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munsonsreputation · 9 months

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I THINK THERES BEEN A GLITCH

CHAPTER THREE: SITUATION-SHIP

↢ chapter two | series masterlist | chapter four ↣

steve harrington x fem!baker + artist

word count: [9.5K]

warnings: no use of y/n, talks / mentions of self deprecation, mental spiral (overwhelming thoughts and anxiety), steve being an overthinking mess, overall fluffiness bcs we all need it rn.

summary: when Robin calls you with an impromptu invite to Hawkins you can't turn it down especially when you've been dying for an excuse to see Steve again. but it all comes to a daunting turn as Steve endures a night full of prodding and pestering by his friends. it gets the best of him, taking him down the familiar road of anxiety and fear, but that was before you strayed towards his side, showing him that this situation isn't as complicated as it seems.

“Look into his angel eyes, one look and you’re hypnotized…”

You hummed along softly with your hand on your hip standing in front of the kettle that boiled slowly on the stove. It was nearly midmorning and though you weren’t an early bird yourself, it felt nice to roll out of bed with the hope that today was going to be better…you were going to be better.

And better meant making an effort, one that probably would go nowhere, but at least you tried. It was about time you pulled yourself out of the slump instead of sitting around waiting for yourself to magically get yanked out of it with ease. Instead, you set the mood, turning your living room into its usual workspace that would hopefully help you get into the groove of things.

The curtains had been drawn letting the sunshine cascade the walls and floorboards of your apartment.

Your new ABBA record spinning on the turn table beside a freshly lit candle.

Paint bottles, brushes, and other material had been set on the coffee table, ready to be put to use.

A new canvas on the easel already primed and just waiting for you to step forward and bring your art to life.

“Okay,” You sighed, nodding to yourself as you took a sip of your hot coffee and walked towards your living room.

Setting down the mug after taking another sip, you reached for your sketchbook, flipping through the pages that you had filled over the course of the past few days. It wasn’t anything too out of this world, just scenes in your head that were committed to memory and couldn’t stop thinking about.

Four pages were full of rough sketches:

A piece of half eaten cherry pie on a plate.

A vase of flowers sitting on a window sill.

A pile of quarters sitting next to a jukebox.

And a silhouette of a man who looked way too much like Steve — shirtless and covered in beauty marks where he stood in your living room.

Who were you kidding? It was Steve. All four sketches had to do with him… the muse if you will.

The half eaten pie was a flashback to your first time meeting him and the longing gazes you two would share in his living room. The vase of flowers took you back to the day where he came over with summer arrangements in his hands. The pile of quarters reliving the moment he asked you to dance and gave you all his pocket change just so you could listen to your favorite songs over dinner.

And of course, shirtless Steve, a beautiful reminder that he was living in your head no matter how far apart you were and how blurry the lines between you both were drawn. Friends had a nice title to it, but there was that gnawing feeling of more, a kind of relationship you couldn’t quite place.

Embarrassingly enough, the sketch didn’t take you long. You even mapped out the littlest of details like the three moles he had resting on his stomach and the hair that decorated his chest.

‘It’s ten in the morning and you’re thinking about Steve, that’s so pathetic,’

Sure it was utterly pathetic and honestly downright ridiculous but you couldn’t sit there and pretend like you weren’t affected by him. Even if the sketch didn’t do real life Steve any justice, it was still Steve. The Steve that would send you into a love sick daze if you decided to paint him today so instead you opened for the slice of cake, just as memorable as shirtless Steve.

With the graphite pencil in your dominant hand, you used light strokes against the canvas, roughing out the original sketch and creating a guide that would make it easier for you to paint in sections. The details like the crumbs sitting on the plate and the mush from the cherries didn’t correspond the way you’d like just yet, but you know it’s part of the process and once the paint hits, it’ll come together eventually.

“Not bad,” You whispered under your breath, dropping the pencil down and stepping back to see the composition.

You had drawn the plate sitting against his wooden coffee table, a few crumbs littered across the dish with the fork resting on the edge. It’s a simple scene, something that you shouldn’t have to tilt your head at and begin to pick apart, but you do so without realizing it’s that incessant criticism again.

Even if it’s just a sketch, you’re already imagining the colors clashing together and looking murky if you even think about painting it. The pie itself doesn’t even look half eaten, instead it looks like it had been torn apart from the inside by maggots — disgusting and revolting.

“Nope, c’mon, get it together,” You shut your eyes tightly, shaking your head back and forth as if that would make the gnawing thoughts leave your head.

When you opened your eyes you could picture the slimy larvae creatures moving across the plate and onto the fork, making you groan as you flopped back onto the couch and ran your fingers through your scrap tugging at your roots frustratedly.

All of it felt so fucking impossible and you weren’t sure why. Maybe it was the fact that you weren’t strong enough to combat your own goddamn thoughts and pick yourself up or maybe it was beginning to dawn on you that your spark was gone.

The ideas that you had in your head and even the sketches that filled your book was just the remainder of what was left. Before you knew it, it was all going to be gone eventually and you’d have to settle for the fact that your dreams as an artist were going to be crushed. And not because someone else was telling you that you couldn’t do it, but because at the end of the day it was always you.

Where was the girl who was sitting across from Steve at the diner that she painted all by herself? Where was the girl who looked around that same diner and realized that her potential was not limited by herself? Where was that girl who powered through all that stress and walked away with all the experience that made her better?

Where was she now and how could you find her again?

RING! RING! RING!

The search party was over pretty quickly, you weren’t even sure if you would have been able to find her in the first place. Reaching for the phone from where you were sitting, you picked it up and pressed it to your ear while you relaxed your head back against the cushions.

“Yellow,” You answered with a heavy breath.

A gasp rang from the other line with excitement, “Green! Are we going in order of ROYGBIV?!”

The voice on the other line immediately erased the frown on your face, calming the anxiety that was brewing in your chest as soon as Robin came through when you needed her the most.

“Robs!” You greeted happily this time, “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” you asked, sitting up somewhat.

She let out a “mhm!”, and you could hear some noise, probably something on the tv that she was playing to pass the time, “I’m calling you from work actually. I hope you aren’t too busy.”

You let out a sarcastic laugh, glaring across the small space at the innocent easel and canvas, “Not busy at all, quite literally just giving my art supplies the nastiest glare in the world right now.”

“Still nothing new?” Robin wondered sadly.

You reached for your coffee mug, taking a sip and humming a reply before speaking, “Yeah, I think I’m throwing in the towel for the day.”

“Well don’t stress it, I’m sure it’ll come to you in no time.” She said encouragingly.

There was a special bond you and Robin had despite not knowing each other for long. For you, it felt like you have known her forever, possibly the bestest friend you’ve ever had because you didn’t have many.

Every thoughtful word came from her heart and you could feel it in the way she spoke to you with sureness even if you weren’t entirely sure of it yourself.

Your stress began to mellow, giving yourself the chance to finally breathe, “Thanks Ro. I miss you.”

“I know, I miss you too, buttttt we won’t miss each other for long because I was wondering if you’d wanna come down to Hawkins tonight!”

Her voice was always filled with excitement but this time around you caught the glint of hopefulness — as if you would ever turn it down even when you clearly had work to do.

You sat up wiggling your shoulders, “What the occasion?”

“Joyce and Hop are hosting a housewarming barbecue and because they’ve been hearing so much about you, they’d really love to meet you if you don’t have anything going on.”

You nibbled on your lip absentmindedly, “Hop and Joyce are the triplets parents’ right?”

You coined El, Will, and Jonathan under the nickname the triplets because of how similar they looked despite not being fully blood related. If Nancy hadn’t explained to you that the El was technically the boys’ step sister, you would have never guessed it.

You could hear the faint ding coming from what you assumed was the customer service bell followed by her saying, “Correct! So are you in?”

Glancing over at the time on the clock, you estimated that you had just enough time to start baking and then a little extra to get ready. From what you had heard, Hop and Joyce were the most laid back and involved out of all the parents. Knowing this you were more so excited than intimidated – if Robin and the rest of the group loved them, then so would you.

“I’d be crazy to miss out on it, do you have an address?” You reached forward, picking up a ballpoint pen and napkin from your coffee table, ready to jot it down.

She mumbled under her breath, “Uhhh, hold on, I’m trying to remember.”

You were sure that you could picture the scene of her pinching her eyes shut and thinking especially hard with the “uh’s” and “um’s” from the other line. There was another voice in the background, a bit muffled yet closer and you wondered if it was Steve or their weirdo boss, Keith. Either way, you couldn’t hear what was being said, just the other person asking Robin something and her reply in pensive hums.

Then there was a slight shuffle, the phone feeling farther as she spoke. “Shit, here, talk to Steve while I try to get into El’s file.”

Your eyes widened and you sat up a little straighter, clearing your throat as you responded though you were sure she couldn’t hear you.

“O-oh, okay!”

Maybe it was because you spent a good chunk of your morning thinking about him and staring at the sketch of his shirtless body, but for some reason you had felt more skittish than normal. Almost debating on whether or not to hang up and let Robin call you back once she found the address. But it was just because you hadn’t spoken to Steve in five whole days.

It was Friday now and the last time you got to hear his voice is when he called you ‘sweet thing’ and you’d be lying to yourself if you said that you hadn’t been thinking about him saying it on repeat in your head — but that's besides the point.

It only took you five days of not speaking to him for you to realize that you missed him a lot more than you should’ve. That thinking about him the way that you were wasn’t entirely normal and the sketches even spoke for themselves. That night where he showed up to your gallery and spent the evening at yours was the catalyst to something inside of you that felt so foreign yet comforting.

By now it would be futile to try to pretend like you weren’t a plate of mush when it came to him.

“Hey, stranger.” He spoke smoothly.

His voice was cheery and you swore you could picture him leaned up on the counter with his phone pressed to his ear. A sight that you wish you could see with your own eyes instead of in your imagination.

You grunted out a short laugh, knowing there was no malice behind it, simply just trying to contain yourself, “Hiya, Steve.”

“How’s it going?” He asked with a short pause, “Being nicer to yourself?” There was a teasing lift to his voice that you caught making you roll your eyes playfully.

Laying back on the couch you kicked your legs up behind you, “I’m trying, but you know, I gotta say I’m a little annoyed at myself.”

He drew a breath in, voice coming out concerned as he spoke, “Yeah? Why’s that?”

“I’m a total idiot who forgot to ask the guy who bought me a dozen cronuts and my favorite latte for his number so I could thank him sooner,” you giggled, closing your eyes as you heard him laugh and the unease was replaced with humor.

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I’m an idiot for not leaving it. I just thought you wouldn’t want me flooding you with calls if I had your number.” He said it quietly trying not to be heard by Robin, but you ended up stifling your laughter as you heard her chirp in the background

“Oh, I already do that, and she doesn’t mind!” Robin quirked up as you heard him groan, hissing at her to be quiet.

“She really does and I don’t mind. one. bit.” You assured him, hoping he’d take you up on the offer and finally ask for your number.

He chuckled, humming before he spoke again, “But seriously, how are you?”

You let out an exasperated sigh, prompting an “uh-oh” from Steve who picked up on your underlying mood right away. Even if he hadn’t asked, you probably would have ended up telling him anyway.

“I tried painting today. Didn’t really end up going well, seeing as though I’m sprawled out on my couch right about now.” You grumbled slightly annoyed at yourself for this reason.

He sucked in a harsh breath of air, “Yikes, sorry to hear that, but hey! You’re trying and that's what matters,” he tried his best to be encouraging.

“I guess,” you replied.

“You’re doing it again,” he warned.

You furrowed your brows sitting up, “Doing what?”

“The whole being means to yourself thing,” he said obviously.

“No, I’m not,” you defended yourself though you know that’s exactly the path you were about to go down and it just so happened that Steve caught you.

“But you kinda were.” You could feel the small smile forming on his face because you know he sees right through the facade even through the phone.

You paused, guiltily sighing, “Yeah, I kinda was.”

The two of you shared a short laugh, his coming from his chest while yours came from your throat. The tightening of the muscle loosening with the sound of his laughter easing all of the pent up stress and anxiety within you like an instant cure.

“Well, stop it.” He murmured, “I know whatever you’re working on is gonna be great when it’s finished. For now it’s just gonna take a bit of time.”

That’s what you were hoping for, just a bit of time to get you out of this funk so that you could return back to your regular self that didn’t see creating art as a task. You wanted to get back to enjoying it wholeheartedly instead of being so hard on yourself.

You smiled into the receiver tucking the phone closer to your ear, “That’s really kind of you, Steve, thanks for saying that… and I'm sorry for being—”

He swooped in before you could finish the sentence not knowing what you could possibly be sorry for.

“Nope, no sorries either. No more being mean to yourself and no more apologizing unnecessarily.” His voice was laced with determination like you should know this by now.

You giggled faintly, shaking your head, “Fine, it’s a deal.”

There was a short pause of silence, wondering if you should tell him that he could get back to whatever he was doing instead of keeping you company over the phone, but he spoke first.

“Are you coming tonight?”

You hummed wiggling the pen in your hand, “Yeah, unless Robin can’t find the address.”

“She’s gonna find it, she just sucks at using the computer.” He joked lightly before you could hear Robin in the background.

“Oh shut up, I found it. Give me the phone!”

You giggled, moving yourself to sit up properly with a pen and napkin ready in hand to jot down the address.

“Okay… here’s Robs,” Steve said, getting ready to hand off the phone to Robin.

“See you tonight, Steve,” you said bubbly, excited to see him and the rest of your friends later in the day.

You could hear the phone being passed back to her from the slight shuffling, but it was quickly retracted back to Steve’s hand followed by Robin’s gasp.

“Wait!” He said hurriedly taking you aback, “You’re gonna wanna take Cornwallis instead of Mirkwood,” he began.

“Huh?” You asked confused.

“On the map, Mirkwood is the shorter route to Joyce and Hop’s but it’s a sketchy back road so don’t take it. Cornwallis is the safer route, granted it will take you a little longer but it’s safer so just…please, take Cornwallis.”

You bit your lip, holding back a smile that was borderline self indulgent because he almost sounded distressed. Like the thought of you taking the shortcut would send him into full panic mode and who were you to do that to him? Never would you ever think about worrying him like that.

“Okay, I’ll take Cornwallis. Promise.” You said firmly followed by a sigh of relief on the other line.

“Okay great, I’ll see you—sorry, I don’t know why, I’m saying that, I literally just said it five seconds ago.” He stumbled over his words apologizing unnecessarily.

You grinned, biting back laughter. “It’s alright, Stevie. I’ll see you tonight!”

The nickname had slipped without you even realizing it. A sweet sweet nickname that rolled off your tongue innocently while it made Steve’s heart pitter patter a little faster in his chest, almost making him go dizzy because it was you saying it to him.

“Y-yep, gotcha, see ya tonight.” He stuttered, pulling the phone away from him.

“You guys make me sick,” Robin muttered jokingly, flicking Steve’s forehead as she took the phone and began reading you the address on file.

It wasn’t long before you and Robin said your goodbyes, reminding you to take Cornwallis once again after Steve had shouted it out from across the store. She whispered something about him being totally overprotective, but you didn’t mind, if anything you found it endearing as he was looking out for you and you knew Robs was just teasing.

So your productive morning didn’t turn out the way that you had planned it to be. Instead of fulfilling the blank canvas at home, you headed out to pick out some things for the party knowing it would be rude to show up empty handed.

At the farmers market you picked up a bundle of fresh rhubarb and a carton of strawberries — a gift to Joyce who made the best strawberry rhubarb pie according to her children. Then at another stand you picked up two bottles of cider, black currant and apple ginger for Hopper.

The rest of the things you picked up were little gifts like an assortment of freshly made jams that came in cute little reusable glass jars, a bundle of herbs, and a gorgeous bouquet of bright sunflowers.

Once you had arrived back home, you committed most of your time to assembling dessert. A trifle recipe that you had bookmarked in a cookbook yet hadn’t gotten the chance to try to bake until today — though in hindsight you should’ve picked something a lot simpler, but you always like to see how much you could crunch your time.

It wasn’t long before dessert was sitting in the fridge and you were covered in flour and pastry cream as you got to work personalizing gifts for the three siblings: El, Will, and Jonathan. Their gifts were practically free, coming from your collection of office supplies, yet also coming from your heart.

El’s was a baby pink spiral notebook, college ruled with over 200 pages she could write her heart out in. You had decorated the outside cover with silver and gold stars and in cursive letters you had written “El’s Secret Journal” inside of a heart.

Will’s was a tan sketchbook with thick pages where ink and paints couldn’t bleed through. You kept the cover pretty plain, using sticker letters to title it “Will’s Spectacular Sketches'', and adding a smily face in the corner.

Jonathan’s was a photo album that would store his developed film pictures that he had told you were starting to pile up in a random shoe box in his closet. You used newspaper clippings of letters to spell out “Jonathan’s Photography” in order to achieve the vintage sorta look you knew he was into.

All of the goodies were packed into a thrifted wickered basket that the family could repurpose whenever they wanted. And it also meant easy transporting for you considering how many things were stuffed into the basket. Surprisingly enough, everything fit perfectly and you were crossing your fingers that the family loved it just as much as you did.

“Okay, c’mon,” You rubbed your hands together before getting to work on cleaning up your place.

Once you were done you quickly got into the shower, rinsing your body off of the perspiration and baking ingredients that clung to your skin.

It wasn’t long before you were dried and throwing on a simple outfit: a floral cami paired with overalls and strappy sandals to match. You dabbed on a bit of makeup before throwing on your everyday jewelry and rushing out of your bedroom

The time on the clock read a quarter to six and by now you were supposed to leave ten minutes ago — way to go for time management.

Quickly you slung your purse over your shoulder before grabbing everything and hitting the road to what you hoped wouldn’t be too long of a drive.You couldn’t wait to meet Joyce and Hopper and most of all you couldn’t wait to see your friends again… and especially the person whom you saw more than a friend.

Meanwhile the sun was setting over Hawkins and in the Byers-Hopper front yard was a group of kids too busy screaming their heads off playing tag while the others finished setting up to get together.

Nancy and Jonathan were busy setting up the picnic tables, trying to figure out a way for the paper plates not to fly off. Robin was helping Joyce inside the house, getting the veggies cut up and plated, though both of them knew they were really spending more time talking. And Eddie and Steve lingered around the grill helping Hop with the barbecue duties.

El, however, was not participating in tag, tired from chasing around her friends and wanting to catch a break as she stayed close to her fathers’ side and talked his ear off about the girl from Roane who was going to be here any minute now.

“You’re gonna love her, dad.” El bubbled watching as her dad flipped the burger patties and Steve held an aluminum pan out for him.

Hop’s chest puffed out, peering down at her. “From what I heard she sounds like you’re grandma, so I’m a tad bit concerned.”

The young girl frowned sadly, detaching from his arm. “That’s what Mike said.”

Eddie and Steve both held back their laughs watching the way Hop’s face had fallen at the sheer thought of being compared to Mike. It was obvious that the man still had a hard time accepting the fact that his own daughter would ever consider dating such a little twerp — but to each their own.

Hop coughed, shaking his head regretfully. “Well, in that case, I'll take it back. She sounds lovely, all of you can't stop yapping about her so she must be nice,” he rolled his eyes somewhat though El didn’t seem to catch it.

“The nicest!” El gushed happily, clapping her hands together.

Steve was smiling, not minding that the conversation was centered around you because… it was you. He honestly didn’t blame El for being so excited, after all they only got to see you a few days out of the week and when they did it was always something he looked forward to the most.

Eddie was the one who wiped the smile off his face, nudging him in the ribs with his elbow nearly making him drop the pan of burger patties,“Especially to Steve.”

“Asshole!” Steve shouted, regaining his grip on the pan and glaring at the metal head who shuffled a few inches away.

“Hey!” Hopper clanked the metal tongs together gaining the boy's attention, “Make fun of him all you want but don’t you dare drop the food. Spent way too much on all this crap and the last thing I need is dirt covered burgers.”

“Yeah, c’mon man, get it together.” Eddie chided with a grin as El giggled and shook her head, clearly amused by the grown men’s banter.

The sizzling of meat on the grill accompanied the shouts of the rest of the kids who were calling a timeout wanting to take a water break. The automatic porch light flickered on, giving light to the dim area as the sky turned darker with each passing minute.

“Isn’t she supposed to be here by now?” Eddie raised his brow, taking a look at the time on his watch.

“Probably stuck in traffic or something, Roane gets backed up pretty quickly.” Steve said, holding out the pan closer as Hop placed the cooked meats on top of one another.

Hop glanced around raising an eyebrow, “What’s so special about this girl, anyway? All I’ve been hearing for the past two weeks is Roane, Roane, Roane—”

Eddie snorted, crossing his arms over his chest, “Well for starters, she lives in Roane.”

The older man glared, responding sarcastically, “Wow, no kidding. Thanks Munson."

“Always my pleasure, sir.” Eddie saluted before patting Steve firmly on the back,“You. Why don’t you tell Hop about her since you two are soooo close?”

El giggled, reaching out to poke Steve on the cheek as he chuckled and shrugged away from her and Eddie’s teasing. But he couldn’t hold back his smile, not when it came to this and bragging about all the wonderful things that he had come to memorize about you.

“She’s an artist. Sells her own work at galleries and she gets commissioned for custom pieces from time to time.” He started, leaving out the bit about you painting an elaborate mural, knowing you’d like to tell them that yourself.

“And she bakes.” El chimed in.

Steve nodded with a smile before turning back to Hop, “And she’s kind, like insanely sweet, even to Mike and that’s saying a. lot. But she’s also super generous, gave Will a bunch of art supplies and will probably bring some more tonight—”

Hopper couldn’t help but interrupt the never ending list, pointing at him with the tongs, “Are you and her seeing each other or something?”

Steve blinked, shaking his head vigorously and pursing his lips. “W-what, no, we aren’t—”

“You sure?” Eddie tilted his head.

Steve groaned, narrowing his eyes at the metal head. “You’re literally friends with us, I’d tell you if we were.” he replied with a sigh giving him that knowing look.

The metal head shrugged, a teasing smirk pulling up at his lips, “Yeah, but I didn’t know you spent the night at her place until the next day.”

“You spent the night?” Hopper blurted crossing his arms over his chest.

Steve swallowed, “I wasn’t planning to, but there was a road closure and she offered. And like I’ve been telling everyone, nothing happened. We talked, then went to sleep.”

“And you got her coffee and did laundry before you left!” El added innocently, before slapping a hand over her mouth after Steve had widened his eyes at her.

“How did you know that?” He accused suspiciously as the girl took off shouting a “I don’t know” behind her.

Hopper and Eddie seemed entertained by the information while Steve on the other hand was mortified as to how she would know that unless you had told Robin who then had told Nancy who then told Max who then told her.

Knowing Robin for as long as he did, it was most likely her. You on the other hand had no idea that Robin was a blabber mouth and the world's worst liar — but she was still his best friend so there was not much he could do about it.

“Husband duties already?” Hop joked, snapping Steve out of his worries.

He snorted, gripping the pan tightly in his hold, “I’m sure Joyce would have appreciated it when you and her started seeing each other.”

Hopper’s chest rumbled with a deep laugh and his face fell with a smirk, “Yeah, kid, I’m sure she did, but the difference is Joyce was my girlfriend but you, my friend, haven’t even asked—”

“You know what… that’s not the point!” Steve pinched his eyes shut, shaking his head to himself before opening them back up to see the smug smirks on Hop and Eddie’s faces, “I’m not a slob, I wasn’t going to leave her place without cleaning up after myself and at least thanking her for letting me stay over.”

The two men looked between each other, letting their shoulders fall with a shrug, “Sure, whatever you say.”

Steve was about to respond, a snarky comment about how Eddie shouldn’t be talking because his dating life was about zero to none and how Hopper should help Joyce with carpooling instead of rushing out of the house to get donuts every morning. But the remarks didn’t get a chance to break free as the front door of the home flung wide open.

“She’s here!” Robin shouted, jogging down the porch steps and whipping past the men at the grill setup.

He watched as she waved her hands up in the air stopping at the end of the driveway where your car had been approaching with the headlights dimming. As the yellow beacon of lights died, the car parked and he could clearly see through the glass beginning to unbuckle your belt as you smiled and waved.

“I’ll be right back,” Steve muttered, hastily thrusting the aluminum pan into Eddie’s hands as he jogged over to your car to greet you.

You should’ve known Robin wasn’t going to let you get out of the car before pulling you into a tight hug within the cramped space of your driver's seat. But you didn’t mind one bit, even if you were straining your neck to fully reach up around her and hug her just as snuggly.

“I’m so happy you came!” Robin squealed against you before letting you go.

“Thanks for inviting me,” you spoke gratefully as you took the hand she extended to help you out of the car.

And again you were met with “hello’s” and “hi’s” this time in rapid fire from the kids who quickly flocked around your car the moment they heard Robin screaming her head off. You honestly didn’t know if you had gotten to say hello to all of them before they ran off to wherever they were headed.

“C’mon, I’ll introduce you to Hop and Joyce!” She singsonged, skipping away before she had heard you say that you were going to grab some things first.

It already felt a lot better being here with your friends than being stuck at your apartment all alone tonight. These days the thought of leaving your sacred space to hang out with your friends in the next town over didn’t feel so overwhelming. If anything it was a tempting every second thought that crossed your mind as you enjoyed their company just as much as they did yours.

For you, nights like this used to be so rare, filled with loneliness and pacing your apartment fighting the urge to cancel plans — if you had any, that is. It felt nicer to be wanted, even in a simple setting like this one on a week night that should’ve been spent at home with work being done.

If you lived closer you were sure nights like this would be more common than not.

“Here, I’ll help.”

You felt him before you heard him and it honestly was the best type of anticipation that you could sense in your bones. Something you had picked up on from the first time that you met him. The way that he was always near whenever you were around and it was safe to say that you liked it.

Turning your head over your shoulder, you screeched excitedly.

“Steve!”

Your arms threw themselves around Steve’s neck, pulling yourself to him as he braced you with his arms wrapped around your back. He could feel you smiling against his collarbone as you tiptoed to try to reach the rest of him before eventually giving up and standing comfortably in his hold.

The only kind of hug that you and Steve ever shared was the fully immersed one where you’re both chest to chest, every inch of exposed skin sweeping against each other as you took one another in. It’s the only kind of hug either of you know when it comes to each other, the one that feels the most comfortable and right.

“Hey, you,” He murmured into your hair, taking in the scent that his memory wouldn’t let him forget.

Though it had already been five days since he used the collection of Body Shop products that littered your bathroom, it felt like he couldn’t wash it away, even overtop his cologne. And even if it was just his mind playing tricks on him, like torture for being away from you for so long — it felt nicer when the smell comes from you.

When your hair danced in the wind and filled the air with vanilla like a cloud that smothered Steve. He didn’t even dare to stop his senses from committing the blossoming jasmine and ripened peaches of a garden that you’re standing in the heart of to memory.

Hugs like this are a sort of delicacy to him that he hoped is the same for you, though he’s not sure if his Old Spice even comes close to the allure that you are — he can only hope.

“How was the drive?” He asked, finally fighting the urge to stop taking your aroma in.

He loosened his arms briefly to pull back and catch a glance at your face that was tucked to his chest. You retract only inches, staring up at him through your lashes with a smile never ceasing.

“Wasn’t too bad! I did almost get lost but I took a u-turn and took Cornwallis like you said.”

You forgot to tell him that you nearly took Mirkwood after having no clue of where you were going and your eyesight is too bad for you to read the street names on the rusty signs. It’s was already buried in the back of your mind, too happy that you made it here safely… his arms and the home, of course.

His arms tighten around you at the admission, squeezing you gently as he gave you an apologetic smile, “Sorry, you know if I wasn’t working today I would’ve come and picked you up.”

It’s not just something he’s said for show, you know he meant it wholeheartedly and if only he wasn’t working you would’ve taken him up on the offer. The passenger seat of his beemer is way more comfortable, not because it was a luxury car, but because he the one sitting beside you getting you where you need to be safely.

“That’s alright, Steve,” You reassured him before hugging him close again, “thank you though.”

It isn’t long before the hug is interrupted by the shouts from Robin who is clearly amused by the sight yet very hungry and ready to sit down and feast. Steve muttered something unintelligible while you turned your head and flashed her a half smile from where she stood in between the home owners.

Steve knew the pointed look Robin gave him from across the driveway, the one that reads “don’t start with me!” and because of this he knew it’s best to let you go even when all he wanted was five more seconds to hold you like this.

He tapped the small of your back with his fingertips before he released, “Go,” he begins, chuckling as Robin begins counting down out loud like a threat. “I’ll grab the rest of the stuff.”

“Okie dokie,” You laughed, letting your arms drop from around his neck, leaving behind the rest of the stuff for Steve to carry.

Your fingers twiddle on their own accord as you approach the couple, smiling shyly, “Helloooo.”

“Hey, kid.”

“Hi, honey!”

Robin held her arms out wide, motioning to them both, “This is Hop and Joyce. Joyce and Hop, meet my friend from Roane!”

“Thank you for having me,” you beamed, unsure if you should stick your hand out and be formal.

Thankfully, Joyce didn’t hesitate to close the space between you, wrapping her arms around you lovingly and giving your back a rub, “Of course, honey, we’re so glad you were able to make it!”

She reminds you a lot like Dorothea, only less intimidating and shorter. But she’s just as warm and inviting, making you feel comfortable as if you’ve been here a million times before. As she pulled away, she gave your shoulders one last kind squeeze before you looked towards the tall giant beside her.

On the outside he looked scuffy, a thick mustache and a mean scar above his left eyebrow. But you know he’s the father to three wonderful and good hearted kids who praise him for being the best in the entire world, so you know he’s far from that — if anything his Hawaiian print button down would’ve told you anyways.

He was the one who broke the short silence, tapping the metal tongs together as he smirked, “So you’re the girl my kids won’t shut up about, huh?” He said jokingly.

Will and El don’t miss a beat to whine “Dad!” from the picnic tables where they were ready to eat.

You grinned walking into his side as you gave him a small hug, “I suppose so, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You too,” He nodded, patting your back and letting you step away.

The car door slammed shut and Steve was striding over with his hands full, “You can lock it now,” he said with a chuckle.

You nodded, digging your hands into your purse to find the keys as you clicked the fob and watched the headlights flash twice before hearing the beep.

“Thank you, again,” you said quietly, reaching for the goodie filled basket and taking the weight from him as he hums.

Turning on your heel, you held it out towards them, Robin already long gone and joining the rest of the group of watches from their seats.

“These are for you guys and the family,” You announced, letting Hopper take it from you as he began to inspect the contents.

“Oh, you didn’t have to,” Joyce pouted with gratitude.

You shook your head reassuringly,“It’s really no problem! I didn’t want to show up empty handed anyways,” you insisted.

“There’s a bunch of local stuff from the farmers market in there, but I also customized a few notebooks for the three based on their hobbies and whatnot.” You explained watching as he pulled out one of the bottles of cider and began reading the label.

“Can’t wait to add this one to the bar,” Hop snickered, waving the bottle around in front of Joyce as she scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully.

She looked at you, pretending to conceal her mouth as she muttered, “He added a bar cart to the kitchen and now he thinks he can collect all the alcohol he wants.”

The married couple's banter made you smile, happy to see that even in their middle age they were still finding ways to poke fun at each other without actually hurting the others feelings.

Hop looked down at her with fake annoyance eyeing around the yard. “Yeah, well, this barbecue was actually supposed to be me giving everyone a grand tour but all everybody wants to do is stay outside.”

Joyce slapped his arm lightly , “Hop, you’re gonna bore her, please,” she said embarrassingly.

You clutched your hands together behind your back, jutting your chin up with piqued interest, hoping to actually get a tour of the place. From the outside alone it looked cozy yet simple. Rose bushes lined the porch along with rocking chairs on the wooden deck.

“I wouldn’t mind a little tour, the place looks beautiful by the way.” You said cheerfully.

Hopper grunted, passing a smug smirk towards his lady before trading the cold dessert Steve was holding for his grilling tongs.

“You’re on meat duty. Come on, kid.”

The man began leading the way towards the front door before you offered Joyce another grateful smile as you followed along.

“Scream if he starts going on a home improvement tangent.” She called out half jokingly as you turned around and flashed her a thumbs up.

Steve chuckled to himself, flipping open the grill, “She’s too nice to do that. She’ll probably stand there and let him go on and on.”

Reaching for the aluminum pan that sat on the grill’s edge, he began taking off the last pieces of cooked meat hoping to get away before he smelled of smoke.

“She’s real pretty, Steve,” Joyce nudged him lightly with her elbow.

With a kind smile, he replied,“she really is, isn’t she?”

“So how long have you two been seeing each other?” She asked, genuinely curious and unaware of the circumstances around you both.

He furrowed his brows, lips twitching as he tried to hold back a grin, “We aren’t…I haven’t — we’re not dating, just…yeah, just not dating.”

“You haven’t asked her out yet?” She speculated.

He shook his head, shutting off the heat and closing it with a loud metal clang,“yes…well no, no because we’re just friends — friends, that’s it.”

The quietness from the picnic table should have been a red flag considering that everyone was usually talkative, especially the kids. But their silence meant one thing: eavesdropping.

“Now that’s just bullshit,” Mike barked out while Steve and Joyce made their way over with pans.

Steve glared, placing it down directly in front of the little shithead, “You Wheelers just love the word ‘bullshit’ don’t you?”

Truly, Steve put up with a lot when it came to the kids and while he had a soft spot for them, they were on thin ice these days because of their meddling. They stuck their noses where it didn’t belong, barging in on him at work to talk his ear off about dating advice as if they were the experts who could solve his problem.

“I mean he’s not wrong,” Max began shrugging her shoulders, “friends don’t hug or look at each other like that.”

He furrowed his brows, taking a seat in the middle of the open space,“like what?”

“You know what,” The red head retorted with a scoff.

He pursed his lips tightly tapping his knuckles against the grain. “No, please, someone enlighten me.” Steve challenged, looking at the faces around the table that looked away from his hardened gaze.

The last thing he wanted for tonight was to be pestered on by a bunch of fifteen year olds who thought that they had the whole dating thing down the tee. Half of them could barely even stand in the presence of their crush without fainting and the others were on and off again for stupid little things.

Lucas was the brave one, speaking up with his hands thrown dramatically in the air. “Like you guys long for each other! You act like you haven’t seen her in ages but it’s only been like five days.”

“You rushed the car like you hadn’t seen her in months,” Dustin added feeling less intimidated.

Steve’s eyes widened, pointing his finger at his best friend across the table, “So did Robin!”

She held her hands up in defense, letting her shoulders come up cautiously. “Because I’m like her closest friend out of all of us, you dingus! I have car rushing privileges.”

He clenched his eyes shut,“Oh my god,” he breathed heavily when he opened them back up, “what’s the big deal?”

It was a real question — what was the big deal about him being just as happy as everyone else to see you?

“The big deal is you obviously like her but you’re just sitting here not doing anything about it.” Mike gestured, half glaring at the man.

“Look, what we’re saying is you need to just take the chance and ask her out.” Max put it simply, glancing around at everyone else who nodded their heads.

“The worst she could say is no.”

It’s not their fault, the kids are young and don’t have much experience out of their little friend group that they’ve established, but what they don’t understand is that you saying no isn’t the worst case scenario — it actually quite the opposite.

Steve Harrington had been rejected many times before, and he had been to move forward with life, taking their answer for what it was and not trying to push. Sure, him asking you out and you saying no would totally leave him heartbroken for a few weeks, maybe even months, but he was never going to try to force you to feel the same way about him.

But that was the problem… he knows you feel the same.

Feelings are reciprocated between the both of you, something that had been developing and brewing over the course of just two weeks. And Steve’s no genius but he picked up on all the little things you do that affirm what he knows.

It like a looped movie in his mind, a compilation of moments that the two of you had shared:

Glances from across the living rooms when no one else is paying attention.

Lingering touches that feel like electricity sparking up his heart.

Gentle words of solace, like a sacred promise that you’d never break.

Laughter that is so contagious and never ending.

There’s no denying it, especially in the way that you and Steve acted when people were watching. A space or world that you two created and transported to whenever it’s just you and him. Nothing could ever be so easy to see through, it’s not even hidden in plain sight — just evidently clear.

For once in his life his gut and heart worked in tandem, not trying to fight it off the feelings or fleet away. He shows it in the way he conducts himself around you, not holding back on the longing hugs or the sweet words, totally just letting himself be.

Things, however change when he thinks about moving further, like his brain switching and telling him to not trust his gut or his heart because it’ll only blow up in his face at the end. That this… whatever this was, it was too good to be true.

Steve could never see it in himself to be the man you would ever want to be with, even if you were all in already.

He can imagine that after everything you’ve told him about your past, that it can’t be easy for you to trust again, to give yourself wholeheartedly to another person after all those years yet here you were slowly giving yourself to Steve in the same way he was handing himself over to you.

You’ll hold him, give him the safe space to talk about anything, his awful parents and his stupid boring life, but he doesn’t know if he’s strong enough to hold you. If he has it in himself to give you the kind of love that you deserve… if the love he has inside of him would even suffice.

You’ve been hurt.

He had been the one dishing out the hurt.

But you’ve healed.

And he’s grown.

Yet it still feels like the two of you could be dancing with your hands tied and he can’t live to see himself be the one to hurt you — he can’t.

When Steve lost Nancy, it ate him alive, being so stupid and selfish for pushing her past the point of no return all because he couldn’t put his ego aside. But he’d been long over that, receiving her forgiveness and knowing that Jonathan loved and cherished her more than he ever could.

Losing you would kill him, just the thought of breaking your heart was sending him into a spiral of his thoughts.

He doesn’t even hear Eddie and Jonathan hissing at the kids to shut their traps and stop being so nosey. All of it feels like deafening silence even with the crickets chirping loudly in the grass and the dying charcoal sizzle in the grill a few feet away.

There’s a blank stare across his face, the expression so dull and lifeless, like his soul just got ripped away from him. Like a scene in a movie where the world goes on and on yet he’s still sitting there waiting for something to change.

“Steve, hey,” Robin said panicked, beginning to sit up on her haunches to get closer to him, “Dude, c’mon.” She said again, this time waving her hand in front of his face trying to pull him out of there.

The only thing he sees in front of him is his worst nightmare: you sobbing with your head in your hands, shouting that you never want to see him again as you get up and point him out the door.

No matter how loud Robin called for him to snap out of it and Joyce shaking his arm almost pleading — he couldn’t escape it.

The monster he’d become if he ever hurt you.

“What did I miss?” You piped up with your hand coming down to rest on Steve’s shoulders as you took a seat next to him.

It’s only then that he felt himself coming back down to Earth. Grounded knowing that you were right here in front of him with a smile on your face rather than a frown with tears coating your cheeks. You were happy right here with him, not trying to get away.

But your happy face quickly dropped with concern, hearing as though no one is answering you, not even Steve. He can feel it, the question on the tip of your tongue ready to ask him if everything is alright, and he doesn’t quite know the answer.

“I’m gonna go get a drink inside,” Steve finally spoke, getting up and leaving without saying another word to you.

Your eyes followed him, taking in his quick footing that took him through the front door in a matter of seconds. With your eyebrows furrowed, your voice drawled out, “Is he…okay?”

Looking around the table, the kids don’t dare to meet your eyes, not even innocent Will and El and that’s how you know something is up. Eddie only flashed you an apologetic smile as he shrugged his shoulders and took a swig of his beer. Nancy and Jonathan don’t even meet your eyes, theirs zeroing in on the living room window, trying to see where he went.

It’s Robin who takes a deep breath and lets her shoulders drop, “We don’t know.”

Joyce brings her hand to your arm, rubbing it warmly as she grimaces behind her smile, “I think he just needed some air, honey.”

You swallowed, nodding your head as you brace your hands on the wood and begin pushing yourself up, “I’m gonna go check on him.”

They didn’t try to stop you, insisting that it’s best for Steve to be alone right now because they truly don’t know what to do. The conversation had gone from all in good nature to triggering in a matter of seconds.

You stepped through the front door making a beeline towards the kitchen where you could hear the ruckus of cans and bottles being shifted around in the fridge.

“Steve?” You called out faintly, creeping around the wall to peek at him where he was hunched over in front of the appliance.

He turned his head over his shoulder, his face softening with just you in his sights, “Hey. Umm did you want a water or a soda?” He asked, holding up the two beverages in his hands.

You shook your head, watching as he forced a smile and put them back into the refrigerator, shutting it closed.

“Are you ok?” You approached him as he straightened up.

Steve nodded his head as if he was trying to convince himself, “Y-yeah, I’m fine—”

You knew he wasn’t. His easy going aura was replaced with someone that was tense and passive, trying his very best to put up a front.

“Did the kids say something stupid?”

‘Insanely stupid and it sent me into a mental spiral’, he thought.

“When don’t they?” He joked, rubbing a hand behind his neck as he tried to advert from your gaze.

You tsked, biting your lip as you watched him closely. “You usually don’t storm off like that, just had me worried, that’s all.”

“You shouldn’t worry about me.” He assured you, as if that would make your concern disappear.

“But I do,” You professed, no hesitation behind your voice, just you and your brutal honesty.

There’s not much to say, not when you both know what’s brewing between the both of you right here all alone. But in all honesty, the pot was boiling over, the point of no return but to just let it all go.

There’s so much Steve wanted to say, like the way he worries about you too. How he thinks about you throughout the day, that you’re taking care of yourself and being kinder like you had promised you would. Or how he wants you to know you can call him whenever you’re feeling alone and need the company — he’d drive to you no matter the hour whenever you called.

“Are you gonna drive all the way home tonight?” He started, looking out the window where the dark sky already clouded over the town.

“What?” You asked, clearly taken aback by the sudden question.

He swallowed, looking back at you, “It’s dark and I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to drive home all alone. I mean you just got here, but by the time you leave it’ll be even darker and the roads are hard to see and—”

“Steve,” You whispered quietly, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze.

It’s enough for him to shut up, to want to reel in the moment of your touch on his again, even if it’s just for a split second.

“Yeah?”

“Do you want me to spend the night at yours?”

He cursed at himself, realizing that’s what he must have sounded like. A pig who was trying to get into your pants when really that’s not what he was insinuating at in the first place. He just wanted you to be safe.

“I—I’m sorry… you could ask Robin or Nance to spend the night at theirs if you want, I just really don’t want anything bad happening tonight if you decide to drive—”

“Steve,” You started again, this time your voice firmer as you weaved your fingers through his and never letting up on your grip.

“Do you want me to spend the night at your place?” Your voice was sure, confident yet soft, letting him know that you’re not trying to make fun of him.

He knows you understand what he means.

“I do,” he breathed, nodding his head and giving your hand a squeeze, “I really want you to.”

“Then I’ll spend the night at yours.”

Your words were all it took for him to relax, forgetting why he was so wound up and anxious in the first place.

All of it doesn’t seem to matter when his heart was already in your hands. You have all of him – his deepest fears and his wildest dreams. He’s committed to you like a promise, something he knows he doesn’t have to hold out hope for any longer because he’s strong enough.

You knew it all along and he finally started to feel it.

💌 reblogs, tags, comments, + likes are greatly appreciated! leave a comment and let me know if want to be added to my taglist!! 💌

a/n: chapter three is finally here!!!! thank you all for being so patient and sticking around!!! we're finally seeing some momentum picking up when it comes to glitch reader and steve...i wonder what they did at his place ;) HEHEEHHE (yes i am evil cackling bcs i have tricks up my sleeve 'cowboy like me' style) as always, a big big big thank you to my sweetest effie @translatemunson for helping me out with proofreading and guiding me throughout the whole process of writing -- theres no one i'd rather spill my guts to other than you, I LOVE YOUUUUU!!!! happy reading to all!!! 🙈🩷

taglist: @translatemunson @kennedy-brooke @manda-panda-monium @tvserie-s-world @givemeth @steveharringtonswife @astolenkiss @loving-and-dreaming @awkotaco24 @engenelxver @elfiaaaa @pbs-theundeadmaggot @johnricharddeacy @gaysludge @scoopshxrrington @micheledawn1975 @ihatepeanutss @bakugouswh0r3

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steveshairychest · 2 years

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back on my fantasy au bullshit

Steve is the only heir to his father's throne, he's the most loved and most fiercely protected man in the city. He has no friends because his father says no one can be trusted, he's not even allowed to make small talk with the lovely ladies that iron his clothes and make his bed, things that he insists he can do himself. He watches from his window as other people his age wander the streets of the city laughing and having fun, some dance in the square where the young bard with the long, curly hair plays everyday.

Steve sits at his window listening to his beautiful music for hours, he loves the way his husky voice carries on the wind around the whole town and causes everyone to sway to the tune of his song as they buy their groceries in the market. Sometimes Steve swears the bard smiles up at him, his dark eyes staring right up at the castle and into his bedroom window,

Then something weird happens.

A cat is sitting on his window sill when he wakes one morning, which takes him by surprise because his bedroom was on the top floor of the castle, it was not an easy climb. Steve knew from personal experience. He'd tried to climb down from his window when he was 15 and ended up with a broken arm and a slap across the face from his father. "Don't be so reckless. You're a prince." He'd said, not an ounce of concern in his voice. His father had soured since his mother's death. Steve understood. He was all his father had left, if anything happened to him, his only heir, he'd have no one to take the crown.

Steve eyes the cat curiously from where he sat in bed, his hair is messed from sleep and his shirt had been thrown across the room because the summer nights were becoming unbearable. "Hey, little guy. Pss pss, come here." He pats his bed softly, trying to encourage the cat to come in to his room, he doesn't want to risk moving closer in case he scares him away. "You're a pretty little thing, aren't you." He says softly when the feline finally jumps down from the window and prowls around his room, looking at all the trinkets Steve has collected over the years. "I've never petted a cat before." It's the truth. His father didn't allow animals in the castle. If he saw the scraggly black cat rubbing his face against all of Steve's expensive furniture he'd lose his mind.

But just as Steve is reaching out to run his fingers along the soft looking fur, the cat makes a funny noise, it sounds almost like a human yelp, and then instead of looking into the dark curious eyes of the cat, he's staring at the soft brown eyes of the bard from the square. The bard is sitting on the floor in front of Steve right where the cat had been, he's dressed in his usual bard get up and his hair is the same dark shade as the cat. "Uh.. hi." He says with an awkward wave.

Steve screams so loud the guards that are posted outside his door come barging in with their swords drawn, only to find Steve staring at the now empty space on the floor in shock. The bard had poofed back into a cat and bolted right out the window, Steve ignores the worried guards and runs to the window. Did he die? It was such a long drop. But then he saw a flash of black run along the cobblestones of the market square, the cat? man? stops next to the fountain and stares right up at Steve, his tail flicking back and forth. Steve doesn't know why, but he raises his hand and waves, he's terrified, his heart beating loudly in his ears, but at the same time he wants him to come back, wants to ask him so many questions, wants him to be his friend.

The cat does a little spin and then he's gone. Steve watches the bard perform later that day with a secret smile, his head in his hands as he watches the way he stalks around the market square in a cat like manner while playing his lute. Steve hopes he will come back to visit.

#LONG POST SORRY #eat up lovelies #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #st4 vol2 #steveddie #stranger things #stranger things s4

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ladykailitha · 1 year

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In the Midnight Hour Part 5

I made myself cry several times writing this next part. I’m sorry. It looks like two of my three WIPs are complete angst-fests at the moment. I can tell you they are both happily ever afters. I promise you that. Honest. Also Can Anybody See Me? will never devolve into angst because that is specifically meant to be fluffy as cotton candy and twice as sweet.

I will be focusing on this for a bit as I’m close to completing it. So the other two are on hiatus until this is done. Plus you really, really don’t want me to post the next part of Star Child until I have more. You really don’t.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Eddie wasn’t sure far the vampire thing went. He wasn’t sure if he could walk out in the middle of day and not become a crispy critter. It wasn’t something he wanted to test, if he was honest.

So the second the sun went down he found himself hiding behind the Motel 6 watching his uncle go about winding down from his day. Watching the news, washing his face and brushing his teeth. Tap, tap, tap.

As Wayne went about his routine, tap, tap, tap. Finally as he got into bed, flick, flick, flick, the light on and off. And then finally off.

Eddie sunk to the ground on his knees, tears streaming down his face. He let out a howl of pain, echoing through the empty parking lot.

Inside the motel, Wayne squeezed his eyes tightly, tears mirroring his nephew’s. Tap, tap, tap.

Eddie took flight, unable to stay there a second longer. His stomach was tying itself in knots. He knew he should feed tonight. He needed it. But not now.

He flew back to his lair, the laughter of Vecna filling the air.

“You friends don’t care about you,” Vecna said with a toothy grin. “Your only family is going about his day as if you never existed. I bet he feels relieved that he doesn’t have to worry about his fucked up nephew.”

Eddie’s face twisted in rage. “You don’t know jack shit, Veckie.”

Vecna laughed. “I watched as your sweet uncle go about his nightly routine as if you didn’t even cross his mind.”

Eddie frowned.

“Now you get it,” he continued. “Give it up, Eddie. You’re mine now. There is no one coming for you. There never will.”

Eddie let Vecna’s words pierce his soul. Let him see the anguish on his face, in every line of his body.

Vecna walked over to him and lifted his chin with a clawed finger. “You will behave now, won’t you?”

Eddie nodded.

“If you let Steve touch you again,” Vecna snarled, “I will kill you. Do you understand. You are mine and mine alone.”

Eddie gasped as Vecna dug his claw into his throat. “I understand.”

Vecna ran the palm of his hand over Eddie’s face. “I will let you continue to play with the Harrington boy.” Eddie closed his eyes. “Your pathetic brand of torment seems to be working.”

“Now go feed!” Vecna snarled. “Take your revenge on those petty fools. I delight in watching you play with them.” He pushed Eddie to the ground and then was gone.

Eddie opened his eyes, revealing the red slit pupils. His grin twisted around his sharp canines. He was ravenous. But he had an appointment to keep.

Steve waited by the open window, arms crossed over the window sill. The clock ticked over to midnight and there Eddie was, landing gently on the roof.

“Hey, Eds,” he greeted warmly.

Eddie stumbled on the tiles. Steve was out on roof in a split second and by his side.

“No!” Eddie cried. “Don’t touch me.”

Steve hovered nearby, concern etched into every line of his body.

“Veckie wasn’t very happy the last time you touched me,” Eddie bit out. “Said he would kill me if you did it again.”

Steve let out a whine. “I’m sorry. Maybe you shouldn’t come back.”

Eddie shook his head. “It’s a directive now. I have to be here.”

“Oh, Eds!”

Eddie sat down gracelessly on the roof, panting for breath.

Steve sat down next to him, careful not to even bump shoulders with the other boy.

“You okay?”

Eddie looked up at him and Steve’s eyes went wide.

“When was the last time you ate, man?”

Eddie brought his knees up to his chest. “I have to be careful or people will suspect something’s up.”

Steve scoffed. “You mean like the entire starting line of the basketball team being benched because they are too weak to stand?”

Eddie blushed and shoved his hair into his mouth. “Oops.”

Steve laughed. “I think only Robin and I noticed, if it’s any consolation.”

Eddie dropped his hair and looked over him. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty damn,” Steve murmured. “I heard a couple of kids talking and they think they have mono.”

Eddie laughed. “I hope everyone thinks they gave it to each other.”

Steve grinned. “We can only dream.” He bit his bottom lip. “I’m guessing you’re allowed to touch others to eat at least, right?”

Eddie slowly turned his head and looked Steve directly in the eye. “Please tell me you aren’t suggesting what I think you’re suggesting.”

Steve shrugged. “You need to eat and I don’t do anything anymore. I don’t even have job because my old work has a gigantic fucking red fault line running through it.”

“I’m starting to think you’re cursed, man,” Eddie said. “Two places you’ve worked have literally gone up in smoke.”

Steve lulled his head back and sighed. “Tell me about it. If it wasn’t for the hush money I got from the government, I’d up shit creek.”

“You really don’t want me to feed on you, Stevie,” Eddie whispered. “It’s not like the movies. It will hurt. And I don’t know what Vecna would do if I do this.”

Steve looked over at him and smiled. “With any luck, he’ll thank you for weakening me further.”

Eddie let out a low whine. He wanted this. He burned with desire for this. Steve pulled down the collar of his shirt and tilted his head away. Eddie licked his lips.

He could feel himself on the edge of a precipice. He leaned forward and pressed his tongue to Steve’s throat. Steve let out a little gasp. Oh the things it did to Eddie.

He sunk in his teeth, letting the blood well up in his mouth. It was like a fine whiskey after months of cheap beer. Eddie sighed, laving the precious liquid from Steve’s throat.

He forced himself to stop after two or three mouthful, pulling away gently. He looked over at Steve who looked as if he had just cum. All blissed out and happy.

Eddie blinked rapidly. That didn’t happen with any of the jocks. He gently cupped Steve’s face in his hand and tilted his head so that they were looking at each other.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Eddie murmured. “You okay?”

Steve stared at him for a moment before he came back to himself. “Yeah. Did you get everything you needed?”

Eddie huffed out a small bitter laugh. “Yeah, babe. I got what I needed. Just a little worried about you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Steve’s eyes began to clear and he straightened up. “Yeah. It was just a weird feeling. Like I was floating or some shit like that.”

Eddie’s eyes were wide as he cocked his head. “That’s not what usually happens.”

Steve blinked. “Maybe it’s because I was willing.”

Eddie shook his head. “Yeah, let’s go with that.”

Steve smiled that dopey grin of his and Eddie could feel Steve’s blood make his heart pound harder.

“You should go eat something and then go to bed,” Eddie murmured.

“You aren’t going to stay?” Steve asked with a frown.

Eddie shook his head. “Not after that. You’re going to be a little loopy for a while, and I don’t want you falling off this roof. I’m not sure I could catch you in time.”

Steve squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them slowly. “I’m starting to see what you mean.”

Eddie waited until Steve was safely back into the house before he took off. He hovered in the air above Loch Nora and looked at his hand. His palm was red and hot to the touch, but it didn’t hurt. It hadn’t hurt last night either.

“That is interesting.” He thought back to earlier and his conversation with Vecna. The searing red line across the bastard’s throat. “Very interesting indeed.”

Steve woke up the next morning groggy and disorientated. He reached up to his neck and could feel two holes under his fingers. He got up and went into the bathroom.

In the mirror he could see that he had dark circles under his eyes and a vacant expression. He huffed out a laugh. Tommy used to say Steve always had a vacant expression, so no one would notice anything different there.

But the circles? That would be a problem. He pulled down his sleep shirt and marveled at the two puncture wounds that seemed to be healing faster than ordinary wounds.

Steve supposed that made sense. Vampires couldn’t have their victims unable to be fed on multiple times, after all.

He would just wear a polo today and blame the circles on his nightmares. He washed his face and brushed his teeth mostly on auto-pilot. Just going through the motions. He got dressed and wandered down for breakfast.

Drinking the orange juice seemed to help and he was feeling less like a zombie and more like a person. He fried up some eggs and gobbled them down, suddenly ravenous.

That was certainly an interesting reaction. Steve shook his head. He didn’t have time to worry about that right now. He grabbed his keys and ran out the door.

“So I talked to Dustin yesterday,” Robin began timidly.

Steve smiled. “Me, too.”

Robin squirmed in her seat. “What? When?” She smacked his arm. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I was just so tired when I got home,” he murmured, “that I forgot.”

She folded her arms. “Well, I’m not going to tell you what he said, until you tell me what happened.”

He laughed. “That’s fair. I hadn’t seen Max in a while so I bought donuts and went to go see her. See how she was doing, you know?”

Robin slowly turned her head back to Steve. “And Dustin was there?”

Steve pursed his lips and nodded. “We‒we talked. I don’t think we’ll ever have the relationship we had before–before Eddie died. But it’s good. It’s a start. It’s...”

Robin’s eyes softened. “I’m glad. I hated see you two on the outs.”

Steve pinched his nose and rubbed gently. “Yeah, me too.”

“So, Dustin doesn’t think there is anything to worry about,” she said after a moment. “There’s a mention of a half vampire half human character connected with Vecna. But if he hasn’t shown up by now, there’s a pretty good chance he’s not going to.”

“Tell me about him anyway,” Steve said. “I’m sure he word vomited about it.”

Robin eyed him wearily. “It was actually Will. Who is the sweetest kid, by the way.”

Steve smiled softly. “Him and El have had it the worst out of all of us and yet those to are still the sweetest people I’ve ever met. I’m glad you like him.”

“Anyway,” she continued, “he says that Kas sacrificed himself to become half vampire.”

“Kas is the one connected to Vecna?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. As I was saying, he sacrificed himself to become half vampire and worked for Vecna for a really long time. Then Vecna got tired of him and locked him up. And that’s when Kas became The Betrayer.”

“He betrayed Vecna?” Steve asked in surprise. “That’s a ballsy move.”

“I know, right?”

“Anyway, he kills Vecna with this sword that is so sharp that it can cut through anything,” Robin finished.

“Wow,�� Steve said. “That’s pretty wild.” He frowned.

“Steve?”

“Hop’s sword.”

Robin’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit.”

“That’s not good,” she said.

“Nope.”

“That means that even if Kas hasn’t shown up,” she said, “his sword has and he can’t be far behind.”

They pulled up to the school.

Steve felt a chill in the pit of his stomach. Like it was filled with lead.

“Steve?” Robin called. “Hey, talk to me.”

He pursed his lips. “I can’t. Not yet.” She opened her mouth to protest. He cut her off with a shake of his head. “I don’t have all the information yet. I’ll tell you when I do. I promise.”

She nodded and got out of the car. “We’ll figure this out, Steve. I promise.”

Steve nodded. “I know.”

Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

Tag List: @steddie-there @gregre369 @currently-steddiebrainrot @steddieassheg0es @estrellami-1 @anzelsilver @thequeenrainacorn @savory-babby @chaoticlovingdreamer @grtwdsmwhr @renaissan-vvitch @panicatthediaz @swimmingbirdrunningrock

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #vampire eddie #ladykailtiha writes

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every-aj-needs-an-angel · 10 months

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Based on this incredible post that inspired the worms. Sorry it's not exactly right @flowercrowngods I just finished this and went to find the post only to realise it went in a different direction, I'm so sorry darling!

I'm sorry in advance if this is rubbish, this is my first time writing clarkson I just hope I did our beloved Uncle Wayne proud 💖

It all started with Dustin Henderson. Didn't everything?

The kid stopped by, trying to bribe Eddie into doing something with the creatures in the campaign or something. Poor boy still hadn't worked out that the only way to bribe Eddie to do anything was through Robin; because since the day Steve Harrington, of all people, had stepped through his front door, the three of them had been as thick as thieves. Wayne didn't question it, just accepted it as one of the eccentricities of the universe, especially when he saw just how happy the ex jock made his boy.

So although Dustin was way off in trying to find the way to Eddie's heart; he'd easily found Wayne's, he'd do anything for good coffee and homemade baked goods.

Especially flavourful, rich coffee and mouthwatering baked goods. Bribery through fresh ground coffee beans and handmade delicacies would always win him over, even if it was a hit and a miss for the little genius. More for me, he'd thought gleefully to himself as he'd pilfered the treats, sneaking out the front door to sit in his rocking chair on the porch, enjoying watching the world go by and listening to his kids bicker with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

Wayne was a man of simple pleasures. He'd always been happy with his store bought instant and the kind of pastries that pop out of a can, but the delicacies Dustin had brought by just wouldn't leave his mind. He was having cravings, zoning out at work just thinking about them. And then one morning as he was driving home from a long shift, Someone Like You blasting from the speakers, the slow beat easing the tension in his shoulders. The traffic lights switched from green to red as he rolled through town, not that he minded, the only thing waiting for him these days was his bed but as he slowed to a stop, tapping along to the beat on the sill of the rolled down window, he spotted the new bakery the kid had bought them from.

The lights flipped back, and suddenly he found he was pulling into an open parking spot outside Clarke's. He's pretty sure the building had been an ice cream parlour before the quake, but most of the buildings in town had been refurbished and reopened in the last few years; sometimes with the same business, sometimes with something new. The sign above the door was painted in red and white stripes, with Clarke's Bakery written in pretty maroon calligraphy. The notice in the window was flipped to Open, it surprised him, given how early it still was, most of the town was still in bed and there wasn't a soul to be seen when the little bell above the door jingled as he entered, he would've been worried that the building had been left open by accident if it wasn't for the luscious smell permeating the air and the "Be right with you," that someone called from the back room.

Waiting was fine with him, it gave him a chance to familiarise himself with the quaint, little place. The chalkboard price lists, the display cases were so shiny they were obviously brand new, and unfortunately disappointingly empty, but he supposed it wasn't surprising given how early it still was. The smell coming from the back more than made up for it though, it was making his mouth water, and he just knew whatever they were making was going to be delicious in the way that store bought anything just wasn't any more.

Behind the counter was one of those fancy coffee machines, the ones with all the buttons and the levers; Wayne had less to deal with at the plant, but the best thing of all was the array of cups sitting on top of the shiny machine. They were all different shapes, sizes, colours and characters; it reminded him of his old collection, the one he lost to the "quake" but honestly he couldn't be too sad about it, after weeks at Eddie's bedside he was just glad that was all he'd lost.

The whole place just felt really comfortable, the tables and chairs had all been picked for comfort rather than style, most of it was mismatched, but it was the type of furniture that invited you to sit, even the rug under the sofa in the back corner looked like the type you wanted to take your shoes and socks off and sink your toes into.

Homely was the word that came to mind, unlike the kids who'd called it cute, whatever that meant; how anything inanimate could be cute was beyond him. Puppies, you betcha, babies, absolutely; the man who'd just appeared behind the counter wearing a shirt and bow-tie under a flour covered apron, icing sugar splotches on his face and mischief dancing in his eyes, yep, 100%, definitely cute.

"Wayne! Hi," Scott greeted with a wide grin that slowly slipped from his face as Wayne's brain came up with nothing but static, "Scott Clarke, remember? I taught your Eddie. We were paired up together when little Will went missing," he continued, looking less and less sure of himself.

Wayne hated it. He knew all that, he knew Scott, of course he did, but it was like his brain wasn't connected to the rest of his body and all he could do was blink and breathe. It felt like it took a Herculean effort just to breathe out a dreamy "Hi."

Scott blushed and looked down at the counter, glancing up at Wayne through his lashes, a smile pulling at one side of his mouth as he drew delicate patterns on the notepad sitting beside the register that Wayne's pretty sure he recognised from attempting to help Eddie with his homework once upon a time.

"What can I getcha?" Scott asked, pen poised over the paper.

It was like the connection snapped back into place as he thought about the coffee and pastries Dustin had brought.

"Dustin," Wayne started, raising his hand to his shoulder, "curly hair, logo t-shirts," Wayne did his best to describe. Scott taught a lot of students, just because he remembered the class disrupters like Eddie didn't mean he remembered them all.

But Scott just chuckled jovially, "I know Dustin," he admitted fondly.

Wayne smiled softly, anybody who held any affection for one of his kids was good in his book, "He brought something over for Eddie last week, coffee and a-"

"An Americano and a Yum Yum," Scott finished for him with an affectionate smile, pushing himself off the counter to start filling components and pressing buttons before disappearing into the back.

Wayne sighed heavily, leaning bodily against the counter. He was glad for the breather, he didn't know what was wrong with him; an old man with butterflies and a lead tongue, cheeks flushing crimson as his mind played him a loop of his lovesick greeting. He scrubbed his hands roughly over his face, wanting the ground to open up and swallow him whole. Finding a bloke attractive wasn't new to him, he'd been in a committed relationship before Eddie had been dropped on his doorstep by his deadbeat brother, but John had asked him to choose between them and hadn't liked that Wayne didn't even need to think about it, of course he would always choose Eddie.

What was new was being so obvious about it.

Maybe he'd spent too much time around Steve and Eddie, they were careful in public, of course they were, but at home, with their loved ones, they were never ashamed to let their love and affection for one another shine through; no matter how much the kids would moan or mime gagging, they didn't care. Most of the time, the pair only had eyes for each other anyway. Maybe he was overtired. Or maybe he was just tired of putting up barriers.

When he'd first met Scott, it was the excuse that he was Eddie's teacher. When they'd been paired to find Will, he'd admittedly enjoyed being with Scott, the man was pretty and smarter than half the town put together but searching the town for a potentially dead kid wasn't exactly conducive for romance. But now, he found he couldn't find an excuse, especially now that he knew Scott was the one behind those heavenly pastries and rich coffee.

Scott came out the back carrying two trays, one filled with glazed doughnuts and the other with the pastries he liked, and Wayne felt his mouth salivate. The smell alone was amazing, but they looked incredible too, and he was hungry enough he felt like he could easily eat everything on both trays and still have room for whatever was still baking. The trays were slid delicately into the display case, Scott's tongue poking adorably out the corner of his mouth as he concentrated. Wayne couldn't stop himself from smiling, no matter how much he pulled his bottom lip into his mouth, Scott looked up and caught his eye, the two men smiling gently at one another over the counter before Scott turned back to the coffee machine.

"Sorry about earlier," Wayne apologised sincerely, "I just pulled a double at the plant and all I've been able to think about for the past two hours have been your pastries," Wayne admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. He glanced up when Scott didn't reply immediately to find he still had his back turned to him, but that didn't mean Wayne couldn't see his beaming smile in all the shiny surfaces surrounding him, or the blush slowly creeping from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

Wayne finds himself wanting to witter endlessly like Eddie does when Steve makes him all shy and giggly. He wants to start talking about his day and the weather and how he can picture Scott in his rocking chair at home, maybe sharing the chair or maybe Wayne could picture building him his own, so they could sit together; eating pastries hand in hand, watching the world go by. He doesn't say anything though, just rocks on the balls of his feet ducking his head, unable to keep the smirk off his face at making a pretty boy blush.

"I guess that means you're taking this to go," Scott finally says over his shoulder, steam clouding around him and turning the icing sugar splotches sticky. Wayne could be mistaken, but he would say Scott sounds a little disappointed.

He doesn't trust himself to speak, the chances of something inappropriate, like "Marry me?", coming out of his mouth are far too high, he is a Munson after all; so he just hums affirmatively.

"I'd say it's a shame, but I have to get to work as soon as I've got the kids set up for the day," Scott admits, his whole ears are beat red, the blush spreading quickly up the back of his neck.

"Maybe we could continue this another time," Wayne says as Scott hands him a warm cardboard cup and a paper bag, their fingers brushing and sending sparks up his arms; it was supposed to be a question, but it didn't sound enough like one.

"I'd like that," Scott replied with a dazzling smile that Wayne can't help but mirror. He nods once, walking backwards towards the door, not quite wanting to break the connection and not really wanting to leave, but not wanting to overstay his welcome or make Scott late for his day either. "Bye," Scott chuckled as Wayne fumbled with the door handle letting himself out with a little paper bag filled wave, floating back to his truck on a cloud as Scott disappeared back into the back.

And that's how it goes for a while, Wayne stops in every morning on his way home from work, they chat about the kids or work or the latest article Wayne read in his copy of UFO. They chat a lot about the children's book Scott is writing, about six kids who all sound suspiciously like the ones Eddie and Steve have practically adopted. A genius with a floppy head of curls who recruits his friends into discovering the secrets of the universe that the adults have been hiding from them. A ginger haired girl with an attitude big enough to fight anyone who gets in their way. A sportsman and an artist who use their unique skills to their collective advantage, and a grumpy kid who always puts himself between his friends and any kind of danger. He nearly laughs when along the way, the little group meet a girl with dark, cropped hair who happens to have superpowers; she can move things with her mind, which she uses to help and protect them along their journey of discovery.

Wayne falls a little bit more in love with every detail, it's like Scott knows, but Wayne knows he doesn't, he's just heard what he'd assumed to be fantastical tales from the kids and pieced it all together with his brilliant imagination.

Then one day, Wayne pushes open the front door and there's no beautiful smells, there's just crashing and cursing coming from the back room then deadly silence other than the jingle of the bell, followed by a cautious "Wayne?"

"Yeah, it's just me," he calls back, flicking the lock on the front door, only noticing that the sign on the door was flipped to Closed when he goes to change it himself.

As he heads behind the counter, he can hear Scott dashing around, the overpowering smell of flour nearly choking him as he wanders into the back. The kitchen looks like a bomb has gone off, there's bowls and packaging and ingredients everywhere. Scott looks beyond stressed, darting between three different bowls and trying not to slip in the flour he's spilled all over the floor. He's not even wearing an apron, so his shirt is covered in flicks of batter; he'd look adorable if he didn't look so distressed.

"What happened?" Wayne asks, picking up the dropped bowl and finding the broom from the closet, sweeping up the flour, careful not to trip Scott up.

Scott sighs heavily, "Power cut killed my alarm clock," he mutters, beating the ingredients in the bowl he's holding, simultaneously pressing buttons and flicking switches on the ovens.

Wayne looks around a little bewildered, he hasn't baked anything other than a box cake since he and Al would stay over at their grans, but he isn't useless in the kitchen, especially with a little instruction.

"What can I do?" he asks, rolling up his sleeves and washing his hands thoroughly in the sink, he'd already washed up at the plant, but it wouldn't hurt to do it again, he doesn't want to give anyone food poisoning. Scott doesn't say anything but as Wayne turns around to find a drying towel, he finds it's because Scott is frozen in place gawking at him, Wayne can't keep the endeared grin from his face, "Scott?"

It seems to snap him out of it, he immediately begins stirring again, blush spreading over his cheeks, pulling the towel off of his shoulder to hand it to Wayne. He steps towards the island where most of the chaos lies and points to one of the bowls, "Could you stir that one? Just until the butter goes a creamy colour," he asks tiredly, flashing Wayne an appreciative smile when he picks up the wooden spoon and starts combining the ingredients.

Wayne glances at the clock above the ovens, Scott has to leave for school in the next hour and nothing is even close to being baked yet. The kids would help, sure it's early, but he knows they all adore Scott; Steve and Eddie have done nothing but talk fondly about him for weeks. And Wayne isn't stupid, he knows they've seen the array of coffee cups and paper bags that he's brought home recently, he just wishes they'd stop trying to goad him already.

"You got instructions for each of these?" Wayne asks, wandering around the room looking into each bowl with his bowl tucked under his arm. Scott just nods, counting to himself under his breath, grabbing a binder from the corner of the room and flicking it open on the one spare bit of counter space. It's filled with laminated pieces of paper, ingredient lists and instructions for each of the pastries that usually live in the display cabinets. "You got a phone?" Wayne asks next with an impish grin on his face.

One quick call to Steve's and twenty minutes later the kitchen is filled with the kids, each with their own bowl and recipe. Eddie's in the corner moaning about how early it is, Max is threatening Dustin for bumping into her for the sixth time in as many minutes, Steve and Mike are bickering, Steve hands on his pyjama clad hips as Mike wags his finger at him. It's loud and hectic, but everything is getting done and if they're lucky Scott might only be a few minutes late for work.

It isn't anything like the peaceful mornings they're used to, chatting amicably as Scott potters, but as Wayne catches Scott's eye over the kids heads, he finds his own besotted smile mirrored back at him.

Dough is rolled and stretched and shaped and placed on baking trays. Robin's in charge of timings, perching herself on a stool with everyone's wristwatch in her lap, shouting out when a pastry is finished. Lucas and Steve are in charge of cooling, mainly because they're the least clumsy and Mike, Will and El are in charge of decoration, most of it only involves dipping the pastries in bowls of icing but the kids all quickly settled themselves into their preferred roles and who are Wayne and Scott to argue when they've collectively got the job done faster than they ever could've alone.

There's only four pastries to finish baking by the time Robin's yelling that they're going to be late. The kids who run the bakery during the day are already set up and dealing with customers, Wayne's agreed to stay behind and pull the remaining trays out of the oven, luckily nothing needs decorating, just cooling and taking to the display cabinets. There are implements piled high in the sink, even though Eddie and Dustin were supposed to be washing up. Wayne thinks they spent more time flicking bubbles at one another and joking around, but he doesn't mind; he's always found cleaning the dishes to be relaxing.

He finds he's exhausted as the adrenaline rush dissipates, but none of that matters as Scott dashes into the office to grab his briefcase and flies back into the kitchen, kissing Wayne quickly but firmly on the cheek, only seeming to realise what he's done after the fact.

The kids all stop dead in their tracks, the kitchen going eerily silent for a second before Steve and Eddie start rounding up the kids, shooing them out the backdoor, dragging Robin along with them, leaving he and Scott alone in the suddenly quiet space. Scott flushes, panic flaring in his eyes, so Wayne just grabs him by the wrist and pulls him closer to plant a kiss on his flour covered cheek, dusting the ingredients off with his thumb as he wishes him a good day. Scott just grins vibrantly, heading for the exit, pausing briefly in the doorway, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Wayne isn't sure whether it's supposed to be a statement or a question, "Tomorrow," he promises with a nod. Scott's grin turns infectious then he's gone, disappearing into the alley, the door falling shut behind him, leaving Wayne alone for the first time since he left his truck.

He pulls the first two trays out of the oven as the timer buzzes, letting the pastries cool on the rack. Then he makes a start on the dishes, letting the gentle buzz of the bakery and the warm soapy water sooth him, he hasn't felt this way since he was a teenager; sneaking kisses and sharing cigarettes with Tony behind the bleachers.

He finds it isn't as terrible as he assumed it'd be, to fall in love again; to let someone into his life because it's easy with Scott, so, so easy. Even when they talk about what Scott calls his theories, Scott just gives him this look that almost says "God, it's a good job you're handsome" like Wayne can hear him projecting that thought into his head with his amused smile. Even when Scott lays out logical arguments that seem to prove to him that the supernatural doesn't exist, it's so easy to just give him a look of his own. They almost remind him of Eddie and Steve when they start up a discussion about sports or the game Eddie likes to play with the kids, each with their own look that says "I love you, but you're wrong" and the thought only makes him smile wider.

It doesn't take him long to finish up in the kitchen, and he feels a calm acceptance by the time the ovens are off, all the pastries cooled and on trays and all the implements clean and dry. He's always been able to do that, have his world shifted on its axis and within the hour just be able to understand within himself that that's his new normal now.

He feels almost content as he drops off the final trays out front, giving a cheerful wave to Claudia when she shouts his name from the line of people waiting for their chance to get their hands on Scott's pastries.

Seeing how busy it is out front, he turns to head out the back door, pausing as he passes the office with this overwhelming need to just leave something for Scott. He wanders in and sits down at the desk, pulling a piece of paper from the notebook on the tabletop; pen poised as he contemplates the soundness of his decision and throwing caution to the wind as he envisions Scott's smile as he'd left for work.

Wayne's never been much of a wordsmith, not like his Eddie, but he's been listening to a lot of his favourites lately, the cassettes in his truck switching regularly between Cash, Clapton and Williams. It'd been Williams this morning, and the lyrics had been circling in the back of his mind since he'd walked into the bakery's chaos. He puts the pen to the paper, hearing Don's voice in his mind as he writes, trying his hardest to make it legible.

Well I don't believe that heaven waits, for only those who congregate. I like to think of God as love, he's down below, he's up above. He's watching people everywhere, he knows who does and doesn't care. And I'm an ordinary man, sometimes I wonder who I am. But I believe in love. I believe in music. I believe in magic. And I believe in you. Pausing, he makes his choice and adds on, Love, Wayne.

#clarkson #coffee shop au #kinda?#maybe just post s4?#idk anymore #someone like you eric clapton #don williams i believe in you #scott clarke #wayne munson #wayne munson x scott clarke #background steddie #background platonic stobin #wayne's pov #aj writes

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mysticmunson · 2 years

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our gentle sin, part one; au!steddie x reader

knight!steve, highwayman!eddie, and princess!reader

prompt: a highwayman has no rules, except to get as many items of value as possible in their quick deeds. it just so happens that a princess and her loyal knight are pretty irreplaceable, even if it's just due to poor timing.

(shout out to @poppy-metal for this beautiful concept, her work is amazing and leaves me in awe. i can only hope to do her justice! <3)

word count: 16.7k

trigger warnings: brief mentions of death, celibacy, innocent reader, eddies a tad bit of a perv, smut (minors shoo), let me know if i missed any :)

authors note at the end!

The night was cool as you sat upon your window sill, staring at the bustling town in the distance filled with lit lanterns and talkative people. Your toes curled in against the plush emerald pillows, shifting your weight to adjust your comfort, leaning against the wall. The life beyond the confines of your castle seemed lively, some days seeming more tense than others, but what did you know, you hadn’t been by yourself.

Growing up as a princess came with a few things, while luxuries found their way into your lap, there was turmoil. You could never go anywhere, choose your partner, or how you dressed. The diamonds on your hands that shone beneath the sky did little to settle your spirit, seeing the blue rocks glisten below that practically called you outside to the small lake.

Dressed in a white casual evening dress with a pink ribbon around your waist, you tiptoed past the drowsy guards at the entrance, smiling as you saw them leaned against the wall with little aggression. The grass was dewey in the spring air as you kneeled against the blue water, watching as small fish scurried to the opposing side.

A small fish swam close to the edge, brushing past your fingertips, feeling a soft nibble from their small mouth. Wiggling it, the fish scurried away as you laughed.

“Princess?” You heard a voice call, turning with anxiety at the thought of getting in trouble with your parents. But you let out a sigh of relief as you realized it was Steven, your most trusted knight.

Steven, who you called Steve, had grown alongside you, spawn of a lower income family in the village, but was a squire before being knighted. He never treated you differently due to your status, often indulging in your more daring activities for a princess like late night walks or sneaking some dessert before dinner.

The sound of metal against his skin shook as he approached you, keeping his distance until you stood up fully. He waited for your response, but your gaze remained on the creature beneath you.

“If you would like to go for a walk, I’d be happy to accompany you, but know you mustn't go by yourself.” He spoke in a hushed tone, beginning to walk forward as you glided beside him.

“I wish I could see the village on my own.” You mused, “To meet people, to dance.”

Steve let out a chuckle, looking back at the red glowing dots in the distance, reminding him of his days where he sat by his window to see the lights of the castle.

“Tis beautiful, the King does a grand job of keeping his people happy.” He replied, “But your home is one of a kind.”

You nodded, hands clasped in one another against your lower abdomen, focusing on the noise of the crickets and toads singing their nightly encore. Steve allowed you to wander a bit in front of him, keeping his close eye on you and hand near his sword.

As his eyes lingered on your flowing gown, he let himself entertain the idea of being able to pin you, to be the husband you deserved. The King and Queen adored him, trusting him to watch their youngest daughter with the utmost certainty that he would protect you, but as they grew, he noticed the woman you were becoming.

The way your earnest laugh only reappeared in his presence after being suppressed by the fellow royals, your kind heart extending to all no matter how big or small, your exquisite beauty captivating many suitors, and the way you cared for him as a man. How every year he would receive a small piece of jewelry from you, not meant to be worn, but to be sold to help support his parents and siblings back home.

The tradition began when he first became a squire at age 7, following the shadow of the beloved knight, and Steve’s uncle, Remus, a man tall in stature with little playfulness. At age 6, you were exploring all the ins and outs of the tall walls, resulting in scoldings from the older protector. While he always tried to listen to his predecessor, he ignored the rule of not forming a personal bond beyond his duties.

You would make funny faces as he stood guard, typically making him erupt in a fit of giggles with you. If anyone caught you, he wouldn’t have time to worry before you insisted, “I insisted he join in on my games or he would not be a knight!” While it was a lie, it was difficult to scrutinize someone who followed a royal order.

Not understanding the complexities of wealth, you would always drag him into the varying rooms, showing him the precious jewels and fabrics from foreign exports. You never hesitated to insist on giving him one, but he would decline consistently, until you slipped items in his pocket on his birthday.

He would shove his hand into his pocket on his way home, not staying fully at the castle until he was promoted to complete knight status. Since then, practically every waking moment was spent by his side as the castle bustled with activities from your parents. Some fellow knights teased how much he had to dote on the innocent princess, but he had been sent to other positions previously, and none excited him more than even the smallest of journeys by you.

“I want to meet your mom and dad one day, Steve. Sisters too.” You mused, snapping Steve from his trance as you tucked a hair behind your ear, side profile towards him as your gaze trailed along the skyline.

He smiled, “If the King allows, I’d adore for them to visit.” Your smile was weak as your shoulders slouched, you wanted to go to them, and Steve knew that.

The silence that was carried through the bristle breeze was comforting as you both wandered through the North side of the manors garden, your fingers brushing past the soft tulips in bloom. Plucking one, you tucked it behind Steve’s ear as his long hair was brushed back. He raised an eyebrow, his cheeks turning slightly more vermillion at your delicate touch and the slight chill.

“Can’t deny a gift from a princess, Steve.” You teased as he huffed, only using the ‘Princess Card’ when it came to him. From when he was caught sneaking food, sleeping on guard, and stepping on your foot on accident; Nothing could ever remove him from his status beside you, you made sure of it.

“The air is getting frigid, let’s go to bed.” He proposed, guiding the way back to the front gates, the large brown doors still sturdy after 1000s of years. He opened the door for you, awakening the resting watchmen outside who did a quick bow at the sight of you. You gave them a small smile, embracing the warm room you entered.

While you knew the palace inside and out, Steve always walked you to your door which was up the stairs and to the right. The large windows illuminated the hallway under the blue moon, guiding you to your door.

“Thank you, I nearly forgot where I slept.” You spoke as he smiled, allowing you into your darkened room. The door shut as you turned around, your typically tidy room left in disarray with your window opened, curtains wavering.

Stepping forward, you were stopped by a firm hand on your arm, gasping as two other men came from your closet. Stunned with shock, your eyes were gaping at the sight, turning to look at the long haired man with an unfaltering grip that moved to your torso to hold you against him.

“Steve-” You went to yell, but a hand clasped over your mouth, a string of curses coming from their lips as they manhandled you. A piece of fabric was wrapped within your lips behind your head, another bonding your arms in front of you.

“Quiet!” The man gritted as the other two grabbed at whatever prized possessions they could discover. You hoped Steve was in earshot, hearing any of your call or the uncommon rustling from your bed.

Thrown over the man's shoulder, his strength was greater than presumed as he scaled down the bricks of your home before hopping down. You were subtly grateful it was only one floor up, but noticed the night guards had not been at their usual posts.

You were jolted forward, back falling against the wooden floor of a carriage, a boxed one with no seats and only a few pieces of hay, yelping at the abrasive contact. You sat up quickly, pushing back into the corner as far away from the man as possible, but he constrained your feet as well.

While the other two argued beside the horse at the other carriage, the man who held you stared into your fear filled eyes as you witnessed a subtle hint of remorse. The lower half of his face was covered in a black covering, meaning his sight must do all the talking. He extended his hand causing you to flinch, but he shook his head, leaning forward.

Terrified, you expected some form of violence, bracing yourself for impact and praying that you go quickly if this is your time. But all you felt were his fingers under the ratted material that contained your wrists, loosening the pressure, but keeping them bound. His brown eyes flickered to yours before he backed away again, shutting the door, grasping at the sword at his side as he turned.

You could hear Steve’s muffled screams as the two men held him, dragging him towards the carriage you were in. While you wished you had never entered this scenario, period, you always felt more safe with him.

He was soon thrown into the back with a loud thud, being bound at his mouth, feet and hands like you. The mysterious man locked the door, going to the front to ride off before being caught. While he wore his belt that typically contained his sword, he was in casual clothes of beige trousers and a white, flowy shirt that laced up at the upper chest.. The other two ran to the other carriage, riding off in an opposing direction.

Your contained hands attempted to stroke his face, blood dripping from his cheek and nose, but pulled you closer. His eyes widened, glancing over your body to make sure you had not faced the same attacks he had.

The years within the castle meant you both could read each other's outward appearance well as sometimes speaking was not permitted. As you both laid against the shaking floor, you could see his anguish about letting them get to you, so you mustered a smile through the cloth.

The ride was long, the rocky roads of the countryside giving you little solace as Steve fought to undo his restraints. The case where his sword should be was empty, being knocked down onto the grass before you were both stolen.

As the sun began to rise, you looked out onto the blossoming horizon, shades of pink and yellow merging into blue had you transfixed. Sitting up, you set your back against the wall, adjusting to the brightness of the world you had yet to explore.

Anytime you left the palace, it was under complete supervision of your parents and was for diplomatic reasons. While the circumstances were poor, the slight flutter in your chest had you hoping you would be able to see some aspects of human life outside the scary men who snuck into your home.

The horse came to a stop with the snap of a whip, neighing before relaxing. The noise of leaves beneath shoes led your focus to the window before you, the long haired man glancing at the two of you. His facial expression was cold despite his warm iris’s, hair grazing his eye lashes. You had always thought these men your father had warned you about would be rigid and scary.

The door flew open as the man pulled you out, not aggressively, but his actions were nimble. Steve fought even harder to free himself as the door shut and locked again, leaving you to lean against the captators chest.

He took his hands to balance you, kneeling down, “I will untie you, but thou must not run.” His voice was kind, but the impending threat was still applicable as he began to undo the knot. He kneeled on his black trousers, the soft crinkle of his coat touching the ground as he undid the first set.

He raised to feet again as you stared downwards, focusing on his brown satchel, wondering what torturous devices were contained inside. He focused his attention on your face, reaching behind you to undo the final piece in your mouth. You stretched your sore muscles, looking towards Steve who sat perplexed within the getaway vehicle.

“He’s the feisty one, can’t guarantee he wouldn’t run.” The man mumbled under his black cloth, shoving the former restraints into his bag before reaching up to the tree to pluck an apple that was hanging. You furrowed your brows as he placed it into your hands, and as hungry as you were, nerves filled your stomach.

“If I swear he will not run, will you undo his binds?” You pleaded as the man gave you a blank stare, looking at Steve who nodded, holding up his hands. The man looked at you one more time before opening the door, pulling him to sit on the edge.

As his hands moved to the knight's mouth, it was undone promptly, Steve letting out an exaggerated breath. No words could be spoken as the man cut him off with a grumble, “Not a word or thine fate becomes worse.”

As the man walked to where he steered the carriage, you placed the apple down as you cupped Steve’s face, blood dried from the punches executed by the mysterious men.

“Oh Steve, are you alright?” You cooed with worry while he nodded, the pain having subsided to an ache long ago. But you shook your head, spotting a small lake nearby.

“Um sir?” You called to the man in all black as he turned, “If it’s not too much trouble, may I wet a cloth to clean his wounds?” He stepped forward, holding your bicep as he walked you to the waterside. You began to wet the bottom of your dress, but was given black material of his face covering, which you graciously soaked.

As you stood, you saw him in his entirety, the soft stubble upon his cheeks and plump lips coated a sweet peach hue. A bit breathless at his beauty, you gawked for a moment until he looked everywhere else but your eyes.

“Thank you.” You concluded, walking back towards Steve to wipe the cool water against his eye.

“Least your charm remains whole.” You smiled in which he returned, feeling the man beside you’s steady watch. “May I ask thine name, sir?”

“Stop calling him sir, princess. A man of danger doesn’t deserve such a title.” Steve snarked, eyes going harder as you continued your work on the battlescars. But yet you still turned to look at the other man expectantly.

Looking a bit taken back, he stood straighter, “Edward, but I go by Eddie.”

You nodded as you finished your cleansing, folding the black fabric neatly to sit beside where Steve sat. You shared your title, though he probably already knew, “And this is Steven, or Steve, my loyal Knight.”

Raising the apple to your lips, the golden fruit tastes pleasant on your tongue, especially after a few hours of bumpy roads. You held it to Steve’s mouth, which he shook his head at, never wanting to take anything for you.

“Take a bite, orders from thy royal highness.” You mocked, his eyes rolling before leaning forward to taste, the juice falling down his chin that you swiped.

Eddie stood still beside you, eyes squinting from the bright sun in the distance, hand on the hilt of his weapon absentmindedly.

“Allow her to be free and thou may do whatever you please with me.” Steve spoke, breaking the silence as you looked at him with worry, shaking your head.

Eddie smirked, “What is a crown without its jewels, I do not even recall your name.”

“Steve.” You answered, hand touching his wrists that were still brought together. “May I ask why you have taken us?”

Eddie's face remains stoic, but he doesn’t speak imminently, choosing to focus his eyes on yours. “The royal family has property beyond the means of several families, a jewel to a royal is a string of wheat to common people. It was not our intention to stow you, rather you have unsuitable timing.”

You nodded slowly as Steve shot daggers with his eyes, unimpressed by the stories the thief was spewing.

“So you wish not to harm us?” You ask, voice wavering ever so lightly, not fearing Eddie emotionally, but logically. While his act of kidnapping was not pleasant, you couldn’t feel fear when he spoke.

“Indeed. The King and Queen shall place a ransom in a matter of hours once they notice both of your disappearances, not thinking of the missing property. I will bring you both back and receive the money.” He explained, strolling over to the tree above to grab another apple, taking a bite himself.

Steve scoffed, “You will never get away with this, the King will be informed of who committed this.”

“If you do as such, there will be grave consequences. Not conducted by me, I abide by less gruesome work, but tis in your best interest if you continue.” Eddie said, taking another bite of his fruit.

“Gentleman, I have a proposition.” Their eyes went to you as you stood straighter, “Eddie, I understand thine desire for property, that all shall be. But if we must be taken from our home, I wish to see the land beyond my abilities.”

“What do thou wish to see?” Eddie grinned while Steve remained unimpressed, still hoping a fellow knight would emerge from the trees to assist them.

“Beautiful things, regular things, anything.” You sighed, glancing around at the rocky terrain and flowing water. “But you must untie him completely.”

Shockingly, Eddie agreed, reaching to untie his hands, leaving Steve to undo his own feet. Springing up, he stretched, attempting to lunge forward until you stood between them. Taking his hand, you pulled him to the side of the carriage.

“Steve, please, I wish to see the world and this is our chance!” You exclaimed, smiling so brightly that Steve almost mimicked your expression. But reality set in hastily as he heard Eddie shuffle nearby.

“Princess, tis not safe for us to be here, we know not what he is capable of. The King has asked me to protect you at all times.” He whispered, leaning down close to your face to try and not have Eddie hear.

“I wish to see things, Steve. I see not an ounce of evil in his eyes.” You spoke as Steve’s face dropped, shaking his head. Rubbing his eyebrows and pinching the bridge of his nose, discharging a poignant breath.

As he looked into your eyes, he knew it was a losing battle. After more than a decade of friendship, he knew how badly you wanted to see the world, and he would do it for you.

“Fine, but if drastic situations occur, I will do as I must to ensure your safety.” He grumbled as you grinned, jumping to hug him with a cheer. He relaxed subtly into your grasp as he hadn’t seen your face light up like this in ages.

As you retreated back inside the carriage, Eddie locked the back, sans the constraints. You leaned against the sides to look within the small openings, watching as the sun danced across the edge of the hills.

The day continued with the occasional stop to eat or to use the restroom, but was mainly spent trotting along the mysterious path. Eddie even allowed you to feed the horse pulling you all, pressing a kiss to its head as it spoke. As night began to crawl forward, Eddie found a secluded spot near a river, ceasing the trusted steed.

You rambled on to Steve about how many animals you saw on the way and how you wished your father would allow a duck on the premises for the purpose of companionship and not supper.

Eddie helped you stand, shutting the door after Steve had exited, but keeping a watchful eye on you as you wandered around the open field. Crouching down, you spotted a small frog, gasping and holding out your palm. It hopped into your touch, staring at you as you brought it closer.

The green skin was dewy under the moonlight, eyes black with a soft glint, but jumped away before you could examine further. Approaching the river, you placed your hands to rinse them, pressing some of the cool water to your face then to your mouth to drink.

“Princess!” Eddie called as Steve placed logs surrounding a pile of sticks that Eddie began to spark. A fire soon erupted, making you come closer to see it begin, squinting at the small indigo hues beneath the orange ones.

Wordlessly, Eddie handed you a piece of a loaf of bread, giving some to Steve next as you all sat down. All at different angles from the pit, you wordlessly munched on your bread from Eddie's bag of wonder.

“Your thoughts on what we’ve encountered?” Eddie asked, looking at you, expecting to see some ire at the mundaneness of the adventure. But you smiled, tapping your toes against the damp ground.

“Breathtaking. I wish one day my father would let us house animals, they were my favorite.” You explained, nibbling at the sourdough, “I hope to care for cows, sheep, and maybe even chickens!”

Eddie laughed, finding you amusement for the ordinary, endearing rather than out of touch. Steve kept a straight face towards Eddie, but softened at yours as you gushed about the parts of life he loathed. The long valleys that he had to walk to reach the castle were beautiful to you, the rain that soaked his clothes or rusted his armours danced across your skin gleefully when you could sneak outside. He saw all of life's beautiful moments within your entity.

Silence fell over the trio comfortably, the soft crack of fire filling the air accompanied by small bugs confused at its presence in the, typically, lonesome terrain. The fall air made you scoot closer to the burning wood, holding your hands close then pressing them to your neck.

“I think I’ll take a quick dip in the river before it gets too late, I feel sordid.” You broke the stillness, standing up and brushing off your rear from the dirt of the tree log.

“I follow what thou command, Princess.” Eddie joked as you smiled, beginning to walk towards the river, but stopping midway. You felt your cheeks flush as you returned to them.

“I hate to bother, but my maid, Anne, usually undoes my clothing. May I have some assistance?” You ask meekly, Steve being the first to approach, allowing you to turn around to brush your hair away.

While you stood without thought, Steve savored every moment of being this intimate with you, even through innocent means. Undoing the small buttons, his fingers struggled to hold them, but made his way down. He grazed the interlacing of your dress, undoing the white ribbon of your corset slowly. He loosened the material, frowning at how much your body decompressed.

“You mustn't be comfortable in these.” Steve mumbled, Eddie watching from his spot intently as you shrugged.

“Have worn these since I became a woman.” You responded, dodging his statement as he loosened the final row, “Thank you.”

Walking towards the riverside, the knight kept his eyes on you until you slid your dress off your shoulders, focusing on the dissipating fire that he threw more sticks into. He glanced up at Eddie, who’s eyebrows were raised in your direction, spotting you in your underclothing and going to pull up your top.

“Stop.” Steve hissed, Eddie chuckling as he pulled out a beer bottle from his satchel, popping it open with his teeth. He held up the tepid drink in faux cheers, bringing it to his lips and wincing at its bitter taste.

Steve began drawing shapes in the dirt, trying to forget you were naked a mere walk away. He had to keep any thoughts beyond his job at bay, it was too tortuous to envision himself as anything, but a friend to you. Which wasn’t even supposed to be, knights were supposed to keep their distance and protect, he just happened to be so good at the latter that it didn’t raise any red flags.

He was brought back to reality abruptly as he heard your gentle giggle, seeing Eddie making a show of looking up and down in your direction where just your head was above water, waving at the man in front of him who leaned back and saluted.

Feeling the anger bubbling, he huffed, standing up to walk against one of the various trees to find another snack. He felt a warm hand grab his shoulder, making him flinch as Eddie jolted him to the side.

“Not too far, Stallion.” He jested, shaking a branch that sent a plethora of pears down to their feet. Steve refused to acknowledge them as he reached for one above his head, leaping to finally bring it down.

“The princess is lovely” Eddie began, “I presumed she would be like her father.”

Steve huffed, leaning his back against the body of the tree, “She may be lovely, but you know nothing of her. If you did, you would know she would grant you her riches in a heartbeat.”

Eddie nodded, smiling as he took a glance over his shoulder to see your upper chest above water, your breasts still submerged in the dark liquid. He glanced back at the knight who ate the fruit vigorously, from hunger and frustration.

Only a fool would not see the affection Steve had for you, doting on you and protecting you with his whole being. But Eddie felt his own heart flutter at your beatific nature, assuming it must be due to your classical training. The image of you submerged in the cold water, hair soaked, and rubbing your arms thoroughly to cleanse them was etched in his brain.

“Well, I do believe she ought to have a cloth.” Eddie sighed, walking to his carriage to retrieve a small, tan towel. Steve stepped forward in an attempt to take it from his grasp, but Eddie walked on.

“Princess?” He called, giving you a moment to sink further into the water for your modesty, “To dry with.” He placed his gift beside your garments, looking up to see you looking a bit bashful.

“I appreciate your kindness.” You whispered as Eddie gave you a wink, making your cheeks feel more warm than previous. As he turned to walk towards the agitated knight, you stood and patted yourself dry. Your white cotton undergarments clung to your damp skin as you slid them on, beginning to grab your dress before realizing how uncomfortable it would be to lie in them.

Wrapping Eddie’s cloth around you for more modesty, you walked with dress in hand, setting it down on the carriage bed. You turned when you felt the boys gazed on you, looking at you in varying stages of bewilderment.

“Pardon my appearance, I feel I would be too unpleasant to sleep in my attire.” You spoke, holding the towel around you tighter as the boys nodded. Undergarments were typically made of linen or cotton, looking like a pair of thin trousers and a blouse, so while there was no excessive skin showing, it was the fact it was the only thing you were adorned with.

As you went to lie down, you rested your head upon the ground, listening to the hums of the fireflies fluttering about. Steve put out the fire, finding a spot close to you with respectful distance, waiting until you fell asleep to rest himself.

—

The castle walls were taller than any building Steve had ever seen, soaring above the heads of his father and mother, even his uncle, who had been a knight. The pristine opal surroundings were covered in portraits spanning decades of history, the oil paint pudging out to prove they were not copies.

He paused to stretch his muscles, the restrictive suit his mother had saved for doing little for comfort, but he played the part. The brown jacket stopped at his waist in the front, but went down to his ankles in the back, with a button up and a plaid vest underneath.

“Psst!’ He heard a small voice croak, his head whipping so fast that he almost lost his balance. The hall was empty, just the ruby rug under his worn shoes, he needed new ones after he would be paid for his first duties. Thankfully his trousers were a tad too long, covering most of them when he would walk.

A pop of hair flew behind the cream colored couch located in the room to his right, the darkened room only illuminated by the light of the hall. His eyebrows furrowed as he cautiously pushed the door open farther, zoning in on the mysterious figure behind the seat.

“Who goes there?” He called in an all, but menacing voice due to his lack of a front tooth and young voice. He forced a cough as he puffed his chest, seeing a small girl peek from behind the armrest, her tiny fingers curling around the threading with a bitten lip smile.

He had seen this face before, the youngest princess, only a year younger than he. You took tentative steps closer, wearing an ankle length white gown with ruffles on the shoulders and a pink sash around your middle. You looked cherubic under the sunlight, flashing your pearly whites with a missing front tooth as well.

Before he could introduce himself, you ran past him with only a gust of wind remaining, his eyelashes fluttering at the feeling. He walked back to the main hallway to not see you anywhere, only being met with his uncle’s harsh gaze, striding up to him.

“Steven, we must begin your training now.” Remus gruffed, taking Steve’s shoulder and marching him to the dining room. He walked silently until he heard a soft voice ring in his ears, followed by a short giggle.

“Now, Miss, you know lunch will be ready shortly!” The maid, Anne, scolded the littlest princess. Your toes flexed to peek over the wooden table, spotting the bowl of cake batter just within reach. “Go wash up now.”

You spun, running out the door and straight into his uncle’s leg. The elder man's arm extended in perfect time to catch your arm as he chuckled, steadying you on your feet and giving your back a small pat before you fled again.

He wouldn’t see you again until after dinner, just as he was about to retreat home. The hole in his shoe had grown larger around his big toe, his mother needing to sew it before he returned at dawn. They squeaked in the echoed walkway, his eyes still trying to take in his environment, he had never seen this much stuff in his whole life.

“Steven!” You rang, hurrying up to him in your nightgown, bare feet against the cold wooden floor. You introduced yourself, making him blush at the proximity of your presence, bowing just enough to not hit you.

“We should play with my dolls sometime! I have a lot of them and they have all kinds of dresses, I even have a boy one.” You gushed, holding a glass figurine tightly, showing it to him. If this had been his sister’s, he would’ve complained and said he would never do such things.

But his uncle said to do whatever necessary to make the royal family satisfied, happy even, so if playing with dolls was his favor for his country, then so be it. You leaned forward to kiss his cheek before scurrying away, he swore you never stayed still for more than five seconds, wondering if you had ever slept before.

—

Steve was absent when you woke up the next morning, there were birds chirping from the trees above, a soft whistle coming from Eddie’s lips as he fed the horse. Sitting up, you stretched to release a crack in your back, wincing to make the man look towards you.

Giving a warm smile, you had no idea that your covering had fallen, leaving just your white linen upon your chest. Eddie grinned, but wandered his gaze down to your chest where the outline of your nipples poked through. He let his filthy mind wonder what you might taste like, from your nipples, to your soft belly, and between your legs that hadn’t been discovered yet.

“Where is Steve?” You yawned, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as Eddie walked towards you, sitting down with an oof.

“Off to look for food.” Eddie replied, remembering the argument that ensued when he insisted Steve go scavenging for something to eat besides apples and pears. Not wanting to leave your side, he protested until he heard your stomach rumble in your sleep, sending him away.

The two of you sat in silence as you looked down at your hands in your lap, gasping when you realized your state of undress. Eddie chuckled as you wrapped it tightly around your frame, glancing down to still see just a curve of your breast.

“Thought you were giving me a show, darling.” He teased, and to his pleasant surprise, you laughed and smacked his arm. “What can I say, I'm merely a man!”

Your eyes rolled at his quip, “A man who must control himself.”

“What if I can’t around you?” He replied, meaning to be cheeky, but could see your stunned expression. He was rarely a man lost for words, finding anything to begin a conversation on, but as he looked into your eyes still wet from sleep, he felt helpless.

There was control in his body, but it was at your command. He wanted to take care of you, despite being the one to land you in this predicament, although a part of him knew you enjoyed the journey. To see somewhere besides the grand castle, to see more than just the same fifty faces you had grown accustomed to.

Nerves filled his body at his last words, hoping he hadn’t scared you off or forced you into discomfort. Eddie knew if Steve tried hard enough, he could likely kill him, but wouldn’t due to your fondness for the mysterious criminal.

“Why do you steal?” You asked earnestly, as looking into Eddie’s brown eyes, snapping him from his daze and making his own chest thump out of tune.

“Way of life,” He shrugged, “As a boy, my elder cousin brought me with him in his crimes. While I began as a companion by force as no one could care for me, slowly I integrated within this way of life.”

Anticipating some form of disgust, he was shocked to see a look of comprehension, reaching your hand over to his larger one. His hands were warm from stroking the horses mane under the rising sun, making them a tad clammy under your touch.

“Thine do not choose how we must survive.” You stated, squeezing his palm and letting it rest there as Eddie looked towards you. The simple words warmed Eddie’s demeanor, a rouge tint coaxing his cheeks as you smiled.

He let your hand stay within his, enjoying the comforting touch and that you had no urgency to retrieve it. Your hands were soft under his, his thumb rubbing your knuckle soothingly. He glanced back up to see you looking at him unwaveringly, face mere centimeters from his.

“What is the punishment if a thief engages the princess in a kiss?” He questioned, his breath fanning your face as your eyes fluttered. You swallowed as his hand cupped your cheek, bringing you closer to press his lips against yours.

The kiss was innocent and sweet, foreign to Eddie who grew in the company of scoundrels. Parting his lips gently to deepen the moment, your movement stuttered as your posture altered to be closer to his body. You relaxed under his skillful precision, his warm saliva mixing with yours.

Despite the crisp fall air, you felt sunkissed beneath your skin, warming under the mysterious man’s touch. It reminded you of extending your bare arms from your window, catching a glimpse of the starch whtie clouds in the distances that did little to dim the intensity of the world's brightest star.

He felt your sharp intake of breath as you realized what was occurring, casting your sight downard as you held a hand to your mouth. Despite his desires, he knew a princess did not engage in intimacy until they were married. With only a small amount of time in your presence, he could see you were compliant with the rules, even if they frustrated you.

Before either of you could speak, there was a rustling in the bushes, making the anxious man stand and place his hand on his sword. His stance fell as Steve emerged with cucumbers and blueberries, presumably from land nearby.

“Good morning, princess.” He nodded, never forgetting how you complained of his formality of bowing before you, leading him to just a nod.

“Good morning, how did you sleep?” You inquired as he sat across from you, Eddie creating a triangle position between the three of you as he sat. Feeling your heart beating faster than ever, you took unassuming breaths to stabilize yourself.

He responded well, reaching into his pants pocket to retrieve a small knife, beginning to cut up the green vegetable as you ate a few of the ripe blueberries. Eddie indulged in some as well, still a bit restless from the encounter only moments before.

The sound of chewing was the only noise as you enjoyed the change of taste, an odd combination that was pleasant by surprise. Your heart was still racing from the scandalous exchange from Eddie, enjoying the feeling of his lips upon yours.

“Whence off to today?” Steve wondered, shoving another bite in his mouth as Eddie coughed on his bite.

“More North, we shall go miles ahead, then turn around to return to the palace.” Eddie explained, watching your face fall.

No words departed from your lips as you looked downward, sniffling with no tears and standing. Grabbing your outer clothes, you walked behind a larger tree to dress yourself, leaving the men to sit by themselves.

Yanking the heavy fabric on, you got it on as well as you could manage before beckoning someone to help you. Without turning around, hands began to tighten your corset, your breath hitching with surprise. Then the buttons of your gown were connected, working their way from your lower back, figuring it was Steve due to the precision.

As you turned to thank him, you saw Eddie’s weary expression before tilting a corner of his lip upward. You felt the heat rise to your face, nodding at him, “Thank you, sir.”

He hated how your manners turned him on, especially when you referred to him as sir, even lawmen didn’t call him sir, nonetheless a princess. His hands relaxed at your hips, right beside where he had tied the backing, cautiously inching towards your face.

His lips moved in sync with yours, your back going flush against the elder tree, a few leaves falling to the ground from the seasons changing. It only lasted brief seconds before you both returned to Steve, wiping the back of your hand against your tingling mouth. Eddie opened the backseat of the carriage, allowing you to go first followed by your knight before he went to steer.

“I must apologize, I tried to assist, but his feet were quick.” Steve whispered, but you assured him all was well.

“Fear not, I have grown closer with Eddie, he makes me comfortable.” You insisted, being met with Steve's apprehension. He could never understand how accepting you were, even in times of danger, which made his heart swell with affection and worry.

“You know not of this man.” He responded, leaning closer as the carriage began to make its way down the hilly terrain.

You remained quiet as you observed the countryside, spotting farms and quaint cottages with smoke coming from the chimney. A small group of children rushed past, giggling with small wicker baskets in hand, presumably their meals.

Steve tried to familiarize himself with the area, some locations looking too similar to others to make a distinction. The breeze felt nice against his skin, running through his long hair and cooling his body. He didn’t enjoy the feeling of helplessness, his duty was always to protect you and the palace, so to be at a place of uncertainty was new.

The land was not as rambunctious in comparison to larger villages or countries, rather the majority of people were working class, only some richer and a bit more poorer. He thought of his family at home, his parents and two younger sisters, aged 13 and 15. He helped support them all and cared for them deeply, he hopes they were not informed about his disappearance. Only because he wishes they wouldn’t worry.

Around midday, the trotting horse halted at a small pond to drink, Eddie releasing you both from the back to stretch. He wiped sweat from his brow, removing his black hat to fiddle with his long locks before placing it back on, his beauty was remarkable.

Across the small pond was more fruits and vegetables growing wildly, calling your name as you went towards it. As you tried to stretch your leg across it, you shrieked when Eddie’s arm wrapped around your waist to hoist you up and step across. You giggled as he sat you down, Steve close behind, but you pranced to the bushes.

“Your hands shall stay far from her.” Steve hissed, irritated at Eddie’s lack of care when it came to touching you, a speck of jealousy burning his lower gut.

“Only thine hands?” Eddie smirked as the fellow man's cheeks burned adamantly. “She seemed not bothered by touch today and yesterday.”

Steve’s brows furrowed, “What do you mean?”

“Thine sweet lips are soft like thine hands.” He responded cockily, jutting his head towards you, walking up to you as you snacked on fresh celery. As he left the knight standing in his place, Steve couldn’t believe such a false prophecy, presuming it was just a tale to upset him, so he marched forward to join you in your modest feast.

He ate begrudgingly as you looked around, trying to spot as many critters as possible without leaving the men's eyesight. You ran gleefully through the empty field, twirling your dress through the wind, wishing you could be carried through the sky.

“This is remarkable! God’s creation leaves me in awe.” You cooed, picking up scattered flowers from the overgrown terrain that tickled your ankles.

“Tis how I feel looking upon you, your royal highness.” Eddie spoke, enjoying the way you became flustered with Steve rolling his eyes. Mumbling something about relieving himself, he walked to a secluded place to leave you and Eddie alone.

He stood up, sauntering behind you as you looked upon the hills, gawking at their beauty. He captured your elbow, pulling it back to look into your eyes. He leaned in to move his lips gracefully down your bare neck.

His grasp moved to your waist, holding them still against his body as you breathed heavily. You eventually shrank away as he released you immediately, looking to make sure he hadn’t upset you.

“Eddie, we shouldn’t, Steve is right there!” You whispered, adjusting your dress despite there being little to correct.

“Why must that matter?” He questioned, his face close to yours once more, your lips pursing in a flat line. Before you could respond, Steve returned with an unpleasant look on his face, unaware of the way the other man fondled you.

“Edward, may we have a moment alone?” Steve asked, though he would just usher you away from the man even if there was opposition, Eddie obliged nonetheless.

Steve held your elbow, guiding you a bit west from your initial placement as the other man busied himself with feeding the horse the leftover findings. Steve huffed as he fiddled with his hair, clearly thinking of his approach.

“Princess, we should return to the palace at once, your family is likely sick with dread.” Steve spoke, watching your disappointment appear in just moments. He instinctively cupped your jaw despite never committing the action prior, stroking his thumb against your warm cheek. “I know you wish to see the world, but we must inform your father.”

You shook your head in disbelief, trying to wrap your brain around the freedom you had experienced despite being captured. Staring at each other in silence, the whistling wind flew through both sets of ears as Steve fell deep into your gaze.

While it was just seconds, it felt like minutes as his eyes bored into yours, trying to scan for some indication of distinctive emotion. But what should either of you feel right now? What is the correct way to feel when being taken by a handsome, kind thief who hasn’t harmed you or anyone so far.

“I can’t return, Steve, not yet.” You spoke lowly, playing with the prodding fabric on your body, silk ribbon rubbing easily in your grasp.

Before contemplating his actions, he kissed your lips, his touch gentle as if you were made of glass. You returned the movement, feeling the flutter in your abdomen as his nose brushed against yours.

The feeling of joy filled your body, just as when you interacted with Eddie hours previous, but while Eddie reminded you of the heat of summer, Steve was spring. Steve made you feel like an April morning, the sun up just enough to make you warm, comforting as it shined more intensely as it progressed. His lips moved skillfully as he made his way to explore your mouth, but his eyes flew open.

Abruptly pulling away, his features coaxed in panic at what he had done, “Forgive me, your royal highness.” He turned to walk away, going straight past the fellow man and into the carriage. As much as he wanted to regret it, he had been waiting for that moment for years, just not under such circumstances.

His finger trailed against his mouth, believing he could still feel yours against his if he closed his eyes and thought hard enough. Your warm touch was enough to make him want to throw away all morals he had grown accustomed to, finding a new way of purity through your skin and love.

As you stood still, the feeling of both men against you replayed in your mind, their touches both making you feel ecstatic. While Eddie was derived from lust and new found affection, discovering you for the first time and hastily making his move as if you might vanish. Steve was patient, knowing his devotion had flourished over time with innocence, stemming from childhood fondness.

Shaking the cloud from your consciousness, you walked towards them, silently sitting beside Steve as Eddie locked the back. When the horse began to gallop, the shoes clunking against the grown, you averted your gaze to the view despite feeling eyes upon you.

A few hours had gone by in silence, your mind pondering the events that still confused you. The way your heart knew little difference between a man you had just met and one who had grown up by your side. Their touches so different, yet enticing, your knees becoming weak at just the thought.

“Princess?” Steve uttered, the pads of his fingers pinching the cuffs of his shirt, shuffling his feet. Turning around, you nodded for him to continue, feeling your mouth dry up. Opening his mouth to speak was futile as not a noise came out, eventually chuckling at his own nerves.

“Have I made you unpleasant?” He implored, his demeanor making your chest clench, so you swiftly shook your head. A wave of relief fell upon him as he smiled, watching as you returned it, “May I do it again?”

He pecked your lips, moving slightly away before doing it again, still struggling to believe this was happening. You placed your hand gingerly on his chest as his went to your lower back, deepening the embrace. His tongue slid past your lips timidly, easing its way into your mouth and exploring the place he had fantasized for years.

You returned the adventure, finding your way through his, your tongues gliding against one anothers in harmony. He guided you to your back, one hand came to your waist with his other elbow beside your head. A jolt in the journey causes you both to cease, glancing outside the window to see a large farm.

You looked in wonder, scooting up to poke your face through the black metal bars, trying to make out the blurry dots in the distance. Your shriek startled both boys as you usually remained poise, but you could not hold your excitement when you saw the soft animals approach you.

“Sheep! Look at all of them!” You beamed, hands shaking with excitement as you heard Eddie laugh, stopping the vehicle to release you. Your feet could not move fast enough as you hopped over the wooden barricade, ignoring Steve’s initial plea to not hurt yourself.

Approaching the small lamb, no more than a few weeks old, you cooed as it met you halfway. Her soft call was heightened as you stroked her soft fur, allowing you to hold her to your chest. You sat down on the ground, dress pooling around you as another small sheep tried to gallop over.

Both men watched in awe as you interacted with the delicate creatures, infatuated with your joy at simple creations. Once they had wandered from your lap, you stood to see the other animals, spotting a small group of baby chicks with their mamas.

Their yellow complexion stood out against the brown soil, chirping away as they ate their food, pecking the ground. Taking the back of your hand, you grazed them, mumbling an apology as you startled one or two.

“This land belongs to my mother’s sister, she always welcomes guests.” Eddie stated, holding a hand out to help you rise, “She must have a loaf of bread and some meat if that sounds desirable?” You nodded, following his way to the small house made of red bricks and brown wood. The flowers that decorated the outside reminded you of home, but these were free from even constraints of pots.

You and Steve remained outside as Eddie conversed with his aunt, not wanting her to catch a glimpse of the missing princess, despite likely having no idea you were gone in the first place due to her reclusion.

Steve’s fingers scattered against your hip, a sharp noise coming from you that made him laugh boisterously. You pushed his chest away playfully, holding your arms around yourself for extra security as he looked at you fondly. He had been waiting years to outwardly show his tenderness for you, usually having to insist it was just knightly duties of attentiveness, but now as he was able to touch you, he doesn’t know if he can contain himself.

He engaged in a small peck, savoring the ability to place his lips against yours. He secretly hoped Eddie would see, mainly to see his frustrated expression and grumble. This wouldn’t happen as you backed away with a small giggle, putting your face against his cheek and sitting down.

Eddie returned with a basket, marching back to the southern end of the property where his brown horse stood. Sitting upon the ground, he unveiled a loaf of bread, meat and cheeses, a jar of jelly and some homemade cookies. You moaned subconsciously at the sight, unaware of the effect the noise would have on the two beside you, too focused on the alluring meal.

“Your aunt is an exquisite chef.” You mused after one bite, quickly taking another bite of the warm bread and strawberry topping.

“I must confide that I agree.” Steve laughed, swallowing his combination of meat and cheese on his share. Eddie smiled, accepting the compliment on her behalf, knowing how beloved her cooking was amongst the family.

“When I was a young boy, she taught me to bake bread, I still remember.” He recalled, relishing in some of the only positive memories of his adolescence. Your gleeful expression made him blush, pushing another piece in.

A comfortable silence took hold as you observed the land surrounding you, while you had never been to this place, it felt familiar. It felt like this was right where you were supposed to be at this given moment, not at the palace or attending lessons, but with your pristine dress against the coarse ground.

“Where are we, Eddie?” While you knew it was his aunt’s house, you were unsure of the exact location as there wasn’t another home for miles, just a dirt road that had to have been there for years.

The man in black shrugged, his jaw moving as his eyes squinted, swallowing his lunch. “About ten miles east of the central city.” You nodded, lighting up shortly after as you realized how close you were.

“Steve, your family resides there!” You exclaimed, crossing your legs and placing your hands in your lap. You had heard plenty of stories about Steve’s parents and sisters, how his father worked in the fields nearby and his mom enjoyed embroidering.

His two younger sisters had given letters to you through Steve, ecstatically telling you about their daily duties and adventures around town. You would send them notes back, instructing Steve not to peer into them, with a few flowers and pastries you snagged from the kitchen.

“Yes, but they live further into town, about five miles south.” He informed, rubbing his palms together before placing them behind himself to prop up.

“Ah, my favorite bar is around there, Paul’s Saloon.” Eddie hummed, smiling at his fond memories of getting plastered at the cozy bar. His grin grew as you looked up with wonder, shuffling towards him.

“You’ve been to a saloon?” You asked curiously, only knowing what one looked like through old novels. You fantasized about being in normal clothes, sitting there as no one around you even paid attention, just sipping a cool drink in bliss.

He nodded, “Multiple times, I will take you some time.”

“Don’t get her hopes up.” Steve mumbled, opening the small canteen of water brought in the wicker basket.

“Steve, don’t be a prude, every lady deserves a drink!” Eddie replied slyly, winking at you for extra effect, “Have you ever been to a bar?”

The knight's cheeks flushed, flickering his sight from you, who looked more confused at his hesitance, and Eddie, who knew exactly why he hesitated. Wiping a few beads of sweat from his forehead and pushing back stray hairs, “Once or twice.”

“What! You never told me such things!” You gasped, your hand absentmindedly resting on Eddie's crossed leg, which he definitely noticed with pride.

“Now, what would a loyal knight do at such places?” Eddie taunted, wearing a slick grin at watching the man in question become flustered.

Steve sat in silence and in thought, debating on how to properly word his experiences. You told each other everything, except his feelings for you, but you weren’t aware of that until a few hours ago. He was your gateway into normality, his stories flooded your brain as you watched from afar.

“I would have a drink or two.” He muttered, screwing the lid back on the water and setting it to his right side, crushing a flower in the process. You nodded, sensing his discomfort and not prodding more than necessary, but Eddie was not so easily swayed.

“Encounter any ladies?” Eddie proposed, making the other man’s cheeks drain of all color, he knew where this was headed.

He swallowed harshly, “Not any I would like to see.” Careful of his vocabulary as you nodded, lip between your teeth. What Steve did outside the castle was technically none of your business, if he chose to have affairs of intimate nature, that was his right. But the gargling jealousy of someone else touching him left you confused.

“Ah, knight’s celibacy, how could I forget?” Eddie jested, wiping his hands on his black pants, crumbs of the baguette falling onto the ground beneath him.

The sound of Steve choking was music to Eddie’s ears, snickering as you quickly lifted water up to him. While this helped soothe his throat, his embarrassment was not so easily healed as most members of society respect knights for their steadfast security, not mentioning the fact they had to wait for their wedding bed.

“You talk like this in front of a lady?” Steve chastised, eyes during a deep shade of umber, honing in on the cocky man in front of him. The tension grew significantly in these few moments, but his opponent was always amused, especially when your face contorted with disarray.

“I’m your best friend too!” You began, eager to know of this secret between them, that something happened besides discussions between the opposing sexes. There was a romance novel you had peeked into once that gave you a relative idea, but maybe you just wanted to hear them say it.

“I do more than talk in front of ladies, maybe that’s why I’m so good at engaging with them.” The words rolled off his tongue too easily as he interjected, taking a taunting bite of his bread with blueberry jam, making a show of sucking the residue from his thumb to release with a pop.

Your downward focus made you realize the silver bands against Eddie’s long fingers, watching as they fondled strands of grass. A small heat brewed between your legs, your eyebrows furrowing as you adjusted your seated position.

Reaching over to hold one, his hand was more harsh than yours from years of physical labor, including a scar near his thumb that had faded to a bump. Twisting the silver rings, you looked at the details on each digit, skimming them to feel their texture.

On his index finger was a thin band, a design of leaves engraved across the whole piece with small specks of black from wear. His middle finger held the largest piece, a skull ring that shined under the afternoon sun, smooth as if it were freshly made. Lastly, on his ring finger was a circle pendant, a sketch of an ancient Greek god amongst the roaring sea.

“Poseidon?” You peeped, his left limb still in your lap as he glanced over. He nodded, wiggling his fingers against your cotton dress.

“I like Aphrodite the best.” You smiled, recalling the numerous stories you had read surrounding the myths, always being drawn towards romance in your novels.

“Goddess of love.” Steve quipped before Eddie could because he was the one who you would read with, he was the one who would sneak in books from local bookstores for you, he was the one who knew you longer than a day.

“And lust.” Eddie whispered mockingly, booping your nose as you felt blood rush to your cheeks. Your nervous giggle filled the air as you stood, brushing the stray dirt from your bottom, checking behind you to make sure it did not stain.

As you began to move, you recalled the pile of cookies in the basket, grabbing a handful before walking back to the carriage. The men behind you stretched in place, Eddie wrapping the leftover food tightly so they could snack later.

Both of their regards went to you as your dress flew in the wind, the pure white material making you seem like an angel. Eddie knew this was supposed to be a stealthy mission, but he would be an idiot to deny the way his legs felt numb in your presence and mouth felt dry when you spoke.

“Do not corrupt her, please.” Steve broke the silence, looking at the man with pleading eyes, “She is kind, gentle, and she would give you whatever you desired. I hope your intentions are pure and not to harm her, emotionally or physically.”

As much as Eddie wanted to be frustrated at Steve’s insinuation that his feelings were faux, he could see the care under his eyes. He had never realized how beautiful they were in this lighting, just as yours were in a different shade.

“I am aware and I have grown fond of her, Stallion.” He chuckled, throwing his bag across his shoulder, the basket firm in his right grasp, “It is hard not to be.”

They approached the vehicle as you tried to subtly give the horse a cookie, “Eddie, do they have a title?”

“I have not yet thought of a name for her, any suggestions?” He chuckled while snatching away the treat, awaiting your response as you stared into her eyes, she blinked slowly as you stroked her long hair.

“I will call her Beauty. You decided, knowing Eddie did not give much thought to naming his getaway animal, but you believed everyone deserves a name.

He concorded, wandering back to the opening as Steve sat waiting. Eddie looked upon the flushed man with a knowing smirk, averting towards you.

“Would thou like to ride with me?” He asked, seeing your face light up as you skipped to the front, sitting beside his spot. Steve was unable to process what had happened before the gate had locked, feeling like a dog in its cage. The faint sound of your excitement could be made out through the noises of the environment, from Beauty’s frolick to the wooden wheels scraping against the rocks beneath it.

“The land is leaving me in awe.” You gushed, trying to find where to avert your focus to as the scenery came and went quickly, “Isn’t it beautiful, Steve?”

“Yes, it’s great.” He responded flatly, throwing a rock against the wooden door, creating a game with himself that if he managed to hit it in the same spot 10 times in a row, the carriage would fall apart and he could just walk home.

“Steve is just jealous you got the front seat.” Eddie snickered, making you chuckle as well, covering your mouth before mumbling sorry as you turned to see his glare through the slot opening.

Eddie tried to remain focused on the site ahead, but as your breasts bounced with the accentuated by your corset, he found himself straining blood to a specific region of his body. But he persisted, only looking into your eyes or before him, counting backwards if his mind began to ponder.

The scenery screamed a life of freedom for you as the animals roamed, the trees swayed, and the grass grew according to its own will. You lifted your hands up to feel the wind trickle against your skin, closing your eyes to embrace its delicate swish.

The carriage came to a screeching halt, hearing Steve curse from the back as he was thrown against the firm wall. Eddie stood wordlessly, unlocking the back before muttering about having to relieve himself. His stomping disappeared against the trees as you stood confused, Steve rolling his eyes, making a comment about how he should have after they ate. As a minute turned to two and turned to five, you became worried at his strange disappearance.

“I shall go look for him, tis odd he is gone.” You announced, Steve beginning to argue he was likely fine, but you had begun making your way towards his direction.

You heard an odd noise in the depths of the woods, warily moving to see it was Eddie, an unforeseen noise of surprise making him jump. The crimson flush on his cheek was deepened, but his hand gripped his dick of the same color. You looked bewildered at the sight, knowing you should retreat to save embarrassment, but not having the strength to.

“You must forgive me, your royal highness” He breathed, lazily stroking himself, “I mean not to offend, but the mere thought of you is enough to make me succumb to sin.”

The words made your skin feel hot as you took a cautious step closer as he leaned against a tree, biting his lip. Timidly reaching your hand out without eye contact, he held it and placed it upon his throbbing erection.

His sigh of relief as you stoked him made you squirm, twisting the balls of your heels in the dirt. Leaving just enough room to not press him against your dress, he reminded himself of your innocence to keep himself in check, but even that was wearing thin as an idea popped in his head.

“Kneel before me.” He growled, twitching as you followed his orders, staring at him for your next instruction. He ran a hand against your face, settling on your cheek, pulling your mouth open with his thumb.

Your tongue popped out, allowing him to tap his tip against it, giving you a moment before you encapsulated him in your mouth. He let out a low groan as you sucked gently, closing your eyes.

He let himself guide you up and down, stopping before you would choke. You clenched your thighs as you continued the foreign act, unsure as to what this would result in and why it felt so good to conduct. As shame attempted to cover you, it was no match for Eddie’s praise.

“Behold upon me, sweetheart.” Eddie grumbled, keeping his voice low to not alert the anxious knight nearby. You hesitated before meeting his gaze, eyes hazy as you tried to decide if it was better to focus or let your mind waver.

His thumb affectionately ran across your upper cheek, the pad of it skimming across your eyelashes, making them flutter. You wondered if this act was truly sinful as it didn’t feel immoral, it felt natural as his flesh entered yours, causing him pleasure physically. Did the sin come from the fact you enjoyed his humane pleasures just as much?

Hips stuttering into your jaw, curses you had only heard from guards strung from his lips as a warm release left him, causing you to furrow your eyebrows at the peculiar sensation. Praises soon flooded your ears as he opened his eyes, features much more relaxed as he placed his cock back beneath his trousers.

“I had never seen or done such things before.” You revealed, though Eddie was fairly certain that had to be the case as he smiled down at you, running his thumb against your lips. Guilt threatened to fill your chest, but the way he looked at you felt too earnest. Too innocent.

“Unhand her now!” Steve yelled from the distance, seeing the compromising position you were in as you scrambled to your feet, “If my eyes do not deceive me, anger courses through my veins, you little-.”

You had never seen Steve’s face so stern as he approached Eddie, more intimidating than ever before. While he had only seen the ending pose, he didn’t need proper education to be aware of what had occurred before he had searched. Fear settled in your gut, but the same fire you felt knelt on the ground below resonated as well.

“The princess was a willing participant, you’re just angry it was not you.” Eddie jutted in, watching even more blood than he thought humanly possible rise to the forefront of Steve’s fair complexion. It was only moments before both men were on the ground, tousling with harsh hands as you stood momentarily paralyzed.

“Stop!” You begged, inching closer, but soon Eddie got the upperhand above Steve, receiving harsh blows to his gut, “Boys please!” But your words fell on no ears as they continued and you loathed how hot it made you. The reality of the situation slapped you across the face as you stood, mixed emotions succumbing to you.

“Enough!” You shouted, not noticing the tears down your cheeks as both men ceased, looking in worry at your distraught exterior. They stood, shaking the leaves and dirt from his hair and skin that left their clothes with small stains.

“Have you been hurt?” Steve asked, holding your arms caringly, but you shrugged away with a harsh breath. Shaking your head, you looked at both men and saw the same look of compassion. The various shades of brown captivating you in your place as your turbulent emotions wreak havoc on your composure.

Slowly backing away, hands shaking against your sides, you gulped as you tried to ground yourself. Playing a reel of snow falling, a fireplace cracking, the decor at Christmas time; Anything to bring some resemblance of tranquility to your skittish mindset.

When that failed, you turned and began to run, hearing the protests from behind you. The sounds of your panting and the wind filled your consciousness as you dodged the trees, paying no attention to the rocks or dips in the uncommon ground. The freedom of fleeing was exhilarating, not knowing where you were, being one with obscurity.

The men looked bewildered as they tried to follow, eventually losing sight of you through the tousle of nature, retreating back to the trusted Beauty to ride to find you. They sat next to each other on the bench as they scanned the changing landscape, calling your name and not your title to avoid lingering ears.

The anger shared between them had begun to dissipate as they searched, it had been their unrulish tempers that had upset you in the first place. They stopped to look on foot, staying together in secret fear one would run off with her if alone.

“I hope we have not upset her too strongly.” Steve admits and all Eddie can do is nod. Eddie felt a familiar pang of guilt, something his whole life is dictated by. His way of living is being a thief from those who deserve it, those who have so much to give, but chose not to. He never would have guessed he would learn to cherish someone of the same blood of men who left people hungry on the streets.

But you were kind. You were caring, unaware of the terrors of reality, yet so understanding of those who retreat to law breaking strategies. He wanted to protect you and not knowing where you were was slowly driving him mad.

Eddie didn’t usually dream of a life greater than being a highwayman, having left those fantasies behind him as he realized what he must do to support his loved ones, but you made him wish for something different. He had only known you for hours, but he wished he could make you satisfied forever.

As they marched closer to the waterline, they both stopped when they heard faint cries, looking west to see you crouched against the cold ground. Your face buried in your hands and only shooting upwards when you saw them, beginning to walk backwards.

“Please do not run, princess, we wish to apologize.” Eddie spoke, reaching a hand out, “Our behavior has been crass, no way to act in front of a woman of your caliber.”

“Yes, we apologize, it is dangerous in these woods and I don’t want to see you hurt.” Steve added, managing to take a step closer as well.

You stood frozen, shaking your head, “I can’t be surrounded by you kind men as my own confused heart has ruined yours.”

“You have not ruined anything, Princess.” Steve replied gently, taking a cautious step closer, “Our manly urges have upset you.”

“Your urges have not upset me, but the overflowing love I have for both of you has. It is not fair, I can not return to the palace either, there is no room for me anywhere!” You cried, hands going to your hair desperately, “It is wrong for me to feel this way towards a man who I am not married to, I haven’t even heard of two men and a woman outside of folklore!”

The men decreased the space between you then, their looks fluctuating from sadness to confusion. The rustling of the water helps calm your body briefly, recalling the painting of Ophelia submerged in water, her eyes barely open as flowers surround her. You wish you could turn into the river, cascading down the land with no purpose, but to supply those around you.

“Everything will be okay, we will make sure you are okay.” Steve assured, snapping you from your attempted composure.

“I have been set to be betrothed.” You choke out, watching both faces fall in disbelief, “We encountered King John due to diplomatic measures last month when we went across the sea.”

“For why? You are barely twenty years of age, your elder sister was twenty five when she was married.” Steve asked in disbelief, shocked that this had happened and he wasn’t made aware.

“My father says it is because of a business proposition with King John’s land, but I can’t! He is cruel, treating me poorly when I was merely seen as just a princess and not a suitor. He has no respect for me, like I am a child, but telling my father just days ago he wished for 10 children! He is 30 years older than I, I can not love this man and will not as I would rather die.” You burst, becoming increasingly louder before falling short with a bellowed wail.

Your voice softened as you croaked your next words as they looked intently, “My father informed me that the wedding would be in mere days, not asking for my opinion. He then said Steve would not be permitted to come with me as you belong to him, King John even insisted no maids, including Anne, accompany me so I am by my lonesome.“

Steve’s face drained of color as he stepped closer, his own eyes murky with tears, struggling to think of any words that may help this scenario. You had not spent more than a day apart since you had met 13 years ago, the thought that you would not see him even every month made him feel distraught.

“That night Eddie appeared, I had wanted to run away. Thy speak of bad timing, but it is divine intervention.” You whimpered, glancing at Eddie who’s eyes remained glued to you. “Settling for him would be my way of survival, not love, for I have no right to do so. Thine don’t choose how to survive.”

Wordlessly, Steve took your face in his hands and kissed you passionately. Tears mixed within one another, the salty taste slipping between your lips as your arms went around your neck, his arms settling on your waist.

“My words fall short as I stand before you, but every star has heard my professions of love nightly.” Steve unleashed, still holding you against his chest and legs brushing against one anothers. “We were just children when my eyes first landed upon you, beginning as friends, but my feelings grew to be far stronger. My orders to be thy most loyal knight came easy as that duty became my honor. Your heart is large and if shared with someone with the same great deal of affection, then so be it, but do not forfeit love, I could not bare it.”

His lips collided with yours, more reminiscent of an evening in March, the cool weather threatening its way inward despite the longing for warmth. You wished you could go back to days years ago, when you and Steve would sit upon a blanket on those March afternoons, reading a novel aloud to entertain him as he ‘worked’. Things would never be the same. Spring showers cascaded against your skin as his warm embrace captured you, every love poem ever recited being injected into your veins through the movement of his mouth. The kind of ache in your heart that you never felt for anyone besides the man in front of you and behind him overwhelmed you.

You leaned your forehead against his as your mouths departed, looking at the man to your right, anxiously stretching out his hand. You left Steve’s warm embrace to be granted into Eddie’s, hands resting on his chest as you peered up to him with wonder. While Steve’s grasp was brought by familiarity, Eddie’s was foreign to you, but both brought unwavering solace.

“I have only known you for a brief period, but my heart aches at the thought of parting with you. You remind me of everything good, everything I had forgotten about years ago when I decided no woman worthy of loving would ever love me. Even if you care for me half as much as I care for you, I would be the luckiest bastard who's ever lived. Damn being your husband, I'd be your paramour just to keep you in my arms.” Eddie panted as if he had waited to say those words since you had met, “Loving you most ardently will not be deferred by the love shared for him simultaneously. At least he has good hair.”

You laughed before his lips fell against yours, moving in sync as he pushed you onto him, a bit rougher than Steve had. You squeak and slightly lean back, but able to keep the connection. It’s a swarm of hand movements and noises, eventually feeling another set pressing against your warm neck. Eddie breaks away, tearing off his long black coat, placing it down to allow you to relax. You sit down with your hands planted behind you, watching him kneel before you as Steve stands behind you, your back resting on his firm calves.

Eddie pulls your undergarment down your legs, causing you to blush profusely as the thin white pants are thrown to the side. Steve’s nimble hands began to undo your dress and corset, leaving you in just your undershirt which was quickly thrown off. Your hands went to cover yourself as you were aware of how clothed the men around you were.

Sensing this, they each discarded their shirts, Steve sitting behind you to feel your warm skin placed against his. Steve lowered your hands, fondling your breasts as you gasped, evident at your perk nipples. He placed haste kisses on your neck as Eddie leaned down to your cunt, moaning at it peeking through the tuft of hair. His tongue slid against your hole, making you jolt against Steve’s firm grip.

“Tastes like heaven.” Eddie mumbles, gripping your thighs to spread them further. His mouth dragged across your slick folds, swirling around your throbbing clit as fingers intruded you.

“Eddie!” You gasped, hand flying to hold Steve’s bicep as you trembled, “This feels funny.” Your innocence only made him quicken his pace inside of you, your gummy walls strangling just two fingers like a vice. Your breathing turned to whines as Steve stroked your hair, hushing you as a warm feeling filled your belly.

“Let it happen, relax.” Steve cooed, watching as Eddie pumped his fingers in and out, his tongue masterfully working against your clit. Your legs began to shake as pleasure seeped through your limbs, feeling like you had no control over their next move.

Steve’s deep breaths kept you grounded as Eddie's warm mouth brought you to the brink of insanity. His lips pinched your clit tightly to make you flinch, going back to sucking shortly after as his spit made excellent lubricant in combination with your pooling wetness. Your mewls were met with encouragement, Eddie’s mischievous eyes flickering to yours as he smiled, fingers still pumping to that spot inside of you that made you feel weak.

“Feels good.” Is all you can muster, feeling them both laugh at their varying positions. As your pants quicken, the knight yanks your legs apart to hold them still as the man with his mouth on you works his magic. You almost believe it has to be witchcraft, the way these men were able to make you feel in such a short amount of time.

Your first orgasm came and went with a blinding light, crying out as the man between your legs worked your sensitive hole and the man behind you squeezed your breasts. You breathed deep with your eyes clamped shut, processing the sudden events that just took place. The boys were patient as you regained composure, damp kisses to your thigh and hugs. Finally looking to see their pleased faces, you couldn’t help, but giggle in bliss as they stood.

Your laughter ceased when their pants were stripped, leaving them bare in front of you. Looking at Steve naked for the first time made your thighs clench, rising to your knees in front of him. Eddie began playing with your hair as you pressed your mouth against Steve’s tone thighs.

“Gonna show him what I taught you earlier?” Eddie asked, pushing your hair as far back as possible when you leaned forward to put your mouth on the other man. Steve released a guttal moan as you sucked on the tip of his length, the soft pink skin filling your mouth.

As you pushed farther down, you heard a soft wet noise from behind you, glancing to see Eddie playing with himself behind you. Your moan sent vibrations against Steve’s skin, making his hips jut forward as he apologized, but the feeling of him pressing against your throat was riveting. He backed away from you, much to your dismay, but knelt in front of you. Hands found their way to your frame as they manhandled you onto your back. Eddie went before you, stroking his length against your soaking entrance, but you jolted away.

“What is…” You trailed off, eyes hazy with need as you looked at the long haired man.

“Does thou trust?” Eddie questioned, rubbing his palm against your hip, eyes flashing towards the man before him as well. While not said explicitly, they both knew you weren’t completely aware of sex. You were informed of the difference between a man and woman, but most women would only be told on their wedding night.

Steve smirks briefly at the memory of catching you reading a scandalous book hidden in the library, watching you hastily put it on the shelf before running off to the dining room for dinner. It was a romance novel, but contained explicit sexuality, progressive for its time. He wasn’t sure where it came from, but he hid it away to read at night in his room.

You were the only one who commonly browsed the library, so when he found various folded pages, he knew you were the culprit. He read as a man pleasured himself and a woman, through not love, but lust. The literature wasn’t blatant, mostly allegories and allusions to acts, but you were a smart girl. The proper intricacies of sex may not be known to you, but he knew there was a reason the pages were precisely folded at the corner, the book pushed as far to the back as possible. The thought of you reading this made all blood swell to his cock, gripping it with his hand and, shamefully, smelling your handkerchief you had left with him.

Though his attempts of not indulging in fantasies of you were futile, his reverence was far from strictly lustful. As you bent before him, he thought of if your knees would ache first and then how good it was going to feel second.

You nodded as Eddie probed his tip against your soaked cunt, whimpering at the stretch as he eased in. Trying to relax as much as possible as pleasure and pain battled, Steve continued soothing caresses to your cheek, kissing your forehead briefly when you let out a soft moan.

“Does it feel good, pretty girl?” Eddie asked, his voice trembling as you strangled his cock, moving in and out with the aid of your desire and come. You fit around him too perfectly, the way he prodded against your g-spot just right, the veins of his dick being molded against your walls.

“I think so.” You sighed, mewling as he hit deep within you, almost worrying it had entered your stomach. Steve stroked himself beside your face, tip leaking with a bead of precum and pink from the ache.

Steve recalled those lonely nights in his chambers, ingloriously fisting his dick to the thought of you, to be here now with you just in reach. To have your mouth watering and your pussy quivering at just the sight of him. How was he supposed to return to normalcy after being brought to nirvana?

His question ceased as you turned your head to the side, leaving your mouth agape, looking up at your knight with desire. He chuckled softly as if to say, you’re unreal, placing himself in you again. He held your hair to help guide you, cautious of your comfort to not force you down too quickly.

“So greedy.” Was all Steve could mumble as you bobbed your head up and down, nipples hardening even firmer than before. You choked slightly as Eddie began to rub your clit, stomach clenching as he worked your swollen nerves.

Your mind went fuzzy as both men used your holes, closing your eyes as you oozed into their embraces. While the castle had been your home your whole life, you had never felt as comfortable there as you did with them. Nothing could hurt you if they had anything to do about it.

Unbeknownst to you, the boys silently agreed to switch, leaving you to whine at the emptiness. Their hushes synchronized as they shuffled clumsily to their places, Steve taking a moment to gawk at your soaking pussy, enamored by how cute it was.

“Steve.” You mumbled, attempting to close your legs with his hands firmly stopping you, laying down to greedily take a taste. As you gasped, Eddie slid himself in your warm mouth, cursing at the pleasant texture.

“Just as amazing as I had dreamt.” The man between your legs mumbled, burrowing his face between your soaked folds that were puffy from your first climax. His nose rubbed perfectly against your sensitive clit, your throat constricting against Eddie’s throbbing dick.

The sounds were lewd as you bobbed your head, each time trying to submerge him deeper within you. You barely had time to comprehend Steve rising to his knees, aligning himself against your weeping hole before connecting. Your cry was muffled as you sucked, Eddie’s warm balls pressing to the side of your flushed cheeks, feeling heavy against your delicate skin.

“You’re such an obedient thing,” Eddie began, a bit out of breath, “You’re a perfect little cock warmer.”

Before the other man could scold the thief for his vulgarity, he watched your body tremble as you whined, sending potent vibrations through Eddie’s whole body that he laughed. Brushing the loose strands of hair from your forehead, he cupped the back of your head to inch you down slightly further.

Eddie’s stomach tightened as he let his come spurt down your sore throat, his brain turning off for a moment as he relished in the feeling of euphoria and power. He slipped himself out, but quickly slid behind you to pull your sweaty back against his chest. He held a cheeky smile as he thought about the perfect, elegant princess who had just let him fuck her and come down her throat twice.

“You’re doing so good, sweetheart.” Steve cooed, his pace quickening as you relaxed onto the man behind you, “Been waiting for this for so long, want to be yours forever.” The words flew out without much thought, but left you shaking like a leaf, whimpering at the overstimulation physically and emotionally.

Eddie watched as Steve went from fucking you to making love to you. He’s not sure how he knew the difference, mostly based on subtleties of body language. The way Steve lowered his gaze to just your eyes instead of over your whole body as his hips flushed fully against yours. His moans became more strung out, deep belly grunts catapulting from below.

The torment of believing you were being sent off to a loveless marriage weighed on you for days, coming to terms with the fact you may never smile when he entered a room. You may never read a love poem and have his face come to your mind. You may never make love and only procreate.

But only hours later would you find your heart racing for a man who had been at your side for over a decade and a man who had swept you off your feet, literally. All you could do was smile at the thought of them. You could only conjure the most beautiful sonnets at just a glimpse of them. Despite being two of them, you knew this was making love, and it was enchanting.

Eddie's paws clawed at your chest, seeing how you shook against his warm embrace. Beads of sweat trickled down your forehead as Steve plowed into you, the brink of your next orgasm painfully close. Your breathless mantra became louder as Eddie slipped his fingers to your clit.

“Let go whenever you need to, sweet girl. So good for us.” Eddie mumbled against your temple, pressing a kiss there as Steve's grip on your hips became firmer. He was on the verge as well, the hot coil that had been burning for years finally at it’s breaking point.

The world became black as your body trembled, your climax leaving you stunned, only fluttering your eyes open when Steve pulled away to release onto your stomach. His head was thrown back as he tugged harshly on his slick, erect cock, both you and Eddie transfixed on the way he finished.

His chest heaved as he came down, a small smile on his lips as he looked down at you affectionately. He dove down to cup your cheek, kissing you feverishly. As he pulled away, he glanced at the fellow man who also looked blissed with pink lips.

“Thank you.” You breathed, still slightly winded from the new adventure you just endured. The boys looked bewildered, granting a chuckle as you curled into Eddie’s chest, his mouth tapping your forehead, followed by your lips.

“We’re the ones who just fucked a princess.” He whispered, making you timid, burrowing against his bare chest. His laugh vibrated you, feeling his hands tuck beneath your body to hold you across his chest.

Greedily trailing your fingers through Steve’s release, you stuck them in your mouth and hummed at the taste. It wasn’t sweet or sour, but it just made sense that this came from Steve, which made you want more. The men thought they would pass out as they watched you naively explored the flavor of sex.

Lifting your digits to Eddie, curving your body to face him, he simply shrugged before sucking the remnants off. The culprit of the come sat enamored at the sight, a smile threatening to appear, but shock still over raided his senses as you slowly closed your eyes.

The soft sloshing of water filled the air as Steve walked into the calm river, tilting his head back to summon you both. Eddie stood, taking you in his arms and sauntered into the chilly water. Swimming to Steve, his embrace was warm as you hugged like a koala, kissing his neck affectionately.

The man behind you kissed your neck as well, small pecks in a reassuring fashion. Feeling the, now, familiar warmth in your gut, the boys watched in awe as the liquid illuminated your soft skin under the gentle moonlight. Your body tilted back, legs coming up to float as Steve propped them over his shoulders to make you squeal.

Eddie held your upper half, just to be careful, his wet hair tickling your shoulder. Your skin slotted between his teeth as he bit gently, soothing it with his warm mouth, a stark contrast to the frore water. Steve hoisted your thighs closer to his face until his mouth was upon you, your pussy fluttering at the sensation.

His tongue dipped into your wetness, moaning at the pleasant taste mixed with his own release from minutes ago. The combination of those two things and his spit made your cunt even smoother than he could have imagined, dragging his mouth to your throbbing clit. You whined at the bullying your pussy had been subjected to, twisting as much as you could with two strong men holding you.

“Poor things been neglecting this pussy,” Eddie cooed as you whimpered, body quivering at his explicit vocabulary, “Don’t know how you kept your hands to yourself, Stallion.”

The nickname made Steve blush, laughing against your lower lips, “My patience has run out now, I suppose.”

“Well, then I better get in while I still can.” Eddie smirked, slipping from behind you to spread your legs further, Steve diving underneath until he appeared behind you. He couldn’t contain his joy at your euphoric state, not catching an inch of worry that had been on your face for quite some time.

As his lips almost met yours, you gasped as Eddie’s mouth moved against you, assuming Steve’s former spot like a puzzle piece. Your pert nipples rose from under the water as you relaxed, allowing the man at your side full access to them in his mouth, keeping a steady hand on the back of your neck. You wailed as your overwhelmed body shook, hands moving back and forth slowly against the river.

“It tastes good, even with him inside you, maybe even better.” Eddie murmured, too in the zone to pull away, which was to your benefit as you came on his face with a silent cry. Steve scooped you bridal style to his chest, still submerged into the stream, thankful as your body felt like it was jello.

Eddie cupped your face to kiss you, the taste of all of you infiltrating your senses, Steve soon to kiss you as well. As they switched over, all of your lips brushed against each other with tranquil purrs. Rinsing you off, they retreated back to land to find their clothing, putting on the bare minimum.

Helping you into your linen garments, they chose to leave the dress and towel aside, you didn’t need to hide from them anymore anyways. Your legs were far too shaky to walk or stand correctly, the potent throb between your legs sending any sense of balance out the window. As the men clothed themselves, the other held you tightly, pressing warm pecks to your hairline.

“Enjoying the show?” Steve joked as he pulled up his underwear, watching as you snicker against Eddie’s throat, but you nodded honestly. After his outer clothes stuck to his damp body, you were exchanged, seeing Eddie in his full glory.

“Don’t gawk, pretty girl, might just have to fuck you again.” Eddie said playfully, always enjoying seeing you grow coy, as you were right now, but you soon spoke.

“Is that a promise?” You smirked, shocking both of them, Steve quickly hoisting you over his shoulder to give your butt a firm spank. You yelped as you slinked back down his chest, arms hooking under your knees and bust.

The walk back to the carriage for the three of you was cozy, finally at a mutual state of calm that had been missing for the past few days. Eddie shared jokes about how frantic Steve got at your dash as Steve confirmed Eddie had gotten flustered as well.

Situating yourselves on the soft ground beside Beauty, you laid in a tangle of limbs with the only illumination coming from the stars. Their chests were warm against your flushed skin, more indecorous than you had ever been with someone besides your maids.

As the men compressed you, sliding into a tranquil state of rest, your heart was beating too fast to allow you the same. The skin underneath your eyes felt heavy, observing the black night closely to make out shapes and symbols.

But your mind was far gone, only thinking of what would happen when the morning would come. Eddie would return you and Steve, where you would be promptly swept away into wedding antics that you wanted no part of. After feeling true devotion from the men at your side, you couldn’t fathom engaging that intimately with anyone else, no matter their social status or intentions.

Slinking your body skillfully from their embrace, you felt the grass tickle your soles as you stood, wiggling your toes and stretching your shoulders. Gawking at the space above you, you wandered forward in the open stretch of land, feeling so sufficient despite having no idea where you were and wearing indecent garments to wandering eyes.

Moseying through the pasture, you entertained the thought of fleeing as you caught a small town in the distance. The smoke from chimneys soared above the rustic buildings, that being the only indication of life at the peculiar hour of night.

The concept of being free was so foreign, the concept of selecting your own clothes or purchasing your own goods seemed like a luxury. What would life be without guards, royalty, or ballroom dances. A life without tight corsets, strict curfews and long edicate lessons. It was nearly impossible to voice these thoughts without feeling culpable, knowing the life given to you was extraordinary and filled with pleasures most would never encounter. But it was nice to consider the ordinary.

As these thoughts raced through, you didn’t hear the sound of boots behind you, only the feeling of arms around your waist would alert you to your surroundings. A mane of curly brown hair titillating you at the familiar scent of him, his custody of your body making you feel assured as your back collided with his chest.

“You should get some rest, pretty girl.” Eddie spoke softly, “We had a long day and have a big one tomorrow.” His words were meant to comfort you, but the agonizing pain in your heart deepened. He could feel you tense, reaching a hand to tilt your cheek to the side, taking in every aspect of your face, from your pores, to your iris’, and your lips that he ached to touch again.

“I don’t want us to depart.” You confessed, watching his face crumble, “I love you.”

“Do you even know what love feels like?” He breathed out a laugh, trying to mask his own ardor as he pressed his palms to your lower stomach.

“I hope it’s what I feel right now, otherwise I’ll be disappointed.” You mumbled, rubbing your nose against the side of his, turning around. As hands rested upon his chest and he coddled your face, he took a sharp inhale before pressing his lips to yours.

The tender expression of love did more than words ever could, pressing himself to you firmly as he clumsily slid his tongue inside. While the extent of your knowledge of romance came from novels and your imagination, the path you embarked upon with them felt instinctive. Like every moment had brought you here, into their arms, as a divine path made for all of you.

“I think I love you too.”

He guided you back to where you slept, a hand on your lower back which you graciously relaxed into. Steve began to stir as you laid back beside him, slinging an arm around your waist with a grumble. As his face nuzzled to your neck, the slight sting of facial hair against your smooth skin, Eddie kissed your head and found himself on the opposing side.

hi there, thank you for reading. i've been working on this on and off for almost a month now. it is unlike anything ive ever done, but i had so much fun with the poetic dialogue, im excited to write part two!

i've sporadically read through this so if i have any errors lmk haha. please send in feedback, i really appreciate it! much love to you all, have an amazing weekend! xoxo

taglist! @steeldaisies @meaganjm @masterofmunson @downbythebay4 @wicked-wordy-witchy-witch @femalefilmaker @wiltedwonderland @yourthebrokengirl @jessyballet @iheartyouyou @gloryekaterina @missscarlettangel @variety-fangirl @wigglywoos59 @imsuchafriggensimp @thegirlblogstuff @lovelyladymayyy @strawwberrry @ktjmac @dovesnrosesnreblogs @fknemily @spn-obession @diaryofthedoll @imagine-all-the-imagines @fangirl-hoe deementedforever @hellfire-in-hawkins

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qu1etwolf · 1 year

Note

Hi :) xx For the hugging prompts #16

Safe and Sound

Pairing- Steve Rogers x fem!reader

Warnings - Canon typical injury, squishy squishy fluff (it's a warning okay?? 😅)

AN - Thank you! I rarely ever get prompts! From your screen name and your page I figured this might make you happy! Written on my phone, not beta'd so all mistakes are mine!

It had been weeks.

Weeks of you sitting in the compound pacing by the giant windows waiting for a glimpse of that sleek quinjet coming back from their mission. Weeks of you on edge, your entire existence being boiled down to pins and needles and worry.

The few members of the team that stayed behind, the staff, and even FRIDAY had tried to ease your fears to no avail.

You knew, going in, that this relationship wouldn't be easy. That, even as sturdy as your man is, he could come home injured or even not at all. This particular mission had them out three days longer than they should have been. There had been no communication from the jet or their person com links from the start. They were deep in Hydra territory.

Sitting by the window with an expertly brewed mug of tea handed to you earlier by Dr. Banner, as he ruffled your hair and assured you they were okay before rushing back off to his lab, you were a mess. Your hair needs a good bit of combing. You are still in the pajamas you had slept in the night before, and your eyeliner is faintly smudged around your eyes.

Suddenly, you hear the telltale noise of the quinjet's engines and the quiet grinding of the hangar bay doors opening. You leave your tea on the window sill and dart down the maze of hallways, hoping they will allow you into the hangar.

Maria smiles fondly at you as you reach the giant metal double doors between you and the jet. You give her a hopeful smile, and she nods her head toward the door. "Go on, I don't like letting you all back there so don't expect it all the time, got it?"

"Yes ma'am," you grinned.

You open the door and jog towards the jet as close as they will allow you to get.

The door opens and Tony walks out, the titanium boots of his armor clanking on the ramp. His helmet is off and he's running his fingers through his hair. "FRIDAY?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Have the technicians meet me in the lab, some of these panels are too dented for me to remove. I want out of this thing stat."

"Yes, sir."

Behind him is Natasha, not a hair out of place as per usual. She smiles at you and gives you a quick wave.

Following Natasha is a very exhausted — and beat to hell — Steve Rogers, still clad in his suit, shield strapped to his back. He's leaning on Sam, who seems to be struggling to keep him upright.

Your eyes widen as you take in the bruise forming down the side of his face and the distressingly large cut next to it. Part of his sandy hair is matted with red. He smiles at you anyway.

"Hey, Y/N? Get your ass over here and help me hold this idiot up, would you?" Sam grumbles as his eyes pan across the hangar and he finds yours.

You rush over to the men as quickly as you can manage without tripping over cables and hoses and equipment. You wrap your arm gently around his waist and let him drape his arm across your shoulders. The smell of sweat, blood, and gunpowder assaults your nose.

"Sam...? What happened out there?"

"They knew we were coming. It was a hell of a fight. Steve took the brunt of it. We need to get him down to medical."

Steve grunted from above you. "No. Shower. Need a shower. I can handle it. Been worse."

Sam sighs. "Whatever you say, man. Get your butt to medical as soon as you get out of the shower. Maybe if Y/N asks you nicely, you'll go. You got it from here?"

You nod and help him hobble his way across the hangar.

Back in the safety of your apartment on the other side of the compound, the sounds of the shower and repeated utterance of the word "ow" have finally stopped. The steam billows out into the room as the bathroom door opens and Steve steps out with a towel tucked around his waist. Normally than would cause your stomach to do flips for other reasons, but you could finally see the bruises scattered across his abdomen in addition to the one on his face, the cut on his face was the only one thanks to how effective the suit is.

Your face must have given your worry away. He walks across the kitchen and lifts you out of the chair you had taken up residence in. His arms slide around you, lifting your shirt so he can place wide calloused hands against the soft skin of your lower back.

"I know I worried you, I'm sorry, sweetheart." He breathed the words into your hair as if he was never going to leave again. He let of a soft sigh. "Everything is better now. I'm okay, I promise."

The speaker chirps on and the both you jump slightly. "Captian Rogers, Mr. Stark requests that you meet him and the rest of the team in medical."

"FRIDAY?" Steve's arms snake further around you, tightening his grip. His lips brush your temple with feather-light kisses.

"Yes, Captian?"

"If you don't leave me and my girl alone for the rest of the evening I will shove a computer virus so far up your ass..."

"STEVIE!" you shout, shocked. You smack him across the chest. "Language!"

His blue eyes glitter as he grins down at you before nipping your nose.

"And FRIDAY? Please tell Stark he can handle the team without me for a few hours. I will check in tomorrow." He peppers small kisses across your forehead as he speaks, his hands masagging what he can reach. You have a feeling you aren't going to be moving for a good bit.

"Uh...yes, sir...I will relay the message."

Fic Masterlist

#steve rodgers x reader #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers #captian america #captian america x fem!reader #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers x yn #steve rogers x you #captain america fanfic #captian america fluff #request #prompts

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ali-r3n · 2 years

Text

Caught

Eddie Munson x Harrington!Reader

mcueveryday asked:

Can I please request an Eddie story where reader is Steve’s younger sister (18, in Eddie’s class) and they’ve been dating in secret for a while but Steve catches them kissing or something and he’s like super protective of her?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie sat at the lunch table with his Hellfire club. A magazine open as he mockingly read an article out loud. He peaked over the edge of the pages as a Y/H/C girl walked into the cafeteria.

His heart raced as she laughed at something Robin Buckley said. His eyes followed her while she took a seat until a hand waved in front of his face.

“Hey Dude. Where’d you go? We’ve been trying to talk to you for the last few minutes.”

Eddie blinked. “Just thinking of tonight’s session,” he answered. “It’s not gonna be as long tonight. I got something to do.”

His eyes returned to the girl who was already looking at him. She gave him a small smile and a discreet wave that made the corner of his mouth quirk up on one side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N Harrington sat on the side of her bed. Her leg bounced up and down as she waited.

She jumped to her feet when an elaborate sequence of knocks started on her bedroom window. Eager, she ran over and slid it open.

“You didn’t let me finish,” Eddie stated as he rested his leather clad arms on the sill. A shit eating grin on his face.

“I was excited,” she replied. “Now hurry up and get in here.”

“Whatever M’Lady wants.”

He climbed through without any problems into his shoe go caught and he tripped. He righted himself with a little hop and fixed his jacket as though he didn’t just face plant.

Y/N threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He grabbed her waist as he lost his footing. He stumbled back and fell onto the beanbag chair that sat in the corner of her room with a small grunt.

“Shhh,” she said and pulled away when he started to laugh. “We don’t want Steve to catch us.”

“Yeah. Too late.”

Steve stood in the doorway. His arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face.

While in his room, he heard a noise come for his sister’s room and like the good brother he was, he went to check on her and did not like what he saw.

His little sister on top of the school freak as they kissed.

“Steve!” Y/N exclaimed and scrambled to her feet. “I uh it’s not -“

“Don’t even bother with the ‘it’s not what it looks like excuse,’ Y/N/N. I practically invented it and don't say it's just a study date either!"

She avoided his gaze.

“Why would you lie to me?” he asked, disappointed.

She frowned. Eddie unable to see his beloved girlfriend sad stood up.

“It’s my fault, Man. I asked her to keep it quiet. I didn’t want to tarnish her reputation by associating with me.”

“Eddie -“

“I don’t want to come between you two. So, I’ll just go.”

“Eddie!”

“Sorry.” With his head lowered in defeat and his hands in his black jean pockets, he walked out of the door.

Y/N turned to her brother with tears in her eyes. “Steve, I am sorry I kept it from you, but I really care about him. I love him. He isn’t like people think. He’s sweet, and kind, and caring.”

Steve sighed and walked out of her bedroom. “Munson, wait!” He called.

Y/N followed him and watched as the two most important people in her life talked.

“If you hurt her, your ass is grass. Understand?”

Eddie nodded.

“And one more thing.”

“What?” Y/N and Eddie asked.

“The door stays open!”

#eddie munson x harrington sister reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x harrington reader #steve harrington & sister!reader #stranger things x reader #stranger things x you #stranger things x y/n #stranger things x harrington reader #stranger things x harrington sister reader #eddie munson x harrington!reader

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anonymityisfunwriter · 2 years

Text

Two Sides of The Same Coin - Chapter 1: "Welcome To New York"

Pairing: Grumpy!Bucky Barnes x Sunshine!Reader

"Alright, I'm here," Sam announces to Nick Fury, quickly striding into the room looking particularly annoyed at being called in for some super-secret reason that apparently couldn't be discussed over the phone - on his day off.

"Good timing. I've got someone for you to meet. Someone I think would be an excellent candidate for the Avengers initiative."

Sam’s head tilts slightly, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Shouldn't this go to Steve or Tony? Why me?"

"She has her… detriments and I think it would be better if she was slowly introduced. To avoid overwhelming her."

“If she’s easily overwhelmed, this is probably not the job for her,” Sam retorts.

“Trust me when I tell you it’s for your own benefit that we don’t overwhelm her,” Nick cryptically comments.

"Not another assassin. Please not another assassin," Sam begs, it was bad enough that two of his closest friends were super soldiers and he was constantly surrounded by people who were trained to kill him in the blink of an eye, he didn't want to add another person to that list.

"She's not an assassin. Just unfamiliar with the world."

Sam’s eyes narrow in suspicion. "How unfamiliar?"

"Very," Nick says, sliding over the file to him.

Sam skims it at first, barely taking in any of the information in front of him. Then the further he goes, the more enthralled and interested in your story he becomes and the more certain he becomes that he is not the man for the job. "She's never had contact with the outside world?"

"No."

"I can't take this on." Sam immediately slides the file back. "This is a job for Steve, Bruce- Vision, even. You want me to introduce her to everything? On top of all the baggage that this girl has. Do you hear how crazy that sounds?"

"She's unassimilated, but highly intelligent and very powerful. This is a person we want on our side."

"Don't you have agents for this kind of thing?"

"Wilson, she's a completely clean slate. A human raised in captivity without the slightest clue about the outside world. The next 2 years of her life will be the strangest, most difficult transition period we’ve ever seen, and it will make or break her," Fury forcefully states, sliding the file back. "In the wrong hands, she could be an apocalyptic threat. Now, I need someone on the straight and narrow. Someone with patience and experience that can work with her- introduce her to the world. You’ve got experience working with people with PTSD, para-rescue, you’re the perfect person for this- I want it to be you."

"I want to meet her first," Sam bites back, refusing to agree to anything until he meets this mysterious person.

"Fine."

Together they walk into a small room just off to the side. It's brightly colored with a small TV mounted to the wall. There's scattered toys and books all around the room. It's for all intents and purposes a room for children, so he has to wonder why you're in here at all. He doesn't see your face, your back is turned and you're staring out the window, completely oblivious to the two men. Sam calls your name, not loudly enough that you’re certain he’s talking to you. You remain completely still, staring at the busy streets and not moving a muscle to avoid doing the wrong thing.

"Hey," Nick calls a little louder and you unfreeze at the familiar voice, the one person you’d come to trust. You whirl around and Sam has to admit that you are not what he expected. You take a look at the two men and watch them for a minute longer than socially acceptable, making Sam a little uncomfortable.

Nick points to Sam. "He's a friend. Good guy."

"Friend?" you cautiously nod, sliding off the window sill and slowly approaching the two of them.

"Friend."

You nod again with a little more assurance. "Hello."

"Hi, I'm Sam. Sam Wilson," he reaches out to shake your hand. You jolt back from his hand, and he doesn't miss the fear that momentarily flashes in your eyes. Sam takes his own hand and demonstrates a handshake with himself. "Just a handshake. I won't hurt you."

"Handshake?" you echo, your tone questioning.

"Handshake- it's another way to say hello," Sam further explains.

"Ah...I understand."

"How about you take her on a walk? She hasn't seen much of New York yet."

Sam side-eyes Fury, knowing exactly what he's trying to do. "Fine," he smiles, then whispers to Fury, "But I haven't agreed to anything yet."

"You will," Fury confidently states.

Sam's intently watching you, watching as you take in the busy city streets and the loud noise, and he waits for the inevitable moment of culture shock. For you to look at him in fear and try to run back to the building. But you don't. You're looking at the world with the awe and wonderment of a child being let loose in the city for the first time.

"You hungry?" he asks, nudging his head to the hot dog cart on the other side of the street.

"Hungry?" you repeat.

"Eat. Like food?"

You nod, excited at hearing a familiar word. "Yes, I eat food."

"I know," he chuckles. "We all do."

"This is a hot dog," Sam explains, walking up to the cart. "You can get whatever you want on it, but people will judge you based on what you decide. I'd recommend starting you off with a plain one."

You simply nod your head along to what he's saying, piecing together the words as quickly as you can while also trying to puzzle together the man in front of you. Though you weren't experienced with people, for some reason you felt like you could trust the man in front of you, even beyond Fury's assurances- he seemed kind, patiently explaining things to you without condescension. You decided right then and there that you could listen to your instincts and trust the man.

"Okay," he nods, then turns away from you to order. With two hot dogs in his hand, the two of you make your way to a nearby park bench to eat.

You smile at Sam, almost finished with your hot dog. "This is good."

"Glad you like it."

When you're done, you take the waxy paper and ball it up in your hand. Sam looks in confusion as you look at the ball in your hand. As he's about to offer to throw it away for you, you set the paper on fire and let it burn in your hand.

"Jesus," Sam jolts back, away from the small, yet contained, fire. "That's one way to get rid of your garbage." You open your hand again to show Sam the few remaining ashes, then let the wind carry them away. "Cool."

You smile, closing your hand again. "You like?"

"Very cool."

You hold out your closed hand to Sam again. Then with a grin, you open it to reveal a small sunflower in your palm. "For you," you nod, gesturing for him to grab it.

Sam gently grabs the flower, rolling it in between his pointer finger and thumb. He sighs in resignation, too quiet for you to hear over the loud cityscape, "I'm going to regret this."

By the time the two of you make it back, Fury has a knowing smirk on his face- it's almost enough to make Sam change his mind. "I'll do it."

"Told you. She grows on you."

Sam rolls his eyes, grabbing the file again. "Yeah, yeah. What exactly does this entail?"

“You’re going to be in charge of making her a fully functional adult, then a fully functional Avenger.”

“Fine, but we’re going to do this my way.”

“That’s fair. There’s about a handful of people that know about her, I highly suggest you only include those absolutely vital to her development. Everything else is in the file, her full history, everything we know about her. It’s all there.”

“Anything else?” Sam exhales deeply.

“Yes, actually,” Nick hesitantly sighs. ”Be gentle.”

“She grew on you too?” Sam sarcastically remarks, fully expecting Fury to laugh at him- except he doesn't.

“You’ve spent all of an hour with her and you agreed to a 24/7 detail for an undetermined amount of time. I’ve been watching her for almost a month. Do with that what you will.”

Next Chapter

"Two Sides Of The Same Coin" Chapter List AnonymityIsFun Masterlist

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siremasterlawrence · 5 months

Text

Gotham City By Hypnosis

Bruce Wayne’s Wayne Tech company is off to a sizzling ending to the day when the ole building alarm alert system came on blaring loudly.

Bruce loses his mind getting up as the doors seal closed completely with the window and the steel shuddering all the way down locks them in place.

Bruce panics when his officer walks slide to the side of the room as Superman and good toe shoes Captain America waltz into the room.

“What are you two doing here?”

“We are here to offer assistance if you want.”

“Why lie? We are here to arrest you menace of Gotham.”

“Hilarious! My city is well protected.”

“You mean preyed on”

“Clark look out”

“Kryptonite huh?”

“Does not work on me anymore?”

“What kind of magic is this “

“A wonderful treat”

“You have transformed “

“He is found his proper palace”

“Kneeling at my feet”

“Who are you?”

“Your future Master”

“I bow to no one “

“Are you aiding me or him?”

“Foolish Bruce”

“Boys reach over and collect him”

“Yank them to the side”

“Perfection! Bring him to me “

“Yes Sir”

“Yes Master “

“I shall never submit”

“I am cupping your face for sheer understanding “

“I own you, you see this device on your fore head and sleep”

“Yes Masted! Command me”

Clark and Steve lift up Bruce placing him on the desk laying him straight spreading his body turning him to the side for me to see him on fully on display.

The man placed his finger on to the altering mind control chip pressing on the center of it as the emblem on it glows extravagantly shining throughout the entire building.

Bruce falling in to a deep slumber standing on each side of him, three gleefully with a hell of a joy as a certain blue and black tight leather costumed man.

Lands on to the window sill he cracks it a bit open slipping in to catch us unknowingly but a foot hits him on pressure points and he is tumbling.

Face forward on the floor both men put a foot on him pinning him down for me to walk to him and placing the chip on his head as he going under.

A Hypnotic mind link activated linking those two together soon they both feel like the floor is breaking from under him as the two hit rock bottom.

They shift Bruce to the side leaving him next to Dick the man smooths his hands off of his face then cupping it in to a sweet long and sexy kiss.

Both guys are sitting in a chair suddenly you know they are totally strapping them both down and leaving them mindless and a absolute husk.

Clark and Steve move even closer inching to my sides they wrap over my waist kissing my neck slowly and hugging me leaving my scent on them.

“Sorry Dick”

“You will see Master is ideal “

“He is God”

“Yyyyeeesssss”

“He is everything “

“God you are both hard”

“And smiling “

“Scary”

“Yes sexy”

“Call him Master”

“Master Lawyer “

“Master! Master! Are you there?”

“Yes my pet “

“Take my hands”

“Wrap me in your arms”

“Bruce”

“Dick”

“I am your God”

“Sir Yes Sir”

“Strip me with your eyes”

“Love my glorious body it I s all we crave

“The name is Red Hood”

“Soooo”

“Bruce and Dick”

“Yes Master”

“Wake up “

“Kick his ass”

“Yes Sire”

“I do it all”

“We love you “

“Get over here Brat”

“You need a spanking “

“A proper reprogramming “

“Master needs to save you “

“Help to rehabilitate you”

“Such a lost soul”

“I am back bitches”

“Enough Jason Todd”

“Insolent young man”

“Let me go”

“Fuck you !”

“SHUT UP!”

“Punch him”

“Grab his neck”

“Kiss me”

“I categorically refuse “

“Oh yeah! Stop being so turned on”

“I am not hard”

“Look at your pants”

“Smack him again”

“Without any effort the device lites him up on his forehead and transcends him in to total enslavement.”

The end

#ben affleck #bruce wayne #batman #dick grayson #brenton thwaites #nightwing #curran walters #jason todd #red hood #mind control chip #mind link #hypnosis #mind control #hypno slave #reprogramming #hypno submission #Super Enslavement

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apomaro-mellow · 11 months

Text

The Bright Side S01E02: Play by the Rules

S01E01

Cold Open

The family of three was having lunch in the kitchen when El piped up for a question.

"Steve, how does a girl get a guy to notice her?"

Jim scoffed. "You're askin' Mr. Hairspray over there for boy advice?"

"This coming from the guy who hasn't had a date since the 70's", Steve said.

Jim huffed and straightened the pages of his paper. "El, your brother is mighty fine at dating girls. Not so great at keeping them. I don't know if that says anything about the girls or Steve though."

"I could keep them just fine if I wanted to. I just haven't found The One yet."

"But you'd know if you saw her?", El cut in, getting them back to topic. "The One?"

"I think I would. Why you got a boy you like?", Steve smirked, ready to tease.

El just blushed, not ready to reveal who it was yet but Jim was already prepared to shut it down. He'd been ready for a while now.

"You know my rules. No boys in the house."

Steve raised a brow and looked to Lucas and Dustin sitting with them at the table. "You let these dorks over all the time."

Jim looked to them as he picked up his beer. "They don't count."

End Cold Open

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

At school, between classes, Max boarded up to El's locker. "We still on for tonight?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it", El beamed.

"Good, because this is long overdue. Just you and me. No boys. Music, magazines, and movies."

Meanwhile, just down the street, Mike was looking on with a disapproving expression.

"This can only end in tragedy."

"Dude", Lucas closed his locker. "It's a sleepover. They're probably just gonna paint each other's nails and kiss whatever guy is in a magazine. You know? Dumb girl stuff?"

"Girls don't just do stuff. They talk. That's the danger", Mike said.

"And what's the danger in El and Max talking?", Will asked. "They do it all the time."

"Yeah but not alone. Not without us. So who do you think they're gonna talk about?"

"I really don't think Max is gonna talk about us when we're not there", Dustin said.

"She will if it's to talk shit", Lucas sighed.

Mike looked vindicated. "Exactly! Max is gonna talk shit about us to El."

"Why do you care so much?", Will asked.

Mike took too long to answer and Lucas zeroed in on why. "Mike's got a cru-ush~", he sang, prompting Mike to punch him in the arm.

"Shut up! No I don't! El is still new. She doesn't know we're the losers yet."

"She literally stopped you from getting a swirly on her first day", Dustin said. "I think that ship has safely sailed."

"This is all stupid anyway. We've got out own plans to iron out", Will said as the bell rang.

"Girls man. They drive a man wild", Lucas said sagely.

"It's times like these I'm glad my girlfriend is back in Utah", Dustin said on their way back to class.

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

Max and El sat on the bed as Jim inspected the room for boys. Even going as far as checking under the bed and poking the stuffed animals in her closet with a broom.

"Is this really necessary?", Max asked. "The only boys she knows is those nerdlingers."

"Alright. I'm gonna lay down the rules and don't give me any sass", Jim said, arms crossed with the broom. "No loud music. No boys. No prank calls. No boys. In bed by nine. No boys. No sneaking out. And did I mention no boys?"

"I'm not feeling a lot of trust right now", Max said.

"I'm not raising a grandkid before I turn fifty", Jim said. "Oh, one last thing." He took out a small box and laid some tacks sharp side up on El's window sill.

Jim left El's room and went downstairs to sit on the couch and settle in for some Friday night primetime. He had a good view of the front door and a window that should reveal anyone sneaking in or out of El's room.

Steve came down, mumbling and grumbling to himself as he took his keys out of his pocket.

"And where are you off to? Hot date?"

"Hardly. I lost a bet to Jonathan of all people. So I gotta take the kids to the arcade. What are the chances they get bored and ready to go home after 10 minutes?"

Jim chuckled. "I won't be waiting up."

Thankfully, Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will were just next door and ready to go already when Steve knocked on the door of the Byer's home.

"Good luck", Jonathan grinned.

"Last time I challenge you to beer pong. How'd you get so good anyway?", Steve asked.

"Having a terrible dad has its perks. He taught me when I turned 14."

"Hey, my dad taught me too."

Jonathan made a face at the thought of Hopper teaching Steve beer pong as the boys bum rushed out of the house and towards the door.

"Come on! We're burnin' moonlight!", Dustin commanded as he made a claim for the front passenger seat.

With a sigh, Steve went towards his own vehicle and started towards the arcade. Meanwhile, the girls night was already in full swing.

"Blonds or brunets?", Max asked while tossing some popcorn into her mouth.

"Brunets", El answered.

"Same. So does that mean anyone in town's caught your eye yet?"

El blushed and curled in a little on herself, trying to hide behind the open pages of a magazine. But the sound of disbelief Max made proved it was all in vain.

"Who? And please tell me it's not Jack Maine."

"Jack? The captain of the baseball team?"

"All the girls fawn over him, it's honestly disgusting." Max popped another corn in her mouth. "So who is it? Anyone I know?"

"He's-no one." El got up and began pacing. "You don't know him. He's from out of town. Actually, a whole other country. Actually, he doesn't exist."

"No no no, Dustin's computer girlfriend from Utah doesn't exist. But this mystery guy...", Max grinned.

El was frozen on the spot but that didn't stop Max from standing up from the bed.

"What if you don't tell me, I just guess?"

"Guess?", El asked but Max took it as permission to get started.

"You're obviously embarrassed by it, so it's gotta be someone I know." Max began to circle around her. "Is it...Carter Baxton?"

"No", El shook her head.

"Hmm, Ricky Odell?"

"The guy who tried to stick Mike's head in a toilet?", El gave a look of disgust.

Max paused in front of her and looked into her eyes, then pointed a finger at her. "If you have a crush on Lucas..."

"It's Mike!", El blurted out, then immediately covered her mouth.

Max's eyes were wide. "Oh my god."

Jim nearly broke the door down, broom in hand. "Where is he?! Where's Mike?!"

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

The arcade was busy that Friday night. Steve had basically resigned himself to getting some nachos and a soda, then plopping down while the boys gamed themselves silly. He knew there'd be a moment when one of them came up and asked for quarters, but he was keeping a tight hold on his wallet. He was a driver only.

And sure enough, about half an hour in, Dustin came up, eyes already prepared for begging. "Steve-"

"Nope. I'm not giving you money."

"But I'm sooooo close! Not just to a high score but to a personal best! Are you gonna stand in the way of a boy and his dreams?"

"It wasn't on my schedule for the evening, but I think I can squeeze it in."

"I don't know why I asked. You wouldn't understand. I guess that hand eye coordination is only good for ball in hoop games?"

Steve raised a brow. "You think I can't play an arcade game?"

"Play? Sure. But win one? Get a high score?" Dustin crossed his arms. "Doubtful."

"I'll have you know I'm a champion Pac-Man player."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

That was how Steve ended up in front of the Pac-Man console, all the boys around him. He started a game and they weren't expecting much. Pac-Man was fairly simple. Eat the dots. Avoid the ghosts. But it was mesmerizing when someone was able to keep that going for long enough. Long enough for Dustin and Lucas to start cheering him on. Then long enough for the more quiet Will to start cheering. Then long enough for Mike to start backseat gaming and cheering too.

When Steve cleared the game and his score came up, his posture relaxed but he still didn't seem satisfied with how he did. It was great, but it didn't break the high score.

"Who's Munster?"

"Oh that's gotta be Eddie!", Mike said in awe.

Steve's brow raised in recognition. "Eddie 'the Freak' Munson? How do you know him?"

"Ran into him a few times at the library", Will said. "He said as soon as we get to high school we can join his club."

"Yeah and he'll still probably be there too", Steve scoffed. He cracked his knuckles. "He's about to be a two-fold loser 'cause I'm comin' for his score." He took a five dollar bill out of his pocket without even looking. "Here. Get me a soda."

Dustin smirked. "Will do!"

He grabbed the money, fully intending to get Steve the smallest soda available and pocket the rest for his own gaming. Steve was already back in the zone as he made a new game and attempted to break Eddie's record.

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

Max led the charge down the stairs and into the kitchen to grab more snacks, looking like a girl on a mission and not just in searched of cookies.

"Um, hello?", Jim looked up from the glass of water he was drinking, wrapped up in a bathrobe. "I thought I said in bed by 9 it's-" he checked his watch-"9:15."

"This is serious business", Max said while opening a fridge.

"Serious", El echoed.

"I thought I laid down the rules very clearly."

"Mr. Hopper do YOU want a smarmy son-in-law? Because that's what's at stake here", Max asked while nearly slamming a pickle jar onto the counter.

Jim looked between the girls. "This is boy stuff?"

They nodded.

Jim looked to Max specifically. "And you...are anti-smarm?"

"When it comes to boys, yes."

"Proceed." He took a sip of his water. "Get her a guy who likes fishing on the weekends too."

Max bit into the pickle while grabbing a soda. El got a bag of chips and a juice for herself before they headed back upstairs. Once the door was closed, Max started counting things off.

"Mike is controlling, and obsessed with image, which is hilarious considering he's on the bottom of the social food chain."

"Mike has never tried to control me. And isn't everyone worried about how they look?"

"It's just always a bad idea to date in a friend group. Messes with the whole dynamic."

El opened the chip bag. "Is that why you haven't asked Lucas out yet?"

Max froze mid-bite. When she chomped down, she pointed a finger at her. "Are you some kind of mind reader? I didn't tell anyone that."

"I figured when you were about to ask if I was crushing on him. You looked ready to deck me if I said yes."

"I wouldn't've punched you over a boy", Max denied. "Maybe a bit of cold shoulder though. Don't you dare tell a soul, I swear if you do-"

"Girls have a code, remember? I won't talk about how you feel about Lucas, if you never tell about Mike."

"I still can't believe you like him. Out of all of them."

"Mike's not so bad. What makes Lucas better anyway?"

Max suddenly got a dreamy smile on her face. "Well he's more mature for one."

"Lucas!?"

"Yeah!"

Jim came through again, with the broom. Again. "Where?!"

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

Steve's hands were braced against the sides of the console as he finished another game. He was so close to Eddie's score. Just a few points away. It was such a small gap he could taste it. He rubbed his face and then pulled his wallet out of his pocket again.

"You makin' your own cup factory?", a voice came up from behind.

Steve turned, first looking at the six empty drinks by his feet and then at the loud slurping noise coming from Eddie Munson. Steve frowned.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Munson?"

"I like coming in at last call to see who's gotten close to my record", he smirked, swirling the ice around in his drink.

"Whatever", Steve stuck his hands in his pockets like he didn't care. "Wait, last call? What time is it?!" He checked his watch and saw that it was nearly 11.

"Just about time for the night to really come alive", Eddie said. "And shouldn't you be getting them home?", he tilted his head and saw the four of them at the air hockey tables. They were pretty much the only ones left in the arcade.

"Their moms are going to kill me. Hey you wieners it's time to go home", Steve called out.

He was met with protests but they were all weak and punctuated by tired yawns. They'd probably all conk out as soon as they sat in his car. He heard Eddie whistle from the Pac-Man game.

"Just four points away Harrington. That's almost as close as the game last week. That's gotta burn, huh?"

"Didn't know you went to the games, Munson."

"I don't", Eddie said smoothly. "I just read the papers. Keep your enemies close and all that."

"Yeah, right." Steve gathered the kids and brought them outside into the cool, fresh air and Steve realized how tired his eyes were after staring at that screen for hours. Eddie followed them out and a very annoyed employee finally locked the door behind them.

Steve got inside and this time Will was in the front. Eddie squeezed his top half through the door and switched the dials on Steve's radio then turned up the volume, making a loud guitar and drums ring out.

"Dude! What the hell!?", Steve shouted, covering one ear while turning it down.

"To keep you awake for the journey home. Be sure that these little ones are returned safely", Eddie said, putting on a strangely theatrical voice. He closed the door and patted the hood, telling Steve he was good to go.

"I told you", Steve said as Eddie waved them off. "Freak."

"He's the coolest", Dustin yawned.

Episode 3

#apo writes #stranger things #fanfiction #el hopper #max mayfield #jim hopper #steve harrington

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intrepidacious · 1 year

Note

What if .... by some miracle (let's just pretend, no one cares how, this is only a what if) you found Bucky again, or Bucky found you in every dream gone. Would you live in that house again? Would you live in a new one? Stare at Wakandan sunsets? Give me something happy for them, pleeeease 💙

homecoming

pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader

word count: 775

warnings: continuation, in a way, of every dream gone. implied smut. if you want this to be pure fluff, refrain from reading the last sentence. please note that my blog is rated 18+. minors dni. ageless/empty blogs will be blocked without warning

a/n: i know i said i wasn’t gonna write something else for these two but this is a what if scenario and i got inspired. also i'm sorry.

Summer was over, there was no doubt about it.

Fallen leaves were piling up on the side of the road, specks of orange and red coloring the muted gray of the neighborhood. It had rained again overnight, and the dreariness hadn’t managed to dry up yet.

Bucky wiped the condensation off the window with the sleeve of his pyjama top, rubbing sleep out of his eyes with the other hand. He was tempted to just go back to sleep, nightmares be damned. Today promised to be a day best spent in bed, ignoring the outside world and the cold that came with it.

"I made coffee."

He was smiling before he’d even fully turned around, a small weight slipping off his shoulders. He hoped he’d never stop having that reaction to your presence, no matter how used to it he got again.

"You are a saint," he told you earnestly as you handed him his mug, and it earned him a chuckle that made his stomach flip.

"You should just marry me, then," you said, humming in pleasant surprise when Bucky leaned over to kiss you.

"There’s an idea," he murmured, his grin ghosting over your cold cheek.

"I was thinking," you said as he caught your freezing fingers in his hand. One look downwards confirmed that you were once again not wearing socks, much preferring to run around barefoot despite the low temperatures. "What do you say to pancakes for breakfast?"

"I’d say you’re full of great ideas today," Bucky answered. He put down his mug on the window sill. "But I think I have a better one."

"Better than pancakes? I’d like to see tha—Bucky!"

You yelped when he suddenly picked you up, only to take a few long steps and toss you on the bed without much ceremony.

"Can’t have you catching a cold, sweetheart," he said when you looked at him with astonishingly big eyes, and he pulled the comforter up to your neck in one quick swoop.

You laughed, then, and it was still and always his favorite sound in the whole world. Everything else disappeared when you laughed, until it was only you and him and this moment.

Back in the forties, he fell in love with your laugh before he’d ever seen you. He’d been at some diner after a fight, not really paying attention to his surroundings all that much as he tiredly nursed his drink, when someone in the booth behind him erupted into a fit of laughter that hit him like lightning.

Steve was sitting opposite him, hunched over his sketchbook, and he glanced up at the noise only to do a double take at Bucky, all wide eyes and pink cheeks. There was something about you from that very first indescribable instant, even before Bucky turned around and found himself looking at the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

You never believed him when he told you it’d been love at first sight for him, but that didn’t make it any less true.

When you stopped laughing, he was still looking at you, and your gaze went soft. It was probably written all across his face, how much he adored you. How lucky he was to have gotten you back after all this time.

"Now what?" you said.

"Hmmm," Bucky hummed, rubbing his nose against yours, "let’s see."

If he could spend the rest of his life kissing you, he’d die a happy man after all.

Your fingers curled into the hair at the base of his neck, tugging slightly until he kissed you more deeply. He swallowed that little sound at the back of your throat and made it his mission to taste it again, your legs kicking the comforter away to wrap around his waist.

It was then that your stomach growled loud enough to startle the neighbors, and the two of you broke apart with a snort.

"I think I’ll enjoy your idea even more after breakfast," you said, slowly untangling yourself.

You kept giggling as he buried his face in your neck and rolled the two of you around, letting out a dramatic sigh.

Vanilla and peonies. Nothing and no one else could make him feel at home like you.

"Pancakes it is."

You made a happy sound and pecked him on the lips one last time before making your way back downstairs, step creaking. Bucky watched you with a smile still on his face, attempting to catch his breath before following you. He felt it in his heart that everything was going to be okay.

Westview was the perfect place for the two of you to start again.

thank you for reading!! comments fuel my soul and creative madness so feel free to leave one. if you want to see more of my writing, check out my masterlist or follow @intrepidacious-fics for update notifications!!

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x you #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes oneshot #marvel fanfic #mcu fanfic #every dream gone #homecoming #what if #tati ☀️

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thesugarclubs-blog · 8 months

Text

Mirror Mirror - AU Bucky Barnes x OC

warnings: reverse snow white au, fairytale au, snow white Bucky & princess OC, pure fluff

word count: 9k

WP: https://www.wattpad.com/1381215967-mirror-mirror-florence

Masterlist

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away, nestled deep within the tall evergreen trees sat a small stone cottage.The roof was made of wood and straw with a garden of wild flowers lining the dirt pathway heading towards a large wooden front door. White smoke billowed from the chimney and the smell of fresh apple pie wafted through the forest with the faint sound whistling.

A man spun by the open window, singing softly to himself as he moved the broom over the grey stone floor. James smiled softly as a small chickadee landed on his shoulder and whistled along with him.

“Do you mind? I have to finish sweeping while dinner rests! The boys will be home from work soon,” he commented, using one hand to take the small bird onto his finger and set him onto the window sill.

With a small shake of his head, James balanced the broom on his shoulder in order to scoop his long dark hair into a bun that rested on the back of his neck. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the edge of his white tunic and moved over the dark ceramic pot hung over a smoldering fire.

Looking into the pot James checked to make sure the stew was simmering nicely. Taking the long wooden spoon that rested to the side of the pot he stirred the stew around to make sure that none of it got stuck to the bottom and got burned. Taking out a little spoon from the pocket of his tunic James took a taste of the stew.

“Hmmm. Just perfect, I think it will be finished just in time for them when they come home” James smiled, turning to smile at the bird that was still resting on the window sill. It chirped in response.

"No," James shook his head, "there's enough salt this time."

The bird stomped on the sill, trilling into the air.

"That's nonsense," he rolled his eyes and tasted the stew again, keeping his eyes on the bird who watched him. A long mocking birdsong filling the air as James brows pinched together. "Okay, it needs a little more salt."

The bird chirped again. “I know, I know.” James sighed, “You were right. I was wrong.” James agreed to his little friend in defeat as he turned around to place eight little bowls onto the big wooden table.

As if he could tell, he heard his friends arguing from a distance.

Their familiar voices and playful bickering were unmistakable, and it brought a warm smile to James's face. It was a comforting sound, a testament to the strong bond they all shared–

“I can’t believe you ruined my favorite dungaree,” the door suddenly swung open, startling both James and the small bird who, huffing and puffing, flew out. “Your damn giant hands, Steven!”

“C’mon, Tony! Don’t be dramatic, it’s not like I did it on purpose!”

"It might as well have been! Why did you pull me back so hard?" Tony whined.

James saw Sam hold back a laugh at his brothers' argument as they all slowly trickled in, to which James shot him a playful glare.

"The rocks would have fallen over your giant head, otherwise!" Steve huffed in annoyance. He always meant well but his brother was not able to always see reason. Tony was as stubborn as the rocks of the mines they dug.

"Oh my god, will you two shut up? We get it," Clint rolled his eyes as he dropped his sack to the ground and moved around his bickering family.

Sam strolled over to the fire, lifting the lid of the stew and took in a big whiff, "Leave them alone, they're always like this when they're hungry,"

James smacked the wooden spoon onto the back of his brothers and shook his head, "All of you go wash up first and then we can eat"

The chaos that ensued everytime the family got home was one of James' favourite moments of his day. Sure, the quiet cottage was nice during the day when he needed to get things done but eventually it grew too quiet around him. Thoughts of the nights he'd spent alone in the forest before they took him in crept in from the edges of his mind but once his boys were safe at home, those memories disappeared once more, allowing a soft smile to tug at the edges of his lips.

A throat cleared behind him and he looked down to find Thor standing there, his hands hidden behind his back and a knowing smile on his face.

“Found another one for you,” he rumbled from beneath his thick blond beard and brought his clenched fist forwards.

James held out his hand and Thor deposited the heavy crystal into his palm. James almost squealed with excitement and leaned over to wrap his arms around Thor’s stout frame.

“Thank you Thor!” He breathed excitedly and hurried over to the window.

Finding a place on the frame for the clear crystal, James sighed happily as the sunlight refracted through it, casting rainbows across the opposite wall of the cottage.

Chairs scraped across James’ freshly cleaned floors as the seven of them finished washing up. They settled at the table, leaving the seat at the top for James.

“This looks delicious,” Steve beamed, as James set down a steaming loaf of bread in the center and turned back to the stove to dish up more stew.

“You think everything looks delicious, Steve,” Clint grunted, rolling his eyes.

“Because it does, James is an excellent cook!”

James grinned in thanks across the table where he was setting down a bowl in front of Natasha, her cheek smushed into her hand as her eyelids drooped. Tony nudged her gently with his elbow.

“Look alive, Nat.”

Nat shook her head quickly, swatting her hand out at Tony. “I’m awake, I was just resting my eyes a little. “The stew looks delicious as always. James,” Nat yawned as she leaned across the table and grabbed the knife by the bread and cut off a slice.

“Can we please eat… I’m really hungry” Loki said, playing with his spoon looking down at his bowl of stew with a longing look in his eye.

"Go on then," James winked at him, knowing that if he didn't give the okay Loki would sit pouting.

They all dug in without hesitation, the sounds of spoons scraping bowls and the soft satisfied moans filling the cottage.

"Breathe Thor," Steve warned, as Thor inhaled his stew in four disgusting bites. "There's always more!"

“It’s so good, though!”, Thor said, his mouth full with stew. “I could bathe in this food.”

“That’s disgusting.” Clint looked annoyed to his left, where Thor was seated with a big smile and remains of stew on his face.

“Language!” Steve pointed his finger at Clint happily.

“That’s actually not a bad word, Steve.” James leaned in and whispered into Steve's ear.

“Oh,” he responded a little embarrassed but continued eating

With their bellies full and the cozy cottage illuminated by the soft glow of candles, the family's evening continued in a familiar rhythm. After dinner, they gathered around the hearth, where the flames crackled and danced in the stone fireplace.

James began to tell one of his incredible tales, weaving a world of knights and magical creatures, some forged from fantastic metal. He recited the story of heroes battling incredible evil as all seven brothers found themselves captured by the grand gestures of his wrists, the dramatic flair in his voice and even Nat that night took her time trailing off on her usual spot on the armchair.

As the night wore on, and the firelight flickered, they all felt the deep contentment that came from being surrounded by the love of family and the magic of their kingdom far, far away. The enchanting forest whispered its secrets in the moonlit night, a silent witness to their cherished moments, a testament to the extraordinary life they had created together.

***

The forest was peaceful and serene, the warmth of the morning light shining through the trees and bathed the path in an emerald-tinged glow. It was exactly what Florence needed.

Clicking her tongue and tugging on the reins, she urged her horse, Alpine, deeper into the verdant greenwood. She breathed deeply once, and then again, letting the tension drain from her shoulders. Long had she yearned to escape the confines of the castle and the burden of royal life.

She tilted her head slightly as a sound filtered through the trees, one she would not have expected to hear. A deep, resonant voice carried a melody so sweet it piqued her curiosity and, tugging on Alpine’s reigns once more, she guided her noble steed in the direction of the alluring voice.

As she ducked beneath branches, traveling further into the blanket of green, the voice grew louder, stronger with each note.

Shielding her eyes from the sun as she came to a small clearing, Florence searched the area until she found the source of the voice. Crouched beside a hedgerow, plucking berries with careful thought, was quite possibly the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen.

His dark hair glistened in the sun, loose and draping across one shoulder, giving her a glorious view of his stubbled cheek and sharp jaw.

Florence slowed Alpine, staying hidden a little behind the trunk of an old oak as she watched the man work, filling a wicker basket by his feet.

She watched him picking through as he bent over searching through the grass and occasionally pulling something out and placing it into the wicker basket. He continued to sing as he worked. The birds in the trees seemed to know the tune that he was singing and began to join in. Soon the branches were filled with birds chirping along.

Florence watched in amazement as she saw a rabbit hop into the clearing getting slowly closer to the man. The man noticed the rabbit and slowly held out his hand.

“Why hello there. How are you doing today?” he asked as the rabbit came up and sniffed his hand.

A smile played on her lips, the grown man was barely contained beneath a white tunic and dark blue vest. His yellow trousers strained about his thighs in protest to his knelt position and his dark hair pushed back by a thick red ribbon.

"Would you like to share?" He asked the rabbit, who seemed to curl into his touch.

The small rabbit seemed to respond to his words, moving towards the basket and plucking out a few of the berries that sat nestled into the whicker, pulling another soft chuckle from the mans plump lips.

"Not to many," she heard him say, shooing the small creature lightly, "These have to make pies for the boys and you know how they can eat"

The boys Florence thought, tilting her head to the side. Were there more mysteriously good looking men trasping around this far into the forest? Maybe that had been her problem. Only being presented to men in the kingdom instead of looking farther out. Not that she herself has been looking, but her father always made it seem like she needed someone to take care of her.

Urging Alpine slowly forward, the dark haired princess made her way out into the grass, clearing her throat softly so as to not startle the man before her, "Hey!" Florence called, "what are you doing out here?" she asked, curiously.

The man looked up sharply and the little gray rabbit darted in between his feet, peering around one of his shapely calves with a curious expression, it’s whiskers twitching nervously.

“It’s alright, Rocket. I’m sure this lady means no harm,” the man reassured, although he eyed the sword fastened to Florence’s hip with no small amount of suspicion.

“I am simply collecting berries and plums, Lady. They make the best pies and my family does tend to need a lot of feeding,” he replied, his voice rumbling deliciously through the clearing.

"You live in the woods, you and your family?" Florence asked, tilting her head curiously. The man nods, eying her with a wary gaze still despite his soft, confident words to the creature at his feet.

"Yes, a little cottage not far from here. My family, brothers and sister, they work down at the mine."

Florence nodded, a gentle smile on her lips, as she studied the man. There was no denying she wanted to know more about him, to learn what else made his blue eyes shine the way they did as he spoke to the rabbit.

"What's your name?"

"You ask a lot of questions," the man replied, his tone teasing as he stood to his feet, "why should I tell you?"

“Well normally when someone asks you your name the polite thing to do is to tell them. At least that’s what I’ve been taught” Florence responds stepping a little further into the clearing. Alpine followed closely behind her lightly nudging her shoulder.

The man chuckled a little and smiled, the smile reaching his eyes and his nose scrunching up a bit.

Florence couldn't help but smile at his own.

"I tell you what," he leaned down to pick up the basket of berries and folded his hands over the handle as he squared his shoulders, "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

It was then she noticed how broad he was. His shoulders were wide with arms that would put any other woodsman to shame. The front of his tunic seemed to strain over his chest as he stood watching her with curious lake blue eyes. Alpine huffed behind her, nudging his nose into her back forcing a soft chuckle to leave her lips.

"I suppose that seems fair." She smiled, "you first."

The man tilted his head back and laughed, "I may have been raised in the woods, but I'm not a complete fool. Ladies first," he waved his hand out in front of him, gesturing for her to go.

"A baker and a gentleman," she quirked a brow.

"I do more than bake Sunshine." He grinned cheekily.

Florence tried to bite back the smirk that tugged at her lips, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest, "Down boy," she cocked her eyebrow, "I'm Florence. Your turn."

"Florence" the man repeated, tilting his head to the side, his blue eyes scanning over her features, "I'm James, but my family calls me Bucky"

The small rabbit appeared once more, tapping it's small paw onto James' leg, causing him to glance down and huff, "And this is Rocket"

Florence beamed even wider and crouched down, holding her hand out and rubbing her fingers together.

“Greetings Rocket, it’s an honor to meet such a fine looking rabbit as yourself.”

The rabbit hopped over to Florence’s outstretched hand and touched his little nose tentatively to the tips of her fingers.

A huff from behind her elicited a chuckle from James and she looked up to see him leaning over and whispering in Alpine’s ear whilst stroking a large yet gentle hand down the horse’s neck.

“I apologize,” she began. “This is…”

“Alpine, yes, I know. And apparently you two haven’t eaten since dawn.” James raised an amused eyebrow at her dumbfounded expression.

“Well, it seems you’re already acquainted with my hungry friend.”

Alpine huffed again, head butting gently against James’ hand.

“Yes, yes. I’m getting there,” he laughed. “Florence, would you be so kind as to join me for lunch?”

Florence met James’ gaze, a smile spreading across her lips. She was sure she was taught something about strangers as a child but when one was as endearing and handsome as James, well…

“That depends,” she replied, “will I get to taste this delicious sounding pie you’re going to make?”

James grinned at her in response. “Of course” he said

“Our cottage is just through the trees back here. My family are down the mines at the moment, but they will be back soon for some food. They are a bit of a rowdy bunch just letting you know.” James said turning around and walking across the clearing with rocket hopping along beside him.

Before Florence could respond Alpine began to follow behind James with a slight spring in his step. It hit Florence then what James had known her horse’s name and that they hadn’t eaten sine dawn.

“Wait… can you actually talk to animals!?” She called racing to catch up with James. “Like understand what they are saying?”

“Yeah…you can’t?” James asked, a frown forming on his face that turned into a light grin. Even though he was being sarcastic, Florence had to admit that his smile was addicting.

“How?” Now she was the one smiling as she caught up with James, Alpine, and Rocket.

James shrugged in response, “I don’t know, actually. I like to believe it’s a gift. I feel some kind of trust between us like I have a special bond with animals. It’s hard to explain.”

Florence nodded as she understood. “So you are a crazy person?” she said, making James stop. He looked at her like she said something wrong, but then he burst out into laughter.

"Crazy about sweet berries maybe," He smiled at her, running his hand along Alpine's neck, "but mostly sane in every other way."

"Mostly?"

James smirked, "I live with seven siblings, would you be completely sane?"

Florence's eyes bugged wide, "Seven!? How do you get anything done?"

"They spend most of their days down at the mines, gives me some quiet time during the daylight." James said with a beaming smile, "It's my responsibility to take care of them and there's a great pride in growing and cooking delicious food for the ones you care for."

“That’s a nice sentiment, how you care for your family,” Florence could see how much he loved his family with all his being. That love radiated from him every time he mentioned his family.

They fell into a lovely silence as they walked towards his home. Her stomach grumbling loudly enough for it to be heard across the forest.

“Hungry?” James says laughing at her and her stomach. “Luckily for you, we’re here.”

As the small stone cottage came into view, Florence allowed herself to pause and take in the scene before her. The contrast between her palace and the house nested in the trees before her took her back just for a moment. A sense of peace and comfort washed over her and a small smile found its way onto her lips.

"So eight of you live here?" She questioned, following James' lead up the pathway.

James hummed and nodded, chuckling lightly, "It's a bit tight but we make it work. Honestly, there's no other place I'd rather be"

Florence took in a small breath of the fresh pine air, and hooked Alpines reins over the wooden hitching post that sat to the left of the front door. Aside from the woodland creatures, she found herself wondering if they had many visitors or horses hidden somewhere. Maybe it was a habit of his bringing women he met in the woods back to his cottage, claiming he had pie and a deep love for his family.

"It's cozy and sweet," she smiled once more, following him through the lard wooden door.

The main room of the cottage was a refreshingly cool contrast against the heat of the morning sun and Florence sighed deeply. It smelled of pine, soap, and…home.

There was a large wooden table with eight chairs around it, right easy chairs surrounded a large stone hearth, and a wooden staircase led up to what Florence assumed was a second floor.

She gasped in delight at the twinkling rainbows that were cast across the back wall of the room and she found herself lifting her arms and twirling slowly around. Laughing in delight as the spectrums danced across her skin she halted as Alpine let out a deep whinny.

“Don’t be mean, Alpine,” James admonished quietly. “Everyone needs moments of joy in their life.”

He quieted the rambunctious horse by reaching over to the vegetable bin and pulling out a carrot. He offered it to an eager Alpine, who snapped it up with a huff of thanks.

"Yes, Alpine, don't be mean," Florence repeated, coming to a halt and standing with her hands on her hips. She heard James chuckle softly behind her and flashed him a beaming smile over her shoulder.

"Make yourself at home," James offered, gesturing to a cosy looking armchair in the corner. It looked well-loved, like the rest of the cottage, rough around the edges but so well cared for.

Florence made a beeline for the seat, sinking into the soft cushion as she watched James separate and wash the freshly picked fruit.

He moved through the small cooking area gracefully, like he'd danced his way through it a million times before and she got the feeling that he probably had. Every once in a while those blue eyes glanced up at her with a soft smile when he found she was watching and it only spread the soft thrum of butterflies in her chest throughout her limbs.

"I don't see many women ride through these woods alone," he blurted after a few moments, "matter of fact, I don't see any women ride through these woods."

Florence smiled, "So there's no secret lair teeming with damsels in distress you've saved?"

James huffed out a laugh and shook his head as he moved on to inspecting a batch of plums, "Even if there was, you think I'd give away my secrets?"

"Crazy and possibly murderous," She grinned, "I've hit gold with you."

She could see the faintest blush spread across his cheeks and beneath his stubble at her remark.

"I don't know 'bout gold, but I'd like to believe that I'm good company," he told her with a hint of shyness in his tone. She watched as he put together a plate of berries and plums and turned to walk in her direction and extended it to her.

"At least before I lure you to my secret lair, m'lady," he ended with a mischievous smirk and a wink thrown her way.

Florence couldn't help the huff of delighted laughter that left her at that, relishing in the light feeling filling her as she shared a light banter with James. Even more so when he laughed sweetly along with her with a red tinge still tinting his cheeks.

“Oh, so this isn’t your secret lair, then?” Florence couldn’t help going along with this playful banter. She didn’t really believe that a person like him, that had the ability to speak with animals, would do something bad to her. Unless, you know, he used said ability to ask the animals to be part of his craziness and lure damsels in distress to his lair.

“Now, why would I lead a lady into this cozy cottage where my family lives only to murder her?” James had a twinkle in his eyes while he said that.

With a light chuckle, Florence shrugged and shook her head, "I'm note sure, you're the criminal mastermind here, not me" she joked, popping a berry into her mouth.

James' laugh echoed out through the cottage as he moved back through the kitchen to assemble the pie he kept bragging about. Silence fell over them once more, her hazel eyes watched him worked, taking note of a small red cardinal that sat perched in the window.

"She's just a guest," she heard him mutter before the bird chirped back at him, "you can go now, Redwing," he muttered once more, moving his gaze over towards her as drifting sunlight caught his ocean blue eyes.

“Where do you hail from, Florence?” James asked, breaking her out of her reverie.

“I, umm, I live on the far edge of the forest,” she replied hesitantly, and James’ eyes narrowed slightly before he smiled at her once more.

“Then you must definitely be hungry, having traveled so far,” he said, and with a courtly swoop, placed a plate before her piled with bread, cheese and some of the berries. “We’ll have to wit a little longer for the pie,” he admitted, although the enticing scents of warm berries and sweet pastry were already creeping through the cottage.

“Thank you,” she said, gratefully, and pushed the plate between them in an offer to share.

She took some of the bread and placed a piece of cheese on top of it. Taking a bite she sighed. “Hmmm, this bread is amazing. Probably some of the best I’ve ever had. Did you also bake this?” She asked, taking another bite of the food. The bread was light and fluffy and the crust had a satisfying crunch to it.

“Thank you, yes I also baked the bread. Since we live quite deep in the forrest I make a lot of our food. We rarely head to any of the surrounding villages… when we do it’s mainly for delivering what my brothers and sister collect from the mines. I mostly stay here though” James said, taking a seat across from her and picking up a plum from the plate and taking bite out of it.

"What were you doing so deep in the forest anyway?" He questioned, as he examined the purple fruit in his hand.

With a soft hum, Florence shrugged unsure on how to actually answer that question without giving away her status. The truth was she wasn't built for the life her father wanted for her. She wanted to do more than sit around and look pretty when she knew the kingdom across the dark forest was suffering. The king would tell her how dangerous it was in the woods and how that kingdom had fallen under evil rule when the prince disappeared, yet still, deep within herself, Florence knew there had to be a way for her to fix it.

She sucked in a deep breath and shook her head once, realizing she had been lost in thought, " I just went out for a morning ride. Alpine needed to stretch his legs and riding around our village wasn't really cutting it, so we went a little farther than expected but it seems to have worked out for us," she smiled, taking another bite of the bread.

“I think not just for you,” James said, a soft blush painting his cheeks.

They stared at each other a moment before James cleared his throat and looked bashfully away.

“I…I need to check the pie,” he stammered, rising from the table and heading over to the oven as he wrapped a cloth around his hand for protection.

When he opened the door a waft of spiced heat filled the room and even Alpibne whickered from his place at the window.

“Be patient, big fella,” James laughed. “It’s still too hot, even for you.”

Florence watched in admiration as James placed the large pie dish on the table and cut two slices and then a third small sliver, which he put onto plates. He collected an earthenware jug from which he poured a generous helping of cream over the two lives and then set the third plate at the window.

“Blow on it first,” he instructed and Alpine did so, huffing on his little treat so dramatically that Florence feared he would blow it clean off the plate.

At a nod from James, the horse snaffled down the pie and James then joined Florence at the table, still chuckling at the horse’s antics. He slid one plate in front of Florence and then handed her a spoon. She took a generous scoop, making sure to blow on the steaming mouthful although not quite as dramatically as Alpine and then placed it in her mouth.

She took a bite and let out a satisfied moan. “Oh my… this pie is amazing” she said before digging back into the pie. She heard James chuckle as he watched her eat her slice of pie.

“So what about you? Where are you and your family from or have you always lived in the woods?” She asked looking up at him after eating a good portion of her slice. She noticed how he stilled at her question before slowly putting his spoon down his eyes darting to look out the window.

“I-”. James sighed, “I’m sure you don’t want to hear that.” He slowly shook his head and looked down at the wooden floor.

“I do,” Florence said, slowly taking James’ hand into hers. She didn’t want to overstep a line, but she could also feel that James needed some sort of comfort.

“Okay,” he smiled softly. “I was younger when I came here. I don’t know much about that night it all happened, but…one day, a man brought me into the woods. We walked until the sun had set. I didn’t know who sent him, and at that time, I didn’t know why, but the older I got, I knew his purpose. He was out here to end my life.” James paused before he continued, “He couldn’t do it, so he left me to die in the woods. I survived day and night before finding this little cottage. At first, I thought it was an old empty house, but then I met these six boys and one girl, and it almost felt like all of this happened for a reason. Because if that man hadn’t let me live, I wouldn’t have found my family.” He smiled as he looked around the cottage, his eyes stopping at the eight chairs around the kitchen table.

“Oh, James,” Florence mumbled. She didn’t know what to say other than ‘I’m sorry’ but those words cannot convey anything other than emptiness. Because how do you express that you are sorry that the person didn’t die-that they survived- a situation like that?

“It’s okay,” James whispered, as if knowing what she wanted to say.

“Do you know who sent that man? Florence asks with determination in her voice, as if she might go this instant and punish the person that tried to take away a soul as pure as his.

James looks away from her, but she catches the sadness in his eyes. It’s a sadness so deep that it tugged at her heart, “I don’t know. It’s heartbreaking to think that there is a person out there that has the type of hatred to want another person to just take away like that.”

Florence knew he was struggling to come to terms with that because this man, who clearly is the most fairest person she has ever encountered, has lived through unimaginable things and, despite everything, still wants to believe that there is still some goodness in this world.

A comfortable silence fell through the cabin as the two of them sat there, in the confessions. The afternoon sun brought a certain glow through the crystal and illuminated everything in it's path. James' company mixed with the fresh pine air drifting in with the breeze was a new experience for Florence. She could stay in this moment, in this place forever if she was given the option. To not have to return to the confinds of the palace walls was secretly what she'd wanted for a long time.

Florence cleared her throat and moved to stand up, catching the orange glow in her hazel eyes as the sinking sun brought her attention to how late it had gotten. "I should go," she said quickly, bringing her plate into the kitchen.

James followed her movements, and grabbed her hand lightly before she could make it out the door, "Wait, will I see you again?"

With a small sigh and a soft smile, she looked up to meet his eyes as she nodded, "Tomorrow. In the clearing we met in this morning,"

The man nodded in response and brought the back of her hand up to his lips, kissing it gently, "Tomorrow it is,"

With that, Florence made her way out to Alpine and untied his reins, mounting him quickly. She glanced back at the handsome man leaning in the doorway of the stone cottage before kicking Alpine into a gallop through the trees on their way back to the palace.

The next morning Florence rushed out of the great hall and down to the kitchens with her mouth still stuffed full of bread. She threw some food and a ceramic bottle of ale into a sack and almost ran to the stables.

“Woah there, Princess, where are you going in such a hurry?” The Head Steward asked as she nearly ran him down.

“Iiiiiit’s such a nice day I thought I’d take Alpine for a ride,” she squeaked breathlessly, bouncing impatiently on her heels.

“You have duties to attend to, your Highness,” he admonished, but the Princess pretended not to hear him as she bolted off.

She felt a little guilty for pushing Alpine as hard as she did in her eagerness to reach the clearing where she had met James the day before. She knew she was early but there was still a pang of disappointment when she arrived and James was nowhere to be seen. There was a little red bird however, who looked remarkably like the one she’d seen the day before. Feeling a little foolish she cocked her head and spoke.

“Redwing?” She asked and almost laughed in relief when the bird twittered and hopped over to her.

“Hi, hello, I, ummmm, I don’t know if you remember me from yesterday but I’ve come to see James. Is he around?”

The bird looked at her and tilted its head this way and that but made no response.

“You know, James? Tall, blue eyes, sings, bakes? Ummm, oh, he said his family called him Bucky?”

At the last the bird let out a series of whistles, bobbed up and down a few times, before taking off in what Florence thought she remembered as the way to the cottage. It wasn’t long before she heard footsteps and a melodious humming hurrying along the path.

James looked up at the sound of her approaching, the brightest smile blooming across his face, eyes glistening in the sun.

“There you are!” He called cheerily, tucking the handle of his basket into the crook of his elbow. “I was starting to think you weren’t going to show.”

His words were laced with a chuckle and he bound towards her as Florence stepped forward to meet him.

“What delights have you been picking today?” She asked, peering into his basket.

“I noticed there are boysenberries growing on the bramble through the clearing,” James explained, “I was just about to finish up with this hedgerow of raspberries before you arrived.”

James offered up the basket and Florence plucked a raspberry from the wicker, popping it into her mouth with a delighted hum.

“Well, I would love to help,” she replied softly, “I don’t forage much but it seems like a lovely way to spend the afternoon.”

“I’ll show you how to find the best berries then. Just follow me” he smiled leading the way down a narrow path that was lined with boysenberry bushes.

“So what you need to do is look for the berries that are dark purple and fall right into your hand when you gently tug at them. I always pick from the middle branches of the bush because the top branches are for the birds and the bottom branches are for the rabbits. And I always make sure to leave enough for any other animals that might come by.” James smiled at her showing extremely how to pluck the most scrumptious berries.

“That’s very thoughtful of you. I don’t think anyone would think about leaving some for the animals,” she said with a hint of wonder in her voice, while plucking the berries just as James taught her.

It felt natural to do this with him, something that she could see herself doing for a long time to come.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see James sneaking some berries into his mouth. James catches her looking at him savoring the delightful flavor of the berries and chuckles, “Do you want to try them? They’re good, I swear.”

“Don’t mind if I do, kind sir,” Florence picked up some berries from the basket and popped one into her mouth. Relishing the flavor of the berry, she goes to pick up more from the basket when the basket is suddenly taken away from her.

“Woah, there. Don’t eat all of them now. Leave some for later!” James chuckled.

Florence laughed and tossed another berry in her mouth with a playful smirk, "I can't help it! You introduced me to these," she commented, earning her another deep chuckle from James.

"Go try the bushes over there, I've got these ones," He pointed to a space a few feet away from where they were standing.

Her smile remained on her lips as she nodded, taking one of his spare baskets and heading to where he told her. There was something about his presence that brought a certain feeling of peace and happiness to her soul. She was beginning to understand what it felt like to have someone genuine in her life.

It was nice, picking berries in silence. Doing some manual labor and taking her day into her own hands instead of strolls through the garden or sitting in the throne room for meetings. The quiet chatter of James' voice drifted through the breeze and floated through her ears. For the amount of animals that were around and who James liked to speak too, it didn't even cross her mind to look over and see what it was. There was a higher pitched second voice that softly mixed with it, but Florence assumed she was either going fully crazy or it was a mockingbird playing off a conversation it had heard.

"Hey look at this!" James called, pulling over her attention to a rip purple plum that flew through the air as he tossed it and caught it again in his fingers.

Florence hummed and her eyebrows kissed together, "I didn't know there were plum trees around this clearing?"

"There's not! Some nice woman gave it to me," He smiled sweetly.

“Nice woman? What nice woman?” Florence asked with suspicion, having never seen another soul in these woods before, not even James.

“She seemed like a nice old lady,” he shrugged, tossing the plum into the air once more. “I mean, she only found one plum and she gave it to me because she said I looked like the kind of person who would appreciate it. I gave her some boysenberries in return!” He protested, as if Florence would think *he* was the one taking advantage.

“James, I don’t think you should eat that,” she said carefully, making her way across the clearing towards him.

“I don’t see why not,” he countered. “It looks so ripe and juicy and…” his voice tailed off as he looked at the plum.

His eyes grew wider, seeming to glow with an eerie hue, and he stared at the plum as if mesmerised. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip and began to bring the plum towards his mouth. Florence felt as if she were wading through molasses as she tired to reach him.

“No, James, don’t-“

It was too late. James brought the plum to his lips and took a large bite. Florence watched as his lips curved up into a satisfied smile and a rivulet of juice made its way down his scruff-covered chin. His eyes crinkled in delight then they widened in surprise.

Florence could do nothing as James’ jaw fell slack and his arm dropped to his side, lax fingers spilling the plum from his hand. His knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolling back in his head before closing. The plum rolled insidiously across the space between them and knocked against Florence’s foot before she finally freed herself from the thrall she was under and launched herself across the clearing towards the fallen man she had come to care for so much.

"James? James!" Florence panicked, heart thudding hard against her ribcage as she fell to her knees beside him. "Please, please. James, can you hear me?"

She brushed her fingers delicately over his cheek, sweeping tendrils of chestnut hair from his face. Timed seemed to slow as she sat beside him in the grass, covering James with gentle touches and murmuring softly in an attempt to rouse him. She didn't know how long it had been before she heard a rustle, the thump of tiny feet on solid ground and she looked up to see Rocket, snuffling around the plum.

"Oh, Rocket, no! Don't touch that!" She cried, and the small rabbit peered up at her, nose twitching as he made a small timid sound at the sight of his friend sprawled out on the ground. He hopped over, burrowing in close to James' side. "I'm so sorry, Rocket, the plum -- it must have been poisoned. Do- do you know the way to his cottage? Maybe his family could help?"

The small rabbit seemed to nod his head at Florence in understanding. “Perfect, now all I have to do is figure out how to get him there.” Florence said standing back up. Alpine came up behind her and nudged at James’s side then looked over at Florence. The horse then knelt down and rested on the forrest floor next to James and turned his head to her.

“Alright Alpine, let’s see if we can make this work” she said grabbing James under the shoulders and slowly lifted him up and draped him over her horse. Once she was sure he was on properly she stood back up and Alpine followed suit. Taking hold of Alpines’ reins in one hand and holding James in place with the other she looked down at Rocket.

“Ok, Rocket lead the way” she said and the rabbit began to hop into the forrest. Florence followed quickly behind hopping that someone would be at the cottage when she got there. Rocket seemed to understand the urgency of the situation because the little rabbit was moving fast through the wood. It was not long before the cottage came into view and she could hear people talking from inside.

The closer she got to the house, the more scared she became because, what would she tell them?

She didn't want them to think badly of her. From how he spoke of his family, they mean the world to him and she had hoped to meet them under better circumstances. Becaise she knew, deep down, that James had come to matter to her far more than she could have expected in the short span of time they had known each other.

With her heart in her throat, she came to a stop in front if the cottage door and knocked once. The chatter inside immediately stopped and steps thuded on the floor before opening the door.

"Hello– oh I'm sorry.." her voice trailed off as she saw who opened the door. A dwarf. Much shorter than she'd expected given James stature, small in size with kind eyes starring at her expectantly before drifting off behind her and widening comically at the man laying on her horse' back.

"James! What's happend to him?" He rushed out the door to his brother before the sound of many more steps came barreling down the door at his raising voice.

"What have you done to him?!" He shouted angrily at Florence, making her both frightened to respond but angry with how she was being treated.

"Nothing! It wasn't me!!" Florence tried to assure them men before her, with slight frustration in her voice, "we were berry picking and James said this nice old woman gave him a plum! I tried to tell him not to eat it but he went into this trance and then he just, collapsed."

His family moved around Alpine and managed to get James down, carrying him with the seven of them into the small cottage. Florence wasn't sure if she should follow them or if they still assumed it was her fault. Maybe it had been. The ominous red glow in the middle of the plum should have made her work harder to stop him from taking a bite. Or maybe she should have just looked over when she heard him talking and she would have seen who it was. There had to have been something she missed.

"James!" The blonde man called, kneeling down beside his brother and putting his ear close to his face, "he's breathing," he assured his siblings before glancing up at the doorway where Florence now stood, "what did this woman look like?"

"I - I don't know, I just heard him talking to someone, but I thought it was one of his creatures so I didn't think to look," Florence breathed, pulling her lip between her teeth and looking down at the concrete floor, "But I did see a flash of red hair when she walked away," she pointed out.

The redhead female looked at her brothers, "Wanda. We should have known she'd find him one day. But he should have been more careful,"

“We told him again and again about talking to strangers,” a shorter, blond-haired, dwarf grumbled, casting a disparaging eye over Florence.

“Easy Clint, she brought him back to us. She didn’t need to do that,” the first dwarf replied, stroking a hand through James’ hair.

“Who is Wanda?” Florence asked, subconsciously clutching at the hilt of her sword in a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by the seven dwarves before her.

“You’re up Steve,” Clint grumbled, folding his arms in a huff as the dwarf that held James cleared his throat.

“Wanda is James’ step-mother. She married his father when James was but a babe and, as he grew, she became convinced that he would take the crown from her.”

“She’s achoo a witch!”

“Aye Tony, I was getting to that,” Steve said, offering his brother his handkerchief.

“She knows that as long as James lives then her power will weaken. When he was but a boy she commanded her huntsman to bring him into the forest and take his heart!”

“That’s horrendous!” Florence exclaimed, her hand reaching out to cup James’ cheek, a gesture not lost on any of his found siblings.

“The huntsman took one look at him and couldn’t go through with it. He abandoned James in the forest knowing we would find him and take him in,” Steve finished.

“But now she’s found him and tried to finish the job!” Another, dark-haired, brother cried.

Florence couldn’t stop the tears that tracked down her cheeks.

Never had her heart ached so much for someone. She glanced down at James, serene and soft in his sleep-like state. Florence didn’t understand how this had happened to someone like him, James was so kind and gentle, how anyone could try to harm him the way the—

“Wait, did you say crown? He’s… he’s royalty?”

Tony nodded, “his father was the king. James should have been next in line to the throne if Wanda hadn’t… well, you heard the story.”

Florence could do nothing but stare at them all, shocked by this new revelation.

The silence was broken by a soft trill sounded from the windowsill, and Florence turned to see Redwing, perched on the wood with several other birds. Behind them, a doe and her fawn peered into the cottage, while Rocket sat solemnly in the doorway.

“They care about him,” Florence whispered, “he made a life for himself out here.”

“We all care about him,” James’ sister stepped forward, a yawn stretching out her words, “he’s our brother.”

Florence nodded, steadfast as she swept the last of her drying tears from her cheeks. There had to be a way to wake James, surely.

Florence looked from James’s family gathered around him where they laid him on the table to the assortment of animals all peering in to see their friend and back to James. The story his family just told him sinking in… James was the missing Prince from the Kingdom from the other side of the forest. Hadn’t she just been thinking that there was a way that she could fix that? Somehow, whether it be fate or destiny or her horse she had stumbled on said Prince.

Looking down at James who seemed to be in a deep sleep she took a deep breath. “There has to be something that we can do. There is always a way to reverse magic… maybe, if I ride back to the palace I can bring back our healer. He knows some magic… maybe he can help” Florence said looking back to his family.

“Palace achoo you live in a palace?” The one called Tony asked

“Yes… My father is the King of the Kingdom on the other side of the forest. And if James is really the Prince from the other Kingdom then it is our duty to help save him. His Kingdom has diminished since he disappeared. I’ll go right away” Florence replied about to head out the door, but before she felt she turned back around to James and knelt over him.

“I’ll ride as fast as I can James, I promise” she whispered in his ear before placing a soft kiss on his lips. She stood back up and headed back towards the front door his family stepping to the side to let her through all watching her silently.

Her heart felt heavy in her chest as she went to climb atop her horse, the family and the animal's hopeful gazes following her every step.

Florence didn't know for sure if her family's healer could help James, the Queen's sorcery being much more powerful and darker than anything they'd ever heard of.

It was fueled by hatred and greed.

She couldn't imagine anyone wanting to hurt people– especially James, so willingly.

He was the last person she'd ever wish harm to. So sweet and kind and caring. And selfishly, from the moment of brief contact their lips had moments ago, his lips so soft and plump under her own. She wished to have the opportunity to kiss them again and again.

She would do everything in her power to help him, and maybe, to return him home. If he wishes so.

Alpine hooves were heavy as they began to move, stopping abruptly and just as she was about to question why, a few shocked gasps could be heard before the birds birched on the cottage window started chirping excitedly.

The birds began to fly in circles around her head and Florence had to resist the urge to bat them away. She dug in her heels and to move Alpine onward but he remained stubbornly in place.

“Come on, boy, we need to go. We have to help him!” She demanded, her voice cracking.

“Princess!” A voice cried. “Come quickly!”

She turned to see Steven beckoning her madly from the door of the cottage and she leapt from her horse and hurried towards him.

“What’s the matter?!” She cried, worried that the witch had found a way to deliver James some greater torment.

Florence entered the cottage once more but halted abruptly as she took in the scene before her. James was propped up on his elbow, one hand rubbing across his forehead, his brows drawn down in a frown.

Like a magnet his eyes found hers and his face erupted into a smile so joyful that Florence could do nothing else but return it.

“You’re here!” He exclaimed, though his voice was hoarse.

“Of course I’m here,” she replied, striding over to his makeshift bed on the table. “I was only leaving in search of help.”

“Please don’t leave,” he whispered, reaching his hand out towards her.

She grasped it and he pulled her closer, managing to drag himself upright.

“I don’t understand.”Florence murmured. “You were under a spell so strong…”

“It was you!” One of the dwarves replied.

“Loki is right, Princess,” Natasha confirmed with a yawn.

“Princess?” James mumbled, not able to tear his eyes away from Florence’s face.

“Aye,” Loki said with a dopey grin. “You woke him with your kiss.”

“ I did not,” Florence protested, but could not help the way her eyes flickered down to James’ lips and back, nor the way he gazed back at her with such emotion.

“Only true love’s kiss can break a witch’s curse,” blushed Thor.

“I am not sure of the truth in that statement,” James muttered as his arm wrapped around Florence’s waist, “but I would very much like to test the theory.”

Florence flushed a deep red as he leaned upwards but at the last minute she turned her head to the seven pairs of eyes that stared intently at them.

“Turn around at least!” She exclaimed, and with some shoving and jostling, the seven dwarves turned their backs to at least give some semblance of privacy.

“Where were we, your Highness,” Florence smiled, turning back towards James.

“From what I heard that title belongs to you,” he replied, leaning ever closer.

“There are still some tales to tell,” she whispered against his mouth as their lips finally met in a sweet, soft kiss.

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