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back2bluesidex · 8 months

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Where Do Broken Hearts Go - Chapter 1 (18+)

Pairing: Model, ex-boyfriend!Jungkook X Child psychologist, Fem!Reader X Lawyer, Single Dad!Hoseok.

Summary: Jungkook stripped your emotions naked, left you bare in the chilly wind of despair and self-doubt with an unending heartache. You tried your hardest to move on from him, to live for yourself but failed miserably. Each night you had to come back to your empty home where memories and broken dreams were scattered all around the floor, until one day a little angel and her unbelievably beautiful father came into your life. Finally, when you find yourself healing, maybe falling too, Jungkook had to show up! Again!

Theme: Angst, pining, heartbreak, break-up, SMUT (MDNI)

Warnings: lots of crying, reader is broken, she is suffering so bad, a flashback explicit sex scene, big-dick Jungkook, kind of size kink, he hits it from behind, shower sex, unprotected sex (wrap it up), creampie, Jung Hoseok enters the scene, he is so attractive that you might faint, subtle and flirty Hoseok, an adorable little girl, Namjoon makes an appearance.

It's not really mentioned but just so you know, Hoseok and reader has a slight age gap like 5 years. (which is not at all an age gap to me because my first boyfriend was 8 years older than me. haha. you didn't just read that.)

Word count: 4.2k

Taglist requests are closed.

Minors and karens are not allowed in this blog

A/N: First chapter is here. I wrote 4k+ words for a single fic and that's unbelievable. Anyway, I hope you guys like it, and I hope it's worth the wait.

Main Masterlist

Chapters:-

Prologue/Masterpost || Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 - Finale

“Reaching in 10 minutes”

That’s what Jungkook texted you half an hour ago.

It’s nothing new. He has always been late to your every date, every plan, every meetup. What is new is the lack of explanations and excuses following his delayed arrivals. He only apologizes and you hardly hear any sincerity in his atonements.

You sigh, staring out of the huge window of the private cabin.

Jungkook can’t meet you at your (supposed to be shared) home due to his “privacy” issues. So, you had to reserve this private cabin of an over-expensive continental restaurant. It’s funny how all of these feel so formal. It feels as if you are meeting one of your wealthy clients and not your boyfriend. This is how far Jungkook has drifted from you.

Your feet bounce on the floor, reminding you that you are indeed very nervous.

It’s a “leap of faith” situation for you today. If it works out then everything will start afresh, if it doesn’t… you will have to fall and break without having any idea on how to mend yourself.

“Sorry. I’m late.” Jungkook’s muffled voice rings behind your ear.

You were so lost in your thoughts, or fear, that you didn’t even hear him entering the cabin.

He heads towards the seat opposite of yours, without any further greetings, any kiss or even a hug… not even a single glance.

“As if it’s the first time.” you scoff. Jungkook chuckles nervously, removing his mask and snapback.

“Let’s order something. Heard their soy sauce chicken is a hit-”

“Y/N, I can’t stay for long. Can you make it quick?” Jungkook cuts off your words. His tone is so curt, so foreign that you doubt if it’s actually him underneath his skin or not.

“Jungkook… What's wrong? Why are you making things so formal? For fuck’s sake it’s me. Your so-called girlfriend.” Your voice quivers but you scream nonetheless.

“Y/N! Quit being dramatic and lower your voice. We are not at home.” Jungkook hisses, teeth gritting, eyes narrowing.

“Home? You mean the apartment you left because your agency said it’s risky to share a space with your girlfriend of three years? The same place you refused to meet at because paparazzi are keeping tabs on you as you are rumored to be dating someone else?” you reply with the same ferocity.

Jungkook closes his eyes and rubs his face with both of his palms. Taking a sharp inhale, he says, “Can you please tell me why we are here? I don’t think you called me all the way here just so we can fight?”

You roll your eyes, less in sarcasm, more in an attempt to make your tears disappear.

You sit straight as if being prepared for the sword that is going to pierce through your heart, “Jungkook, do you.. do you love me?”

Jungkook visibly stiffens. His eyes go wide as if someone has asked him to jump off of the building. You see him collecting himself and clearing his throat only to lie, “O-Of course I do. But suddenly why?”

Even though you want to believe his words, you know those are as hollow as his eyes and maybe his heart as well.

“Then..” you pause, reaching for your purse. Pulling out the pitch black velvet box, you look at him. Jungkook’s eyes are wide again, filled with horror and confusion. He probably knows what you are doing and he does not seem to be the least bit happy.

You stand up from your seat and round the table to reach Jungkook, “don’t you think it’s the high time we get engaged? It’s been three years since we started dating, our families approve of each other and” you pause, being unsure of whether you should say it, “and we have always wanted a future together.” You open the box for him to see, a tight-lipped smile lingers on your face only to punctuate your proposal.

Jungkook looks up at you with his big, doe, mystical eyes and then looks down on the ring you have spent a fortune on. Your heart hammers in your chest, but it is not the flattering kind. Your heart races in a fear that you are not ready to face yet.

Jungkook’s face falls and he looks away from you. He plays with his fingers and avoids any kind of eye contact with you. You stand there like a doll made of steel, staring at him holding the ring.

“Y/N. This is not- I can’t. I mean, this is so sudden. I am at the peak of my career and I can’t think of getting engaged or married at this point of life.” he runs a hand though his dark hair out of frustration, “Why are you rushing everything like this?” Jungkook’s eyes are still trained on the table, not on you.

“Because I am afraid, Jungkook. I am afraid you might leave me behind if I don’t try to hold onto you now.” you finally let your tears fall. Uncontrollable sobs leave your mouth.

Jungkook whips his head towards you and then stands up slowly. He holds you by your arms and opens his mouth to say something, “Y/N. I-”

“But I guess it’s too late now. You were long gone. You were gone far before the day you were seen with her. I should have understood Jungkook. I should have…” you run out of breath but still continue, “now please answer me honestly, you love her. Don’t you?”

Jungkook starts avoiding your eyes again. His grip on your arms loosens and you somehow know the answer already.

“I never cheated on you, Y/N. I never lied to you.” He offers with eyes shut tightly.

“But you never told me the full truth either.” your voice comes out weak.

Jungkook remains silent for a while and then he continues with a frail voice, “That night. I mean, the photo that went viral, I was sending her back to her hotel. She flew all the way to the States to confess to me.” This is a new revelation to you, since you never really demanded any explanation from him. Honestly, you didn’t have the guts to face the truth. Rather you decided to try one last time. And that is what brings you here, defeated and rejected with a truck load of pain burdening you down.

“And? What did you say?” you press on, being determined to end your suffering today even if it means you will have to return home with a broken relationship and a broken heart.

“Nothing.” Jungkook gulps.

“You could not say no because you feel the same and you could not say yes because you still had me, is that right?” You know you awfully sound like you are in a session with one of your patients but you don’t care. You need to get to the root of this unbearable pain and cut it off for once and for all.

Jungkook nods. Even though his eyes are hidden from yours, you know, those are full of guilt and shame but not a single speck of love and affection for you.

You close your eyes, let the tears fall unbound, shut the box tight and take two steps back from your soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.

“I know this is a stupid question but I- I’m just confirming” another sob leaves your mouth unintentionally, “do you want to break up? With me?”

Jungkook pinches the bridge of his nose. He is probably finding a way to say yes without having to hurt you more than you can bear.

“Y/N..” he murmurs. This is most likely the last time you are hearing him call you by your name.

“Jungkook, please, just yes or no.” You take another step away from him.

“Yes.” Jungkook breathes out. His eyes are still shut tight.

Even though you knew what his answer would be, it still hurts much more than it did in your imagination.

You feel as if your head is underwater, you can’t breathe, can’t fight, can’t scream. You need to be saved but the person you want to reach out to is the same person who pushed you into this unfathomable water.

Your vision gets blurry with tears again, you can’t see Jungkook anymore. And you guess it’s better that way.

“Okay. That's all I think. That’s all for our three years of history. I hope you lead a happier life from now on. Goodbye….. Jungkook.” and with that you left without waiting for him to say anything. You left him and a part of yourself with him.

You are again sitting at your dining table, holding your phone tightly in your hand. You are again re-reading a headline just like you did a month and two days ago. You are again trying not to cry but you are failing miserably.

“Calvin Kline fame Jeon Jungkook confirms the rumors by kissing rumored girlfriend actress Han Jiwon at a club downtown - The agency is yet to provide a statement.”

It's cruel, how you have to wake up exactly at 7 in the morning despite crying for the better part of the night.

It's even more cruel, how your vacation application (which you have been pursuing for more than a week now) was declined harshly because there's a "priority client" and you, arguably the most competent child psychologist of the clinic, have to take over the case.

You reach for your phone and turn off the alarm.

Opening your eyes, you stare at the ceiling blankly. It's been two weeks since you last saw Jungkook at the restaurant. It's been two weeks since your relationship came to an end. And it's been four months since you are sleeping on your own but you still crave for his warmth beside you.

Love can be a funny thing. At one moment it's fulfilling you, injecting your heart with a sickening sweetness and at another one it's ripping off your urge to continue living, it's stuffing you with insecurity and self doubts that you hardly knew the existence of.

You wonder what Jungkook is doing now. Is he sleeping by himself or is he waking up beside Jiwon? Is he kissing her shoulders softly like he used to do to you or is he hovering above her, spreading her legs and inserting his large shaft inside.

Your thoughts are shaken off with the vibrating sound of your phone.

It's Miseon. The receptionist of The Mindscope ( the clinic you work for) and probably the only person you can call a friend in this entire world.

"Morning." You greet.

"Hey. Heard that your application was declined?" Miseon chrips from the other side of the line.

"Yeah. For some priority clients. Kim asshole Namjoon will be deep-fried in burning oil in a giant ass frying pan in hell." You grumble.

"So you are coming back to work today I guess."

"Yes I have to."

"Will you be okay tho?" You can hear concern in your friend's voice. She's the only person apart from your family to know about your and Jungkook's relationship. So, she called you immediately after seeing the tabloids twelve days ago. You cried on her shoulder when she visited you.

"Yeah. I guess. I have to start doing the actual work anyway. My eyes are in pain for the prolonged hours I spent staring at Microsoft Word for these two weeks. Ugh. Now I hate documentation even more."

Miseon chuckles, “Okay, see you at the clinic then.”

“Yeah. see you.”

You drag yourself out of the bed and head towards the washroom. If this is a new start, then you better accept it.

As soon as the warm soothing water touches your body, memories come rushing back, flooding your mind with despair in the process.

“Jungkook… I’m gonna get late” you whine, head tilting back with pleasure.

Jungkook’s hand snakes around your waist, fingers reach for your sensitive bundle of nerves.

“Five minutes won’t hurt, baby.” he whispers in your ear as his index and middle finger draw slow circles on your wet clit.

His other hand teases one of your wet nipples, twisting and tugging it as harshly as he wants.

A pool of slick gushes out of your hole making jungkook groan at the feeling. He dips his middle finger in your hole and collects some of your wetness, he then uses that to rub more smooth circles on your clit.

You choke on thin air, moaning his name again and again you start to roll your hip on his naked cock.

His giant cock fits perfectly along your ass crack, as if it was made to fit inside you.

You roll your hips harder to elicit a reaction from your boyfriend.

“Such a dirty girl, huh? All for me.” Jungkook’s husky voice pierce through your sober mind and you find yourself dazed with love and pleasure.

Jungkook increases the pace of his fingers and you get more and more wet each passing second.

“Kook.. I- I need you.” you manage to breathe out.

“Don’t be vague, Y/N. Tell me what you exactly need.” Jungkook replies smugly.

“I need your giant cock to ruin my pussy, daddy.” you reply, squeezing the tit that has been deprived of your boyfriend’s attention.

“Whatever my baby says.” and with that jungkook slips inside you in one go. You barely get any chance to adjust because he starts moving right away.

He fucks you slow. His fingers never stop teasing your clit and soon you two reach your climax. He fills you with his cum and you coat his cock with yours.

“Let’s get cleaned now, hm?” Jungkook places a kiss on your shoulder as he turns on the shower.

Your back slides down the shower wall. You shake violently as loud sobs leave your throat one after another.

“You are so cruel, Jungkook. You are so fucking cruel.” you scream. Your throat hurts but your heart hurts even more.

You should have read the signs. When he kept on talking about Jiwon, aka his new friend from the agency, you should have perceived that shine in his eyes.

You should have confronted him more when he said he would have a drink with her after his shoot.

You should have asked his whereabouts when he ignored your calls and texts because he visited her in one of her drama sets.

You should have done a lot of things but most importantly, you should have loved him a little less and loved yourself a little more.

Counselee Information: - Name: Jung Sua Age: 7 (seven) Gender: Female (F) Guardian: Jung Hoseok Relationship with the guardian: Father of the counselee Reasons behind seeking help: 1. Changes in behavior 2. Quieter and more reserved than before 3. Frequent nightmares 4. Mild panic attacks

“So, what do you think?” Namjoon questions, leaning on the plush chair, placed at the end of your table.

“Nothing complicated. You could have handled it yourself. There was absolutely no need of rejecting my vacation applications again and again.” you spat, being very unimpressed with the dimpled smirk on your boss’ face.

“Oh my god. What’s wrong?” he dramatically leans forward. Placing a hand on his chest, Namjoon continues, “I thought you will be in a better mood after two weeks of work from home. But you seem even more annoyed than before.”

“For your information, I asked for a damn holiday not work from home aka prolonged hours of documentation. I really need some time off, Namjoon. I am not kidding.” Your voice sounds so defeated that Namjoon has to sit straight.

A serious expression takes over his features as he replies, “I know, Y/N. You are definitely not the type to take leaves for fun. But I am helpless here. The client has asked for you personally. He has done his own research and concluded that you can help his daughter better than everyone else in this clinic. I could not do anything.”

You nod understanding his point of view.

You are always more than ready to help these little, innocent souls out. It pains you to see these babies experiencing something as horrific as panic attacks.

But this time you need therapy more than anyone else under your radar. Even though your exterior doesn’t show the unbearable pain your interior is going through, you still need some solace. You are really unwilling to work at this moment and you doubt if you can help anyone else when you are not mentally fit yourself.

But you hardly have a choice. And maybe, just maybe, you will get a chance of distracting yourself from Jungkook's thoughts. Maybe you will be able to take a breather. Maybe you will heal in the process. Maybe?

“The appointment is at 11 am, right?” You ask the man sitting right in front of you.

“Yes,” he answers.

“It’s 10:49 already. Get out and let me prepare myself.” you mutter, closing your eyes and leaning back on your chair.

“Okay okay. Don’t be so aggressive.” Namjoon chuckles before leaving you alone in the cabin.

You go through Jung Sua's records once more to verify if there's a health condition you should be aware of. But there isn't anything.

Just when you close the file, a knock rings on the cabin door.

You sit straight. Ready to welcome a new friend.

Yuna, your assistant, knocks once more before pushing the door slowly. She walks in first and then holds the door open for the guests.

And the cutest seven years old, you have ever seen, walks inside. She's so small that she can be easily mistaken for a five year old. Her chubby cheeks and immaculately done pigtails makes her look like a doll.

You almost coo at the sight.

Even though you mostly work with kids, for the past year you were working with only teenagers. It's been long since you had the pleasure to serve yourself for a kid less than ten years old, let alone a seven year one.

"Hello there, Miss Sua. How are you doing?" You say in a jovial voice, trudging towards the baby.

Sua tenses a bit and looks behind her, looking for shelter from her father. He stands right behind Sua, offering her to hold one of his hands. Sua takes that readily.

You come forward and sit on your knees to maintain an eye level with your new friend.

"Don't worry. I'm your new friend. My name is Y/N." You offer her your hand. She hesitates a bit and then looks at her father for confirmation.

You follow her cue and tilt your head up to take a look at the father of your counselee.

Only if you weren't the embodiment of damsel of distress these days, you could very well have a love at first sight.

The man flaunts a pair of incredibly beautiful yet intimidating eyes, a chiseled jaw that can cut you into pieces, perfectly styled dark hair that falls on his face, and a pair of heart shaped lips which enhances the overall beauty of his face. The fitted dress pants and the black dress shirt give hints of the lithe, well-structured body that lies inside.

He smiles at you, you do the same. And then you feel a softer, smaller hand wrapping up your fingertips lightly.

Her cuteness makes you giggle.

You stand up, taking her hand on yours, you start walking towards a cozier corner of your cabin, where you usually counsel kids. Her father follows you closely behind.

There's a small and round glass table along with three chairs. One is meant for you and two others are meant for the counselees and their guardians.

You turn towards Sua’s father. Smiling a little and you say “You need to take the seat first, so that she can be assured it is safe here.”

“Sure” he replies. His voice is smooth and light, a contrast to his dark and manly features.

He sits down on the bigger chair and pats on the smaller one, “come on Sua, com ‘ere.”

Sua leaves your hand and wiggles towards her dad. She easily plops down on her seat.

“Yuna, can you prepare the game room please?” You ask your assistant.

“Sure, Y/N” She says before closing the door as you get comfortable in your own chair.

Sua regards you with her big, round doe eyes. She looks at you so intensely as if you have grown two horns in your head.

You chuckle a bit, “Sua, don’t you like your new friend? Don’t you like me?”

Sua stays silent.

“Sua is very friendly. I am sure she will like Y/N very soon. Isn’t it, baby?” Sua’s father chimes in, squeezing one of her little hands with his bigger, rougher ones.

You are so accustomed to your patients and their guardians to address you as “doctor”, that you had to take a moment after your name rolled out of Mr. Jung’s mouth.

The change is welcomed anyway.

You divert your eyes from Sua to him, only to find him smiling at you warmly. You mirror his smile. His smile is so damn gorgeous that you can’t help but feel contaminated with it.

“Sua, what do you like to play the most?” you focus on Sua again.

“Mario kart” she replies briefly, staring down at her feet.

“Okay. That's a great game. But what would you like to play outside? For example with your classmates during lunchtime?” You place your next question.

“My classmates don’t play with me.” She was quick with her answer.

Your smile drops instantly and you already start mapping out all the possible sources of the issues she is facing.

Nodding to yourself in understanding, you proceed, “Okay, let’s not talk about games anymore. You tell me what you like more, oranges or mangoes?”

“Mangoes.” she replies.

“Okay” standing up from your seat, you walk towards your table and call Yuna. She comes within a few seconds.

You instruct her to take Sua to the game room and treat her to some delicious mango juice. Even though Sua hesitates for a bit, her father’s encouragement works really well.

As soon as Sua leaves the room, you find yourself quite nervous under the intimidating gaze of Mr. Jung.

This setting is nothing new. You have been into one-on-one conversations with your counselees’ parents for more times than you can count. But none of them were as young and attractive as Mr. Jung.

You inhale a long breath before continuing, “so, Mr. Jung, since when did you start noticing these changes in Sua?”

“Almost a month ago. I can’t pinpoint an exact date but she has gradually become very quiet over this last month. She used to be very chatty. She used to tell me every little thing in detail about her day, her friends, what she had for lunch, what colors she used in drawings and so on. Now-a-days her answers have become vague and insignificant.” Mr. Jung sighs.

“Hmm. and the nightmares?” you ask, scribbling on the ipad.

“Around the same time. She woke up at 2 in the morning, ran to my room crying and breathing heavily. She didn’t tell me what it was about but kept on saying she was afraid. The same thing happened two more times.” He completes.

“Umm. The next question might be a little personal but the information is required for future counsellings. I ask for your understanding.” you sit straight. He nods.

“You said she came running to you when she had nightmares. Hence, I assume you were alone in the room. What about Sua’s mother?”

“I am a single dad, Doctor. Sua’s mother and I were in a casual relationship when she conceived with Sua unexpectedly. Both of us were just starting our careers so it was tough for us to think of getting married. On the top of that we didn’t like each other enough to proceed with that option. So, we decided to co-parent. But…” he pauses, takes in a long breath and then continues, “she disappeared after giving birth. She left a note behind as an apology, saying that she is not ready to be a mother, asking me not to contact her anymore. My mother and sister helped me in raising Sua so beautifully. They are the only ones to become something close to a mother figure for her. That’s all.”

You feel something warm flooding in your chest. You don’t know what it is, it can be respect, can be sympathy, can be even admiration for this man who you don’t even know properly.

A genuine smile takes over your face as you mutter, “You have done a great job Mr. Jung. You have raised a beautiful daughter all by yourself. You have worked hard.”

Mr, Jung’s dark eyes flood with some emotions you can’t quite name. He stares at you intensely, so much so that you feel he is reading you inside out. You can’t help but stare back at him.

“Call me Hoseok. So that I can call you by your name too. Is that okay, Y/N?” his voice is deeper than earlier, his smile is lopsided, more like a smirk.

You find yourself easily smiling along with him, something that has been quite tough for you to do for the past few months.

“Sure. Hoseok.” Your reply comes out without any further thought.

Taglist:-

@phenomenalgirl9 @variety-is-the-joy-of-life @soraviie @sukunabitch @chimchimmarie @coffeedepressionsoup @meowstake @vonvi-blog @nochuel @xjoonchildx @justmewondering-recs @cuteipat @miakey98 @purpleanchorcrown @chimmisbae @ane102 @junniesoleilkth @terjeonbebas @kookssecret @appleh4ad @kayleeshinee @whoa-jo

#bts angst #bts smut #jungkook angst #jungkook smut #hoseok angst #hoseok smut #bts x reader #jungkook x reader #hoseok x reader #bts fanfiction #jungkook fanfic #hoseok scenarios #jhope angst #jhope smut

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sha-biest · 1 year

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Masterpost

TWITTER • INSTAGRAM • ART TAG

#GoldenFutureAU

[Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - AU] Summary: A good future version after the Krang are defeated and the end of the world is postponed. But not everything that shines is golden and life isn’t always easy as a mutated ninja turtle! CW: Blood/Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Loss of limbs

#Tsuki Tsukuyomi Hamato: Mikey’s and Gen’s created child Tsuki’s Creation

#Izzy Isabella Hamato: Donnie’s and Kendra’s lab accident child [Relationships] #Angenlo [Mikey x Gen] | #Leoichi [Leo x Yuichi] | #Kendratello [Donnie x Kendra] | #Rasey [Raph x Cassandra]

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

“Chosen Family” [hiatus] [Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - AU] Summary: Splinter is struggling with his four newly acquired Turtle babies and comes across Carol. Although their first meeting is more than bumpy, they find out that they have a lot more in common as parents and Carol realizes quickly that she can’t toss the family out of her apartment. Their Co-parenting adventure begins! #ChosenFamilyAU

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• “Mom, I can explain” [finished] [Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Post Movie - Prequel to “Golden Future”] Summary: Leo got pulled from the portal of the prison dimension and with their home wrecked April sees no other choice but to call her Mother for help. Everyone is injured and tired and Carol is there to mend some of their wounds- physically and emotionally.

CW: Blood/Injury, Hurt/Comfort

#MomIcanexplain

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• “Dragonous” [discontinued] [Villainous - AU] Summary: Everybody is turned into dragons, lizards or other mythical creatures. Dragons are extinct in Flug's time and nobody knows why. He wants to be the one to find out and in his mad quest, ends up traveling to the past. GENERAL INFORMATION Art Program: Paint Tool SAI Tablet: Wacom Cintiq 22HD Language: German, English

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odyssean-flower · 7 months

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The Winding Path of Fate Chapter 1 - Spring: The Garden Meeting

Masterpost

Pairing: Neuvillette x Female Reader

Summary: While taking a break from a ball, you run into Neuvillette in the gardens

Warnings: None except for restrictive gender roles, also for some reason Fontaine's regency england (sort of) now?

Previous | Next

Of all the balls that you had attended, this was by far the most glamorous, and the dullest. And the worst thing was, your champagne glass was empty.

You picked at your dull gown, which maintained a respectable air of elegance despite the fact that it was clearly secondhand and had been mended several times, and held in a sigh. Not that anyone was looking at you, sitting on a stuffed couch with the rest of the ladies who, like you, weren’t fortunate enough to have a dance partner.

All eyes were on the amber-colored dance floor, where young men and women dressed in sleek black tuxedos and pastel ruffles respectively were twirling around in each other’s arms under a glittering chandelier. The smiles and blushes on the faces of the dancers were a stark contrast to the scheming mothers and fathers watching them like hawks from the side, frequently whispering to each other. Your own mother was no exception, of course.

You caught the eye of your younger sister, who looked about to burst out of her skin from nervousness as she danced with a nice-looking young man, the son of a viscount if you remembered correctly. You heard your mother clucking her tongue next to you, most likely wishing that your sister looked more like a lovestruck maiden. You, on the other hand, were happy for her for not stumbling over her feet, since you knew how hard she practiced all week in order to dance without embarrassing herself at her first ball.

Her partner, seeming to have noticed her tension, whispered what seemed to be words of comfort into her ear, for she blushed and smiled just a bit. He seemed like a considerate young man. Perhaps your mother wouldn’t leave this ball disappointed after all.

Speaking of disappointments…you felt your mother give you a sidelong glare for the third time in the past hour. You held back a sigh.

Truth be told, you didn’t know why your mother still brought you to these things, despite the fact that you were “past your prime,” so to speak. Not that you were much in demand even when you were in your prime. Blessed—or cursed—with an unremarkable face and a curt, reticent personality, it was as though the gods had marked you for the fate of spinsterhood since birth (you had tried to explain this to your mother, but the scolding she gave you had dragged on for so long that you didn't bring it up again). Your debut in society had made little fanfare and you had sunk into invisibility by the end of the year.

Of course, you couldn’t begrudge your mother for her frustration. Your father was a baron, the lowest noble rank, and your family was firmly in the ranks of the “impoverished gentility,” on the verge of falling below that if they didn’t marry into greater wealth. You were the oldest child and had no brothers. The hopes for a successful marriage match now rested on the slim shoulders of your sister, who had just come of age this year. Her dress was newly ordered for her–your parents had spared no expense.

You sincerely hoped that this young man would take a liking to your sister (how could he not?), not just for the sake of the family’s future, but also for your sister’s mental wellbeing. She was sunshine itself, but also prone to bouts of insecurity and nerves that took not a little effort to coax her out of.

The music showed no signs of winding down. It seemed that this dance would go on for some time yet. By the time you were on the receiving end of your fourth glare in an hour, you finally decided to excuse yourself and go out into the spacious gardens.

You would have much preferred going to the library and finding an interesting biography or novel to read, but alas, it was improper to wander the estate of a stranger without telling the host first. But the fresh air and different scenery were a much-needed distraction from the hissed conversations around you and icy glares from your mother.

It was late in the evening, so you couldn’t appreciate the gardens in their full glory, but even in the faint moonlight and dull glow of the orange lamps, you could tell that the gardens were magnificent. They were elegantly arranged, with dainty flowers and stately trees lining stone paths and pale marble statues of women in flowing dresses standing like silent guards. There were other people scattered around in the gardens as well, mainly couples who wanted some privacy away from the ballroom.

You spotted a large arched trellis to your right. It was covered in white roses and seemed to lead to some distant part of the gardens. It reminded you of the portals to fairyland in the fairy tale books you've read. The thought brought a small smile to your face, and not a little bit of guilt for thinking of such childish things when you should really be more concerned about your prospects. I'm allowed a little bit of whimsy, aren't I? You told yourself.

You walked through the arch, following the path. Once you emerged on the other end, the air almost seemed to smell sweeter and the moonlight brighter. Maybe it was because you could no longer hear the music. This seemed to be the part of the garden where the roses were planted, as you could make out their distinctive shapes around you in the darkness. There were fewer lamps here and no presence of people, but you could still see the mansion in the distance, so it should still be okay to be all the way out here, right? At least, that was what you told yourself.

As you proceeded down the path, you gradually heard the sound of burbling water. Its source was soon revealed when the path ended at a large stone fountain. It was topped with an elaborate carving of a mermaid sitting on a shell, from which the water emerged. You could see the copper glow of coins at the bottom of the basin. There were benches around the fountain, and you sat down on one of them. The area was surrounded by tall trees that blocked off the other areas of the gardens like a dome. This place seemed perfect for reading or quiet contemplation.

You engaged in the latter, tilting your head back and looking up at the night sky. The first stars were emerging. It was truly nighttime now, but you couldn't bring yourself to go back. The thought of having to sit back down on that damned couch and be forced to watch that glittering world from the sidelines seemed like the worst torture in the world.

Why did Mother bring me here? You wondered for the umpteenth time. I could have been using this time to practice my piano or painting. Skills that will actually help my future.

As you stared up at the sky, you gradually sensed a presence near you. You slowly turned your head, preparing yourself to run. When you saw who it was, you nearly gasped.

A tall, stately figure was standing by the fountain. His long silver hair, tied with a ribbon, gleamed beneath the moonlight. His dark blue robes practically blended into the night. He was turned away from you, but you knew who he was immediately. Anyone who lived in Fontaine would.

The Chief Justice, Neuvillette.

What is someone so important doing here? And unannounced, no less.

The Chief Justice hadn't been an invited guest to the ball, you were very sure. For one thing, his arrival would have been announced with far more ceremony. For another thing, he was known to rarely show up to such events unless his presence was specially required.

He didn't seem to notice you were there at first, as he seemed preoccupied with peering into the bottom of the fountain. Has he dropped something? You wondered. And how did he get here without me hearing him?

You briefly considered going up and greeting him before ultimately deciding to sneak away and return to the mansion. Getting involved with someone as important as him never ended well for people like you. What if someone caught you two alone here? You and your family would become fodder for the tabloids.

Yes, stealthily taking your leave was most certainly the right choice here. You picked up your skirts and got up from the bench, then tiptoed slowly to the start of the stone path, carefully watching your step. You had just set your foot on the stones when a voice suddenly called out to you from behind.

"Good evening, Miss. What a lovely evening we have today."

His voice was low and smooth, different from the commanding tone he used during trials. Your family only had the luxury of going to the Opera Epiclese once or twice a year, but you could distinctly hear him ordering the audience to remain calm in your head.

Cursing inwardly, you composed yourself, turned around, and curtsied. "Good evening, Monsieur Neuvillette. My sincerest apologies for not greeting you first. You seemed to be in the middle of doing something important, so I did not wish to interrupt you."

As soon as the words came out of your mouth, you wished you could take them back. They sounded sarcastic even to you. It was a nasty tendency of yours to say things without considering how they might sound to other people, even if they sounded perfectly well-meaning in your head.

However, Neuvillette didn't seem to take any offense. In fact, he nodded like your excuse was perfectly reasonable to him. "No, I should be the one apologizing for being so inconsiderate towards a lady. I let my whims get the best of me instead of greeting you."

"Oh, I assure you that it is no offense to me at all, Monsieur. Now, if you will excuse me, I shall return to the ball."

"Then I shall escort you."

"There's no need for that, Monsieur. It's not very far from here. And also…" you decided to address the elephant in the room. "Forgive me if I am mistaken, but I don't believe that you were an invited guest of the ball. It may cause some confusion if you were to suddenly appear here."

"Ah," he said, like he hadn't considered that. You noticed that he didn't deny being uninvited. "You're right, Miss. Then, will you allow me to escort you up to the arch at least?"

"...Very well, Monsieur. Thank you for your kind offer," you said, because it didn't seem like he was about to leave you alone.

The two of you began walking back in silence. Your mind was occupied with the burning question of what exactly was the Chief Justice doing in a garden without telling anyone, but you couldn't think of a way to bring up the topic without coming off as overstepping your position. But then, isn't he the one who's technically trespassing here?

"So, Monsieur Neuvillette, if you don't mind my presumptuousness in asking, what occasion brings you here?"

"Well…it is as I said before. I am simply here to indulge my whims. I was taking a walk nearby when I heard the delightful burbling of a fountain and couldn't help but come and take a look. Ah, do not worry. The owner of the estate already knows I'm here and has permitted me to take my walks in the gardens."

"Oh, I see," you nodded, even though you didn't. It was too dark to make out his face, but his tone sounded completely sincere and truthful. Not that you could do anything even if he was lying.

There was another brief silence. "And you, Miss? What are you doing here alone, away from the ball? I would assume that most young ladies your age would rather be there."

Normally, you would have been irked by such a question. You’ve heard it too many times in the past. But Neuvillette sounded like he was genuinely curious.

“There’s no need for me to come to balls, so I would rather be doing something else with my time,” you admitted. “I’m only here to accompany my younger sister, who has just come of age.” And because my mother made me come, you silently added.

“No need to come to balls? Are you already betrothed?”

“No, no, that’s not it,” Now you wished you hadn’t answered. It was awkward trying to explain this to an outsider. “It’s just that there’s no point in me being at them. I already know what lies in store for me, and there’s very little chance of it changing.”

“You’ve already decided what you’re going to do in the future? You’re quite the ambitious person.”

It seemed as though he misunderstood. How wonderful. You were somewhat hesitant over whether or not to tell him the truth, since people always acted like you told them you were going to move to the Fleuve Cendre or something like that, but you didn’t want to leave any misunderstandings. “No…it’s not as grand as what you might be thinking, Monsieur. I will become a governess.”

“A governess?” For the first time, you heard something other than polite interest in his voice.

You couldn’t blame him for his reaction. A governess was a role that befell women whose families declined in fortunes or who couldn’t find a husband. It wasn’t something anyone wanted to become. It was a thankless job with low pay and job security, not to mention being at the mercy of the whims of the rich. However, for plain, unassuming people like you with little wealth or connections, it was the only path you saw to survive in this world.

“Yes, Monsieur.” You didn’t really feel like explaining yourself. You learned the hard way that people like him wouldn’t understand anyways. "It is the role given to me in life."

“I'm afraid I do not understand. Were you forced by someone to pursue this path?"

"I wouldn't say forced, exactly. It's more that I'm making use of what limited resources I'm given in life. Governesses are always needed after all, and it's a perfectly respectable job for someone like me to support myself and my family."

In your opinion, some people were fated to become beautiful brides or famous adventurers, while others were destined to a life of being in the background. You knew from a young age that you were the latter. It was far wiser and easier to accept that and face it head on.

"Hmm…" Neuvillette said. He seemed to be thinking deeply about your words, which was a first for you. "You have very strong sense of purpose, Miss."

"I suppose I do. Although I prefer to think of it as accepting the inevitable. I’ve already been preparing myself for it, anyway. We are all given different roles in life by fate, and this is mine."

Neuvillette didn't say anything. Most likely, he was baffled by your words. You found that people got uncomfortable when you talked about fate, but you didn’t really know how else to explain it. Honestly, you were surprised at yourself for being so chatty as well. Maybe it was the darkness of the night, or maybe you drank too much champagne, but you found yourself talking about such things more easily.

At least he didn't attempt to change your mind or give you some cliched rousing speech to "follow your heart" or "never give up" like most others you told this to.

The two of you reached the arch, and the lights of the mansion appeared in the distance. You could even hear the music from here.

"We've arrived at the arch," you turned to him and curtsied once more. "Thank you very much for accompanying me, Monsieur Neuvillette."

"Ah…" he said, almost as if he was surprised by the abruptness of how you're leaving him. He's probably not used to being treated this way, you mused to yourself. "Before you go, may I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"

You debated internally whether or not you should refuse. Having your name known by powerful people seemed like it could lead to trouble, but you couldn't think of any good reason to refuse him without making yourself look suspicious. You decided to compromise by only giving him your first name.

"Miss [Name]..." he said. Your name felt strange to hear your own name coming from his mouth. You weren't sure you liked it much. "I'll remember it."

That sounds weirdly ominous, you thought to yourself. He sounds like a villain who will show up later in the story when you least expect it. Your imagination liked to amuse itself in this way sometimes.

You said goodbye to him once again and headed back to the ball. You swore you could feel his eyes on your back as you walked away.

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#genshin impact x reader #neuvillette x reader #my works #the winding path of fate #neuvillette x female reader

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yetanothergreyjedi · 1 year

Text

Ghosts of Our Pasts: 6

DP x DC crossover

Damian Wayne and Danny Fenton Siblings AU

Masterpost Next

WARNING: Light gore at the beginning of this chapter!! (I didn't get verydescriptive, but it includes blood and broken glass. If that’s not for you, skip the first 2 paragraphs.)

Trempling fingers tore at the vial, desperately trying to break the seal, but the glass was slick with crimson and he found no purchase. Each attempt was shakier than the last. Even prying the lid with his teeth made little difference when his hands couldn't grip the thing. He doesn't know if he made a decision or if he dropped it, but half the vials contents mix on the ground with broken glass and blood. The vibrant glowing green makes the blood look black in comparison, sharp little stars glitter in the morbid nebula.

Half the vial is still in his hand. It's edges are jagged teeth cutting into his hand, healing then cutting, then healing, and repeating. It should probably hurt more.

Danyal's thoughts are sluggish. It takes another minute to realize the new problem, that the wound is on his back under several protective layers. Even if he could reach it, he wouldn't be able to pour the Lazarus water accurately, he couldn't even see the wound. If he set down the vial to get a better feel for it, would he remember to pick it back up?

It only hurts the living, it is good for the dead and dying. He didn't remember who'd explained that, but it was all he could recall about the waters, and he didn’t exactly have many options.

He tipped the vial to his lips and drank. This he did feel.

---

Danny gasped awake gripping his hands over his chest where his core hid. The shard of ice felt sharper than normal, pointed and aimed at his heart. Danny felt cold.

When he'd first come to the Fenton's, he'd been convinced that Damian's blade had broken under his skin. He'd been sure that the blades tip remained lodged in the back of his chest, just under his heart. He remembered saying it felt cold. His theory had been disproven after an X-ray after falling off the roof. (he'd jumped from it to the Assult Vehicle. He'd been fine, but the other parents had seen him roll and insisted on the hospital.) Jazz had called it trauma, and well, it was. So he'd taken her advice on it.

Danny couldn’t tell whether it had always been there or if this was the usual mind over matter ghost nonsense, but now his core was being pointy, so that was great! Definitely not like the last time his core had felt weird and he'd almost frozed alive!(dead?).

He needed some air. He threw on some clothes and didn't bother with doors.

The thing was he wasn't actually sure if he died the first time. It didn't really matter, it was still trauma, but if his core had come from that, and the portal had just... what? Supercharged him? Both events had fundamentally changed him, but he'd gone so long believing he hadn’t died at Damian's hand. He'd survived everything with the League just to die to his own stupidity.

The sun had already set, but smoggy clouds and light pollution blocked the stars. He wasn’t surprised, but it would've been nice to fill a bit of obsession after the nightmare... actually...

He sat on the ledge and focused on chaneling his excess energy to Gotham. It was something he did often for Amity, the smaller city would take that energy and stitch back together any damage from a fight. But there was a lot of ectoplasm in Amity Park. Danny didn’t know how malleable the physical aspects were for her.

The energy was pulled away as she accepted, pulling a thread of his consciousness with it. She showed him a plant on a windowsill, stubbornly blooming despite the lack of sun. She showed him a tiny crack in a support beam mended, a touch of poison in the water flowed away from the supply of drinking water, and more tiny things that would mean all the difference for a few people. But she kept showing him things, too much all at once and he had to rip his mind back because he was in human form and could not handle that much like this.

She withdrew sheepishly, and he got it. Most older spirits did not know how much a human brain could handle.

Something else drew his attention and he turned sharply.

"Oh... Hi,"

"Are you alright?" Batman asked, still a careful distance away.

"Yeah...?"

"Your eyes are glowing."

"Oh..." Danny closed his eyes for a second, opening them again when he was sure they'd look human. He wasn’t really surprised. "That uh... happens, sometimes..."

"You have good control over it,"

"Uh, I guess? I can't always tell when I'm doing it..."

"It's not pit rage then?"

"Not... usually," Danny wasn’t entirely sure what pit rage was. Not that anyone else in the League knew any better, but he didn’t know if something he had a name for might be called pit rage by someone who didn’t know.

"Hm,"

"It's a weird conglomerate of side effects." Danny half explained, looking out over the other buildings and and a parking garage. The Bat crouched on the ledge a few feet away from him and Danny couldn’t help but laugh. "This is ridiculous,"

"Oh?"

"That my first time meeting you is on a rooftop and you're in a bat costume."

"You could have come to the manor," It wasn’t a reprimand, it was an offer, it was a question.

"Yeah, I think the fact that I'm not back to being dead is pretty good evidence your not with the Assassins."

"No. I haven't been for a long time."

Danny took a deep breath. He wasn't going to dwell on other versions of this story. "Cool."

There was a few moments of silence, a bit awkward, but nothing compared to the awkward silence in the alley a few hours prior.

"How's your trip going?" Batman asked.

"Already looked me up, huh?" Danny joked.

"We needed to be sure—"

"I know, I know, my sudden appearance was super sus."

Batman sighed the sigh of someone who has heard far too many Among Us jokes in his life.

Danny grinned, "Pretty good so far, nobody attacked the museum, and we've almost worn down Lancer about the whole 'we must stay in one group' thing."

"Staying in one group is wise."

"We're Amity Parkers," Danny countered.

"You're from a town with a communication blackout."

"A 'magical' communication blackout." Danny finger quoted the word 'magical'. "I don't actually know what you can access. Only someone who's been to Amity can find it."

"Hm,"

"Unless, you go through Elmerton." Danny advised. He was taking a chance on this, he decided. Even if he was wrong about trusting this part of his family, Amity's judgement wouldn't be biased and she wouldn't let them see anything they shouldn't. And of course, in Amity, Phantom could get involved if need be.

"Elmerton."

"Yep, the town a few miles to the east. Our only tether back to this plain of existence." Danny said dramaticly, it wasn’t that bad. He could almost hear him thinking, so he didn't expect the next question.

"Do you like it there?"

"I- yeah, I do." It was his haunt, most of its weirdness was subconsciously his fault. "Ever been to a liminal space?"

"I've been to a few other dimensions,"

Danny snorted, "Mood,"

That got him a weird look, it was his own fault really.

"I'm not talking about anything related to my death." Danny warned. "Sorry."

"That's a reasonable boundary," Bio-dad in a bat suit nodded, but also sounded like he was physically restraining himself from asking. It also sounded like something a therapist was attempting to drill into him, Danny could relate, if it were true.

"Liminal spaces are kinda hard to explain if you haven't been in one. Amity has a lot of ghosts... I mean that literally. Our neighbor died of old age, but she still reads the newspaper on her porch every morning."

"That's..." Danny could actually taste the suprise. It was kinda tangy? Danny really hoped the emotions having a taste thing was just because of low ambient ectoplasm; he really did not want this as a new power.

"The most normal thing about Amity," Danny finished the sentence for him. "Don't go into it trying to makes sense of it or you might melt your brain or something."

"Please tell me that's a joke."

Danny shrugged, then decided it was his turn for questions. He pulled Damian's list out of his pocket. "So, can I get you to explain who all of these people are?"

Bruce returned to the cave feeling significantly better than when he'd left it. Danny had been open, for the most part, but clear on things he wasn't willing to discuss. Despite his children's earlier interaction, he'd seemed willing, even eager to interact with the rest of the family.

Damian was pacing in the same way he'd been when Bruce had left. He'd said something along the lines of 'I do not wish him to feel pressured by my presence' when Bruce had asked if he'd come with him. He immediately noticed when Bruce stepped into the room and made a beeline for him.

"We're going to show him around the rooftops tomorrow night. I asked, you're invited." Bruce told him.

Next up! A brief break from the heavy stuff, let’s drop in for some Amity Parker’s vacationing in Gotham! (If you have prompts, I beg you!!!)

Notes:

If you're wondering: why did he come has Batman? That's because it would be very weird for Bruce Wayne to talk alone with a single seemingly random kid on their senior trip.

Batman talking with a kid sitting on the edge of a multi-story drop? Good! We were feeling worried about that kid!

Also B was just dropping by to check, and lo and behold! His son is chillin on the roof like any self-respecting bird does.

Any future Bruce POV's are gonna be just as short as this one, because I tried writing the interaction from his pov and it caused me pain! Shout out to everyone who does that regularly.

Tag list: Only 50 mentions will link on one tumblr post. I will add the others in under a reply

@spectralstardustandphantomnights @avelnfear @idfk-man10 @blackroserelina @candeartist422 @mur-ururu @luer-mirin @insufferablecatenthusiast @skulld3mort-1fan @alonedustspeck @voidbornposts @meira-3919 @marshmello @aethernorwood @mimilikey @undead-essence @cloudminder @markus209 @everything163 @latheevening226 @roman4517 @moobloomrights @battybatbat @lumosfeather18581 @werv @ahyesanerd @pyramaniac @lexdamo @princessbelix @bun-fish @deeannthepan @edgyboi10000 @thatrandomsarahchick @busterkeel @aconitewolfsbane @spoopyspoony @bright-shade @spidey29phangirl @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @keimiwolf @u-a-wizard-jamie @gay-puff @bicerise @itshype @blackfoxsposts @icanneverdecide @lolottes @chubbypotato @jovialherringtacoghost @saltyladynightmare @jesus-camp-the-sequel @agirlandagraveyard @jaytriesstuff @escelia @rosecinnamonbun @justwannabecat @tired-yet-awaken @aro-in-danyl @lesbian-not-american27 @samgirl98 @notanartificialintelligence @chronicallyonline-fandomwh0r3 rainbowbunny0159 @nerdypaintbrush @treepainting @thegoldenguardfan @spacetempest @enderglace @death-magnetic-cyanide @plotwholls @alexzandria-747 @gin2212 @dracotheghostdragon @minnowmarsh @miraculousandmore @memesanddoritos @andaspoonfulofangst-whoops @jotaroslooseeyebrowhair @0nerd @idkmrpianoman @thegatorsgoose @icecweme @escelia @crazylittlemunchkin @dannyphantomphan69 @hetalia-lover-is-here @justwannabecat @chaoticchange @sarcastic-yami @theamazingfox @depuffstuff @rhynereads @mysticsoulgirl @chrysanthemum9484 @thefearfullone @phantomskeep @promptingwips

#dp x dc crossover #dp x dc #danny phantom #batman #grey writes

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collapsedglasshouses · 2 months

Text

WOULD YOU SAY I'M WORTHY MASTERPOST

Noah Sebastian x fem!OC

SUMMARY: When Eden meets Noah, her life is anything but perfect. Her heart is far more broken than Noah can even guess at this point. Will he be able to mend the wounds he hadn’t caused?

WARNINGS: angst, fluff, eventually smut, mentions of grief/loss, mentions of alcohol consumption, mentions of mental health issues, mentions of illnesses

CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE [coming soon]

dividers by @saradika-graphics

#bad omens fanfiction #bad omens fanfic #bad omens fic #noah sebastian fanfiction #noah sebastian fic #bad omens rpf #noah sebastian fanfic #collapsedglasshouseswrites #noah sebastian x oc #noah sebastian x ofc #nick folio fic #nick folio fanfic #nick folio x ofc

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mechformers · 1 year

Text

Ma Miles - Ch. 1

1.4k words

Masterpost | Chapter 2

Looking up at the bright sunny skies, you thanked the Great Mother for the peace that now lay over your new home. It had been so difficult leaving the Hometree behind, watching it burn and scream for help that could not be given by any of you. You had done what you could for the wounded, helped send the dead back to Eywa and when the dust settled, Jake Sully - Toruk Makto - emerged with Neytiri as the new leader of the Omaticaya clan. When they welcomed their first child, however, everything changed for the better. Neteyamur had been such a well-behaved child, so calm, so kind. The wise women of your clan often liked to comment on how Eywa had blessed the young boy, and how she flowed through his veins. They made a beautiful family, the boy bringing Neytiri joy in every sense of the word.

Your lives were finally getting back to a semblance of what it once had been. Although the RDA still built their machines, mining away where your Hometree once stood, a relative peace had wrapped itself over your new home. Jake was a good leader to the Omaticaya, bringing victory and pride to your clan when the sky people tried to get closer. The few sky people that were left, guarded by the dreamwalkers, helped in every way possible while doing their peaceful research in tune with Eywa. How they could be the same species was beyond you.

With no great value to your clan, you were - among others - tasked with helping the sky people and their dreamwalkers to the best of your ability. The small people were kind, although…different than what you had pictured them to be. Most were just in awe over the Great Mother’s abilities, registering her energies, and noting how everything connected, content to do their work to better understand the blessing that Pandora had received for Eywa. The dreamwalkers tried their best to rectify what their sky people had done to the Great Mother, working hard to rebuild and mend what was broken.

But among those who stayed, a small child was left, orphaned by the tragedies of war. His mother killed in the assault on the Tree of Souls, and his father… the very demon who led the assault - Colonel Miles Quaritch. Born before Neteyam, Miles Socorro was too young to undergo the journey back to his home, although you had always argued that Pandora was his home. Eywa had granted him life, had welcomed the little boy to grow among her children, and so he did. Enamored with the little, odd child you were never far from each other and when the sky people who took him in gave up, you were the only constant left in his life.

With the nickname Spider, he grew to be a big boy full of joy and curiosity for Eywa and her children. And although you were alerted when he first started calling you mom, the title brought nothing but love and adoration now, something the young boy knew to exploit whenever Lo’ak managed to drag him into trouble. You never stopped worrying when he wasn’t around, but your son was all too quickly growing into an adult. Letting go was a part of motherhood and one you would have to accept to let your son find his own path along Eywa. Luckily he was attached at the hip to Kiri, the brightest of the Sully children. She would always manage to talk sense to him, even if Lo’ak tried his hardest to persuade him otherwise.

Chuckling to yourself, you bent to collect the last of the dew drops from a floating rock. Although your work wasn’t considered important, you liked helping the sky people collect their samples which in turn made them wonder in awe of the Great Mother’s reach. Getting back on your Ikran, you lazily flew back to the campsite, taking the time to caress his long neck, smiling to yourself as he purred loudly.

But before you could walk into the research area to deliver your work, you were stopped dead in your tracks. The moment you saw Jake Sully you knew that something was wrong. He looked worried, tired, and bruised.

“Jake?” You ask carefully, your ears lowering nervously.

When Neytiri walks up behind him, avoiding eye contact with you, your heart starts beating loudly in your chest. Something was very wrong for the both of them to come to find you while you worked.

“Where’s Spider?” Your voice doesn’t sound right to your own ears, the tone wrong.

“Y/n, I’m so sorry,” Jake starts and Neytiri finally looks you in the eyes.

“The children were playing down at the old shack when Lo’ak called me,” Jake starts, his own ears folding backward as his throat struggles to swallow, “A group of RDA avatars - recombinants - were there and they were caught,”

“What are you saying, Toruk Makto?” You ask gently, your ears lifting hopefully.

“When we arrived, they were waiting for us and a battle began. In the chaos, we got separated, and… Y/n, they took Spider,” You can hear Jake Sully’s words, you can understand what he’s saying, but at the same time, nothing makes sense to you.

“The children…” You mumble, not sure what to say as you let it all sink in.

“Kiri, Lo’ak, and Tuk are safe,” Jake offers gently before continuing, “Spider is a tough kid, Y/n, he will be alright,”

Snapping your eyes to your Toruk Makto, you narrow them dangerously as your tail whips furiously behind you. ‘He would be alright,’ My son is out there, alone, and he will be alright. The anger you feel is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before and it’s directed at the clan leaders. You haven’t noticed the crowd slowly gathering around you, nor heard their whispers as you try to make sense of everything. Your Ikran screams somewhere behind you, but you can’t turn your eyes away from the couple in front of you.

“You left my son to be taken,” The sheer venom that filters through your hiss tastes vile as you growl them.

“We tried to save him, Y/n, but in the chaos, he got away from us,” Jake tries, he really does, but the words sound hollow to your bleeding heart.

“You are Toruk Makto, you are supposed to protect your people, our children,” You scream at him, your voice so loud it makes your own ears ring uncomfortably.

“He is not of us,” Neytiri hisses back, ears flat as she protects her mate, hissing angrily when Jake hums disapprovingly at her.

"You do not speak of him like that," You hiss dangerously as you point to Neytiri, "You have always thought him unworthy because of who his father is, but he is a child of Eywa - my child, and you just left him to be taken,"

Neytiri doesn’t have anything to say to that, her mate trying to calm her down as he gently holds her arm. You can’t stand to hear their excuses any longer. Your son needs you and he’s out there alone somewhere. Turning away from your clan leaders, you quickly make your way to your home, not turning when Jake runs after you, weak protests falling from his lips. He doesn’t dare to enter your home, however, silently standing on the outside, watching as you gather a few essentials, Spider’s songcord, and your weapon.

“Who?” You sneer at him before passing on your way back to your waiting Ikran.

“Y/n, I don’t think that -”

“Who!?” You shout this time, snapping your head around to level your Toruk Makto with the darkest glare you have in you.

“Colonel Miles Quaritch, Spider’s father. He's back to life as a recombinant Na’vi…”

Freezing at the words you just heard, it takes a moment for your body to let go of the immediate fear you’re experiencing. You never thought you would hear that name like this. One day, you had prepared yourself to have the talk with Spider about who his father really was, but Spider never asked and you never offered more than everyone already knew. Hearing that the demon from the skies was back to life, and in a Na’vi body nonetheless, made something sink deep inside of you.

At least you knew where to look now.

Masterpost | Chapter 2

#miles quaritch x reader #colonel miles quaritch #na'vi miles quaritch #miles quaritch #colonel quaritch #Mech writes #Ma Miles #avatar the way of water

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gerrystamour · 1 year

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i could be honest, i could be human [Chapters 11, 12 & 13]

Rated E | Steddie

[ FIRST PART ] [ PREVIOUS PART ] [ COMPLETE ]

[ MASTERPOST ]

“Stevie,” Eddie sighed, lifting his other hand to wipe Steve’s tears away, and he frowned when Steve just sobbed again. Then he smirked a bit teasingly, that cheeky smirk that made Steve’s stomach do somersaults. “Who hurt you?” “You did, asshole,” Steve gasped through another sob, though it ended with a laugh of his own. CONTENT WARNING: Blatant disregard for what is medically possible, also there is smut. Twice.

Chapter Eleven: April 1986

They all survived. By the skin of their teeth, but they did it.

Things were still a bit touchy with Max, since she still hadn’t woken up even once. The doctors were optimistic about her pulling through once her legs and arms healed a bit more, stating that the body needed rest to mend injuries so severe.

Eddie was finally out of the woods, but he had spent so much time hooked up to scary machines to put blood back into him and breathe for him. It had been nightmarish seeing him so small and pale on the bed like that with tubes and wires attached to him.

But he was slowly waking up, and he didn’t have to be on the ventilator anymore. Sometimes his eyes would open and he’d look around, and Steve would say something to him, but it was clear that Eddie wasn’t actually lucid. Eddie would follow Steve or Wayne’s voices but he would look at some point above their heads before closing his eyes again with an exhausted sigh.

It was still a relief every time Eddie opened his eyes, though, so Steve wasn’t going to complain at all. If he politely excused himself every time Eddie closed his eyes without acknowledging them to cry in the stairwell, that was Steve’s business.

The government officials that showed up after they already dealt with everything for them—again—were very easy to bully into meeting their demands; clear Eddie’s name, cover all their medical bills, and provide Eddie and Wayne with a new home.

The story that was spun had just enough of the truth to be believable.

Officially, the killer was Henry Creel, who had actually been in witness protection but became obsessed with copying his father. He had taken advantage of the community’s preconceptions of Eddie and his hobbies to get away with murdering three, almost four teenagers while everyone hunted an innocent man. Eddie was officially listed as Henry’s fifth victim, to account for the injuries he sustained, and it was reported that Henry died in the earthquake.

The reaction to the news was spectacular, in Steve’s opinion.

As soon as a reporter even mentioned the word “prejudice,” a majority of the community flip-flopped on their witch hunt for Eddie Munson. Very suddenly, people insisted that they hadn’t believed for a second that it was a Satanic cult, that they knew all along it wasn’t supernatural at all, that they weren’t about to murder a young man based on hearsay. The community, for the most part, came around to at least not caring about Eddie Munson like they used to.

Steve would never forget the frenzied way he people were arming themselves at War Zone, though, and he did his best to remember exactly whose faces he saw there that day. He was giving Vickie a free pass for Robin’s sake, but everyone else was fair game.

There was still an armed guard outside Eddie’s room, but that was to protect him just in case some zealot came for him.

It made Steve nervous every time he came to the hospital, the armed men stationed in the corridor and tracking everyone who came and went. It might have been paranoia, but he was starting to feel like they were watching him every time he came since he visited daily. Wayne had put in a demand that Steve was to be allowed to visit whenever and for however long he wanted, so there was no reason for anyone to be suspicious of him.

It wasn’t until one guard smirked when Steve returned from having a moment alone in the stairwell that it started to click. The guard had looked him up and down, likely noting his red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks and scoffed before returning to scanning the hallway with his eyes.

Steve hurried back into the room, fear clutching at his chest again. He didn’t know what to do, other than to stop coming so often, but what if Eddie woke up when he wasn’t there? But would him coming here and gaining that attention put the same judgments on Eddie as well? If Eddie woke up after being accused of being a murderer to being a queer just because Steve couldn’t just stay at home, would he be grateful?

“What’s going through that head of yours, kid?”

Steve jumped and looked across Eddie’s bed to meet Wayne’s eyes. He had forgotten the man was still there since he usually went home to sleep a bit before his shift. Eddie had been almost lucid the last time he opened his eyes, so Wayne was staying just a bit later than normal.

“I think the guards figured it out,” Steve said nervously, picking at his nails. “Why I’m here a lot, I mean.”

“Did any of them say anything? Because I’ll deal with ‘em if they did,” Wayne said seriously, and Steve shook his head quickly.

“Didn’t say anything, Mr. Munson,” Steve replied, clearing his throat. “I’m just… What if Iʼm doing more harm than good by showing up so much? He’s going to wake up with a whole new rumour mill…”

Wayne chuckled at that and shook his head. “Boy, that was a rumour mill he had years of practice with,” Wayne said with a sigh, shrugging a shoulder when Steve looked back at him. “Eddie’ll be too happy about you waiting at his bedside to give a shit what these assholes think.”

Steve blinked at Wayne before nodding slightly, smiling a bit sheepishly down at his hands. They sat together in a comfortable silence before Wayne said good night to Eddie, and then to Steve as he left for his shift.

Steve sat in his chair until the nurse did her final rounds for the night, making small talk with her while she walked around the bed. She made a comment that Eddie’s colour was better, and Steve agreed. He was no longer pale and gaunt, a lively blush returning to his cheeks that filled Steve with so much relief he could cry with it.

Once the nurse left, Steve pulled his chair closer to the bed and leaned his elbows against it, one hand wrapping around Eddie’s and the other hand petting over Eddie’s hair. He’d had to fight the doctors about not shaving it off just for cleanliness reasons and had made a point to make sure it was clean himself if he had to. Steve didn’t want Eddie waking up in pain and without the long hair he had loved so much.

“Hey Eds,” Steve whispered into the nearly silent room before clearing his throat and saying a bit louder, “Max was doing better today. She’s starting to do the half-waking-up thing like you, I think.”

There was no reaction from Eddie to his words, but that was normal. Steve talked and Eddie slept, then Steve would cry until he fell asleep until Wayne returned and sent him home to sleep properly.

“It’s gonna be my birthday soon. Robs wants to take me out,” Steve said, blinking as his eyes filled with tears. “So, it would be great if you woke up so I can celebrate my birthday with my best friend, yeah?” he added teasingly, laughing a little bit.

Eddie took a deep breath, which wasn’t uncommon, but his brow pinched together this time which was weird. Steve sat up straight, watching Eddie’s face for any sign of waking, but then he let the breath out in a sigh and his face slowly relaxed. Tears were already falling down Steve’s face as he slumped against the bed.

“Please, Eds, I need you to wake up. You were just supposed to be the decoy, you promised,” Steve said, feeling some of his sadness turning to a bit of anger, no matter how irrational he knew it was. Eddie did what he felt was right, and Steve wouldn’t actually hold that against him.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t be upset about it, just a little bit.

“You promised, Eds, and now look where you are,” Steve sobbed, squeezing Eddie’s hand, then he laughed a bit wetly. “Maybe I should stop fighting them when they try to cut off your hair, huh? That should teach you for running off trying to be a hero when the only reason I let you leave my sight was because I thought you would be safest there.”

Eddie took another deep breath and when he let it out, it was accompanied by a groan that had Steve immediately standing over him. The sudden change in position on top of his lack of proper sleep had Steve almost blacking out, but he pushed through it.

“Eddie?” Steve asked frantically, and Eddie’s brow was pinched together again.

Deep brown eyes fluttered open, and they were a bit glazed over until Eddie blinked a few times as he looked around the room groggily, and Steve laughed around a sob. Even if Eddie wasn’t fully lucid, that was the closest he had been since he was admitted.

“Eds,” Steve sobbed, his relief overwhelming when Eddie actually reacted to the sound of his voice. Eddie’s eyes quickly found Steve’s and his grimace visibly relaxed for a moment, something akin to a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Then he squeezed Steve’s hand tightly with a pained groan.

“Hurts,” Eddie gasped, and Steve nodded quickly and reached for the call button.

The next twenty minutes was a whirlwind as the attending doctor rushed in and tried to talk to Eddie about his pain. Eddie was trying to speak, to answer their questions with more than just “hurts” when they asked what was wrong and “a lot” when they asked how much.

Finally, Steve had enough of the circular discussions and stood up.

“Enough! Just do something for him. You had to sew his fucking guts back in, of course he’s in pain and obviously it’s a fucking ten on your stupid chart,” Steve snapped, gesturing at Eddie with one hand, the other on his hip. On the bed, Eddie let out a weak groan that sounded a bit like a chuckle.

“Sir, either you calm down or you will be escorted out,” one of the nurses said, though she looked inclined to agree with Steve if her annoyed glower at the doctor was anything to go by.

Opening his mouth to argue again, Steve stopped when Eddie squeezed his hand tightly.

“Steve, s’fine,” Eddie said, shaking his head as he fought through the pain to verbalize what was hurting, how it was hurting, and how badly it was hurting.

Finally, his answers were deemed worthy of an upped dose of the narcotics, just to help him get comfortable. Steve held Eddie’s hand the entire time, the audience of medical professionals be damned, stroking the back of Eddie’s hand with his thumb until he began to relax against the bed.

“Waking up for the first time like this after significant trauma is not unusual,” the doctor said to Steve in a tight voice, gesturing at Eddie. “We’ll revisit his pain in the morning to determine if staying on the higher dose will be necessary, but for now it should just help him get back to sleep.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Steve said with a quick nod, a bit embarrassed by his outburst earlier now that Eddie was settling down. The doctor nodded, wrote a few notes on Eddie’s chart, and then left the room again with the nurse.

When Steve turned his attention back to the bed, Eddie was still awake but the lucid light was fading quickly from his eyes. Each blink was becoming longer and his eyes were rolling back, especially now that the narcotics were even stronger in his system. But he kept fighting through it and determinedly trying to hold Steve’s gaze.

“Go back to sleep, Eds,” Steve reassured him, brushing his hair out of his face as tears sprung to his eyes all over again.

Eddie blinked rapidly up at Steve, his eyes glazing over. “’Teve?” he murmured, and Steve grinned through his tears, nodding.

“Yeah, I’m here. I’ll be here again tomorrow,” Steve insisted, and Eddie gave him a weak smile.

“Pr’mise?” Eddie asked and Steve nodded again.

“I won’t even go home when Wayne tries to force me to, okay? I’ll be here all day, so you sleep as much as you need,” Steve promised, laughing a bit at the irony of spending days begging Eddie to wake up, just to tell him to go back to sleep when it happened.

“Kay,” Eddie sighed, and he squeezed Steve’s hand weakly one last time before he drifted off to sleep.

This sleep was different. Before, Eddie had been completely still, not making any noise at all and his only movement had been his chest rising and falling with his slow breaths. Now, he was a bit twitchy, his eyes moving behind his eyelids rapidly, and he let out little sighing breaths every few minutes.

It was normal sleep now. Eddie was going to get better. He was on the mend.

Steve could finally breathe a bit easier.

Just as he promised, Steve didn’t let Wayne chase him from the room, and they both slept in their chairs on either side of Eddie, slumped over the bed. If he moved, he’d wake up at least one of them.

It was sometime in the afternoon when Steve woke up to a hand playing with his hair weakly. Reaching up, Steve gently took the hand into his, holding it gently as he sat up and met Eddie’s eyes.

He was awake, completely lucid, and smiling at Steve. Eddie squeezed his hand reassuringly and said, “Hey, Stevie.”

“Hey, Eds,” Steve replied, returning the smile before he looked around. “Oh, shit, where’s your uncle, he—”

“He just left. I’ve been up for a bit talking to him,” Eddie said, his voice hoarse. “You were sleeping pretty deep.”

“Where’d he go?” Steve asked, confused that Wayne would leave if Eddie was finally awake.

“He just went home for dinner and try to call out of his shift tonight. He’ll be back in a couple hours,” Eddie explained quietly, then he shrugged. “Said he wanted to give us some privacy to talk about something.”

Steve looked at Eddie laying against the white sheets, brown eyes open and clear, cheeks pink with life, and a smile on his lips. This was everything he’d been praying for since Eddie was admitted. He was over the moon with his joy, his relief, and he finally had the chance to tell Eddie everything he rehearsed in his head.

When he opened his mouth, though, all that came out was a sob and suddenly Steve was crying too much to speak. All the worry he had held inside himself was finally done, and now he had to grapple with all the other feelings he had been pushing back to make room for it.

“You did, asshole,” Steve gasped through another sob, though it ended with a laugh of his own. “I told you not to be cute—”

“Kind of a tall order for me, Stevie, don’t you think?” Eddie asked teasingly and Steve laughed wetly.

“That’s not the point, you promised,” he pushed, leaning into Eddie’s hand. “I told you not to be a hero.”

“Yeah, but the bats would’ve come into our world. Or worse, they would’ve gotten bored and gone back to Creel’s place, where you were,” Eddie replied, shrugging.

“But at least you would’ve been safe,” Steve insisted, and when Eddie looked at him there was an angry edge to his stare that Steve wasn’t used to seeing on Eddie.

“But you wouldn’t’ve been,” Eddie replied fiercely. “You’re not the only one who’s allowed to do stupid shit to protect the people he loves, Steve.”

With that hanging in the air between them, Steve shut his mouth against any further arguments he had. Eddie’s brain seemed to finally catch up to his words, and the blush that came to his cheeks was intense.

“That was—I meant—Shit,” Eddie muttered and glanced away, but Steve stood so he could loom over him and meet his gaze again.

“Don’t,” Steve murmured, looking over every inch of Eddie’s face as he reached out to gently cradle his jaw. “I want you to know that I really like you, Eddie. I might even be in love with you, I don’t really know yet, but I want to find out.”

Eddie blinked up at him, big brown eyes wide and full of an emotion Steve couldn’t place. “Why, though?” Eddie asked after a few moments, blinking a tear free from his lashes.

“Because you’re kind, and so fucking genuine, even to me when I probably never deserved it,” Steve immediately started, shaking his head hard when Eddie went to speak. “Can it, Munson. I’m talking right now. Anyway, you’re funny even if half your jokes make no sense because they’re about that Dipshits and Dweebs game, and—”

“Don’t forget about my devilishly good looks,” Eddie interrupted a bit sarcastically and Steve groaned.

“And yes, you’re so hot,” he agreed, and it seemed to catch Eddie off guard. Steve scoffed at that and added lightly, “Seriously, Eddie? Are you actually going to act like you don’t know how hot you are? Didn’t take you for someone who fishes for compliments.”

“It’s less me thinking I’m not hot, and more just… you think I’m hot? The hottest guy in Hawkins thinks I’m hot?” Eddie babbled, and he dropped his head back against his pillow. “I’m starting to think this is all fake, that I’m actually in a coma and it’s all some dream.”

Steve just laughed and leaned in close to Eddie’s face. “So, what do you think about all that?”

Eddie smiled, then hesitated a bit. “What about your dad? Uncle Wayne warned me about him,” he said, glancing away from Steve.

“I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it, Eds. I want to know what you think about what I said right now,” Steve replied, squeezing Eddie’s hand until he looked back at him.

Eddie’s eyes searched his face for a few moments before he smiled softly. “I’ve been obsessed with you since before you were rehabilitated, Steve. Sophomore Eddie is losing his mind right now,” he said, and Steve rolled his eyes.

“Okay, but what does Triple Senior Eddie think about that confession?” Steve pressed and Eddie laughed tiredly.

“I think I want to take you to dinner or something when I get out of here,” Eddie said quietly, almost shyly, and Steve grinned broadly, even as tears began to fall again.

Steve leaned down to kiss Eddie, but he turned his face away.

“Stevie, my breath is probably rancid right now. I am not finally kissing Steve Harrington until I brush my damn teeth,” he laughed, and Steve settled for dropping a kiss on Eddie’s cheek, and then his brow, and then the tip of his nose, and he would have kept going if Eddie hadn’t pushed him away with a loud laugh. “Stop being cheesy, you sap.”

Steve grinned down at him, taking in the little smile and the blush high on Eddie’s cheeks.

“Better get used to cheesy, Munson. That’s my default setting,” he warned, and Eddie just grinned wider, his dimples coming out in full force.

“Looking forward to it, big boy,” he murmured, and he smirked as Steve flushed at the pet name.

He remembered that moment vividly in the RV, the way he very nearly pulled Eddie into a kiss about it, and how it took Robin gagging in his ear to snap him out of it. Thinking about the RV, however, brought another memory back to him.

“Oh!” Steve said, jumping up to grab his leather jacket off the coat stand. He rifled through one of the pockets until he pulled out a folded napkin.

“What’s that?” Eddie asked curiously, and Steve shrugged.

“A note from Robin. She wrote it for me before the big battle,” Steve replied.

“And you’re just reading it now?” Eddie asked, glancing around. “Isn’t it April-something?”

“April twelfth, yeah,” Steve chuckled as his eyes welled up with tears again. “I was only supposed to read it if we all survived, so… I was kind of waiting on you,” he teased, trying to keep it light even if his voice was a bit choked up.

“Well? Get on with it, then,” Eddie said, his own eyes glassy with tears as well.

With a huff, Steve carefully unfolded the napkin and blinked down at it until he burst out into actual giggles. Lifting the napkin to his chest, Steve leaned back in his chair while he laughed until tears were streaming down his face.

“Hey, share with the class,” Eddie whined, pouting at Steve while he tried to calm down enough to talk again.

“I’ll explain it later, okay?” Steve managed to get out through his giggles as he laid the napkin down on Eddie’s lap.

It was less a note, and more of a drawing. It was Robin’s artistic rendition of the old YOU RULE/YOU SUCK board, and the YOU SUCK column had so many tallies it was nearly blacked out. Then, under the YOU RULE column, there was one tiny little tally mark.

Eddie frowned at it, then raised an eyebrow at Steve. “You and Buckley are weird,” he said flatly, and Steve had another fit of giggles.

“You have no idea, Eds,” Steve finally said, taking the note back and refolding it carefully so he could take it home and frame it.

❖

Naturally, the moment news broke that Eddie was awake and okay, Steve never had a moment alone with him again. There was always some teenager hanging around and Steve was itching for Eddie to be released from the hospital.

They weren’t quite keeping it a secret, what was going on between them, but they also weren’t advertising it either. There was still a lot they had to talk about, to figure out, and sharing their first kiss in front of any amount of an audience, no matter how supportive, was a no-go for both of them.

Eddie’s injuries were healing nicely, and he was able to move around a bit if he used the various mobility devices the doctors insisted on. With the severity of the injuries on his legs, there was a chance that he would always need a cane, but Eddie seemed in good spirits over it. Steve was still learning how to read Eddie and the moods under the ones he chose to show.

When Steve asked him if he was actually okay with it, Eddie just grinned and said, “you know how easy I can make a cane part of my whole image? It’s gonna be sick, Harrington. Just wait and see.”

Finally, the doctor gave them the good news: Eddie was going to be discharged, and the date was set for Steve’s birthday.

Steve was over the moon, ecstatic even, vibrating with his excitement that Eddie was getting out on his birthday of all days. Like it was fate or something corny and dumb like that. Robin had been just as happy for Steve and went ahead and cancelled their plans for Steve’s birthday. There was a moment of guilt, but Robin admitted that the plans were largely to make sure Steve didn’t spend it wallowing in Eddie’s hospital room if he was still comatose. If Eddie wasn’t being discharged, she fully planned on holding Steve’s birthday festivities in his hospital room.

When the day finally arrived, the grin Steve wore was honestly starting to hurt his face. It was his birthday, the weather was beautiful, and he got to take his boyfriend home from the hospital. The only way for it to have been better was if Max woke up, too, which was becoming more and more likely every day.

Wayne was obviously at the hospital in the morning, but he had to leave before Eddie was set to be discharged, so he insisted that Steve take Eddie home for him. Then Wayne clapped Steve on the shoulder and said, “happy birthday, son.”

Steve blushed under the attention and nodded. “Thanks, Mr. Munson.”

“Enough of that Mister-Munson crap,” Wayne said a bit sharply, huffing as he rolled his eyes. “We’re practically family now the way I figure it, whether or not you and my boy work out. Got it?”

Steve blinked at Wayne, and before he knew it, there were tears welling up in his eyes. He groaned, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes.

“Jesus Christ, I swear I don’t always do this,” Steve insisted.

“Do what, son?” Wayne asked, concern clear in his voice as he squeezed Steve’s shoulder.

“Crying,” Steve replied, wiping his tears. “I don’t cry this much usually.”

“Nothing wrong with that even if you did,” Wayne sighed before pulling Steve into a brief but tight hug.

That was how Steve ended up in his Beemer with Eddie in the passenger seat, smiling softly as the spring sun hit his face properly for the first time since the world almost ended. Steve tried not to be too distracted by the vision Eddie made, sitting there in the sunshine and wearing Steve’s old clothes; an oversized sweater and a pair of sweatpants.

The Munson’s trailer had been almost completely destroyed, and a lot of what wasn’t wrecked was decided to be contaminated and dangerous, especially anything that was soft or fabric. That meant Eddie’s wardrobe was gone. Sharing some of his lesser-worn clothes was the least Steve could do.

It had been truly selfless at the time when he offered, but now that he was seeing it in practice, Steve knew what he was feeling was not the spirit of altruism anymore.

“So, where we headed, Stevie?” Eddie asked, snapping Steve out of his increasingly horny thoughts.

“Oh,” Steve started dumbly, shaking his head a bit. “What did you want to do first?”

“It’s your birthday,” Eddie shot back, tilting his head at Steve.

“And I want to do whatever you want to do. At least right now,” Steve challenged, raising his eyebrows.

Eddie went quiet for a minute while he thought, sucking his teeth. “I want… to take a really long fucking shower,” Eddie finally said, and Steve had to work double-time not to think too much about that.

“I’ll take you to your new apartment then,” Steve said instead with a smile that quickly fell when Eddie frowned, shrinking in his seat. “What’s wrong, Eds?”

Eddie shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go there yet,” he admitted quietly with a sigh.

Steve reached across the center console to hold Eddie’s hand gently. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked carefully, and Eddie shook his head.

“Nah, Stevie, I’ll just suck it up,” he insisted, turning a bright smile at Steve.

“We can go to my place instead,” Steve offered, squeezing Eddie’s hand. “No one else is home, it’ll be quiet, and you can take as long of a shower as you want.”

Eddie frowned thoughtfully before shrugging. “Why not? Probably have the best water pressure in the world, too,” he sighed dreamily, and Steve snorted as he finally started the Beemer and pulled out.

“It’s alright, I guess,” Steve agreed with a shrug.

The shower in the main bath at the Henderson’s house was definitely good, but there were times he missed the shower at his parent’s house. Now that was amazing water pressure.

“Uh, Stevie? Where the hell are we going?” Eddie asked, and when Steve glanced over at him, he was frowning.

“My house?” Steve replied slowly and Eddie glared.

“Okay, I know I was out for a month and lost a lot of blood, but Loch Nora is the other way,” Eddie said grumpily.

Steve grimaced a bit. “Oh, shit, yeah, I guess I never—I don’t live there anymore? I haven’t since last summer,” he said, chewing the inside of his cheek. Out of the corner of his eye, Steve could see Eddie turn to look at him sharply. “I live with Dustin mostly. Claudia gave me her spare room and a key, so I guess that’s home now.”

“Why do you live with Henderson, and how is this the first I'm hearing about it? Henderson literally never shut up about you,” Eddie said and Steve cringed.

“Eds, if I promise to tell you, can we skip this conversation today? Just for today, please?” Steve asked softly, turning to look at Eddie when they stopped for a light. “It’s not really something I want to talk about on my birthday.”

Eddie got that all-too-knowing look in his eye, but he just nodded at Steve and smiled. “Yeah, no problem,” he said, and his smile broadened the moment Steve’s shoulders relaxed. “So, you live with Dustin?”

“Yeah, and it’s exactly the nightmare it sounds like,” Steve laughed.

“I dunno, could be worse,” Eddie chuckled. “You could’ve moved in with the Wheelers.”

“Hey, me and the Wheelers love each other,” Steve insisted, and Eddie snorted.

“So, you’d happily live with Mike?” Eddie asked knowingly.

Steve sniffed. “Yes,” he answered.

“Before or after he disappeared under mysterious circumstances?” Eddie pushed.

“After, obviously,” Steve said imperiously, smirking when Eddie laughed.

Once they arrived at the Henderson’s, Steve shut the car off and immediately got out to help Eddie. Steve kept pace with Eddie as he shuffled up the front walk with his cane. He was still figuring out the mechanics, which was a difficult task given how much he lacked coordination before everything.

But Steve was happy to stay with him, only hurrying ahead once to unlock and open the front door.

Once they were inside, Steve busied himself with collecting a towel and washcloth for Eddie, setting everything up for him in the bathroom.

When Steve turned to call for Eddie, he jumped when he saw Eddie leaning against the door frame. There was something about seeing Eddie standing there, in the closest place Steve had to a home and wearing Steve’s clothes, that had Steve’s heart skipping several beats.

“Hey,” Steve said lamely, flushing at the knowing little grin on Eddie’s face.

“Hey yourself,” Eddie said as he righted himself and shuffled into the bathroom.

There wasn’t a ton of space for two grown men to stand in the small room. When Steve leaned back against the counter to let Eddie past, Eddie leaned further into Steve until their chests were nearly pressed flush together.

“Were you gonna join me?” Eddie asked teasingly, and Steve let out a huff of breath as heat flooded south.

“There’s barely enough room for both of us in there, Eds,” Steve replied, his tone obviously saddened by this. Clearing his throat, Steve gently gripped Eddie’s elbows to support him as he slipped out from between him and the counter. “You take your time and shower up. I’ll be in my room just across the hall, okay?”

Eddie pouted a bit and rolled his eyes. “Really gonna drag this out, Stevie?” he asked grumpily without any actual heat to it.

“Drag what out?” Steve asked innocently, his cheeks warming under the weight of Eddie’s stare.

“Will you please join me, Stevie?” Eddie asked, nodding back toward the shower. “I want you to join me.”

Steve let out a slow breath before rolling his eyes and pulling his polo off over his head. He didn’t miss the way Eddie’s face went slack as his eyes moved slowly down his chest, and he couldn’t stop the smirk that came to his face. Feeling bold, Steve shucked his pants and socks so that he was standing in just his boxers, then leaned into Eddie’s space to start the water.

Eddie let out a small sound and Steve watched him shove the sweatpants down until they fell to the floor around his feet. When he went to lift the sweater over his head, he winced and let out a low hiss. Steve turned to face Eddie fully, meeting his eyes as he grabbed the hem of the sweater.

“May I?” Steve asked, and Eddie let out a shaky breath as he nodded.

Before Steve could do anything, however, Eddie had a hand in Steve’s hair and tipped his mouth up for a kiss. It was sweet, and while it wasn’t completely chaste, it wasn’t yet pushing for deeper or more.

It was tentative and unsure, two feelings Steve never would have associated with Eddie a couple years ago.

When Eddie pulled away, Steve chased his lips and coaxed him back into another, this one deep and searching, and it pulled a soft groan from Eddie’s chest. Steve swallowed the sound and responded in kind, lifting his hands to tangle in Eddie’s hair.

When Steve’s tongue teased at the seam of his lips, Eddie actually pulled back with a quiet, disbelieving laugh.

“Holy shit, how is this even real?” Eddie asked around a giggle, stepping back a bit and hiding his mouth behind some of his hair while he flushed.

Steve remembered vividly the first time Eddie had done that in front of him and how much he had wanted to kiss the other man. Now he could, so he crowded close and pulled Eddie in for a third even hungrier kiss, licking into his mouth when he gasped.

“Whoa, tiger, slow down,” Eddie gasped, even though he chased the kiss when Steve pulled back. His eyes were a bit hazy, his pupils blown and his lips shiny and red. “We’re here to shower, remember?”

“Right, yeah,” Steve said, shaking his head a bit. “How far can you lift your arms?”

“I can lift them fine, it's crossing them to pull my shirt off that still hurts,” Eddie admitted, sounding frustrated and Steve could understand that. His own bat bites had hurt every time he twisted, and he didn’t have any on his chest like Eddie did.

“Okay then, arms up,” Steve said, and Eddie did as he was told.

When Steve lifted the sweater over Eddie’s head, he discovered very quickly that Eddie was quite naked underneath it. Apparently, Eddie had either not noticed the boxers Steve had included with the gifted clothes, or he deliberately ignored them. If Eddie’s smirk was anything to go by, it was the latter.

Eddie was thin from his time in the hospital, but the last couple of weeks since waking up had seen him regain some weight. He was looking healthy, and while the bat bites were still a bit angry looking, they were healing nicely. He was gorgeous and Steve was overwhelmed with the urge to kiss every inch of Eddie’s body. The night was young…

“I’m feeling under-dressed,” Eddie complained, and Steve laughed, rolling his eyes as he shoved his boxers down and kicked them aside.

“Oh, fuck, they weren’t lying,” Eddie breathed before slapping a hand over his mouth.

Baffled, Steve asked, “Who?”

Eddie shook his head and turned his eyes skyward, as if praying. “Forget I said anything,” he practically begged, and Steve laughed.

“No, I won’t, tell me,” Steve insisted, grinning as Eddie blushed and turned toward the shower.

“I’m taking my shower now, join me or don’t,” Eddie said in a rush, and Steve almost tripped over their clothes on the floor as he followed him.

Steve immediately crowded up behind Eddie, putting his hands against the wall and boxing Eddie in. “C’mon, Eds, what were you talking about?” Steve sing-songed, resting his chin on Eddie’s shoulder.

“Ugh, you’re so annoying, you know that?” Eddie laughed, turning around in Steve’s arms. “In school, all the girls you messed around with always talked about how big you are and I figured they were full of shit.”

“I don’t think it’s that big,” Steve said, blushing when Eddie looked down between them. Steve followed his gaze and let out a shivery sigh when he actually looked at Eddie.

If he compared them, Steve had to admit he was thicker. However, Eddie’s was just a bit longer than his and Steve desperately wanted his mouth on it at some point that evening.

It was his birthday, after all.

“It’s a fucking soda can, what are you talking about?” Eddie was saying and Steve barked out a laugh.

“Shut up, it is not,” Steve said, rolling his eyes. “C’mon, let’s get this shower rolling. Get your hair wet.”

Without really discussing it at all, Steve took over washing Eddie’s hair for him, working his own shampoo into his roots and massaging his scalp. Carefully, Steve tipped Eddie’s head back under the spray and rinsed his hair.

The motion exposed the long line of Eddie’s throat and Steve was weak against the temptation of it. With a sigh, Steve leaned in to mouth along Eddie’s pulse, relishing the breathy moan Eddie let out before pulling back and grabbing the conditioner.

Working it into the length of Eddie’s hair, Steve took his sweet time, enjoying the way Eddie relaxed against him with his forehead resting on Steve’s shoulder. Again, Steve gently tipped Eddie’s head back to rinse the conditioner out of his hair.

This time when Steve put his mouth on Eddie’s throat, he sucked a mark into the skin there. Eddie’s full-body shudder and moan instantly became an obsession for Steve.

Pulling away again, Steve smirked slightly at the way Eddie whined as he reached for the washcloth and bar of soap. Lathering up the cloth, Steve started gently washing Eddie’s body, careful over the bites on his chest and stomach.

Turning Eddie to face the spray and rinse off the soap, Steve relished the happy little sighs Eddie let out. Then he dropped the washcloth on the floor of the shower and boxed Eddie against the wall with one of his arms, his chest and hips pressed flush to Eddie’s back.

“What about you, big boy?” Eddie asked, even as he rocked his hips back against Steve and pulled a sigh from both of them.

“Showered this morning,” Steve replied before sealing his mouth on the nape of Eddie’s neck, working the pale skin with his tongue and teeth until Eddie whined. Then he smirked a bit and said, “Gotta get a bit dirty before I need another one.”

“Ugh, that was terrible,” Eddie moaned, a shuddering whine spilling from his lips as Steve wrapped a hand around his cock and started to stroke him slowly.

“You’re just annoyed because it did something for you, didn’t it?” Steve asked, and Eddie’s cock pulsed in his hand.

“Shut up,” Eddie whined, leaning against his forearms on the wall. He shuddered as Steve sped up, his touch becoming more determined, and Steve ground his own cock against Eddie’s ass. “Stevie, a-as much as I’m loving this, my leg…”

Steve let out a shivering sigh, slowing his hand to a stop and rocking his hips back. “Sorry, babe,” he murmured, annoyed at himself for forgetting.

“Don’t apologize for stupid shit while my dick is in your hand, thanks,” Eddie griped and Steve laughed, shaking his head. Once the water was turned off, Eddie turned around and wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck. “Carry me to your bed, Harrington.”

“That was the plan, Munson,” Steve hummed, wrapping an arm around Eddie’s middle and lifting him just enough to walk across the hall to his room, not even bothering to dry either of them off before lowering Eddie to the bed carefully.

Once he had Eddie spread out beneath him, Steve couldn’t wait to bring their lips together again, licking into his mouth hungrily and groaning as Eddie responded enthusiastically. Hands were in Steve’s hair, fingers running through it as they kissed each other’s breath away, and Steve shuddered as one of Eddie’s fingertips followed a scar on his scalp, just above his ear.

“How do you want me, birthday boy?” Eddie gasped when Steve finally pulled away for air.

“God, I wanna suck your dick so bad,” Steve moaned, already kissing his way down Eddie’s body.

“Wait, wait, it’s your birthday, though,” Eddie said, tightening his fingers in Steve’s hair to stop him. The moan that tumbled out of Steve’s mouth surprised them both.

Regaining his composure as quick as he could, Steve restarted his descent down Eddie’s body and said, “Yeah, and for my birthday I want to suck your dick.”

“Wait, Steve—”

“Are you actually wanting to stop this right now, Eddie?” Steve asked genuinely, lifting himself up onto his elbows to look at Eddie properly. “Because we can stop if you want—”

“No! No, I want to! I want to so bad; I’ve imagined you with my cock in your mouth so many times, believe me,” Eddie said in a rush, petting Steve’s face and hair. “I just want—you don’t have to or anything. Especially if you haven’t before—”

“You think this is my first time sucking a dick, Eddie?” Steve asked, trying not to laugh because that was probably a safe assumption to make. But it was a little funny to Steve.

Eddie blinked down at Steve, his nostrils flaring slightly as the words seemed to land in his mind. “It’s not,” he murmured, and it was not a question at all.

“It’s definitely not, Eds,” Steve sighed as he dropped his mouth back to Eddie’s chest so he could resume his downward journey. This time, Eddie did not stop him, and Steve smirked against the skin of his stomach as he shifted his weight so he could wrap a hand loosely around Eddie’s cock.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Eddie groaned, arching under Steve beautifully.

“Please, just call me Steve,” he teased, working his fist around Eddie while he sucked and bit marks into the unmarred skin of Eddie’s stomach and pelvis. He grinned when Eddie scoffed above him.

“I’ll call you a pain in the ass soon if you don’t—oh, fuck,” Eddie gasped as Steve wrapped his lips around the head of his cock. Pressing the flat of his tongue against the slit, Steve lapped up the precum already beading there.

Looking up through his lashes, Steve watched Eddie as he focused his tongue and lips around the head, taking in the way he shuddered and arched with little whining moans. It was a bit overwhelming, having Eddie in his bed after so long of dreaming of it, and tears stung at the corners of his eyes.

With a groan, Steve took his hand away from Eddie’s cock and took it as deep into his mouth and throat as he could manage. Hands immediately tangled in Steve’s hair, pulling it as he began to bob his head in Eddie’s lap.

“Shit, baby, I’m not gonna last,” Eddie confessed around a sob, and when Steve took him deep and moaned around him, he hissed, “So good to me, such a good boy, gonna make me come so hard.”

The praise hit Steve hard, and he let out a desperate, pleading little sound as he began rutting against the bed while he sucked Eddie off. The reaction was not lost on Eddie, who somehow managed to smirk despite being close.

“Like it when I call you a good boy, Stevie?” Eddie gasped, his hips jerking up into Steve’s mouth as he asked, gagging him briefly. Steve groaned and nodded as much as he could, relaxing his throat and taking Eddie into his throat. “Fuck, so good, baby.”

Steve registered the way Eddie’s voice was shaking, and he felt the way his cock pulsed against his tongue, so he pulled back until he just had the tip in his mouth. Bringing his hand back up, Steve wrapped it around Eddie’s cock and stroked it while he sucked and lapped at the head, desperate to taste him.

Eddie’s release spilled over Steve’s tongue before the man could react to the change, his back arching off the bed with a punched-out sob. The hands in Steve’s hair twisted viciously as Steve swallowed every spurt of cum Eddie painted his tongue with, and Steve whined at the delicious pain.

When Eddie collapsed against the bed, Steve didn’t stop sucking and licking, relishing in the way the man under him shook and sobbed.

Finally, when the hands in his hair let go and started to push him away, Steve let up and lifted his mouth away to look up at him. Eddie was laying there, staring hazily up at the ceiling and panting.

“You okay, Eds?” Steve asked knowingly, smirking as he climbed up the bed to lay next to Eddie. His own dick was still painfully hard, but he was willing to wait for his own release. He just wanted Eddie to feel good, and he succeeded.

“The guy just sucked my soul out of my dick, and he asks if I’m okay,” Eddie groaned, rolling onto his side and pressing close for a needy kiss. Before Steve could properly react, Eddie’s hand was around his cock and pumping it determinedly.

“Eddie,” Steve groaned against his mouth, shuddering as the coil in his gut pulled taut. He was already close, just from sucking Eddie off.

“Can’t wait until I can ride this cock until I fucking break,” Eddie babbled, his voice rough and sleepy, but his hand did not slow down at all. “Wanna fucking feel you for days.”

Steve shuddered and arched his back. “Close,” he whined, throwing his head back. Eddie immediately latched onto his exposed throat with his teeth, actually biting him as he worked a mark into his skin.

The teeth on his throat did Steve in.

With a low, heavy groan, Steve came in thick stripes across his own chest and stomach, his back arching as he thrust jerkily into Eddie's fist. The hand didnʼt stop moving until Steve shuddered and hissed, the overstimulation becoming sharp and unpleasant.

Letting go of Steve's cock, Eddie leaned back to look at him properly, taking in the way Steve panted for breath as he recovered, his own cum glistening in his happy trail and chest hair. With a content little sound, Eddie shifted so that he could lap up the mess with his tongue, careful around Steve's own still-healing injuries.

Once Eddie was pleased with his clean-up job, he flopped back on the bed next to Steve with a happy, if exhausted sigh. Steve immediately rolled over so he could kiss Eddie deeply, tasting himself on Eddie’s tongue with a sighing moan.

Eddie pressed a hand against Steve’s chest and with a sigh, Steve pulled back to meet his eyes. “You okay?” he asked, searching Eddie’s face.

“I’m fucking perfect, Stevie,” Eddie laughed before yawning. “Just getting cold. Can we get under the blankets?”

“Yeah, of course, sure,” Steve replied, and he made quick work of getting them under the comforter. Then he looked down at Eddie. “How’s that?”

“Amazing,” Eddie sighed, smiling dreamily up at Steve. “Happy birthday.”

With a laugh, Steve stooped for a sweet kiss. “Happy discharge day,” he countered lightheartedly.

Just then, the front door slammed open.

“Steve? What the hell are you doing home?” came Dustin’s shout, and they could hear his footsteps approaching quickly. “I thought you were taking Eddie… home…”

Steve stared down at Eddie, wide-eyed, before he looked at his open bedroom door just as Dustin stepped into the doorway.

Silence filled the space as Eddie and Steve stared at Dustin, whose mouth hung open mid-bitch. His brain was obviously working double-time trying to understand what he was seeing.

“You think he’s okay?” Steve asked Eddie quietly.

“I dunno, he kinda looks like he’s in pain,” Eddie responded solemnly just as Dustin snapped out of his stupor.

“What the shit?”

Chapter Twelve: Bonus Track

Something that hardly anyone gave Will Byers credit for anymore was his intuition unless it was directly related to the Upside Down.

The only exceptions were his mom, Jonathan, and usually Mike.

However, this was one of those times that Mike was ignoring him, too.

They were all hanging out in his basement and desperate for something to do. Ms. Mayfield had wanted some privacy and quiet, so she had asked them all to spend the day elsewhere, so they were a bit bored and anxious.

Dustin was on a tear about Steve not having anything done for his birthday again, and how he was pretty sure Steve never had a birthday celebration ever.

“And now, what? He’s just going to give Eddie a ride home from the hospital? That’s it?” Dustin asked the party, gesticulating dramatically while he paced. “He cancelled his plans with Robin and everything!”

Lucas and Mike were coming around to Dustin’s ranting. El was already sold the moment Dustin brought it up and was standing with him, nodding emphatically. She was working on understanding milestones like birthdays and anniversaries, so naturally when it was brought up that someone had a birthday that was consistently overlooked…

Will was pretty sure the only reason Mike was even coming around to the plan to throw a surprise birthday party for Steve Harrington was solely thanks to El wanting it to happen. He wouldn’t think about that too closely, or about how annoying it was.

“Will, you’re being quiet, what do you think?” Mike suddenly asked him, and Will startled out of his thoughts.

Glancing around, he shrugged. “I mean, Mrs. Henderson said—”

“Yeah, yeah, my mom said to leave Steve alone today and she wouldn’t say why, but she was smiling so that just means it’s not serious or anything,” Dustin interrupted and the others nodded.

“I just think that maybe she has a point and knows something you don’t,” Will said, his tone deliberate and pointed. “That, maybe, he does have birthday plans, they just don’t include you.”

“Why wouldn’t they include me?” Dustin retorted, his tone vaguely hurt before he laughed it off. “What, like he has plans with Eddie? Believe me, Steve couldn’t stand Eddie before all the Vecna stuff.”

“Yeah, Steve wouldn’t even get out of his car when he’d pick us up from Hellfire if Eddie was outside with us,” Mike said, and he shrugged a bit. “I think Steve’s just giving Eddie a ride home because Mr. Munson had to work.”

Will looked around at all of them, absolutely amazed that none of them could see what was plainly in front of them.

Maybe Will missed most of a school year of context, but Will knew what he saw at that hospital room when the party would visit Eddie’s room.

Before Eddie woke up, Steve would be there with dark circles under his eyes because he obviously wasn’t sleeping. Sometimes he would be talking quietly with Mr. Munson while he sewed patches onto a denim vest. Other times, if Steve was alone when they arrived, he would glance up at them from a book he had been haltingly reading aloud before he quickly put it away in his backpack.

Once, Will managed to see the book before Steve hid it, and was surprised to see that it was ‘The Fellowship of the Ring.’ Steve was sitting in there reading a nerd book to Eddie.

On a more rare occasion, Steve would pinch the bridge of his nose as soon as they piled in like he had a headache building at the mere sight of them. He would claim he had to use the bathroom and slip out of the room for a bit. Was Will really the only one to notice that Steve was always crying when he did that?

Then when Eddie woke up, it was like a light inside Steve was turned back on. The way Steve had been so hollow before Eddie’s eyes opened may not have been immediately obvious to everyone, but after? How did they not see it?

How did they not see the way Steve and Eddie smiled at each other’s jokes? Or the secretive smirks they would shoot at each other? Or the way Steve would always volunteer to sit on the edge of Eddie’s bed to give Dustin one of the chairs and the way Eddie would lightly rub Steve’s back where he thought no one could see, as if they weren’t in a tiny hospital room full of people?

Were all his friends actually kind of dumb, or did Will only see what was going on because he was gay? They all knew about him, so it’s not like they didn’t know it was possible…

Will could have said all that, but maybe if they didn’t see it without being told, they didn’t deserve to. A petty part of Will wanted them to experience the consequences of letting their assumptions overrule the actual data provided to them. The only person he was going to try to win to his side over the course of the day and enacting Dustin’s plan was El.

Maybe. If he won El over, she would convince Mike to stop and that would sway Lucas, too.

He was really annoyed with them.

Will shrugged. “I just think Mrs. Henderson has a point and we should leave Steve alone,” he repeated, giving them all one more chance to back down before he let them seal their fate.

All of them, except El, rolled their eyes with a groan before they all started discussing the details of the plan. El narrowed her eyes thoughtfully before turning to join the others.

“For a bunch of nerds, they’re pretty dumb.”

Will jumped, and looked over his shoulder at Erica, who he had forgotten was hanging out with them now. Everyone else was passionately arguing about where they were going to scrounge up the money for a cake, so they didn’t hear her comment.

Will just snorted.

“Yeah, they are,” Will agreed with a sigh.

“This plan is gonna end with someone getting an eyeful of something children shouldn’t be seeing, and it better not be me,” Erica added flatly and Will snorted again, even if his ears turned a bit pink.

“You’re still gonna go along with it though?” Will pushed.

Erica smirked up at him. “Of course I am. I never pass up a chance to see my brother be embarrassingly wrong about something,” she said smugly and Will grinned at her.

❖

“Oh, what the hell, how is Steve already home?”

They stopped their bikes at the end of the cul-de-sac and stared at Steve’s Beemer in the carport.

Will and Erica looked at each other with raised eyebrows and dissolved into quiet giggles. This was actually too good.

See, after an afternoon of the others running around and begging for spare change and acquiring the various items needed for a surprise party, Will and Erica had followed and discussed the ways the plan could go awry.

They decided on two possibilities: either they set up the surprise party and Steve stayed at Eddie’s that night, or Steve brought Eddie home.

Looked like the latter was what they were getting.

“What’s so funny, Will?” Mike asked, frowning at them both.

Will schooled his expression and shrugged. “Just rehearsing how I’m going to say I told you so,” he replied before turning his attention toward Dustin, who was truly beside himself that Steve had the audacity to be home in a spectacular way.

It would be amazing if Steve didnʼt hear his yelling from the street.

Finally, an inkling of doubt entered Mikeʼs expression as his faith in Willʼs intuition returned. “Maybe we should just go back to my place then,” Mike said, and Dustin whipped his head around.

“Are you shitting me, Mike?” he asked and didnʼt wait for an answer. “After we did all this running around for him? No! I’m gonna go in there and distract him, and the rest of you are going to set this crap up in the kitchen.”

Erica snorted. “As long as it’s him going in there and not me…” she murmured low enough so only Will could hear, and he giggled again.

“Okay, let’s keep going. No turning back now,” Dustin says and pushes his bike back into motion.

Dustin was not at all subtle about going through the front door, so Will hoped that at the very least Steve and Eddie wouldnʼt be in an extremely compromising position.

“Steve? What the hell are you doing home?”

Will made sure he was inside the house and watching as Dustin stomped down the hallway, only glancing away to share another smirk with Erica about it.

“I thought you were taking Eddie… home…”

The sight of Dustin standing in an open doorway in the hall and gawking, truly speechless, was easily at the top of Will’s list of favourite moments. The way the other boy turned a very deep shade of red was also very funny.

He could only imagine what Dustin stormed in on, and once again Will’s ears heated up at the thought.

“What the shit?” Dustin managed to exclaim after a few moments. Then he slapped his hands over his eyes and shrieked, “why isn’t your door closed?”

“Would that’ve even mattered?” They heard Steve shout back, and immediately Lucas and Mike turned around to leave, but Will and Erica deliberately blocked the path out the front door. El glanced at Will with wide eyes and let out a nervous, giddy giggle as everything very quickly made sense to her. “What’re you even doing here? Your mom told you to stay at Wheeler’s.”

“Wait a minute! That’s not what you told us your mom said, Dustin!” Mike shouted, his face a truly magnificent shade of red as he whipped around to glare at Dustin.

There was a long silence after Mike’s outburst.

“Henderson, please tell me you did not bring all of the shitheads here,” they heard Steve groan, and then, “Eds, stop laughing, I’m trying to be stern here—”

Finally, Dustin let out a flustered noise and reached into the bedroom blindly to slam the door shut.

Red-faced and fuming, Dustin stormed down the hall toward them.

Will glanced at Erica before he started to say, “I told you—”

“Don’t wanna hear it, Byers,” Dustin huffed as he brushed past, but there was no heat to it.

Will and Erica burst into giggles as Lucas and Mike followed Dustin. El hung back with them as well, but went to the kitchen to put the small cake she was carrying on the kitchen table.

With a huff, Will walked carefully down the hallway to knock gently on Steveʼs door. The low murmuring that was happening inside the room stopped immediately and Will felt a bit guilty.

“You learn how to knock, Henderson?” came Eddie’s voice and Will laughed.

“No, it’s Will. I just wanted to say sorry, just in case Dustin doesn’t later,” he said sheepishly, and he cringed when the room stayed quiet. Will could hear some movement, but no one was speaking. “He just thought you were gonna be alone for your birthday and wanted to throw a surprise party for you. For what it’s worth, Erica and I tried to stop him.”

Suddenly the bedroom door opened slightly, and Steve stood there in a pair of sweatpants and a thin tank top, his hair a tangled, sweaty mess and several little hickeys on his throat. Will was reminded all over again just why Steve Harrington was the first crush he realized was a crush and he felt his ears heat up.

“Where’s the little asshole?” Steve asked flatly, but the fondness lining his face was unmistakable.

“He’s out front already,” Will replied quickly, biting his lip as Steve looked toward the front door thoughtfully.

Sighing, Steve turned back at Will. “Between you and me, I’ve already forgiven him,” he said conspiratorially, and Will grinned up at him. Steve’s own lips split into a grin as he added, “he doesn’t have to know that yet, though.”

“Sounds good,” Will said as he stepped backward. Stopping, he added, “happy birthday, Steve. El left a cake for you on the table.”

Steve’s grin settled into a much softer, fonder smile, and he nodded. “Thanks, Will. Sorry we missed yours,” he said, and Will blinked at him a bit dumbly.

Did Steve Harrington actually know when his birthday was? Was he aware of all of their birthdays? Did the others know that he knew their birthdays?

“Don’t be, you guys were obviously busy, and I was across the country,” Will waved him off with a nervous little laugh.

“Will, c’mon!”

At Mike’s shout, Will startled and blushed before nodding at Steve one last time.

Hurrying out of the house, Will shut the front door and got his bike off the lawn to join the others on the road.

“Does Steve actually know all our birthdays?” Will asked Mike as they walked their bikes down the road for a while. Dustin was shockingly silent at the head of the group.

“Yeah, he’s kind of annoying about it,” Mike grumbled, and Lucas laughed.

“Mike’s just annoyed ‘cos Steve actually gets us good gifts,” he teased, and Mike made a face at him.

“Why is that annoying?” El asked, and Will bumped her shoulder fondly. He loved when she put Mike on the spot for the dumb stuff he did.

“Because then Mike has to thank Steve,” Lucas explained, even though that just seemed to confuse El even more. “Mike doesn’t like Steve—”

“Why not?” El asked, and this time her question was directed at Mike and her voice had an edge of anger in it. She had an affinity for Steve that Will never understood, but it was always funny when it reared itʼs head on anyone who said something bad about Steve.

“It’s not that I don’t like him!” Mike insisted and Dustin finally joined the argument.

“That’s such bullshit, Mike! You obviously hate him,” he said, defensive of Steve.

“Oh really, Dustin? Are you really the best judge of who does or doesn’t hate Steve right now?” Mike snapped, and Dustin sniffed and looked away, his face red again.

“Oh, so are you saying you want to be making out with Steve now, too?” Dustin muttered just loud enough for their party to hear.

“Shut the fuck up, Dustin,” Mike grumbled as everyone laughed.

But Will saw the way Mike blushed and looked away, his hands flexing around the handlebars of his bike. Something dangerously close to hope bubbled up in Will’s chest and normally he would squash it ruthlessly.

For now, he’d let it stay, though.

Chapter Thirteen: Encore - December 1986

Steve fiddled with the handle of his backpack as he waited for Eddie’s van to show up on the cul-de-sac. He didn’t know why he was so nervous; it was just Eddie, and he was just spending a couple nights at his and Wayne’s apartment as an early celebration of Eddie’s birthday.

They both learned their lesson that they couldn’t trust having their birthdays to themselves if they tried, so Eddie planned ahead and was going to have an actual birthday party.

Wayne was out of town for a few days at a family holiday reunion that Eddie was outright not invited to, which meant they had the apartment to themselves.

When Steve asked why Wayne would still go to something Eddie was barred from, Eddie just laughed and said, “don’t worry, Stevie, he always comes home at least a day early because he was uninvited. We have a bet on how long it’ll take for him to finally end up on the banished list with me.”

And that was how they had the apartment to themselves for at least three days, but possibly five if Wayne didn’t pull out all the stops. This would be the first time in a long time that they had proper privacy, time to just be with each other and not even just for sex.

The past several months had been a whirlwind that kept both of them extremely busy.

Max woke up a couple weeks after Steve’s birthday, her vision greatly impaired and healing limbs she had to relearn how to use. Special glasses allowed her to see decently well, and her doctors were optimistic that she would be able to walk again if she stuck to her physical therapy. The doctors even tried to reassure her that she might not even need mobility aids if she worked hard enough.

Eddie was quick to reassure her that having a cane had a lot of benefits (like brandishing it at annoying people like rude doctors) and there was nothing wrong with needing something like that. The duo caught on like a wildfire once Eddie started scheduling his physical therapy to match with hers, and when he could drive again, Eddie started giving her rides to and from therapy.

Therapy days were rough for both of them, but Eddie seemed to have a harder time of it. Max already wasn’t a very tactile person unless she warmed up to you, and even then, you had to reach a certain level of friendship for her to so much as pat your back. So, when she would come out of physical therapy shying away from even the accidental brush of arms as someone passed, it wasn’t that strange.

For Eddie, though, it was alien. After physical therapy, he would have anywhere between a few hours to several days of avoiding touch of any sort. Eddie explained once after snapping at Steve over a playful swat that his body was in so much pain and sensitive from having hands touching him that he didn’t want touching him, and it felt like he was full of broken glass. That it felt like even the slightest touch would tear his skin open all over again, and it took everything in him to just wear his clothes and sit in a chair.

During the first few months after his discharge from the hospital, Eddie spent most of that time in a state of touch aversion so intense, his mood dropped to a very dark place. Eddie thrived off of showing affection physically, and not being able to do that on top of the nightmares and panic attacks he had sent him spiraling.

Steve called a stop to how often Eddie was going to physical therapy when he tried to gently wake Eddie up from a nightmare and he had screamed as if Steve was skinning him.

Aside from the months of barely even being able to hold his boyfriend’s hand, Eddie was also generally busy with school.

Eddie was able to graduate high school after receiving a special exemption to take the semester he missed over the summer. It turned out that outside of a standard classroom, Eddie was actually a decent student and he aced most of his classes with ease. The only struggle was math, but he managed it.

After everything settled following his birthday and Robin’s graduation, Steve took a full-time job at Melvald’s. It paid more than Family Video and was generally more enjoyable in most ways. It mostly gave him a steady weekly schedule which meant he was home for dinner every day and had set days off.

It worked out well for the time being, especially with being able to see Eddie and plan movie nights with him.

The biggest thing that happened, however, was Steve getting away from his parents for good. They had summoned him for a meeting at their house in Loch Nora just before Thanksgiving.

Steve had almost gone alone, still having that knee-jerk reaction to handle his dad on his own, but Eddie shut that down immediately. It went about as well as Steve expected, which was more accurately described as a dumpster fire.

There was yelling, slurs, an actual fight… but it was done. By the end of all of it, Steve made it clear that his parents were to stay out of his business and out of his life for good. He didn’t want to hear from them ever again, and he would never reach back out to them. That was when Katherine told Steve they were selling the house in Loch Nora and wouldn’t be returning to Hawkins. She said it in such a desperate voice, as if Steve would change his mind, that he actually laughed at her for it.

Steve told them to have the life they deserved as he left with Eddie and that was it.

He was free of his parents, completely and utterly. Steve could breathe easily everywhere now because there wasn’t the constant underlying fear that he would run into his dad in the middle of a grocery store, or on the street.

He had his whole future ahead of him with nothing in Steve’s way.

Outside, Eddie’s van appeared on the street and Steve was already outside the front door and across the lawn before Eddie finished pulling around the cul-de-sac.

“You in a hurry, gorgeous?” Eddie asked as Steve climbed into the passenger seat. “What if I wanted to say hi to Claudia?”

“You can say hi to Claudia in a few days,” Steve said simply, holding his bag on his lap. “This is our time.”

“Yes, it is,” Eddie agreed, grinning with his dimples in full force.

As they drove, Steve frowned at what was playing. “Why are you listening to Bon Jovi?” he asked, raising a baffled eyebrow at Eddie. “Where did you even get this? Did you steal mine?”

“I put it on for you, Stevie. To protect your sensibilities and such,” Eddie stated, his tone a bit teasing but there was a tenseness around his mouth as his thumbs fidgeted against the steering wheel.

“Eds, you don’t have to listen to my music in your van,” Steve huffed and opened the glove box for the box of tapes he knew was in there. Rifling through it, he grabbed one with a small sound of triumph and started to switch the tapes.

“What the hell did you just pick?” Eddie asked, but his question was quickly answered when the music started again, and his mouth shut with a click. “This is Dio.”

“Yeup,” Steve replied, drumming along with the song with his thumbs on his backpack.

“Since when do you listen to Dio, Steve?”

Steve laughed at that a bit sheepishly. “Since, I think… August of last year?” he replied with a shrug. “After I recovered from the Starcourt bullshit, I went to Indy for the first time and the guy that took me home was—”

“Steve, please, I could live with not being the first man to pop your cherry—”

“—Eddie, we’ve talked about you saying that—”

“—But now you’re telling me I don’t even get to take your metal virginity?” Eddie moaned dramatically.

“Sorry, babe,” Steve said with a little cringe, actually giggling when Eddie wailed.

“I can’t believe this,” Eddie whined, pouting over at Steve as they pulled into a parking space near his apartment. “You were driving all the way to Indy just to fuck metalheads when I was right here.”

“I didn’t go there deliberately to fuck metalheads. That just happened to be the only people I ended up fucking,” Steve replied with a laugh when Eddie glared at him.

“How the hell does that not mean the same damn thing?” he asked grumpily as he got out of the van.

Steve waited until they were safely inside the apartment before sidled up to Eddie, wrapping his arms around his waist as he said, “I went to Indy to try things out. The metalheads always picked me up.”

“And what, you hung around while they played you some music after?” Eddie asked, determined to keep the pout up, even as he reached up to hold Steve’s face gently. A laugh was pulled out of Steve at the question.

“No, uh, this one guy, I went home with him like three times,” Steve started, blushing at the memory. “He couldn’t get off unless we were listening to—”

“Stevie, you’re breaking my heart. You’re telling me some loser in Indianapolis has lived my dream of being fucked by Steve Harrington while listening to Dio?” Eddie sobbed, the smirk tugging at the corners of his lips ruining the effect.

Steve’s blush deepened a bit as he shook his head. “No, actually, he was doing the fucking, and it was Iron Maiden, so I mean…” he trailed off, bopping his head with his eyebrows raised high. “That dream of yours is possible, encouraged, and it would still be a first time for me.”

Eddie scowled down at Steve. “I will ignore for the moment that some loser popped your Iron Maiden cherry too—”

“—Eds, please stop using that phrase—”

“—Because I need you to be naked in my room yesterday,” Eddie finished, stepping out of Steve’s arms to drag him down the hall.

Steve stopped before they entered the bedroom, chewing the inside of his lip nervously.

“Wait, before we do any of that, I wanted to give you something. For your birthday,” Steve said, and the unimpressed glare Eddie leveled on him was enough to make Steve laugh.

“We agreed no presents, Harrington,” Eddie huffed. “I didn’t get you a present for your birthday, so you don’t get me one for mine.”

“Except I did get a present for mine,” Steve retorted. “I got you, didn’t I?”

Eddie groaned, falling back against the door frame. “I’ve told you to cool it with that corny shit when I’m already this hard, Stevie,” Eddie sighed before trying to drag Steve into a hungry kiss.

“Stop trying to distract me,” Steve laughed, his voice muffled by Eddie’s mouth before he pulled back. “Seriously, just… if you don’t want it to be a gift, fine, then it’s not a gift. Just pretend I’m not giving it to you right before your birthday and that I gave it to you back in July when I actually finished it.”

“Stevie, did you make something for me?” Eddie asked, his eyes bright and excited now. At Steve’s baffled expression, Eddie said, “gifts people make are different. Give it. Now.”

Eddie stood there, leaning against the door frame of his bedroom with his hands grabbing air between them until Steve rolled his eyes fondly.

Opening his backpack, he pulled out a lumpy package. It was wrapped in Christmas paper because it was the only kind Claudia had at the time, and apparently finding birthday wrapping paper right before Christmas was impossible. Steve made up for it by drawing party hats on the reindeer.

With a ridiculous little cackle, Eddie snatched the present out of Steve’s hands and hurried into his room, limping a bit. He flopped back onto the bed and turned the present over in his hands excitedly. Eddie’s expression morphed into something painfully fond as he looked at the wrapping paper and instead of tearing into the present, Eddie carefully lifted the taped edges to preserve the paper.

Steve shuffled his feet when Eddie uncovered enough denim to know it was clothing but then when he pulled the paper away and saw one of the patches he went very still. The room was utterly silent as Eddie slowly unfolded the battle vest and ran his hand over it.

“I tried to clean the old one, but it was ruined. Claudia and I cleaned the patches, and she taught me how to sew them back on,” Steve babbled when Eddie didn’t say anything. “I tried to make it as close to the original as I could, so I didn’t add anything.”

Eddie was still staring at the battle vest, his hair hanging in such a way that Steve couldn’t see his face at all. There was no way for Steve to guess what this reaction was, to know if his boyfriend was happy, or sad, or angry. Nothing.

“Eds, if I crossed a line, please just tell me, okay?” Steve asked, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.

At that, Eddie shook his head and wiped his eyes roughly before putting the battle vest on the bed next to him so he could get to his feet. Stepping into Steve’s space, Eddie pulled him into a kiss with a needy little sound at the back of his throat. Steve’s hands immediately found Eddie’s waist and pulled him into a tight embrace, their mouths moving against each other slow and sweet.

When Steve pulled away, he met Eddie’s eyes and wiped away the tears from his cheeks.

“Who hurt you, sweetheart?” Steve asked teasingly, smirking when Eddie scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, I’m trying to get my shit under control so I can make a dumb joke and we can start touching each other’s dicks,” Eddie grumbled, smiling through his tears when Steve laughed.

“Okay, Eds, go ahead,” Steve hummed, stroking Eddie’s cheek with his thumb.

Eddie took a deep breath, and said, “I’ve told you to cool it with that—”

“You’ve already made that joke tonight, sweetheart,” Steve interrupted cheekily, and Eddie made a frustrated noise.

“Fuck! Let’s just skip the joke then, get to the touching dicks part,” Eddie said in a rush, pulling at Steve’s clothes.

They made quick work of getting their clothes off, even if they kept touching each other and stealing kisses. When they were finally on the bed, naked bodies pressed close as they devoured each other’s mouths, Steve felt his heart stutter in his chest at each breathy whine and sigh Eddie let out.

“Steve,” Eddie moaned, his eyes rolling back in his head as their cocks slotted against each other. Shuddering at the sensation himself, Steve deliberately rocked into it, dragging another delicious noise out of Eddie.

It wasn’t long until Eddie was impatiently slapping a hand out to the bedside table to grab the lube and a condom. Handing both to Steve, Eddie left his preparation up to him, stretching out under his gaze with a contented smile. Something in that gaze had Steve feeling gooey and warm, and the feeling it woke up in Steve was overwhelming.

Steve knew, without a doubt, the man spread out below him on the bed was the love of his life. Eddie was it for Steve; no one would ever come close to making Steve feel like this.

Beneath him, Eddie writhed as Steve’s fingers opened him up, his brow furrowed before Steve sought out his prostate with practiced efficiency.

“Fuck me, now,” Eddie demanded breathlessly as he flopped against the bed when Steve relented. “If I don’t have you fucking me into this mattress so hard I cry in, like, three seconds, I will literally actually die.”

“Three seconds isn’t enough time to get the condom on, sweetheart,” Steve teased, and Eddie snatched the condom packet out of his hand and threw it somewhere in the room.

“Fuck it, get your cock in me,” he said, squirting some lube on hand and stroking Steve’s cock just enough to make it slick. The attention on his cock pulled a punched-out groan from him, and Steve fucked Eddie’s fist for a few moments. Then Eddie’s hand disappeared, and he repeated, “fuck me.”

“How do you want this, sweetheart?” Steve asked, withdrawing his fingers gently.

“Just like this, wanna kiss you,” Eddie replied breathlessly, wrapping his better leg around Steve’s hip and pulling him closer. “Wanna see your face.”

“And you call me corny,” Steve sighed, more than happy to oblige. Steve couldn’t deny Eddie anything.

Taking his time, Steve lined up with Eddie’s hole and pushed, his own eyes rolling back as Eddie arched off the bed under him. Steve dropped onto his elbows so he could press kisses up the pale column of Eddie’s throat, sucking and biting little marks into his skin until he finally bottomed out.

“Oh, fuck,” Eddie sobbed, and Steve swallowed any other noises in a hungry kiss as he started to move.

Each shift of Steve’s hips had Eddie sighing and groaning against Steve’s lips, his hands spread across Steve’s shoulder blades and holding him close.

“Y’fuck me so good, baby,” Eddie whined, throwing his head back when Steve changed the angle of his next thrust just so. “Y’fucking ruined me.”

“Ruined me first,” Steve groaned, his voice thick with his need and his love for Eddie, tears springing to the corners of his eyes.

“Nuh-uh,” Eddie argued petulantly, letting out a choked-off noise when Steve got a hand between them to properly touch his cock for the first time that evening.

Shuddering, Eddie raked his nails down Steve’s back, earning a nearly vicious thrust against him. Eyes rolling back, Eddie clenched around the cock inside him and sobbed.

“Just like that, baby,” Eddie demanded, and Steve groaned and braced his knees underneath him to thrust harder and faster into his boyfriend. The angle was perfect too, every slide inward punching a sound so obscene out of Eddie, Steve was afraid he’d come just from that alone.

Steve knew Eddie was close from the gasping edge of his sounds that grew louder and more urgent as Eddie writhed with an almost panicked look on his face. Groaning low and heavy, Steve dropped a chaste kiss to Eddie’s cheek and that was the last straw.

With a sharp cry, Eddie was spilling between them in thick spurts, painting his own stomach and chest.

The clenching heat around Steve dragged him over the edge shortly after, his moan swallowed by Eddie’s demanding, hungry mouth. Steve kept moving inside Eddie as his cock slowly softened, even as the sensation became unpleasant for him. He only stopped moving and gently pulled out when Eddie lightly slapped his back several times.

When Steve flopped onto his back next to him, Eddie cursed under his breath.

“What?” Steve asked with a grin.

“Never want you to stop,” Eddie replied a bit sadly, rolling over to snuggle up to Steve. The cum painted across his stomach smeared against Steve’s side but he didn’t mind at all. “My ass feels all lonely when you pull out.”

A startled laugh tumbled out of Steve’s mouth, and he shook his head. “You’re so weird,” Steve sighed, rubbing Eddie’s back soothingly.

“That’s why you like to keep me around,” Eddie sniffed, kissing Steve’s chest where his head was resting.

“I keep you around because I love you,” Steve hummed sleepily, his post-orgasm brain too slow to stop him from blurting that out.

Eddie pushed himself up on his elbow to stare down at Steve, his mouth hanging open slightly. Finally catching up, Steve tried to figure out a way to backtrack without lying somehow.

“I love you, too,” Eddie said quickly as if he could read Steve’s anxious thoughts, his brown eyes wide and full of happy tears all over again. Steve grinned up at him, wiping the tears that started to fall.

“Love you so much,” Steve said, lifting his head off the pillow to kiss Eddie sweetly.

Eddie sighed into the kiss, smiling lazily and happily as Steve rubbed his back again.

Then Steve remembered something.

“Eds, you forgot the music,” he pointed out cheekily, and Eddie froze for the briefest moments.

“Fuck.”

FIN

[ AO3 LINK ]

[ REBLOG THE MASTERPOST ]

Taglist!

@asexualjae, @scarcrossdlvrs, @xenon-demon, @steddieas-shegoes, @mylilplanet, @smalltownclaustrophobia, @strangersteddierthings, @steddierthings, @just-ladyme, @anzelsilver, @nburkhardt, @wrayofmoonshine, @indigohightide, @lostonceandneverfound, @amoralmorel, @steddie-there, @stevie-my-beloved, @bookbinderbitch, @dastard-bastard, @patchworkgargoyle, @amerikanskaya-krassavitsa

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #steddie fic #stranger things fic #gerry writes #i could be human fic

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enchantedlandcoffee · 20 days

Text

The Coach Tommo Universe - Masterpost

Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics | Kid Fic | In Progress

Running Over Thoughts That Make My Feet Hurt

Explicit | 4.9k

Louis is the little league coach of 'The Ducklings', the team that Harry's daughter plays for. Whilst she tries her best, she doesn't quite have the skills so Coach Tommo steps in. He offers private lessons to try and help her, and if he gets in her dad's good books? Well that'd just be a bonus.

Tell me with your mind, body and spirit

Teen and Up Audiences | 479

Two short drabbles in the Coach Tommo Universe about poems.

And I Can Lend You Broken Parts That Might Fit

General Audiences | 551

Louis and Harry talk about Harry's life after becoming pregnant, and a key figure in Harry's life.

My kiss can mend your broken heart

Explicit | 946

During an intimate moment, Harry breaks down about his past and Louis rushes to comfort him.

Bodies intertwined with their lips

Explicit | 1.3k

A flashback to the night Harry and Louis met...well, part of the night at least.

Do you really want to be all alone?

General Audiences | 601

Harry, Louis and the kids wake up on Christmas Morning. Part One of Three

#coach tommo universe #coach tommo masterpost #hlficlibrary

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nialls-gorgeous-colors · 3 months

Text

Shawn Mendes and Niall Horan Timeline

Year 2018

JAN 2018 NIALL’S ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAWN’ PICTURE AND SHAWN’S PICTURE OF THEM AT THE AMAS ARE, RESPECTIVELY, THEIR MOST LIKED POSTS ON IG FOR 2017

Jan 25 2018 Shawn talks about The Collab on The Voice: We’re really good friends and I mean, we hang out all the time. And we’re always like, ‘we should write a song’ and then we’re planning on writing a song, and we just end up hanging out. Always. (He said something similar back in Nov before the AMAs.)

Mar 2018

Fans, uh:

Mar 25 Shawn talks The Collab on The Weekend Countdown: My favorite thing about Niall is his sense of humor. He has this hilarious, Irish sense of humor that really cracks me up… How soon until there’s a collab? I have no idea. He’s always on tour when I’m writing, and he’s always writing when I’m on tour. So, one day. Hopefully.

MAY 2018

May 13 Shawn talks about performing at the O2: I mean performing the O2 was obviously just a complete dream of mine –and lucky enough to be able to do 2 nights there. A lot of people who I really love came and saw the show. Niall Horan, who’s a good friend of mine, came and watched me, and that was you know, a very special moment to me.

May 17 Shawn asks the audience at his Apple Music show to send Niall well wishes: Everybody watching online, if you could just tweet at Niall ‘feel better’ that would be really sweet.

Apple does, Niall replies:

May 24 Shawn talking about his most liked IG pic: This next photo is one of my favorite photos. Not because I’m sitting with Niall, because in the background, my A&R from Island Records, Ziggy, is there and he just looks so blow away by something and I have no idea… Also, the girl in between is making a hilarious face. That’s an awesome photo. I think this is like my most liked photo on Instagram, actually.

MAY 27 THE BIGGEST WEEKEND

Shawn and Niall do an interview together for BBC – FINALLY.

Transcribed in full here. Highlights include (via DailyNiall):

Bonus: we know, Nick

JUNE 2018

Jun 4 Niall does an interview with Fitzy & Wippa:

Sarah: Hey Niall, over the weekend… I was watching this thing on Instagram, and it was you and Shawn Mendes. Are you two just a little bit into each other? It was coming across as that you’re kind of obsessed.

Niall: Definitely not. They kept asking us questions that would make us answer it like that. Kind of like with [unintelligible], everyone thinks they’ve got a thing going on. Nah, we’re good mates. Just sat us down and interviewed us.

Sarah: I did hear you say that he plays you demos of his music before he takes it public. Was that true, or was that a lie?

Niall: No, that’s true, yeah. What’s wrong with that?

Sarah: Nothing! I just thought it’s amazing. We’re such big Shawn Mendes fans here. It was nice to see.

Interviewer: And are you brutally honest with him? If there’s a song you don’t like, or you think he could change? Do you tell him, or are you always like ‘mate, dude, this is amazing’?

Niall: Well, he’s on a bit of a roll at the minute. There’s nothing really…

Interviewer: He’s a very talented man. Have you ever thought of doing a song with Shawn? Have you guys actually put lyrics together, or music together?

Niall: No, we haven’t. We get asked about it a lot, to be fair… It’s kind of like –when we’re in the same place at the same time. Like, the other day we were in LA and a group – me and him and a group of our mates, we went to watch a U2 gig. We didn’t like – when we’re together, when we’re in the same city we don’t like sit in the studio together. Which we probably should get around to, but for the most part we just hang out together, to be honest.

Jun 7 Niall talks about Shawn during soundcheck:

and during #AskLateLateShawn: “if you had to create a boy band, who would you pick to be in it with you?” James and Shawn pick Jimi Hendrix, Harry Styles, Niall, and Elvis.

AUGUST 2018

Aug 20 At the VMAs Shawn is asked: What do you think about Niall Horan and Hailee?

Shawn: Niall and Hailee? They’re two of my favorite people in the whole world. Niall is one of my greatest friends. Hailee is one of the first people – you know, when she first started out, I was one of the first people she worked with in music. And I love them both. I thought this was common knowledge? I guess it was common knowledge for me, I’m close friends with them both.

NOVEMBER 2018

Nov 12 Shawn’s voice can be heard in the background of Niall’s InstaStory

NOV 17 SHAWN POSTS PICTURES OF HIM AND NIALL AT 40LOVE TO SNAPCHAT, INSTAGRAM, AND INSTASTORY: PICTURE, VIDEO (PUT THAT TONGUE AWAY HORAN)

DECEMBER 2018

Dec 4 Shawn talks about Niall during an interview with ET Canada.

Interviewer: You recently posted a photo with Niall Horan. And everytime you guys post a photo, fans are like ‘oh they must we working together.’

Shawn: We’re not. Not yet. We will though. You know what, we started really seriously talking about it that night. 100 percent going to happen. Niall and I talk about this pretty much every time we see each other. The truth is that we’re just really, really good friends and we always really enjoy just hanging out. And sometimes you don’t get a lot of time to hang out, so that’s what we want to do, but we’ll get in.

Dec 7 Niall tweets Shawn about his Grammy nom

Dec 8 Shawn talks with B96 about his Grammy nominations. When told to choose between charcoal, a karaoke machine, and a Bentley for Camilla, Niall (“we chose Niall for you…”) and Taylor, Shawn says: Niall’s getting the charcoal – 100 percent, immediately… Niall definitely gets the charcoal. That’s what’s most important here.

Int: I love it, that was so easy.

Shawn: Oh yeah, no, two bags of charcoal.

Int: Why was that so easy for you to say?

Shawn: It’s what he deserves! No I’m kidding. I really am kidding. I love Niall. He actually tweeted out the nicest thing he’s ever said to me ever about the Grammys, he’s just like really proud of me and tweeted it out. Yeah, he’s a good friend of mine, that’s why I’m bugging him.

Dec 14

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allmoshnobrain · 3 months

Text

𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

part 31 of 35 | masterpost

word count: 3165 | ao3 link | fic's playlist

What was the point of resisting, anyway? I wanted nothing more than to embrace the tension that had been building up inside of me for months. Ever since he’d kissed me at Leanne's party, his lips had been nothing short of sweet. If Dave was like the moon, dark, deep, and captivating, James was like the sun; warm, calm, and comforting. I needed that sweetness. I needed that warmth.

✦ on this chapter: NSFW!!!, dave mustaine x female!oc, james hetfield x female! oc, oc is cliff's cousin, +18, language, slice of life, angst, mxf sex, unprotected sex

✧ bring back to you a piece of my broken heart, i'm ready to surrender ✧

The next day was a total whirlwind for the boys, just like the one before. Getting ready for the night's gig kicked off early; they had to settle into the hotel, run through the setlist, do the soundcheck, help setting up the stage and handling all the tech stuff. Luckily, I got the easiest part; while the guys tackled all the heavy lifting, Leanne, Pat, and I decided to wander around the city, soaking in the sights of Milan. I'd been to Italy a few times with my parents, but exploring the tourist spots without them was a whole new experience, fun in its own way.

And, you know, I was kinda relieved not to be hanging with James during the day. Thinking back to the heartfelt words and secret kisses we'd shared the day before threw me for a loop of emotions I wasn't totally ready to ride. I had no regrets, but I felt a certain guilt creep in - guilt for letting myself fall for him while my heart was still on the mend from my last breakup, guilt for giving in to my attraction while he was still tangled up with someone else. So, my plan? I thought I'd let him figure things out with Pat first, and then we'd see how the chips fell. Things had to get simpler one way or another, right?

As the sun dipped low, the three of us bounced back to the hotel to switch up and hit the concert scene. When we rolled in, spotting the guys was like searching for a needle in a haystack - backstage was a total madhouse, gearing up for the show kick-off. The gig itself was killer, as per usual. Post-show, we all huddled up in the dressing room, laughs and drinks flowing like it was nothing. I kicked back, grinning a bit, soaking in the scene. Seeing my friends so pumped was a blast, and being on this tour, witnessing the band's growth, was seriously mind-blowing.

I shifted my eyes away when a hand grabbed mine, and there I was, face to face with James, his hair all wet from just stepping out of the shower, wearing a mischievous grin on his lips.

“C'mon,” He gently tugged at me, and I blinked, a bit confused, but went along with it.

“James,” I chuckled, trying to figure out what was going on, as he started pulling me through the backstage maze. “Where are we headed?”

“Just roll with it for a bit, okay?” he said, his voice giving away the smile on his face as he quickened his pace. I chuckled softly, not sure how to react, but I stuck with him, his firm grip holding onto my hand. We strolled a bit more until we hit a pair of doors, which I knew would lead us outside.

“Okay, what’s your plan?” I giggled, slowing down as we stepped outside, the cool night air making my skin tingle. He stopped, turning to face me with a grin, resting his hands on my shoulders and giving them a gentle caress.

“I don't know,” he chuckled, his cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling as he looked at me. “I just wanted to be with you. Just you.”

I gazed at him, feeling my face heat up as my heart raced. He slowly caressed my arms, his hands sliding down until they found mine, his fingers weaving through mine as he drew closer. I sighed, my eyes fixed on his lips, savoring the smile that kept showing up on them.

Oh man, I really wanted to kiss him.

I sighed, looking up and locking eyes with his blue gaze, sparkling playfully like he could read my mind. My whole body warmed, a thousand butterflies in my belly when I realized he wanted some alone time, just us, away from all the noise and prying eyes.

"I know a spot," I whispered.

We strolled for a few minutes until we hit a bustling commercial street, packed with street food stalls, small bars, cafes, and clubs that pumped out various types of music. I'd wandered through there earlier with Leanne and Pat, picturing how lively it would get at night. I was spot on; even though it was a bit late, the street was buzzing with tourists and locals soaking in the scene.

“Didn't know you knew your way around the city,” James mentioned as we casually wandered down the street, blending in with the crowd, the tempting smells from food joints and stalls making my stomach growl a bit.

“I don't,” I chuckled. “I've only been to Milan with my parents once. I took a stroll with the girls around the city today, too. Figured you might have wanted to check out a bit of it.”

“You didn’t get lost, not even once. I didn't think you had it in you,” he mentioned, and I burst out laughing.

“I guess I picked up navigating on my own after living solo in LA,” I said, a wistful smile tugging at my lips. My stomach rumbled softly again, diverting my attention from my thoughts for a moment. “Hey, wanna grab something to eat?”

We hit up a few stalls, snagging more food than I thought I could handle, but, unlike me, James had a killer appetite. I grinned watching how pumped he was to dive into all those new foods; we sampled arancini, panzerotti, and capped it off with gelato, all while chatting softly about anything and everything. James's presence made it easy to shove aside, even if just for a minute, the waves of sadness that had been my company for the past weeks. It felt good being with him; in those moments, it almost seemed like nothing in our friendship had changed.

After we were done eating, we figured a leisurely walk along the street would be the move, soaking up the glow of the streetlights dancing on the canals as boats filled with tourists coasted by. Eventually, we hit up one of the boarding points and spotted a short line forming for one of the last boat rides of the night.

“Hey, wanna hop on one of these?” James asked, clutching my hand, eyes gleaming with excitement. I chuckled.

“Sure, why not? Let's give it a shot.”

We hopped in line and snagged a spot on one of the boats, big enough for around 20 people. Despite its size, maybe due to the time, only a handful of folks hopped on for the tour. We snagged seats at the back, soaking in the city views cruising by at an easy pace. I let out a sigh, feeling my cheeks warm when I noticed the heat of James's hand in mine, our fingers intertwined. I glanced up, my heart doing a marathon as I locked eyes with his gaze full of pure adoration; if this was the way we looked at each other, it's no wonder everyone noticed how much he was into me, how much I was into him.

We strolled back to the hotel after our quick tour, talking and sharing soft laughs. James slung his arm around my waist, pulling me close, but I was cool with it. I was happy — happy and at peace. So happy that I pretty much forgot about Pat's existence until we rolled into the hotel lobby and bumped right into her. Her eyebrows shot up in shock and confusion when she saw us coming in together.

She must’ve been up waiting for us — waiting for him . We didn't get a chance to compose ourselves, to hide the way our eyes lit up when we looked at each other, the smiles full of pure adoration plastered on our faces, our fingers tangled in a way meant only for lovers. We could only freeze, too perplexed, too intoxicated by each other's presence to do anything. I could see her eyes flitting from me to James, slowly catching on to the implications of what she was witnessing, before she hightailed it out the hotel door without saying a word.

“Shit... Pat, wait!” James let go of my hand, taking two strides toward her, but she didn't halt. He glanced back at me, concern written all over his face, and said, “I'll just make sure she doesn't get hurt. I'll be back soon. I promise.”

“Okay, just go!” I blurted out, my stomach churning, not out of jealousy or envy, but pure regret. I shouldn't have tagged along with James, shouldn't have tangled myself up in his relationship. I should've held back, but in those few hours, I was so damn happy for the first time in months that I completely forgot about anything else. A wave of guilt crashed over me, discomfort creeping up in my throat and stomach. Good Lord, what a shitty person I was. No wonder Dave had fucking left me.

I headed up to my room, hopping into the shower for a hot bath to ease, at least a bit, the whirlwind of regret swirling around me. Once I was done, I swapped clothes and flopped onto the bed, craving some solace in the cozy blankets. Nestling in a bed after a night on a rocking bus made me realize how damn tired I was; I dozed off soon after, slipping into a dreamless, deep sleep that at least offered a brief escape from my thoughts.

I jolted awake with the sound of insistent knocks on the door. I practically hurled myself from the bed to the floor with a grunt, my eyes still weighed down by sleep. As I staggered up, I checked the clock on the bedside table – 3:15 in the morning. It took me three tries to slot the key into the lock, but I eventually cracked the door open, a yawn stubbornly trying to break free.

“Hi,” James greeted me. He looked more wiped out than I did, dark circles under his eyes shouting that he probably hadn't caught a wink of sleep. “Hey, what's wrong with you?” he asked as I propped myself against the doorframe, appearing on the verge of collapsing.

“I’m sleepy,” I grumbled. “You woke me up.”

“Shit, sorry. Can I come in?”

I nodded, stepping back to let him into the room and closing the door shortly after. I went to the bathroom, turning on the tap to wash my face and brush my teeth, which helped shake off some of my sleepiness. When I returned to the room, I popped open the minifridge and snagged some water before joining James, who had settled on the edge of my bed.

“Are you okay? You look tired,” I murmured, my voice still raspy from sleep.

He nodded, seeming a bit out of it, running a hand across his face with a sigh.

“I broke up with Pat,” he mumbled, furrowing his brow and glancing up at me. “Just got back from the airport; she wanted to go back home. Lars is gonna murder me when he figures I blew part of our fee on her ticket,” he tried to make it sound like a joke, but I could tell he wasn't very thrilled about it either.

“Are you sad?” I asked, and he shook his head with a bitter grin, eyes dodging mine.

“If I admit I'm relieved, will you think I'm a scumbag?” he asked. I stared at him for a moment, my face warming when his hand sought mine, holding it gently.

“Then we're both scumbags,” I replied in a hushed tone, and he swiftly raised his gaze to meet mine, confusion tinting his blue eyes. I furrowed my brow, feeling a discomforting burn in my eyes as tears started to well up. “It’s just… I just screw everything up, don't I? First, my relationship, and now yours…”

“Don't say that,” he whispered, bringing one of his hands to my cheek, caressing the soft skin slowly before pulling me closer, his lips meeting mine in a kiss. I sighed, a mix of anguish and desire swirling within me as he pressed his body against mine. “Please, don't say that.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting out a small gasp of surprise when he held me tightly, laying me on the bed, his body over mine. I sighed, my heart racing as he kissed me, his fingers entwined with mine while he pressed my hand into the mattress.

“James…” I murmured, letting out a small moan. “James, I can't... I can't do this. If we go through with it, there's no turning back…”

“You think there's still turning back for me?” he whispered, hoarse, his lips moving to my neck, leaving small bites that made my body shiver. “I want you too much. I can't go back to what it was before,” I sighed as his kisses slowly traveled up my neck until he nibbled my earlobe lightly, whispering in my ear, “And I don't want to.”

I sighed as I felt his lips travel from my ear to my cheek, and then to my mouth. What was the point of resisting, anyway? I wanted nothing more than to embrace the tension that had been building up inside of me for months. Ever since he’d kissed me at Leanne's party, his lips had been nothing short of sweet. If Dave was like the moon, dark, deep, and captivating, James was like the sun; warm, calm, and comforting.

I needed that sweetness.

I needed that warmth.

I buried my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer as I kissed him back. He groaned, satisfied as I welcomed him, and let his tongue explore my mouth, his hands wandering under my shirt. I could barely think, just feel the weight of his body on top of mine. God, I wanted him so much. How long had that desire been growing inside me? I had wanted that, deep down, for longer than I would ever have allowed myself to think.

He broke the kiss, sitting back with his knees around my waist and taking off his shirt. I shivered, anticipation coursing through my veins, my whole body burning as we looked deeply into each other's eyes, both the same shade of blue. His blond hair fell over his shoulders as he placed his hands on the mattress, one on each side of my head. I traced my fingers over his chest slowly as he lay back on top of me, his lips crashing against mine as if he couldn't stand to be away from my kiss. He pulled down my pants, his hardness pressed against my thigh, a low moan escaping my lips.

No turning back, I thought. But I don't want there to be.

I unbuttoned his pants, quickly pulling them down. He helped me, pulling away from our kiss again as he removed them, and then his underwear; I blushed, a small sigh escaping my lips when I saw him naked for the first time, his slender body rising again over mine. He ran his thumb over my lip, slowly, and then moved his hand to my T-shirt. I lifted my torso so he could take it off. He caressed my collarbone as he looked into my eyes, my lips slightly parted as I felt my face heat up.

There was something strangely vulnerable about being naked in front of him; about letting him see me whole, about seeing and feeling his body for the first time. He looked at me, hesitant, as if asking for permission. I placed my hand on his shoulder, then brought it to his neck and pulled him closer. He kissed me again as he slid into me, slowly. I moaned into his mouth, feeling my whole body heat up.

He held onto my hair as he deepened the kiss, his tongue moving against mine as he moved inside me, at first in an agonizingly slow pace, but then faster and faster until he reached a steady rhythm. His kiss, so firm, became erratic as low, hoarse moans escaped from his lips. I breathed quickly as I felt pleasure fill my entire body, embracing him tightly, his large frame pressed against mine.

I wanted to melt under his touch, to become a part of him forever. I loved him so much right then that I could have died right there — and I would have died happily.

I moaned his name as I arched my back, pleasure and devotion filling my entire body. He pulled away from our kiss, panting as he gripped my waist hard enough to bruise my skin, pulling me closer so he could reach deeper inside me. It hurt a bit, but it was also so good that I couldn't even care. I felt the tension build in my womb, moaning loudly as he started moving even faster.

“James... I'm so, so close…” I half-moaned, half-sobbed, my legs trembling as I held onto his arms tightly, “James, oh shit, please, harder… ”

James closed his eyes, low moans escaping his lips as he lifted my legs, wrapping them around his hips, pushing into me forcefully. He buried his face in my neck as I dug my nails into his back, my whole body shaking as he moaned my name in my ear.

I couldn't hold back any longer; the knot in my belly unraveled in deep contractions that pulled him further inside me, devouring him completely. He shuddered, moaning loudly as he climaxed inside me, filling me up until there was nothing left, only our exhausted bodies, wrapped around each other as the waves of pleasure overcame us.

I let out a low sigh as he pulled out, lying on his back beside me, running a hand through his hair. I turned, lying on my side, watching his face as he looked back at me, his eyes out of focus as he tried to steady his breath.

“Can I crash here tonight?” he asked, breathlessly. The question caught me off guard, and I burst into a surprised laugh. I nodded, and he stretched with a grunt. “Oh, thank goodness. I'm so beat. C’mere.”

I chuckled softly as he pulled me closer, giving my cheek a light peck before pulling the covers over us. I sighed, realizing that I, too, was tired. I knew that soon I'd have to let myself process everything that had happened that night. That after feeling James's touch, after surrendering myself fully to him, the mourning for my relationship with Dave was about to get even more complicated.

Maybe I should've waited. Maybe I shouldn't have even hopped on this tour. But none of that mattered now, did it? I could figure out these feelings in the morning. Right now, all that mattered was the boy beside me, softly snoring as he held me close, the memory of his touch still vivid — and my heart, feeling more alive after being with him than it had in months.

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