#i'll try to answer to all of them today but it's gonna be hard since i got peoples coming over in the evening like– ew... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cyberkinks · 5 months

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𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐄 ︙ 𝐊𝐈𝐌 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐘𝐔 {KINKMAS}・♡

⤷︎︎ 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬, wom!reader, fiancé!mingyu. surprises, him being the kind man he is, him meeting your family and friends, you two being lovebirds throughout this, kissing, sexual interactions, multiple sex scenes, your mom scolding you. ✨

⤷︎︎ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, use of foul language, use of pet names (maybe), misspellings (maybe. english isn’t my first language). 🎄

⤷︎︎ 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞, smut, fluff, CEO au. ⛄️

⤷︎︎ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲, christmas. a wonderful time of the year that you share with your precious family and in this case, your fiancé. you honestly felt as if mingyu forgot about the week you two were supposed to visit your family in LA but little did you know. ❄️

⤷︎︎ 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫!, this is for entertainment purposes only! 🌨️

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: ❛Hello, loves. I know it's been a while but I'm back with a longer imagine this time. hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it for all of you. I still have more things in the works so look out for it! love you all, merry chrismas (if u celebrate), and happy new year! muwah! (I'll try to post for new years as well!) ♡ ❜ ☃️

𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: no, unedited.

It was kinda expected and you were torn apart but you kept a smile on your face around your family since you didn’t want them to know.

mingyu promised to come with you to LA to visit your parents since he’s never met them and as always, his schedule said otherwise and he was 'disappointed' also. you had left days before chrismas since it was gonna be a long flight plus you needed to help out your mom.

you looked around as your family mingled and talked amongst each other but you kept your life private which means it would’ve been an even bigger surprise since they didn’t even know you’d thought about dating. you were the most career focused person they knew.

you sat there trying to maintain a happy face but it eventually failed and your face turned sad at the thought of Mmngyu not being able to come.

your mom noticed and came over and sat down by you. “everything alright?” she asked with a look of concern and you nodded immediately, covering up your true feelings. “yeah, I’m fine.” you reassured her and flashed her a small smile.

she looks at you and chuckles. “y/n, I can tell when you’re not fine.” caught. she caught you in your “I’m okay” act and you sigh deeply. “it’s just….someone was supposed to come but…” you didn’t know how to finish off your sentence without ruining the surprise. “the person couldn’t make it.” you look down at your coffee mug before taking a sip.

“and why not?” she asks “they’re just…busy busy.” you replied trying your best not to spoil anything. “I see and this person is making you this upset? must be important.” you raise an eyebrow at her words, wondering if she knew already.

she winks at you before walking off and you shake your head, trying to clear your thoughts and have a good time but it was hard with mingyu being on your mind so you pick up your phone from the table and sent him a quick “I miss you” message then sat your phone face down back on the table.

soon, the doorbell rings throughout the house and you look over and see your mom going to answer it. you think nothing of who it might be until you hear that familiar voice and you stand up and walk into the living room from the dining room only to see mingyu standing there with his bags in his hands. “Sorry I’m late.” he says softly before kissing your forehead as you stand there in shock “the traffic was terrible” he continued. “I thought you said you were handing things today.” I ask him with a confusing frown.

he smiles down at you. “I wanted to surprise you, love. I took a few days off.” a smile appears on your face and you lean in and kissed his lips softly. “this is one hell of a surprise.” you say with a smile before looking back and seeing most of your family standing there. “oh sorry, uh mingyu this is my mom, (F/N). mom, this is my fiancé, mingyu” you stand aside watching as they greet each other.

soon after, you introduce him to your dad, (F/N) then the rest of your family as you hold onto his arm.

After introducing him, you two sat down on the sofa looking around. you look over at him. “I honestly thought you forgot.” you spoke softly and he chuckled softly at your words. “I know but I would never, i know how important this was for you.” said mingyu with a soft smile across his lips and you smiled back before pecking his lips “well, I’m glad.” you grabbed his hand, intertwining your fingers with his and he kisses your temple.

you couldn’t have been more happier in this moment. surrounded by your fiancé, friends, and family. being together with him on your favorite holiday was all you needed for christmas.

・・・ 𝐀 𝐅𝐄𝐖 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑, it was now 11 PM and everyone went to bed early and it was just you and mingyu awake in the guest bedroom.

you were relaxed and laid back against the headboard, watching TV in your nightgown, rubbing your legs against the silk sheets trying to get comfortable as you waited for mingyu to finish up showering.

you couldn’t sleep without him being next to you. you were slightly clingy.

when you hear the water turning off, a smile forms on your lips but what happens next is something you didn’t expect. you looked up and saw him with a towel around his waist as water dripped down from his body and his hair, running down his abs and his neck.

you closed your legs at the sight before looking away not being able to handle the view and a light laugh came from his lips. “can’t handle what you see?” he says in a low whisper and you chuckle before looking back over at him. “of course I can, I just…it’s different.” you clear your throat before facing the tv again, trying to get your mind off what your eyes just saw.

“different? how so, love?” mingy says in a seductive tone before drying the water from his body and you take a deep breath. “I’m not sure what I meant by that either.” you say pulling the covers down a little, trying to show him what you were wearing and he raises an eyebrow. “now? In your parent's house?” he says as he climbs onto the bed, hovering over you. “such a bad girl, aren’t you?” he moves closer, positioning himself between your legs.

you bite your lips at his words before nodding as your hands rest on his shoulders now, feeling his cock resting against your thigh as he leans in closer, moving his head down to your neck and placing soft kisses and leaving love marks behind. “wanting me to fuck you right now..” he whispers against your skin, sending shivers down your spine.

your body was heating up at this point. your underwear were now soaked in your own juices. his hands grabs onto your hips, pulling you closer towards his own body.

“please, mingyu.” you breathe out, rubbing on his shoulders and biting down on your bottom lip after.

“please what, sweetheart?” his lips trails down to your collarbone, kissing on it softly while his hands slide up your gown tugging at the hem of your underwear.

you felt as if you were slowly losing control at the way he was teasing you. his thumbs trace circles on your hips, trying to contain himself since there were other people here.

“Mmmph, i need you.” a soft whine escapes your lips. a soft smirk appeared across his lips. “do you now?” he said in a low and husky manner before moving back and slowly pulling your underwear off. he smiled at how wet you already were for him and threw your underwear on the floor.

with his two fingers, he spreads your wetness around your clit then carefully dips his fingers inside of you making a sharp gasp leave your lips.

mingyu slowly thrusts them into you, prepping you for him as he bites down on his bottom lip. he loved listening to the sounds you made and knowing it was him that could only make you feel this way excited him more. he watch as you squirm underneath him “b-babe.” you moan softly, wanting to squeeze your thighs together but he stops you before leaning down between your legs and wraps his lips around your clit sucking on it gently and you quickly cover your mouth to prevent yourself from waking everyone up.

you look down watching as he pleasures you. he grabs ahold of your thighs, pulling you closer. he begins to devour you as if it were his last meal.

he moans softly against your folds, diving deeper as he continues to hold you in place. his tongue laps at your clit over and over again. he loved the way you taste on his tongue. you tried your best to suppress your moans, trying your best to keep quiet but he was visibly making that hard.

your thighs begin to shake while your hole starts to pulse. you felt your orgasm approaching just by him using his tongue. you were almost there but he quickly moved his mouth from your folds.

his chin and lips were covered in your juices. he licked it all off his lips before leaning down to kiss yours softly, letting you taste yourself as he lines himself up with your aching hole. “ready, my love?” he whispers against your lips and you nod quickly, your eyes were full of lust along with his.

he carefully slid himself inside of you, grunting instantly at how wet you were meanwhile you covered your mouth once again, trying your best not to moan loudly as he stretched you out.

“Oh god..” You gasp, gripping his shoulders for dear life. “I could cum like this..” he groans pushing his cock further into you, filling you up to the brim.

his forehead rests against yours as he slowly thrusts into you, letting you get used to his size while waiting for your cue.

after a few more slow thrusts, you nod for him to speed up his pace and he does at that moment. he grabs your legs, pinning them down on both sides of your torso.

your head went back, moaning softly into the air as you grabbed onto his shoulders tightly. “m-mingyu!” a whimper left your lips.

“you’re so fucking tight, sweetheart.” he moans, leaning in closer. the bed creaks at how fast he is going as the headboard thuds against the wall.

you knew by now that your parents knew what was going on since the guest room was next to theirs and you cursed inside your head knowing your mom was going to scold you about it today. you began to scratch at his back, moaning a little louder and he shushed you with his lips, grunting into the kiss as his pace quickened.

"you're so fucking deep!" you mewl, looking down and watching as he pumps into you with sharp and quick thrusts.

his hands grab onto your hips tighter. "(Y/N).." he grunts, throwing his head back this time. you could feel your orgasm building up and the pressure was becoming too much and it wasn't long until it finally broke loose and flooded all over his cock. you gripped onto his back tightly as your orgasms hit you like a freight train. your walls tightened up squeezing him tighter.

“fuck, (Y/N)…” he muttered through the kiss, releasing his thick ropes of cum into you and you panted heavily as he let go of your legs.

once your breathing settles down he kisses your sweaty forehead softly, his heart beating out of his chest as he holds you close. “I love you so much." he whispers “I love you, too, mingyu.” you smile, holding him tightly. after everything was settled, you both lay down in silence, listening to each other's heartbeat.

"my moms gonna absolutely scold me." you mumble softly before drifting off to sleep and he chuckles at your words before kissing your forehead one last time before falling asleep as well.

・・・ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆, you wake up in Mingyu’s arms, laying on top of him and cuddling closer to him. his arm wrapped around your stomach and you snuggle into him, your face nuzzling against his bare chest and you hum softly under your breath. “good morning.” he says in his raspy morning voice before kissing the top of your head causing you to giggle quietly. you lift your head slightly, staring into his dark brown eyes. you watch as they scan over you and your face immediately heats up. “morning.” you say smiling widely at him before giving him a soft kiss.

"Enjoyed last night?" he smirks, caressing your cheek as he gazes into your eyes and you nod "I always enjoy anything with you." you tug down on your bottom lip, pulling him closer. "I'm glad." he hums, climbing on top of you and kissing your lips softly. his lips move down to your neck, leaving soft kisses behind. "Mm, mingyu we can't. I have to help my mom prepare and the kiddos are opening their presents now." you hum, wanting him to continue despite that. “even though we’re missing it.”

"We'll be quick.." He says rubbing his now hard-on against you and you chuckle. "promise?" you open your legs a little wider, letting him between them. he nods before kissing your neck again, running his hand up and down your inner thigh, making you bite your lower lip and arch your back. he pulls away, lifting himself a bit before he slips his cock inside of you and you gasp, wrapping your legs around his waist as your back arches upward.

He moves his hips slowly as he looks into your eyes, watching your facial expressions before burying his head into your neck, nibbling on your earlobe while pumping his hips harder and faster, his teeth scraping lightly. you start moaning softly again which causes him to grow even harder at seeing your reactions. “fuck..” he groaned, grabbing ahold of your hips and slamming himself into you. “yes…” you whisper into his ear, gripping his shoulders tightly. he lets out a guttural growl, his hips pounding against yours with every movement of his body and soon you start feeling waves of pleasure washing over you, your moans getting louder and he quickly kisses your lips to shush you.

He picks up the pace once more and you clutch on his shoulders, your nails digging in, as he comes into you hard. you both collapse back onto his bed, exhausted from the intense sex. Mingyu rolls over on his side, hugging you close to him while you wrap your arm around his waist. "Nothing like morning sex, huh?" I mumble as I snuggle closer. he chuckled and kisses the top of your head before replying "not at all."

Mingyu pecks your lips before removing himself from the bed. he walked into the bedroom and grabbed a clean rag and wets it up. after he squeezed the unneeded water out of it, he walked back into the bedroom and saw that you were trying to sleep and he quickly woke you up. “no no, we have things to do.” he says as he pulls you towards the edge of the bed and cleaned you up.

After you two were all ready and fully showered and cleaned, you walked down the steps and your mom instantly looked at you two. you gave mingyu a kiss on the cheek before walking into the kitchen and you looked up at your mom who was preparing the food alongside my dad. I raise an eyebrow “what is is it, mom?” I ask her with a confusing frown.

she chuckles. “you know, I couldn’t keep my hands off your dad either but… there are children here.” she says quietly and you gulp. “first of all, ew I don’t think I needed to know that and I know, we were just caught in the moment and it’s been days since I’ve seen him since I was here half of week but I do apologize.”

“Thank you, now I need help with this.” Your mom says and you grab the cake and carefully carrys it into the dining room and places it down on the table with everything else.

After everything was prepared and ready, you all began to eat after a prayer. you sat down beside mingyu and instantly smiled at him.

“My mom scolded me as I told you.” he chuckled at your words “I know, she scolded me too, didn’t expect it if I'm being honest.” you giggle at his words before starting to eat your food little by little as your family talked in the background.

I took a deep breath. “this is the best christmas ever, mostly because i have everyone to share it with.” you smile softly at him. “I’m glad, because…this is my favorite christmas ever.” he said looking over at you and you smiled. “I love you.”

“i love you too.”

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 © 𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞.

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romanestuffsposts · 6 months

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Can you smoke on with stucky and reader she's sick and won't tell them but later they find out

Can you make it fluff

Hi there love! 💜

Thank you for your lovely request, I'll make it as fluffy as i can just for you!

Enjoy <33

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Warnings : sick little reader, worried daddies, pet names, fluff, love, comfort, reassurance, understanding, cuddles, kisses

Pairings : Daddies!Stucky ; Daddy!Bucky x Papa!Steve x Little!Reader

Summary : A sick day with your loving daddies

****

You imediately felt that something was wrong the second you opened your eyes this morning. You couldn't tell what but you genuinely didn't felt good at all.

Just when the idea of your Papa putting pancakes infront of you for breakfast came in your mind, a huge feeling of nausea wrapped around you. You couldn't help but find an excuse to skip breakfast.

You said you forgot something important when you went at a coffee shop yesterday so you quickly sneak out and when you came back there was nothing left.

Usually it would upset you but today you were really happy that they ate everything.

You went to take a shower, maybe you just needed to wake up to feel better but nothing changed. The fact that you had to stay on your feet just made you feel worst.

Fortunately for you, today was a relaxing day, it's been since this morning that you're laying on the couch with either the tv on or off, it depends on your headache.

Your Daddies spend the day beside you or cleaning around the house, it's not often that they have a day off so they enjoy time with you and they take care of the house.

But now it's dinner time and when you had to stand up to go eat, your head started to spin around. You putted a hand on the couch to stabilize yourself causing your Papato stand up "sweetie ?"

You groan and sit back down on the couch while your head is calming down. You feel the couch moving beside you and then two bodies came in your view.

Your Daddy kneels in front of you and your Papa sits on the couch beside you "are you feeling okay, baby ?" A comforting hand is rubbing your back up and down in a calm way

You shake your head and rest it on your Papa's shoulder "what's going on, babydoll ?" your Daddy's hands are gently stroking your knees, a confuse and worried expression in his eyes.

You groan in pain and because you don't have the strenght to answer his question. "you're hurt somewhere ?" your Papa asks with a sweet voice, trying to comfort you the best he can.

You close your eyes and nod your head, a grimace forming on your face from the discomfort. "where, baby ?"

You point at your head and on your throat before dropping your hand back down again. You hear them sighing, they shared a look before concentating back on you "is your tummy hurting ?" Your Daddy asks

You shake your head after a second. Your tummy is fine because you hadn't ate anything since yesterday so of course it doesn't hurt.

"alright, here what we're going to do" your Daddy says, caressing your legs "can you open your eyes to look at me ? If it's not too hurtful"

You open your pretty eyes to look into his.

"we're going to eat what Papa made, you're not gonna eat everything if you don't have the strenght to but you need to eat, trust me you'll feel a little bit better afterward, even if now it doesn't seems like it. And after we're going to lie down in our bed so if you fall asleep you'll already be in the right bed. We can open a book together while cuddling but no more tv untilyour little head is feeling better. What do you say about it ?" he tilts his head as he looks into your eyes.

You tried to negociate about eating because you wanted to go to bed right now but your Daddies were more strong than you so you had to do what they said.

It was hard and long to eat cause because of your nauseas, you had to take break but you finally ate enough for your Daddies. Your Papa lifted you up in his arms and carried you upstairs while your Daddy stayed downstairs for your bottle.

He wraps the cover around you after putting you in your pyjama and come in right after. You decide to pick your favorite book so you won't have to be concentrate too much.

A few minutes after, your Daddy enters the room with a warm bottle. he slides inside the covers and hold the bottle to your lips while your Papa opens the book.

Your Daddy caresses your belly with his hand to help you and drops sweet kisses on your head while the gentle voice of your Papa ring in the room, making you more sleepy.

Once the bottle is empty, your Daddy puts it aside and snuggle closer to you, his other hand stroking your scalp to maybe ease the pain in your head.

The last thing you felt is their fingers helping you easing the pain on your body, their voices deconcentrating you from the pain and the comfort they wrapped around you.

You felt protect

And love

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galexystern · 10 months

Text

saving all my love for you

pairing; steve harrington/reader

rating; T

warnings; angst, fluff, mutual pining, not actually unrequited love, love confessions, accidental love confessions, getting together, no use of y/n, steve calls reader "peach"

word count; 5.2k

desc; “Um,” someone who doesn’t sound at all like Beth and a whole lot like Steve says. “Peach?”

You freeze, complete and utter dread filling your body. You slowly lower the phone and look at the caller ID. Staring back at you, in all caps, is the name Steve Harrington.

read on ao3 / masterlist

"Will you please, for the love of god," Beth interrupts your rambling, "either tell him all this or shut the fuck up?"

You close your mouth and look at her with a disgruntled pout.

She sighs. "Sorry, that was mean." You shrug. "I'm just trying to study and you know how important it is I do well on this test." You don't want to, but eventually nod a little. You do know. "I love you," she reassures, "and you know I'm always here to listen, but you do realize this is all starting to sound a bit...pathetic?" She says it not unkindly, with gentle eyes.

Your shoulders droop. It doesn't sound a bit pathetic, it sounds a lot pathetic. You've been complaining to Beth that you've been in love with Steve Harrington for oh...nine years now? Wow, it's been that long? You wince at the thought, and Beth rubs your shoulder soothingly.

It's not your fault you've been in love with Steve Harrington for nine years. He's the one who defended you from bullies in third grade, getting back the peach they'd stolen from your lunch. He's the one who gave it back to you with that sweet smile and hair that had just started growing into the luscious mane it is now. He's the one who became your friend from then on, turning into your closest (male) confidante and staunchest supporter. And he's the one who's been calling you "Peach" since then, making your knees go weak whenever he says it and gives you that smirk.

"I still can't believe you like him, to be honest," Beth says, breaking your reverie. "His King Steve phase was super disturbing."

You roll your eyes. Yes, Steve in his "king of high school" days had been hard to like—the constant rotation of girls he had on his arm, the ragers he threw that always got the cops called on them, the rude and slightly misogynistic behavior that made your skin crawl. But he never directed any of that at you. You were still his Peach, and the Steve you'd known since third grade came back around, complete with apologies and big gestures to make up for his actions. Sure, you'd been a little sad he hadn't wanted you to be on his arm, and you two hadn't been as close during that stage, but it was probably for the better. Being a "hit it and quit it" for the guy you're desperately in love with might've broken your heart for good.

"I can't go over that again with you right now," you reply to Beth. "You've got a test to study for." She gives you an unimpressed look. "And I," you continue, packing up the remains of your lunch, "have a tutoring session to get to."

You stand but Beth grabs your arm, stopping you. "Will you tell him?" She asks, almost pleadingly.

You know she knows the answer to that. You've been trying to tell him for a year now, since you realized high school is ending soon and he'll be gone. You won't see him every day, won't talk to him in classes you have together, certainly won't be tutoring him three times a week. But when you look at those honey-hazel eyes, long lashes brushing against his skin when blinks slowly at you, piercing you with his gaze, you always, without fail, chicken out.

"I'll try," you promise Beth and she half-smiles. It's the best she's gonna get and she knows that too well. She lets go of your arm and you walk towards the building, collecting your thoughts. As you enter and direct yourself to the library, you think maybe today will be the day you confess to Steve. Maybe it's really time. Maybe you can do it.

Opening the library doors, you spot Steve sitting at a table off to the side, daydreaming. He's tapping a pencil against his lips and leaning back in his chair precariously, staring off into space. You try not to smile at how cute he looks, instead staying quiet as you sneak up from the side. You drop your bag moderately loudly on the table and bite your lip to hold back laughter as Steve jolts, making his chair tip back and almost pitching himself backwards, before he catches his balance and sets the chair right again. He gives you a playful glare as you sit down, still trying not to burst out laughing.

"Not nice, Peach," he says petulantly, and you shrug. The nickname has stolen any words you'd had prepared, so you just pull out your calculus textbook and notebook, flipping to a fresh sheet. As Steve does the same, he asks, "And how are you today?"

"Alright," you reply with a small smile. "How are you?"

He makes a face. "I'd be better if I didn't have to worry about math so much." But then he smiles brightly and adds, "But seeing you makes up for it."

Your heart pounds. See, he says things like this that make hope blossom inside you and you think you're finally ready to admit your love for him.

But with the way he's gazing at you, grin on his face, body leaned forward over the table towards you, losing yourself in his eyes, the words die in your throat. He's not for you; you don't deserve him. You're just some girl he'd stood up for one time nine years ago, and he's Steve Harrington, the most eligible bachelor at Hawkins High. He has girls lining up to go out with him and what do you have? A hopeless crush and marching band practice after school.

"Well, with me here, hopefully you won't have to worry about math for much longer," you respond with feigned lightness. He chuckles. "Shall we?"

He nods and you two dive into calculus equations. He's a very diligent pupil, always has been, listening carefully and taking detailed notes. You can tell he really wants to pass this class. He's admitted to you on multiple occasions that he can't wait to get out of Hawkins. When you ask him where he wants to go, he always changes his answer—a little inside joke that makes your stomach thrill. Last time you'd asked he'd said Rome, so he could eat gelato and drink wine every day, and live in an ancient city. He has a soft spot for history.

Out of nowhere, the bell rings, and you and Steve both jump at the sound. You'd been so engrossed in learning math that you hadn't noticed how the time had flown by, an hour passing in what felt like a few minutes.

As you pack up, Steve says, "Hey, Peach." You look up at him. "You busy today?" You open your mouth but he beats you to it. "I know you have band. After that." Closing your mouth, surprised he remembered, you eventually shake your head. "Wanna hang? I've acquired some ah, mood enhancers." At his wink, you snicker.

"Sure," you answer. "I could use a mood change."

Steve smiles. "Great. Our spot? 4pm?" You nod; he nods back. "See you then, Peach."

With that, he gives you a salute and bounds away, out of the library and disappearing into the streaming crowd of students. You follow him, shaking your head.

;

You trample through the underbrush on your way to Skull Rock. Beth had asked if you wanted to hang after practice, to make up for lunch, but you'd blushed and said you were smoking with Steve. She'd given you a coy look and wiggled her eyebrows, making you shove her in embarrassment.

But then she'd gone serious. "It's time, okay?" She'd said. "This is the perfect time for you to confess."

You'd told her earlier that the tutoring session confession had not panned out. Looking at her, understanding the weight she was putting on her words, knowing she only wanted you to be happy, you'd nodded mutely.

"Good. Call me tonight," she'd added. "I wanna hear every detail." You'd promised to call her and given her a hug before parting ways and heading for the forest.

You've always liked walking through the trees to meet Steve, the tiny bursts of light through the foliage spontaneously warming your face. It'd rained last night and so the ground was damp and muddy, but you were wearing your gross pair of sneakers, since the field had been much of the same, so you didn't mind. Your socks were wet but it didn't matter. You were about to see Steve and maybe, hopefully, tell him the truth.

Skull Rock comes into view and a minute later, you could see Steve sitting underneath it. You internally scrunch up in girlish excitement at how he'd brought and spread out a mat for you two to sit on, so you don't get wet from the dirt.

He looks up and spots you, waving. You wave back as you tramp through the last of the growth and reach him. Throwing your bag to the side, you collapse onto the tarp as Steve licks and finishes rolling the joint he'd been working on.

"How was practice, Peach?" He asks.

"Ugh," you reply, and he laughs. "This new show is going to kill me. There are so many movements on the field, I'm not sure if I can remember them all."

"You always do though," he points out. "You get it eventually."

You shrug, hiding your delight that he knows that. He does make a point of watching the halftime shows at the football games and seeing you during third quarter, when the band is allowed to mingle. Of course, he goes to the games no matter what, as a certified sports lover, but still.

"Ready?" He asks, interrupting your thoughts. You nod, and he hands you the joint and lighter. You click it on and hold it up to the end, flaring as you inhale deeply. You hold the smoke in your mouth as you give the joint back to Steve, releasing it into the sky as he copies your actions. He outdoes you by making a ring of smoke out of his exhale, and you roll your eyes.

"Show-off," you mutter.

Steve smirks. "I can teach you, you know. You just always turn me down."

You look at him. You do turn him down each time. You're not even really sure why. You tutor him, why can't he? "Okay," you finally reply. "Teach me."

His eyes light up and he scoots towards you. He starts talking, about technique and mouth shape and how your tongue should be involved, but you're only half-listening. You're too captivated by how animated he is, how excited he seems to be by instructing you in something for a change. There are traces of pride in his voice, and you think he might be pleased at the idea of being so good at something that he can give that to others. He's mentioned that fear before, that he doesn't have anything to offer people, even though you always reassure him he has so much.

"Peach? Wanna try?" Steve asks. You clear your head and take the proffered joint. You inhale and try to do what he's told you, accomplishing a rudimentary half-smoke ring. He claps. "That's it! Now you just need practice."

So you practice. You two wear the joint away attempting more rings, Steve giving you pointers as you go. When the joint is just a nub, you take one last inhale and close your eyes, working hard to take all of his advice and try one last time. Steve makes an excited sound and you open your eyes, seeing a pretty good smoke ring floating away from you.

"You did it!" He exclaims excitedly, as you laugh in delight. "The student has become the master."

"I'm not sure if I'd go that far," you reply, but you're still smiling widely. Steve's face matches.

"Well, I have nothing left to teach you. You've got it now."

"You'll always have stuff to teach me, Steve," you say softly, remembering that fear that plagues him. He looks at you with a grateful expression. "Besides," you continue, "I still don't know how to drive."

"I can't believe you don't know how to drive!" He replies indignantly and you giggle. This is an argument you two have had ever since his parents had given him his BMW and he'd asked if you wanted to drive it. After revealing you didn't have a license, Steve had been properly shocked and bewildered. He's never understood why you don't want to drive.

It's not about not wanting to drive (though driving is scary). It's more about wanting Steve to keep driving you.

"You know how I feel about driving," you say back and he rolls his eyes.

"Driving is not that scary. I promise, Peach." An idea comes to him. "It's just like marching band!" At your raised eyebrow he adds, "Hear me out. You have to remember all the moves the car can do. You have to maneuver so you don't hit anybody else on the road. And it gives you a feeling of control."

You laugh. "You know I don't make up the movements, right?"

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever. You know what I mean."

You nod. Trying to stay light, you say, "Maybe you can teach me."

"Yes!" He shouts loudly, startling you. "Sorry. But yes. I can totally teach you how to drive."

"Okay." You're smiling at each other.

"Great," he replies firmly. "It's a date."

The words make you freeze. The small voice in your head that sounds weirdly like Beth is telling you this is the moment. This is your opening. Take it.

"Um, Steve," you start. He hums, still staring at you with kind curiosity. "I, um, I wanted to..." You trail off.

He nods encouragingly. "You wanted to...what?"

But as he gazes at you, the words won't come. You try to force them out, not caring how they come out, just that they do, but there's nothing. Your mouth gapes like a fish. Your throat is dry. And you just...can't.

"I wanted to," you manage with a croak, "thank you. For teaching me how to make a smoke ring."

He sits back and you think you see a flash of disappointment on his face before it's gone. "No problem, Peach. What are friends for?"

You nod miserably. Coward.

;

Steve takes you home. It's quiet in the car, both of you deep in thought. You don't know what Steve is thinking about, but you're admonishing yourself for backing out, again. God, you're such a loser. What will Beth say?

He pulls into your driveway and idles. You get out, thanking him again for the hangout, and he nods amiably. You close the door softly and walk up to your porch, turning around to watch him back out and drive away. You sigh as you unlock the door and go inside.

You put off calling Beth for a while. You know you have to, she's expecting you to, but you want to live in this moment where only you know how much of a chicken you are just a little longer. So you have a snack, and something to drink, and finish your homework. Your parents come home and you help make dinner to distract yourself from the day's humiliating non-events. You push your food around the plate as your parents chatter about work, thankfully not asking you too many questions. The three of you sit and watch TV for a bit, but you don't really see any of it, mind still stuck on Steve.

When your parents give you kisses goodnight and head upstairs for bed, you know it's time to stop procrastinating. You take a deep breath, pick up the phone, and dial.

As soon as the line is picked up, you start talking. "Hey, so I know you said today was the day but I chickened out, again. I know I'm a coward. You were right, it was the perfect time. I mean, Steve asks me to smoke in our spot, just the two of us? What better time to confess my love for him, right? There is no better time, that's the truth. But I just couldn't do it. I couldn't make myself speak the words. It's so pathetic, right? Ugh, I can't believe I let that perfect moment pass me by. I'm such a sissy. You don't have to tell me, I already know. I just wanted you to know, since you told me to call. But I can't really handle any scolding, yeah? I know what I did. I know."

There's a lull until...

“Um,” someone who doesn’t sound at all like Beth and a whole lot like Steve says. “Peach?”

You freeze, complete and utter dread filling your body. You slowly lower the phone and look at the caller ID. Staring back at you, in all caps, is the name Steve Harrington.

“Peach?” He says again, distantly. It breaks your trance and you immediately hang up the phone. It starts to ring almost instantly, and you stare at it, brain somehow going a mile a minute and not at all. The rings stop but then start up again. Unable to pick up the phone, you find your hand moving to the telephone jack. As the phone stops and then goes again for the third time, you pull it out of the wall. The noises stop. Silence fills the kitchen. And you finally understand what just happened.

“Oh my god,” you mutter, over and over, still holding the telephone cord, still gazing at the receiver. Your knees start to wobble and so you stumble backwards, grappling for a chair, eventually grazing the back of one and whipping it around so it can catch you before you fall. “What have I done?” You moan, burying your face in your hands and pressing down hard. Maybe when you open your eyes you’ll be in bed and this will just be some bad dream and you won’t have ruined everything. But when you move your hands away, you’re still sitting in the kitchen, phone disconnected, terror gripping you tightly.

Not a dream. You did ruin everything.

Digging for strength, you use it all to rush out of the room and upstairs to your bedroom, where you slam the door closed and pitch yourself onto your bed. What have I done? You ask yourself again. You stare unseeing at your headboard, clutching your pillow, as you helplessly think about what might happen next.

Well, for one, you can bet that Steve’s not your friend anymore. That’s a given. But will he avoid you forever, ignore you in the halls at school, not let your name pass his lips anymore? Or will he make fun of you for your confession, saying that he’d never be with anyone like you in a million years, that he was just friends with you out of pity? Will he tell everyone, spread it around that a loser like you thinks she has a shot with King Steve, let the rumor mill rip you to shreds?

Will you make it out of this? You’re not sure if you can handle any of these outcomes. It’s why you’d chickened out in the first place, why you’ve always chickened out. Maybe you’ll have to change schools or even districts. Oh god, what if you have to move states to get away from the torture of it all?

You’re spiraling further down when there’s a small plinking sound. You stop and listen, and it comes again. A third time and you follow the noise to the window. You watch in wonder as something hits it—a pebble. You hesitantly walk over and peer outside.

Steve is standing below on your front lawn, hand reared back like he’s ready to throw. But when he spots you, he drops the rock and waves. You raise a hand back without thinking, and he motions for you to open your window. As you do, you distantly think that he would be a good charades partner. You slowly poke your head outside.

“Peach!” Steve yells quietly.

“What are you doing?” You ask, stupefied.

“You wouldn’t answer my calls,” he replies.

Dumbly, you say back, “I unplugged the phone.”

“Oh.” He seems thrown by that. “Do you…want me to go then?” It takes a second, but eventually you shake your head. He smiles in relief. “Can we talk?”

“My parents are home,” you answer and Steve’s shoulders fall. “But can you climb a tree?”

“Yeah?” The word is laced with confusion.

You motion to the side of the house and move away from your first window, hoping he’s following. You open the second window, on a different wall, and see Steve below. You point to the tree whose branches extend over the house, one of which comes pretty close to your window. He nods and starts climbing, and you try not to stare at his ass. It takes him almost no time at all to get to the branch and inch down it. When he makes it to the ledge, you hold out a hand haul him inside. It’s not very graceful—he ends up on the floor, but pops up seemingly unharmed.

“Hi,” he says, breathless.

Realizing Steve Harrington is in your room after you’d accidentally confessed your love for him, you can’t move or speak. You just look at him, heart pounding, palms sweaty, eyes wide.

“Peach, about what you said on the phone—“

You interrupt. “Wait.” He dutifully stops talking and looks at you expectantly. Unfortunately, you didn’t have the rest of the plan thought out, so you’re speechless. You’d just wanted to put off the inevitable rejection for just a little longer. “I, um, I’m really sorry. For that. Like…obviously it wasn’t meant for you to hear.” You laugh awkwardly. “Well, it was but not then. But it also wasn’t because I chickened out. And that was meant for Beth. Who I meant to call. And obviously…didn’t.”

There’s silence until Steve asks, “Did you mean it?”

There it is: a way out. An exit ramp, where you laugh and say you didn’t mean it, where you play it off as a joke and go back to being friends. But you can’t make yourself take it. You’ve never lied to Steve, and you don’t want to start now. Not with this.

So you nod and answer, in a small voice, “Yes.”

You close your eyes so you won’t see the look of pity on his face, will only have to listen as he lets you down gently. But then there are hands cupping your cheeks and breaths brushing across your skin and lips pressing against yours. You open your eyes again with a start to find Steve’s in front of you, closed. His hands are on your face. His mouth is on yours.

Steve is kissing you.

You don’t know what to do, how to react, and Steve pulls back. His expression is apologetic and ashamed. “I’m sorry,” he says softly. “I should’ve asked—“

You cut him off by surging forward and kissing him. He’s surprised but regains his presence of mind faster than you had, and his hands go to grab your waist tightly. Yours tangle in his hair, the beautiful hair that you’ve always wanted to run your fingers through, and you marvel at the way Steve’s lips fit against yours, like they were made to. You two kiss until you can’t anymore, both pulling back to breathe in deeply.

Steve is smiling. You know your mouth is hanging open in shock. Thank god it’s already there, because what Steve says next would’ve made it drop.

He says, “I love you too.”

You make a weird sort of noise in your throat and Steve laughs a little. You flush bright red and make your jaw close. “That’s not exactly how I wanted to respond,” you say in embarrassment.

“What did you want to say?”

“Um.” Steve’s eyes are sparkling. It’s distracting. “Uh…why?”

“Because you’re my favorite person in the whole world, Peach.” He says it like it’s obvious. “Because you’re the first person I wanna talk to when I wake up and the last person I think of when I go to sleep. Because you teach me so many things and make sure I know I have things to teach you too. Because you’ve always been there for me. Because you’re my dream girl.” He’s looking at you with so much adoration it’s hard not to combust right then and there. “Why do you love me?”

“I’ve loved you since the third grade,” you blurt out. “When you stood up for me. When you first started calling me Peach.”

“Even during King Steve?” He asks tentatively. He doesn’t look away but you can tell he wants to. He doesn’t like to relive it.

You take his hand. “Yes, even then. I knew who you were underneath it all. I knew you would come back. And I was right.”

He chuckles. “You always are,” he murmurs, as if in awe.

“I wasn’t right about this,” you sigh, looking down at your intertwined fingers. “I never in a million years imagined you would love me too.”

Steve makes a soft sound. “I feel like I was so obvious about it. I felt like a lovesick fool who couldn’t stop following you around.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“I never wanted to scare you away. You’re too important to me. I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t in my life, Peach. I couldn’t take that chance. I would take you in whatever way you would give me, happily.”

You look back up at him. His face is intense, serious. You kiss him so his expression will clear. “Well,” you say lightly, “now you’ve got me like this forever.”

“Good,” he replies firmly, and tugs you forward into a hug. You wrap your arms around his back and clutch at his shirt. He rests his chin on your head and sighs happily. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

When you whisper back “Me too,” he holds you closer.

;

"Okay, baby. R means reverse, N is neutral, and D is obviously drive. You have to pull the gearshift to the right letter to do what you want. So let's try going backwards, yeah?" Steve asks.

You are in the driver's seat of Steve's BMW, with him in the passenger seat. It's your first driving lesson. You're sitting in the parking lot of the high school, after school so it's devoid of cars and you can't hit any of them. Steve had said that he didn't think you would, but better to be safe than sorry. You agree—you can't afford to replace this BMW if you wreck it.

You nod to Steve's question.

"Great. Foot on the brake," he reminds, and you put your foot on the brake. "Has to be there for the gearshift to work. Okay, pull it to R, angel." You slowly put the car into reverse. "Now, ease up on the brake. Just a little." You do so, and the car starts rolling backwards. Your eyes widen and Steve places his hand on top of yours. "It's okay. Just keep looking in your mirrors. You've got it." You look into the rearview mirror and watch as what's behind you slowly comes closer.

"Good!" Steve encourages. "Let's brake again." You press too hard and you're both jolted forward as the car comes to a screeching halt.

"Sorry," you say quickly, wincing.

But Steve is laughing. "No harm done, sugar. Just maybe brake a little gentler next time."

You nod sheepishly.

"Now, you're not gonna need N like, ever. I'm not even sure what use it has. So let's move on to D."

"That's what she said," you automatically retort, and Steve snorts. You're scared, but not too scared to pass up a chance for a euphemism.

"I walked into that one," he replies, shaking his head fondly. "But, let's drive, shall we, sweetheart?"

"Okay," you say, trying not to let the pet name distract you. He's been expanding his repertoire of them, trying to see which ones fit best. But you like all of them—like whatever he calls you as long as he still says it in that loving tone and kisses you after occasionally—so he's just been adding more and more without taking any away. It annoys Beth a little bit—she's glad you both finally got your heads out of your asses and got together, literally jumping for joy when you'd told her about Steve confessing his love for you too, but she regularly complains about being the third wheel and says Steve is too mushy for his own good—but you love it.

You pull the gearshift to D and ease off the brake like Steve had told you. The car rolls forward slowly.

"Okay, foot off the brake completely. Press on the gas. Gently, honey," he emphasizes and you nod. You do as he says and press the gas pedal softly, and the car speeds up a little. You reach a stop sign and so you dutifully brake. "Nicely done, princess," he says, and leans over to kiss your cheek. Before he can lean back, you turn your head and catch his lips with yours. He presses forward into it, hand coming up to cup your jaw softly.

"Alright, beautiful, turn signals," he says when you've parted. "Lever on the left, press up for right and down for left." You experiment, smiling as the signals flash. "Where do you wanna go?"

You look at him. What you wanna say is "Anywhere with you," but you know that's a little too cheesy for the moment. “Where do you wanna go?” You ask instead.

He hums, thinking about it. “What about…Sydney? The opera house and the beaches and the beautiful sunsets on the desert.” Then he looks at you. “You interested in Australia, darling?”

You always get a thrill when you ask him that now, because he always includes you. Like he’s not going anywhere without you either.

“Sure, as long as you protect me from all those huge bugs,” you answer. “And the kangaroos. I’ve heard they’re mean.”

Steve chuckles. “Haven’t I always been your knight in shining armor, Peach? Been serving you since third grade. I can handle some bugs.”

“I don’t know. You get scared when there’s a spider in your house.”

“I don’t like them!” He protests and you laugh. He looks at you with that adoring expression. “But for you? I’ll do anything.”

You try not to show outwardly how gooey you feel inside. You just lean forward and kiss him again, turning back to the parking lot and stop sign.

You choose a direction at random. "Right," you answer and turn on the signal.

"Good, Peach. Steering wheel to the right too, ease onto the gas, and off we go," Steve directs.

You move the wheel to the right, take your foot off the brake and onto the gas, and off you go.

#steve harrington x reader #mine #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fic

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jungle-angel · 7 months

Text

One cold, cold night (Bob Floyd x Reader)

Summary: You and Bob share a beautiful moment when you're finally able to settle in Montana

Warnings: Light smut (18+ ONLY)

You were shivering uncontrollably when you got out of the bath, emerging into yours and Bob's shared bedroom. Your teeth were like machine gun fire, even as Bob pulled your warm flannel pjs off the heater and handed them to you.

"You get in those sweet pea," Bob told you. "I'll get the woodstove going downstairs."

"You sure?"

"Positive," Bob answered assuringly. "I'll load it up so that it'll burn all night and we can reload it in the morning."

You trembled horribly as you dropped your towel and tossed it in the laundry hamper, slipping quickly, first into a fresh set of underwear and then the pale pink and black flannel pjs. It felt like heaven, the warm material heating up your skin which caused goosebumps to rise. It felt good to turn down the thick duvet and the flannel sheets, crawling into the one spot in your house that truly felt like home.

You heard a familiar meow in the hallways as Thunder, the Siamese cat, poked his head in and jumped up onto the bed with you, purring happily as you scratched his pointed ears. Bob returned a few minutes later to crawl in beside you, turning on the tv that was mounted on the wall near the bed.

"Wanna do a Disney movie?" he asked, pulling you close to him.

"Whatcha thinkin?"

"Well," he said. "Since it's snowing and it's already November, I'm thinking, Nightmare Before Christmas?"

"Deal!"

You both settled in to watch the movie with Thunder in between you both. The dogs had been crated for the night, kept warm in their kennels as they went to sleep, leaving plenty of time for you and Bob to relax.

"You happy here in Montana (y/n)?" Bob mumbled.

"Of course I am," you answered. "Why?"

"I was just trying not to think about California on the way home from town today," Bob explained. "I know it was a big part of our lives but...."

"But what?"

"Well," Bob sighed. "I keep thinking about the rest of the guys. I worry that they're not gonna make it up here."

You shifted up and kissed your husband sweetly on the lips. "They will," you said, your voice full of promise. "You know they will."

Bob kept hoping so. He knew deep down that moving to Montana was what was best for both you and him. The rest of the squad was beginning to see it too. Hell, he had gotten a FaceTime call from Rooster the other day saying that he and Rusty wouldn't be able to afford the Navy housing and neither would Maverick and Penny who had Amelia and two more little mouths to feed in the house. No one knew what would happen to The Hard Deck either. It broke Penny's heart to even think about it, her livelihood having to be sold to Jimmy in order to make the move. Phoenix and her fiancé Cole didn't have it any easier either, the stress of his frequent missions creeping its way in, even when they weren't that long to begin with.

You moved to straddle Bob's waist so that you were laying on top of him, kissing him deeply along his jaw and down his neck. Your hands roamed up and down each other's bodies with yours slipping under the hem of his pajama shirt and undoing the buttons so that you could kiss his chest.

"Oh baby," he moaned. "You're so good to me."

You smiled into your kiss as you pulled the covers up over the both of you. "We're good to each other Bob," you cooed, kissing him again. "That's all that matters."

And he knew full well that it did and always would.

#top gun maverick #robert bob floyd #bob floyd x reader #dagger squad

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captainlunaxmen · 4 months

Text

Be My Queen

Chapter 1

Eddie Munson x Reader x Steve Harrington

This is a repost since the old blog doesn't work anymore. 🥰

Chapter summary: When Vecna takes Nancy to show her his plan, he takes y/n as well to show her he already knows her or some version of her. For the gang, then it's time to come up with a good plan, and a trip to the War Zone is due.

Chapter warnings: spoiler season 4, blood, non-con touching, violence, Jason being an asshole.

What the hell is happening?

One minute, I hear Steve's panicked voice calling Nancy, and the next I'm in... a laboratory?

My friends and I finally got back from the UpsideDown after being stuck there, and now I'm trapped again... it's terrifying.

I look around, trying to calm down by taking a big deep breath. The walls are clean and white, just like a hospital. A shiver runs down my spine when I notice a girl walking out of a room with papers in her hands.

What the fuck?

She looks exactly like me... how?

I decide to follow her, seeing that I have no other option.

As I follow her... me... I see some other people, who look like doctors and nurses. Some of them are followed by kids. Shaved head, all of them.

I quickly take a closer look and notice they have a number tattooed on their arm.

Could it be where El lived?

Oh fuck. I'm in Hawkins' Lab. Why? Why is there a girl who looks exactly like me?

I keep following her around, but before I could follow her into a room I hear a voice calling my name.

I turn around finding a blonde man, looking directly at me.

"Yes?"

I turn around after my "clone" answered him. Her demeanour changes right away when her eyes spot the man. From calm, almost bored to nervous, on edge.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, love." the blonde man says with a sweet, yet intimidating tone.

"I... I was fixing some things... for today's tests." The girl tells him in a small voice.

As the man walks towards her, I notice the girl taking a small step back, but stops, almost holding back.

"You always work so hard. You should rest for a while" he's now in front of her and she doesn't look comfortable.

"I don't mind it, Henry, I'm not even tired," she says letting out a nervous chuckle.

"Take a break, c'mon. Ten minutes won't hurt anyone" the man named Henry insists, moving his hand to caress her arm so slightly.

"Maybe later. I have to drop off these files and check on the kids" she explains calmly.

"What about I check on the kids so we can have some... alone time?" He asks, inching closer and closer to the girl, who looks around the corridor to probably check if someone's coming.

"I don't think it's a good idea," she says, trying to remain calm "Brenner asked me to personally check on the kids."

Henry just looks at her, almost admiring her.

"Then give me a kiss so I can go on with my day without missing you too much"

He doesn't give her time to respond, his lips are already on hers, moving the hand that was caressing her arm to her hips holding her.

The girl's eyes are open, she doesn't exactly kiss him back, she just lets him and he doesn't seem to notice it.

"I'll see you later, love," he says after pulling away.

"Bye," she says and quickly walks into a room, I follow her just as quickly, however when I enter the room I find "me" attending to the same blonde man, Henry.

He looks bad, like he was beaten up or something, the girl's checking his head.

"Do you feel nauseous, dizzy, or..?" She asks.

"No.. just a little stunned" he answers, holding his head.

"That's good... at least a bit."

They stay silent for a moment, the girl looks at him with sorrow, I think, someone must've put this Henry through something really bad for her to feel sorry for a man she was quite intimidated by.

"I'm sorry, Henry," she says.

"Don't be." He replies looking up at her and grabbing her hand, the action makes her tense immediately, still he doesn't notice it, instead, he goes on "It was not your fault and you don't need to worry about me, angel, I'm gonna get us out of here."

"What?" She's confused.

"Eleven has a huge power. Her powers have the potential to become something great... she could help me build a new world. A world for us. Then we could finally be together" he explains and now the girl looks alarmed.

"What are you talking about?" She asks.

"Don't think about it, my love, I'll fix everything soon?" he tells her and kiss her hand.

What the hell is going on here?

I feel myself shaking, and breathing becomes hard so I turn around to get out of the room.

As I walk through the door I'm back in the corridor, but now the walls aren't white and clean... they're covered in blood.

I look around, on the ground laying with broken limbs and bleeding eyes there are the same people I saw walking earlier... the children too... all dead.

I feel myself getting sick when a scream catches my attention.

"Stop!" It's the girl again.

I run towards her voice and enter a wide room, a rainbow fantasy on the walls, lots of kids' toys on the floor... there's blood on them too, the children's. I see them laying on the ground blood all over them.

Fuck.

"Please, Henry, you need to stop" I turn to see the girl standing in front of a mad Henry.

He takes a step toward her and she takes a big step back. I don't think she cares anymore if he feels hurt by her actions or not.

"Why are you scared, my angel?" He asks, he doesn't realise she doesn't feel the same and he doesn't realise what he did wrong. It makes me sick.

"You... fuck... look at what you did! They're... they're kids.." she tells him in between sobs.

Suddenly he walks to her cupping her face in his hands, preventing her from moving away. She still tries though.

"Don't you understand? Don't you understand why I'm doing this?" He asks her, rather harshly.

"What's there to understand? You... you fucking kill them" she replies, voice breaking at the end.

Before he could answer her there was a noise coming from near the wall.

I look back seeing a boy standing up.

Henry's eyes darken as he notices him, he lets go of the girl and turns his attention to the boy.

"No, please... Henry... please" she tries to stop him, trying to stop his arm from slowly raising. "Please... fuck... don't!"

Henry nods towards the door and the girl flies across the room hitting the doors and Henry goes back to killing the boy.

He lifts him into the air and using his power he breaks his bones and his eyes.

The boy looked so young...

As soon as Henry killed the poor thing he looks for the girl, but she's nowhere to be seen.

She must've escaped while he was distracted.

I want to do just that so I run out of the room.

When I go to open the door I find myself face to face with Eddie's worried face.

"Oh, Jesus!" He lets out a sigh of relief.

"Fucking thank god" Steve exclaims.

"What... what happened?" I ask sitting up.

"We thought Vecna took you and Nancy," Dustin says from beside me so I look at him, caressing his arm to assure him I was okay.

I look at the others, all with worried faces. Nancy's beside Robin who got an arm around her reassuringly.

"Did he let you go too?" She asks and I nod "did he show you what he showed me?"

"I... I don't know"

-----------

We all moved to Max's trailer where Nancy started telling us about what Vecna showed her.

His plan of bringing a sort of army to Hawkins, to let the UpsideDown expand completely into our world through some gates.

They keep talking, but I can't pay attention, I hear them, but I can't listen.

I'm too focused on whatever the fuck he showed me.

"I was there" I suddenly say from my place on the ground, head in my head thinking.

"So was I. It was... so real I- " Nancy starts, but I interrupt her.

"No. Not that. I mean, I was there, at the lab. Or some copy of me, a clone or... I don't know." I take a deep breath "this... Vecna, one... Henry, he was, like, in love with this girl, or better, obsessed with her. Delusional. I saw... I saw him killing a little kid... the same way Eddie described... with no sign of regret or even sorrow."

"What... what if he just showed those things to scare you?" Steve suggests, evidently trying not to think of the worst.

"He didn't. I... I don't know what the hell was that, but I know it was very much real... and it's freaking me the fuck out, okay? I don't want to believe it, but... there's no denying it." I tell him. "For some reason, I, or another girl who looks exactly like me, was there and he feels like he found her again."

"Why doing all this just for... a girl though?" Robin asks "don't get me wrong, you're a wonderful girl, I'd gladly do that too. But why be so obsessed?"

"He needs a queen" Dustin answers her like it was obvious.

"Fuck..." I mutter hiding my head in my hands once again.

"Shit...Try 'em again. Try 'em again" Steve tells Max, who immediately goes to the phone.

We've been trying to contact El, Will and Mike, with no results.

"Anything?" Dustin asks.

"No. Rang a few times, then went to a busy signal." Max answers.

"Maybe you punched it wrong. Try again" Steve says.

"I didn't punch it in wrong" Max replies, rightly annoyed.

"Well, I don't know" Steve tries.

"I think she knows how to use a phone" Dustin defends Max, who's trying once again.

"I'm just saying, she could've typed it in wrong." Steve insists.

Max hangs up the phone again "same shit"

"How is that possible?" Lucas asks confused.

"I told you, Joyce has this telemarketer job. She's always on the phone. Mike won't stop whining about it." Dustin explains.

"That can't be three days straight busy, Dustin," I say.

"Yeah, something must be wrong" Max agrees with me.

"They're right. It can't be just a coincidence. It can't be" Nancy to agree."Whatever is happening in Lenora is connected to all of this. I'm sure of it. But Vecna can't hurt them nor take Y/n. Not if he's dead. We have to go back in there. Back to the Upside Down."

"Whoa. No, no, no. What?" Steve complains.

"Nope." Eddie too shakes his head.

"She's right," I say standing next to Nancy. "I don't know about you, but I don't exactly like the idea of being some teen-killing monster's mistress or whatever. So we either kill the bastard or... we kill the bastard" I say matter-of-factly

"We barely made it out of there in one piece" Steve points out.

"Yeah. That's because we weren't prepared, Steve." I tell him. "We just need a plan"

"A good one. Then we'll go through the gate, we'll find his lair, and we'll kill him" Nancy supports me.

"Or he'll kill us" Steve replies, agitated "the only reason you survived is that he wanted you to. He's not scared of us."

"And for good reason" Robin finally speaks "we were wrong about Vecna. Henry. One. Sorry, what are we calling him now?" She asks.

"One" Dustin and Lucas choose.

"Vecna," says Erica.

"Henry," Nancy says.

"Piece of shit?" I suggest, noticing a nod from Eddie.

"Right. We've learned something new about Vecna/Henry/one... uh... piece of shit. He's a number like Eleven, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin. But my... my point is, he's super powerful. He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight."

"Then why fight fair?" Dustin asks, simply "you're right. He's like Eleven. But that gives us an upper hand. We know Eleven's strengths and weaknesses" he explains.

Genius.

"Weaknesses?" Erica's quite confused now.

"There is one thing we can use," I say.

"Exactly, when El remote-travels, she goes into this sort of trance-like state. I bet the same is true for Vecna" Dustin keeps talking.

"That would explain what he was doing in that attic" Lucas points out.

"Exactly. When he attacks his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that attic, physical body defenceless." He declares.

"Defenseless? What about the army of bats?" Steve rhetorically asks, pointing at his injured neck.

"Right, true. We'll have to find a way past them. Distract them somehow." Dustin answers.

"And, uh, how do we do that, exactly?" Eddie asks, about to stand up.

"No idea" Dustin replies and Eddie sits back down defeated. "But once they're gone, he doesn't stand a chance. It'll be like slaying sleeping Dracula in his coffin"

"That sounds good in theory, but there is no pattern in Vecna's killings. I mean, at least not one that I can decipher." Robin notes. "We don't know when he's going to attack next. We don't even know who he's going to attack"

"We don't need another victim," I say, looking down.

"What are you talking about?" Nancy asks, worry clear in her voice.

"I can be the bait."

"No," Steve and Eddie say at the same time.

"I will" Max speaks up. "I can still feel him. I survived before I can do it again"

"No." I firmly say "we don't know if the music thing will work again. He will kill you if he gets another chance. But he will not kill me"

"We... we don't know that Y/n" Steve walks in front of me.

"Yes, we do! You didn't see what I saw. How he was with her. He looked at her like she was the reason the sun goes up every morning." I look him in the eyes, and my voice gets softer "he won't kill me, Steve"

"Are you sure about this?" Lucas asks.

"Positive," I say letting out a big sigh "just... please kill him"

"We need supplies" Nancy declares.

-----------

After stealing an RV we head to the War Zone that, according to Eddie, has everything we might need for killing things.

The plan is to buy weapons and then find an open space to get ready and be away from unwanted attention.

I sit in the back with Dustin while the others are scattered around and Steve's driving.

"Are you worried?" Dustin suddenly asks.

I look up at him, then I look around to avoid his worried stare and find Eddie's, instead. I smile at him, to let him know everything is alright.

"Scared shitless" I then say to Dustin.

"You don't have to do this. You can back down and we can think of a new plan together" Dustin tells me, he tries to both reassure me and make me change my mind.

"I know, I know. But the only other valid option is for Max to be the bait and, in all honesty, that scares me even more" As I speak I play with my fingers and when I sense someone's presence with us I look up seeing Eddie.

"Hi" he softly says.

"Hey" I reply.

"I'll leave you two" Dustin smiles at us and gets up to join Lucas and Max.

"You okay?" He asks and I softly laugh. "Stupid question, I know. I'm sorry"

"Nah, don't worry about it. You can ask all the stupid questions you want" I smile at him.

"I wish you wouldn't have to do this" he gently holds my hand.

"Me too. But better me than Max, or anyone else" I say laying my head on his shoulder, I always found comfort in this. We've been friends since I started driving the kids back and forth when they had Hellfire, so we got closer. Sometimes I feel like there's more, but whenever anything could happen he backs down so I'm never sure how he feels.

"It would be better to send Harrington. Maybe he could distract him with his hair, make good use of it for once" he jokes.

"Don't be mean," I say with a chuckle. He always knows how to cheer me up. "He might give him lessons on how to style it properly" I joke too.

I look at Steve driving.

Steve...

Steve, on the other hand, I met him when he and Nancy started dating, so of course he was always in the way. I didn't mind it honestly, he turned out to be not that much of a dick. Then he just got better, especially thanks to Dustin's friendship, but here things get complicated. When he worked at Scoops Ahoy with Robin he always flirted with me as I went to visit Robin during my breaks at the music store at Starcourt, at first I thought he was his way of joking. The moment I realised he wasn't joking I also realised I didn't mind it at all. I wanted him to flirt and I wanted to flirt back.

So... I realised I like, have some sort of feeling for two guys... at the same time.

Complicated.

"We're here" Steve announces parking the van in a secluded area to keep Eddie, Dustin and Lucas away from the people of Hawkins.

-----------

The store is huge.

"So much for avoiding angry hicks" Robin comments.

"Let's be... fast" Nancy suggests and we all agree.

Nancy and I go check out the shotguns they sell.

"How much?" Nancy asks the seller.

"$120.99, but I'll throw in 20 rounds of buckshot for ya," he tells us and I just nod at Nancy.

"Not bad," I whisper to her and she agrees.

While we keep looking Nancy hands me the weapon, but then I hear a familiar voice.

"Hey, can I see this real pretty .357, please?"

"Oh shit" I comment and Nancy quickly looks behind me and turns around just as quickly.

"You go. I got this" I tell her.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, just try to warn the other to keep an eye out for his goons. They must be around here too" I nod and she walks away, but that must've caught Jason's eyes because he then speaks directly at me.

"Look at that... What are you doing here?" He asks.

"Oh you know" I start turning around to face him, "they say there's a killer on the loose... gotta be prepared."

"Aren't you the freak's bitch?" He harshly asks.

"It's really sad you can't recognise what a friend looks like" I mock him, keeping a serious expression.

I see his jaw clenching hard, my words hit the target. He relaxes his face and takes a breath and just looks at me, in a way that makes a shiver run down my spine.

"It's a real pity" he then says.

"Yeah, it is. It means you never had an actual friend in your life" I say with a fake pout on my face.

He just laughs humourless.

"No, babe. A real pity is how you ruined yourself by hanging out with the freak" he walks closer.

"Oh no... you think I ruined myself?" I ask with fake shock, then I just smile "thank god. If having good friends instead of assholes like you ruined me... glad to be ruined, sir"

"You were really pretty, you know. I mean, you kind of still are... I'd gladly help you find the right way back." He... flirts..?

Oh now I'm gonna get sick

"Wow... your girlfriend died not long ago and you're already harassing another girl... just wow." I laugh sarcastically "see? That's what makes Eddie so much better than you"

"What would your father say, uh? I don't think Hopper would be happy about it" he suddenly says.

Oh... he didn't just mention my father, did he?

Now it's my turn to clench my jaw, he notices and smiles proudly.

"You wash that fucking mouth before talking about my father because you. Know. Shit." I tell him, walking up to him.

"Want my advice?" He asks completely ignoring me.

"No"

"Shotguns are not good for much of anything past killing small birds," he tells me, eyes focused on mine "I mean, they got power, sure, but not much range. And that's just gonna force you into close-range combat, then someone can easily redirect it by grabbing that barrel, like this.."

He suddenly moves to grab the barrel, but I'm faster, stepping back and moving the shotgun out of his reach earning a surprised expression from him.

"Keep talking about shit you clearly know nothing about and I might just show you what my father would say" I warn him and walk away.

I go pay for the stuff I got and reunite with the others as we walk back to the van.

"Remind me, please, not to make you angry?" Robin tells me with a proud smirk.

"You could never"

"That was... I gotta say... quite hot" Steve tells me pleasantly surprised.

I just wink at him, and we all hurry to get in the vehicle and just rush off before anyone could see us.

We quickly rush into the RV.

"What happened?" Lucas immediately asks.

"We gotta go" Steve cuts him off.

"Your old friends are here" Erica informs her brother.

Steve starts the vehicle, immediately driving away as soon as the last of us get in.

I move to the back with Dustin and Lucas.

"So.." Dustin starts.

I look at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Yes?" I urge him on.

"When are you gonna talk to them?" He asks.

"To who?" Lucas asks, suddenly interested.

"Eddie and Steve" Dustin immediately answers and I roll my eyes "C'mon! It's clear as the day you feel something for them, the both of them and they feel the same."

"It's more complicated than you think, Dusty," I tell him softly.

"It's not." Lucas interjects "I mean, Eddie kept worrying about you the whole time you all were in there. I mean very worried. Very."

"Yeah. And you didn't see the look Steve had when you volunteered to bait Vecna" Dustin adds.

"Yeah... I told you. Complicated" I tell them to drop the subject, so I just lean my head back and try to think of something else.

I have no idea what will happen.

I keep thinking about how this is real. I was there. I saw myself there in that lab, with Vecna, Henry or whoever the fuck he is. How is that possible? Is it some kind of trap?

What scares me the most is that I have this feeling it's not a trap. It's all true.

#stranger things x y/n #stranger things fic #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagine #stranger things #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington #steve harrington fluff #steddie #steddie x reader

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bluejaysandblackbats · 1 month

Text

Phantom Grin

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Bruce Wayne visits his son's grave on the night of his resurrection. Will it change Jason's fate, or is it all simply inevitable?

Chapters: 1/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain

Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Original Character

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd is Disabled, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Resurrected Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Get Along

Chapter One: Moonlight Promise

It'd been nearly ten months since the night Jason dug himself out of his own grave. Bruce sat by Jason's bedside, reading to him. Most days, Bruce read to him. When some of Jason's broken bones healed up, Bruce would hold his hand. He tried not to think too hard about the night it happened. The thought of Jason's broken body reaching out to him from the grave made his stomach turn. "I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way," Bruce read in a soft voice. Bruce listened carefully to the rhythm of the machines, making sure Jason's vitals were in order. Jason's heart rate often slowed depending on what Bruce read to him. He could tell that Jason loved poetry, or at least he thought Jason did.

Bruce squeezed Jason's hand gently. "Jason, I have to go earlier today," Bruce whispered, "But we'll finish The Highwayman when I come back. And I'll tell you about Clark's visit... Maybe when I come back, you can—." Bruce's phone rang, and he sighed. "Jason, I promise I'll make things up to you." He stood up and rested a gentle hand on Jason's forehead.

His phone continued to ring, and Jason opened his eyes. Bruce froze. "Jason?" he asked. Jason kept his eyes open for a few breaths before closing them once more. Bruce sat back down and brushed a knuckle against Jason's cheek. "Attaboy," Bruce whispered gently.

Bruce's phone rang again. "I'm not going anywhere... I'm just gonna answer this," Bruce whispered.

He answered the phone, and Dick immediately started apologizing. "I know you asked me not to call—."

"He opened his eyes... Just for a second," Bruce interrupted.

Dick didn't reply immediately. Instead, he made a soft noise. "Do you-. Did it seem like—?" Dick couldn't find the words.

Bruce sat with the phone between his ear and his shoulder. He squeezed Jason's hand. "He's never done it before. He opened his eyes and—. It was like he was trying to wake up," Bruce whispered, "Do you want to speak to him?"

Dick took a deep breath. "Put me on speaker," Dick whispered.

"Jason, I'm putting Dick on speaker," Bruce whispered. He let go of Jason's hand and set the phone on Jason's bedside.

"Good morning, Jason," Dick whispered, "I'm gonna come and see you pretty soon. I might get you something new to listen to. I know your birthday's coming up in August." Jason lay there, his eyes closed, and Bruce moved Jason's bangs out of his face. He didn't want to cut Jason's hair, not yet. In the months since Jason's resurrection, his height and hair were the only things that changed. It was the only way he could cope with the thought of Jason's condition.

Bruce stayed for an hour more and left in time for sundown. He'd be back later that night, but not as Bruce Wayne. Bruce always came at night in the middle of his patrol to make sure Jason didn't suddenly awaken in the night. He even hid motion sensors around Jason's hospital bed so that he'd know the comings and goings of the nurses. Leaving Jason was always hard. In the days following the incident where Jason first opened his eyes, Bruce started to see more and more movement in Jason. Sometimes Jason would open his eyes, other times, Jason would involuntarily grin when Bruce would touch his face. By the end of the year, Jason started responding to simple commands.

One afternoon, Bruce sat in the manor, eating dinner and talking to Dick. "He's gonna wake up any day now," Bruce whispered.

"And what are you gonna do about Tim?" Dick asked.

"Tim can have whatever he wants. He can be whatever he wants... Once Jason's able to come home," Bruce paused for a moment, "Jason'll need my full attention." He picked over his dinner.

Dick looked at him and furrowed his brows. "Gotham needs Batman—."

"And Jason needs me," Bruce raised his voice, "Had I been Bruce more often with Jason, maybe he wouldn't have died in the first place. I need to be there for him. I need to take care of—."

"And I'm not saying you're wrong, but from what I'm hearing in your voice, it sounds like you're calling it quits," Dick interrupted.

"Not permanently. I'm just prioritizing Jason for once," Bruce whispered, "Don't you think he deserves to be put first for once?"

Dick froze. He knew Bruce loved Jason, but he never thought that Bruce would ever set aside his priorities for anything or anyone. "I'm not judging you. I know you love Jason. I love Jason too... I just-. You don't have to do this alone. We're a family, and we're all willing to help in whatever way we can," Dick reassured him, "Maybe it's time you stop thinking you can do all this alone. Don't you think?"

"I can't let him down this time. I can't," Bruce whispered as he took a sip of water. "I should go check on him again soon."

"How many hours would you say you spend at the hospital?" Dick asked.

"Well, since he's gone from comatose to being in a vegetative state... Three hours in the daytime, on and off for two hours at night," Bruce replied. Dick tapped his fingertips on the table. "Yes, I'm thinking about going right now. You should think about coming with me."

Dick nodded. "I'll come along tomorrow before I leave," Dick replied, "No use in asking if you're staying for dessert, huh?" Bruce got up and took his plate to the kitchen.

Bruce's phone beeped, and he checked his phone. "I gotta go to the hospital—."

"What's wrong?" Dick asked.

"He's awake," Bruce replied as he rushed past Dick to the car. Dick followed closely behind.

"Is he okay?" Dick asked. Bruce handed Dick his phone, and when Dick saw what was going on, he pushed his hair back in distress. "Okay, I'm sorry for saying you were crazy for installing the motion sensor cameras."

#fic #batfam #phantom grin fic #Jason Todd #Bruce Wayne #Dick Grayson #Alfred Pennyworth #Barbara Gordon #Tim Drake #Cassandra Cain #Jason Todd/Original Character #Canon Divergent AU #Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain #Jason Todd is Disabled #Barbara Gordon is Oracle #Resurrected Jason Todd #Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating #Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Get Along

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enhashoutout · 4 months

Text

Tears and Matching Tattoos (Ice x reader)

I am and will always be a Nessa Barrett enthusiast

Genre: Angst

Trigger Warnings: typical H&L violence, jealousy (please let me know if I missed anything)

I use fem pronouns and descriptions because that is what is easiest for me but if you do not identify with that, please feel free to change that as you read to fit you :)

I'm not sure I 100% like this story, but I'm trying to get out of the habit of being a perfectionist and just allowing myself to publish everything even if I don't think it is perfect so that I have a record of my works to look back on and improve upon.

The one where you’re still in love with Ice even after he’s moved on.

youtube

𝕀𝕗 𝕀 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝔾𝕠𝕕 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕤 𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖

✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁

Ice was your first love, and you were his. You spent a good amount of your life not only being his first love but also his best friend. You were there for him through thick and thin. There for all his highs and his lows. You spent so much time together, you guys also fell apart. Today, it suddenly felt like everything you went through meant nothing.

You had split because Ice said that he didn't feel the same way anymore; feeling like you guys would be better if you guys went back to just being friends like when you guys were kids. That's okay, he had a lot on his plate, and some people just fall out of love sometimes. You weren't always lovers, you could go back to that again, right? He went back to friends, you pretended. It's hard going back to being friends when you literally live in the same house as the person you love. Being a part of Mighty Warriors was suddenly like shooting yourself in the foot. You were around Ice ALL. THE. DAMN. TIME. How does anyone move on like that?

Then, Sarah came along. Mighty Warriors had saved the poor girl from getting kidnapped by Doubt. Ice allowed her to stick around, and she became part of the group. Being the only two women on the team should've brought you closer, but it never did. You could see it, it was happening. Ice was moving on. He liked Sarah, he said and did the same things to you when it was you. The only difference is that this time they would last, something you didn't have the luxury of knowing. It wasn't Sarah's fault or her intention, but it did make you hold a secret grudge against her.

You were wallowing in your bedroom, figuring out how to improve upon the track Bernie gave you when Ice burst into your room.

"Well damn, at least knock. Did you need something before tonight's performance?"

"Yeah, can you look at this real quick?"

"Sure." You had answered him thinking he needed you to look at a track or a new styling choice for tonight's performance, but it wasn't either of those. From his back pocket, Ice pulled out a velvet box. He opened it up and showed it to you, a ring.

"Do you think Sarah will like it? I'm gonna propose to her tonight in the middle of Funk Jungle."

You were stunned. You didn't think this day would arrive so soon, and yet here you guys are.

"I- wow. I think the ring looks great. I'm sure she's gonna love it."

"I love her. For once, I'm nervous."

"Come on Ice, why be nervous? It's not like she's gonna say no. She's gonna say yes. She's going to absolutely love the ring, and she's going to absolutely love you."

"Thank you, you're the best. You always know what to say."

"That's my job as your best friend who actually has a brain unlike the rest of Mighty isn't it?" The two of you laughed.

"I'll see you downstairs for your set."

"You bet."

Ice exited your room, closing your door. All you could do was stare at the spot he once stood in. Tears began running down your face. It's been a while since you guys broke up, and a while since Ice and Sarah were together, so this should've hurt less. Should've, but here you are, crying at the news. You couldn't hate either of them, but you did hate yourself for holding onto feelings that were no longer reciprocated. You fixed your makeup and went back to looking at the track Bernie gave you to keep your mind off of everything.

Later that night you stood with Bernie behind his set up, dreading the moment the proposal would happen. It seems like Ice didn't tell anyone else but you, knowing that one of the guys would probably accidentally let the surprise slip to Sarah.

In the middle of Ice's performance, he told Bernie to cut the music for a second. He walked to Sarah where she usually sat on the side, bringing her to the middle of the dance floor. The spotlights focused on the couple. Ice got down on one knee, and into the mic asked "Sarah, will you marry me?" She was thrilled, shouting yes. He picked her up in a hug and spun her, telling Bernie to continue where the track left off. Everyone in the club was shouting and celebrating the two, everyone but you. Bernie noticed this. Aside from Ice, the other Mighty member you were closest to was Bernie. He was the only other person in the group whose brain could process deeper emotions.

Bernie pulled you away from the noise. "Hey, you okay?"

"After everything we've talked about Bernie, how do you think I feel?" you mumbled.

"Like shit obviously but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask."

"I'll be fine. I'll cry for a while and then I'll be good. I've held out for this long, what's a little more right?"

"Will you be okay? I'm being serious. I don't want you in a place that's causing you pain."

"I don't get to have him but thank god matching tattoos last for life right? I'm heading back, tell the others I wasn't feeling good okay?" Bernie nodded.

You left Funk Jungle and headed back home. In your room, hidden away from everyone else you cried. It's alright, Ice can love her even after he broke your heart. It would be cruel to wish anything other than the best for him. Part of you wished everything was a lie, but the other part of you hoped that your heartbreak brought him the love he deserved. You looked at the matching tattoo you had with Ice on your arm. It had started as a couple's tattoo, switching its meaning when you had broken up. Now it was just a matching best friends tattoo, but in your mind where no one else could see, you could look at the tattoo and remember the time when Ice once loved you.

✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁✫☼☾☁

You reached the end! Thank you so much for reading this little blurb. It's not the best thing I've written or my favorite but I figured I can publish it and use it for improvement moving forward.

I read on the post here on Tumblr that Ice and Sarah get married in the H&L manga series so I wanted to write something to go along with that.

Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated.

Please don't take my work and repost it anywhere or take credit for it. Writers work hard on their stuff so please don't be a crappy human.

Random question, are there any H&L characters you guys want to see more stories for?

#Youtube #high&low #high and low #high&low story of sword #high and low x reader #H&L #high and low mighty warriors #mighty warriors #high and low ice #enhashoutout

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wifey-ohara · 7 months

Text

Blood and fire, they burn the same way

Part1

Angsty miguel &teen spider!reader

Notes: mentioned characters death, nothing major, sad, mentiones of threats of violence, this one is just dull really, i should really add to it ,hobie is here!,not proof read

tag list:@mvlanchqly

4:00 am

You woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and well rested, it's been years since you had that kind of good sleep, is this what revenge feels like? Now you understand why villains hold grudges so bad

With a small smirk, you got up and got ready for your day, you didn't have anything to do today, so a day in the lab it is then, your mood got better at the decision you made.

Then it fell back down

There he was, right where you left him, leaning on the wall eyes so puffy you doubted he could open them

Pathetic

With a small huff you entered the kitchen making yourself a drink, hoping that your day wouldn't be ruined

You were almost done when you heared him a take a sharp breath,

It took a moment for him to move, standing up and walking towards you, blocking your exit,, too much for hoping you think

"Good morning " his voice was hourse, raw, painful, how much did he cry

"morning" you replied standing in front of him drink in your hand, waiting for him to move

"..H-how did you sleep?" he asked, almost shy

"good, thanks for asking" you answered

With a slight flinch he backed up, giving you room to move and go to your lab

Miguel wantched you leave and then with a click, you were gone

He wondered how hard is it gonna be, if it isn't impossible

So now, sitting in the couch his brain trying to process what happened to him in those last few days

He killed his wife and daughter because he was selfish, destroying a universe in the process

He missed his actual wife's death when she waiting for him to return, he didn't get to say goodbye, he doesn't know if he deserve to do so

And you, with you cold eyes and colder replies, pouring acid into his wounds, he deserves it, he knows he does, but he wants to do right by you, try and fix whatever shattered glass left between you two, and it seems that it'll cut him every step of the way, and he doesn't mind one bit, as long as you don't wish him dead, that's all he wants, not forgiveness, not a relationship, not love, only a middle ground, to live with you without feeling the heavy air around

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the lab door open

"thanks Ben, I'll read it and take care of it" you said getting out, a screen showing that you're on a call with ben, another saving a report

"thanks dude! I'm sorry i didnt do it last night, i was so tired i fell asleep so quick!" the voice from the screen said

"don't worry about it I'll see you next time" you said hanging up..

Then a normal door opening and closing again,, the one to your room this time

He sighed, leaning back on the couch, staring at the ceiling above him

What wouldn't he give for forgiveness?

And then the door knocked...

He stood up to open it, and was shocked to find..

"hobart?"

In all his punky glory, with his wide and wild hair, shiny piercings, hobart brown was at his door step

He was smirking a cocky smile, one that fell the moment he laid eyes on the taller man, soon turning into a frown as he looked miguel up and down

Miguel was still confused..

Hobie recovered quick though, pushing past him and into the house, yelling "Ayo, smartass, where you at? You're never late!" into the house, it didn't surprise miguel that much, what did surprise him was you, coming out of your room, a playful frown on your face "I can get too occupied in a project from time to time" fixing you outfit

He stood there in the middle of the living room watching you walking around, collecting your, phone, wallet and anything else someone would need for an outing, hobie behind you talking about something or the other, he didn't really care

He knows he shouldn't ask, that he has no right to do so, but the words leave his mouth, forced.

"where are you going?"

You paused midway through your quick search for your stuff, looking at him, hobie also quieted down behind you, you know it a big deal when that happens

Hobie Brown was your closest friend,(he might say that someone earns such label when you have a bunch of friends, and then choose who you let in or not, which you don't, but you'll roll your eyes every time at it anyway) knows about your fathers, rather nostalgic trip he had for 12 years, only he and lyla do, he found out when came to loot in on your snacks and found you crying, rare, yes, but possible, he asked you what was wrong and you told him, what was a talk about your mother turned into your life story, he listened the whole time, only commenting after, he had alot of choice words, still does but you convinced him out of going to the universe your father was in and beating the crap out of him both for cheating and abandoning you

So now, the fact that he didn't have a "talk" with him is impressive, what's more so, is that he didn't answer miguel at the moment

Is he being funny?

No way he thinks that i must answer

Did he hit his head, is he insane?

Taking a breath, you look in his eyes, red irises, red and puffy "out." you said, continuing your tour around your house, then heading to the door where miguel stood, going past him and leaving, you could swear if you had a knife you could cut the tension he caused, as if he ever caused anything else to you

"be safe" he said

"as if they needed to hear that from you" hobie scoffed, slowly reaching his limits

"Come on we're gonna be late" you said, already out the door

sorry for not posting, just can't seem to write lately,but i promise to get them doe eventually!

#miguel o'hara x reader #spider man: across the spider verse #hobie spiderverse #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel ohara x reader #miguel o'hara #platonic #miguel o’hara x platonic reader #platonic reader #miguel x reader #miguel spiderman #miguel ohara

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talaok · 2 years

Note

I can't get the pictures of Joseph trying on Eddie's costume out of my head, he's so... 😩😤

Can you do one where the reader goes to visit him on set and finds him in his Eddie costume? with or without wig you decide

Pairing: Joseph Quinn x fem!reader Warnings: none (just fluff) a/n: Sorry if this is quick

Costumes

Your fingers were rhythmically tapping on the wheel as you drove down the road. there was no music it was just a stupid thing you did when you were excited and happy at the same time. After all, you were gonna see Joe. It's not like you hadn't seen him in a long time it's just that you missed him. missed spending actual time with him. He usually came home very late or had to get up early and for two weeks now it felt like you hadn't seen each other at all. you were working at the cafe during the day and barely had any free time since Marie, the only other waitress, quit. But not today, today you had been given a free afternoon and the only way you wanted to spend it was with him. The huge bag of dirty laundry and all the filthy dishes in the sink could wait if it meant you could hug Joe for even a second. You had no idea how you were gonna get in, you had gone to a set before, the only difference was that he had brought you there. This time, it was just you, a random girl asking to get on the set of(you were just now realizing)one of the most successful tv shows of this era. Nobody even knew who you were, and you didn't know anyone else there. Maybe this hadn't been such a great idea.

"Hi" you said shily to the man standing in front of you "I-" you cleared your throat "I'm here to see my boyfriend" you said, as the man completely ignored you. The man scoffed, like that was a bad joke, as if this was the hundredth time he had heard someone say that. He still wasn't looking at you. "Uhh- Joseph Quinn?" you said with a thin voice He turned his head to you, his hard expression intimidating you. His eyes quickly scanned you, and you became very aware of still being in your work clothes. the coffee stain on your t-shirt suddenly becoming all you could think about. He turned back to his previous position, his face becoming stoic once again. He obviously had taken his decision. You couldn't blame him, after all, he must have seen thousands of crazy fans trying to get in and from his perspective, the messy-haired and dishwasher-smelling girl in front of him was just another one of them. "Look I know this sounds dumb but it's the truth" you said "We've been together for 2 years now, I just wanted to surprise him" you said, exasperated. "Why don't you call him then? Tell him to get here and I'll let you in" his deep voice resonated in the space around you. You exhaled "because, as I said, I wanted to surprise him" You repeated "please" you begged "I've got photos" "I can't let you in" "Whatever" you mumbled as you turned around, this was dumb. You were just gonna go home and pretend it never happened. this was stupid anyway. "y/n?" you stopped in your tracks and turned around. A blonde middle-aged woman was looking at you on the other side of the fence. She looked nice, like she would give you sweets when you look down kinda nice. "Are you y/n?" she asked with a sweet smile. You frowned. "Y-yes, that's me" you answered uncertainly. "Are you here to see Joe?" You paused. What was happening? "I-I'm sorry who are you?" you asked, trying your best to not sound rude. the woman laughed, a genuine laugh, not at you, but at herself. "Oh, I'm sorry, You must think that I'm a crazy lady, don't you?" she smiled "I'm Alice, I'm the costume designer here" she gestured around herself. "Oh" you raised your eyebrows "And, how do you know me?" you asked confused. She laughed again "Are you kidding? All Joe does is talk about you" she explained "and besides, he has a framed photo of you in his trailer, I see you basically everyday honey" Well, now you felt dumb. "Ohhhh" you said, realizing "Sorry if I sounded rude" you apologized. "Oh, don't worry. you weren't." she reassured you. "Joe's with me now, if you want I can bring you to him" she offered, enthusiastically. You grinned widely. This woman was an angel sent from god. "That would be amazing. Thank you" you said entering the set, giving the man from before an, "I told you so" look.

"COSTUMES", that's what the sign on the trailer's door that Alice had just opened said. You were feeling a bit nervous, coming here unannounced, but the woman's nice smile as she gestured for you to come in made you immediately feel better. You stepped in and just as you did were overwhelmed by the number of clothes everywhere, it looked like a hurricane had just swept into the room. "I'm sorry about the mess, we're trying on different costumes today and it always ends up like this" she said, picking up some shirts from a chair and throwing them on a pile of clothes on the ground. you smiled"It's not a problem, don't worry" you waved your hand "It's not like my house doesn't look like this on a daily basis" you joked, earning an amused laugh from her. "I think this is the best one this far" A voice came from the end of the trailer. You turned towards it and your mouth fell open as you saw joe walk out of what seemed like a changing room. "What do you think?" he asked, turning towards Alice, but noticing you as he did so. his eyes widened, surprised, and his mouth formed the widest of smiles "Y/n?" You snorted "That's a look" you said sarcastically, eyeing his outfit. He was wearing a pair of ruined jeans and a black t-shirt with the hellfire club logo on it, all of it topped with a leather jacket covered with a sleeveless jean jacket. This was definitely different from how you were used to seeing him. He grinned " What, you don't like it, sweetheart?" he said, tilting his head to the side while walking closer to you. You smiled "Oh no, I do. it's very you" you joked as he placed his hands on your hips. "just wait 'till you see how I look with the wig on" he whispered against your lips before pulling you in for a soft kiss. God, you had missed him. every time he kissed you, you felt like you traveled to another universe, one where unicorns flew in a sky made of rainbows, and this time was no different. you melted into the kiss as you placed your hands on his chest. you smiled as he pulled away, and blushed slightly when you saw Alice standing behind him, having forgotten completely about her presence. "Wait, What wig?" you asked snapping out of your temporary trance. Joe breathed out a laugh as Alice turned around with an amused smile "You gotta see it" she said, before walking hurriedly to another section of the room. You frowned and smiled excitedly at the same time "You didn't tell me you wore a wig" you murmured, stoking joe's cheek "I wanted it to be a surprise" he said, before leaning down to give you one more quick kiss "I missed you" he murmured sweetly. "I missed you too" "here it is" Alice said triumphantly as she emerged with a full bag. Joe smiled at you before turning to Alice, who was already taking the wig out from the bag "now" she said as Joe got in front of her "This is just a trial one" she said, positioning it on his head "it's not the definitive one" she explained as she perfected the positioning "But still" she smiled "It's something" Joe turned towards you and you couldn't help but burst out giggling. "Hot right?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows. "So hot" you Laughed as you walked closer to him. You immediately brought your hands up to his "new hair".it was extraordinary how much it felt like the real ones. You moved some of his fringe around and touched with your fingers how a lock of the black long hair felt. "Wow" you whispered He smiled "You like it?" You grinned widely "I love it" you whispered before standing on your tip toes and kissing him gently.

#joseph quinn #joseph quinn fluff #joseph quinn x reader #joseph quinn x y/n #fluff #joseph quinn fanfiction #Joseph Quinn fic #starnger things #request #stranger things x reader #stranger things

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s0ulsniper · 1 year

Text

I wanna be yours

Flamingo x gn!reader

Request:

"hello! Can you write a flamingo x female reader with prompts 30 and 50? ❤️❤️"

@alexisisgonnabefamous18

Here it is, thank you for requesting :)

*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩

You and Albert have always shown a close bond to each other since your meeting in high school.

Even in his worst times, and his best you were always there for him. And the same for you of course.

When he was with Kristen, you kept your boundaries and talked to him even when he got distant.

The same for when he was going through the break up.

You drive as fast as you could to his house to comfort him and be there any way you could.

Today was a particularly hard one for the both of you.

He felt abnormally down and unmotivated to the point he laid on the couch for hours on hours not getting up for anything except food and hygiene.

For you, you had a horrible day at college and we're ready to end your shift at your half-time job as quickly as possible.

You had been texting all day, and planned that you would stop by his house after your shift ends at 7.

👤

Albert <3

"You're still coming right?"

6:34 pm.

Y/n

"Yeah of course, I'll be there in 45 :)"

6:46 pm.

Albert <3

"Alright, love you :)"

6:49 pm.

Y/n

"love you"

6:56 pm.

______________________

Although you were almost sure he was saying "I love you" in a friendly way, you still grasped onto the chance it was more than that, and so did he.

You put your phone in your pocket and cleaned up the tables, there were only 4 people in the dinner and more than enough waiters to serve them.

You grabbed the pen to sign out and said your goodbyes to your coworkers, specifically your one friend there.

"Bye, Luna! Have a good night." You call and wave to her while walking out.

"Bye, see you tomorrow y/n." She smiles.

You grasp your backpack on, walking towards the nearby parking lot a couple blocks down the road.

As soon as you inch into your car you turn your heat on, desperately trying to gain heat from the cold air outside.

You text Albert that you're on your way over and turning your radio on, turning it to your favorite station.

As if in no time, you feel yourself pulling into Albert's driveway hoping his house would be warmer than your 40 degree car.

Then suddenly the thought of cuddling up close to Albert grazes your mind.

You shudder that thought away quickly and grab your bag, getting out of the car.

You grab your keys from your pocket and walk up the driveway mindlessly finding the key to unlock his door.

A wave of heat and familiarity hits you as you walk in, bringing a warm smile to your face.

"Albert? I'm home." You call out trying to hear any room he might be in.

You walk towards the kitchen but you're stopped when you hear the tv on.

"Albert?" You call out again as you walk into the living room, setting your bag and keys by the table.

You peer over the couch to see Albert curled up with a blanket, dead asleep.

You smile and take your shoes off, placing them beside the couch.

As silently as possible you walk to the couch, sitting close to him flicking the remote to a channel you like.

After around 20 minutes, Albert starts to stirr, probably waking from his sleep.

"Y/n?" He asks half awake.

"Yes? Sorry for waking you." You answer.

He shakes his head, and runs a hand through his hair.

"No you didn't, I promise." He reassures me.

"I'm gonna go get some snacks and drinks." You tell him and he nods, sitting up on the couch.

You make your way to the kitchen, grabbing yours and Albert's favorite drinks and snacks, and then scurrying back to the living room setting the snacks on the coffee table.

"Here." You tell Albert handing him his drink.

He thanks you and pats the spot between him and the couch, making you look at him with a confused face.

"Cmonnn, it's cold." He pleads.

"Well, that is true." You reason but that doesn't stop your face from heating up in the dark lit room.

You crawl over to his side and plop down halfway on him, figuring why not make yourself comfortable.

"Mmm, you definitely are warm." You admit and he laughs that precious laugh looking down at you laying on his chest.

After a couple minutes of watching you feel Albert get far more comfortable. Moving his hand to wrap around your waist and moving the blanket on top of you guys.

But all of the sudden, he grabs the remote and mutes the tv looking down at you.

"What's wrong?" You ask him while he seems to be at a loss for words, trying to find the right thing to say.

But instead of saying something he brings his hand to your cheek and kisses you passionately.

As you pull away you search his eyes for context you so desperately need.

"Please be mine." He asks.

"I wanna be yours." You answer and bring your lips back to his, his hands starting to roam your body.

As things get more heated, you feel him flip to where he's hovering over you, with your back to your couch.

He pushes your hips down, positioning you in a comfortable spot.

He pulls away making you groan with the lack of touch but he reconnects his lips to your neck, leaving you satisfied.

You felt his body weight on yours, knee between your thighs and pushing up, causing you to moan into the kiss giving him a chance to slide his tongue into your mouth.

Your hands roam, feeling them to lower down his torso and under his shirt feeling onto his muscles making him groan.

You can tell there are gonna be spots left on your neck in the morning, hoping they're just light enough and low enough to be unnoticeable.

You both are definitely having a better day.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩

#flamingo x reader #flamingo #albert aretz x reader #albert x reader #albert aretz

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heart4reigns · 11 months

Note

hey! could i request something for jimmy uso where they're kind of in a situationship and while they're secretly spending time together in the tour bus reader asks "what are we" and you can choose how it ends whether it's angsty or wholesome!

FACES, jimmy uso.

warnings: curse words, alcohol, implied sexual activities, pet names, slight age gap, mostly texts, inaccurate events

tags: ooo be prepared... i hate situationships tbh like damn it's so scary to think about it maybe it's not my cup of tea

"MY brother been asking about you." jey said as he poured himself a cup of coffee from the pantry. "solo? i was just gonna see him after this." "no, jimmy. i'll tell you later, gotta bounce." he continued. you were left confused with your coffee. jimmy has been asking for me? you thought. it was weird. as you took a walk back to the locker room you were left with questions inside your mind.

the jimmy uso that you once liked had been asking for you. see, you knew him from years ago. the two of you immediately hit it off when you first met. it was an intense interaction, but one day, he decided to get himself a girlfriend and it wasn't you. so you backed away, staying as friends. after your return from the long hiatus you took, you reconnected with him and his brothers. this time, you were closer to his brothers.

although your relation with him wasn't as strong as before; you two were still kind of friends, exchanging greetings and farewells every time you saw each other. you learned that he recently broke up with his girlfriend. it was definitely hard to get back on the dating scene after a long-term relationship, so it was weird hearing that sentence coming out of his twin. you sighed in frustration, entering the locker room with a confused expression.

"you're oddly quiet." your thoughts were cut off by your best friend. "dom!" your eyes lit up in excitement. "what's in your mind, (y/n)?" you shook your head. "nothing." you tried to convince him to no avail. "i've known you since you were on babysitter duty trying to keep me out of the roof. i know if you have something your mind." you decided to tell him the interaction you had with jey earlier.

"damn, this is new." dominik responded, still trying to tie his shoelaces. "i know! i can't even talk to jey since he's performing." you huffed out the air out of frustration. "well, there's nothing you can do about it... although you two make a good couple though." dominik joked. "come on, don't think about it too much! i'm sure it's gonna be alright. we have a big match tonight! cheer up!"

work ended for you, you were back in the locker room. you didn't see dominik since he was riding on a different bus. "yo!" jey greeted you with a huge smile. "ay, you're riding with me right?" you nodded. "come on, hurry up. or else we won't get the back seat. it's just gonna be solo slumping over taking up all of the seats." you chuckled at his sentence. "okay then fuck off, i'm gonna change first."

"are you sitting with me today?" cody asked as soon as you stepped inside the bus. "nah man, she's sitting with me. we have something to talk about." before you could answer, jey dragged you to the back of the bus. you passed your friends, greeting them with a smile. a certain face was spotted several seats in front of you. jimmy uso. you waved at him and he returned the gesture.

the drive back to the hotel was long due to the chicago traffic. everyone was knocked out cold. "hey, you awake?" jey nudged your arm. you took off your earphones and faced him. "what's up?" you asked. "about the thing i said earlier," he paused a second. "so, like. i know y'all are friends or so and we know that we're in practically different group of friends, but he asked if you were single." you furrowed your eyebrows. that's weird, you thought. "huh, really?" you asked. "yeah dawg, i think he's interested. you up for it?"

"oh, you know i'm down for anything. don't really mind if we talk or something." jey smiled at your respond. "i'll make sure to tell him about it." you shrugged your shoulders. "we're still partying next week right?" you rested your head on his shoulder. "course, who do you think i am, bailing out? roman reigns?" he burst out laughing at your sentence, waking up several people on the bus. "shut up jey, we're trying to get some sleep!" "sorry!"

as soon as you jumped into your soft hotel bed, you received a notification.

jimmy: hows ur knee? heard u got the entire crowd worried

it was kind of weird for him to suddenly message you but you remembered the conversation you had with jey earlier. the devil works fast, but jey fucking uso works faster.

(y/n): bruised and ready to get checked tomorrow!!

jimmy: sounds awful

(y/n): it is!

jimmy: so u not coming to the party next week?

(y/n): i am after i checked this huge-ass bruise

jimmy: dopeeeee

jimmy: was gonna ask if u want me to drive u to the doctors but i got a meeting w marketings tmrw

you giggled as you read his messages.

(y/n): too bad we could've had an amazing hospital trip

jimmy: maybe next time

jimmy: actually nah

jimmy: maybe never

the conversation went on until you realized that it was 3 am and you had a doctor's appointment at 8. it felt good talking to him again since the two of you don't really talk anymore before this. you woke up with a stinging pain on your bruised knee. "goddamn." you muttered, trying to get up from the bed. you looked at your phone and you had notifications from different people.

dominik (41): wake up please dont miss ur appointment

jey (2): a 'thank you joshua samuel fatu for your service' would be nice

jimmy (3): dawg this marketing meeting is so boring who the fuck holds a meeting at 7 am in the morning

you immediately replied to his messages.

(y/n): poor u, just woke up btw getting ready for the doctors! pray for me!

in a second, you received a reply.

jimmy: always do, keep me updated, beautiful

days went by and the two of you got closer. you were thankful that you didn't have to defend your title at work today, only cutting a promo. "what's goooood?" jey immediately followed you into the hallways. "hey!" you greeted him. "so, how's it going?" you rolled your eyes. "what do you mean how's it going? my knee? it was only inflamm-" "i meant with my bro." he cut you off mid sentence. "oh," you paused a second, cheeks heating up. "we're still talking... if that's what you want to know."

"well, he can't stop talking about you. all those 'god, i'm thankful we're talking again'. even solo gets tired of him." jey wrapped his hand with his tape. "y- you're shitting me?" "nah, i'm being for real. let's just see how he is tonight." everyone was getting hyped for the party, especially you and jimmy. you haven't seen him since last week, due to your schedules clashing.

"looking fresh as hell for what? who you seducing tonight?" dominik pulled up in front of your house. "your dad." you joked, getting inside the car. "fuck off." he rolled his eyes and started driving.

jimmy: where u at?

(y/n): calm down i'm on my wayyyyy

jimmy: aight see u!

you smiled at his response, causing dominik to groan. "swear to god you both are like high schoolers." he complained. "shut up, i am having fun." you slapped his shoulders. "yeah, yeah whatever you say." soon, the two of you arrived at the club. it was going to be a fun night, you thought. you deserved this night out because you just had your ass beat a week ago. "let's do this!" dom chuckled, entering the club.

the club was packed with people and you were ecstatic to let loose. you spotted your group of friends and immediately went to their table. "here comes the champs." montez greeted you and dom. "shut up, loser." you joked. they passed you a shot glass and you quickly took it. "fuck." you muttered, feeling the alcohol down your throat.

jimmy: think i spotted u

(y/n): can't see u where are uu

jimmy: somewhere on the dance floor

"have any of you seen jimmy?" you asked the table to no avail. "he's sharing a table with his brothers! i think they're near the dance floor." bianca replied, voice louder than usual due to the raging music on the background. "okay!" you took another shot. "dom, do you wanna dance?" you asked your best friend. "nah i think i'm good, i'll watch your bag from here." "any of you wanna go to the dance floor?"

just like the tables, the dance floor was packed with intoxicated people. you were with your group of friends, enjoying the time of your life, until you felt a tap on your shoulders. "(Y/N)!" you turned around and saw him, with a smile plastered on his face. "jimmy! hi!" you said, hugging him. "you're so hard to find." he groaned. "sorry, sorry." the music was loud and you were trying your best to focus on him as the alcohol was getting on you.

you didn't know what it was but he looked so damn good with his outfit right now. the dance floor got crowded and you couldn't hear what he was saying. "what?" "i said, let's go to the back! i can't hear you!" you nodded at him as he practically dragged you to the back of the club. the back of the club was quieter, only a couple of people chatting and smoking their brains out.

"so, how's your knee?" you chuckled at his question. "why does everyone keep on asking about my knee?" jimmy smiled. "well i don't know girl, because i think you got a bad match last week." he took a sip of his drink. "it's not like i'm heavily injured or so, just another rough match." you continued. "yeah, watched it. you did amazing tho, like usual." you grinned in reply. "oooh, like usual? that means you've been watching me?"

"of course! god, i really want to fight you some day." you furrowed your eyebrows. "not in a bad way, in a good way! i think we can work it out." he quickly backtracked. "i know, i know." for some reason, you couldn't stop smiling. "i have to say you look so pretty tonight." jimmy winked at you, causing you to blush. you forgot how flirty he was when you used to talk to him. "t- thank you. you look pretty too." "is that a compliment?" you immediately nodded. "then i feel the prettiest tonight."

the night went on and still, you couldn't really stop smiling. it was always fun talking to him as he was one of the funniest and nicest person in the current roster. the two of you abandoned your drinks, clearly more interested in each other than the thought of getting drunk. the area was getting crowded and you were starting to get kind of bored with the place. "you wanna bounce?" he suddenly asked, noticing your absent gaze.

"let's go."

and thus, you spent the night with him, in a way that you could never imagine. jimmy uso was one charming bastard, you thought. the morning after wasn't a mess, surprisingly. you didn't wake up alone this time. you had someone clinging on to your body, not wanting to let you go. "good morning, let me shower and i'll take you home." he muttered, still having his eyes closed. "morning." you chuckled. "or let's just shower together, to save time." "oh, we're saving the planet too."

after that day, the two of you became closer. first dates turned to second dates and the dates went on and on until you were sure that you really liked him. he was the first to initiate the conversation about liking each other. it was a cold night, somewhere in new york. the two of you were having a bagel in a random park, enjoying your trip before your showtime tomorrow. "i can't keep this any longer." he blurted out, facing you. "huh?" you muttered, with a mouth full of bagel. "i really like you, (y/n)." jimmy admitted. "i know, it's pretty obvious that i like you too, isn't it?" you shrugged your shoulders.

"really?" his tone was dripped with excitement. "really, jimmy. i like you. do you want me to prove it to you?" he nodded, confusion plastered on his face. you moved closer to him, kissing him to an extent that he dropped his food. the two of you were giggling like high schoolers, enjoying the moment. "god damn, i'm so thankful we're talking again. i can't keep my mind out of you, baby."

situationship. that was what you would use to describe your relationship with jimmy. feelings were involved but the two of you weren't official. people were rooting for you and they weren't surprised to see the two of you being together. see, this was your first situationship–you were still getting used to it. it was weird, you thought. if the two of you liked each other, why not make it official? you asked yourself. but hell, you wouldn't trade this with anything.

it was a smooth journey, for now. he still took you on dates, you would sleep in his house (you practically lived there now). but you started to notice something different as days went by. your feelings for him gre stronger as you were waiting for him to ask you out. the day never came. some days, you were ignored–being left alone with your own thoughts. does he hate me? does he think i'm clingy and annoying? is this over? you kept on doubting yourself. other days, you were showered with love. never-ending text messages when he wasn't around, surprise visits, flowers, and all of that sappy couple stuff.

you were conflicted with your current relationship. "you know i still like you?" you reminded him. "oh, yeah." he replied, eyes still glueing on the monitor in front of him. you wanted to cry but to no avail. at this point, you didn't know what to do. he was giving you mixed signals and your best friend–dom–told you that mixed signals meant no. you should stop this before you fell harder.

but it was too late. you couldn't stop thinking about him, about what went wrong to have him ignore you for days, popping up every once in a while to talk and then disappear again. you had to ask him about this, so you let your guard down and confronted him. "hey." you greeted him. "hey." he replied. the excited tone wasn't there like before. "you wanna walk to the bus with me?" jimmy nodded, still not facing you. "yeah, wait a bit. i need to get my charger from kevin."

tension was there and the two of you noticed it. he wasn't holding your hand and you weren't laughing your ass off, things were different. as soon as you got to the bus, the two of you sat at the back–gaining privacy.

"jimmy, what are we?" it felt like the right time to ask him that question. he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, stumbling for words. "what do you mean what are we?" he asked. "i mean, you take me out on dates, you shower me with affection, and then other days you act like i don't exist, ignoring me for days. what are we, jimmy?" you were thankful that no one was on the bus yet.

quiet. it was quiet. "is this not enough?" jimmy asked once again. "no, it's not that... i'm just confused with our relationship." you confessed. "(y/n)," he paused for a second, forming an answer inside his mind. "if you want to take this in a serious matter... i don't think i can do that. i think we're moving too fast." you felt a pang on your chest. you didn't know how to respond. "thought we were okay with what we have now, but i think you got too attached, huh? i'm not planning to be in a relationship." he added.

you didn't know what to do. the bus was filled with your coworkers and jimmy acted like nothing happened. he greeted them with a smile and laughed at their jokes. it was true that he fell first, but you fell harder–but you didn't fall in love with this jimmy, you fell in love with the version of him you created in your head; a loving partner, a boyfriend, a husband, a person that you could grow old with. maybe you shouldn't hold any expectations and just let it go. "you okay there?" he asked. "oh, i'm fine."

after that talk on the bus, the two of you never talk anymore. he fell first, he wanted you first–but of course, you fell harder. now, he was just one of those faces you see at work. a stranger again.

a/n: sorryyyy if this was long overdue... having a writer's block moment. but i hope you enjoyed it!!! feedbacks are highly appreciated <3

#the usos #jimmy uso #jimmy uso x reader #wwe #roman reigns #wwe imagines #cody rhodes #jey uso #paul heyman #wrestling #wwe x reader #wwe imagine

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study-coffee-chicago · 5 months

Text

Halstead Headcanons Pt. 5

A/N: I wanted to write a Halstead Thanksgiving imagine and I also had a headcanon where Halstead sister chokes sitting in my drafts. Since they're both pretty short, I decided to combine them into another installment of Halstead Headcanons.

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving:

You anxiously looked at the forecast for the third time this hour. But, at this point, you knew it was no use. It was currently Monday morning and a snowstorm had hit Chicago late last night. Seeing as your 9 am Monday class was the only class that hadn't been canceled this week, you planned to leave right after class and make the eight-hour drive from Kansas City to Chicago, and planned to get back home around 9 pm at night. You, Will, and Jay had been discussing this possibility of you not coming home since last Thursday when the storm had been forecasted.

You sighed and looked at all you stuff that you had lined up in the hallway of your apartment, right beside your door. You figured maybe they'd be wrong, so maybe you'd be able to leave today...it wouldn't be the first time meteorologists had been wrong.

You dialed Will's number and put your phone on speaker as you started to make your coffee.

"Hey, kiddo," he answered.

"I can't come home. It's supposed to keep snowing and there's accidents everywhere when I get about two hours from home and--"

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Will said.

"But it's not! I wanna come home for Thanksgiving, Will!"

"And you will. Thanksgiving's on Thursday. It's only Monday. You can always make the drive on Wednesday if it clears up."

"But what if it doesn't!"

"Hey, don't think like that. The plows will be out soon and then we'll go from there, okay?"

You sniffled. "Okay."

"Now, get ready for class and me and Jay will keep you updated on the road conditions. Sound good?"

"I guess," you answered.

"If there's one thing I know about Chicago weather is that it's unpredictable, so think positive."

"Yeah. I'm gonna go now. I'll text Jay and tell him I won't be coming home today. He's probably gonna call me in the next thirty minutes, too."

"Good idea. Have a good day, kiddo. And, there's still three days until Thanksgiving, so don't stress."

"Easier said than done."

***

Wednesday, 7 am

Jay stood in the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Then, he looked outside. It wasn't snowing as hard, but after one quick look at the traffic and road conditions online, he knew most of the roads were still glare ice. There was no way you could make the drive back.

"Morning," Hailey said. She grabbed a mug from the cupboard. "Roads not looking any better?"

"No. I don't know what to do, Hailey. I don't want her to miss Thanksgiving, but it's not safe for her to drive. I mean, we could try to go there later in the day, but with traffic and everything..."

"We wouldn't get there until the middle of the night," Hailey finished.

Then his phone buzzed. It was a text from Will. There was also a picture attached.

Train tickets? the text read with a picture of train tickets that left at 9:30 am and got into Kansas City around 5 pm.

"Don't tell my brother I said this," Jay began, "but he's a genius." Hailey furrowed her eyebrows and Jay passed her his phone. "The Amtrac is still running."

Hailey smiled. "Nine-thirty, huh? Guess we better start packing."

***

You curled up on your bed. Even though it was only 6 pm, it was dark. And, hey, maybe you'd sleep for over 24 hours and could sleep through Thanksgiving. You and Jay had talked this morning and he told you it still wasn't safe for you to drive home. He said that if he could drive out, he would. But, even he knew it was unsafe to drive long distances in this weather.

You were just about to turn your phone on silent and put it in sleep mode when a call came through. It was from Jay.

"Yeah?" you asked while you held back tears.

"Come to your window. We're outside."

"What? Jay, I think I heard you wrong."

"Just, come look out your window," he repeated.

"You're scaring me. I'm not gonna go look outside without knowing what I'm gonna see. It's dark outside! Is there a serial killer near me? Is that why you want me to look outside? I didn't get an emergency alert or anything!"

"Y/N, nothing's wrong. But, the Amtrac was still running and we rented a car when we got down here and--"

"You're here?!" you exclaimed and jumped out of bed and ran to your window.

You quickly peeked through the blinds and sure enough, there were Jay, Will, and Hailey standing in front of a small, blue rental car, the headlights illuminating them.

Your face lit up. "I'm coming down!"

Then, you hung up your phone and quickly threw on a hoodie over your t-shirt and slipped your feet into your shoes, not caring if the sweatpants you were wearing had a little stain on them.

You ran from the walking gate to the parking lot. "How did you guys...Scratch that! When did you guys think this up?"

Jay pulled you into a hug. "Ugh, missed you, kid. Morning's aren't the same without you trying to steal my coffee."

"You loved it," you joked.

"And, to answer your question," Will started and you gave him a hug, "It was my idea."

"Jay even went so far as to call him a genius," Hailey supplied.

"I told you not to tell him that," Jay muttered.

"Oops, must've been all the drinks I had on the train."

"You didn't even—" Jay cut himself off with a sigh. "Forget it. Happy wife, happy life."

"Glad I wasn't on that train," you muttered.

"Wasn't too bad," Will said. "If you had headphones."

"You're an ass," Jay said.

"Well, this ass was the one who had the idea to get Amtrac tickets."

"So, you're a smart ass then?"

"C'mon you guys," you said, trying your best to stop their bickering. "Grab your stuff. Let's get inside and then we can order from the pub across the street."

"Sounds good to me," Will said. "I gotta try that fried chicken sandwich you're always talking about."

***

"Holy shit," Will said after he took his first bite of the fried chicken sandwich. "You weren't kidding."

"I think this is one of the best things I've ever tasted," Jay agreed.

Then, Hailey quickly reached over and stole the other half of her husband's sandwich.

"Hey!"

"I wanna try it!" Then she took a bite. "You guys are right, this is really good!"

Then, she gave Jay his sandwich back and dipped her five cheese grilled cheese that she'd gotten in her bowl of tomato soup.

"So, what are we doing for Thanksgiving tomorrow?" you asked.

"Shit. I didn't that far ahead," Will said.

"Can't get a turkey now, wouldn't thaw in time," Hailey said. "They'd probably be sold out anyway."

You stood up and started looking through your fridge. "Let's see...I have eggs, bread, milk, a bunch of condiments, wraps..." you continued listing off what you had in your fridge, freezer, and cupboard. "I probably have the stuff for sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and we can do sandwiches instead of turkey. Oh! I can also make these apple butter cinnamon rolls I've made a couple times when I have friends over."

"We can probably find rolls somewhere in the morning," Jay supplied. "And maybe some carrots somewhere for cooked carrots."

"I can make spanikopita if I can find the ingredients tomorrow," Hailey said.

"And I'll find the wine aisle tomorrow," Will said.

"Or Trulys. We can always have those," you suggested. "The tropical pack, though."

Will rolled his eyes. "Of course you'd suggest that."

"So, me and Will will go to the store tomorrow morning and you can make the cinnamon rolls. Hails, what do you need for the spanikopita?"

Hailey then told Jay what she needed and he wrote it down on his phone. Then, the four of you continued eating and thinking about everything you needed to do tomorrow.

***

"Morning, sleepy head," Hailey greeted when you woke up the next morning. She was standing at the stove making eggs, a cup of coffee sitting on the counter next to her. "Want some eggs?"

"Oh, you don't have to make me any. I can cook for myself," you answered.

"I know you can cook for yourself. But, I'm already cooking, so if you want some, I can make you some."

"Okay," you answered. "Thank you."

"No problem."

You went back to your room and grabbed the current book that you were reading.

"Here you go," Hailey said a few minutes later and handed you a plate of eggs and toast along with a cup of coffee.

"Thanks, Hails."

"You're welcome. Hey, you mind if I steal a book from you to read?"

You shook your head. "Go right ahead," you answered. "I'd highly recommend The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue."

"Alright, I'll read that one then."

Then, the two of you ate your breakfast and read your books and you had a quiet morning with your sister-in-law before you started cooking.

***

Six hours later, the grilled sandwiches were made and all the sides and the cinnamon rolls and wine were on the counter. There was a Blackhawks game on your tv since none of you watched the game that they played yesterday. And, even though it wasn't the Thanksgiving you had in mind, your brothers and Hailey still made it one to remember.

END

Choking:

Request from anon on tumblr: Hey can you pls do a story of like the Halstead siblings with y/n Halstead (their sister) and they are at dinner and she starts choking and they like save her and she passes out and worries them

A/N: The age in this one is first grade.

For Jay and Will, grades had always been something important...well, Will a bit more so than Jay. But, they were important nonetheless and they had instilled that in you. Because of this, you were super excited to show Jay your report card after school because you had gotten all As (the A in math could definitely be attributed to your brothers going over subtraction flashcards with you almost every day). So, Will sent a quick text telling him to meet the two of you at Applebees because that's where you wanted to go for dinner. And, if you got all As (or all As and Bs, but you didn't know about the B part, which was between Jay and Will), you got to go wherever you wanted that night for dinner. Tonight, you chose Applebees.

"Will!" you exclaimed when you saw him while waiting for your table. "I got all A's!"

"I heard!" Will said, matching your enthusiasm. "You might be smarter than me!"

You quickly shook your head. "Nuh-uh."

"And what makes you say that, missy?"

"Because you a doctor!"

"Well...you're definitely smarter than Jay."

"Hey!" Jay yelled, faking offense.

"You did mess up that subtraction problem that day," Will reminded him.

"I had been up for over 24 hours!"

They quickly stopped their petty bickering when Jay's name was called for their table.

***

Half an hour later, you were eating your chicken tenders and fries while your brothers ate their food.

You swallowed a big bite and felt it get stuck a bit, so you took a sip of water. It still wouldn't go down and you still had the water in your mouth!

You started to cough and the water spewed out of your mouth.

Jay saw your red face and quickly started hitting your back, trying to get the food to come out.

"Keep coughing, Y/N," Will told you as he stood up and got right next to you.

You did three big coughs and still nothing.

Will crouched down next to you. "Y/N, I'm gonna get this out."

Your head was starting to feel weird, so whatever Will said, you didn't hear him. But, the next thing you knew, you felt hands wrap around your belly and then you felt yourself go forward and then back quickly and then then the big piece of chicken tender came flying out of your mouth and hit the spot in the booth where Will had previously been sitting.

You gasped for air.

"You okay, kiddo?" Jay asked and ran a hand through your hair.

You shook your head and buried your face in his chest.

"I'll go get the bill and order a milkshake for her to go," Will said and stood up.

Jay nodded and just continued to hold you.

"No more chicken and fries!" you told him.

"It's okay," he said. "You don't have to finish them. Will's gonna get you your milkshake and pay and then we're gonna go home. Does that sound okay?"

You nodded.

No more chicken tenders for you!

***

The next day when you came home from school, Jay inspected your lunch box and saw that all you had eaten out of it, was your juice box. It had taken a bit of coaxing last night to get you to drink your milkshake, but they finally got you to drink it by explaining that you didn't have to chew.

He walked into your room to see you grabbing some stuffed animals, presumably bringing them out into the living room to play with.

"Are you feeling okay, kiddo?" Jay asked and crouched down to your height and handed you your stuffed cat.

"Uh huh," you told him, even though your head felt funny.

"You sure? You didn't eat your lunch today."

He put a hand to your forehead. You didn't feel warm.

"Wasn't hungry," you answered.

At that, your stomach growled.

"Well, you're hungry now. How about you come eat your sandwich or Goldfish, alright? Your animals can come with you, too."

At this, you started to cry. You were scared, you felt funny, and you were hungry.

"No!" you wailed. "Just juice! I want juice!"

"Why just juice, Y/N? Why don't you want Goldfish? You love Goldfish."

"Don't want Goldfishies cause they get stuck. Like the chicken nugget!"

"No. They won't," Jay reassured you.

"How you know?"

Jay thought for a second. How could he make a first-grader understand this.

Then, a lightbulb went off in his head.

"C'mere. I gotta show you something," Jay told you.

You followed him out of your room—arms full of stuffed animals—and into the kitchen. He grabbed an empty cardboard toilet paper roll from the recycling bin and set that on the counter. Then, he grabbed a piece of bread from the fridge.

He held up the empty toilet paper roll. "This is like your mouth, okay?" You nodded. He crumpled up the piece of bread. "And pretend this is the chicken nugget you ate last night."

"But that's not a chicken nuggy! That's bread!"

Jay smiled. "I know that. But just pretend. Just like when you pretend you're a princess."

"Okay!"

"When you put a big piece of food in your mouth, like this–" Jay tried his best to shove the piece of bread into the empty roll. "--it gets stuck," he finished. "Then, someone has to help you get it out." With a little effort, Jay managed to squeeze the piece of bread out. "Like this. That's what happened to you last night and then Will had to help you get it out."

"Uh-huh," you agreed.

Jay then proceeded to rip the bread into little pieces. "But, when the food is smaller, it doesn't get stuck. See?" He fed a few pieces of bread through the empty roll and then let them fall out the other side and onto the table. "Then they go into your tummy. You just need to make sure the food is small and chewed up."

"I just gotta bite my chicken nuggies and then they don't get stuck anymore?" you asked with a curious look on your face.

"And chew them good," Jay confirmed.

"Can I have chicken nuggies now? And Goldfishes?"

Jay laughed. In a normal scenario, he wouldn't let you have both chicken nuggets and Goldfish; he'd make you eat your sandwich that was leftover from your lunch. But, seeing as you've barely eaten today, he figured one time wouldn't kill you.

"I think we have some Dino nuggies somewhere."

You gasped excitedly. "You got me the Dino ones?"

"I did. Now, how about you and your animals go sit down and I'll bring them to you, okay?"

You did as Jay suggested and went and sat down, putting your stuffed animals on the other chairs at the table.

And, when Jay told Will about everything and how he convinced you to eat with that demonstration, Will told him that he could be a science teacher. Of course, Jay had laughed and told him no way. You were more than enough. He didn't think he could deal with twenty of you.

END

A/N: Thanks for reading! Don't forget to reblog and comment!

taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @911ls-tarlos @iamasimpingh0e @i-like-sparkly-things @herecomesthewriterwitch @liampayne88 @glitterquadricorn @luvreading67 @smoothdogsgirl @afriendlyneighborhoodhufflepuff @actlikesummerr @lcothr523 @star-wars-lover

#jay halstead #will halstead #hailey upton #upstead #chicago pd #chicago med #halstead sister #imagine #fanfic #fanfiction #jay halstead imagine #will halstead imagine #jay halstead fanfiction #will halstead fanfiction #jay halstead fanfic #will halstead fanfic #writer #writing #my writing

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dnalt-d2 · 5 months

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My Thoughts on the Purgatory Finale as a Whole

So it's been a few hours since the event ended and I think I have my thoughts sorted out for the most part

I had a lot of trouble pinning down what I thought about this for a little while, and focused more on the smaller details instead of the whole thing

And for me, the resolution to the whole thing (this event) feels kinda empty. I think a way a lot of people would put it is that it felt anticlimactic, but that's not quite how I'd word it. I liked the climax, it was tense, suspenseful, exciting, etc. But it's what came after for me that feels like the problem

And that's that this event felt like it was supposed to be a resolution. But it wasn't. Everyone went through all this, these two weeks, and the months that came before, doing everything in their power to find answers and get their eggs back, and we just don't have anything. There's no answers, we only got ONE egg, and we don't even know if he made it off the island safely. None of this feels resolute.

And I get that was probably the point. I still stand by that whatever was gonna happen here today was gonna happen no matter what, with maybe a change of which egg got saved (but considering the hard stop we got on 7 when Phil spun it, and when Tina spun the wheel by accident, it landed on 7 again, I think Dapper was always gonna be the one saved as well)

This is supposed to be one of those cliffhanger endings I guess, but I think it would've been better to end it here. At least regarding the fate of the eggs. Tell us if they lived or if they died, but don't just leave it hanging like that

Because I feel like a LOT of QSMP is spent setting things up and at this point, they've just set TOO many things up without resolving them. You can only have so many loose threads at a time, something has to be wrapped up eventually

(And yeah, I get that's just something that happens when you have this many people each creating their story and their own thread, that's just how it goes)

Now for all I know, literally every problem I had could be fixed by tomorrow, in less than twelve hours, and I'll eat my words if that happens, I'll devour them freaking whole

But we still have so many unanswered questions. I wanna have faith in the admins and writers though, and hope that this is something that was meant to be like this. Because I get the struggles of writing, and while this might have felt like a Season Finale to us, it could have just been a single plot point in the overall story, and we might not have even REACHED any Season Finale yet. We just can't know right now

So yeah, that's my thoughts on it, I'm incredibly excited to see where everything goes from here, but at this moment specifically, I'm mostly just...Thinking, still. I guess. My writer brain is still trying to figure out what this whole thing was, and I'm just drawing a blank

Guess we'll see what happens tomorrow

Let's hope we can enjoy the island

#Maybe later I'll go off on all the little things I was enjoying during this #Like Phil nearly destroying his wings to save Tubbo #Fit only managing to save Bagi because Tina told her to turn on her location so she could find her #Everyone desperately trying to reach their eggs even when the literal world was falling and crumbling around them #Lots of things to think about #Lots of things to talk about #qsmp #qsmp purgatory #qsmp bolas #qsmp soulfire #q!phil #q!philza #qsmp eggs

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boygiwrites · 7 months

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Harley D. Dixon 23

An amazing edit inspired by this story! (Cred to Cora_Line99) Harley D. Dixon's Pinterest Board! Harley D. Dixon's Playlist!

📖Chapter List.

Author's Note.

Warning for strong themes of suicide in this chapter because of Beth, and well, everything else.

Herschel left the farm all by himself while we was out.

As the sun sets behind the porch railing, Lori explains to Rick and Glenn that Beth's in shock — the thing I was in this morning. She tries to mutter it under her beath, but I hear just fine that she tried to kill herself by slicing her wrists up. Different to how Momma did it, but I know just about every way there is, and that's one of 'em. If I were Beth, I would'a just jumped out the window. Prolly would'a worked, but maybe she didn't want it to. Lori and Patricia found her just in time to save her. She's laid up in bed now, apparently still staring at the wall.

Rick keeps glancing at me throughout the whole conversation. I don't know why he's doin' it, but I wish he'd cut it out.

Herschel told us today he'd learnt what grit was, but I guess he ain't learned enough to deal with his daughter wantin' to die, 'cause he hopped in his truck and took a trip to town to get away from it all. Maggie begs the two of 'em to go bring him back, and they agree.

"You got any guesses where he might'a gone?" Rick asks, putting his hat back on. Always savin' people. "Parks, stores, houses?"

"Hatlin's." She answers unhappily. "Bar on main street. He practically lived there in his drinking days. If he's gone anywhere, it's there."

I can't imagine Herschel in a bar. My Daddy and Uncle Merle used to rot away in bars when they was angry or sad, but that was them.

Rick must be thinking the same thing. "I didn't take Herschel for a drinker."

"He gave it up the day I was born." She half-smiles. "Didn't even allow liquor in the house... But not anymore, I guess."

"I've seen the place." Glenn assures her, holding her shoulder and turning to Rick. "I can drive us there."

"Okay." Before they turn to leave, he murmurs to Lori, "Does Daryl know 'bout Beth yet?"

She shakes her head and glances at me, too.

He warns her, "Well, you're gonna want to. Harley's been havin' a tough go of it and I ain't sure how this is... gonna affect her."

She gives a look of understanding. "I'll go talk to him now."

When he comes down the steps, he crouches in front of me. He's got his Dad-face on, the one that's all nice and reassuring.

"Hey, you did good today." He tells me. "How 'boutchu go find Carl and read some comic books together or something for a while?"

"Alright." I lilt, watching him gently clap me on my shoulder before following Glenn down the path toward the cars.

But as soon as they're gone, I don't go find Carl. I take myself around the side of the house and slouch between two old barrels in the grass, hiding from everyone. I've gotten real good at swallowing down the need to cry, so that's what I do. At some point, the darn ringing returns.

I wish some little animal would cross paths with me, so I could take my knife out and stab it dead. That'd make me feel better.

Merle would smack me if he saw me like this. Don't cry, Harley. Don't cry. Been a long, long day, but you don't gotta cry.

The sun soon disappears under the earth.

"Sh, sh, sh. Baby, it's okay." The night is quiet, but our little tent is filled with my pent-up sobs. "It's okay."

I wish I could go to sleep like everyone else, but I can't. The day's finally caught up with me. Rick and Glenn still haven't returned, but the farm's been a mess without 'em all the same. Dad's been watching me like a hawk since Lori spoke with him, and dinner was spent in silence, and I been trying not to cry for hours. He keeps crooning the same thing to me over and over. It's okay. I hear that stupid lie every time things aren't okay. It don't get any more okay-er no matter how hard I bawl or scream into his shoulder, or wish with all my heart and all my body, right down to my toes, that I weren't such a little wuss. I wish Sophia was alive. I wish Shane made it to Fort Benning.

Seems I'm always hurting. If anyone asked me what I did best, I'd say this. Sometimes feels like all I was made for.

I did good faking my way through the day, but as soon as I laid my head down to go to sleep and realized that I couldn't no more 'cause of my ear, I finally broke. Can't shoot, can't hear, can't sleep. Everything, even the way I curl up at night, been stripped from me.

"It's not okay," I moan, hating that when I close my eyes, I can still see the things I don't wanna. "S'all wrong. It hurts."

"I know it does, chicken. But I'm 'ere. I'm always here." He murmurs into my hair, holding me even tighter to his chest. "Just get it all out."

I wanna tell him I can't, it don't work that way. If you could cry yer sadness out, I would'a lost all mine by now. But he already knows. Just like me, he's made up of sadness. Most people say we're alike 'cause our matching scowls, our little moles. But more than anythin', it's that.

I don't think I've ever been this type of angry before. There's just nowhere to put it. There's no-one to blame. It's just inside me. And I think it'll be there forever, like my bones are. There's no use being sour at Rick or Dad for killin' Shane. You can't get mad at people when there's no right or wrong to it, when they was just doin' what needed to be done. Shane was crazy, we've always said it. He done so many things he shouldn't have. No, I ain't mad at them for that. Or at Glenn, or T, or Andrea for helping 'em. Not at the bullet that shot my ear off, not at the Greenes' God for takin' all my friends away. I'm just angry at being alive.

"He said it was gonna be d-different this time." He said a whole bunch'a things, but that one I remember. "Daddy, I want it t'be different."

"It will be, baby. It will. I'mma keep you safe with everythin' I got, okay?" At least that one's not a lie. "You know that."

"But I'on care about me." I pull back, my fingers twisted in his tank top. "It's everyone else that's dead. It's Shane and Sophia a-and Momma and Merle and Morales and prolly Meemaw and Kyle and my cousins. I'm sick of it! Ain't no point in movin' on if people gonna keep dyin'!"

"Don't talk like that, Harley Dixon." He gently scolds, brows twitching into a frown. "Don'tchu ever. There is a point."

Well, I don't get it no more. "I ca-an't even sleep properly, Dad."

"Well, let's just try again. You can lay on yer other side." He offers. "Dad'll read you another story, huh? Or you want me to sing again?"

"No." I croak miserably. I don't want a story. I don't even want a song. "Even if I go to sleep, t-that's ruined, too. I get nightmares. And when I wake up, it's the same thing all over again. Eatin' scraps and cryin' and takin' ringing meds just for somethin' else bad to happen."

"That's the way life is, Harley." He tells me, a little stricter this time. "I can't change it any more than you can. People die—"

"People mourn," I quote him with a roll of my wet eyes, "Life moves on. I heard."

"Stop it." He don't like that I mocked him, not one bit. Not when it comes to this. "It's true. We move on. We keep livin'."

"Well, maybe I don't wanna. Maybe I'm done."

Herschel says I got a thing called grit. Dad says I'm his brave girl. Carl thinks I'm some sorta badass, but really I'm just a nasty, broken little thing called Harley Dixon. I don't wanna keep living if living's full of death. Maybe it's better the other way. Beth thinks so. Momma sure did, too. I never got to ask her if it worked out like she wanted and got all her sadness taken away, but I like to think it did. I like to think there's no bad things where she is, only good and happy things. She ain't watched Shane die. She ain't stood at Sophia's grave. She ain't hurtin'.

"Little girl," Dad's voice is thin and shaky like a whisper, but also very, very, very angry. "I know you ain't just said that."

I stare right back at him through my tears without a word, 'cause I did say that. Not to hurt him, but because it's the truth.

He slowly starts shaking his head. "Nah, I ain't raised you this way. I ain't raised a girl that gives up."

My wobbly frown deepens. "So that's what Momma was, then? She was weak?"

"Yes. Weak an' stupid." He says unapologetically. "And I won't have you talkin' like her. Over my dead body, girl, I won't have it."

"And how's that?" I challenge him. "You gonna make Sophia come back? You gonna fix my ear? You gonna make Shane—?"

"Weren't me that did that, Harley. Weren't Rick, weren't nobody but himse—"

"—Come back? You gonna kiss it all better and sing a song?" I taunt, shouting in his face, "They're all dead!"

"I know they are." He argues, taking a moment to suck in a breath. "I'm sorry I ain't find Sophia. I'm sorry 'boutcher ear. I'm sorry you're hurtin' and I can't do nothin' about it, but this type'a talk ain't what's gonna help you, Harley. It's bein' strong. You gotta be stronger."

"But I ain't," I tell him, and the tears are back now, streaming down my face, 'cause I'm right. I ain't strong. "I'm just nothin'."

"You're my little girl, is whatchu are." He says sternly, voice cracking. "I love you more'un anythin'. How you think hearin' that makes me feel?"

Probably makes him see the little traces of Momma on my face. Makes him feel like he's failing the same woman twice.

But I'm just so tired, and I just don't care. "I'on care how it makes you feel, Daddy. I'on care 'bout nothin' anymore."

Being empty must be worse than being full of somethin' like anger, 'cause this is the thing that really gets to him. Under his pair of twisted brows, his sharp eyes start to well up, his mouth curls into a sneer. The crickets outside chirp happily either way, dutifully filling the silence that comes. For the first time, I think my Dad is wrong about something. There is no point in moving on. Bein' strong, that's a waste. Shane said we deserve for things to go differently, go better in some way that ain't so cruel, but it didn't. It won't.

"You're fuckin' scarin' me, Harley." He utters thinly. "You ain't never talked like this."

I know. I ain't never stayed down after a hit, but I been strong for so long, I think it's just ran out.

I don't answer him. Instead I confess quietly, "I think I wanna go sleep in somebody else's tent tonight, Dad."

I need out this stuffy tent. If I could sleep alone in a hole somewhere, I would. I'm done arguing. And he's done, too. He wordlessly slides me off his lap and helps me gather my bedding, trying his best not to tear up more than he already is, muttering to himself, swiping at his eyes. He leads me back to main camp, where all the lamps are shut off and the fire pits are smoking. The night air cools my hot, red cheeks.

He taps his knuckles onto a crate just outside the Grimes' tent, and before he even steps back, there's shuffling inside.

The zipper peels back, revealing Lori's sleepy, moon-lit face. She takes us in with a confused look. "Daryl? What are you doing over here?"

"Listen, I'm sorry for wakin' ya." He murmurs, putting on a level voice. "Came to ask you if... Harley can bunk with you guys tonight."

"Uh, sure." She agrees kindly, encouraging me to step inside by my shoulder, taking my sleeping bag from Dad. "Everything alright?"

"No." He answers gruffly. No point in lying. He don't give up anything else, and she don't pry. He places a kiss to my hair. "Night, chicken."

"Night, Dad." I force myself to say back, 'cause I'm grateful he ain't just kept me stuck in our tent, and that he really listened.

As he gives me one last glance and then leaves, Lori zips the tent up and lays my bedding down next to hers and Rick's. Carl snoozes away in the corner, an open comic book splayed out over his chest. I bet Lori knows what's the matter with me. Rick saw that thousand-yard stare I had after they killed Shane, knows how I been hating myself. He no doubt told her everything. But she's too nice to say anything.

"Here, sweetie." She takes my lumpy pillow and sets it down. I wiggle into the sleeping bag. "Comfy?"

I give a nod, even though laying on my back feels real strange and I don't got Matilda anymore.

She smiles blearily and crawls back under the covers. "Wake me up if you need anything."

And that's that. I stare up at the sky through the Grimes' tent, counting the stars through the black mesh until I fall asleep.

Sometime during the night, I bolt awake, sweating, crying, confused. Shane, I couldn't save him. I watched him die. Again. A gunshot, blood, shouting, dying, searing pain and a dog tag dangling from a broken mirror. Darkness, and then two little hands on my shoulders, shaking me. A boyish, worried voice telling me, hey, it's just a nightmare. I cling to them. Carl. He's here. I don't think before I let him hug me. I sniffle into his neck as he pets the soft spot between my shoulder blades like his Momma and Daddy do when he's upset.

"It was him again," I shudder. "Shane. I miss him. I miss all of 'em."

Life moves on, Daddy said. But how's it that mine ain't? When's that moving part happen?

"Me, too." His arms tighten around me as much as a boy's can. "You're allowed."

After that, I remember the sound of blankets shuffling, a flashlight clicking on, a comic book being quietly read to me. I remember my eyes closing, heart slowing, and I remember thinking he's gonna be the best big brother one day. In a way, he already is.

The next morning, my eyes flutter open to the sight of a quiet, empty tent. By some miracle, I must've slept in a little. I hear the fire crackling away outside, the clinking of spoons on bowls, muffled conversation. After taking a minute to yawn and stretch, I crawl out the tent.

"Ah, there she is." As I round the camping chairs, Dale sends me a warm smile. I take the seat next to him. "Just in time for breakfast."

I glance up at the second storey of the farmhouse, imagining Beth behind one of those pretty windows. I wonder how she feels about waking up this morning. I know I'm exhausted, and all I've done is open my eyes. Another day of eating scraps, crying, and taking pills. Ironically enough, Lori interrupts my spacing out by holding out two little white capsules and a water bottle to me. She's speaking, but I'm not hearing her. I throw both pills back and wash 'em down so I don't gotta look at 'em any longer. I hate that my body can't work on its own anymore.

"Harley." Lori's voice comes quick and sharp this time, startling me. "Are you listening?"

I glare up at her. She's standing so close to me that I don't know how I couldn't hear what she said the first time. "Huh?"

She looks at me like I've done something strange. "I said, 'You can't take those on an empty stomach'. Are you hungry?"

"Oh. Yeah." Now everyone's lookin' at me like that. I reach under my hair and nervously tug on my ear as she turns and fills a bowl with the creamy soup cooking over the fire. I've never not been able to catch what someone's saying like that. She hands the food to me. "Thanks."

As conversation picks up again, I struggle to pin certain words being said, especially when they're from Andrea, who's sitting the furthest from me, and Lori, on my left. S'like half the world's gone silent, and the other half's just a high-pitch squeal. God, it's makin' me mad. I claw at my ear again, as if there's somethin' stuck in there, like a wad of earwax or a cork, but there ain't nothin' in there but the ringing.

A scary thought crosses my mind. If you can't hear for no good reason, that means you're deaf. I can't be deaf.

When Andrea looks directly at me and says something that I think's meant to be a joke, I snap back, "I can't fuckin' hear you, Andrea."

Her smile drops pretty fast, but I don't feel bad. I feel frightened. To my surprise, I don't get told by anyone to mind my language.

Lori just looks at me all pitiful-like and hesitates to guess, "Is it the ringing?"

I'm tired of hearing about the ringing almost as much as I'm tired of hearing the ringing itself. "It ain't the damn— I just can't hear proper."

She glances side-long at Dale. "Herschel did say..."

He sighs, looking a little stressed, before scooting his chair closer to mine and clicking his fingers on my right ear. "What about that?"

It sounds like a far-away thud, thud, thud, where it should actually sound like a snap, snap, snap.

"S'dull." I mutter unconfidently.

He moves to my left ear. This time, there isn't even any thud, thud, thud at all. It's just silence.

When I say nothing, he leans back. "I'm no doctor, but... It seems very obvious to me."

I'm not a doctor neither, and neither is Lori or T or Andrea or Carl, but it's all rather obvious to us, too. I can tell, 'cause they're all lookin' pretty uncomfortable, like this discovery has already ruined the rest of my life as I'm just sitting here. I'm losing hearing in my left ear. That's what it is. As soon as Dad mentioned my hearing to Herschel, and when it got worse at shooting practice, I was scared this would happen.

Ain't nobody shocked. I was never gonna walk away from a gunshot to the side of the head with all my hearing intact.

I guess whenever somebody talks, I'll just have to try reading their lips.

"I had a teacher who was deaf." Carl offers this up like it means anything. "She was really nice and smart. Everyone liked her."

I almost feel like scoffing at him, Wow, thanks so much, Carl. You've cured me.

"It's really nothing." Lori's quick to reassure me, covering for his shitty attempt. "Hundreds of people live like this and they still thrive."

"Hell, I think I'm going deaf sometimes, too." Dale jokes. "And I'd say I'm doing alright, wouldn't you?"

"Sure, Dale." I try to chuckle, staring down at my cold soup.

Nobody mentions the fact that having sharp senses is what keeps you alive nowadays. If a walker sneaks up on me, I won't hear it.

It's then that Dad walks into camp, looking nearly as tired as I feel. He mutters a good morning to everyone, and Lori reluctantly stands to go collect my bedding for him. I waste no time hopping out my seat and going over to hug him, locking my arms around his neck as he kneels to hold me close. I said a whole lotta things last night, and so did he, but I don't think either of us is angry at the other over it. We can read each other well enough to know. He kisses my cheek before pulling back and taking my things from Lori.

Clearing his throat like he does when he might cry, he asks me, "You sleep well, chicken?"

Instead of answering, I just hug his waist and Lori changes the subject. "Daryl, just a heads up. That thing Herschel spoke about..."

"Damn it." He sighs when what she's implying clicks. He reaches down to soothingly pet my hair. "And they still ain't back, are they?"

"No. But we both know Harley and Beth are... in some type of way. We need him."

"And y'all want me to go and fetch him, huh?" He guesses, taking a long moment to consider. Then, "Y'all be grateful you been good to me."

"Thank you, Daryl." She exclaims. "Thank you. We've always been able rely on you."

He scoffs. "Maybe not always."

"Well, enough." She smiles. "They said they were headed to a bar in town called Hatlin's. I think you'll wanna head there first."

"There even gonna be anythin' he can do?" He mumbles so I can barely make it out. "I mean, the guy ain't David Copperfield."

"Well, in the old world, I might've suggested trying out a hearing aid, but now... I'm not so sure."

He grunts. "Them things need batteries, don't they?"

"I think so, but not any standard ones we'd have. You're thinking of finding one, aren't you?"

"I'd turn the whole fuckin' country upside down to get her one, if it's what she needs." He says. "Maybe some old dead guy's wonderin' around with his. Maybe I find one in a doctor's office. Either way, ain't no bill attached to 'em these days and if there's one out there, I'll find it."

She admires the determination in his eyes, lips twitching into a smile. "Rick will help you. I know he will."

"Best I go find officer goody-two-shoes and company, then." He agrees. "Look after my girl for me."

She nods. "That goes without saying."

"I love you, baby." He tells me, which is how I know I done messed up. Takes a lot for him to randomly tell me he loves me, and I guess all that talk last night about giving up was enough. He even places another kiss to my cheek, pinching it after. "I'll see you later."

"I'm sorry, Dad." I mutter.

"I know." He understands I can't help what's happening to me, or how I feel. "I'm gonna get whatchu you need. It's gonna be alright."

I'm not quite sure what I need, but at least the adults seem to know. At least some part of me can be saved.

After he leaves to put my bedding back in our camp, I climb back into my seat and watch the blue truck bumble down the drive and eventually, through the trees. Dale encourages me to finish off my soup in that annoying way my Dad always does, but I only eat a spoonful or two before my stomach shrivels distastefully and he tells me I've tried enough for this morning, so I take to curling up and staring at the fire.

I know if Shane was alive to see what he did to me, he'd be that word Lori likes to say, appalled. He never wanted to hurt me.

A hearing aid. It's one of them things I've never had to think about until now. If I had to go back a couple months and tell seven-year-old Harley, with her long, straight hair and chubby cheeks and bright, green eyes, that I look like a boy, got half an ear, and need a hearing aid, I think she'd hit me upside the head for being a liar. But I know now that you gotta be ready for anythin', like dead people in barns and a last-minute gunshot, and now, I guess, the need for a hearing aid. I have to try squash that feeling of shame. It ain't good for me, but it's always there.

I almost make myself chuckle imagining Carl tryna make being half-deaf badass. He's so relentlessly supportive. They all are.

It's too bad, then, that I still feel this way. This numb and hollowed out, alive but-also-dead way.

The way Carol must feel, and maybe the way Dad felt after Momma died.

"Thank you." Maggie tells Lori and Jacqui in the kitchen, as I stand in front of the fireplace in the next room over. "This is nice of y'all."

I see what Glenn was talkin' about now, about Maggie's great grandfather lookin' like a bald Georgie Washington. He's sitting all proper and important-like inside a photo frame on the mantle, like all people from forever ago do. But there's also newer photos, ones with color, like Maggie and Beth as little girls, posing with horse riding trophies and smiling together at old Thanksgivings and Christmases. I feel happy just looking at them. Baby photos, kind-looking people, school photos. We never knew the Greenes before, but I feel like now I might.

"We just thought you could use some help." Lori replies. "It's been a difficult time for all of us, especially Harley and Beth."

"I appreciate it. Sharin' your supplies, that means a lot these days. You wouldn't mind helpin' me toss it all together will you?"

"Not at all." Jacqui pokes her head around the arch and calls out, "Harley, you wanna come help Maggie finish cooking?"

With a little flinch, I turn to face the three women, remembering why we came here in the first place. We had some tinned vegetables and whatever else left over from breakfast, and Lori thought we'd offer them to Maggie, who's in the middle of cooking a meal for Beth.

"I guess." I hum as I head into the kitchen. It ain't like I got anything better to do. "What're you makin'?"

"Potato soup." Maggie pulls a few bowls from the worn cabinets with a smile. "Well, veggie soup, now."

"Hopefully Beth will feel a little better after a warm breakfast." Lori muses. "It always helped me."

All their words are muffled, as if I'm underwater and they aren't, but I can still just about make out what they're saying.

When Maggie places the bowls on the counter and sees me peering over the ledge, she chuckles. "Let me grab you a stool, huh?"

She grabs a mini wooden step-ladder leaning against the pantry, pulls it open, and sets it down for me. I step onto the lowest rung. She fills a bowl with water from the faucet and slides it in front of me, instructing me to how to rinse off the fat, muddy potatoes and lay them on the dry rag afterwards. It's an easy, mindless task. I get to work while they start slicing up the vegetables and opening the tins.

As Maggie scrapes carrot into the pot, she jokes, "I been makin' so much soup recently I think I forgot how to make anything else."

"Good thing we've taken a liking, then." Jacqui smiles. "I've never tasted a tater soup good as y'all Greenes'. You know your stuff."

Feels like I'm back at the quarry again, helping prepare our next meal from whatever scraps we had, listening to the women gossip.

"Pssh. I'm tellin' you, as kids, Beth and I loathed the day Wednesday came around and Momma'd make her famous potato soup." She scoffs, grinning at old memories. "She always put too much salt in, said it was good for us. But all it was good for was makin' us barf."

Lori makes a sassy face. "I'm taking it the recipe's been tweaked a little since then."

Maggie smirks. "Wouldn't be eatin' it if it hadn't."

"Must've been nice, growing up with food on the table that's straight from your garden."

"Yeah, it was. Fresh peaches and apples to take to school, home-made bread and the like. We've always lived this way."

"Pretty perfect, if you ask me." Jacqui agrees. "Me and my fiancé were always eatin' take away all the time. God, I miss it sometimes."

"A nice greasy burger sounds so good right now." Lori moans, like she can almost taste it. "Oh, and some curly fries on the side."

They all laugh. It's a little funny. I remember her back in the beginning, braggin' about how her family never ate fast food. Now look at her.

As the conversation drifts to more boring things, I find myself thinking about Beth again. We sure grew up different, but we got broken the same way, at the same time. We clearly been thinking about the same things. She was just brave enough to actually pick up a knife and do something about it. I wonder if she knows now her Momma and step-brother been dead a long time, that they weren't sick at all, and were just bodies needed mourning. The Greenes were a little late to that, but it's like Meemaw used to say, better late than never.

I wonder if Beth regrets what she did. She could be dead right now, in a mound of dirt right next to her Momma.

When I was littler, I used to think Dad could read my mind when I was thinkin' unsavoury things like this, and that he'd give me in trouble right away. I thought that's how it worked with adults and kids, but it ain't. I can think whatever I want and it's safe inside my head.

The potatoes get peeled and diced and thrown into the soup like everything else, and then my new job is to help wash dishes.

When we're down to the last few, Maggie says I should take the bowl of soup up to Beth, 'cause they've got this handled.

"Sure." I agree before hopping down, wondering why my heart's beating so fast all of a sudden.

The door to Beth's bedroom creaks open.

I don't bother waiting for her to give me permission to come in. I just creep in all on my own, because from what I've heard, she hasn't talked all day. Her room is exactly like I would'a guessed. Like something out a trendy teenager's magazine, with a nice white desk covered in perfume bottles and hair clips and crumpled paper and books, blonde pop star posters stuck to the walls, a fluffy, cutesy rug, a teddy bear thrown on the lounge chair sitting by the window. Even the Mp3 player Maggie was telling me about, laying forgotten on the floor.

I carefully set the hot bowl on her nightstand, but something keeps me curious, and I don't turn to leave just yet.

Beth's staring at the wall like they said. Not out the window or anything. Just at the wall. I can't imagine her humming sweetly and letting me borrow one of her shirts, giggling at something I said from the other side of the bathroom door. She looks like a totally different girl.

"I went into shock too, yesterday." I randomly muse. "Or at least that's what Rick said. He's the one with the cowboy hat."

I think I might still be in shock. I'm talking and walking around, but inside, I feel like whatever statue Beth's turned into.

"I ain't sure if anyone's told you about it, but you prolly heard the screamin'. The man my Daddy stabbed, Shane, he took me away. We got pretty far. Sometimes I think about what would'a happened if we got even further, but... he was meant to die. Some people just are."

At that, she breaks her gaze away from that spot on the wall and looks me right in the eye. "Do you think I'm one of those people?"

"I... I ain't smart enough to know." I say honestly, before an awkward pause takes over. "'Cause I was only in grade two, y'know."

Carl seemed to find that funny when I first told him, but Beth just looks uninterested.

"And you?" She hides her bandaged wrists under the covers when she catches me looking. "What're you meant for? Dyin', or somethin' else?"

"I think, um... All I'm meant for is suckin' up hurt." I confess. "Like, there's all this bad in the world, and when there's nobody left for it to go to, it goes to me. Maybe I'm just unlucky. Maybe I done somethin' wrong. That's how life is, my Daddy says. So if that's the 'something else', I think I'd rather just be the type meant for dyin'. That's what my Momma did. She was in pain, and then one day... She wasn't."

"She killed herself," Beth says as fact.

"Yeah." I mutter, feeling the weight of the locket crush down on my chest as I take a seat on the edge of the bed. "She did."

"Was she the sort meant for dyin'?"

"No. She weren't." That much, I'm sure of. "She was just meant to be my Momma."

Beth's pretty eyes gloss over as she says very dully, "Our Mom's dead, too. Right before I thought I was about to die, I imagined what she'd think of me when we'd meet in heaven. She'd be ashamed, I know. Somehow, that was so much worse than the thought of going to Hell."

"Well, maybe your God made sure you didn't die." I guess, hoping it's comforting. "Maybe he wants you to live for everybody else."

A tear beads up on her waterline before sliding down her pale cheek. "I just don't know what to do. I think I'm ashamed, too."

"My Dad says you just gotta be stronger, but I don't know how." I wish I did. "I'm sorry. I'd tell you if I did."

"It's okay." With a sniff, she sends me a tiny smile. "You know, you're kind. I can just tell."

That makes me smile back. Something about my rugged hair, my mean face, my missing ear must still be soft like it was before.

Author's Note.

Sorry for the longer than usual wait between chapters! I've been dealing with intense writer's block recently so it just took me a while to get this out, but I'm pushing through!

I hope you're ready for a familiar face to return next chapter! ;)

PS. I wanted to thank you all for the touching dms and messages I've received recently, both on here and on ao3. It's still so mind blowing to me that there are so many people out there who hold a special place in their heart for this story just like I do. I'm so grateful for you all :) 💙

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