

The fact that Brooke, someone Tae also trusts, twisted things just to damage Y/n annoys me, but I know it'd make Tae freak out even more if he ever knew.

While I drive her home, I feel her hands playfully rubbing my side and tummy, before she's resting her cheek back on my shoulder. Seeing no reaction from me, she just stops trying until we reach her place.

—You aren't sleeping here? —she looks at me confused, when the engine of the motorbike is still on when she hops off.

—I'd rather go to my place tonight.

—Cut the shit, Jungkook —she crosses her arm over her chest—. What's wrong?

—I told you I'm tired.

—And I'm not buying it —she tilts her head—. You were fine tonight, and out of nowhere you started acting like...

—Like what?

—Like an ass —she rushes to answer—. If you were tired, you could've told me. And we would've gone straight to my house or your place.

—If my attitude bothered you so much, you could've called Jin so he could keep you better company.

Those words leave my lips before I'm able to realize it. Something so insignificant as that picture, got me overreacting and losing control of my own tongue.

Y/n just looks away, pressing her lips together before her eyes are back on me. Sweetness is long gone, and now she's the one who's annoyed here.

—Why are you bringing up Jin?

—You tell me —I turn off the engine to hear her better—. Why did I have to learn from someone else that you and Jin went out for drinks, and were all over each other?

—All over each other? You have to be kidding me.

She just scoffs, her eyes going blank as she throws her head back and looks at me again with both hands hanging on her hips.

—He's my fucking boss. He invited me for drinks, because he couldn't do it on my first day —she tries to explain—. He knows we're seeing each other. For fucks sake, the day after, you came to pick me up and he saw us being all over each other.

—And that's why you didn't tell me? —I insist— You told me you'd get home late, and that's why I didn't go to pick you up.

—I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was important —she squints her eyes at me—. I went for a drink with my boss. He himself made things clear when I asked him, so I don't know where this is coming from.

She doesn't say much more, she just waits for me to answer back. But I really don't know what I should answer back right now. And it seems like my silence annoys her even more.

—It's unbelievable you're the one trying to be offended over me hiding things though —she continues—. Maybe you're being an asshole because Jimin can't tell you what to do right now. Right? —she crosses her arms over her chest— Maybe he'd tell you to man up and bring some sense to that tiny brain of yours.

The fact that she knows about that little thing, and what a dickhead I was because I talked about something that involved her with someone else, and took their advice instead of just accepting what she wanted, makes me aware that she has pretty more reasons to be annoyed at me than I do.

—I've dealt with your big walls constantly, with your stupid ideas, and even how you don't even want to consider us as a couple. And you really think I'd run after someone else after how much it took us to get here? —her voice trembles as she speaks—. You could've talked to me about it, because I know you would've gone home without saying a single thing about it if I hadn't insisted. You should discuss everything with me.

Everything that was crossing my mind, everything that could've made me distrust her in the slightest, completely disappears when her voice cracks towards the end of the sentence. I allowed my insecurities to get the best of me, and blind me into thinking she'd ever be able to hurt me while being aware of the pain she could put me through.

—I'm sorry —I say, getting her to look at me—. When Brooke told me and showed me the pic, I don't know...

—I don't know either —she crosses her arms over her chest—. It wouldn't cross my mind to do something like that to you.

—I'm sorry —I apologize again, hopping off the motorbike to feel somewhat closer to her.

—If you are sorry, then I really hope you park that damned motorbike and bring your ass up to my place —trying her best to hide her smile, she tilts her head.

—That's it?

—What? —she steps back— Were you expecting me to throw a tantrum and go two weeks without talking to you? —her eyebrow raises with that last comment— I could do that, but I don't want to. I just need you to understand that I'm only into you. And next time something like this happens, you talk to me first —she starts walking, but she suddenly stops again—. I'm not bringing up the whole deal issue because we made up a few days ago, but I hope something like that doesn't ever happen again —she warns me, lifting her index in my direction.

Trying not to show off my smile, so she doesn't regret her words, I press my lips together and nod.

Honestly, it feels weird that we both made it out so quickly and so easily. Not like we've gone too long without talking with each other, and the few times were because of a serious issue -at least more than this-, but I still can't believe everything's been solved so fast.

As I sit on the couch, I see her moving uneasy in front of me, puckering her lips, until she finally speaks again.

—I really can't believe you still think I could look at anyone else the way I look at you —she straddles me, and the way she feels against me will make me go insane—. Maybe I should use actions, because words don't stay long enough up here —she rubs my temple with her index as she says it.

—How will you do that?

Her fingertip runs over my skin, digging behind my ear into my hair, as she bends over me to link our lips together. One hand holding my head and playing with my hair, while the other travels down my neck and chest. Her touch makes me feel so needy, I see no point in holding back before I sink my tongue in her mouth.

Not ready for her to move yet, I keep her tight against me, enjoying the taste of our saliva mixing together while our tongues just twirl against one another. And it only gets messier when I feel her pressing her core against me. I unzip her jeans, making them baggy enough around her waist so I can sneak my hands through them, cupping her ass tight.

She bites my lip before she breaks the kiss, pulling it in between her teeth with her eyes fixed on mine. She seems so dangerous while she does it. But I don't care, I want -and need- more. I move my hands back to her back, holding her tight. Although she's still able to move, I made sure of that after I saw her intentions taking over her eyes.

She kneels slowly in between my legs, moving her hands over my thighs until she almost reaches the noticeable bulge under my pants, and that's screaming for attention at this point. I let out a heavy breath, a feeling all my muscles tense under her touch the closer she gets to my crotch. She unzips my pants. And while I keep my hands in the air -trying to allow her to have as much control as she wants over me-, she finally takes them off, along with my boxers.

My hard cock jumps free as soon as she slides the fabric down, and I'm sure I won't last too much if she keeps looking at it as if it was something she had been waiting for forever.

She licks my shaft, from the base to the tip, and I'm only able to sigh when the warmth of her tongue traces one of my marked veins until she reaches my most sensitive part. Her fingers wrap around it, letting her tongue tease me. She moves it in circles around the tip,cleaning the precum that keeps leaking.

Not enough with the feeling, I move her hair away, wanting to get the perfect image of how she looks while she drives me crazy.

—Suck it, baby —I ask, rubbing her cheek with my thumb.

As she bends over again, my hand goes back to the back of her head, taking all the locks I can away from her face.

She wraps her lips around my tip, covering her teeth with them -feeling my heart pounding with pride when I remember I was the one who taught her that-, before she starts going down on me. She bumps her head up and down slowly, having me lifting my hips in the air so her mouth could never leave me.

—Keep your eyes on me, babe —I command, trying to get her eyes back on me as I notice her closing them.

But maybe it’s the biggest mistake I could've made.

She looks up to me, big eyes digging for any hint of pleasure on my face, while her lips are wrapped around me tight. Not only is it the way she looks, but how she makes my cock vibrate when she whimpers on it. And I can tell by the way her body tenses, she wants attention just as much as I did.

—So fucking good —I praise her again—. Sucking it like I taught you, like a good girl.

And that praise must've awakened something in her, because she pumps my cock with her fist, making sure her movements were in sync with the ones in her hand. I can feel my cock twitching with every move she makes, and I'm reaching that point where I'm not able to control my body as I'm too hooked on the shivering.

—I'm gonna cum, baby. Stop —I warn her.

I made her move back. And, after only giving her a few seconds to recover, I cup her face in my hands.

—Come here.

While we kiss, I do my best at taking her clothes off. First moving her pants away and sliding them down her legs along with her panties. And like I'm attracted to it, my palm covers her slit, fingers digging to know how wet and ready she is for me, at least until she's back at straddling me.

I'm so desperate for her, that I don't even care about the ripping sound her blouse makes as I tear it apart. I see her lifting her hips, and I help her by holding myself up, aiming to her entrance. A united, and harmonious gasp, leaves our lips as she sinks me deeper in her slowly. Her walls wrap around me tight, taking me in so easily, yet molding around me so well, that I doubt I'll make it for too long.

She jumps slowly at first, helping us both get used to each other, lifting and lowering her hips, taking me back in when I thought she'd be letting me go completely. Her hips increase the speed slowly, making the clapping sounds of our bodies louder with every jump.

—You're the only one I want to fuck like this —she moans, one hand on my shoulder and the other on the backrest of her couch—. Do you understand it like this?

—Fuck, yes —my voice cracks in the middle of the sentence—. You're only mine.

—Uh-huh.

I pull her in for a kiss, as I lower my body on the couch, dragging her along with me. Taking control away from her, I hold her hips up and start drilling into her in a speed that soon has her moaning louder, while her pussy clenches around me tight. I lower the cups of her bra, sucking and biting her hard nipple as I fuck her like I've never done before. Fucking her like I'm sorry for being such a dumbass today.

—I'm close —she holds onto my wrist as she says that

—Cum with me —I move even faster.

Her pussy clenches around me again, before her body collapses over mine with a loud moan that has my ears whistling for a while. Although all of it only makes tingles run over me, from the tip of my toes to the top of my head, before I cum in her.

—We didn't use protection —she panics, suddenly looking at me.

—It's alright —I move under her, trying to get back to the initial position—. I'm clean. And we can buy the morning after pill tomorrow.

I kiss her again, slow and sweet, enjoying every bit of her right now.

✸ ✸ ✸

A placid smile adorns her face while she closes her eyes, trying to recover from her high, when I fall next to her on the bed, still not able to believe that all of this is real. Turning to me, she starts moving some stamped locks from my forehead, although I use that soft gesture to pull her from her wrist and make her wrap her arm around me so I can feel her closer.

While I look her in the eyes, and how they look at me as if I were the only person in the world for her, I instantly remember how I made her feel bad just a few hours ago.

—I'm sorry about tonight —I apologize again—. You didn't deserve to be treated that way in the pub.

—Kook, we already talked it out.

—We didn't. I apologized and you let it go —I stop her, before she tries to move on from it again—. I should've thought better of you, but I was so blinded by the idea of you being into someone else... I'm just scared of losing you, losing this, being played with again. I know you wouldn't do that, but I can't help but be prepared for it.

As I speak, and I let all my insecurities drop with each one of my words, I feel the knot in my throat tightening. Not even her fingers playing with my hair can make me feel better right now.

—I'm not going anywhere, Kook —she assures me—. Not now, not tomorrow. So get that idea clear in your head.

It's all about the honesty in her words, and how she makes sure I understand each one of them while looking deep into my eyes. I want to speak, tell her everything that's going on in my head when it comes to her, but I know I won't be able to say a word without accidentally sobbing. When I cover my face, as soon as I feel my lips trembling, she simply pulls me in for a hug.

—I thought you wanted me to say cute things to you —she teases me.

I giggle on her chest, hiding my face from her, before I move back again, just to look at her. It's right then, when she weeps some of my tears away and rubs my cheeks ever so gently, that I know what all those mixed thoughts mean, and how I could express them perfectly in just one sentence.

—I think I'm in love with you, cocktease.

When she stops, and looks at me intensely, I know she's not ready to say those words back yet. But I didn't say it because I wanted to hear the words back, I just said them because I wanted to let her know everything she causes in me.

#fanfic #ff #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkookxreader #jk #bts #wattpad #kookie #smut #jungkook smut #tattoistjk #tattooau #jungkook pov #Under His Skin #reader insert #armpirate

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7grandmel · 4 months

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Todays rip: 13/01/2024

RNR (Rip No Riffs)

Season 1 No Album Release (Read More) DND (Do Not Destroy) - No More Heroes

Ripped by Triple-Q

youtube

Alright, uh, WHEW - I hope everyone's had a great day in a post-Christmas Comeback Crisis Episode 11 world!! I've been absolutely giddy with excitement and joy ever since I watched it and I'm so glad that the reception has been so universally positive all around. I'm trying to wind down from all of it, and figured I might as well push a rip I had down the pipeline to cover up earlier in the schedule. And hey - RNR (Rip No Riffs) is also somewhat Christmas Comeback Crisis-related! If you haven't heard the rip on its own, you've DEFINITELY heard it within that series.

For those out of the loop, RNR (Rip No Riffs) is used as the theme to the Rapper's Union HQ in the CCC, the hub of the story's chill resistance faction fighting against The Voice. Yesterday with 9来4s I wrote a fair bit about how excellent a job dante and c.o. have done in giving the series a very distinct soundscape, but the thing is - that doesn't just apply to composing new songs for the series. Plenty of rips from the channel's life have been used for music in the series without being explicitly made with that purpose, and RNR (Rip No Riffs) is probably the most widely recognized of these tracks?

I think it's an excellent choice for a lot of reasons, quality aside, because of just how well it slots into the series' tone and feel. The original DND (Do Not Destroy) is the laid-back lounge theme of the original No More Heroes, playing whenever Travis Touchdown is at home rather than slaughtering people en masse outside - it's a chill calm before the storm, so to speak. At a first inattentive listen, you may not even notice that RNR (Rip No Riffs) is edited at all, as its edits aren't exactly explicitly out of tune or in contrast to the original tune. As the track's chill vibe plays out, elements from All-Star are inserted into the backing, eventually being replaced with the guitar from Linkin Park's In The End - a song typically associated with pent-up anger, frustration, rage, hatred, the works. Yet the rip builds it all up so subtly, it never interrupts the chill lounge beat that laid the foundation for the original track, and so this change in emotion never truly registers as sounding out of place or wrong.

And to me, that's what makes it such a perfect fit for the Rappers' Union's theme - it's a home where these people relax, where they talk to one another and lounge, yet its also the place where all their bubbling rage against the oppression they face is being stored - the last remaining home to all of these damaged souls. The Christmas Comeback Crisis, for as silly as its premise is, and for as many lighthearted moments that it does have, is still fundamentally a story about strife and conflict, about a bubbling state of disarray that's slowly exploding into full-on warfare. RNR (Rip No Riffs) feels like the perfect theme to embody all of those emotions, a breezy jam playing in the background to a downtrot apartment space that slowly bubbles to become something far more serious, with far more grit and rage.

I certainly don't believe this sort of vibe was what Triple-Q had in mind with the original upload - at the end of the day, it's just a silly, classic Season 1 rip, changing just enough in a familiar song to sound different while still sounding recognizably like the original. Yet I find it so fascinating that the rip still stands on its own two feet, whilst adding some genuine gravitas and mood to the series it was eventually grafted on to - althewhile being such a relatively-obscure pick for a rip to use, that it didn't feel played out whatsoever when it showed up again.

A lot of the stuff I've covered for Season 1 on this blog has been of a sort of "higher" status, be it all-time classics like Live and Ooooooooooooooh and Pikmin Park, the emotional highs of Epic Flintstones and Stone Halation, or just generally ones tied to more well-remembered passion projects like Everyday Goodbyes (SiIvaGunner Band Cover). And in comparison, rips like RNR (Rip No Riffs) may end up feeling kind of...normal, kind of basic and simple in their edits. Yet that simplicity has never been a bad thing, and its never been anything holding rips down from striking pure gold, and there's something just so sweet about knowing that any rip, of any kind, any popularity, can eventually get this kind of association, this kind of retroactive use and meaning, that ends up drawing so many more associations and thoughts to it than were originally intended.

#todays siivagunner #season 1 #siivagunner #siiva #tentative rip name #Triple-Q #Youtube #no more heroes #nmh #suda51 #christmas comeback crisis #siivagunner lore #siivagunner ccc #the voice inside your head

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starlahuskyz · 5 months

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Chances - Chapter 13

Summary: After waking up, Jordan speaks with her parents. And after minor vampire business in the basement, the boys properly introduce themselves. And Marko and Jordan's relationship is questioned.

I felt motivated enough to write the next chapter sooner than later. Sorry if this part feels short, the next one will expand on this chapter.

Chapter 12 <<< >>> Chapter 14

TW//Murder ment. Blood

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The sun is fully down by the time Jordan gets up, and to her surprise, the boys are all still sleeping. Except for David, who is nowhere to be found. Jordan sits up in her bed rubbing the sleep from her eyes and she soon feels the pang of hunger in her stomach. She hasn’t eaten anything recently. “David must’ve gone to eat…” She thinks. She then hears a yawn come from Paul and he mumbles something at Marko who just growls and nuzzles into his neck further. Jordan reaches for a coin in her pocket and chucks it at Marko which is enough to startle him awake.

“Morning sleepyhead, you know where David went?” Jordan stands up from her bed.

“Mmmm…nope.” Marko unlatches from Paul and lets go of the pipe to stand on his own two feet. “Didn’t even know he left.”

“He probably got early night munchies, I’m sad he didn’t invite us though.” Paul says, still hanging from his spot. “Dwaaayne, can we go get something to eat?” He cranes his neck to look at the vampire who is still laying on the mattress seemingly in no rush to go anywhere.

Dwayne rolls over and looks at him for a minute before saying “Piss off and let me sleep.” He resumes his original sleeping position while Paul unlatches from his spot looking offended.

“Fine, then imma sleep with you until you're ready to get up.” Paul joins him on the mattress while he groans exasperatedly.Jordan and Marko look at each other and chuckle lightly.

Jordan realizes that she’s gonna have to confront her parents, so she heads for the stairs but stops after hearing Marko follow her like a puppy. She stops and turns around putting a hand on his chest keeping him from moving any further.

“Stay here, I don’t know what my parent’s stance is right now. I will tell you if you can come up. Just, stay here.” Marko feels a little sad, but he agrees and backs away leaving her to go. As she goes up the stairs, he goes to her bed and lays down on it. He relishes her scent still lingering on it, he reaches for the pillow and hugs it as if he were hugging her. He purrs slightly before Paul interrupts, “If you love that pillow so much why don’t you kiss it?” Marko chucks the pillow at him causing him to cackle. “Shut up. I’m getting there.” Marko rolls over so he can avoid looking at him. He really does feel like his relationship with her will blossom, and he's sure the boys believe it too.

---------

The dining table was filled with tension and curiosity coming from Jordan’s parents while she sat in a chair thinking about what to say. Everything last night happened so fast that she had to be careful when choosing her words.

“Alright, I know you’re mad and confused. But let me start by saying that everything that happened was not my fault…but I’m still sorry about what happened.” She shrunk down in her seat as she genuinely was worried about what her parents were going to say.

Both of her parents looked at each other and then back at their incredibly distressed daughter, then her mother spoke first. “Listen Jordan, me and your father have been thinking-”

“Are you kicking me out?!?!?! Jordan sprung up from her chair knocking it over looking terrified. “Man I knew I fucked up big time! I should’ve tossed their asses out as soon as I-”

“SHUT YOUR YAPPING AND LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!” Her father slammed his fist down on the table while her mother just sighed. Jordan collected herself and fixed up her chair finally taking a seat again.

“Okay firstly, I’m not kicking you out so relax. What I wanted to say was that me and your father wanted to talk to your ‘friends’.” Jordan releases a breath she didn’t even know she was holding.

“But just know, if I don’t like these guys-” His wife nudges him and he corrects himself “I mean if WE don’t like your friends, then we either want them gone. Or if you like them so much, then we want you out.”

Jordan lets out an audible gulp at her father’s statement, the thought of losing her only bit of humanity haunted her to her very core. She sat up straight in her chair. “I swear to you guys, they aren’t that bad. They are just…not very familial. I think. I don’t know much about them.”

“Well, now will be your chance to learn about them. What are they up to now?” Her mother asks right on cue as they all hear shuffling and talking from the basement.

“I’ll go check on em.” Jordan gets up and looks down the stairs only to be greeted by the boys circling two random guys and they are seemingly ready to eat them. David also seems to have returned and she noticed blood on his face as he watched the feast about to go down. They all look up and her and the randos yell for her help, but she quickly slams the door back shut keeping her back turned to her parents.

“Is everything alright?” Her mother asks. Jordan turns around and her eyes are a mix of red and yellow and she strained a smile on her face.

“Yup…all good. They were just doing something.” She leans against the door trying to avoid her vampire visage from taking over due to her hunger of blood finally getting the better of her. She could feel her parents tense up.

“You don’t look alright.” Her dad comments at the look of pain on Jordan’s face. She then feels a painful pang of hunger hit her and she folds like a paper and slides down the door and onto the floor.

“Nope, all good here.” At that moment, they all hear blood curdling screams coming from the basement and her parents look horrified. Despite knowing she was a vampire, they’ve never seen her make a kill. So hearing what it sounded like chilled them to their cores. Jordan inhales and gets up making a decision “Excuse me, I haven’t eaten. Promise it’ll be quick.” She goes downstairs and joins the boys. She watches as they all tear their victims apart and growl at each other. Paul and Dwayne shared a body while Marko hogged one for himself. Upon seeing her enter the room, Marko looks up from his meal and while he doesn’t speak a single word, Jordan knows he’s willing to share. She caved immediately as the urge was killing her.

After a few minutes, her parents hear her come up the stairs and upon watching her enter the room they are horrified. Covered in blood and licking what was left on her fingers, she walked towards them nonchalantly. “I know this looks bad…and it is. But I promise, this won’t happen again. And I’ll lay some ground rules for the boys."

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After the little feast that was had, all the boys were seated at the dining room table that was promptly covered in plastic so as not to get blood on the seats and table. The boys all sat politely as they waited for Jordan’s parents to speak. Her father spoke first.

“Alright, let me get something straight. I’m already on the edge of not liking you rats, so you’re all on thin ice. You all better be like Mr. Roger's kids or I’m gonna have a lot of problems with you all!” He spoke with such authority and Dwayne, Paul and Marko looked to David to see what he would say.

“Well, I'm no Mr. Rogers. I've been more considered a thief, or even a cowboy by some. But if your precious daughter tells me you guys are of no concern, then I guess I'll spare you all. I’m David by the way. Your name?” He nods in his direction.

“The name is Harold, this is Jane.” He puts a protective arm around his wife and she smiles hesitantly at David who just stares at her.

“Nice to meet ya guys, I’m Paul. Gotta say, love the house and sorry about the window thing. Dwayne has no self control.” He points to Dwayne’s stoic form with his hands neatly folded on the table. He looks at Paul and cuffs the side of his head.

“I’m Dwayne, sorry about the window. If you want I’ll fix it.” Jane looks him up and down and seemingly looks interested.

“I figured you were a handy man with that body of yours.” Dwayne perks up looking surprised at her sudden comment while Paul and Marko laugh. Jordan looks embarrassed and speaks up. “Ma! Show some restraint!”

Harold then speaks up adding onto his wife’s comment “Why do you think she married me? I used to be just like him.” He smiled and Jordan just sank in her chair groaning while Paul was trying not to vomit from laughing and Dwayne joined in on the laughing. Hell, even David chuckled a bit. Marko scooted his chair closer to hers and slung an arm around her “Cmon, it’s funny. I see why you care for them so much.” At this, Jordan couldn’t help but smile at him. She sat up and soon the whole table went silent and both Marko and Jordan were confused. Then her dad dropped the bomb.

“Well Well Well, so that person you went out with…I think I know who it was.” He was clearly hinting at Marko who just sat like a deer in headlights. He let go of Jordan in a panic and they both turned away from each other. “Hey bud, don’t hide it. State your name and business with my daughter. I ain’t stupid.” He looked at him firmly and Marko straightened himself out.

“I’m Marko, and I’m only friends with your daughter.” David scoffs and Paul groans.

“Liar Liar pants on fire! You know you love her. You defended her yesterday, brought her home after the holy water incident and watched her slee-” Marko slammed his fist on the table and yelled.

“SHUT UP, PAUL! Maybe I do like her but that doesn’t mean I’m dating her.” Marko snaps. Harold and Jane both raise an eyebrow getting wary of him. If he could blush he would, then he looks at Jordan who just stares at him with a look of fear mixed with confusion.

“You watched me sleep?” She asked him.

“No! Or at least, not in a creepy way.” He puts his hands up in defense and looks to his brothers sourly before her parents speak.

“Jordan, tell me. Are you dating him?” Jordan perks up and feels anxiety creeping up her spine. She looks all around the table. Her parents look at her curiously, Paul, Dwayne and David just watch her making her even more worried. Then she looks at Marko, he starts biting his thumb anxiously awaiting her answer. Jordan thought for a moment, she knew Marko had been obsessed with her for months now. She’s given him a chance and seen that he’s treated her pretty well, hell he saved her and her parents from David’s wrath. But she didn’t know if she was ready to consider herself in a relationship with him yet. All she could think of was of her previous relationship, as much as she fought to move past the whole thing, it's biting the back of her neck still bugging her. She exhaled and everyone waited in bated breath. Jordan looked at Marko once again then back to her parents and said nothing. She answered with a single action. She simply shrugged her shoulders, because in all honesty…she didn’t even know.

Harold and Jane both sighed in unison and the boys all just sat back in their chairs. Marko just looked at Jordan and couldn’t help but feel a little hurt, he thought he was doing everything right. He put his hands on the table after giving his thumb a thorough biting. Then he felt the feather touch of something brush his hand. He looked over to see Jordan reaching towards him. Her hand kept edging towards his almost like an offering, not a single word nor sound came from her mouth during the exchange. Jordan stared at nothing in particular, but she never pulled away. Marko couldn’t help but ask her.

“Are you sure?”

She came to and finally looked at him, but still not uttering a single word. Marko flips his hand over so his palm is up, and Jordan’s hand starts moving to hover above his own. With the gentlest of movement she lowers her own and into his and turns her gaze to her own hand watching it so intensely. It’s like she’s fighting to complete the simple action, Marko could only watch as she struggled. A part of him wanted to complete the action, but he wanted her to do her part just to be sure that she wanted this. No strings attached. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, she was palm to palm with him and she was finally able to intertwine her fingers into his hand and at that moment, he completed the action by doing the same. Jordan releases a breath she had been holding in, and looks Marko in the eyes. She smiles, and Marko smiles while letting out a stifled sounding laugh. Jordan looks to her parents.

“I am…” She scoots her chair closer to him and leans into his side keeping her hand locked with his. Marko leans into her and uses his free hand to hold her close. Now that he had her, he wasn’t letting her go.

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

Taglist (If you wanna be tagged, just ask ^ ^)

@blog4horror @ria-coolgirl @oceansrose2002 @hypocriticaltypwriter @deliciousfestsalad

#the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #tlb #david the lost boys #dwayne the lost boys #paul the lost boys #marko the lost boys #tlb jordan

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comfort-writing · 1 year

Text

Crayons and Cassettes

Chapter 6: Party at Harrington’s

You are a kindergarten teacher. Eddie’s daughter, Sage, is in your class. Eddie helps you relax after a couple grueling months.

warnings: smoking and drinking. mental health- anxiety- is depicted. this fic will be 18+ in later chapters- minors DNI!! no use of y/n. (please let me know if I missed anything)

a/n: I feel much better about this chapter. btw I totally wanted to get it out last night but I fell asleep after work oops. let me know in the comments or my asks if you want to be added to the tag list! requests are open!

word count: 2.9k

Chapter 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 10 || 11 || 12 || 13 || 14 (coming soon!)

Once school was back in full swing, you were busy, to put it lightly. Spring semester was always filled with setting up IEP and 504 recommendations for your students to be analyzed for in the first grade, as well as trying to have every student achieve mastery of all of the state standards. You had to make sure all of your students could write their name without mistakes, tie their shoes, know numbers one through fifty and the alphabet, knew a lot of sight words, and most, if not all, should be able to read basic books.

You were working hard to try and make sure that all of your students achieved. But that didn’t come without sacrifice. You and Eddie still called, but the calls were usually less than twenty minutes, as you needed to grade assignments and lesson plan for the days ahead. You still saw him at pickup line, but instead of those days where you were stressed being few and far between, they were growing more frequent.

You could tell he was getting worried about you. He’d even said it on your last phone call.

“Are you doing okay? You seem really stressed lately.” He cautioned, sounding genuinely concerned.

“Oh, I’m fine. The spring semester is always like this. I’m just not used to having such a large class size is all. They said that next year won’t be so bad. Apparently everyone decided to have babies at the same time that you did.” You joked, trying to downplay your anxiety.

“Is there anything I can do to help you out?”

“I’m not sure… just- being able to talk sometimes is nice. Allows me decompress a little. But if I think of anything else, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Okay..” He said warily, still not quite sure about where your head was really at.

You didn’t want to burden him with anything. You’d always had pretty bad anxiety, but you had learned to manage it pretty well on your own over the years. However, when life got stressful, it was more difficult to deal with, especially due to the fact that you didn’t have much time for yourself.

He’d invited you out to a little get together with his friends the other night. You said you weren’t sure, mainly because you felt like you had a pile of work that needed to get done and taking one night off might put you back. But he mentioned that you didn’t have to stay if you didn’t want to. He just wanted you to meet his friends- it was a casual hang out, nothing serious. You hesitantly agreed, thinking that maybe this might help you chill out a little bit.

It was tonight. Eddie said he’d drive you, which you appreciated, as despite you living in Hawkins since the summer, you still didn’t know your way around town outside of the main roads. You were standing in your closet, trying to decide what to wear.

Casual. Cute. Nothing too sexy or serious. Just- regular clothes. You should have something like that, right? You dug through your closet. It didn’t help that the majority of your wardrobe consisted of colorful dresses you wore to your kindergarten class. Honestly, dressing for five year olds was easier than dressing for adults, in your opinion. You decided on a pair of jeans and a light, comfortable sweater. It was nearing March, so it wasn’t snowing anymore, but it was still cold out. You put on your everyday makeup that you wore to school and tied back your hair, pulling out a few strands to frame your face. Earrings, bracelets, watch. Easy. Cute, comfortable, casual. You grabbed a pair of white sneakers and threw them on. Just as you were finishing tying your left shoelace, you heard a knock at the front door.

You answered the door, “Hey, Eds, come on in. I just have to grab my purse.” You said, letting him into the entryway.

“You look nice.” He smiled genuinely.

You were in a bit of a rush, the anxiety still having a hold on you, “Ah- thanks.” You said quickly, rushing to the living room to grab your bag. You walked back to Eddie, eyes looking a little worried, “Ready to go?” You asked, almost walking past him to head out the door.

He stopped you, placing both hands on your shoulders, “Hey.. Take a breath. Relax.” He said, taking a deep breath, eyeing you to follow suit. You did, relaxing your shoulders a bit. “This is supposed to be fun. You deserve a break. You’ve been wearing yourself out. One night off isn’t going to cause your kids to fail.” He reassured you.

You took another deep breath, “I know… I know. It’s just been a bit much is all. I want my students to succeed.”

“And they will.” He insisted. “But they can’t do that without your help. And how can you really help them if you’re so stressed all the time? You have to take care of yourself in order to take care of them.”

You sighed, “Yeah.. you’re right.” His words were reassuring enough for now.

“Okay. Let’s go have fun, yeah? And remember, if it’s too much, we can just leave. There’s no pressure for you to stay. I’ll drive you home and you can work or relax.” He said, squeezing your shoulders gently before letting go. You nodded, and he opened the front door for you, locking it behind you guys before walking you to his van.

Before you had the chance to open your own door, Eddie jogged over and opened it for you, taking a grandiose bow. You laughed, for what felt like the first time in at least a week. Ever the gentleman. He walked over to the drivers side after shutting your door, and the two of you pulled off to drive to Steve’s.

The moment you arrived at the cute little corner lot house, Eddie jumped out and opened the car door for you, taking your hand and helping you out of the car. He gave it a quick squeeze before letting it go.

You guys walked up to the door, and Eddie just waltzed right on through the door. You felt bad just walking into a strangers house, so you stood in the doorway for a moment. “Sup Harrington, you big lug.” Eddie laughed, wrapping an arm around Steve’s shoulder and bending him to ruffle his hair. Steve laughed and shoved him off, then noticed you in the doorway.

“Hey, come on in, don’t be shy.” He smiled warmly.

You stepped further into the entry way and shut the door behind you. Steve walked over to you and stuck his hand out, shaking yours politely, “Steve. Nice to meet you.” You told him your name and once you’d been introduced, Steve and Eddie walked you to the living room to meet the rest of the group. Everyone seemed warm and welcoming enough.

The younger bunch were back for spring break, so everyone had a lot to catch up on. You mainly listened to the conversation, just taking everything in. You sat at the end of the sofa, with Robin next to you and Eddie squatted on the arm rest. You’d been chatting with her, finding out the two of you had a lot in common.

“You want a drink?” Robin offered, getting up to go grab one for herself.

“Uh, sure. What do you have?” You asked.

She reached her hand out, you took it, and she helped you off of the couch, “We’ve got a lot, and I’m not even sure what all there is.” She chuckled as you followed her to the kitchen. She swung open the fridge like she lived there and reached in the back, grabbing a beer before leaning on the freezer and allowing you to scan the contents. You grabbed some premade cocktail in a can before shutting the door.

“So.. you and Eddie, huh?” She asked, wiggling her eyebrows at you.

You couldn’t fight the red tint that flooded your cheeks, “Ah- well.. not really?” You said, shrugging your shoulders.

Robin frowned and cracked open her beer, taking a swig, “What’s the holdup? He’s like, toootally into you. And if I could bet on it, I’d put down money and say that you’re into him.”

You sighed, “That’s already been established.”

She gave you a confused look, “So.. why aren’t you two a thing?”

“My job. Unfortunately, it’s like, illegal for me to date a parent. Plus, in this town, it’s not like we can be secretive about it- gossip runs rampant.”

“Ah- yeah, I guess that makes sense. Don’t worry., my lips are sealed”

“Thanks. But it still kinda sucks though.” You chuckled, bumping her shoulder

“I feel that. When I was in college, my girlfriend and I had to be like, mega-cautious around everyone. I know it’s not the same, but I know what it’s like to have to hide how ya feel.” She reassured.

“Thanks Robin.” You smiled, taking a sip of your drink.

She nodded and the two of you walked back to the couch, finding Eddie laid out where the two of you previously sat. Robin groaned and shoved him, trying to get him to move off of the couch. He rolled off, hitting the ground with a thud, and you and Robin quickly scrambled over him and into your seats, giggling. Eddie laughed and pointed an accusatory finger, “I knew I shouldn’t have introduced the two of you.”

You and Robin shared a knowing look and laughed, watching as he got up off of the ground and moved to sit on the armrest once again, leaning against the back of the couch and resting his arm on the cushion above your shoulder.

After a while of sitting and listening to his buddies laugh and tell old stories, with you chiming in at certain points, Eddie leaned down to whisper in your ear, “I’m gonna go out back for a smoke. Want to come with?” He asked.

You nodded and followed him through the house and onto the back patio. You sighed into the cold March air, seeing your own breath. He took a cigarette and a lighter out of his jacket pocket. He offered you one, to which you politely declined, before lighting it and taking a drag.

“You having a good time?” He asked, leaning over the patio’s railing and looking into the backyard.

You matched his position, “Yeah. Your friends are really nice.” You smiled.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. You deserve to.” He told you, leaning over and bumping your shoulder with his own.

You hummed and looked up, seeing the starry sky. It made you feel small, but not in a bad way.

“Just think, only two more months and you’re home free.” He mused.

You giggled, “You mean we’re home free.”

He smiled, “Well yeah, but I was mainly talking about you. You’ve been so stressed lately with all the hard work you’ve been doing.” He paused, looking over to you, “I’ve been worried about you. I mean, I haven’t known you that long, but I can tell that all of it has had an effect on you.”

You sighed, turning around to face the house. You placed your hands on your face and dragged them down, “I know.” You grumbled, your voice muffled by your hands. You let them fall and rested your elbows on the railing, leaning back. “I just feel like I haven’t had a moment to breathe since January. Spring semester is normally stressful, but it’s usually not this bad.”

Eddie nodded, taking another drag of his cigarette, letting you continue.

“I just- anxiety is a bitch, you know?”

Eddie laughed at that, coughing through it as the smoke spilled from his lungs. “Boy do I know it.” He said, once he’d gained his bearings. “But like I said, only two more months. You’re almost there. And really, I know I’ve already said this, but if you need any help with anything, you let me know, okay?”

You nodded and leaned your head on his shoulder, “Thank you, Eddie.” You whispered. He smiled and kissed the top of your head before laying his own on top of yours. The two of you stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying each others silent company as Eddie finished his cigarette, making sure to blow the smoke away from you.

He snubbed out the end of his smoke in the little ashtray on the railing before looking down at you, “Ready to go back in?” He asked quietly.

“Do we have to? This is so nice.” You pleaded.

“You’re shivering. You’re going to freeze to death.”

“Ugh, fine. If we have to.” You groaned dramatically.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around you, rubbing your arms quickly to warm you up, “Come on, cutie.” He said, walking you back inside.

You laughed as you two walked back into the house, feeling yourself begin to defrost as you walked back to the living room together. You plopped back down next to Robin and she gave you a silent wink, to which you rolled your eyes and smiled.

Around ten, everyone was heading out, so you and Eddie followed suit. You said goodbye to everyone, you and Robin exchanging numbers, and Steve giving you a big bear hug. Eddie walked you out to his van, opening the door for you before climbing in himself. The two of you drove home, laughing and recalling funny things that people had said that night, listening to the radio on a low volume.

Once he pulled up to your house, he walked you to your door. “Hey, thank you for tonight. I had fun.” You smiled, leaning against your door frame.

“Me too. I’m glad you came along.” He had one hand in his jacket pocket as he used his thumb to fiddle with the rings on his other hand.

You looked up at him. He looked so handsome in the moonlight. You looked around for a moment, taking in that nobody was on the street and the neighbors’ lights were off.

“Are they planning anything like this again soon?” You asked.

“Not that I know of, but I’ll let you know when we do.”

You nodded, taking a step closer to him. “Really.. thank you.” You said sincerely as you wrapped your arms around him in a hug. He was a little surprised, but he hugged you back, wrapping one arm around your waist and using the other to rub your back.

To an outsider, the hug may have look like it lasted too long, but neither of you cared. You just enjoyed each others warmth and physical contact in that moment. You could have been there forever and neither of you would have noticed.

You pulled away slightly, looking up at him. He smiled softly down at you. You glanced around one last time before looking back up at him. You could have cut the tension with a knife.

After a moment, Eddie bent down and whispered in your ear, “You’re making it very hard not to kiss you right now.”

You squeezed him closer, taking a steady breath before whispering back, “I never said you couldn’t.”

He pulled back and looked around like you had already done, making sure nobody was around. Your porch light was off, so nobody could really see you guys anyways. He looked back at you for confirmation that this was okay. You nodded.

He didn’t waste another moment before leaning down and capturing your lips in his own, moving one hand to hold your cheek as he did so. His lips were warm and soft and he tasted faintly of cigarettes, but you didn’t mind. You felt like you were surrounded by him: his lips, his hair, his tall and lean figure. He smelled like smoke and some sort of warm and spicy cologne.

He kissed you gently, not looking for anything more than this. You melted into it, your arms wrapping around his shoulders lazily. Neither of you knew how long it lasted, it could have been a second or it could have been an eternity. But when he pulled back, the both of you feeling a little breathless, it felt too soon.

The two of you shared a look before smiling at each other. He leaned down and kissed your temple sweetly before he pulled away, your arms falling to your sides and feeling empty. “I’ll see you tomorrow at pickup?” He whispered.

You nodded dumbly, and watched him step off of your front porch. “Good night, beautiful.” He said with a wink, heading back to his car. You wanted to say good night as well, but you felt as though your voice would betray you in that moment, so you silently unlocked your door and walked inside your house, locking it behind you.

You leaned against your front door, taking a moment to let it all sink in.

Man, you felt like a teenager again.

Tag list: @mcueveryday @bebe0701 @emma77645 @edsforehead @manda-panda-monium @nina211544

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #stranger things #dad!eddie munson #dad!eddie munson x reader #singledad!eddie munson #em #singledad!eddie munson x reader #slow burn #strangers to friends to lovers #teacher!reader

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midnightshard06 · 7 months

Text

Flufftober Day 13

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50489362/chapters/128362231

Summary: Sonic apparently agreed to hang out with Amy for the day, but at the last minute pushes the day onto Super. Super is sort of off put but the whole thing but Amy is nice enough he supposes.

Pairing: None

Warnings: None

Word Count: ~1200 words

@flufftober

“Sonic you get back in control right now.” Super hissed, darting his eyes around to see if the person Sonic had come here to meet was around. There was no response and Super pinned his ears down. “You cannot use me to get out of hanging out with A-”

“Super?” Super turned around and saw Amy, who looked not nearly as confused as Super thought she would be. In fact she looked sort of unsurprised at the whole thing.

“Yeah.” Was all he could really think to say. He’d not interacted much with Amy really. Of all the people that knew about him and had been around when he was first causing trouble, he’d seen her the least. That unfortunately left him at a loss of what to do since Sonic had forced him into control to apparently deal with her. He was starting to almost feel bad about the times he made Sonic deal with a social situation he didn’t wanna deal with. Almost.

Amy just sighed. “Is Sonic just trying to get out of this again?”

“I don’t know.” Super shuffled his feet. “He didn’t say anything before pushing me into control.” He grinned. “I’m so gonna tease him about this later though.”

Amy shook her head fondly. “I can’t say I’m surprised he used you to get out of this. Well.” She clapped her hands together. “Since Sonic doesn’t want to appreciate the day I had planned, why don’t I take you with me instead?”

“Like a date? Cause I think that’s what he was mumbling about or whatever last night.” Super’s grin slipped on his face and he crossed his arms. He felt sort of uncomfortable at the prospect of a date. Not because it was Amy really, but just the idea in general.

“No no!” Amy waved her hands in front of her. “Nothing like that. Just us hanging out as friends. I know we don’t talk much but someone should benefit from my planning if Sonic doesn’t want to.”

He considered that for a moment. Sonic and Tails did want him to socialize more and hanging out with Amy for the day wasn’t the worst thing he supposed. Plus if Sonic wanted to pawn the other hedgehog off on him he might as well enjoy himself right? There would be a lot of people but screw it. He could handle some people. With a deep breath he nodded. “Fine. Since you’re so insistent.”

Amy smiled and tentatively grabbed his arm. He stiffened a bit, but forced himself to relax. Once he did Amy started leading him to wherever it was they were going. “Thanks for agreeing Super. I’ll have to give Sonic a piece of my mind the next time I see him.”

“Eh it’s no problem. Was already here anyway. Not like Tails is expecting us back til tonight either.” Super tried to shrug casually but the movement was stiff. Amy kindly didn’t comment on that.

As Amy led him around to various places around Apatos, where the trio had been stopping when Amy had come across them, Super had plenty of time to think. That typically didn’t lead to good things. Though today the main thing occupying his mind was why was Amy being so nice to him? Sure Sonic’s other friends had been pretty nice to him… mostly but he barely saw Amy. Yet here she was treating him like an old friend. Pointing out things about Apatos that Super genuinely listened to. Trying to be careful of his boundaries. It was weird and Super couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. Of course Sonic was of no help at the moment, so Super was on his own to figure this out.

The two stopped for lunch and Amy insisted on paying. Super really didn’t try to protest; she was just so insistent and Super didn’t even know how to say otherwise anyway. Not like he really needed anything, but Amy insisted he eat a little something at least. Something about feeling bad if she was the only one eating. Super quietly ordered a chili dog, much to Amy’s apparent amusement.

“So do you like the same things Sonic does foodwise?” Amy asked after the waiter had left.

Super awkwardly shrugged. A few people had been giving the two odd looks, well mostly him, and it was sort of making him uncomfortable. It was a battle to not snap at them. “Some things are the same. We found out that I can handle spice way better than Sonic though.” He chuckled briefly before coughing into his hand to intentionally cut it off. “It was an interesting day.”

“I’d bet.” Amy smiled. “So, have you been enjoying your trip so far?”

“Yeah it’s been… nice to see the world.” Super hummed. He’d gotten to see a lot so far on his world trip with Sonic and Tails. Of course not everything had gone smoothly but for the most part it had been nice. Even with the periodic breaks he had to take to go train with Shadow.

Amy nodded but didn’t say anything else. Maybe she could tell that he didn’t really want to chat right now. Eventually their food came and Super enjoyed his chili dog while Amy had some local dish. He mentally hoped that Sonic was at least a little jealous of the food, if he was even paying any attention.

On their way out of the restaurant Amy glared at the people who had been shooting Super looks. That surprised him a lot, but it was kinda nice. Though he hadn’t even known she’d noticed since he didn’t say anything. Once they were out Super mentally prepared himself to survive the rest of this hang out; the first part had been pretty draining already. “Hey.” Amy caught his attention. He hummed. “I can tell you’re not really into this. If you want we can call it here.”

Once again the other hedgehog had surprised him. Was he really being so obvious though? He pushed the thought away, that didn’t matter. What did matter is that she’d given him an out and he should probably take it. Things were starting to get a bit overwhelming and he didn’t wanna risk his stress translating into him hurting someone. “I- yeah.” He sighed, still having no idea how to talk to her.

“Don’t worry about it.” She waved off his unspoken apology. “Just promise me one thing?”

“What’s that?” Super asked, curious.

“Make sure to let Sonic know that next time he can’t hide behind you to get out of something he promised to do.” Amy had a slightly intimidating energy about her and Super had the feeling that Sonic would deeply regret it if he didn’t keep his word next time.

He grinned. “Threatening someone? Now that’s something I can do.”

Amy shook her head, but there was a smile on her face. “Well it was nice getting to hang out with you Super. I hope you have a great time on the rest of your trip!” She waved as she walked off, leaving Super alone. He sighed deeply. He’d make sure Sonic would regret doing this but it hadn’t been too bad. Since he didn’t really want to think about the day too much right now he instead opted to plot some revenge on his casual walk back to the hotel they were staying at. Yeah, Sonic would live to regret this…

#flufftober2023 #day 13 #sonic the hedgehog #sonic fandom #fleetway sonic #amy rose #chaos uncontrolled au #ao3 link

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starsilversword · 3 months

Text

Man that was getting long so ill start a new one. Thanks @madam-of-lithuania

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope. I am named after an animal tho!

2. When was the last time you cried?

Uh. Like because I was genuinely emotional or because I was watching something sad and my brain was like: this is where people would cry. Cause I don't really feel sadness.

3. Do you have kids?

Gods no. Maybe one day in the future I'll adopt but I'm only in university rn.

4. What sports do you play/have played?

I used to do a lot of swimming, including 8 years of competative lifeguarding, never went competions but I was fairly good. Now I do Renbukai Karate. I'm a yellow belt! Oh and I did soccer when I was like 5.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Yes. I don't think I'm very good at it tho.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Their clothes and hair. Immense fashion judge here.

7. What's your eye colour?

Hazel!

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Don't some horror movies have happy endings tho? I like both.

9. Any talents?

Define talent, I'm a bit of a jack of all trades.

10. Where were you born?

The lower mainland of BC. (Fine, it's Surrey, you know, that place).

11. What are you hobbies?

I have too many. Mostly creative and performing arts stuff. I also enjoy knot tying. It's very relaxing.

12. Do you have any pets?

Right now I have 2 cats. Ravenpaw (named by my sibling) and Arwen (named by me).

13. How tall are you?

5 foot exact. I've done multiple tests using many different measuring tool. Or 152.4 cm.

14. Favourite subject in school?

Hmmm. It's hard to decide between Writing or Production. Back in high-school Social Studies, Gym and Spanish were my favs.

15. Dream Job?

To work in the film industry. And if that doesn't work out. Be a first mate or navigator because it's the captain who gets sued when things go wrong.

Tagging: @surfingthesealand @whywouldiknow-that and uh @blueberryrock

#tag game #get to know me #star talks #text post

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schrijverr · 1 year

Text

Life Is Ours, We Live It Our Way 13

Chapter 13 out of 18

Genderqueer Stevie with platonic soulmates Robin and Eddie living their best queer life.

In this chapter, Eddie, Robin and Stevie have a fun domestic night. The spring break of 1987 again starts with a grueling campaign, luckily the only exciting thing that night. But last year hasn’t left anyone fully, with Eddie having a nightmare, leading to him and Stevie having a midnight talk with Lucas. At least they have others to lean on.

On AO3.

Ships: None

Warnings: nightmare, smoking, guilt, ptsd and the misgendering that comes with not being out.

~~~~~~~~~~

Fun Nights

The next morning, Stevie wakes up well rested and calm. His night has been restful and he double enjoys laying in bed for a second, before sneaking out of Eddie’s arms to get started on breakfast for them.

She’s just finishing up the coffee when Eddie comes stumbling out of the room, his hair a mess and his eyes still half closed. He makes grabby hands at the coffee and Stevie laughs at him as she hands him a mug.

“You’re a hero, Stevie,” Eddie mutters, contently sipping his coffee and letting the steam warm his face.

Stevie finishes up breakfast and they both sit down. Eddie thanks for him making it then says: “You didn’t have to, you know. I was planning on making you breakfast after last night, but you’re such a morning person.”

“That’s nice, but it’s okay,” Stevie assures him. “I like it and I feel good, so I wanted to.”

“Yeah? You feel good, princess?” Eddie asks. It isn’t meant as teasing, Stevie can hear how genuine he is, but still she blushes and ducks her face, taking a big bite so she doesn’t have to reply yet.

Once he has swallowed, the blush is still there, but has lessened and he nods: “Uhm, yeah, I- I do. It was nice.”

“Good,” Eddie smiles, eyes crinkling as he digs further into his own breakfast. A few bites later he speaks up again. “I was joking about the full review thing yesterday, but- but uhm,” Eddie now looks a bit uncertain, as he quietly asks, “do you have more notes than ‘it was nice,’ maybe?”

And Stevie remembers that Eddie likely hasn’t put anyone under in about a year and Eddie is still a sensitive guy who wants to do right by people. He needs reassurance too.

“Yeah, sorry, of course,” Stevie replies, still a bit stilted and embarrassed about it. “It was good. I felt fuzzy and comforted. You were a steady presence. And since when are you so strong?”

Eddie laughs at the last part, but Stevie notes he looks more relaxed as he obnoxiously winks: “You like my strong mechanic’s arms, princess?”

“Oh shut up,” Stevie laughs, swatting a hand at Eddie. “I am honest and vulnerable and you’re laughing at me.”

“Sorry,” Eddie grins, obviously not sorry in the slightest. “I just didn’t realize you’d be into these.” He flexes.

“God, I need to start working out again,” Stevie groans, after appreciating Eddie’s arms in an objectifying way.

“Stevie, you’ve been running multiple miles each fucking Sunday,” Eddie says. “I don’t even know how you do that.”

“It makes Lucas happy not to run alone and it’s calming,” Stevie shrugs and it’s true. He likes being able to check in with Lucas, hear about the others, about what he’s worrying about and just spending time together without her feeling like she’s dumber than her friends.

Sport is something he can do and it’s nice to be able to share that with someone. He doesn’t mind that none of his other friends really do sports, but she can’t deny that she’s been happy to be able to run with Lucas and talk about the most recent games, though the latter can also be done with Wayne when he comes over for dinner.

“You’re doing enough to keep active, sweetheart,” Eddie says. “And, I don’t know, of course, but how happy would you be if you got jacked again? Like physical appearance wise? Or is it a thing you think you have to do?”

Stevie never really thought about that. Sport has always been encouraged throughout his childhood, both because it could get him into college and because it was a masculine thing to do. She has just been lucky that she likes sports. It’s fun and easy and creates camaraderie.

It was about the result, but only because it was expected to be about the result. But thinking about it now, Stevie doesn’t think that bulking up her shoulders and arms will make her happy.

“Huh,” he says after a second. “I hadn’t thought about that yet.”

Eddie nods, but doesn’t say anything, which Stevie is glad for. He doesn’t want to feel like Eddie is better at her gender than he is. And obviously Eddie won’t think that, he just made an observation that confronted Stevie with something he hadn’t thought about yet and pointed it out so he won’t get insecure. Eddie is being nice by pointing it out, not condescending, and Stevie appreciates that about him.

They’re quiet for a few beats, then Eddie asks: “So, yes to doing it again and me carrying you around?”

“Yeah, yes, uhm, I’d like that,” Stevie agrees, nodding awkwardly.

Again there is a beat of silence, before Eddie bursts out laughing clutching the table. His laughter has always been infectious, so Stevie smiles, questioning: “Why are you laughing?”

“Look at us,” Eddie snorts. “We’re a non-limerent gay man, a bisexual person with no gender, who have agreed to spend the rest of our lives with a lesbian woman in a platonic way. A future, I might add, that we’re planning around a group of teens we semi-adopted. And here we are, getting awkward about our BDSM relationship. That’s hysterical, Stevie.”

When Eddie puts it like that it is pretty fucking funny and Stevie nods with a grin, laughing with Eddie at the absurdity of their lives. So, he wheezes: “Why are we like this?”

“I don’t know!” Eddie exclaims gleefully.

They laugh for a little while longer, both looking like idiots as they sit at their table in their little kitchen, just dying in their breakfast.

Once they have finally calmed down, Stevie answers the question that set this in motion: “But, uhm, yeah, I’d be down to do this again. And yes, I would like you to carry me around.”

“Hell yeah,” Eddie grins. “I will sweep you off your feet now that you’ve given me permission.”

“Woe is me,” Stevie rolls his eyes, not really taking Eddie seriously, which is honestly his mistake, because Eddie is giving him a look, but doesn’t comment on it.

Instead Eddie says: “But, seriously, the doing in two weeks again unless something happens that makes you ask still sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Stevie nods. Not only does she feel rested and settled, but it had just been plain nice to be cared for and let Eddie decide for a night. To not have to worry or think for a little bit. Though one question still lingers, so he asks: “Hey, Eds?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” Eddie prompts.

“I- I got two strikes. What will happen if I mess up next time?” Stevie asks.

Eddie thinks about it, then shrugs: “I’m okay with only counting strikes per scene without carry over. I don’t want to punish you unwarranted, you know.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s- thanks for clearing it up,” Stevie agrees, still a bit awkward, but relieved to know the answer.

“Happy you asked,” Eddie says, the final words on the topic for now as he starts gathering their dishes while Stevie goes to take the first shower, as they both move into their morning routines.

And after that nothing really changes between them. If Stevie had been scared that everyone would see what she had done, then she shouldn’t have worried. The kids call for rides, Robin annoys him at work, Wayne just asks about their week at dinner and Joyce and Hopper don’t suddenly start berating him for being weak.

Nothing bad happens, he just feels more centered.

The only thing that does happen is that Eddie takes his ‘sweeping you off your feet’-comment seriously and Stevie finds himself swept up in big hugs, pulling him off the ground as Eddie swings him in a circle, much like Stevie does to El. He has also taken to slinging Stevie over his shoulder when he thinks that she’s taking too long getting ready.

Stevie complains about that last thing. Loudly. Doesn’t mean a single moment of it. Stevie loves physical affection. He adores it when Robin feels well enough for a hug and treasures her high fives and nudges or when she’ll hold his hand. She also loves the kids chittering around her excitedly and the hugs they’re willing to indulge in. So, he’s fucking on board with this development with Eddie, who has always been the most affectionate out of everyone in their group.

Maybe the new affection gets some eyebrows, but Eddie is good at making a comments to lighten the mood and after everything, no one will make Stevie feel shitty when he’s smiling like that when it happens.

Robin doesn’t even mention it on Tuesday when she comes over to eat. Stevie makes her favorite and they all eat around the table, snorting laughter at Robin’s impression of a rude customer that Eddie coincidentally also had to help a few days ago.

Once dinner is finished Robin insists on helping Eddie with the dishes. Stevie lies down on the couch a little, sleepily watching his two favorite people dance around like idiots while doing the dishes, both bouncing off each other as they go from topic to topic.

Stevie falls asleep on the couch, but is only dozing and wakes slowly at Robin’s touch when she says: “Hey, dingus, I brought my makeup, but if you’re too sleepy that’s fine.”

That wakes Stevie up. They have been failing to plan this for a while now with both of them being too on edge or tired to do so. But not tonight. She rubs the sleep out of her eyes and shakes her head: “No, I’m awake.”

“Yay,” Robin grins. “I mean, I’m not the best at makeup, like it’s not a thing I do often, but I can do it. But I won’t be like Madame Tucker, who can transform your whole face or anything, just me messing around. But I do have experience in messing around on my own face and I at least know some things.”

“Robs, you’re going to be fine,” Stevie says, gripping her shoulders and looking into her eyes. “I don’t care about how good it looks. It’s about the experience too.”

That makes Robin smile softly, looking way more sure than before. She offers: “We could do each other’s makeup.”

Stevie’s eyes sparkle and he nods excitedly, doing each other’s makeup is such a stereotype, but it sounds exciting to Stevie. Connecting to someone without having to put on a tough guy act and playing with makeup is fun, even if she’s not good yet.

They giddily retreat to the bedroom, dragging an extra chair with them.

Robin gets one of her tapes from the collection and puts it on as Stevie clears away the last of the clutter on the vanity. Eddie brings them some drinks and says that he’s going to read on the couch, but that he wants to see the results and to have fun.

To the opening notes of Total Eclipse of the Heart, which makes them both giggle, Robin starts applying the makeup.

The brushes are soft against her face and Robin’s brow is pinched, concentrated on what she’s doing. However, once she gets into it she starts talking, commenting on what she’s doing.

Stevie hasn’t done much experimentation himself, except for the mascara and lip gloss, being comfortable enough with the latter to wear it around town when the mood takes him. So, Robin’s tips about blush, eye shadow, liners and lipstick are very welcome.

She gives her a Madonna inspired look, taking cover of her single La Isla Bonita as inspiration, which is only half successful, but so much fun.

In the end, Stevie looks cool. Not at all like the more soft and sweet look she usually goes for or just the preppy one he has always had, but tougher. With a grin she opens the doors of her closet sorting through Eddie’s clothes until she finds a cropped metal shirt and puts it on.

For the hair, he takes over, styling it into blown out, semi-mohawk he’d seen in a magazine a while back. While Robin digs around the closet for a bottom to match the look.

As she digs through her closet, she sighs: “I wish I could stay here all the time, you know. It’s so much more comfortable here. And I know that I’m here every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, along with Saturday if I can manage, but having time here just makes it a bigger contrast to life at home, you know.”

“I know,” Stevie sighs sympathetically. He remembers how extra empty his parent’s house used to feel whenever he’d spend time at the Byers house or with the kids.

“Like I want to play with makeup and it not be a big thing about me embracing how to be a lady and I want to wear my comfortable clothes and I want to get excited about college without being reminded that a housewife is also a good option for the future,” Robin says. “The only pro is that they’ve gotten off my back about my sexuality by dating you. They fucking love you.”

Stevie hums at that, thinking, before offering: “I can try and get in some dinners with your parents on Mondays. Not weekly, but more often. We can work in the idea of you playing housewife here and me feeling guilty because you don’t even live here and are already taking the role. If we play it right, we can get you to move.”

“That might work,” Robin says excitedly. “But then I’d be sleeping here, who knows what can happen out of wedlock?” she mocks that last part and Stevie snorts.

“I can give you a promise ring,” she shrugs.

“Really?” Robin says, looking torn between amused and like it can work.

“Yeah, why not, it’s not like I have any other prospects in my life and I’m starting to think that I don’t want those either,” Stevie replies, casually.

“You – Stevie Harrington, who flirts with everyone – don’t think you want to get back out there once we can drop this charade?” Robin asks, sounding disbelieving.

“Nah,” Stevie says after a second. “Maybe if someone walks into my life, I’ll take it, but I’m not going to look for it. I have you and Eddie and the kids. I don’t really need more than that. And after everything, I don’t know if I can find someone to relate to, you know.”

“And you’d be okay with that?” Robin asks. “Never loving someone like that.”

“I think I love people plenty,” Stevie shrugs. “And I’m not going to swear it off or anything, just stop looking for it. If there is someone meant for me, then I’ll run into them, but the rejection and shitty dates feel kinda stupid after a while.”

“God, wish I could relate to having so many dates that they start to feel stupid,” Robin sighs, before shrugging: “But I guess that makes sense.”

“You’ll find someone, I’m sure. College will open a whole new can of babes,” Stevie assures her, the word choice making her grin.

Then she gets back to the earlier topic and says: “But if you could try to convince my parents that living here is good for me, then I’ll owe you.”

“I will and you won’t owe me, Robs,” Stevie rolls her eyes. “I want to see you be happy and safe, you won’t owe me for that.”

“Fuck, Stevie, how are you so nice and pretty, fuck you,” Robin says wiping her eyes.

“What?” Stevie chuckles a bit in disbelief and bashfulness.

“I’m not attracted to you, you’re my dingus, but the makeup is really bringing out your pretty side,” she shrugs. “I just wanted to compliment you, but the honesty crept up so I felt like I had to deflect, but I still wanted it to be nice, so it’s a double compliment with a confusion factor to keep you on your toes and prevent us from becoming emotional. Plus, I found pants for your outfit.”

Stevie blinks a few times, mentally working through Robin’s word vomit. It’s actually really sweet, but he drops it with just a smile, before asking: “Pants?”

“Yeah, they’re my pants, but they should fit,” Robin tells her. “They’re baggy and black. Please, they fit the vibe so well.”

“Sure,” Stevie gives in and tries on the pants. He has to admit Robin is right. It looks cool and gives him an interesting figure.

“See,” Robin exclaims gleefully when she sees her inspect herself in the mirror.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right,” Stevie gives in. “Now, it’s my turn, walk me through it.”

They get back to it, going through tapes until they find a soundtrack for Stevie doing Robin’s makeup with her walking him through things he hasn’t done much yet or even at all.

Robin’s look is a little softer than Stevie’s and she cackles like a maniac when she pulls out Stevie’s soft pink sweater and the skirt she got for her Halloween costume that Stevie stole. She looks very unlike herself and it’s hysterical.

“Oh my god, Eddie’s gonna piss himself,” Robin laughs as they stand next to each other and look into the mirror.

Stevie laughs and agrees. They stumble out of their bedroom towards the kitchen where Eddie is on the couch with a book. He obviously hears them coming, since the both of them are giggling like idiots.

“What’s all this fuss ab-” Eddie looks up and stops his sentence, looking up for a second. Then stopping as he spots them.

“So what do you think, Eds?” Robin grins at his shocked expression, both of them bursting out in laughter when he can’t find anything to say.

“Cat caught your tongue?” Stevie winks with a cheeky grin.

“Is it too soon to make an ‘I feel like I’m in another dimension’-joke?” Eddie finally says.

“Eddie!” Robin exclaims but she’s laughing too.

“Sorry, sorry,” Eddie grins, putting his book away. “Come on, let me see. This is so weird. It’s like you’re still you, but changed personalities. What the fuck.”

Robin bounces forwards and dramatically drapes herself over Eddie as she puts on a high little voice and says: “Am I not a proper lady, Edward? I promise I can lead you from this life of sin. This does not have to be you.”

“Shut up,” Eddie snorts as he catches her, before squinting at her and gasping: “Holy shit, I can see it. Ahh, this is weird. Stop. Bring my Robbie back.”

He shakes her as she laughs and Stevie takes out the polariod he brought and quickly snaps a picture of them. They startle at the flash, but the picture is already taken, their smiles frozen on the film both looking a little blurry.

Stevie shakes it with a grin as it develops and Eddie rolls his eyes, while Robin rolls off his lap and asks: “So, that’s your opinion? It looks wrong?”

“No, don’t twist my words, fair maiden,” Eddie whines. “You look beautiful, just very lady-like and proper, which is a contrast to your personality.”

“Are you saying I don’t have manners!” Robin gasps, faux-offended.

“I just saw you try to monologue with spaghetti still hanging out your mouth, Buckley,” Eddie shoots back unimpressed.

Robin stills for a moment, then shrugs and grins. “Touche,” she says. “I was more for shock factor, the real kicker is Stevie. She looks amazing, don’t you think!”

“He does,” Eddie agrees, smiling and looking at Stevie.

His gaze is heavy on Stevie, who now realizes she looks a bit like a rockstar’s wet dream in the metal outfit and Eddie’s stolen shirt. It wasn’t intentional, but Stevie knows how to tease and that she looks good. He strikes a silly pose, doing the horns, and asks: “How do I look?”

“Stevie, princess, if I could love you I’d fall right now,” Eddie tells him dramatically. “You, fair knight, are really hot like that.”

Stevie giggles at the comment, but Robin asks: “If you could love?”

Eddie shoots her a look and Stevie quiets for a bit, then Eddie puts on his fake bravado and says: “While I am a flaming homosexual and know what I want in bed, I’m afraid it stays in my bed. I’m non-limerent.”

“Ohh, I read about that in one of the zines Madame Tucker send us,” Robin says. “Thank you for telling me. That’s cool.”

The words relax both Eddie and Stevie with Eddie grinning: “I am the coolest.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Robin snorts, rolling her eyes. “Just compliment me on how I did Stevie’s makeup.”

“I already said it was hot, you fisher,” Eddie ribs.

“No, you said Stevie was hot, my handiwork has gone entirely without validation,” Robin pouts playfully.

“And we can’t let that happen,” Eddie agrees, their attention turning back to Stevie, who has been watching them with an amused expression.

She gets pulled onto Eddie’s lap like Robin had been, but instead of dicking around, Eddie inspects his face closely like he truly is some sort of makeup critic, humming here and there. Without her glasses, Stevie can’t see much from the left, so Eddie makes sure to tell her before he’s cupping her cheek so that he can turn Stevie’s head around to inspect from all angles.

Robin is giggling next to Eddie, thinking the whole thing hilarious. Stevie also finds it a bit funny, but keeps up a displeased act as he asks: “Everything up to snuff, inspector?”

“You sound like a bad porno,” Eddie snorts.

“Dude, what kind of pornos do you even watch?” Stevie shoots back.

“Don’t answer that!” Robin screams. “I don’t want to know Eddie’s porno preferences.”

“My expression is being stifled here,” Eddie huffs.

“Your expression should be stifled,” Stevie deadpans, Robin vehemently agreeing.

“You two are so mean to me,” Eddie pouts, but he doesn’t mean it.

“Just tell Robs you like her makeup, Munson,” Stevie says.

“As you wish,” Eddie replies, before turning to Robin and saying: “Your makeup is very nice, I like it, Robin,” in the fakest voice he can manage.

Robin slaps his arm lightly and says: “You’re so rude.”

“How am I the rude one!” Eddie guffaws.

“God, both of you are like four years old,” Stevie injects before Robin can reply to that. The comment has the intended effect of making him their common enemy as they simultaneously tell him to shut up, before looking at each other and laughing.

Once the laughter is out of their system, Eddie says: “No, but seriously, Robs, this is really good. I thought you said you were bad at makeup.”

“A lady must keep her secrets,” Robin winks. “But thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah, just strike a pose together, I wanna have a picture of you two,” Eddie says, taking the polaroid that had been discarded on the table.

“Oehh, yeah, photo shoot,” Robin exclaims delighted, dragging Stevie with her.

They likely take it way too seriously, but they end up with a few nice pictures. One is Stevie recreating the album cover, the other one is Robin and Stevie back to back striking spy-poses, there is one of Robin alone sitting on a chair like a proper lady and one of Stevie doing a pretty good imitation of Eddie as she lounges on the chair, as well as one of Stevie in the chair, Robin standing behind her, both posing liked ages monarchs.

However, the one that ends up on the fridge is taken later in the evening. Robin and Stevie have collapsed on the floor, their heads next to each other, but bodies going the opposite way. Eddie hangs over them and calls out: “Smile!”

Both of them barely manage, Stevie’s eyes half-mast and a lazy grin, Robin just keeping her eyes closed as she smiles, throwing up a peace sign.

When Eddie is putting it on the fridge, Stevie asks: “Isn’t it a bit much for the fridge? Shouldn’t this be a vanity picture?”

“If you’re uncomfortable with it, we can move it, sweetheart,” Eddie assures her. “But with Robin looking so out of character, I think people will see it as something that doesn’t mean anything. A joke, maybe.”

“Maybe,” Stevie sighs, a bit sad.

“I know it sucks that we have to try and twist this,” Eddie says sadly.

“One day the people that truly care will know that that’s you, Stevie,” Robin rubs his shoulder. “I promise.”

“Thanks,” Stevie smiles softly, studying the picture again before nodding. “It looks good on the fridge.”

“Hell yeah,” Robin cheers. “Now gimme the other ones. For the album.”

The album is something she started after they made plans for the future together. Apparently her parents have documented their lives excessively and she claims that it is nice to have your history, all the good memories, together to view whenever you please.

Eddie, whose parents abandoned him and whose uncle could never really afford to have his childhood documented and Stevie, whose only childhood pictures were official portraits to hang in the house to project a family, both nearly cried when she showed them the part of their trip to the city that she had made earlier when she pitched the idea for the album.

She’s still in the pink outfit, but sitting on the floor at the coffee table as she sticks the pictures into the album, tongue sticking out in concentration.

The dates are written on the pictures themselves, alongside the location. However, funny stories or context is written on the page itself. And Robin forces both Eddie and Stevie to write something too, making it truly a collection of them.

However, the picture of Robin and Eddie together isn’t in the album. Stevie puts that one on his vanity, glad his mother was vain enough to put a big mirror on her itinerary, so that Stevie now can put a lot of pictures there before the view’s obstructed.

That night – after Robin and Stevie have taken off the makeup and changed into pajamas, Robin squealing about how cute the pink ones are – they crawl into bed together.

Stevie has gotten used to Eddie cuddling up behind her and she loves the safety it brings and how the nightmares are less bad. But there are nights when he needs to know that Robin is okay. When dreams are filled with Russians and Stevie doesn’t know where she is. So, having her hand safely in his, will always give him the best rest.

They all sleep the best when all three of them are there.

In hindsight, it’s probably that night with Eddie coming out and them all laughing that makes Robin not question the sudden sweeping off feet’s that Eddie is doing. She is the only one to think of either of them being gay together and Stevie not being with her. It’s nice that she doesn’t ask, that Stevie can explore more before looping her into this new vulnerability.

And so the weeks start to pass with winter slowly starting to turn into spring with Stevie and Eddie falling into a routine of every other Sunday, while Stevie spends some Monday’s at the Buckley house trying to convince Mr. and Mrs. Buckley to let Robin move out. They think they’re getting close.

When the 20th of March arrives, spring break also arrives, which is ushered in with the first DnD night of the break as well as the final battle of this campaign.

All the parents have agreed to let the kids sleepover at their home and all of them are buzzing, because Eddie has promised that their final battle will be long and they will be staying up late to try and beat it and they will suffer while battling it.

Eddie has been religiously keeping his notes away from Stevie, even though he knows she won’t peak, just in case she spots something. A fact that hasn’t stopped the kids from grilling him alongside Eddie in the hopes he has a grain of information.

Stevie has made all sort of snacks and the two of them have taken an afternoon to get the living room into the mood with candles and lamps all around to bask the room into a soft glow.

After school Stevie comes to pick up half of the excitable kids, while Eddie is waiting to take the other half. Even Max and El are coming, not wanting to miss out on a slumber party and Robin also hangs around as always.

They’re all so excited about it and Stevie can’t stop smiling. These are his kids, you know. And they’re getting visibly older and they won’t always need him. Hell, some of them are already learning how to drive. But in moments like these, they’re still the little nerds she first met all the way back in ‘83.

The party crowds around the coffee table as they do each Friday – the kitchen table too small to seat them all at, thus taken over by Max, El and Robin – and get out their stuff.

And so, the final part of their adventure begins.

Eddie leads them through a haunted forest that only Stevie recognizes as being Upside Down inspired, since he is the only of the players, who ventured that deep into the dimension as well. He doesn’t comment, however, because it’s nice to be able to pretend to walk through that place without truly having to fear it. It lessens the impact of that forest to have Dustin and Mike arguing about what path to take as background track instead of distant creatures making noise.

When they get to a guard, which is more a live statue (like the Greek ones, Eddie explains) come to life, Dustin tries to wingman Will, something he has been doing more frequently, claiming that if it’s hard to have a real life boyfriend in Hawkins then Will should at least have a fantasy boyfriend in DnD.

Stevie has noted that Mike always looks a little displeased, but the boy hasn’t said anything about it yet, though his friendship with Will has gotten much stronger again.

Then they finally make it to the final battle. The ground has just burst open, a giant creature crawling out, and everyone has rolled imitative, when Eddie claps his hands and grins: “Let’s order pizza and take a small break.”

The table bursts out in protests and Stevie watches Eddie revel in the chaos. She herself just rolls her eyes and goes to order pizza, already knowing everyone’s order.

After that he goes to sit with Robin, who is reading, while El and Max are giggling over some magazine. He says: “Just ordered pizza, should be here soon. What are you two doing?”

“Looking at hair styles,” Max says.

El nods: “This one has guides for braiding.” Then she looks a bit sad. “My hair is getting better, but it is still short.”

“It’ll grow out, promise,” Stevie tells her sympathetically, knowing first hand how much hair can do for a person.

“We wanted to practice on each other,” Max informs Stevie and it breaks his heart that El can’t have her hair practiced on yet. What those assholes did to her. In her anger, she misses Max’s gleam, before she suggests: “Hey, Steve, your hair is pretty long…”

And even if Stevie wanted to say no – which he never would – the excited gasp of El would have discouraged him. She excitedly says: “We could do a braid train! Like in the movies.”

“STEVE!” Dustin yells from the couch. “We’re talking strategy, come here.”

Stevie looks between the pleading girls and the group around the coffee tables, then says: “If we can form the train over there, go nuts. But I think they’ll skin me if I don’t get back.” With a mutter she adds, “Despite the fact that I just got them dinner.”

The two giggle at that but beam up at him as they hurry to the table, the magazine in hand.

Max sits behind Stevie with El behind her, the magazine on the ground next to them, though El floats it up with her powers whenever she wants a closer look. They get to work and Stevie focuses on the strategy talk.

For a second it looked like Mike might comment on it, but then his eyes flick to El and he realizes why Stevie is getting her hair braided, so he shuts up.

By the time the pizza arrives they have a strategy and Stevie’s hair is braided, and they’re all ready for a little break. The delivery guy is someone Stevie used to semi-know in school. Enough that he greets her with a smile only to look confused by the scene behind her. She’s gotten used to it and it’s a little funny to see the confused looks at the company she keeps now. How the Harrington name has tanked in esteem now that her parents have left town.

They all fully step away from what they’re doing to eat the pizza. The DnD players are naturally buzzing to go back to their game, however, they manage to talk about spring break plans and the last week of school, only getting up immediately when they’re done to sit back in their seats and wait for Eddie to finish.

Both Stevie and Eddie get practically heckled when they try and eat in peace. With Eddie yelling out: “We’re getting old! Let me eat slowly or I’ll get cramps,” which earns them fake gags and peace to finish dinner.

Then Eddie sweeps them up into the heaviest combat they’ve had to date. It is grueling and they’re slowly starting to realize that most, if not all, will not make it.

One by one, their healers go down as Eddie’s eyes get more manic and gleeful. Though going down is not stopping them from calling out things they should do to the players still in the game.

It’s the most exciting thing since last year.

The commotion is enough to draw the girls from their table as cheerleaders alongside their fallen friends. Robin is behind Stevie, massaging her shoulders like some sort of box coach as she rolls the dice. El clapping every time, even if the roll is shit. Max just shit talks them, even if she can’t read the dice.

In the end, it’s just Stevie and Erica vs. Eddie’s creation, a dragon. Stevie decides to heal Lady Applejack and stay in position, taking an attack of opportunity so that Erica won’t be the one hit and has next turn to roll, hoping she rolls well enough and it won’t be a TPK and they won’t have to re-fight this boss with new characters.

Eddie dramatically narrates: “The dragon lets out a might roar and it’s claw comes down toward Sir Stephen, who can’t do anything but watch as it draws near. The healing magic is leaving his outstretched fingers towards Lady Applejack as the claw digs into his back. Sir Stephen gasps, wordlessly, then collapses. As he lays there, Stevie, does he say anything?”

“Uhm,” Stevie thinks for a second, then does his character voice: “‘Live for me, for us, Lady Applejack.’”

“The words are choked out between the blood and barely heard by Lady Applejack, the last standing against your foe,” Eddie says, everyone tearing up a bit. They’ve been saying goodbye to all their characters and it has been a high and a low.

For Stevie, it’s nice to say goodbye to Sir Stephen, who first allowed him to explore doing something other than what was expected and spending time with her kids, learning what they loved and getting into it herself. However, she has learned so much about herself since making Sir Stephen and while she isn’t sure if she has the courage to play Lady Stevie next, his next character will be an updated version.

“Lady Applejack,” Eddie asks, “what do you do? You are surrounded by the husks of your friends, who have given their lives so that you might have a chance to take this fucker down. This dragon, who has been making life miserable for you and your party. This dragon that is now barreling towards you at full speed.”

“I let out a loud battle cry, jump and stick both my daggers in his eye,” Erica says.

“Roll acrobatics,” Eddie tells her.

Everyone holds their breath as she rolls. If it’s too low, she won’t even get to attack at all. She the room is quiet and tense as she shakes, then rolls.

14.

It’s the lowest she has rolled for acrobatics this entire battle, making it a 17 with her modifiers. The entire group looks at Eddie, who basks in it for a second, before he goes: “You make the jump. Roll two attacks.”

There is a sigh of relief as Erica snatches up the two dice and rolls them at the same time, too anxious for theatrics.

“Both hit!” Eddie exclaims, bouncing, now also too excited to see where it goes to try and have a dramatic pause for effect.

They all dive to give Erica their lucky dice so that she can have the best roll, even if Max tells them it’s just stupid superstition. This time Erica does drag it out a bit. From Dustin’s close observation, there could be room for error here.

Once the dice are rolled, they all lean over, seeing who can do the quickest mental math. Which is Dustin, screaming out the number, before all their eyes whip to Eddie.

“Lady Applejack runs towards the dragon and jumps, successfully landing on its eye socket and holding onto its lashes for dear life,” Eddie starts, everyone hanging from his lips. “She lets go to plunge one dagger into its eye. It gets lodged there, serving as a handhold to push in the other, which disappears into the eye, never to be seen again.”

“Gross,” Robin mutters, getting many elbows in the side at her interruption.

“The dragon lets out a mighty roar.” Eddie roars. “Like it can’t believe what is happening. It halts, stumbles, staggers, then falls onto the ground.” Everyone cheers. “Still hanging onto her dagger is Lady Applejack, alone in the rubble, but victorious.”

They all continue to cheer, Stevie clapping Erica on the back, before Lucas hoists her onto his shoulder, getting everyone to chant. This makes Eddie lean in and say: “He gets the sports chanting from you.”

Stevie laughs, before she says: “That was a brutal end, Eds. I can’t believe you killed everyone but Lady Applejack.”

“I didn’t kill everyone,” Eddie replies. “If you were better, you could have lived.”

“God, you’re a dick,” Stevie punches his arm.

“Maybe,” Eddie shrugs. “But from what I hear these kids have been playing these characters since middle school. They could use a chance to reinvent themselves. Besides, I think Sir Stephen has run his course too, don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, I do,” Stevie agrees, because Sir Stephen has been ready to perish for months.

Before they can continue the conversation, Eddie gets swarmed by the kids, yelling at him for that ending as well as jumping in excitement, intermixed with questions about what this means for the next campaign, which Eddie agreed to start that break.

Once he has managed to calm them, he says: “Okay, so you did all die.” “Uhm, most of them, not me.” “Sorry, most of you died. Now, for the next campaign, you are allowed to bring back your characters, however, I felt they all had their arcs completed and it’s time to reinvent yourself. You can also make a new character and keep the names, that’s fine too.”

The kids nod and he turns to Erica: “I know you lived.” She nods and flips her hair. “But you are also free to make a new character if you want, but Lady Applejack is more than welcome to find new companions.”

“I’m gonna keep adventuring with Lady Applejack,” she decides. “Sir Stephen’s last wish was for her to live and I’m going to live.”

“Hell yeah! That’s what I like to hear,” Eddie cheers. “So, it is already quite late, buttttt I do have new character sheets, if you guys want to stay up a little later and get started on them. Erica, you can level up, the rest of you, just make a level 16 character.”

They unanimously make a decision and snatch the new character sheets out of Eddie’s hands, already chattering about their plans for their new characters.

Eddie and Stevie watch them fondly for a moment, before they start to do the picking up. Robin joins in and winks: “Gotta live up to that housewife story we’re selling,” which makes the two other laugh.

Stevie has just put down a stack of pizza boxes when Max appears beside him. She looks tired and tugs on his sleeve, as she says: “I need to go lie down.”

“Of course,” Stevie says. “Here, come. You, El and Erica are staying in Eddie’s room. Don’t worry, we cleaned the sheets.” And Eddie hasn’t slept there once.

Max smiles and softly thanks him as she ushers her to the bathroom alongside El, who caught up to them the moment she noticed what was happening. Stevie calls Erica to go to sleep too. She doesn’t have to make a character and as the youngest, Stevie wants her in bed now.

The three brush their teeth and say goodbye to the others, though Lucas laughs at Erica in that way only big brothers do. While Stevie loves the kids, he snaps his fingers and sternly tells them: “Don’t laugh yet. You get one hour extra, then you all go to bed as well.”

The boys groan, even if Stevie can see the sleepiness already tugging at them. Erica sticks out her tongue at that.

“Mama Stevie,” Eddie laughs as she corrals them to bed, while Stevie rolls her eyes.

“You three set for the night?” Stevie asks, standing in the doorway. “Or do you need anything? A glass of water?”

“We are good, thank you, Steve,” El answers.

“Alrighty,” Stevie nods. “Sleep well.”

“Good night!” the three echo back.

Eddie and Robin are doing the dishes when he gets back. Eddie leans back and asks: “They all good back there?”

“Yeah, Max got tired,” Stevie explains. “I’m honestly glad she was able to stay the whole night. She has been doing better lately.”

“She has,” Eddie agrees. “Wanna supervise the shitheads there?”

“You two don’t need help?” Stevie asks.

“Stevie, we can clean a few glasses and bring some empty pizza boxes to the trash,” Robin rolls her eyes and shoos her to the kids.

Reluctantly she leaves, but that reluctance disappears the moment he sits down and he’s bombarded with the new backgrounds for their characters. Will is giving his new character a husband, telling this to Stevie with a smile, while Dustin is excitedly talking about trying to convince Eddie to let him have a sentient instrument, Lucas wants to make a fighter with a fantasy sports celebrity background and Mike is going the underdog leader route.

They ask about Stevie’s new character and he shrugs: “Haven’t thought much. Maybe I’ll play as a barbarian.”

“That’s so cool!” Dustin gushes. “Like Eddie told us about with the bat, you can channel that! Mike has always been our paladin, you can be our barbarian! That makes so much sense!”

“That’s a yes to the barbarian idea?” Stevie laughs, the four of them nodding quickly.

All of them continue to talk for a little while longer. The sound exploding a bit again when Eddie and Robin join them again. Eddie draping himself over the couch, while Robin wraps herself around Stevie. However, Eddie doesn’t leave them alone, throwing his legs over them.

It’s pushing half past midnight by the time Stevie decides he’s ordering everyone to go to sleep before they’re too tired to help set up themselves.

They complain of course, but Eddie backs him up, which makes that they help, but complain that they have to sleep on cushions on the floor and the couch. However, they accept it when Eddie and Stevie point out that mattresses are expensive and all their money just went to pizza and they have other bills, so they should have just brought their own air mattress, like they suggested when they invited them all.

So, they set up and brush their teeth in companionable silence. Then, as they all lie down, Mike sets them all off by asking: “But where is Eddie sleeping?”

The three of them share looks, before Robin shrugs: “He’s sharing with us. You twerps are taking over the rest and we’re too old to sleep on anything but a bed.”

“And you two don’t mind?” Dustin asks, looking between Stevie and Robin.

At that Stevie cracks, laughs and raises a brow: “Dude, do you think we’re going to fuck with everyone in here? You’re sleeping next to your friends, so are we. It’s not like the girls are doing anything weird and they’re sharing a bed.”

“Oh god, you should look at your face right now,” Eddie cackles, before dragging Stevie and Robin with him as he calls back: “Go to sleep, adventurers.”

They’re still giggling a bit about it when they get to their room with Robin exclaiming: “I can’t believe your kid just practically asked if we were going to fuck.”

“Fucking Dustin,” Eddie snorts.

“He’s been getting better,” Stevie points out. “He just has this weird fixation on my relationship with Robin. I think because he thinks he knew before we did.”

“Oh yeah, he was pushing you before we got kidnapped by the Russians,” Robin agrees, changing into her pajamas.

“He did,” Stevie agrees, sliding out her jeans

“It still fucks me up when you two mention that so casually,” Eddie says as he shrugs off his shirt and pants.

Both Stevie and Robin shrug at that and give a grin. Robin puts on her stolen shirt of Stevie that she has made into a sleep shirt and sport shorts, while Eddie puts on the plaid pants that he wears to bed. Stevie fingers the pink fabric of her pajamas that have become a favorite since she first dared to wear them.

A heavy hand claps his shoulder and Eddie smiles sadly and says: “If you’re not comfortable, then you don’t have to wear it. But I think they’ll be cool.”

“They probably will,” Stevie sighs. “But it will be a thing and I don’t want it to be a thing. Tonight was fun, I don’t want to risk tainting it if the thing is hurtful, no matter how unintentional, you know.”

“Resolutions can be saved for another day,” Robin calls out. “Get comfortable and get in bed. I’m cold and you’re my personal heater.”

That cheers Stevie up and she steals a pair of Eddie’s sleep pants and pulls on an old track meet shirt, before getting in bed. At peace with his soulmates around him.

Eddie has a nightmare during the night. Eddie’s nightmares are silent. He doesn’t wake up screaming like Stevie sometimes does or cry like Robin. Eddie shakes and jerks a bit, rolls off the bed from time to time.

If it were not for the fact that Eddie is always attached to Stevie’s back, he wouldn’t have noticed, however, he knows exactly what’s happening when the shaking wakes him.

“Hey, Eddie, Eds, wake up, come on,” Stevie twists in his arms, so that she can cup his face and gently talk until Eddie lets out a small gasp and opens his eyes. Then she hugs him and murmurs: “You’re okay, Eds. It was just a dream. Fucking shit dream, but a dream.”

With a wet chuckle Eddie thanks him for waking him and snuggles back into Stevie chest still shaking.

“Wanna talk about it?” Stevie asks and Eddie shakes his head no. “Smoke?” she offers, now Eddie nods.

Eddie slides out of the bed, making it easier for Stevie to follow without disturbing Robin, who’s still sleeping peacefully. If they were going to drink tea, he would wake her too, but they’re going to smoke, since there are kids in the kitchen, so he just leaves a note.

They tiptoe past the kids and make their way to the front porch, where they prefer to sit. The blanket they usually keep there is inside to keep Will warm, so they huddle close as they share a cigarette.

“I should have put on a shirt,” Eddie says. “Fuck, my nipples are cold.”

Stevie shrugs her own one off and hands it to him with an eyeroll: “You’re lucky I run hot.”

“It’s homophobic that you’re putting me in a sports shirt,” Eddie tells him, but he pulls it on before Stevie can take it back.

“Eddie, I’m literally also queer,” Stevie says exasperated.

“And yet you’re being a good christian and waiting for marriage with Robin,” Eddie replies, unable to keep a straight face as both try to muffle their laughter to not wake the kids inside.

They’ve lit up their second cigarette and are halfway through when the door opens. Both turn to see a sleepy Lucas standing there. He’s rubbing his eyes and squinting. “Eddie? Steve?”

“Yeah, kid,” Eddie says. “It’s us.

“Are you okay, Sinclair?” Stevie asks.

“Oh, uhm, yeah, I just- I heard sound outside and I had to make sure, you know, that it- that it wasn’t…” he trails off but they both know what he meant. He had to make sure it wasn’t those jocks coming for them again.

“I get it,” Stevie says softly, taking the cigarette and stubbing it as he beckons Lucas. “Here, sit with us for a bit. It helps.”

Relieved that he is invited without having to ask, Lucas quickly comes over, Eddie and Stevie moving so he can sit between them. Eddie throwing an arm over his shoulder once he has sat down on the step.

“Do you have to go and check often?” Stevie asks gently, keeping her tone non-judgmental.

Lucas doesn’t look at either of them, shrugs and mumbles: “I mean, sometimes.”

“You don’t have to talk about it, but we’re both here for you. The people inside are here for you. We all have our moments,” Stevie tells him. “Me and Eddie aren’t out here, because we love smoking in the middle of the night so much.”

“Thanks,” Lucas says after a second, then goes on: “It’s just- I’m- I’m the sporty one, I can fight the best, at school I’m the one they can hide behind. I have an in with the cooler guys so they don’t get picked on as much. But I’ve already failed them once. What if they really need me again and I fail again?”

And fuck if Stevie isn’t intimately familiar with that fear, that fear of not being enough, of not being on time next time, the fear of not keeping everyone safe.

Eddie obviously knows this too, because he sends Stevie a questioning look as he hugs Lucas closer, inquiring if Stevie knows what to say now.

“Sinclair- Lucas,” Stevie starts. “I get it, truly I do. But you did not fail. Trust me. You fought to the bitter end and everyone made it. You did not give up and you did not hesitate. Just because you lost that fight, doesn’t mean you failed.”

“But Max got hurt,” Lucas says. “Erica got hurt. I sleep in her room sometimes, because she gets scared of someone finding her. That’s unfair.”

Stevie’s heart is breaking at Lucas’ confession. And she wraps an arm around him as well and agrees: “It is unfair, Lucas, it’s so unfair. El deserved to grow up better, you kids and Robin deserved to not get dragged into it, Eddie didn’t deserve what happened to him. It is unfair and you’re allowed to be upset about it. But you don’t get to think you didn’t do enough, or that you failed. I have lost almost every fight I’ve been in. Do you think I didn’t do enough? That I failed?”

“No, but-”

“How is Billy beating the shit out of me any different?” Stevie counters before Lucas can say something. “It’s not. He got his hands on you and he wasn’t supernatural. You fought Carver while Vecna was gunning for Max. That’s two vs. one. That’s already not a fair fight, but you fought it and you ensured Max is alive and breathing in that room down the hall today. You did enough, Lucas, you did enough. Trust me.”

Silent tears leak down Lucas’ face and all Eddie and Stevie can do now, is hold him, while Eddie agrees with Stevie and Stevie whispers soft comforts.

They hold him for five minutes, until he’s calmed down. Voice still a little shaky as he says: “Thank you, I- I needed that.”

“It’s what we’re here for,” Eddie replies, bumping his shoulder softly.

“And if anyone give you trouble at school, you can tell us too,” Stevie adds. “You’ve been through enough not to deal with it and I don’t mind showing up with my bat. My reputation already sucks, I can fight some high schoolers.”

Lucas laughs at that and they’re both relieved to see him smile again. “I think I’m good, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

“You think you can try sleeping again?” Stevie asks.

“Yeah, I think so,” Lucas says. “Sorry for barging in on you.”

“Don’t apologize,” Eddie tells him sternly.

“Our door is always open,” Stevie agrees.

They softly say goodnight and sneak back to their sleeping places. As they lie in bed again, Eddie whispers to Stevie’s neck: “I noticed you didn’t include yourself on your list, princess. You know you didn’t deserve it either, right?”

“I’m working on it,” Stevie whispers back.

“Good,” Eddie nods, hugging him closer. Then softly, Eddie says: “Thank you for waking me up and going outside with me.”

“Of course,” Stevie says, because Eddie doesn’t need to thank her. And she knows he knows that, but it’s just who he is. It brings a smile to her lips and with that smile, she falls asleep again.

A/N:

This is your friendly reminder that only the people involved in actions and relations can decide what intent behind those are <3

Also the fic had been lacking in Robin, sorry, I hope this chapter is making it up! (though to be fair, it made sense for her not to be in that last chapter lmao)

Btw, I’m really soft about the idea of the three of them being old and having queer youth around them and being mentors and just having that album to show their happiness despite everything and kldsdfgk let me cry in peace y’all

Also also, my boy Lucas deserves the world and oh my god, I wanna hug him so bad, like can u imagine the guilt this kid has? Heartbreaking.

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