#sam graves saturday

[acrossthewavesoftime]

pov you just called him a scoundrel (I'm sorry this was too funny to keep in my head)

I would not recommend annoying Samuel Graves, ever, at least in a professional capacity, and I hope your artistic rendition of what it might look like being on the receiving end of one of his blows helps all owners of time machines avoid provoking him. ;-)

#seriously though off duty that man was the polar opposite #but nobody remembers the graves who threw parties for his tenants and supported women's rights #on the other hand he has only himself to blame for letting his temper get the better of him #aww thank you for the art! :D #defensivelee #samuel graves #ask #ask reply #18th century #sam graves saturday #history #boston fisticuffs

[pink-sparkly-witch]

Just Like This

Summary: Working a second job in a bar to help pay for Sammy’s education, Dean finds a kindred spirit in bar manager Y/N. When a drunk Douchebag gets too handsy with her, Dean quickly jumps to her defence but faces harsh consequences.

Pairing: Bartender!Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Rating: Teen

Bingo Square: Getting Fired for @j3bingo

Warnings: tw: sexual assault (groping), fluff, angst, fighting, minor violence, Chuck is a complete and utter asshole in this, getting fired, quitting in solidarity, first kiss, friends to lovers

Word Count: 3k

A/N: Okay, it feels like an age since I’ve written anything that’s just pure floof. I hope you enjoy this fluffy, protective, besotted Dean fic. Please be kind. I’ve had my angst hat on for a long time, and though this was really refreshing, it’s also a little daunting!

My Masterlist     AO3    Ko-Fi

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It wasn’t the best job in the world, but as part-time work went, Dean knew it could be a hell of a lot worse than this. He worked with his dad in the garage during the day and worked four nights a week and two shifts at the weekend in Shurley’s Sports Bar. His wages and tips went to his dad to help pay for Sammy’s education. Sure, the kid had a full ride to Stanford; however, he still needed to pay for accommodation after freshman year and the thousands of books he needed for his coursework. And at least this way, his dad didn’t put himself in an early grave by working all the hours God gave him. Lord knows he’d done enough of that when they were kids.

Shurley’s was a decent bar. It had a prime location between the University of Kansas campus and downtown, so it always has a steady stream of customers. It quietened during the summer when the students went home or on their travels, but the locals still made trade steady enough. The owner, Chuck, was a bit of a dick, but he barely showed his face around the place, and the other staff were decent, making it a great place to work.

“Hey, Dean,” Y/N said as she came out of the back office. Y/N was the bar manager and a great girl. They had a lot in common; both lost their mothers when they were young and looked after their younger siblings while their fathers worked three jobs to try and make ends meet. Y/N’d had to drop out of college when her father took unexpectedly sick, having to take care of him and her little sister. Now that her father had passed and her sister had a full ride to another prestigious college, Harvard, Y/N lived in the tiny apartment above the bakery where she worked four days a week and in the bar four nights a week and every Saturday night. The rest of the time, she studied part-time to finish her college education and sent every spare cent she had to her sister in Boston.

“Hey, Y/N,” he smiled at her. She was pretty, too, and Dean wasn’t afraid to admit that he had a massive crush on her. Not that anything would ever happen because she was her, and he was… well, he wasn’t good enough for a girl like that. “How are ya, sweetheart?”

“I’m good, Dean. How are you? Oh! Did you manage to get Sam’s apartment sorted?” Y/N asked, and he smiled that she’d remember such a thing.

“Yeah, it’s all good now. We managed to get the rest of the deposit together,” Dean said. “Thanks for the extra shifts, by the way.”

“Don’t mention it,” Y/N smiled. “I still can’t believe landlords can actually do that,” Y/N shook her head as she headed behind the bar and started filling the refrigerators with bottles of beer and wine to prepare for the busy Friday night shift.

“Yeah, us either. But it’s done, and he has somewhere to live,” Dean said as he put the last menus and condiment buckets on the tables. “What needs to be done next, boss?” he asked, smirking when Y/N chuckled. She hated being called that, but he seemed to be the only one she didn’t scold for it.

“I could use a hand changing over the barrels if you’ve got time?” she said, breaking up the cardboard that the bottles had been housed in.

“Sure thing, sweetheart.” Dean headed into the storeroom and started shifting the beer barrels behind the bar as Y/N continued putting bottles in the fridges and replacing the almost empty spirit bottles with full ones to accommodate the busiest night of the year: Friday night football and Freshers Week.

The bar was packed with customers, the warm, sunny weather drawing even more of them in than usual, and of course, Chuck had decided tonight was a good night to show face and ‘help’, putting the staff on edge. Dean had gone with the head down and get on with it attitude, glad it was three deep at the bar so he had an excuse not to have to entertain Chuck for very long.

Y/N had been running around after Chuck all night, finding this paperwork and that invoice and the employee payroll for the past six weeks. Eventually, when he couldn’t possibly ask for anything more, she’d escaped the office, having brazenly told her boss that she was needed front of house to help serve customers.

“I swear,” she’d said as she tied her little black server’s apron around her waist, “It’s like he fucking knew tonight would be the busiest night but still came to check months old paperwork! God, that man is insufferable!”

It wasn’t often that Y/N showed her annoyance, and Dean couldn’t help but think it was cute. Though, admittedly, that could be his crush talking, her furrowed brow and tiny pout were adorable.

“What can I do to help?” he asked as she took her place behind the bar.

“I should be asking you that question!” she giggled. “What do you need me to do?”

“We could do with someone collecting and cleaning the empty glasses, if you wouldn’t mind?” he responded, smiling as she picked up a basket, cleaning spray, and a cloth before he’d finished his sentence.

“You got it,” she winked and headed onto the floor to clear and wipe the tables down. And that, Dean thought, is what makes a good boss. Someone who works with the team to achieve the same goal. Someone who isn’t afraid of stepping in to help by doing the most mundane tasks that are below their pay grade.

Y/N was a breath of fresh air for him in so many ways. She was bubbly and caring, and no matter what was thrown her way, she responded with an air of calmness and dignity that he admired.

“Hey, man. What can I get ya?” Dean asked the next patron, finally taking his eyes off the girl slowly taking over his every thought.

“Be careful,” Dean said as Y/N headed back onto the floor to clear more glasses and tables. “It’s getting rowdy out there. You know what those college boys can be like.”

“Thanks, Dean,” she smiled. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

He knew she would be. He’d seen her handling every kind of drunk customer. Still, he’d watch her closely because he was more worried than usual. The crowd tonight seemed even more enthused thanks to the local sports team playing. It still surprised him how often the female staff got touched inappropriately and had the most vulgar things said to them by too drunk and far too confident men. More than once Dean had had to step in and stop something from going too far, and he’d do it as many times as he needed to for Y/N or any of the other female staff.

Y/N managed to get around most of the bar unscathed, but there was a particularly boisterous table of men who only frequented the bar when the Chiefs played. Dean had been watching them all night because they seemed to have forgotten their age and tried to out-drink their much younger counterparts. They’d already run their mouths off to the bar staff, and now one of them in particular had their beady eye on Y/N as she moved from table to table, collecting empty glasses and bottles.

Swapping her tray out for an empty one, Y/N made her way over to their table, and the second she got close enough, the balding guy with the beady eye was quick to rear his hand back and smack her ass. Dean’s hackles rose, and he was on high alert as he watched her give the douchebag a piece of her mind. But he didn’t stop. Douchebag wrapped his arms around her waist and tried pulling her onto his lap. All the while, his douchebag little friends laughed and cheered him on like he’d won a fucking prize.

Dean saw red as he ran around the bar and strode purposely over to the group of middle-aged men amid a mid-life crisis and pulled Y/N from his hold, dragging her behind him to protect her.

“The lady told you to leave her alone. I suggest you do that,” Dean fumed, only getting angrier at Douchebag’s smirk.

“Oh, ladies and gentlemen, we have a jealous boyfriend trying to protect his girl! You know, if she were my girlfriend, I wouldn’t let her out the house wearing something so…” he paused as he leered up and down Y/N’s body, “revealing.”

“Listen, asshole, you don’t want to piss me off right now. Why don’t you and your buddies call it a night and go home? You’ve clearly had too much to drink, and we don’t take kindly to people assaulting our staff here,” Dean’s jaw was clenched, but he’d somehow managed to keep his voice steady.

“Sorry, man,” Douchebag smirked as he stood. “Just can’t help myself when I see a pretty girl showing off half her body like a Goddamn little tease. She’s asking for it, really.”

That was the last straw, and as Douchebag made one final (and unfortunately successful) attempt to get his hands on Y/N, Dean pulled his fist back and punched him square on the nose. The resounding crack as Dean broke the guy’s nose was satisfying, as were the synchronised grimacing ‘oohs’ that the audience this little corner of the bar had attracted.

“You broke my nose, asshole!” Douchebag spluttered. “I’m reporting you for assault!”

“You do that,” Y/N said, “and I’ll have you arrested, too. This whole bar and the CCTV saw you grope me twice and clearly saw me trying to get you off me! What he did,” she pointed at Dean, “was save me from being sexually assaulted!”

“Come on, man,” one of Douchebag’s friends said, patting him on the back. “Let’s get you to the hospital. It’s not worth it.”

“Damn straight it’s not!” Dean yelled. “Any way you spin this, he doesn’t win, so get the hell out and don’t come back!”

Tail between their legs, Douchebag and his friends left the bar. The second the door shut behind them, Dean was next to Y/N, checking her for injuries.

“I’m fine, Dean,” she insisted, but her eyes told a different story. The encounter had shaken her up, and Dean wanted to fix it, needed to fix it.

“No, sweetheart, you’re not. You’re–” Dean began but was interrupted by the shrill voice of Chuck.

“Winchester, my office, now! You too, Y/N.”

Seeing Y/N sitting beside him on the other side of the desk was strange. This was where she did all the paperwork, payroll, ordering, and invoicing, so to see Chuck on her chair was disconcerting. And not good.

“I don’t know what was going on out there–” Chuck began, and Dean scoffed in disbelief.

“You’re bar manager was sexually assaulted by a customer. That’s what happened!” Dean sat forward on his chair, raising his voice. He only calmed when Y/N placed her hand on his forearm.

Chuck pursed his lips at his outburst and continued speaking as if Dean hadn’t interrupted.

“I don’t know what happened, but whatever it was, sexual assault or not,” Chuck looked pointedly at Y/N before he continued. “It’s no excuse for my staff to behave violently.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” Dean fumed. “That… scumbag… touched her ass and her breasts and tried to force her into his lap! You see those bruises, right?” he asked as he pointed to the dark purple fingerprint marks on her arms.

“Inappropriate comments, slurs, even touching, is to be expected when you work in a bar–” Chuck was interrupted again, this time by Y/N.

“There are no touching policies in every strip club in the country for a reason, Chuck! You cannot expect it to be any different in a fratboy sports bar! No one should go to work expecting that being sexually assaulted is okay!”

“For God’s sake, Y/N! So what a guy touched your ass and tits! You should be flattered!”

“It was sexual assault, Chuck! That guy,” Y/N pointed behind her in the general direction of the bar, “touched me without permission, and I could have him charged! You too with how you’re behaving!”

“Oh, stop being so dramatic! I feel sorry for your boyfriend if this is how prudish you are!”

“Hey, that is–” Dean interjected, but Chuck kept talking.

“Dean, you’re fired. I cannot, and will not, allow a violent brute to work in my bar.”

“You can’t do that!” Y/N protested.

“Watch it, or you’ll be gone, too!” Chuck threatened, but Dean knew it was an empty one with her. He needed her too much. The bar would burn to the ground without her in charge.

“No need. I quit. Effective immediately. I cannot, and will not,” Y/N glared at Chuck as she repeated his words to him, “work in a place where I’m expected to be sexually harassed and assaulted and ignore it. I cannot, and will not, work for a man who fires a good person for helping someone in need.”

Standing, Y/N took off her apron and name tag and threw them on the desk. She unhooked the keys from her belt and pulled the cash box towards her, opening it and pulling out two brown envelopes, handing one to Dean and putting the other in her pocket. Once she’d locked the cash box, she tossed her keys down on the cheap metal desk with a satisfying clang.

“Really? You’re going to quit over him?” Chuck scoffed.

“Yes. Dean is worth a thousand shitty bar jobs like this one, and I’d choose him over any of them in a heartbeat,” Y/N said with her head held high. “I hope you know you’ve just lost your two best workers on the busiest night of the year. Come on, Dean. Let’s get out of this shithole.”

Dean didn’t protest. He stood up, smirked at Chuck because he just couldn’t help himself, and followed Y/N out of the bar and onto the street.

“Sweetheart, you didn’t need to do that. I’m a big boy, and I can look after myself,” Dean said after walking in silence for a few minutes.

“I know you can, and yes, I did. That was unfair and undeserved. Especially because it was my fault,” Y/N responded.

“Hey, don’t ever… it wasn’t your fault. Things like that are never the woman’s fault, you know that, right?” Dean couldn’t believe she’d ever think something like that would be her own doing.

“I know, but if I’d listened to you and let Marcus clear tables instead of me, none of this would’ve happened.”

“No. I won’t hear it. You didn’t ask to be groped by a balding douchebag going through a mid-life crisis, sweetheart. Don’t ever apologise for someone else’s wrongdoing,” he reassured her.

“So, what do we do now? We both kinda needed that job,” Y/N chuckled, but it held no humour.

“Well, I might know a guy who owns a wine bar downtown. A classy establishment, so the tips are better. And we’d be treated right,” Dean said, thinking of the bar Cas had tried to get him to work in for months.

“You have a buddy with a bar, and you chose to stay working in that shithole?” Y/N asked in disbelief. “Why? What would possess you to stay there? Willingly?”

“It wasn’t all bad,” Dean smirked. This wasn’t where he envisioned this conversation going–if it ever happened at all, that is–but the perfect opportunity had presented itself and he’d never forgive himself if he didn’t take it. “I got to see you almost every day.”

“Come on! You did not stay there for me!” Y/N scoffed, and Dean shrugged his shoulders, his lips tugging upwards in a shy smile.

“I did, actually. Can’t think of anyone better to spend so much time with.”

“Dean Winchester,” she grinned. “Are you flirting with me?” The teasing tone in her words was one he’d never heard before, and he liked it.

“Do you want me to be flirting with you?” he’d asked, needing to hear her say it before he did something stupid because he’d misread the signals.

“Yeah… I think I do,” Y/N giggled, stepping closer to him, bumping their arms together as they stepped in sync down the sidewalk.

“Yeah?” he asked, checking again because, quite frankly, she was her and he was him.

“Yeah.”

Dean stopped walking and gently grabbed her forearm to stop her from walking ahead. Feeling brave, Dean placed his hands on her cheeks and dipped his head, slowly lowering his lips to hers. Every inch closer he got, he switched his gaze between her lips and her eyes, making sure this was what she wanted.

When there was no hesitation and nowhere else to go, he closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. They were as soft as they always looked, softer even, and tasted as sweet as he’d imagined they would.

Y/N pressed herself closer to him with a low hum and slid her arms up his chest, resting one hand on his pec and the other curling around his neck. Dean licked her bottom lip, encouraging her to open her mouth and let him deepen their kiss.

He failed to hold back a groan when his tongue met hers, the feeling so much better than anything his mind could’ve conjured up. Dean couldn’t remember how long he’d wanted this, and now that it was happening, he knew he’d do whatever he could to keep her in his arms, just like this.

Tags: @acitygrownwillow @akshi8278 @ashbatz @candy-coated-misery0731 @chriszgirl92 @deans-baby-momma @deans-spinster-witch @deansbbyx @deanwanddamons @duncanhillscoffeecups @foxyjwls007 @giggles1026 @globetrotter28 @hobby27 @hoboal87 @impala67rollingthroughtown @iprobablyshipit91 @jackles010378 @jamerlynn @jc-winchester @k-slla @kazsrm67 @kmc1989 @lacilou @ladysparkles78 @leigh70 @lyarr24 @maliburenee @michecolegate @mrsjenniferwinchester @nancymcl @negans-lucille-tblr @nelachu2423 @octoberclidan @perpetualabsurdity @roseblue373 @sandlee44 @sexyvixen7 @snackles87 @spnbaby-67 @spnwoman @stixnstripesworld @stoneyggirl2 @suckitands33 @synmorite @tristanrosspada-ackles @twinkleinadiamondsky @waters-2567 @winchestergirl1720

#j3bingo #just like this #au dean winchester x reader #bartender!dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #au dean winchester #dean winchester #dean winchester fluff #fluff

[dicklessthewonderclown]

writing patterns :)

thanks @father-salmon for the tag!

rules: list the first line(s) of your last 10 posted fics and see if there’s a pattern

1. time means nothing to an eternal being | 2.1 k | mature

Day One

Normally, the Mark on Castiel’s arm is nothing but a dull ache. While annoying, it’s easy to handle, easy to push away the quiet voice suggesting how nice it would feel to run someone through with a blade.

It gets worse, Dean had told him.

2. christmas blues | 4.2k | mature

Handel’s Messiah plays quietly in the background. Castiel watches the record go around and around on the turntable in the corner of the living room. Soft voices drift down from the attic, eager and excited. Flames crackle in the fireplace. The room smells of fresh pine. Flames crackle in the fireplace. The room smells of fresh pine.

3. just ask him out already | 2.6k | teen

The regulars are Dean’s favorite part of his job. He knows some of them by name, for others, he and Charlie have come up with nicknames.

4. swapping bodies | 1.4k | gen

Dean grunts as his back hits the wall, gun landing several feet away from him. He dives for it, narrowly avoiding another flash if light. The witch begins to mutter something in Latin, and oh shit, that doesn’t sound good, but he doesn’t have a clear shot. “Sam!”

5. wrath | 5.2k | explicit

“Dean!” Michael’s harsh voice echoes through the camp, heads turning to stare.

Dean ignores him, head held high as he stalks across the footworn paths. Rage bubbles beneath his skin, his fists clenched, the back of his neck prickling with the watchful eyes of both his and Michael’s armies.

6. no grave can hold my body down | 1.8k | teen

Pain. Blinding, nauseating, permeating every cell in his body, pining him in place. His shirt is warm and wet, clinging to his skin. His hand shakes as he clutches Sam like a lifeline, tears blurring his vision. Sam’s hand is burning hot on his wrist. “Tell me it’s ok,” he whispers.

7. staring in the blackness at some distant star | 1.7k | teen

Dean frowns, body still heavy with sleep, when he reaches behind himself to pull Cas closer, when his hand finds an empty space in his bed, not even any warmth left from Cas’s body.

8. i need you | 1.4k | mature

Cas grips Dean tightly, and in an incredibly nausea inducing pull behind his navel, the submarine’s walls, along with the entirety of 1944 vanish. Dean blinks, willing himself not to throw up as the bunker rapidly appears around them, Cas’s hand still gripping his shoulder tightly.

9. catstiel | 1.8k | mature

Friday

Dean is late getting home from work on Friday night. Bobby had asked him to stay late to finish up a car for some hotshot banker who had paid extra to ensure it would be done before the weekend. Dean doesn’t actually mind, though he had bitched about it all day to Cas via text.

10. mornings aren’t so bad with you | 1.1k | teen

Dean’s favorite thing to do on Saturdays is sleep in late, wake up to Cas sliding back into bed, warm and naked after his morning run and shower, the irresistible smell of coffee brewing wafting through the house. There’s no better way to suffer through the atrocity that is mornings than Cas pressing soft kisses to his shoulders and the back of his neck, the promise of coffee in the air, his husband in bed with him, and sometimes a wonderful wakeup blowjob

#idk if there’s a pattern i’m just putting my blorbos in so many Situations™️ #i lied the pattern is terminal destiel brain rot #destiel #destiel fanfic #ao3 writer #ao3 #ao3 author #dean winchester #castiel #fanfic #fanfiction #spn #spn fanfic #supernatural

[shimmerwindow]

I Never Really

Part Two

Warnings: Marijuana use, cigarette use

Words: 3.8k

Playlist | Masterlist

You made your way up to the roof again, enjoying the unusually warm fall weather. Cigarette between your teeth, staring at the few stars in the sky. You avoided thinking about Venus, though. You didn’t have time for friends, and you most certainly didn’t have time for a crush. Crushes were childish, something you feel in high school. You weren’t supposed to feel that way anymore, not unless you chose to – you were a big girl now.

Lost in thought, your heart jumped into your throat when you heard the door creak open. Ducking into your usual hiding place, you waited to hear the flick of a lighter or the crack of a beer can, but neither came. You started to worry, sucking down your cigarette quicker, in the event that it was the dreaded maintenance man come to kick you out.

You could faintly hear the sound of someone singing. It was a man’s voice, the noise being carried away on the light breeze, but you recognized it. Sam, once again. You peered out from behind the hunk of metal to see him staring at the sky with his hands in his pockets. He was singing a song you didn’t recognize, in some over-exaggerated country accent. His hair was down, flowing over his shoulders and fluttering against his back.

You watched, silent, as he pulled something out of his pocket and brought it to his mouth, watched him cup his hands over his lips and heard the flick of a lighter, the flames lighting up his face. He took a deep breath, held it, and blew it out hard, coughing a few times.

“You want some?” he shouted into the empty air.

So, he knew you were here. No point in hiding. You slinked out of your spot and crossed the roof towards him. “Sure,” you said from behind him.

He jumped like he’d heard a gunshot, letting out a little scream, which startled you and sent you back a few steps.

“Oh, it's you. Jesus, don’t sneak up on me like that,” he half-laughed, putting a hand over his heart.

“You literally called me over here.”

“I was just asking the universe. Didn’t think anyone was actually up here.” He took a deep breath, coughing on the exhale, and extended his hand towards you. Between his fingers was a joint, still smoking. “Guess the universe sent the gift of you. Did you want a hit?”

You held out your hand silently, and he passed it to you, a small smirk on his face. You took a hit from it, choking out a “thanks” without exhaling the smoke.

“Am I scary or something?”

You raised an eyebrow at him as you blew the smoke out of the side of your mouth.

“You didn’t want to be my partner.”

You shrugged, mind racing through how you would play this off. You should have known he would bring it up. “I’m sorry. I was just pissy that day. Thought you might be a bad person to do such a big project with. Not that you are, just that some people…” you trailed off before you could dig your own grave.

“I understand.” He took another hit, offering the joint back to you once again, and you accepted it. “You busy this weekend?” He asked.

You shook your head no, pausing to take another puff. “We could meet at the library or something.”

“Actually,” he laughed, “I was wondering if you’d wanna come to a party. It’s on Saturday.” He took the joint back from you, finishing it off and dropping the remains to the ground, grinding out the ember with the toe of his shoe.

“A party? With me? We just met, Sam.” A blush was rising into your cheeks.

“It’s not like that. I just…don’t have a lot of friends around here. And my brothers are always dragging me out to shit, but I just end up standing in the corner, bored as hell until they let me leave.” He crossed his arms over his chest, picking at the red fabric of his sweater. “Think of it like a team-building exercise. Since we’re partners now.” That smug smile crossed his face again.

“You have brothers here?” You asked, trying to redirect him while you tried to think of a good way to tell him no. You didn’t have time for partying.

He nodded. “Yeah. Two of ‘em, actually. And Daniel. He’s basically our brother too.”

You smiled softly. “Well, I would love to go, but I’ve got some stuff going on that day.”

“There you go again, making me think I’m scary or something. You just said you were free.”

You could tell he didn’t want to take no for an answer. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to find some friends. Two years spending basically every night in your dorm was bound to catch up to you eventually. Your mom lectured you about that plenty – you need to enjoy your youth while you have it! she would always tell you.

“I guess I can come out for a bit,” you conceded.

“Really?” He leaned forward, his face lighting up in a smile.

His smile was beautiful enough to make you fully blush now – you thanked the universe that he likely couldn’t notice in the dark of night. And cursed yourself for having such a reaction to a simple smile. “Sure.”

“Sick! Wanna give me your number so I can text you when I’m about to leave? It’s just off campus. I’ll walk with you.”

The idea of having his number felt somehow dangerous to you. Not that he was dangerous, but a vision flashed through your head at light speed, of yourself drunkenly texting him late at night. You pushed the thought down as hard as you possibly could, internally embarrassed by your own thoughts. Yet, you gave it to him anyway.

He pulled his phone out, and you caught yourself watching his fingers grip the back of it as his thumbs danced across the screen.

“Need a contact picture,” he mumbled, before shuffling around and holding his phone in the air at arm’s length, your dual reflections appearing on his phone’s camera screen.

“Wait, I look terrible–” you barely got the sentence out before he hit the button to take it and turned back around. In that moment you wished you could crawl into a black hole and disappear.

He laughed at his phone screen as he poked at it with one finger. “It’s perfect.” He held it out to show you your contact.

It was dark, but you could clearly make out the two of you. He had a big, goofy smile on his face, while you were a bit blurry behind him, your mouth open as you’d been voicing your protest. It looked ridiculous.

“Oh my god. Delete that,” you demanded, grabbing for his phone.

He held it out of your reach, laughing a bit. “Absolutely not. That’s what I do for everybody.”

“You didn’t even give me a chance to pose!”

“You look better as your natural self, existing in the moment.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket, looking at the sky as if pondering his own words. “Everyone does.”

You blinked at him, not sure how to interpret what he just said.

“It’s cold up here. I’m heading back down.” He turned towards the door, looking back at you as he walked away. “You coming?”

You snapped out of your daze, following him to the door. Together, the two of you walked down the stairs. He stopped at the ninth floor and said goodbye, while you continued down to the eighth.

Finally home, you sat on your bed in the dark, staring at your lap, fighting to calm your mind. You wished you’d told him no. You didn’t have time for all this, these new people you were going to meet, the inevitable hangover on Sunday…you didn't even have an outfit to wear.

You felt your phone vibrate in your pocket, and your stomach dropped. Pulling it out and glancing at the screen, a text from an unknown number was waiting.

hey, it’s sam!

Reluctantly, you opened the text, and typed a reply.

hey! :)

You saved his contact info quickly and put your phone face down in your lap, praying that would be the end of it. To your dismay, another text came through. You considered simply ignoring it, but something in you forced you to check.

we should actually work on the project some time this week btw lol

He was right. You’d completely forgotten to even discuss it, you’d been so caught up in trying to say no to the party.

tomorrow? i'm done with class at 230 you sent back.

perfect im done at 2

You gave his message a thumbs up, and threw your phone to the other side of the bed, swearing you wouldn't pick it up again even if it was the president on the other end of the line. Curling up in a ball on your side, you let the waves of panic wash over you, one after the other. A party. You’d never been invited to a college party before. You’d never been to one, hadn’t even been in the vicinity of one. And you had to meet his brothers? If they were anything like Sam, you were in for the ride of your life.

You had to do something, anything, to get your mind off of him. Pacing around the room, you eventually settled at your desk, forcing yourself to work on an assignment you’d been putting off for one of your other classes. It was agonizing, trying to get him out of your head, and the short essay you’d meant to write came out sounding like the angry ramblings of a crazy woman. It was not something you could bring yourself to fix, though.

Sleep evaded you for most of the night, as you tossed and turned in bed, finding it impossible to get comfortable. Images flashed through your mind of this party. Irrational, panic-driven fears of being humiliated in front of everybody was at the forefront of your mind, and you felt powerless to push the thoughts away.

As you finally drifted into a restless sleep, you conjured up images behind your closed eyes of the field you’d dreamed of the night before. A peaceful place, a respite for your tired mind. He was there, of course he was, he was always there. But you were too exhausted to fight it, too tired to stop yourself from watching as your hands plucked tiny flowers from the ground and weaved them into his hair.

* * *

Running on the bare minimum of sleep, the day dragged on at an agonizingly slow pace. By the time the end of your classes rolled around, you were seriously considering canceling on Sam. But you couldn't, and you knew it – this project was essential. You’d been the one who took it upon yourself to ask Sam to be your partner, and you couldn’t take that back now.

He was waiting near the entrance when you walked into the library. When he noticed you, he gave you a small wave and a smile, and you returned the gesture as best as you could.

“You look rough,” he said once you were in earshot.

“Thanks. Didn’t get much sleep.”

“Cramming or something?”

No, actually, I couldn't stop thinking about you. “Just had to get a project done that I forgot about. I’m fine though.”

He walked you over to a quiet corner and you set up shop, pulling out your laptop. He didn’t follow suit. “Did you bring your…?” You gestured at the computer.

“I forgot to tell you. It’s…broken, actually.” He looked a little embarrassed.

“What happened? Is it getting fixed?” You immediately regretted choosing him as a partner.

“Yeah, it’s in the shop. And, well,” he sighed, slapping a hand against his thigh. “I had my headphones plugged in, right? And I was listening to this bitchin’ song, and I forgot I had my headphones in.” He put a hand over his mouth to muffle a giggle at his own story. “So I stood up to go get something, and I started, like–” he moved his hands in the air like he was playing guitar. “And when I got up, my headphones whipped the damn thing off my desk, I got scared and stomped on it, it was a whole thing.”

You couldn’t help but also laugh at the absurdity of his story. “So you broke your laptop by playing air guitar?”

He threw his head back in a laugh, covering his mouth right after, the sound still echoing through the silence of the library. “Yeah, basically. It should be fixed, like, by the end of the week though.”

A bit of your stress melted away as you both stifled your giggles together. You barely knew him, but he seemed like a pretty decent guy. He wasn’t just some stoner or frat boy who went to school because mom and dad said so, he actually wanted a degree. That was enough of a reason for you to trust him as a project partner.

“Well, we can just use mine for now, I guess.” You booted up your laptop, opening a new document.

He scooted his chair to your side of the table, sitting far too close for your own comfort. You took a deep breath, but that only made it worse. He smelled so nice, a mixture of incense and some kind of peppery cologne, the mixture almost intoxicating.

“So,” he started. “What are we gonna write about?”

Forcing your brain into work mode, you tossed a few ideas around. This class was clearly not Sam’s forte, but he gave you as much input as he could muster nonetheless. Jointly, you decided you’d write about the concept of the hero himself, and how the theme of heroics was explored in different pieces of literature.

“This feels a bit out of my depth,” Sam confessed as you wrote some notes on the subject.

“It should be a breeze if you’ve been keeping up with the readings and shit. You do, right?” You side eyed him.

“For the most part, yeah,” he shrugged, and ran his fingers through his hair. That combo again. It nearly pulled you out of your focus, but you fought against it with every bit of strength you had left.

“I’ll make it easy for us.”

“But I won’t let you do all the work, promise.” He held out his fist, his pinky finger extended. You looked between his hand and his face a few times, hesitating. “Don’t leave me hangin’, man.”

You mirrored his gesture, wrapping your pinkies together. “Pinky promise. Now it's set in stone,” he grinned.

You tried very hard not to think about how warm his hands were.

The two of you got through a solid portion of the outline before the sun started to set, and you found yourself yawning a bit too often. “I think it might be about that time,” you announced, glancing out the window at the fading daylight, the trees kissed with golden light.

“I think you’re right.” He raised his arms above his head in a stretch, letting out a sigh. “This is tough, but I think I got it. Hey, you’re still coming to the party, right?”

There it was. Your opportunity for an out. No, sorry. Something came up. “Yeah, of course. I can’t wait.” Your stomach dropped as the words fell out of your mouth without your consent. Why did you say that?

“Sweet.” He stood up from his chair, and you felt a rush of cold air against your knee. You hadn’t even realized your legs had been resting against each other's. You tried your best not to let your thoughts linger on it as you stood and packed away your laptop.

“Hey, we’re going to the same place, aren’t we?” He mused.

You’d forgotten about that. “Yeah, I guess we are.”

“Wanna walk together?”

“Sure.” Once again, the word came out before you could stop it.

The two of you stepped out into the sunlight together, the chill of the fall air making you shiver.

“It’s getting cold out.”

You hummed in agreement, stuffing your hands into your pockets. You glanced over at him, and he looked down at you, and for a moment, the world stopped. The golden light from the sun illuminated his features perfectly, his eyes shining a fiery bronze that seemed to pierce directly through you. He gave you a smile, soft and radiant, like he was starlight itself. So maybe you did think about the stars every once in a while.

“This is always my favorite time of year.” His voice was still quiet, still talking like he was in the silence of the library.

“I always get nervous about the winter.”

“But winter is beautiful, too. And the silence of it…just magical.”

You’d never really thought about the silence of winter, the way the snow quieted the earth. “I hope it's not a bad season this year.”

“Me too. I can’t drive in snow for shit. Jake’s the worst with that though,” he laughed.

“Jake?”

“Oh, right! I haven't even told you about them. Jake’s my brother. It's Jake, Josh, and Danny. Danny’s the only one not related to us, but we all grew up together." He told you a bit about each of them, giving you a rundown on their personalities, preparing you to meet them. “They’re nice guys. We’re just an odd bunch.”

“Well, they sound lovely. I can’t wait to meet them.”

You walked in silence for a bit, and you watched his feet as he sought out leaves to step on, crunching them under his shoes.

“Hey…listen.” He drew a breath.

“Hm?” You shot him a look, your pulse quickening. You always hated those two words; they were never followed by anything good.

“You don’t think it’s, like…weird that I invited you to this party, do you? You don't seem super pumped about it. I know we barely know each other, but you seem really cool, and I wanna get to know you better, and, like…I don't know.” His words came out rushed, like he didn't know what he was going to say until he said it.

You took a moment to collect your thoughts, not entirely sure how to answer. “I mean, it’s not exactly conventional. To invite someone who's basically a stranger, I guess. But I haven't been to many parties, so I don't know if that's standard, or what.” Your thoughts swirled around in your mind, no longer coherent. He thinks I’m cool was the only thing you could truly focus on. “But I don’t think it’s a bad thing.” It was bad, for you, but that wasn't his fault. You were a grown woman, and you could make your own decisions, and you chose to tell him yes.

“Okay,” he nodded. “I just get worried sometimes. I can come on a bit strong, I'm aware of that.”

“Well.” You raised your eyebrows in a gesture of you’re not wrong.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. There’s just somethin’ about you that I like, though. You seem…” He looked at you for a moment, his eyes scanning your face. “So many people are the sun, or the moon, but you’re a little of both. It’s cool.”

There was nothing you could do to stop yourself from melting at his words. A bit of both. A bit of sunshine and a bit of moonlight, all contained in one human, that was how he saw you. You wished he would just shut up, but you drank in the praise like your skin absorbed the last of the setting sun, letting it brighten your mind.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “That shit was corny as hell.”

“Yeah, it kinda was. I didn’t know you were such a cornball.”

“Cornball?!“

The two of you laughed in sync together.

“I’ve never heard cornball before. I gotta start using that.”

“Only if you give me credit.”

“Absolutely, eclipse girl.”

God, you wished he would just shut his mouth already. “You have quite the way with words, Sam.”

“Thanks.”

The rest of the walk was quiet, but it was not an uncomfortable silence. He held the door to the dorm building for you, giving you a silly, mocking bow as you walked past him. You got in the elevator together, hitting the buttons for your respective floors.

“I’ll see you in…what day is it?”

“Thursday.”

“I’ll see you in two days!”

You nodded. “I’ll see you then.” The elevator chimed, and you stepped through the doors onto the eighth floor, waving behind you as you walked away.

Your shaking fingers dropped your keys twice as you tried to unlock the door to your room. So maybe it was a crush. But it wasn’t all that serious. You could push it down easily with just a bit of distraction. You were lying to yourself, and every part of you knew it, but that wasn’t important.

You hurried through your nightly rituals and collapsed into bed, groaning into your pillow. This was all happening far too fast. “He’s just cute, that's all.” You said it out loud, convincing your mind it was the truth – and you almost believed it. He was just an incredibly attractive guy who also happened to talk in poems and riddles, who shined like the stars he was so obsessed with, who believed you were the sun and moon all at once. You would concede that you only wanted him in the way your primal brain wanted him. It wasn’t serious, so you should chill out about it.

Still, you laid there as sleep crawled its way into your eyes, and you could see him so clearly. That moment, when you’d looked at him and he appeared to have been made out of solid gold – it was hard to shake. And he followed you into your dreams once again, where he was made of gold, and he touched you, and shone with all the light of every star you can see from Earth, and you turned to gold alongside him.

#greta van fleet fic #greta van fleet fanfiction #greta van fic #gvf fic #gvf fanfiction #sam kiszka fanfiction #sam kiszka x reader #sam kiszka x y/n #sam kiszka fic #sam kiszka fan fiction #sfk #sfk fic #i never really

[whoahoney]

glassy eyes, hazy afternoons // pt 2

Eddie Munson x anxious!stoner!Reader

part 1

Summary: Reader goes exploring Hawkins with her brother and makes more unexpected friends, leading her to attend a live music show at the Hideout.

Content Warnings: fem!reader, reader has an older brother, use of y/n, minor descriptions of anxiety, recreational use of drugs, use of cigarettes, alcohol consumption, adult language, adult content (minors DNI!), fluff, mutual pining.

Authors Note: AHHHHH PT 2!!! She’s lengthy but she’s good honest work. I love writing Eddie Munson, what a pleasure he is to work with, as I’m sure anyone else would agree. Anyway, please enjoy this heart-warming and flirty installment of the series.

Autumn in Hawkins looked straight out of the beautiful beginnings of a scary movie—the turning leaves of the maple trees standing out through the light fog that spread through the town like a blanket.

Windows were blurred with humidity and had condensation running down the panes like tears. When Y/n woke up that morning, she could feel the cool damp air clinging to her skin, and her nose was red with a chill. Her eyes darted over to the window next to her bed, realizing she had left it open a few inches overnight. The windowsill was wet with morning dew, as was her glass bottle green ashtray.

Before shoving the window closed, she dumped the remnants of her nightly smoke outside into the flower bed. She dusted off her hands and stood up from her bed, thinking about her plans for her lazy Saturday morning. Y/n searched for her coziest sweater and sweatpants, completed with some warm wool socks.

The aroma of eggs and toast wafted through the house. Johnny worked most Saturdays since they’d been in Hawkins, having to put their regular Saturday morning breakfasts on hold. It hadn’t felt right to carry the tradition without Sam’s presence, anyway.

Y/n shuffled down the hallway, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she made her way to the eat-in kitchen. “Hey pops,” she said before looking to the stove where she expected to see her dad in his favorite slippers and plaid pajamas, but the figure holding the skillet wasn’t her father.

“Hey there, kiddo!” Sam imitated their fathers gravely morning voice from the years of smoking cigarettes.

“SAMMY!” She shouted in surprise, now fully awake. Y/n dashed over to his open arms to give him a tight squeeze. Sam’s chest shook with laughter at his sister’s excitement.

“Miss me?” He quipped, knowing full well how much his sister had missed him, because he missed her just as much.

“Not a bit.” She said with a smile as she pulled away to look him in the eye.

Sam scoffed and rolled his eyes, turning back to the stove to flip an egg over easy—the way their dad likes them.

Y/n leaned on the counter next to Sam to swipe some toast from the stacked plate, then moved to the fridge for some butter and orange juice.

“When did you get here??” She asked looking over the top of the fridge door. Sam moved their plates to the table and plopped down in the creaky chair.

“Late last night, the old man doesn’t even know I’m here yet.” Sam said, rubbing his hands together like a villain with an evil plan at work. Y/n chuckled, setting down the butter dish and carton then grabbed some silverware and glasses for everyone.

They easily fell back in routine together, as if they never parted. Back in the day when Sam was 7 and Y/n was 5, people confused them for twins more often than not, because you rarely saw one without the other.

Sam had kept up with weekly phone calls back home while he was away, and even wrote twice, but of course it wasn’t the same.

Every Wednesday evening since Sam had been away, Johnny and Y/n would sit on the sofa with the phone in between them to talk to Sam for an hour or so. Sam would tell them about the interesting things he’d learned in class and the fun places to eat and “socialize”.

Of course, the weekly phone calls were nice, but with their dad being on the phone, Sam never got to tell her the real juicy stuff about college he’d been dying to experience.

It was no secret that Sam was wild, he was the life of almost every party, even Johnny knew his son was a little feral. But something else everyone knew about Sam was that he was genuinely a good boy through and through.

Sam always seemed to know what to say to people, whether it’s to break the ice, or stop a fight, Y/n had yet to see a situation Sam couldn’t ease.

“He typically works Saturdays, but this is his off day, so he should be up any minute now.”

Sam sipped his orange juice and raised his eyebrows. Before quickly setting the glass down. “Should we scare him?” He asks mischievously.

Crunching on her overdone toast, Y/n cranes her neck to see down the hallway, noticing her father’s door was cracked, and light peered through, confirming he was awake.

She nodded vigorously, both of them scooting out of their chairs hurriedly to find the perfect hiding spot.

“Where can I even fit??” Sam hissed, referring to his tall stature.

“The pantry!” Y/n quickly suggests.

She opens the door and hurriedly shoves Sam inside, the clumsy boy knocking over a stack of canned peas.

As she’s quietly closing the door behind him, Y/n hears the familiar creak of her dad’s door opening.

She sat down at the table, nervously eyeing Sam’s half-finished plate of runny eggs and toast, hoping it wouldn’t ruin the surprise.

Johnny made his way around the corner, sleep still lingering in his eyes. His greying hair, normally kept very tidy, was flat on one side where he slept. His warm moccasins shuffled against the floor as he approached his daughter, giving her a gentle head pat.

“Mornin’, darlin’” he mumbled while suppressing a yawn. “Awful nice of you to cook our breakfast, did you have a chance to put on some coffee?” He asked, moving Sam’s plate over to another space without any thought.

Y/n stifled a chuckle before speaking louder than normal. “Oh, no, I didn’t, but I think there’s some in the pantry.”

Johnny nodded and shuffled on over to the corner of the room where the closet was. As soon as he turned the knob, Sam popped out with a, “MORNIN’ DAD!” holding the coffee can out to him.

Their fathers’ light eyes shot open like Y/n’s had at the surprise visit. “WHAT THE HELL—Sam! What are you doing in there, boy??” Johnny laughed as he pulled his son down to him for a hug and fond pat on the back.

“Why didn’t you tell us on the phone you were coming? We could’ve had the spare room done up for you!” He rambled, overwhelmed with happiness to have both of his kids under the same roof for the first time in a month.

“Where’s the fun in that? I decided on Thursday I’d come down for the weekend, especially since I wanted to hear allll about sister’s first week.” Sam said, reaching over to ruffle Y/n’s hair while she swatted at him.

“Well, I can assure you; it hasn’t been nearly as eventful as your month at college.” She finished with a sip of her orange juice. Sam rolled his eyes at his sister’s inability to talk about herself.

“I’ll be the judge of that later, but for now you need to get ready.” He said expectantly, biting into his toast.

Johnny quietly fixed his plate by the stove and grabbed his ceramic mug to move to his seat at the table.

“For what?” Y/n questioned, an uncertain tone to her voice. Sam finished the rest of his eggs, using the toast to soak up the rest of the runny egg yolk, making Y/n want to hurl.

“Could you not do that next to me, that’s disgusting.” She wrinkled her nose at him as he chewed obnoxiously. “Try before you deny, sis, you can’t say anything is gross without trying it first.”

“I have eaten enough eggs next to you to know that the runny yokes are not for me.”

She stood and cleared the rest of her plate into the garbage and rinsed it before placing it in the sink. “Enough about the eggs alright, just go get some clothes on and show me around this place.” Sam suggested.

“Why do we have to go out?” She asked.

“Aw, c’mon, let’s explore! I know you haven’t been out and around yet, so let’s do it together!”

Johnny looked over the top of his morning paper, to contribute a “He’s right, you know,”

Y/n shot her dad a look of betrayal. “What? I think it’s a great idea for you to get to know the town together, you weren’t gonna go out on your own, were you?” Their dad asked with a knowing look.

Y/n rolled her eyes and turned around without another word. She shuffled to the doorway, shoulder checking her brother as she passed.

Y/n stopped and turned at the frame and leaned against it momentarily. “…can I pick the music?” She said quietly.

“The bronco is ready to roll whenever you are.” He answered—shoulder checking her, like she did him, on his way to retrieve his bag from the living room.

After Y/n found a more ‘suitable’ outfit, she met Sam in the living room—both of them fixing their belts around their waists.

“All set?” He asked.

Y/n nodded, holding up her bag as evidence.

“Bye, dad.”

“See ya, pops!” They said rushing out the door, the screen door swinging shut behind them as their dad waved a slice of toast in ‘farewell’.

Y/n never thought she’d be so happy to see the bronco, she couldn’t wait to feel the familiar velvet seats under her touch.

Sam unlocked his door first, almost diving across the cab to unlock the passenger side. Y/n placed her bag between them as they slammed their doors shut.

As Sam turned the ignition, Y/n searched through her tapes for their favorite tape by The Smiths.

She loaded it into the tape deck, What Difference Does It Make starts while he backs out of the drive carefully.

“Okay, tell me EVERYTHING.” He said with wide eyes and an eager smile. “About what?” She asked, purposely being difficult.

“AbOuT wHaT? You know what,” he took the opportunity to shove her shoulder. “School! How’s it hanging?? Make any friends? Did you join a club?”

“Well actually...” she started with a smirk

Sam screeched with glee and drummed the steering wheel in anticipation. “Aghhhh!!! I knew there’d be something to tell! “

Y/n laughed at her brother’s dramatics. “Shut up, so I can tell you!”

Sam nodded, bringing a hand to his mouth to literally ‘wipe the look off his face’ and put it back down on the wheel.

“So, the first few days were pretty unremarkable, my classes are okay, but math still sucks. Anyway, yesterday I took it upon myself to track down some bud here, and while it was a trialing journey, I met a few friends along the way.” She said as she dramatically brought a hand to her heart.

“Do tell!” Sam urged with his eager eyes glued to the road, just coasting around the streets downtown to scope out their options.

“In biology, I made friends with, wait for it, the head cheerleader, she was so nice and even invited me to her boyfriend’s party coming up, but I doubt I go just yet.”

Sam nodded thoughtfully, probably already seeing her point of view on the party matter.

“Since she knows everything about everyone, I asked her who I should buy from and she told me about this guy, Eddie Munson.” Her eyes turned a little dreamy as his name came from her lips.

“Ooh, Eddie Munson,” Sam wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Y/n scoffed and rolled her eyes away from her brother.

“What, I said his name, that doesn’t mean anything!”

“You didn’t even tell me your cheerleader friend’s name, not to mention the heart eyes. But, please, continue the story and prove me wrong.” He said smugly.

Y/n scoffed in shock, not expecting to be called out so severely, and so soon. She took a breath to prepare for the gloating that comes when her brother has found out he’s right about something. Which is irritatingly more often than not.

“Well, anyway, I’ll come back to him later, I gotta tell you about the hit I took in between classes—”

“You WHAT?” Sam slammed on his breaks at the stop sign, thankfully no one was behind them. “Jesus CHRIST, Samuel, what the FUCK?” Y/n exclaimed after being jerked forward.

“Did someone hit you? Did you hit someone??” He asked alarmed yet intrigued.

“Relax, there was a fight next to my locker and I was collateral damage. The hit didn’t hurt like the fall probably would have, but this freshman, Mike, caught me. Turns out, he’s in the same club as Eddie. So, he and his friends were able to pass a note I wrote to him, and I ended up meeting him in the woods behind the football field.”

“That totally doesn’t sound sketchy as shit at all.” Sam said with sarcasm with his head on a swivel, spotting a movie rental store coming up on their left.

“Anyway, I bought a half ounce from the guy, then we hung out and smoked for a while, and it was… really cool.” She finished with a subtle smile, trying to downplay her feelings a touch.

As Sam parked in front of the Hawkin’s Family Video, he burst out laughing. Y/n stared at him in annoyance as he tried to speak through the giggles.

Sam tried to imitate Y/n’s voice by speaking slightly higher pitched and dragging out his words airily and dramatically, “then we hung out for a while, and it was… reallly cooool.” He sighed dreamily out the window.

“Okay, so what, he’s CUTE, SUE ME!” She rolled her eyes, opening her door. “Now drop it, everyone knows everyone here, and I’d rather not have the whole town know about my fleeting teen crushes.” She mumbled as they met on the sidewalk.

Sam pulled open the door, and a bell sounded through the store. “You wanna take that side, and I check over here?” He asked as he eased over to the far side of the gallery.

Y/n nodded, and Sam turned all the way around to start his search for the perfect film. Her eyes scanned her side of the room, taking in the rom/coms to her right. She kept her eyes on the displays, looking for something familiar first.

The Family Video was empty and quiet with the exception of the radio for background music, and the shuffling of what Y/n assumed to be tapes coming from the back.

“We’ll be with you in just a moment!” She heard a friendly voice call from behind the cracked ‘employees only’ door.

Neither Sam nor Y/n responded, just continued to browse the store in silence until two people emerged from the back.

“Welcome to Family Video, is there anything I can help you with?” A girl asked, suddenly appearing next to Y/n, making her jump.

“Oh, uh, I’m not looking for anything particular, but I’m open to suggestions if you have any.” Y/n said to the girl with the name tag reading ‘Robin’

“You’re new, right?” Robin asked with quiet curiosity. Y/n nodded slightly, keeping her eyes forward as she felt the familiar tightness in her chest.

“I’m Robin, we have algebra together, I think.” She said even though she knew for a fact they shared the class.

Y/n allowed herself to meet Robins eyes this time, and when she did, she felt the tension in her chest fade. Something about Robin was very comforting, there was a certain quality about her being that told Y/n she shouldn’t have to be so anxious for this interaction.

“I’m Y/n L/n,” she said, reaching a hand out for a proper shake. Their rings clanked together when they clasped, and they shared a chuckle. “Well Y/n, recommendations are the main reason I chose to work at a movie store, follow me!” Robin said enthusiastically.

Robin skittered across the store to the side Sam was currently occupying with another store employee.

“Wait a minute, so you’re telling me that you’re a college man and you haven’t seen the Breakfast Club yet?” The guy said with genuine surprise, and maybe a little offense.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying! What am I missing from another teen flick starring Estevez and Ringwald? Absolutely nothing.” Sam concluded with a teasing shrug.

Y/n had seen Sam look at a guy the way he did presently, but only with his friend Derek.

Sam and Derek were really close throughout high school. They were both popular upperclassmen, ran in the same circles, and played soccer together. That’s how they met freshman year— during tryouts.

Derek spent a lot of time at their house, lots of times the boys would camp out on the couches for the weekend and run around town together, always inviting Y/n along.

Sam was really sad when Derek’s dad insisted he pursued sports at Yale, instead of letting Derek apply at Bloomington with Sam like he wanted to.

Y/n didn’t hear about Derek for a long time after that, and didn’t want to ask about him and hurt Sam. She’d never been close enough with anyone to know what it’s like to lose a friend. Let alone a best friend.

But Sam had this special glint in his eye reserved for charming people out of their wits, and it seemed as though he had it on max while talking to this guy.

“Ugh, excuse him, he tries to pitch The Breakfast Club to anyone looking for a recommendation.” Robin rolled her eyes over the top of the shelf in front of Y/n.

“No no no no no, it’s not just another teen flick, man, you gotta give it a shot! Don’t you think a message about the dangers of societal pressure is important? And different??” The guy with the tag reading ‘Steve’ urges with conviction. Sam finds it very cute amusing and gives a chuckle.

“C’mon, if it sucks, I’ll pay you the money back you spend on renting it.” He offered with a nudge to Sam’s elbow on his way past, heading behind the counter.

Y/n looks at Sam with raised brows and surprise lining her eyes. Sam grins smugly and returns the look to her with sarcasm as he follows Steve up to the counter, accepting his offer.

Robin comes around the corner to show Y/n two picks: The Apartment and Child of Paradise.

“I know what you’re thinking, ‘I’d prefer something from this decade’ right? Well hear me out, both of these, while ancient—showcase the complexities and moral ambiguities in love and life, you know what I mean? If you totally hate it, I can definitely help you find someth—“

“No, no, no—I’ll take both.” Y/n said, knowing she’d watch them at some point in her free time, also knowing she couldn’t bear to disappoint Robin after she passionately pleaded her case for her film choices.

Robin’s eyes lit up and eagerly turned on her heel to add the two films to their purchase. Y/n approached the counter and stood next to Sam as Steve scanned the movies and Robin bagged them up.

Sam backed up slightly to peruse the snacks displayed below the countertop, innocently asked his sister, “See anything you like?”

Y/n looked at Sam to nod, knowing full well she only ate m&ms. So, wordlessly, he picks them up for her when he grabs his starbursts. “So cute.” Robin scoffed, shaking her head as Steve nodded in agreement.

“Got anything interesting going on tonight or is it just a cozy night in?” Steve said expectantly. Y/n furrowed her brow in confusion while Sam did his best to stifle a cackle but failed.

“That’s great, that’s really great, a first, too!” He said shaking his sister’s shoulder. “No, uh, this is my sister, Y/n.” He explained.

Robin and Steve paled in embarrassment and fumbled for words, not for long before Sam assured them it was okay and explained how they’ve been mistaken for twins before but never a couple.

“I’m just in town for the weekend, wanted to see the sister after her first week.” He nodded and put the snacks on the counter.

Steve looked to Y/n fully for the first time, “you’re new at Hawkins High?” He asked.

“That’s what he said, dingus.” Robin taunted as she put the snacks in the bag and rang up the rest of their purchase.

“$12.76, please.” She said politely.

Sam opened his black leather wallet that used to belong to their dad and handed her some bills. “I’m a junior,” She nodded, answering Steve. He gave her a small smile and slid the bag over to Sam, who wasn’t moving to leave just yet.

“So, any interesting plans, or is it movie night?” Steve asked them, rephrasing his question from before. “I dunno, what else is there to do here?” Sam shrugged.

Steve and Robin shared a look, plainly showing their silent conversation. Robin’s eyes read optimism, while Steve’s said apprehension. “Well…” Robin started. Sam leaned in, as he does when things get interesting.

“Our friend has a thing going on tonight at this bar called the Hideout, have you heard of it?” She asked looking between Y/n and Sam. The siblings looked to each othe,r and Y/n shook her head. “Well, do you listen any metal?” Robin asked.

Sam looked to his sister with excitement, “As a matter of fact..” he raised his eyebrows, waiting for her response.

“I do, and he does by association.” Y/n answered keeping her eyes on her brother.

“You guys should totally come!” Robin said with more enthusiasm. “But I don’t have a fake ID.. ” Y/n said feeling bad to ruin the mood.

“No worries, this place never cards. Plus, you won’t even have to sit at the bar, it’ll be so inconspicuous it’s insane.” Robin assured.

Sam looked at Y/n, waiting for her say so. Sam really didn’t want her to spend another school year inside. He wanted her to live. And he knew she was capable of putting herself out there now. It was just a matter of doing it again, and if she was willing.

Y/n knew how much she didn’t want to disappoint her brother, and herself for that matter. She knew how much fun she was capable of having. How bad could it be? Worst case scenario they get kicked out and she never has to go back.

“What time?” She asked

Y/n nervously spun her hair around her finger as she sat in front of the mirror, waiting for the clock to flash 8:45 so they could leave

She dressed a little out of her comfort zone but wore a flannel for safety and her jean jacket for warmth. At 8:35 she couldn’t stand it anymore and grabbed her bag to leave.

Y/n walked down the hallway to Sam’s room, knocking on the cracked door. Sam opened it swiftly, with his jacket in hand. “I’m antsy.” She spoke.

“Care to show me this bud you bought from your drug dealer?” He asked nonchalantly. “I thought you’d never ask.” She said as she turned on her heel to leave the house.

Their dad was already in bed, so they made sure to shut the door quietly and lock it behind them. Y/n skipped to the car, ready to listen to some tunes and hotbox in a parking lot with her brother again.

When the engine roared to life, they drove to the address Robin and Steve had given them, making sure to mention that the bar was a few miles outside of town and that they’d be there at 9:00.

The siblings rolled the windows down and turned up the radio when Rebel Yell by Billy Idol played. Y/n’s hair whipped around her wildly, but she was too busy obnoxiously singing at the top of her lungs with Sam to care that it was going to be a knotted mess when they came to a stop shortly.

When they reached the outskirts of town and saw the red neon sign glowing in the distance, Y/n reached for the pencil case in her bag, filled with the prerolls Eddie rolled just for her.

Sam parked behind the bar and turned off the engine and lights to remain unseen. He kept the battery on, so the radio continued to play, the light illuminated the back exterior of the bar and into the cab just enough. Y/n opened her pencil case and plucked out two joints.

“Whoa there, tiger, two?” He looked at her questioningly. She shrugged, “C’mon, special occasion? I’m a big girl now, chill.” She said placing the joints between her lips and digging her lighter out of her pocket.

Sam shook his head, holding his hand out waiting for her to hand one to him. When she got the light started, she puffed quickly to get them going and handed one to him.

“Windows up.” He said as he held it in his teeth, rolling the window up manually and nodding for her to do the same. “We’re going to smell like shit, Sam.” She said, obeying anyway.

“We’re going to smell anyway!” He said as a matter of fact. Y/n didn’t respond, she just puffed, and kept her eye glued to the clock on the dash.

8:47

They had exactly 13 minutes for her to get as tranquil as possible, and it was a challenge she was willing to accept.

Sam switched the radio over to the cassette deck and This Charming Man by The Smiths played, the upbeat track causing his head to bop wildly. He passionately lip synced to Morrisey, Y/n watching and not bothering to suppress her laughter.

She rolled down the window slightly to knock off her ashes, but as she did so she heard the crunching of gravel under shoes approaching the vehicle.

There was no use in ditching the joints, the smoke was too thick and wafting up to the stars as a couple of familiar faces ducked down to the window of the Bronco.

“Hey-o, I didn’t know it was this kinda party!” Robin said cheerfully.

“Ahhh! So glad you guys could make it, hop in!” Sam said with an inviting wave of his hand, visibly baked.

Y/n reached behind her and unlocked the back door for the two to crawl in. Robin and Steve clamored into the car and shut the door swiftly behind them.

Steve mumbled a soft greeting, looking to both Y/n and Sam, but Y/n could’ve sworn she saw something more flash across his face when he met eyes with Sam.

“There’s plenty to go around.” Y/n said to Robin as she offered the doobie. Robin smiled and gave a “thanks!” before accepting it and letting her head fall into rhythm with the beat of the next song on the mixtape.

“Ugh, Time After Time, love.” Robin sighed dreamily as she passed it to Steve.

Sam kept his eyes on Steve the whole time he took his dreadfully slow hit, then inhaling the smoke through his nose. Robin looked from Steve to Sam and then back to Steve, and then to Y/n.

Steve’s eyes met Sam’s, the two sharing a small smile before Steve let out a monstrous snort that quickly evolved into a coughing fit.

“See, Harrington, there is such thing as too much too fast.” Robin chided while patting his back supportively. Y/n chuckled at their antics. Steve regained control of his breathing, his cheeks and forehead were flushed pink, and his eyes overflowed with tears.

“You’re about to have the best time though!” Robin encouraged as Steve handed the joint to Y/n, and Sam handed his joint to Robin.

“Ooh! Double doobies, love it.” Steve said as the effect seemingly rushed over him. He propped his cheek against the side of Y/n’s head rest, observing how she expertly pulled a thick drag from the joint and nearly swallowed the whole cloud.

She let out a couple of baby coughs before clearing her throat, taking a deep breath, and handing it over to her brother who decided it was too short to hit anymore and stamped it out in the ashtray.

Robin glanced at the clock as Steve passed on his turn and sent the doobie straight to Y/n. “It’s 8:58, we better head in before he goes on!” She exclaimed as Y/n handed the joint to Sam since he lost his last turn.

Steve nodded with heavy eyes and turned to open the door, as Y/n and Sam cracked the windows to let the car air out. The teens exited the vehicle rather briefly, the cold starting to bite at their exposed skin and putting pep in their step.

Y/n and Robin walked ahead of Sam and Steve, the girls wrapping their jackets around themselves and giggling when they stumbled into one another.

When they reached the sidewalk rounding the front of the building, they stopped and waited for the boys to catch up. “C’mon slow-pokes!” Robin shouted through cupped hands.

Steve made a remark to Sam, causing them to share a laugh right before they broke into a run simultaneously. Robin and Y/n continued to the front, the closer they got the door the louder the sounds from inside became. The parking lot was fairly busy, college kids were flocked around a few vehicles in the lot, groups heading inside.

The boys rounded the corner, their laughter announcing their presence. “Welcome to the Hideout.” Steve said easily as he opened the door for the group. Robin motioned for Y/n to follow her through the heavy black door and into the dimly lit building.

Y/n’s eyes scanned around the room, the only lights came from the stage are in the back, and the neon signs covering the walls. The bar stools were filled, as were most of the small tables, but Steve quickly spotted a table in the back corner of the dance floor, to the far left of the stage, not far from an emergency exit.

“Alrighty, I’ll take it from here, Buckley.” Steve said, shuffling his way to the front of the group to lead. He held his hand up like a tour guide and walked at a determined pace to the table.

Steve sat with his back to the wall, Y/n taking the seat in the corner, Robin to the right of her, and Sam to the right of Robin, across from Steve.

Sam shot Steve another one of those charming looks, earning Sam a not-so-subtle smile from Steve, and a suspicious look from Robin.

“I’m gonna get drinks, what does everyone want?” Steve asked as he fixed his jacket to the back of his chair and stood with his hands on his hips.

“I’ll come with you, you’re gonna need extra hands.” Sam volunteered almost immediately. Y/n shared a brief look with Robin but wrote it off as nothing.

“Coke, please!” Robin said in a cheerful daze and drummed her hands on the table lightly. “Ooh, I’ll take one too, two cokes, boys.” Y/n said holding up a wiggling number two on her hand.

The boys turned to go to the bar, Y/n noticed Steve put a hand on Sam’s shoulder to lead him to the bar and saw the smile they shared as they started conversation. It was nice to see Sam hang out effortlessly with someone again.

“So, Y/n, you’re a metal fan?” Robin asked as her head rolled around to meet Y/n’s eyes. Y/n admired the freckles that adorned Robins face, and how electrically blue her eyes were. She typically didn’t like it when people did blue eyeliner, but on Robin it fit.

“I am a metal fan! Are you?” Y/n asked, effortlessly following the rules of conversation her brother taught her long ago. “I like some songs, but I’m no metal head like Eddie.” Robin chuckled as the boys returned.

Eddie?

Eddie, Eddie?? How many metal-head Eddie’s could there possibly be in Hawkins?

Before she had the chance to ask for clarification, Steve and Sam returned with the drinks. Sam set the girls drinks in front of them and took his seat next to Robin while Steve sat Sam’s brewski in front of him with a smile.

Robin couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Steve, covering it up by taking a drink out of her glass. Suddenly, microphone feedback echoed through the bar followed by a group entering the stage and someone adjusting the color of the stage lighting to a red that matched the neon sign outside.

“Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to The Hideout’s Open Mic Night!” A burly man leaned down to the mic stand to greet the crowd. “We’ve got some talented groups here with us, and we hope you guys are ready to throw back some drinks and get loud!” He rang out as the whole bar went wild.

“Let’s get rockin’!” He threw up some devil horns as he exited the stage, and the first group took their places.

Y/n sipped her drink nervously, letting her eyes adjust to the front of the room but not before Robin obscured her vision by leaning in front of her. “There he is, Steve, there he is!” Robin whispered and patted Steve’s arm in excitement. After she sat back, Y/n’s eyes met the tall, gorgeous figure now commanding the room.

“Uhh, hi,” he let out with a coy laugh and adjusted the stand as someone in the back cheered. “We’re Corroded Coffin.” He said with a nod and slipped his guitar over his shoulder.

The drummer tapped his drumsticks, counting off before Eddie and the bassist jumped together with the beginning of the song. Eddie plucked lightly creating the haunting melody, while the bass and drums provided the bassline.

A crowd soon gathered in front of the platform, covering most of his bottom half. Y/n settled back into her seat, bringing one knee to her chest and shrugging her jacket off to get comfortable. Eddie approached the mic before the drums intensified and then finally brought his own playing to a halt while letting the echo of his guitar hum.

He leaned into the mic scanning over the room before singing in his alluring rasp:

“Your cruel device, your blood like ice,”

Y/n leaned forward, propping her elbow on the table, fully enamored by his voice. She was so zeroed in on Eddie she didn’t even recognize the song he played.

“One look could kill, my pain your thrill...”

Eddie began to pick again while the drums pounded to a climax. “I wanna love you but I better not touch,” the audience echoed after Eddie, eating it up and losing their minds.

Sam head whipped around to Y/n with wide eyes “isn’t this your favorite song right now??” he asked excitedly.

Y/n hadn’t noticed her jaw had fallen slack until everyone was looking at her for an answer. She nodded, quickly returning her attention to Eddie. “This is your favorite song?!” Robin shouted, shifting in her seat to get up.

“That’s our friend, Eddie Munson!” Steve said, matching Robin’s volume and nodding his head to the beat. Sam’s eyes snapped back to Y/n’s while replying to Steve. “Eddie Munson, you said?” a smug smile working its way onto his face.

Y/n shook her head at her brother before a very hyper Robin yanked her up by her arm to drag her to the crowded dance floor. “Are we really doing this?” Y/n asked only slightly panicked as they entered the sea of bodies.

“It’s your favorite song, of course we are!” Robin said before emulating the hyped-up head bangers surrounding them. Y/n laughed, starting to feel the head rush from the weed hitting her harder.

She turned her attention back to Eddie, who hadn’t noticed her yet. He held the audience captive with his charisma and hypnotic rendition of Poison by Alice Cooper.

Before she knew it, she was jumping alongside Robin, whipping her hair around, and singing with the rest of the bar. Robin couldn’t help the giggle fits when she finally got to see Y/n loosen up.

As the crowd continued to shift throughout the song, Robin and Y/n were slowly pushed up to the front of the stage, much to their delight. A thin sheen coated their skin, their baby hairs around their faces clinging in place.

Eddie spent a few moments with his eyes closed, soaking up his moment and feeling like he could never ever find a feeling that beat this one right here.

Y/n and Robin stood to Eddie’s right at the stage, leaning their forearms on the edge to catch a breath. As the drum pounded, the crowd bordering the stage hit their fists in time with the bass, bringing Eddie a satisfied smile.

Y/n was glad her brother couldn’t see the heart eyes that she wore currently, and quite honestly, she wasn’t even thinking about her brother, or Robin for that matter. Just Eddie.

As the chorus played out for the last time, Eddie opened his eyes to scan the crowd, wanting to engrain every face that was present for the best night of his life.

Until his gaze came upon the ethereal face, he’d been thinking of for the past 24 hours straight, singing passionately with him.

“Your mouth, so hot, Your web, I’m caught” she turned to sing to the girl next to her, who Eddie could’ve sworn was Robin but the detail felt very unimportant at the time. All he could focus on was the way her lips looked when she sang the scandalous lyrics.

“Your skin so wet, Black lace, on sweat.” He watched as she tilted her head back dramatically, shaking her hair out down her back and exposing the column of her neck that he loves so much and wished so desperately to have access to.

“I hear you calling and it’s needles and pins,” his eyes were unmoving from her, absolutely mesmerized by the way her hair bounced around her as she jumped in time with the music, her own eyes closed and an impossibly big grin on her lips.

“I wanna hurt you just to hear you screaming my name, don’t wanna touch you but you’re under my skin,” Her eyes finally opened to see his gaze found hers, and she couldn’t help but melt a little at the way he was looking at her, as if she were the only person in the room that mattered.

“I wanna kiss you but your lips are venomous poison,” he sang with a wink in her direction, causing her to avert her eyes and a heat to crawl up her neck.

“I don’t wanna break these chains!” The crowd echoed to Eddie when he held out the mic at the closing of the song, feeling like a god.

The lights went out on the stage as the audience applauded and cheered their exit into the back with the second act coming on nervously. The lights came back on while a few skinny dudes prepared their instruments.

The crowd’s roar quieted to the usual bar chatter while Sam and Steve approached the girls from behind with a few shots.

“Alright, party people, bottoms up before the next act.” Steve said while passing out the small glasses to the girls. “I’m willing to bet it’s gonna be something by either Mötley Crüe or Cinderella,” Sam said as he clinked his small glass with each of them.

Y/n’s eyes felt droopy from the energy spent on moshing, and her limbs felt slightly gelatinous from the joints they split. She clinked her glass with Steve last before they drained them and handed them back to the guys to deal with. Y/n ignored the dull ache sinking through her as she scanned the room behind her for the man on her mind.

“We are The Ex Catholic Kids.” The front man mumbled quietly into the mic before the starting beats to Metal Health by Quiet Riot boomed through the bar.

“Good thing you didn’t bet, right?” Steve said to Sam with an audible smirk from behind the two girls. “Right you are, but I hope you guys are ready, because we get kinda wild to this one.” Sam said casually before grabbing Y/n’s hand to join the forming mosh pit in front of the stage.

Y/n’s careless laughter bounded out of her as she resumed her frivolous flailing, not bothered by all the other bodies and whipping hair around her.

The siblings kept a grip on each other’s forearms for safety, not letting the other get carried away by the waves of people.

“BANG YOUR HEAD!” They yelled to each other and resuming their dancing, if that’s what you could call it.

“Metal health will drive you mad!”

Around that time is when Eddie and his band mates, Gareth and Jeff, emerged from the back after packing away their instruments and collecting themselves from the epic performance they just gave.

Eddie’s eyes searched for Steve and Robin, and more importantly, the girl of his dreams that was suddenly nowhere to be seen. He spied Robin and Steve at the edge of the crowd, seemingly waiting for him.

Steve spotted Eddie approaching and nudged Robin to get her attention. When Robin saw Eddie, she ran to meet him halfway, stumbling into him for an awkward congratulatory hug. “Eds! That was phenomenal.” She slurred slightly as she released him from her grip and Steve joined them to give Eddie a fond shoulder pat.

Eddie narrowed his eyes at the two, examining their eyes carefully. “Are you guys wasted?” He asked suspiciously. Robin and Steve attempted to stifle their laughter but failed, giving them up immediately.

“We just had a shot,” Steve said, for whatever reason trying to explain their current state.

“—and two joints.” Robin confessed with a laugh and knocking Steve’s shoulder with her own causing him to burst into uncontrollable laughter with her.

Gareth and Jeff shared a laugh with Eddie before wading through the crowd to get their drinks.

Before Eddie could ask, a lightbulb visibly went off in Robin’s head. “Eds! You’re not gonna believe it, we brought friends! And you played her favorite song, how fun is that?” She said over the music.

Eddie scanned the crowd for her angelic face, before spotting her with Sam, which made his heart sink, no—plummet to the bottom of his stomach.

They looked so natural together, and happy... and close. He envied the way the guy gripped her arm as they moshed together, keeping her safe like he would if it were him. Robin’s chatter faded into the back of Eddie’s mind as he observed the two singing and laughing.

“There they are!” Robin exclaimed as she pointed to the couple Eddie held under his surveillance. He watched as Y/n and her guy returned, his hand on her shoulder carefully guiding her through the crowd.

Y/n’s eyes met Eddie’s, butterflies swarming through her chest and throat. She couldn’t quite make out the look behind his eyes, but whatever it was she was confused. He looked like he was holding his breath, his jaw clenched, and his eyes shined more than usual, maybe it was the stage lights that flashed red, blue, and, yellow on a loop.

Sam took his hand off Y/n now they were out of the crowd and took his position next to Steve, leaving Y/n with Robin and Eddie. She looked up at Eddie, observing how he avoided her gaze to look at his reeboks.

“Hey, Stranger.” She said over the crowd singing along, nudging his elbow with her own. Eddie couldn’t fight the smile her voice brought him and gave into the urge to look into her eyes. He wanted to say something—anything, desperately, but the ache in his throat didn’t allow him to.

Before he could manage a reply, Robin took it upon herself to make introductions. “Eddie, this is Y/n and her brother, Sam! They’re new in Hawkins and you’ll never believe it, she’s a total metal-head!” She said excitedly.

Realization hit Eddie like a truck; the guy was her brother, not her boyfriend.

“Is that so?” He asked, looking down at Y/n with the dreamy look he wore on stage washing over him again. A shy smile grew on Y/n’s lips as the third band of the night started Nobody’s Fool by Cinderella.

“I called it! I called it!!! Cinderella, baby, WOOO!” Sam hollered from the table while Steve cackled like a fool and stomped his feet in his laughing fit. Y/n felt a blush fill her cheeks at her brother’s drunken antics.

“He a Cinderella fan, I presume?” Eddie asked, breaking the tension. Y/n let out easy laughter and shook her head “Eh, tonight he is, I guess.” She said looking back at Sam, who was currently swaying with an open lighter raised above his head.

Robin scampered off to join Steve and Sam at the table, leaving Eddie and Y/n alone, finally. “You were really great,” she tried to say over the crescendo of the song and the cheers from the pleased crowd.

Eddie leaned down closer to her, the familiar spice in his cologne further intoxicating her. “What was that?” He asked.

“You were really great!” She said, raising up on her toes slightly to get a bit closer. Eddie eyes lit up at the compliment and silently thanked the stage lights for covering up his blush.

“I’m glad you liked it, it’s pretty lucky you got to be here when we played your song, huh?” He asked as his friends approached him with a beer stein for him.

“My song?” She asked with a smile. Eddie felt flustered. ‘Your song? Really??’

“I-I, I meant your favorite song, unless it’s changed between yesterday and today?” He fumbled for recovery, but still managed to make her laugh a little. Eddie took a nervous sip as Gareth clapped his shoulder, jostling him a bit.

“Eds! Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend here?” He said with a sickly sweet smile, knowing exactly what he’s doing to cramp Eddie’s style, or at least waver his confidence a little.

Eddie couldn’t help the steel look he shot Gareth momentarily before turning his lips up into a tight smile. “Of course! Y/n, these are my band mates, Gareth and Jeff. Gentleman, this is Y/n L/n she goes to school with us now.”

Y/n wasn’t always great at feeling out other people’s emotions but she could feel the tension emanating from Eddie, not knowing she is the source of his anxiety. She lifted a hand from her side in greeting, wishing she had a cup to hold or a joint to smoke.

“Nice to meet you.” She said with a pleasant smile that made Eddie want to swoon. Gareth smiled back at her in a way that made Eddie want to take him out as if he were the quarter back on a football field.

“Is this the very Y/n that kept you so late from Hellfire last night?” Gareth looked to Eddie with intrigue and raised brows.

Eddies answer caught in his throat along with embarrassment, and he felt awful for wishing Gareth would leave or disintegrate before he had to answer. Instead, Y/n answered for him. “I am! Sorry, I had him rolling up with me all afternoon.” She laughed easily with a captivating shine to her eye.

Gareth laughed along with her briefly before Sam approached the boys surrounding his sister. “Make some friends, Y/n?” Sam asked expectantly, his eyes immediately looking over Eddie up close.

“Sam, Y/n’s brother,” he held his hand out to Eddie as Y/n rolled her eyes at her brother, now wishing he would go away or disintegrate.

“Eddie Munson, good to meet you.” He said with a cordial smile, praying that Sam didn’t feel how sweaty his palm was. “That was awesome, really, I don’t know how Y/n will go back to wearing out that Alice Cooper tape now.” He nudged his sisters shoulder with a smile.

A knowing smile spread across Gareth’s face “Ohhkay, now I know why you suddenly took me up on my idea to play Alice Cooper, isn’t that right, Munson?” Gareth teased Eddie quietly as Sam made his way back to the table with Steve and Robin who were now diving into some wonderful looking bar food.

“What?” Y/n asked, not fully hearing Gareth’s revelation. “Nothing, nothing, he thinks we should go get a drink,” he shouted over his shoulder as he grabbed Y/n by the wrist and lead her through the room.

Y/n used the crowd as an excuse to stay close to Eddie, and thanked herself silently for wearing a shirt that showed more chest than usual. Eddies palm splayed wide across her lower back as he ushered her onto a bar stool.

“What’s your poison?” He asked her as he set down his beer. Y/n looked at the shelf of bottles behind the bar, swallowing lightly. “Um, coke.” She looked at him, the warm lighting illuminating his face beautifully and allowing her to admire his brown eyes she loved so much.

He let out a wry laugh at her answer and shrugged, ordering her a coke with the bartender. “So hows that half treating you?” He asked as their drinks were set in front of them, Y/n taking a long sip before responding.

“Fantastic, really. It’s down to a quarter now probably.” She said looking at him through heavy lidded eyes.

Eddie chuckled and glanced back at Robin and Steve, still giggling it up with Sam, who had taken to giving a performance of his own to his new friends.

“Glad I could help Harrington get the stick out of his ass.” He directed his attention back to Y/n who looked at him intently with the familiar glassy eyes he couldn’t shake from his mind. She chuckled and took another drink, which gave Eddie the opportunity to admire the way her hair draped over her shoulder so deliciously.

“So, what do you think of the Hideout? “ he asked, shooting the breeze. Y/n shrugged as she set her glass on the bar. “It’s grimy, but I find it endearing.” She spoke. “Grimy and endearing, huh?” He laughed.

“Yeah, like someone else I know.” She said wryly. His eyes found hers as his heart skipped a beat. She thought he was endearing. “So, um, how long have you been friends with Steve and Robin?” She asked, taking his silence as awkwardness.

“Well you know Henderson—Dustin, I mean, right? Steve babysat him and a few of his other friends like Wheeler and Sinclair back when they were in middle school, and he and I also used to go to school together, so when the kids joined Hellfire we had no choice but to interact more often. But turns out he isn’t as big of a pain in the ass as he used to be, so that’s pretty cool. And Robin, she’s sort of a package deal with Steve but I find her more entertaining than I find him, honestly. Didn’t know they smoked, so that’s a pleasant surprise.” He smirked down at his drink.

“What about you?” He asked her, getting the courage to look at her again, his eyes scanning over her face. “Oh, uh, we went to the Family Video earlier, and they talked us into some movies. But then Sam asked Steve what else there was to do around here, and Robin invited us out.” Y/n nodded.

“And here you are.” He said quietly, sneaking a glance at her lips.

“And here I am.” She agreed as his eyes flicked back up to hers. “Do you wanna step out with me? I needa smoke.” He said dismounting his stool.

Y/n glanced back at their table, Sam listened to Steve chatter about something while Robin made additions here and there. Y/n looked back to Eddie who had slid a cigarette into his mouth and grasped his lighter, waiting for her answer. She nodded with quiet eagerness and followed him through the side door next to the bar.

The squeaky swinging door lead out into the ally where the dumpster sat along with two benches presumably for employees to take their breaks. Eddie plopped down in the space next to the dumpster, leaving the one closest to the door free for her. He patted it affectionately as he brought his light up to his cigarette.

She sat almost immediately, her high excusing her brain to ignore any and all ideas that she may come off as too eager. He held out his lit cigarette to her, and she accepted it keeping her eyes on his.

He smiled as he watched her take a drag and lean back against the brick building to gaze above them at the stars. When she exhaled, the smoke left like a prayer from her lips to the sky. He forgot how to speak momentarily, suddenly feeling as if he were in a dream. His hands remembered he needed to light another for himself, that’d help him.

“So what made you play Poison?” She asked directly. Eddie felt his cheeks flush as he fought a small smile. “Gareth has been bugging me to play it for a few weeks now, I couldn’t take his persistence anymore, ya know?” He said with a shrug and a nonchalant drag of his smoke.

Y/n giggled and swatted his arm playfully before leaning back again to admire the sliver of sky carved out by the buildings surrounding them. He paused for a minute before answering her without taking his eyes off her smoking profile.

“Actually this uh, cute little pothead mentioned it.” He shrugged. Y/n’s head whipped around in a cloud of smoke to meet his eyes, spotting an ornery smile on his face.

“Is that so?” She asked before taking a drag to pacify the heart palpitations she was experiencing. Eddie turned to look at the sky himself, spying the moon peeking over the top of the building in front of them.

He nodded lightly, the smile still playing at his lips from before. “Very much so.” He looked to her lips, the way she was ogling his. Neither of them could tell you which of them leaned in first, but the two came so close their noses grazed one another before Robin all but falls through the door, “I’m sure I saw them come through here!” She said, causing the two to lurch apart, making themselves comfortable on either end of the benches, puffing anxiously at their cigarettes.

“See! There you guys are.” She confirmed to the two men following her. “Y/n M/n L/n, is that a cigarette?” Sam scolds teasingly as Y/n covers her face with her free hand in embarrassment at the use of her middle name.

“You’re middle name is M/n?” Eddie asked with an amused smile on his face. Steve and Robin laughed at Sam as he took his sisters smoke from her to hit it himself. Y/n looked back to Eddie and nodded shyly.

He scooted closer to her, not nearly as close as before, but close. “I like it. It’s cute. Like that girl I was talking about.” He said quietly, gently nudging her shoulder and took a drag from his cigarette.

“So uh, Steve and Robs and I were thinking we’d go back to the car to smoke for a bit, would you like to join us?” Sam asked Y/n but referred to Eddie mainly. She looked to Eddie for an answer, but his heart sank as he looked into her eyes again.

“I wish I could, but I have to get the band home...” He said with disappointment lining his words. Y/n nodded understandingly, returning her gaze to her hands in her lap.

Eddie handed her the rest of his cigarette as an idea popped into his head. “I’d also like to give you a ride home, if that’s cool...” he said to her quietly, her gaze meeting his again at the offer.

“Really?” She whispered.

He smiled warmly at her and nodded, “I’ll probably have to drop you off last, you know, cause of my routine stops but I could definitely squeeze you in.” He teased quietly.

Y/n scoffed and rolled her eyes before standing and handing Eddie’s cigarette back to him to approach her brother who was leaned against the door frame listening to Robins theory about cuffed pants and sexuality. “Samuel, I require a word.” She said in a small posh voice, earning a snicker from Sam the Zooted.

He offered his arm like an English gentleman, and she took it in hers as they took a slow stroll down the alley, discussing in hushed voices.

“Eddie wants to drive me home, and I want him to, is that cool?” She asked nervously. Her brother never overstepped when it came to his sister’s decisions on who she spent her time with, while he always held her safety in high regard, he knew he had no say. Despite that, Y/n still respected his opinion when it came to matters such as these.

He stopped to shoot her an eager look. “Absolutely.” He whispered and gave an encouraging squeeze on her arm as they resumed their walk. She briefly leaned her head on his shoulder affectionately before pulling back to ask “So, Steve’s nice...” and shoot him a knowing look.

Sam wouldn’t meet his sisters eyes but wore a smug smile on his lips. “I know. He’s really nice.” He glanced back at the waiting group, Eddie now leaned against the wall to join Robin and Steve’s conversation.

“Cute too, hmm?” She nudged him again.

“Shut uuup.” He rolled his eyes and retracted his arm from her before turning on his heel to return to the group. “Is it cool if we use like two more prerolls?” He asked her, walking backwards with his keys in hand.

Y/n stopped walking when she reached Eddie, Robin and Steve getting up to follow Sam out of the alley. “Yeah, you just gotta help pay for my next restock.” She said with a devious smile. Sam turned all the way back around and flashed his sister the finger before rounding the corner, Robins laughter fading with their shadows on the sidewalk.

Y/n sighed and plopped back down in her seat at the end of the bench. Eddie quickly scooted back close to her til their thighs were touching, to hand her the cigarette she left with him. She thanked him quietly before taking the final drag and squashing it beneath her foot.

“You ready to get outta here?” He asked, his breath tickling her shoulder. When she turned she didn’t expect him to be as close as he was, but she wasn’t complaining.

He observed the curl of her eyelashes, the outline of her face and the way the night breeze carried her flyaways towards him.

She took a deep breath she didn’t know she needed and nodded, the prickly feeling in her throat returning when she caught a whiff of his spicy cologne she wanted to drown in. Eddie couldn’t help himself when his hand raised and traced her cheekbone and down along her jaw and chin, stroking the round of it with his thumb.

Eddie didn’t know it but this simple sweep of his fingers stole her breath away, and she wanted nothing more than to lean into his touch like a lovesick puppy.

“C’mon, let’s get these nerds dropped off.” He said, standing up to get the door, and holding it open for her as she sat—still recovering from the unexpected affection. Eddie snickered as he looked her over, he loved these moments where she didn’t know how to act, as if he had the ability to flip the power switch in her head and steal all ability to function from her.

Y/n finally noticed his waiting and stood abruptly to walk through the open door. She scanned over the crowd for Eddie’s friends and waited for him to take the lead to find them, when she felt his hand on her lower back. She looked up to him as he tentatively pulled her closer to move through the busy crowd, more people seemed to fill the bar than when they left ten minutes ago.

“Over there,” Eddie nodded to Jeff whose arms were waving over the crowd. Eddie placed both hands on Y/n’s shoulders and he steered her in front of him and through the crowd carefully.

“We ready?” Eddie asked, looking between his friends for confirmation. Gareth ran his eyes over Y/n again and raised his eyebrows at Eddie suggestively.

Eddie rolled his eyes with a smile and turned Y/n around by her shoulders to find their way to the front door. Eddie couldn’t help the constant flickering between his hands and her back and shoulders.

He loved the way her hair brushed his hands as they moved, and he was very surprised at the sensation he felt when someone unexpectedly stepped in front of Y/n, bringing her to a halt and Eddie to run into the back of her. His eyes widened at the tightening of his pants that he’d been fighting all night.

Once they made it through the doors, the freezing night air hit them like a ton of bricks, knocking Y/n’s hair straight back much to Eddie’s delight. He could smell her sweet shampoo, and caught a glimpse of the entire expanse of her neck and shoulders, a glimpse he’d be revisiting for late at night for a while.

Y/n immediately shrunk back into herself, grabbing her arms for warmth. Eddie immediately shrugged off his jacket to drape over her shoulders. “Oh gosh, thank you.” She said with the sweetest smile at him.

Eddie bit back a smile and placed his hand back on her to lead her to the van the two other boys were already headed towards at a determined pace. “Anytime.” He said more lovingly than he meant to and rubbed his hands over her shoulders with vigor for warmth as they crossed the road.

The ride with Gareth and Jeff was more fun than Eddie first expected. He was fully prepared for Gareth to try to destroy his façade, or for Jeff to make some dumb remark at something she contributes to conversation, but of course they loved her.

Y/n played disc jockey, locating the tapes everyone requested on their way through town. Jeff was dropped off first, leaving Gareth to cozy up to the front seat the best he could to talk to Eddie and Y/n.

Eddie loved to hear the way Y/n talked with other people, though a small part of him craved all of her attention and found himself going 10 over the speed limit in a residential area. “Jesus Ed, you’re gonna get pulled over. I didn’t think you had that much to drink.” Gareth said, clinging to the head rests of the front seat for dear life since he wasn’t buckled in.

“I didn’t, I just had lead foot for some reason, sorry, dude.” Eddie explained, easing onto the break. Gareth nodded in understanding and got comfortable again as Eddie pulled into his driveway.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Y/n. Eds, until next time.” He reach over the rest to give Eddie a small brotherly handshake and exited through the back doors, closing them with a brisk slam.

Eddie watched Gareth jog up the walkway to the front door, the moment he’d been anticipating was finally here—they were alone.

“Well, you’re next, I suppose.” He said looking her over. Y/n looked at her watch and read 11:37.

“It’s the weekend, Munson, I don’t have a curfew.” She shrugged. Eddie let out an impressed whistle and raised his eyebrows. “Damn, the world really is our oyster isn’t it?” He asked as he backed out of Gareth’s driveway.

“What do you wanna do?” She asked, anxiety tinting her words. He smirked and briefly looked to her with that wonderful, mischievous glint in his eyes before answering, “Nothing legal.”

-

-

-

@munsonsmel0dy @thincrusttheworks

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson #eddie munson x anxious!reader #eddie munson x stoner!reader #eddie munson fluff #stranger things x reader #stranger things fluff #eddie munson oneshot

[sleepy--anon]

Quackity's Day off

Reblog first, like after

Takes place after Marry Me

Quackity hadn’t felt this content in what felt like years, he'd cut his hair, he'd started dressing cleaner, and he wore his engagement ring proudly on his left hand. He'd told other members of Las Nevadas everything, a few members fawning over the ring. *cough* Sam *cough* Sapnap now also walks around in a suit, all black with a dark red shirt. He's marrying the founder so people treat him with the same respect. Today was a Saturday, things were going slow, Quackity hadn’t received one call or message indicating that he needed to come in. The couple were still in bed in Quackity's penthouse, both wearing sweat pants and a loose t-shirt, just spooning, Quackity loved the secure feeling of being the little spoon. Quackity was awake, he had been for a while, but Sapnap was still asleep, whining and squeezing whenever Quackity made a move to get up.

"Baby..." Quackity whispered, looking over his shoulder, earning a grunt in response.

"We have to get up eventually."

"We could definitely just stay in bed all day." Sapnap’s voice rumbled through the room, deep and gravely from sleep. Quackity rolled his eyes and felt Sapnap press himself even closer, leaning to press warm kisses to his temple and cheek. Quackity smiled widely at the affection, leaning into it as the kisses trailed down his jaw.

"As nice as that sounds...and as much as I want to do that.....I have to be ready to go if they need me." His arm came up to play with his fiancé's hair, eyes fluttering shut, humming when his large warm hand came up and rubbed his chest.

"I'm sure they can handle themselves for one day, you're staying." Sapnap purred against his jawline. Quackity shook his head slightly,

"I really have to get up babe, I cahaHAN’T!" Quackity's little speech was cut off when Sapnap’s once soothing kisses moved down to his neck, brushing his stubble purposefully.

"Hehehey!"

"I think I get to choose when your sexy ass gets up~" Sapnap’s hand that was once on his chest, slid back to pinch and squeeze at his ribs, causing him to snap his arm down.

"HEHEHEY HEHEHEY! COHOHOME OHOHON!" He twisted into the bed and kicked when he just followed. Sapnap chuckled into his neck, which wasn't helping. He then attempted to turn himself back to face Sapnap.

"OHOHOHOHOKAY OHHOHOHOKAY! I'LL STAHAHAY!" That got Sapnap to pull back and return his soothing touches, one arm around him and the other rubbing his arm and leg. Staring lovingly into his eyes, Quackity felt small and embarrassed under his gaze. Part of him loved it, a huge part. Sapnap pressed a kiss to his nose, baring an amused look when he giggled at it and shrunk back.

"Are you just worked up right now or are you seriously that ticklish?" Sapnap began covering his face in kisses, humming when Quackity burst into bright giggles, craving more. He locked their lips and began crawling his fingers up his back, causing Quackity to squeal into the kiss. He pulled back when he raked his fingers along it, basking in loud frantic laughter coming from his lover.

"STOHOHOohohop!" Quackity whined, hiding himself in Sapnap’s neck.

"You embarrassed Patito~? ¿Las cosquillas son demasiado para ti?" Quackity flushed all the way down to his shoulders. Not only was that question ten times more flustering in Spanish but Sapnap new that Quackity was both flattered and heavily attracted to how he sounded speaking Spanish.

"Shut up, you're so unfair!" His voice muffled from how he was pressed against his neck.

"They can handle themselves today, we're gonna relax, even if I have to wreck you to do it."

"I could really use a day off. If you’ll play prince charming and carry me to the jacuzzi and join me I'll definitely say yes... no wrecking required."

Reblog first, like after

#quacknap my beloveds #quacknap #lee!quackity #ler!sapnap #sleepy's fics

[noras-dc-shenanigans]

Distant Relatives | Engrave

Daniel James Fenton

1990-2004

He will forever remain in spirit.

“Seriously?”

Sam leveled a flat look at her boyfriend, who grinned proudly back as the headstone was fully settled into the ground. On his other side, Tucker exchanged an exasperated look with the goth and spoke in a tone to match.

“Ya know, I’m pretty sure designing your own headstone isn’t supposed to happen until, like, a lot later in life. And I’m also pretty sure you’re not supposed to plan, attend, and give a speech at your own funeral. And come on, man, really? ‘Remain in spirit?’ That’s the best ghost pun you could come up with?”

“Hey!” Danny exclaimed, affronted, “I was going for subtlety. And if the Justice League is offering to give me a proper grave for me to get gifts at, I’m gonna do the whole shebang! And it’s not like I’ll ever get a real funeral, anyways, so I’m gonna make the most of it!”

While intended as a joke, the last sentence instead reminded everyone of exactly why they were doing ‘the whole shebang’ in the first place. As of the week before, it’d been five years since Danny had died and resurrected at the safe time, and turned him into a rare Halfa.

In that time, Danny had, accidentally, won the title of Ghost King during a fight with the previous holder. That had subsequently caused him to spend every single Saturday in one of Clockwork’s Time-Out bubbles, learning how to be king.

Occasionally, that had involved CW sending Danny to shadow (heh) other ghost leaders such as Princess Dora, Frostbite, and Pandora. Other times, it was lessons on the Ghost Zone’s history and all the different afterlives it contained. And yet other times, the Master of Time would decide that a practical lesson in using what Danny had learned would be best.

That had meant that, once a month or so, Clockwork would drop Danny into a random city, tell him who/what to look for and/or what to do, and then disappear.

(Danny still wasn’t sure if he’d ever actually left or if the old geezer had just hidden somewhere to watch and laugh.)

That had led to Danny, age 17, accidentally bumping into Batman, Robin (the sword wielding one) and Wonder Woman, who had been looking for the same magical, time-messing-up artifact that CW had sent Phantom after. It was… not a great start, as they’d found him intangibly retrieving (stealing from a museum case) said item, Robin had attacked, Phantom had still been intangible, and Robin had gone straight through him and smacked into the wall, knocking a portrait off and setting the alarm ringing.

That had set them all fleeing for the exits, as they were in an ~Unnamed~ country that would not appreciate people stealing their shiny, new, (blackmarket stolen) exhibit.

Luckily, they’d made it out without being seen, and had been able to sort out the ah, situation. They’d come to an agreement that he would take the piece, as they hadn’t actually been able to come up with a way to contain its magic, and Phantom would also take a League communicator, so that they could coordinate if they wound up after the same thing again.

Over the next few months, one thing led to another and the Justice League discovered that the GIW was blocking anyone in Amity Park from calling them for help. They dug deeper, discovered the Anti-Ecto Acts, and suddenly every major newspaper in the country was writing a story on the ‘Ecto-trocities’. The government, called out about the violations against the Meta-Human Protection laws, were forced to abolish the Acts and disband the GIW.

Shortly thereafter, the League had approached a freshly-18 Phantom about joining up, he’d agreed with the ‘I’m-still-a-dimensional-ruler-though-so-I’ll-mostly-be-available-for-emergencies’ stipulation, and badda-bing badda-boom!

Phantom was officially a member of the Justice League.

Now, obviously, the whole ‘dimensional ruler’ thing had to be explained, especially after they learned the while Halfa situation, and one day, outta the blue, Batman had asked if Phantom had ever gotten a proper burial.

This of course had led to Phantom having to come clean about his Danny Fenton half, and that no, he hadn’t, and even though graves and final rites were considered very important in ghost culture he wasn’t really dead so he couldn’t have a funeral and getting a headstone seemed weird on his own ya’ know?

And… well. Apparently, he hadn’t come off as casual as he’d been trying to, because a week later he was offered an official funeral service and a grave stone in a high-securing cemetery reserved strictly for heroes, to prevent grave robbery and desecration.

So here Danny was, watching a gravestone that he’d designed being placed under a tree, as without a body they didn’t have to worry about roots. Sam and Tucker continued to nag him about his engraving choice, all the way through the funeral, and Danny’s speeches, and also their own speeches, as they were the only ones ‘in-the-know’ that had been invited. He was still working up the courage to tell his parents, and Jazz was present but declined to speak, citing some psychological mumbo-jumbo.

All in all, it was a fantastic funeral, if Danny did say so himself, and he got some awesome grave gifts! His favorites were the gold drachma from Wonder Woman and the moon rock from Superman.

Later that night, alone in the dark, thankfully still-mostly empty cemetery, he stood gazing down at his own grave, and the gifts, and the engraving, and smiled.

————

A day late due to having to deal with car issues, but still done! I have the start of a different route I was taking for this but couldn’t get to finish, so I might post that at a later date.

#DPxDCFamilyWeek #justice league #danny fenton #sam manson #tucker foley

[cassieuncaged]

WIP Saturday

Tagged by @socially-awkward-skeleton. Thanks, Skelly!

No pressure tags: @emotionalcadaver, @poisonedtruth, @emilynightshade89, @illiana-mystery, @imwithyoutiltheendofthelinebucky, @voidika, @unholymilf, @roofgeese, @firstaidspray, @captastra, @kyber-infinitygems, @confidentandgood and whoever else would like to share!

Have a snippet from the first chapter of the Grave Bound Redux.

Book One: The Folly of War

              Chapter 1

The razor buzzed with menace as the metal teeth scraped at the back of his neck. Another tuft of thick hair fell to the ground, mirroring the men in the chairs to either side. Elias cringed, eyes closed as the trimming continued.

“Stop wincing, Nancy.” the army man grunted, continuing to shave the shaggy mop until the private was left a jarhead. “Hair’s too fucking long, anyways.”

Tears were held back as it felt like an entire identity was being swallowed by the painful uniformity of the military. He wasn’t an individual anymore but a cog in a brutal machine. It didn’t help that he’d been served divorce papers a day earlier. A punch to the gut in spite of being expected. Elias supposed he hoped that Jeannie would give up the LSD and sleazy Los Angeles parties for him.

Apparently that was incorrect.

Then he had the choice between jail time or joining the fight in Vietnam. He should’ve just done the seven years instead of risking his life for God knew how long. The man to his left looked to be no older than eighteen, stony face still chubby with baby fat. Pink lips quivered as the kid attempted to stay strong. They all knew there was a good chance they were being shipped out to their graves from Fort Ord.

“You’re done, private.” The man exclaimed before pushing him up onto booted feet. Elias felt naked as he left the tent before falling into line with the rest of the men. A mob of army greens, he walked in a trance amongst hopeful soldiers ready to serve.

They shipped out at sunrise, taking a chopper to base camp at Cu Chi.

His gut churned as he wondered how long he’d last. A day? A month? An entire year? That was if he could keep himself alive that long.

Tomorrow they flew out to Vietnam. 25th Infantry.

Manhood felt as though it was delayed until this moment, being thrown into the jaws of a raging war. Even the leader of the free world cared a little about the men that were dying. He’d become another statistic and no one would think a thing about it.

“You excited, Grodin?” Doyle, another private, clapped him on the shoulder. The kid was all but twenty years old and green as summer grass. Scrawny with the bristle of chestnut hair decorating his skull, it became apparent that he was ecstatic to be shipped into the thick of it. Ready to wield a an AK-47 and pick off those commie bastards.

It was surprising how many people actually felt that way.

“Delighted.” He added flatly, pulling a pack of cigarettes from one pocket. One was offered to Doyle who gladly accepted. “Ready to start my tour and get it over with.”

“Aren’t you ready to do your part? Do your duty for Uncle Sam?” The kid rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, unprepared for someone so unimpressed with the reality of war. Afterall, it did feel rather treasonous not to support one’s country.

Elias didn’t care.

“Guess I’m doing it now, private.” A plume of smoke expelled from wide lips as he headed back to the barracks.

#wip whenever #wip #snippets #tw: war

[ardentguilt]

Ancestors Playlists

Putting these in the one post for convenience.

HANDMAID:

Ciara - Paint It Black

Blue Stahli - Corner

Eivor - Into The Mist

Blackbriar - Snow White And Rose Red

Digital Daggers - The Devil Within

Nostalghia - Nervosa Rex

Natasha Blume - Black Sea

I Monster - Who Is She?

SIGNLESS:

Riverside - The Day After

12 Stones - World So Cold

Icon For Hire - Too Loud (Acoustic)

Imminence - Death Of You

RED - Not Alone

Aviators - Bulletproof

Adam Lambert - Underneath

Sixx A.M. - Skin

SUMMONER:

Pop Evil - Footsteps

Slydigs - Light The Fuse

Nickelback - Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)

Billy Talent - Red Flag

Emigrate - Spitfire

The International Noise Conspiracy - Smash It Up

Skillet - Feel Invincible

Celldweller - End Of An Empire

PSIIONIC:

Starset - Waiting On The Sky To Chang

Celldweller - It Makes No Difference Who We Are

Gary Numan - Ghost Nation

Kasabian - Club Foot

The Bloody Beetroots - My Name Is Thunder

Offspring - Dividing By Zero

Celldweller - Symbiont (Live Version)

Blue Stahli - Throw Away

DISCIPLE:

CHELLA - Heart Shaped Box

Sam Perry - Only Love

Digital Daggers - Feel Like Falling

Iron & Wine - Evening On The Ground

Halestorm - Beautiful With You

Fit For Rivals - Can't Live Without You

Damned Anthem - Zombie

Metric - Artificial Nocturne

DOLOROSA:

Leaves' Eyes - Scarborough Fair (Acoustic)

Meg Myers - Running Up That Hill

Lacey Sturm - The Soldier

In This Moment - Joan Of Arc

Blackbriar - I'd Rather Burn

Nostalghia - Stockholm Syndrome

Halestorm - Heart Of Novocaine

Spinnerette - Baptized By Fire

REDGLARE:

Enter The Haggis - Year Of The Rat

Meg Myers - Searching For The Truth

MOTHICA - Absinthe

Blue Foundation - Eyes On Fire

Garbage - Vow

Bexley - Run Rabbit Run

A Perfect Circle - Blue

Fit For Rivals - Agent Orange

MINDFANG:

Blackbriar - Arms Of The Ocean

Temposhark - Little White Lie

Depeche Mode - I Am You

Margo - Repeat After Me

DEZI - Venus In Gemini

Malukah - Sinking Ships

Sister Sin - Stones Thrown

8 Graves - Eye For An Eye

DARKLEER:

Beast In Black - Heart Of Steel

Greta Van Fleet - The Archer

Adelitas Way - Dog On A Leash

Lhasa De Sela - Anywhere On This Road

Emily Jane White - Requiem Waltz

Sarah Jaffe - Two Intangibles Can't Be Had

Matthew And The Atlas - Out Of The Darkness

A Perfect Circle - Weak And Powerless (Acoustic)

GRAND HIGHBLOOD:

The Riggs - Devil's Playground

Egypt Central - White Rabbit

Heaven's Basement - I Am Electric

Emigrate - Eat You Alive

Five Finger Death Punch - Welcome To The Circus

Saliva - Ladies And Gentlemen

Ice Nine Kills - Ex Mortis

I Prevail - Long Live The King

DUALSCAR:

Bear Bear And Friends - LOVE MYSELF

Saint Chaos - Blind Spot

Inglorious - Barracuda

MISSIO - Bottom Of The Deep Blue Sea

VUKOVI - La Di Da

Puddle Of Mudd - Control

Motionless In White - Wasp

In This Moment - Hunting Grounds

THE CONDESCE:

WE ARE FURY - Crown

Icon For Hire - Sticks And Stones

Innerpartysystem - Don't Stop

Nico Vega - Million Years

Recoil - Want

DeathbyRomy - I Kill Everything

Ive Levan - The Dame Says

CRMNL - Wicked As They Come

#music #ancestors playlists

[mewtwoevolution]

So in this universe are you Mews/Twos following mammal habits with your kits? Nursing young, being maternal/paternal, ect? And if that's the case, who will be taking over raising Beansprout since One is in such a unique position.

There’s a post as part of my growing queue of Saturday Plot posts that answers this. But since that’ll be a while off.

Yes, Mew follow mammalian rules to a point but they also don’t? They do pregnancy for internal development up until the last trimester, then they have an egg and the baby is supposed to develop there until hatching. There was two instances of baby mews not forming eggs at birth though and that was Grave, and Omega. Technically Sprout can be added now since she never had an egg either.

Alpha wasn’t born they don’t count.

They don’t produce milk either but the later gen mews did enlist Milktanks just cause Moomoo Milk is so nutritious they seek it out for the healthiest kits. Sprout is gonna have moomoo milk that’s fortified into a proper baby formula.

The mewtwo genetics team will be caring for him, with the Mirage Program of course keeping an eye over night with a night time feeder to make sure Sprout develops properly. It’s a volunteer basis but of course the team lead will lead by example and volunteer too. So at least 9, Glim, Tyler, and several of their human coworkers will take turns. Gemini would but Sam is a bit irrationally terrified by how tiny Sprout is and they’re a packaged deal and all that.

#ask #ask blog #mew oc #mew lore #mewtwo oc #sprout is barely two and a half months developed #he’s gonna be small for a while being that preme #which is great cause I get to make fun things later about the tiny baby running around if they make it #even if they don’t I can still make those posts as what-ifs #I know the answer #but you guys don’t #if you know then you know #also to the commenter that keeps asking things in comments #I answer asks #just slow at it #I don’t answer comments usually #bonus very last tag #no one’s pointed out sprouts tag lol

[acrossthewavesoftime]

Those moments when you unexpectedly happen across something you only know about because of or through your niche special interest...

I was just reading an article on the election results in Northern Ireland in my first language and was surprised to stumble across Samuel Graves' hometown.

...Which in turn reminded me of my suspicions that back in the olden days when the local constituency was called Londonderry County instead of Mid Ulster, Samuel was involved in a little bit of election fraud with the local candidate, one Thomas Conolly.

I still need to go and visit the relevant archives one day to satisfy my curiosity in that regard.

#r rambles #samuel graves #sam graves saturday #election #northern ireland #how he was perceived in terms of nationality and what he considered himself as would make for an intriguing post #18th century #british history #irish history

[deadguydeathmatch]

Welcome to the Dead Guy Death Match Elimination Round!

Due to the broad nature of death as a concept, most of the submitted characters only received a few votes each causing a massive tie. I figured the fairest way to sort out this issue would be to hold an elimination round to let you guys vote on who you want to make it into the bracket.

There will be two elimination rounds the first of which will start on Monday the 3rd of April at 3pm BST and the second will start on Saturday the 8th of April at 3pm BST.

Elimination Round 1 will feature polls of 5 or 6 unrelated characters (all of the matchups were generated randomly) for you to vote on. The lowest voted character will be eliminated and all of the remaining options will progress to the bracket.

Elimination Round 2 will feature polls of differing numbers of characters from the same or similar media and only the highest ranked character among them will progress to the bracket, all of the others will be eliminated.

Both sets of polls will last 24 hours.

I've tried my best to only include official images for all of the characters on the polls but I'm not familiar with every series listed so, when the polls go up, if you notice I've used a fanart or cosplay image without permission or credit please let me know and I'll add credit and correct it for any future appearances of that character.

The matchups are listed under the read more and hyperlinked to the polls

I apologise if I’ve accidentally spelled something wrong or used a wrong name for something, I’m not familiar with every series listed.

There will be spoilers for many series ahead.

Round 1-

Poll 1-

Leif- Bug Fables

Claire Foley- Professor Layton

Magne- My Hero Academia

Koki Kariya- The World Ends With You

Matsuri Kanroji- Demon Slayer

Tiso- Hollow Knight

Poll 2-

Polly Geist- Monster Prom

Beetlejuice- Beetlejuice

Kim Namwoon- Omnicient Reader’s Viewpoint

King Arthur- King Arthur

Chidi Anagonye- The Good Place

Duncan- Dragon Age

Poll 3-

Breakdown- Transformers

Varl- Horizon

Captain Orimar Vale- Skyjacks Podcast

Deep Throat- The X-Files

Connor Murphy- Dear Evan Hansen

Poll 4-

Catherine Earnshaw- Wurthering Heights

Johannes Cabal- Horst Cabal

Mr Boddy- Clue

Galivar Kholin- Stormlight Archive

Seth Gordon- All For The Game

Poll 5-

Jay Gatsby- The Great Gatsby

Billy Loomis- Scream

Esmeralda- The Hunchback of Norte Dame Novel

Kili- The Hobbit

Charles Vane- Black Sails

Poll 6-

Ned Stark- Game of Thrones

Hua Cheng- Heaven’s Official Blessing

Skelly- Hades

Nate- Levarage

Owen Carvour- Spies Are Forever

Poll 7-

Andre Grandier- Rose Of Versailles

Ash Lynx- Banana Fish

Jade Irinka- Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish Granting Engine

Hugo Oak- Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

Evelyn Hooper- Less is Morgue

Poll 8-

Pandora Hearts- Xerxes Break

Bow- Inanimate Insanity

Sam Cortland- Throne of Glass

Matoro- Bionicle

Tigerstar- Warrior Cats

Poll 9-

Deadman- DC Comics

Bunny Corcoran- The Secret History

Adam Faulkner-Stanheight- Saw

Tobias Tattersall Hawthorne- The Inheritance Games

La Signora- Genshin Impact

Poll 10-

Erik- The Phantom of the Opera

Diggory Graves- Hello from the Hallowoods

Max- Sam and Max

Nicholas D Wolfwood- Trigun

Pip Pirrip- South Park

Poll 11-

Pedro Madrigal- Encanto

Midori- Your Turn To Die

Charles Foster Kane- Citizen Kane

Rufus Emeterio- They Both Die at the End

Tuuri- Stand Still Stay Silent

Poll 12-

Manny Calavera- Grim Fandango

Howard Hamlin- Better Call Saul

Tanya McQuoid- White Lotus

Diallos Hoslow- Elden Ring

Sayaka Miki- Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Poll 13-

Meiji “Menma” Honma- Anoha: The Flower We Saw That Day

Chiyoko Fujiwara- Millenium Actress

Mari- Omori

Simon Karin- Pathologic

Lee Everett- The Walking Dead

Poll 14-

Rachel Amber- Life is Strange

Jason Grace- Riordanverse

Violet Harmon- American Horror Story

Vylad Ro’Meave- Minecraft Diaries

Chara- Undertale

Poll 15-

River Song- Doctor Who

Queen Serenity- Sailor Moon

Sliver of Straw- Rain World

Manny- Swiss Army Man

Mr Nobody- Transistor

Poll 16-

Shizu- Slime Tensei

Michael Afton- Five Nights at Freddy’s

Neil Perry- Dead Poet’s Society

Silhouette- Watchmen comics

Garret Jacob Hobbs- Hannibal

Poll 17-

Junpei Yoshino- Jujitsu Kaisen

Okudera- Yakuza 5

Shinichiro Sano- Tokyo Revengers

Yuri Nakamura- Angel Beats

Emily- Corpse Bride

Round 2-

The Owl House-

Flapjack

Caleb Wittebane

Star Wars-

Kanan Jarrus

Obi Wan Kenobi

Fives

Torchwood-

Owen Harper

Ianto Jones

Ace Attorney-

Mia Fey

Deid Mann

Critical Role-

Laudna

Mollymauk Tealeaf

Star Trek-

Jennifer Sisko

Spock

Tasha Yar

Hamlet-

Hamlet

Ophelia

Dracula-

Quincey Morris

Dracula

Marvel-

Loki

Tony Stark

Natasha Romanoff

Final Fantasy-

Haurchefant

Aerith Gainsborough

Ysale Dangulain

The Last Of Us-

Joel Miller

Sarah Miller

Riley Abel

The Vampire Diaries-

Nora Hildegard

Stefan Salvatore

Klaus Mikaelson

Avatar: The Last Airbender-

Avatar Kyoshi

Avatar Roku

Jet

Hatoful Boyfriend-

Nageki Fujishiro

Ryuuji Kawara

Black Butler-

Grelle Sutcliffe

Angelina Dalles

How To Train Your Dragon-

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock 2

Stoick The Vast

Les Miserables-

Gavroche Thenardier

Eponine Thenardier

Supernatural-

John Winchester

Castiel

Buffy The Vampire Slayer-

Jenny Calender

Tara Maclay

Arcane-

Silco

Vander

Infinity Train-

Tuba

Simon Laurant

Sally Face-

Sal Fisher

Larry Johnson

Ghosts-

Pat Butcher

Pete Martino

#Elimination Round #Elimination Round 1 #Elimination Round 2 #Tournament Updates #Tournament Dates #For the sake of my sanity I'm not going to tag every spoiler and series on this post but i will on the polls #dead characters #spoilers

[wastemanjohn]

happy deanjohn friday!! does JOHN know about dean and bobby and how do you want him to find out?

happy deanjohn friday to you also (or Saturday now!) ❤ and thanks for the ask this is so spicy!!

maybe a less spicy answer though: i actually think that john would never ever find out. i don't even think he would ever suspect - kind of similar to what's been brought up about bobby suspecting johndean, i think that works both ways - if john notices anything slightly strange in their interactions his first thought is not going to be "well they're obviously bumping uglies" - he'd find other, way less extreme explanations before he landed there. it's uncomfortable as fuck to think about, but bobby has also been a parental figure in dean's life - someone john has trusted, which, no matter how sour his and bobby's relationship obviously got later, trusting bobby to take care of his kids would have been a huge deal for someone as paranoid as john. so later in life, when dean is an adult, it would just not occur to him that deanbobby could ever be the case. plus i'm also not sure how tuned in john is to other people to even notice much about them anyway! he's quite self absorbed. that no doubt extends to dean.

and dean - i don't see dean keeping, or being able to keep, many secrets from john. but there's no way he's ever telling john about this. he well knows that bobby wouldn't be long for this world if he ever did. and if we're talking background johndean - then dean also knows that for john to find out would be very bad for him. no one wants their husband to know that they're secretly banging their best friend, right? i think i see bobby as an escape from john, that bobby can maybe give him things that john can't. consistency. appreciation. undivided attention - a lonely old man like bobby is not going to take a pretty young thing in his bed for granted, and he isn't going to take dean for granted generally. dean may not even be conscious that this is what it's about for him - and he may feel very conflicted and guilty about it. but it's all the more reason for john to never know - because it would be admitting to both john and to himself that john isn't willing or able to give him what he needs. that would be so painful for dean to confront i think. john too, probably - he does not great things and behaves in not great ways. but i think he at least feels a lot of guilt about them.

bobby, obviously, is not going to let on. to protect dean and to protect himself. he too knows that john would kill him and probably not just metaphorically lol. i think bobby would be super conflicted and confused about the whole thing as it is - for maybe obvious reasons - but that's another post.

but yeah- ultimately i see deanbobby as something that happens in a great amount of secrecy. i don't know about anyone else but to me dean and bobby having a sexual relationship feels way more taboo than john and dean having one - which is crazy, but biological or not, i can't see bobby as anything other than dean's dad. i actually always felt low key squicked about shipping them until some very indepth and convincing conversations with @vintagedean recently. i know bobby also has his own not-small flaws and not everyone is as up his arse as i am lol - but anyway, to me that taboo is definitely reflected in any relationship they have. they aren't talking about it or acknowledging it unless it's happening. they're not being lax about hiding it from sam, they really don't want him to know either. it only ever happens in bobby's house, and only when no one else is around. it's something they'll both probably take to their grave.

so how would i want john to find out? i don't think i do. for me personally the secrecy/shame/extramarital affair angle is a huge part of the appeal of this ship. though i'm sure it would cause dean a lot of anxiety - getting back into bed with john after a solo hunt, knowing full well he took a detour on the way back, still a little sore and dazed from bobby - but he knows, deep down, that john isn't going to notice. he doesn't seem to notice much at all.

#asks #dadfucker friday #this got so long lol sorry vicky I feel like this was a very roundabout answer

[bluebird722]

Lost Boys Headcanons, Pt. 2

Because Tumblr now had a character limit. More headcanons after the events of the movie.

Prior to meeting Star, Michael had a few albeit casual girlfriends in Phoenix. When Star moved in with the Emersons, Michael worried that Lucy wouldn’t approve. One morning, when Star was sleeping in and Michael woke up early to work out, Lucy walked him to the front porch, made sure that he was happy with Star, and then said, “I know you’re becoming a man and making your own decisions, and I respect that. I can’t tell you what to do and not do with your body, and I’m not going to tell you not to have sex. I just want you to be responsible, so if you have any questions about protection or need advice, I’ll be happy to help, no judgment at all.” From then on, Michael’s relationship with his mother was different for the better. 

As much as Laddie likes cuddling to and playing with stuffed animals, he also enjoys dancing to hard rock and watching action movies.

At some point, Edgar and Alan made Lucy their emergency contact at school.

Anytime Michael does or says something that embarrasses Sam, either at school or in front of the Frogs, Sam tells Star a humiliating story that, if given his way, Michael would have preferred the family take to the grave. Star laughing makes it worse for Michael.

Lucy helps Star get a job at the video store so she and Michael could afford their own apartment.

Ever since the battle, Alan has referred to Laddie as “Eddie Munster” even after he found out that the character was a werewolf. 

The Frogs remained weary of Michael for a while until, to take their mind off their unhappy home lives, he taught them how to drive in an empty parking lot on Saturday afternoons before they opened their shop. Sam had rarely seen them that happy before. 

Sometimes Laddie will play with some of the animals that Grandpa stuffs (e.g. squirrels, raccoons) as if they were toys. Lucy’s one condition is that he doesn’t leave them in the kitchen or bathroom.

Star is actually better than Michael at most games on the boardwalk.

Every year, Star, Laddie, the Emersons, and the Frogs attend a vigil for all of the missing children and adolescents of Santa Carla. The former were all shocked when they learned how many of Edgar and Alan’s classmates and friends since preschool, starting as young as five, have never been found.

Michael intended to drop out of school and work full time, but when he realized that the homeless and runaway problem in town was greater than he assumed, he finished high school, worked a full-time job and attended night classes, and became a counselor for troubled teens and children from divorced families. He hopes that he can save at least one more life from the risk of his own near-destructive life path.

Star and Michael stopped walking alone with Laddie because they received too many judgmental looks from strangers assuming that they were teen parents.

Edgar collects every Stephen King book he can find and hopes to have a collection of every short story by King.

Sometimes the Frog brothers will sit on Michael’s back when he does push ups. Laddie likes to go for the ride, and Sam will read a comic book as he challenges Michael.

#the lost boys

[uneasylisteningradio]

Small Things August 26, 2023

stream on mixcloud

Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night Candy Machine - Humming Clutter

DJ speaks over. John Lurie National Orchestra - Little

Françoise Hardy - Ce petit cœur The Savage Resurrection - Every Little Song Malvina Reynolds - The Little Mouse Swell Maps - My Little Shops Parsnip - Feeling Small

DJ speaks over Brian Eno - Little Fishes

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers - I'm a Little Airplane Skip Spence - Little Hands Baby Buddha - Little Things 10LEC6 - Little Red Walk Dirt - Wooden Gun The Flower Children - Mini-Skirt Blues Hogsnort Rupert - Little Bird

DJ speaks over Wire - Small Electric Piece

Marlowe - Small Business The Carter Family - Little Black Train The Just Measurers - Petites Guirlandes Trees - Little Black Cloud (1969 Demo) Catherine Desmarets - Les Petites Croix

DJ speaks over ESG - Tiny Sticks

Klaatu - Little Neutrino The Bubblegum - Little Red Bucket Christmas - Little Book of Lies Taraf de Haïdouks - Little Buds The Berlin Wall - My Little Finger

DJ speaks over Information - Little Pony

Saboten - 箱庭 Hakoniwa (Miniature Garden) Nightcrawlers - The Little Black Egg Earl Johnson - The Little Grave In Georgia Chumbawamba - To a Little Radio No Trend - Mindless Little Insects Memphis Jug Band - Little Green Slippers The Rousers - Little Tragedy

Sam & Dave - Small Portion of Your Love Gertrude - small change Karo - Un garçon en mini-jupe Little Assassins - Ant at Your Feet

The Raincoats - No One's Little Girl

#small #little #tiny #radio #community radio #wprb #punk #music #playlist #post punk #new wave #hardcore punk #garage rock #ye-ye girls #soul #folk #hip hop #prog rock #indie pop #bubblegum pop

[tllgrrl]

Formal Introduction by @tllgrrl aka Nefertiri Jones

@sarahbuckybingo 2023 Summer Prompt Fest - Week 3: Bucky Barnes & Cass and AJ Wilson

(Note: Originally posted 19 July 2023. Accidentally deleted and reposted 30 July due to Pilot Error. Apologies and Thanks to everyone who Liked/Reblogged the original post.)

* * * * * * * * * *

Cassius Casper Wilson’s vault isn’t old and fragile like many in the old cemetary, but on his birthday, when Sarah and their two sons visit, they still lovingly tend to it to make sure it looks nice. They bring the old red Radio Flyer—formerly Sam’s and Sarah’s now belonging to Cass and AJ—loaded with brooms, brushes, cleaning rags, and a couple of spray bottles of water, along with flowers, sun hats and a small ice chest of cold soft drinks.

On the way there, Cass and AJ tell Bucky about how graves are above ground in New Orleans, that there are famous people buried in the city—including “a real pirate”—and they tell him about some of the special customs people do at graves. Sarah elaborates on those.

Initially, the man formerly known as the “Winter Soldier” had some trepidations about being in the midst of so much death, after decades of he himself being the cause of so many deaths, but before they all left for the cemetery, he placed a brown paper bag containing a few special items into the red wagon that the boys took turns pulling to the gravesite.

He was at a cemetery in New Orleans with Sarah and her sons, because the boys asked him to come with them.

* * * * * * * * * *

Two weeks earlier, sitting at his desk, going over some maps and blueprints for Team Cap’s upcoming mission, he could hear them coming up the stairs talking.

He couldn’t help the smile that started in his chest.

He knew they were heading up to the attic because they didn’t slow down at the landing to go to their room. After a few seconds of excited whispering, two small fists knocked on his door, so he closed his laptop and turned his chair to face the door.

“Yes?”

“Can we come in?” Cass spoke first. “We have something important to ask you.”

“But we can ask you later if you’re doing a Uncle Cap computer meeting!” AJ offered.

“Hey! Come on in, fellas!”

They tumbled into his room, and rushing over to his desk, immediately began their pitch:

“Daddy’s birthday—“

“It’s next Saturday, and—“

“Nuh-uh! Next Saturday is Free Comic Book Day!”

“Oh yeah! Daddy’s birthday is Saturday after next!”

“And we go visit him. Mama and us.”

“And we tell him about stuff like school—“

“—and Little League, and books I been reading and—“

“Mathletes and Star Wars!”

“And we want you to come too this time.”

“Because you and Mama are all going steadily!” AJ says to Bucky like it’s still kind of a secret.

“Ah…going steadily, huh?” Bucky leaned back in his chair, nodded thoughtfully, and through the window, he heard the squeak of the screen door below, Sarah softly singing to herself as she walked down the porch steps, turned on the spigot and pulled the water hose over to the vegetable garden.

“AJ!” Cass dramatically ran one hand down his face, then leaned over and whispered into his little brother's ear.

“I mean going steady,” the young boy said, crossing his arms and mirroring Bucky’s thoughtful nod.

“So…do you want to come? Mama says you might not want to, and we understand if you don’t, but…”

Bucky sat up, rested a hand on each knee and gathered his thoughts before he spoke because the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint them.

“Listen. I know visiting your father on his birthday is a special thing you do. You and Mom. Are you sure you guys want—”

“Heck yeah we do!” Cass insists.

“We have to introduce you to him. You’re family now. You’re our Bucky!”

Looking at their faces, he sees their mom, and their father, who he’s seen photos of. He even sees a hint of Sam, along with his and Sarah’s parents Paul and Darlene Wilson.

He sees the family that he’s somehow now a part of, and he thinks about his own family: his Pa, Ma, and his sister Rebecca, all now long gone.

(You’re family now. You’re our Bucky.)

The boys saw him look down at his now clasped hands. One flesh and blood, warm. The other one metal and wires and…

They’ve seen him think like this before, and for a few seconds they’re sure he might not want to come with them just yet. Then he looked up at them, placed one hand on Cass’s shoulder, and the other hand on AJ’s.

“Cass, AJ, I would be honored to be introduced to your father. Thanks for inviting me.”

“Yesss!!!” The boys high-fived each other, and fist pounded the youngish old man sitting in front of them.

“We gotta go tell mama!! Thanks Uncle Bucky!!”

“Any time, fellas!”

He sat and listened as the small tornado of boys rushed down the stairs.

“Goin’ steadily…” he mused, not trying to keep the grin from turning into a full-out smile.

A few minutes later, in the middle of writing about extraction logistics and post-mission debriefing, he looked up from his notes, stood, walked over to the window, and looked down at the boys and Sarah across the yard, in the garden.

Narrowing his focus, he could hear them.

“Mama! Guess what?”

“He said yes!!”

“Oh, really?” She smiled, adjusting Cass’ askew glasses. “He did?”

“YES!!” the boys say in unison.

She gathered her sons into her arms, kissing them on the tops of their heads. Then she looked up at the attic window. He knows she can’t really see him from there, but he could read her lips as she mouthed “Thank you.”

He went back to his desk, picked up his phone, pressed a button, spoke, and after a few rings…

“Hey, Sam. Yeah, fine. We’re all fine. You? Good to hear.

Well…yes. I am happy. What? I’m not grumpy all the time, Samuel.

Listen. You got a minute? I have a few questions about Cass’s and AJ’s father, and about traditions.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Also posted HERE on The AO3.

* * * * * * * * * *

::ICYMI::

@sarahbuckybingo Summer Prompt Fest

Week 1 - July 1-7 Prompt: Cookout

#bucky barnes & cass wilson & aj wilson #bucky barnes #cass & aj wilson #sarah wilson #sarahbucky #buckysarah #sarah x bucky #bucky x sarah #sarah wilson x bucky barnes #bucky barnes x sarah wilson #fleur de louve #sarahbucky bingo #sarahbuckybingo #sarahbucky summer 2023 #sarahbucky summer prompts fest #prompt: cookout #moodboard by tllgrrl