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mc-i-r · 9 months

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Disposable Heroes

Part one, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four Ao3

A/N: Part Two is here! Robin is finally coming in and giving us some new perspectives and answers, Steve accepts some things about himself, and Robin wants to invoke her best friend rights to protect Steve. Hope you enjoy!

Tw: internalized biphobia, implied/referenced abuse, implied/referenced suicidal thoughts

———

Robin grunts, hopping off her bike and ripping the helmet off her head. Three cars almost hit her today. Three! She groans.

“Stupid fucking bike—“ she kicks the back wheel, making it fall against the brick exterior wall of Family Video. She had to ride it to work today because someone—ahem, Steve—has decided to adopt half of the rising sophomore class, which means he’s off today since his favorite little nerd is off to Utah for the weekend. So now, she’s late for her shift and all gross and sweaty. Great.

Robin tucks her helmet under her arm, raking a hand through her hair in a weak attempt to fix it, and begins the short walk to the front doors when something catches her eye.

A burgundy BMW. Correction, Steve’s burgundy BMW.

She slows her steps and walks up to it, cautious as if it’ll attack her, and peeks inside. There’s nothing out of the ordinary save for a green duffle bag and an old beaten up shoebox. She frowns and looks towards the front doors as if the transparent surface will answer all of her questions.

She walks inside to find Steve. Steve, who is propped up on the counter with his eyes closed, head dipping down, and at work. The place he is decidedly not supposed to be right now.

“Dingus!” She shouts and slaps her hand on the counter, startling Steve awake. He reaches behind him, frowns when his hand comes up empty, and looks around with hazy eyes. There’s a distance behind those irises that she’s never seen before, like he’s not all there. As if he doesn’t know where he is.

Robin wasn’t concerned, but now she is.

“Steve?”

He finally looks up at her, sitting up straighter as if he didn’t know she was there, and puts on a smile she obviously knows is fake.

“Oh, hey, Robs,” he greets, his voice perfectly exemplifying that of model customer service personnel. Robin scrunches up her eyebrows.

“What are you doing here?” She asks, shifting her weight and putting her hands on her hips. She stares at Steve expectantly, waiting for an explanation. He only blinks at her.

“Uh… working? I have a shift today, Robs, why wouldn’t I be here?” He answers, eyebrows furrowing and head tilting slightly. Robin has a fleeting thought that he looks like a confused puppy, then she realizes that’s not too far off. She meets his confused gaze with one of her own.

“Dustin leaves for his trip to Utah today, Steve. In like,“—she checks the clock behind him—“an hour. Shouldn’t you be there to, ya know, say goodbye and all that?”

She waits for realization to dawn on his face, for that wrinkle between his brows to disappear and panic to settle in. It doesn’t. If anything, he looks even more confused now.

“… What trip to Utah?” He asks hesitantly, like he doesn’t know. Does… does he not know?

“Are you messing with me right now? ‘Cause I gotta tell you, this isn’t funny,” she huffs a nervous laugh. He shakes his head.

Shit.

Steve, she realizes, hasn’t talked about the kids in… a while. A week at least. But he would have told her, right? He would have mentioned something, would have asked her what’s going on.

But then again… would he?

“Fuck,” she curses, and briskly walks over to the front door. She locks it, flips the sign to ‘Closed!’, and ignores Steve’s petulant protest of “Robbie, c’mon.” She drags Steve out from behind the counter and pulls him in an aisle of tapes before crossing her arms over her chest.

“The movie nights… Those weren’t migraine days, were they?” She asks, already half expecting the head shake she gets in response but it hurts all the same.

See, Steve gets debilitating migraines sometimes, so bad he stays in bed for days at a time. She had bought him blackout curtains a few months ago after he said the dark helped his head, and ever since then he’s taken it upon himself to get through them alone. She would ask if he needed help, tell him to call her so she could come over, but he never did. She just assumed that he didn’t show up because he couldn’t, not… whatever this is.

Robin grabs him by the shoulders, thumbs rubbing over his collarbones as she looks in his eyes.

“What happened?”

Steve sighs, face falling as he looks to the floor.

“I don’t know,” he murmurs. His hand finds the hair tie on his wrist and he starts fiddling with it, snapping it against his skin and twisting it around his fingers. It makes Robin's heart clench. She shakes his shoulders to get him to look at her, and doesn't speak until he does.

“Steve, tell me what happened,” she insists, looking into his sad brown eyes that droop with the weight of her request. His shoulders rise beneath her hands as he takes in a deep breath. Then, he speaks.

“They haven’t talked to me in three weeks, Rob,” he confesses, eyes trained just over her shoulder to avoid eye contact. She knows he means the kids, and that makes this so, so much worse.

“Steve—“

“It’s okay,” he interrupts. His face slowly forms a small, wavering smile as he finally looks at her. “It means they’re growing up, expanding their horizons. Finding… finding better people to be around.”

Her stomach drops.

“Steve, what… what do you mean by that?” Her voice is shaky, filled with fear and the horrible dawning of what he's implying. Steve huffs and turns to look in the direction of the front windows, eyes distant.

“It’s good that they’re not talking to me. Why… Why should they?” He looks back at her, determination shining in his eyes. Robin realizes, with frightening clarity, that he’s confident in it. That he believes it. She swallows the forming lump in her throat.

“What do I do for them other than free rides or snacks? Nothing,” he laughs, a wet, hollow thing devoid of its usual happiness. “They haven’t asked me for anything in three weeks, Rob. Not once. Every time I ask they shut me down or… or tell me Eddie already offered. It’s… fuck, it hurts so bad but what else can I do but respect their decision to leave me?”

He rubs a hand harshly over his face, his skin turning pink from the pressure and force, before pushing his hair back. He looks away, murmuring, “it’s for the best, anyway” that Robin is sure she’s not supposed to hear but does anyhow.

She pushes him back, holding him out at arms length and ignoring the look she gets in return, and looks him up and down. His normally crisp polo is rumpled under his work vest and half tucked in his jeans. Dirt stains the once-white laces of his Nikes, and mud is caked on the side of his soles. His hands tremble at his sides before clenching into fists, as if trying to stop the shaking, before resigning to tap an unsteady rhythm against his thighs.

She looks up at his face, notices the tenseness in his jaw as it stays sealed shut. How his hair lays flat and greasy on his head as if he spends his days running his fingers through it. His eyes flicker around, as if unable to stay in one spot for too long. As if they’re looking for something. Watching. Waiting.

Most importantly, she notices a sadness in his eyes she’s never seen before. Not when he would talk about Nancy or his parents or his past. It shows in the lifelessness that’s found its way behind his pupils, in the flatness of his gaze. It shows in the deep bags under his eyes and the crease between his brows. That earlier thought about how he resembles a puppy returns, however instead of a confused puppy, it’s one that’s been kicked too many times to count and just wants someone to rub its little head.

It’s those sad eyes that make her realize that he’s used to this, to people leaving. All those times they spent together, curled against each other in the comfort of his big plush mattress after Starcourt and whispering secrets into the night, come back to her.

How he told her his parents left him with nannies and babysitters when they would go on trips until he was ten and his father decided he was old enough to fend for himself in their absence. How he had to call the police just so someone would tell him how to work the stove. How they missed his first birthday at thirteen, then Thanksgiving the following year, then his sixteenth birthday—which they tried making up for by buying him a car—then both Thanksgiving and Christmas the next year until it was a surprise they showed up for anything at all. How they missed his high school graduation.

How he cried through telling her he handed his heart to Nancy, giving her everything he could to make her happy, only for it to be left bleeding on the bathroom floor. How she cheated on him with Jonathan without giving an explanation for why or when or how, only a silent understanding of ‘yeah, I’m with him now. We’re over’ during the end of the world. How she never even said sorry.

It was one instance, when Robin woke up to Steve thrashing in his checkered sheets as his throat screamed out into the darkness of his room, that she’ll always remember. She had to sit on his chest to keep him from moving and accidentally hurting himself in the process. She did her best to stay clear of any still-sore wounds while holding his face in her hands, stroking his cheeks as she waited for him to calm down.

Eventually, those tired eyes opened, glistening with tears yet to be shed and Robin’s heart ached for him. She did her best to smile, to bring some comfort to his panicked mind.

“Hey, dingus, it’s me,” she soothed. “It’s Robin.”

“... Robin?” He muttered, voice fragile and raw from screaming. She nodded, even if he couldn’t quite see her yet.

“Yeah, that’s me. We’re in your room right now, in your bed,” she informed, and Robin could see the shame rising to his face in real time. “You had a nightmare.”

“Fuck, Robs, I’m so sorry,” Steve apologized, moving to try and get up but she shook her head, refusing to budge even an inch. Despite him being twice her size and having the ability to easily move her if needed, he relented and went slack underneath her, almost completely boneless save for the ever-present tenseness that never quite goes away.

“None of that, Steve,” she admonished. “Nightmares are normal, especially for us. You wanna tell me what happened?”

Steve looked away and shook his head. Robin nodded, accepting his refusal, and climbed off to flop down beside him, bouncing a little on the expensive mattress. She propped her head up on her hand, looking down at him as he fiddled with the edge of the sheet. Robin quickly learned that his fiddling meant he had something on his mind, so she nudged him and gave him an expectant look. He stayed quiet, and just when she thought he wasn’t going to speak, he did.

“You know, sometimes I think the world would be better off without me,” he murmured, and Robin looked at him absolutely horrified.

“Steve, you can’t actually believe that—“

“No, Robbie,” he interrupted and paused to shake his head as tears filled his eyes. “I do, ‘cause what am I good for other than nice eye candy for the elderly ladies at the local grocery store and a stand-up athlete for asshole dads to compare their sons to?”

Steve shook his head and clenched his eyes closed.

“No one stays. No one. It’s just been me for eighteen years and I… I’m sick of it, Robin. I’m just… I’m so tired.”

When he looked at her again, she could see it. That tiredness was etched onto his face, found in the creases around his eyes, the tenseness of his mouth, and the deep purple bags beneath his brown irises.

“I know,” Robin reassured, even though she didn’t. Not really. “We’ll get through it, okay?”

“‘We’?” Steve questioned, and Robin gave him a smile.

“Yeah, ‘we’. You’re never getting rid of me, dingus,” she claimed. “You’re stuck with me now.”

“Oh no,” he said sarcastically, giving her a small grin that let her know he was grateful, either for the change in subject or the fact that Robin was there for him. “Whatever shall I do?”

“Guess we’ll have to find out, hm?” It was a silent question, one asking him, ‘will you stay around long enough to find out? Will I be enough for you until you do?’

Steve smiled and pulled her down to rest on his chest, both of their arms finding their way to wrap around each other.

“Guess we will,” he whispered into her hair, and it sounded a lot like, ‘for you, I will. For you, always.’

She never forgot that conversation, and the sad way his voice quivered has plagued her mind ever since then.

Now, the kids are joining the devastatingly long list of people that have left. The kids who he has quite literally sacrificed himself for time and time again. The kids he has given countless rides to, given his time and money and sanity to just to make them happy. The kids he cares for with his whole being. The kids he loves.

That lump returns, causing pressure to form behind her eyes as she looks at her best friend. Her platonic with a capital P soulmate. The only man she’ll ever love. Tears well in her eyes, clouding her vision and making her face contort. She’s always been an ugly crier but she thinks this is justified.

“Robs? What’s wr—”

She cuts him off by wrapping her arms around his waist, pulling him into a harsh hug. She knows he doesn’t like sudden touch—as proven by him stiffening under her—but she gives herself a pass on this one.

“Robin?”

She buries her face in his chest, silently crying for him, and only begins to calm down once hesitant arms wrap around her.

“Shh… Robbie, it’s okay. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, okay?” He promises, and his earnest tone makes her almost cry harder because yeah, he’s there for her, but who is there for him?

She sniffs and pulls away, hands coming up to wipe away her snot and tears, and hopes he doesn’t mind the wet patch on the front of his shirt. Steve’s hands drop down to her waist, squeezing and rubbing her hips with his thumbs, as her hands raise to hold his face between them.

“We’re going to fix this, Steve. You don’t deserve all this—this shit that’s been thrown at you,” she vows, squeezing his cheeks to emphasize her point.

“It’s… It’s fine, Robs. You don’t have to do anything, it’s okay,” he tries to protest but it only furthers her determination. She shakes his head in her hands.

“If I have to throttle your head to make you realize that I love you then I will do it, dingus,” she promises, shaking his head again to prove her point. “Screw all your concussions.” She smiles at him, something small and filled with love for the man before him.

Steve breaks.

His face contorts much like Robins had earlier; eyebrows scrunched together, eyes clenched shut, nose wrinkling, and mouth a flat, wavering line. Ugly, heart-wrenching sobs claw their way out his throat, echoing off the metal shelves that surround them, and she knows that this was a long time coming. All of his sadness, his sorrow, is coming out through the tears that drip down his cheeks and onto the filthy carpet, the snot clogging his nose, and the small, breathy whimpers that pass through his lips.

His head drops to her shoulder, making his back arch forward in a way that cannot possibly be comfortable but he doesn’t seem to mind. She wraps her arms over his shoulders and his hands tighten their grip on her waist before resolving to squeezing her middle. Robin lets him cry it out, knowing firsthand that sometimes it’s all you need. Soon, his breaths get choppy and sporadic, so she begins rubbing her hands up and down his back in long, slow strokes in an attempt to ease the panic.

“Match your breathing to my hands, okay? Up for in and down for out,” she instructs, demonstrating by moving her hands up and down while breathing in with her movements.

“I-I don’t—“ his voice breaks.

“Yes, you can. C’mon, let's give it a try. Ready? In—" she moves her hands up. Steve struggles through a breath, only getting halfway before a sob rips through his throat and he’s forced to exhale.

“That’s good! Try again for me, babe, you can do it. Take it slow. Now, in—“ she rubs her hands up again and, this time, he follows through. “Good, good. Now out—“ her hands drop slowly down his back as he breathes out, shaky but it’s there.

“You got it! Let’s keep doing that, okay? Just focus on my hands, there you go,” she instructs, keeping her hands at a steady, calm pace. Steve does his best to follow, getting off track when a harsh sob cuts off his breathing, but he quickly calms down. He sniffs and pulls away, a mirror image of what she did just a few minutes earlier, and gives her a small but genuine smile.

“Thanks, Robin. I’m sorry you had to see that—“ Steve tries to apologize but Robin firmly shakes her head.

“Nope! None of that crap, okay? You’re allowed to cry, Steve, especially over something like this,” she insists. Steve wipes his face and, in all honesty, he looks like shit. But it's marginally better than what he looked like before so she’ll take it.

“Now, what kind of pizza do you want?”

“Wh… what?” Steve asks, confused. Robin rolls her eyes.

“Pizza! What kind of pizza do you want, Steve?”

“Robs, it’s like nine in the morning—“

“Not for right now, dingus!” She exclaims. Honestly, this guy. “For our movie night tonight!”

“But we didn’t have one set up for tonight… Right?”

“No, but I’m initiating one! We need some decompress time and a longer conversation than the one we just had about all this,” she informs. Steve rolls his eyes and smiles.

“You don’t have to, Robbie, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do—“

“Nothing is more important to me right now than comforting my best friend, Steve,” she insists, leaving no room for question. Steve holds his hands up in a placating gesture.

“Okay, okay, just making sure,” he defends. A small smile graces his face. “And uh… can we get pepperoni?”

Robin softens and pats his cheeks.

“Absolutely.”

The rest of the shift was spent in comfortable silence. Steve seemed to be in a very non-talkative mood and she respected that. He mostly spaced out, staring out the front windows or at a random spot on the wall while mindlessly fidgeting with something. Robin took one for the team and helped all the customers, giving him some much needed space. After that morning, it felt cruel to subject him to customer service.

When their long, boring shift was over, Steve insisted she put her bike in his trunk. When she tried to protest that she could just bike over there, he rolled his eyes and gave her the bitchiest look possible.

“Robin, I love you, but I’m not waiting for half an hour while you and your giraffe legs hit every pothole on the way over to my house when I could just drive you.”

Needless to say that after ten minutes of two fully grown adults struggling to get her bike in the trunk after a long shift at work, they were exhausted. Well, Steve was exhausted since he did most of the grunt work while she complained about how long it was taking but it was a team effort, she thinks.

They pull into his drive, the house lit up on the inside from nearly every room despite it being empty. Robin knows it’s because he hates the dark, hates the feeling of being alone. She doesn’t comment on it. Never has.

She rushes to the phone once they get inside, dialing the pizza place from memory and recites their order. She hears Steve huff from the living room followed by a soft thump, presumably him flopping on the couch. Hanging up the phone, she shrugs off her shoes and work vest before standing next to him and bouncing on her feet.

“Can I help you?” He looks up at her expectantly, tired eyes finding hers but looking infinitely more at peace. She grins.

“Let’s make a pillow fort!” She exclaims, grabbing his hand and tugging him off the couch. Steve groans.

“C’mon, Robs, that’s totally not necessary,” he complains despite having a smile on his face. She tugs harder, pulling him towards the hall closet where the spare sheets and pillows are stored, and ignores him. Throwing open the door with her free hand, she turns to face him.

“Suck it up and help me carry these, dingus.”

She throws a stack of sheets at his face, snickering when they mess up his hair, and grabs a few pillows. Haul successful, she heads back to the living room, Steve giving her an over dramatic eye roll for the trouble.

“We can just sit on the couch, you know.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” She questions before gesturing to the coffee table. “Now move that out of the way so we can get this thing started!”

Steve grumbles but does as he’s told. After a few minutes, they have a completed pillow fort. It’s a little wonky, just big enough for two people if they scrunch together, but it’s perfect. It’s angled directly at the TV, the seats of the chairs holding up the roof acting as personal trays for their drinks.

As soon as the last pillow is in place, the doorbell rings. Before Steve can move, Robin jumps up, rushing over to her vest and grabbing a ten out of the inside pocket. She ignores Steve's protests and opens the door, all but throwing the money at the delivery guy before grabbing the pizza and telling him to keep the change. Pizza acquired, she bounds back to the fort and flops down, placing the warm box between the two of them. In her absence, Steve has keyed up Pretty in Pink, their go-to feel-better movie.

Over the course of the movie, they eat their pizza while critiquing the characters and relationships, plot holes and bad acting, and make up their own responses to dialogue until both of them can barely breathe through their laughter. Steve returns to himself a little bit, somewhere around the first hour mark, and Robin feels accomplished that she got some of her friend back.

Once the movie is over and the pizza is gone, they lay in the dark under the protection of the fort. The blue screen from the TV reflects off the white sheets, turning their skin pale and glowing. Steve is on his back, one arm behind his head and the other resting lazily on his stomach. He looks soft, face lax and eyes a little droopy as if he’s already half asleep. Robin turns on her side to face him, one hand propping her head up while the other raises to carefully pick up Steve’s. He turns his head to look at her, and she knows he knows it’s time to talk. Really talk.

A beat of silence, then, “Why didn’t you tell me, Steve?”

He sighs and she can feel the movement under their joined hands on his stomach. He’s silent for a moment, and Robin watches as hesitation clouds his eyes.

“I thought it wasn’t important enough for you to know,” he murmurs. He’s not looking at her, instead focusing on running his fingers along hers. She stays quiet.

“I… I thought I deserved it, still do. There’s just so many feelings in here,“ he pauses to tap his heart with a sad smile, “and I don’t know what to do with them.”

“So tell me about them. What’s the biggest one right now?” Steve huffs.

“It… it sounds stupid but there's this intense misery all up here,” he gestures to his head, "paired right up there with this bitter… resentment,” a dry laugh falls from his lips and he shakes his head. “God, that sounds pathetic.”

Robin pinches his arm and diligently ignores his offended “ow!”.

“You’re not pathetic, dingus,” she corrects. She taps his heart. “Tell me about them.”

Steve sighs, eyes closing. He takes a deep breath.

“I… I have this—this sadness that just doesn’t go away. It’s like… like it knows when I’m happy and just sucks it all up.”

Robin nods and holds his hand, squeezes it to provide some comfort for him. She knows this isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. She hesitates on the next question.

“…How long have you felt like this?” Steve chews on his lip for a moment.

“As long as I can remember.”

Fuck.

Distantly, memories from a time after the Mall come flooding back.

‘Yeah,’ she thinks, remembering what he confessed that night. ‘Fuck indeed.’

“Even when I’m with people I love, it’s always there. It’s…” Steve pauses, furrows his eyebrows. “It’s like this… this dark cloud constantly floating above me that always looks like it’s going to rain, but you never know for sure if it will or not. I’m…”

Steve trails off, sucks in a harsh breath, and looks at her. His voice comes out just above a whisper, a weak thing that if she wasn’t right in front of him, Robin wouldn’t hear.

“I’m scared I’m not gonna feel happy again, Robs.”

That… That’s what brings Robin close to tears again. The quiet way he admits it, like he doesn’t want to say it too loud in fear the universe will make it come true, is enough for her eyes to sting.

“Steve…”

“I know,” he chuckles wetly, hand coming up to run through his hair as he looks away. “I know how it sounds, Robbie. Trust me, I do. If I could fix it, I would, but I don’t know how—“

“You don’t have to fix it, Steve,” she interrupts. “You’re not broken, this… this is just another part of you. One that you are just now letting yourself show. You don’t have to be the perfect, put-together, level-headed person all the time, and no one expects that of you.”

She pauses to look him properly in the eyes, trying to drive her point home. “You’re allowed to be sad, Steve. You’re allowed to feel, you know that, right?”

Steve looks at her, tears falling steadily down his cheeks as he shakes his head. He didn’t know. Robin feels her heart breaking for him, a deep pang in her chest as her soulmate cries in front of her. She wipes his tears away with her thumb, noting how his eyes flutter shut at the touch.

“Keep going,” she gently commands. She runs her hand through his hair, scratching a little at his scalp when he leans into it. He huffs, air fanning across her face.

“It’s really more of a frustration but I… I don’t understand why this keeps happening to me. Why the people I love keep fucking leaving me. I mean… I’m the common factor, right? So I’m the problem,” Steve ventures. “Always have been.”

The last part is added under his breath but Robin hears it. He’s always had a bit of a self-deprecating streak but this is something else. Something deeper, more real.

She gives a small tug at his hair to signal him to keep going.

“All I wanted was for my parents to be proud of me. I worked myself to death just trying to get an ounce of affection, of love, but it was useless. I was never good enough.”

A pause. He sniffs.

“Then Nancy came along and I thought, ‘yeah, I can love her and she can love me back,’” a small, fond smile graces his face, one he always gets when he talks about his past with Nancy. One that means he’s remembering the good times before everything went downhill. There’s no longing there, not anymore.

“I thought that I could finally show someone all these feelings kept inside of me and get some in return,” Steve quietly confesses, then pauses again. That fond look sours, and his mouth forms a stern line. “Guess that was bullshit, huh?”

He spits out ‘bullshit’ like it's laced with poison, followed by a hollow laugh. He closes his eyes, takes a breath, and keeps going.

“I thought she was it for me but she… She wanted Jonathan. She wanted someone better, and who am I to blame her for that? I’d want someone better if I was her, too.”

“You did everything right with the situation you were given, Steve. It’s perfectly okay to want some normalcy after what you saw, what you went through. You and Nancy just don’t deal with trauma the same way, and that’s okay too,” Robin reassures. She lets some bitterness seep into her voice, because yes, she is mad at Nancy on Steve’s behalf. “What’s not okay is the fact that she cheated on you, and you’re allowed to be hurt by that.”

He pats her hand, a silent understanding. She nods. “Keep going.”

“After that, I tried to become a better person. A better influence for the kids to be around. I wanted to be someone they could go to, a figure they could always trust and lean on for anything. Someone I wish I had as a kid,” there’s a sadness in his voice as he says that, a tone he always gets when he talks about his childhood. Robin taps her fingers against his scalp to get him to look at her. She smiles at him, and he gives a small one in return. He keeps talking.

“They need to feel safe in this shitty town that decides losers and freaks should be shunned, that they’re bad for being a little different,” his voice is filled with anger as he grinds the words out, words she has a suspicion are directed at the people who pay the bills for the very house they’re laying in.

“But none of it ever mattered because they found someone else to do that for them, to be that for them.” Robin gives him a confused look.

“Who?”

“Eddie,” Steve reveals, face forming a small smile as the name slips through his lips. He looks… fond, in a sad way.

It only confuses Robin further.

“I don’t blame him for any of this, by the way,” he clarifies. “I doubt he even realizes it. And they… They’re just kids, I can’t blame them for choosing the better option.

“Eddie shares their interests in their little nerd game, something I can’t even begin to comprehend. He’s funny and charming and outgoing, and he's so, so good with the kids,” he smiles once he rambles about Eddie, a small thing that Robin realizes is similar to the one he wears when he talks about his past with Nancy. Except this one… this one is bigger. Better. Real.

As if realizing he’s rambling, his face loses that bit of brightness as he looks away.

“I’m mostly just angry at myself,” he admits. “I just want my family back. Even though they’ve made it very clear they don’t want me in return… I still want them.”

He looks up at her then, face contorted with resentment she can tell is only directed towards himself. “Isn’t that fucked up? Isn’t that just perfectly fucking tragic?”

It’s a rhetorical question, one she doesn’t need to answer. She can’t say anything to help, anyway. Steve wipes a hand harshly over his eyes, irritating the skin and making it red. He lets out an emotionless huff, sniffing a bit through his nose. He looks… exhausted.

“Steve,” she whispers. He looks at her, and she finally asks one of the questions that’s been bugging her since this morning. “When was the last time you slept?”

He stares at her blankly, eyes darting around as if he's visualizing the math he’s doing in his head. All of the fanfare tells her he’s not sure when, and her suspicion is confirmed when he shrugs.

“I uh… don’t really remember. The days kinda all blend together, ya know?”

She nods. She does know, the days after their run-ins with the Upside Down always seem to pass by in a blur. The doctors say it’s something to do with trauma, the brain needing time to fully process everything that happened and causing the time to slip by. This time there is no Upside Down, no mortal peril or end of the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less important.

She’s realized a lapse in post-nightmare phone calls from Steve recently, but just figured it was because he was getting better. They usually dwindle down to two or three a week after a few months, something they’ve all found to be relatively normal after what they went through. She never considered that it was because he wasn’t sleeping at all.

“That um… well, that kinda leads me to my next point. Uh…” Steve huffs, running a hand through his hair—something she knows he does with he’s nervous. She waits.

“I’ve not been sleeping because I’m not exactly… at home… every night.”

What?

“What?” Robin questions, eyebrows scrunching in confusion. An idea comes to her head, and she smirks internally.

“Where the hell are you going then? Are you,” she gasps, hand clutching mock pearls around her neck, "fulfilling your title as the resident man whore of Hawkins? Hooking up with the female population while living under my roof?” She waves her finger at him, giving him an overdramatic grumpy face and shaking her head in fake disappointment. “How dare you, young man!”

Steve laughs at her declaration, face a little pink from the accusation, and shakes his head.

“No, Robbie, I’m not ‘hooking up’ or whatever,” he rolls his eyes, as if finding the claim absolutely absurd. Even if it’s already half true.

“Actually, I’ve been uh… patrolling. Hawkins. Um, at night and stuff…”

Robin blinks.

“What does,” she pauses and makes sure to physically add quotation marks with her fingers, “‘and stuff’ mean exactly?”

“It means that I’m trying to be proactive, okay? Every time the Upside Down has come for us, we’ve been unprepared. Surprised. If I can prevent that from happening, give everyone a bit of a heads up, then it’ll be worth it,” he explains. “I know El–Jane? Whatever–said she closed it but we’ve thought that before and it’s come back so… better safe than sorry.”

Steve flops his head back on the pillow behind him, staring up at the sheet ceiling rather than at her. Robin doesn’t mind, as long as it gets him to talk. Kinda gross she can see his nose hairs now, though. He sighs.

“I’ve been going out at night with my bat and checking all the gates, all the spots they’ve come through before, to make sure they’re gone. Every night. Sometimes I don’t finish until early morning, sometimes it’s only a couple hours but… yeah,” he finishes ineloquently.

So, he’s a dumbass. His intentions are good, don’t get her wrong, but the execution… is not the greatest. No wonder he’s exhausted. Speaking of—

“Wait, so when do you actually sleep?”

“Only when I can’t physically stand to be awake anymore. My body kinda… shuts down,” Steve says, like it’s nothing. Like that’s not the most depressing thing she’s ever heard. Like it’s not entirely unhealthy. He huffs a laugh.

“The first time it happened, it scared the shit outta me. Thought I was dying. Turns out you’re not supposed to be awake for like… four days straight,” he recalls, face light like he’s talking about a fond memory instead of passing out from exhaustion. “On the bright side, I don’t have as many nightmares now. Don’t think my brain can keep up with all that.”

His version of a ‘bright side’ is decidedly equivalent to the darkest depths of the Mariana Trench because what the actual fuck—

“Steve…” she trails off, voice wobbly with fear for her best friend. She begs to know why he’s doing this, why he’s risking his life and sanity again, why he always seems to play the self-sacrificial card even when it’s not necessary. Even when no one asks him to. “Why?”

She expects him to crumble again, to fall apart at the realization that he’s tearing himself apart on his own volition. She expects him to cry out apologies, to scream and rant and hit things just to let all his emotions out. She expects her platonic soulmate, who carries the weight of too-heavy emotions on his shoulders and in his heart, to show his cards and let it all out.

He doesn’t.

Instead, he closes his eyes. He, at this moment, looks peaceful. Content. Like his world isn’t crumbling down around him. Like he—

Like he’s accepted it.

Accepted the anger and hate and rejection from the people he loves. Accepted the endless nights of walking and hunting and searching just in case. Accepted keeping all of this—his thoughts, his emotions, his vulnerability, his love—to himself.

Accepted that his love will never be returned, so why even try to live for it anymore?

The last shards of her heart shatter completely.

“Even though they don’t want me anymore, I have to keep them safe. It’s my job. It’s what I’m meant—what I’m expected to do,” he insists. His voice is an even, calm tone. No waver, no hesitation. “I’m so scared that it’ll come back and I’ll—we’ll be too late.”

She doesn’t miss his corrections, but doesn’t point them out either.

“You know it’s not all up to you, right? There’s other people—me for one, Joyce and Hop, Wayne and Eddie, Nancy and Jonathan, and… fuck it, probably that Murray guy too—that are willing to help. That can help,” she suggests gently. “You don’t have to fight all your battles alone, ya know. Sometimes you need a little help, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Steve has his eyes open now and is looking at her. Not in a sad way, or ashamed or angry or anything of the sort. He’s just… looking. Looking just to look.

“I… I think somewhere deep down I know that, that you’re all here, but it’s just so hard to accept. It’s hard to believe it, Robs,” he confesses. “I’m sorry.”

Robin smiles at him, a soft thing that feels like melted butter on pancakes or a warm summer morning. She pats his cheek a couple times.

“Stop saying sorry, dingus, or I really will follow through with that promise of throttling you into another concussion.”

Steve laughs, short and sweet as if it took him by surprise, and shakes his head a little.

“Sorry, it’s just a habit.”

“You just said it again!”

“Fuck, sorry—"

“Steve!“

“Sorry—“

“Steve!“

“Sor—“ Robin cuts him off by pinching his lips together with her fingers, making him look like a deformed baby duckling. The imagery has her snorting and Steve follows soon after, only laughing because she is, until they’re both clutching their sides and gasping for breath.

He looks younger like this, when he’s laughing. Like the Upside Down never happened. Like his father never happened. Like he’s just a kid.

She has the striking realization that he is just a kid. He’s only nineteen, barely even a legal adult, yet he’s seen enough shit for a lifetime. Really, he’s been an adult for far longer than two years, far longer than anyone should have been at his age. He barely had time to just be a kid but now, here, when he’s laughing with her, so carefree and innocent… she thinks he might finally be letting himself feel like one again.

To think that earlier in the day, she was mad at his dumb ass for not driving her to work. Funny how a few hours can change someone’s whole perspective, huh?

Speaking of…

“Hey Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s with the duffle and box in your car?”

Steve’s face falls, and that light he held from earlier has all but vanished. He huffs a small laugh.

“I don’t even know why that’s still in there, to be honest with you,” he confesses. Clear that he isn’t going to continue, Robin nudges him with her hand. He sighs.

“Sometimes when I go out at night, I don’t really uh… remember everything,” he starts. “I kinda zone out a bit? Like my head isn’t screwed all the way to my body and the connection’s all wonky.”

“Babe, it sounds like you’re dissociating,” she offers. At his confused face, she elaborates. “It’s when you kinda disconnect from yourself, and a lot of times you can’t really remember what happens.”

He nods. “So I guess I do,” he gestures to her, “that sometimes. Or, well—every time, really…” he trails off, then flicks his eyes to meet hers.

“One night, I just… I guess I needed to get out. Out of the house, out of Hawkins, who knows,” he sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I grabbed everything I needed—or thought I needed, I guess, and shoved them in my car. I don’t remember how I got there, only that I came back in my head at the edge of town with my car pulled off on the side of the road just in front of the ‘Leaving Hawkins’ sign.

“I just sat there in my car and thought that I could just… keep going. Kept thinking that I could just follow the road, see where it takes me. Go around the curve and disappear into the trees. Leave everyone behind. Not like they’d care, anyway.”

“Hey,” she smacks his arm. “I would care, dingus. I don’t know what I’d do if you just disappeared on me.”

She doesn’t like thinking about it, about the fact that he could leave. Part of her knows it would be good for him to get out of town, to not let it hold him back from doing whatever he wanted with his life. Another part of her—the more selfish part—wants him to stay. Wants him to be with her for everything. Wants him to be there when she gets her first girlfriend, when she gets married, when she has kids. Wants him to be her other half for the rest of their lives.

The thought of him just disappearing, though… that’s one she hasn’t even considered being an option. He’s a constant in her life, always there when she needs him, and sometimes even when she doesn’t. He’s her rock, just like she’s his. Life without him… it’s something she can’t really comprehend.

“I know you would, Robs,” he begins, voice as soft as the smile on his face. “You’re one of the reasons I turned the car around that night.”

Fuck, she’s gonna cry.

“Jesus, how can you just say stuff like that?” She sniffles, not really crying but her eyes are definitely stinging. “Fuck, that’s like… the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Steve laughs and reaches up to ruffle her hair. “Don’t take it too seriously, you’re only one of the reasons.”

“I still count though!”

“Yeah, Robbie, you still count.”

Robin collects herself before flopping on Steve’s chest, right ear next to his heart. She likes listening to it, to the deep thu-thump that proves he’s alive. It always seems to calm her down.

One of Steve’s hands comes up to play with her hair and she smiles. She traces little shapes on his chest while she tries to figure out how to ask her next question. However, her thinking face must be obvious because Steve tugs her hair a little and dramatically sighs.

“Just spit it out, Robs.”

“I’m getting there! Just…” she hesitates. “What’s in the shoebox? Like… your favorite pair of shoes or something?”

She couldn’t fathom why in the hell he would bring shoes of all things with him out of town, but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings if that was the case. But, judging by the incredulous look on his face, shoes are definitely not an essential item for his escape.

“Have I… never shown you the shoebox?”

“Um…” she pauses. “No? I’m pretty sure I would remember that, Steve.”

“Huh,” he huffs. “Thought I did… ”

“Steve.”

“Yeah?”

“Back to the point.”

“Right, yeah,” he takes a breath. “It’s everything the kids have ever given me. Polaroids, notes, letters, stickers, trinkets. You name it, it's probably in there. Pretty sure there's some arcade coins somewhere in there too.”

“Aw, Steve,” she starts. “That’s so sweet.”

Steve smiles a little, then—for some weird reason—blushes.

“That’s not.. all that’s in the box,” he begins. “There’s stuff from you, obviously, like our friendship bracelets and your little notes reminding me to eat or sleep or shower. Plus tons of pictures from your disposable camera you had a while back—“

“Wait, you kept those?” She interrupts. He nods. “Huh… I thought you just threw them all away.”

“Why the hell would I do that? They’re from you, Robs, I would never throw them away.”

“I mean, some of them were really bad. Like… I’m pretty sure they were all blurry in some way and I’m almost positive there’s a picture of just my thumb in there.”

Steve smiles. “There is. It’s my favorite one.”

She hits him. “Yeah, yeah, asshole.”

“No really, it is! You wanna know why?”

“Sure, why?”

“Cause in the bottom right corner you can see your smile. You were trying to take a picture of yourself, I think, but your thumb got in the way of the lens,” he grins and looks down at her. “Sometimes I take it out when I’m feeling sad just to remind myself what your smile looks like.”

God fucking damnit there he goes again.

“You know, I think you’re just trying to make me cry at this point,” she starts. Steve rolls his eyes at her.

“Just being honest, Robbie.”

“I know, shithead, that’s what’s making me cry,” she rubs her eyes, willing the stinging to go away. “What else is in there?”

“There’s still stuff from Nancy, I think. There’s one of her flashcards, a ticket stub from our first date to the movies, and there's a ribbon in there that I’m pretty sure she used to wear in her hair. But… I don’t look at them nearly as much as I do yours or… or Eddie’s.”

“Eddie’s?” She questions, because what the fuck?

“Mhm… you know how he likes giving out little trinkets to people?”

She nods. She does know, her dresser is full of them; shiny soda tabs hooked together in a little chain, bouncy balls from the little restaurant machines, and rocks that Eddie claimed were “so cool, Birdie, just look!”. There’s a little sailor figurine that’s her current favorite, given to her by Eddie shortly after her and Steve recounted their Scoops experience.

“Well, they’re all in that box. Every last one of them. All the bottle caps, buttons, D&D figurines, drawings, notes, everything,” a smile finds its way to his face, a small thing she isn’t sure he knows he’s doing. “I almost need another box just for everything he’s given me.”

“But…” she begins, hesitating. “Why put them in a box?”

“In case they come home,” Steve answers, plain and simple. She knows he’s talking about his parents, about how if they found even one little weakness of his, he’s done for.

She remembers one morning in the winter when she had woken up in Steve’s bed to the sound of distant yelling. The spot Steve normally would have been in was cold, and when she sat up she could tell that the voice was one she didn’t recognize.

She shrugged on one of Steve’s sweatshirts to fight the chill, the fabric draping her frame as she snuck down the hallway. Robin froze when she heard a sharp ‘smack’, followed by a thud. Her stomach sank and she couldn’t move. It was like her brain had disconnected from her body, leaving her limbs rooted to the spot until it came back online. The voice was still yelling, but Robin was too out of it to make sense of it in her head.

Only when she heard the slam of the front door and an engine start up did she begin to move. Thundering down the stairs, she ran down the hallway and froze at the entrance to the kitchen.

Steve was sitting on the floor, knees pressed up against his chest with his arms draped loosely over them as a bright pink whelp formed on his cheek. He was still in his pajamas and his hair was draped messily over his face, half of it pushed back as if he attempted to make it look presentable.

Robin took in a shaky breath.

“Steve…”

At the sound of her voice, Steve’s head shot up and his eyes blew wide. He immediately covered the red mark with his hand as he got to his feet.

“Robs, this isn’t what it looks like,” he stated, but Robin could tell by the waver in his voice that yes, it was.

She took a slow step towards him, holding her arms out as if he was a wild rabbit she was trying to catch and he was at risk of running away any minute. By the tense line of his shoulders and the way his eyes were flitting over her face and around the room, he was very much prepared to do just that.

“I know,” she tried to reassure, and after another step closer she could tell it was working. She stopped moving and just held out her arms, waiting. Steve collapsed into them not a moment later, chest hitching with cut-off breaths as his mind panicked. She rubbed soothing hands up and down his back.

After he had calmed down some, and his breathing was closer to normal, she broke the silence.

“Who did this, Steve?”

He gripped the back of her sweatshirt in his hands so tight, she feared he would rip the fabric. His voice came out quiet, as if saying it out loud would change everything. In a way, maybe it did.

“My… my dad,” he confessed. “I-It’s not bad, though. I knew he was in a bad mood but I pushed it anyways and he—"

“Woah, woah, slow down before you launch yourself into another panic attack,” Robin interrupted. “Steve, is this the first time it’s happened?”

“Him yelling at me? No, that’s kinda all he—“

“No, Steve,” she cut him off. “Is that the first time he’s hit you?”

Silence. Then, a small shake of his head.

Robin clenched her eyes closed as they began to sting and wondered just how long he’s been going through this, then wondered if he was doing so alone.

“Steve… does anyone know?” Robin asked, and Steve only shook his head again.

“I think Hop suspected something when I was younger, he used to come around a lot after they would come home and leave, but… he stopped coming around when I got older. Guess he thought I outgrew it,” Steve explained, and Robin’s heart ached for him.

“How long?”

“… as long as I can remember,” came his shaky whisper, and Robin only squeezed him tighter in response.

“You don’t deserve this, Steve,” she insisted. Steve immediately began to shake his head.

“No, I… I do, Robin, I was asking for it this time. He was just doing what he needed to in order to get his point across. It was my fault for trying to talk back,” Steve defended. Robin furrowed her eyebrows.

“Steve, what was he yelling about?”

“That’s… that’s not important—“

“Just answer the question, dingus,” she insisted. Steve sighed.

“He was mad that I didn’t decorate for the holidays, said that we had a reputation in this neighborhood and I was ruining it. He said he expected me to do better or else next year, I wouldn’t even have a house to decorate.”

“Steve… you realize that’s wrong , right?” She asked, but Steve just looked at her blankly.

“No, it’s a pretty simple concept. I knew I needed to decorate but between the gatherings and parties and taking the kids shopping, I didn’t have time. I should’ve made time, but I didn’t and that’s on me,” Steve explained, and Robin wanted to throttle him.

“Steve, you shouldn’t be expected to do any of that. If your parents wanted the house decorated that badly they should have called someone to come and do it or—god forbid—actually do it themselves,” she countered.

“But-“

“No ‘but’s, Steve. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it until you believe me; you don’t deserve this,” Robin stated. “Can you repeat that for me?”

“I… I don’t deserve this,” Steve muttered hesitantly.

“Good, again.”

“I don’t deserve this,” he repeated, more confident but not as strong as she’d like.

“One more time.”

“I don’t… holy shit, I don’t deserve this, Robbie,” he finished with a whisper as the words registered in his mind, taking root in the folds of his brain.

“Damn right you don’t,” she pulled back to grab his shoulders, looking him in the eyes. “We’re going to get through this.”

Steve nodded. “We’re going to get through this.”

They smiled at each other, and Robin knew that they both meant it.

“… Robin?”

“Yeah, Steve?”

“I… I love you.”

“I love you too, dingus.”

After that night, Robin had made it her mission to get Steve out of the house as much as possible when his parents were home, even going as far as keeping him at her house for a whole weekend when they stopped by unexpectedly. But that fear never quite goes away, and some small part of him, she thinks, will always be afraid of his father.

“I can’t let them take away the last little things that make me happy. I just… I don’t think I could survive that, Robs.”

“I know.”

They sit in silence for a moment, and Robin thinks he’s done talking until she sees him bite his lip—another sign he’s thinking about saying something.

“Then there’s the box," he starts. She blinks.

“There’s another box?” She questions. Jesus, how many could he need?

“Not a physical box, no, but one in here,” he taps his head. “It’s where I put all the things in my mind that's too big to think about by myself.”

“What’s in this box?” He smiles a fond little smile.

“Eddie.”

Um… the fuck?

“Eddie?” She asks, because she must have misheard him, right?

But Steve just nods his head, his smile growing. “Eddie.”

“Okay… what about him?”

“I… okay, I need to preface this by saying that uh… I think I like boys, too,” he confesses, voice quiet as if he’s waiting for some kind of retribution for his words. Robin, on the other hand, is in the middle of a spontaneous cardiac event because what the everloving fuck?

“What?!” She screeches, sitting up suddenly and causing Steve’s hand to fall from its place in her hair. He winces due to their close proximity. “Wait, wait, wait… you mean to tell me that you, Steve Harrington, are into guys?”

Steve shrinks back on himself a little at her disbelieving tone, face closing off, and she can see in real time the mask quickly sliding into place. Immediately, she backtracks.

“Wait, no, I didn’t mean it like that!” She rushes out, face flushing. “Obviously, it’s okay for you to like guys, I mean it would be totally hypocritical of me to say you can’t. Not that I have any say in who you can or can’t like anyway! I mean, you’re your own person after all, it’s just… very unexpected and I—"

"Robin," Steve interrupts. "You're rambling again."

"Oh," she breathes out and snaps her jaw shut, giving him a sheepish smile. "Sorry, uh… keep going."

“Well, it’s um… It’s not really that unexpected on my end,” Steve reveals, and Robin’s mind blows a little bit further. “When I was younger, I never really understood why being gay was frowned upon by some people because I just… I felt that way about guys sometimes too.”

And that was… what?

“Tommy was the first guy who really stood out in my head. We became friends in grade school and he just… he was always there. I remember looking at him sometimes and wanting to count his freckles or hold hands when we walked. I never did, of course, ‘cause he made his opinions about queer people very clear.

“Outside of the whole asshole thing, he was actually pretty nice. Well, when he wanted to be, anyway,” he rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Steve glances at her and looks away, cheeks flushing a little.

“Then it was uh… Billy Hargrove.”

Now that… that threw her for a fucking loop.

“Hold up, Billy?!” She shrieks. “Like… the same Billy that broke a plate over your head? Who beat you unconscious and left you with a concussion?”

Steve nods, rolling his bottom lip between his teeth. Robin groans, burying her face in his chest. Of course he’s going to have the worst possible taste in men.

“Okay, it was before he beat me unconscious, but still! I didn’t like Billy as a person, obviously, just appreciated his general… you know… sex appeal,” he clarifies. She groans again.

“Hey, he was hot!” He defends. He runs a hand over his face before continuing. “I didn’t want to date him or anything, but the fact that I was interested in him at all was terrifying at the time. I didn’t know what it meant, so I pushed it all to the back of my mind and locked it away.”

“Hence the box,” she confirms. He nods. There’s silence, and when Steve doesn’t continue, she prompts him.

“Then there’s Eddie.” He smiles and nods.

“Then there’s Eddie,” he repeats. His face lights back up just at the mere mention of him, and Robin can’t help but to smile as well.

“Tell me about him,” she asks, and immediately knows that’s the wrong move because if it’s one thing Steve picked up on during their friendship so far, it’s Robin’s tendency to ramble.

“Looking back on it, I think I had a crush on him in school, too. The way he would attract the attention of everyone in the room just by his presence alone was almost breathtaking, and I found myself looking over at his lunch table more times than I could count,” he admits. A blush has found its way to his cheeks, settling high on his cheekbones.

“The way he would spout nonsense about society and expectations made me realize that we were similar in that way, having a need to be different from everyone else, to get away from the normalcy of it all. I was unable to look away, to focus on anything else because he was always there and my mind was very, very weak.

“And it was fine in school, because I knew nothing would ever come from it ‘cause he made it clear he hated rich, popular jocks and… well, I fit into that category pretty well. There was no way he would ever like me, so after I graduated that infatuation kinda fizzled out.

“Then, the kids started talking about Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, and I knew that it had to be the same one because no other nerd would be willing to run a D&D club in Hawkins of all places,” he huffs a little laugh, more of a push of air through his nose, but the smile on his face is as gooey as freshly baked brownies.

“When I started picking the kids up, I’d see him across the parking lot and that infatuation came rushing back. The way he’d run out of the double doors with a flourish grand enough to rival a king yet immediately trip on the lip of the concrete was so endearing that it would never fail to make me laugh.

“Then I got to actually know him, and I think that’s when I knew,” Steve finishes, and Robin can’t hold back a grin. One thing that will never get old is hearing Steve talk about the people he cares about. Hear him talk about all the little things he notices, the little quirks and intricacies of those around him. It’s just… it’s nice to know that someone sees.

“So, what else do you like about him?” She asks, and the dopey grin that blooms on his face is enough to make her wonder if sometime during this conversation, he managed to get high without her noticing.

“He’s so sweet, Robbie! He gets all shy when you compliment him and does that thing where he hides behind his hair but it does absolutely nothing to hide his face,” he begins, hands gesturing as he talks. “Speaking of his hair, it looks so soft. I just wanna run my fingers through it and fluff it up.”

Steve groans, covering his face with his hands. It takes all of Robin's willpower not to outright cackle at how gone her best friend is. He rakes his hands down his face, stretching his skin as he fixes his eyes on the sheet ceiling above them.

“God, he’s so hot, Robs. Seriously, I think I’m going to spontaneously combust every time I see him. The whole rocker persona really does it for me.”

“I mean… it kinda sounds like you have a type.”

“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not,” Steve grumbles, squinting his eyes at her.

“No, I’m serious! Hot, curly hair, deceptively smart with a firecracker attitude… I mean Nancy and Eddie are practically the same person,” she ventures.

“I guess you’re right. Billy was just a physical attraction, though. Dick didn’t have any real personality to appeal to,” he mutters the end of that sentence, but she snorts anyway. Then, his eyes blow wide. “Wait, is that considered speaking ill of the dead, or whatever?”

Robin shrugs. “He deserves it.”

“Yeah, he kinda does… still miss that ass, though—ow!”

Robin cuts him off by smacking his chest, hard. “Ew, gross! I totally did not need to visualize that oh my god.”

Steve snickers underneath her, giggles bubbling out his throat. She only rolls her eyes at him before smacking him again.

“You got off track again, dingus,” Robin reminds him and he sends a sheepish smile her way. “What else about Eddie?”

“He…” Steve pauses, and his lips quirk upwards. “He always looks so soft, underneath all the denim and leather. Like… he gets this look on his face sometimes, like he’s feeling all the love in the world, and I find myself wanting to be the reason that look is there. I wanna see him early in the morning when he hasn’t had his coffee yet and he’s all sleep rumpled and soft and domestic and I wanna wake up to him like that everyday, Robs.

“I wanna watch him grumble and talk to himself and fuss over breakfast. I wanna take the kids places with him and lean against his side while we watch the gremlins run around. I wanna look into his eyes in the morning sunlight and watch how they shine amber up close.

“I wanna trace his dimples with my finger, then his lips, and his jawline, and his neck, too. I wanna cuddle with him after a long shift at work and lean against him as he practices guitar and watch movies while holding hands in the dark and kiss him. Fuck, I wanna kiss him so bad. I wanna kiss him until our breath runs out and then some, ‘cause I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of him.”

Steve looks… Well, there's only one word for it. He looks like he’s in love. His eyes have gone soft, staring off as if he’s visualizing Eddie in front of him. His face is relaxed, a smile she now recognizes as his ‘Eddie smile’ grows.

It falls a little bit as the silence stretches, and he looks down at his hand laying idly on his chest. He starts fiddling with the fabric there, running his thumb along a fold.

“I tried to get closer to him after he got out of the hospital, and it worked for a little while. We would hang out here most of the time, watching movies or talking under the stars outside, but… I could tell he was holding me at arms length. Like he couldn’t accept that I was different. That I wanted to be there.”

He looks at her, smile turning a little sad.

“Then he stopped initiating hangouts and every time I offered, he would say no or claim he had something to do before rushing off. So I just took it as it was and stopped trying,” he sighs.

Robin thinks back to every interaction she’s seen between the two of them, how Eddie was always quick to leave and never lingered like he used to. How he almost seemed… nervous around Steve. Hesitant.

That fucking dumbass.

She starts to get up, only pausing her efforts to untangle their limbs.

“What—where are you going?” She huffs.

“To the trailer park,” she starts. Limbs finally free, she sits back on her knees and crosses her arms. “I’m going to knock some sense into that damn metalhead and probably kill him for hurting my best friend.”

Steve snorts and drags her back down on top of him.

“It’s okay, Robs, you don’t have to do anything. Promise me you won’t hurt him?”

“Ugh, fine. I promise or whatever,” she reluctantly agrees, and lays her head back down on his chest.

A beat of silence, then—

“Can I at least punch him a little?”

A pause.

“Okay, I’ll let you get away with that,” Steve amends. “But only light punching. I know you know how to throw a mean right hook and if I see Eddie with even a single bruise on his pretty face I think I’ll go into mourning.”

Robin giggles at his statement, and Steve just rolls his eyes at her before letting out a giggle of his own.

“I’m serious!” He tries to be stern, but the giddy smile on his face is a far cry from the nature of his words.

“I know, I know,” Robin says, holding back another wave of giggles. “Man, you’re really gone on him, aren’t you?”

Steve nods sadly.

“I want to tell him that I like him, Robs, but I can’t,” he confesses. “It’s.. it’s breaking me inside, to have all these feelings for someone and know you can never do anything about it.”

“Steve…”

“It’s terrifying just thinking about telling him because what if? What if he thinks I’m just fucking with him and shuts me out completely? What if he’s a homophobe or thinks that I just wanna use him as an experiment or something? Cause I don’t, not like that.”

“Steve,” she tries to interject, knowing that he’s working himself up. He ignores her.

“But as much as I hate holding all this… all this shit inside, it's still better than telling him. I don’t…I don’t think I could handle it if he rejected me,” he finishes. The ‘I don’t think I could survive it’ goes unsaid, but not unheard.

He finally looks at her, and she notes the sad acceptance in his eyes. His face threatens to crumble, as does hers, but they hold it together.

“Robbie, am I crazy for feeling like this?” He asks, voice a near whisper. “For falling for someone who hates me?”

She smiles sadly, placing a hand on his cheek and causing a tear to fall from his eye. She wipes it away with her thumb.

“You’re not crazy, Steve,” she reassures. “I know how it feels, how scary it is to like someone like that. It sucks, but it’ll only get better if you talk about it.”

He smiles a little. “I do feel a little better now, actually.”

“See? Talking helps, and I’m always here to listen,” she insists. She lays her head back down on his chest, not taking her hand away from his face, and slowly wipes away the stray tears that fall from his eyes. She vaguely registers that her thumb is acting as a mini windshield wiper for his face. The thought makes her smile.

Steve takes a deep breath, the movement causing her head to raise with it, and she knows there’s something else on his mind. She waits.

“Is…” he whispers, hesitating. “Is there something wrong with me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just… I like boys, but I like girls too. That part hasn’t changed for me but… can I do that? Like, is that…” he trails off. “Is that allowed?”

“Yeah, Steve, that’s allowed. You can like whoever you want to, it doesn’t change who you are,” she reassures. Steve lets out a breath, like he was holding it in lieu of her answer.

“But… What am I then? I mean… I can’t be half gay and half straight, right?” He asks.

At that, Robin thinks back to a few zines she got on her and Steve’s first trip to Indy. She had been wanting to go ever since she came out to Steve on the grimy bathroom floor high on drugs, when he had accepted her with no questions asked. She had always heard things about Indianapolis, about how it was so much different than the little town of Hawkins. How there were so many more people, so many different types of people, and she just had to see it for herself.

A couple months after Starcourt, when school was just beginning to take off, Robin had asked if they could go on a day trip somewhere, just to get out before they were stuck there for the winter months and holidays. Steve had agreed, of course, and they piled in his fancy car and made short work of the two-hour trip to the city.

It was bigger than they expected, people milling about the streets and tall buildings surrounding them. Parking was a total bitch, but once they got their feet on the ground there was no stopping them. They bought shitty hot dogs off the street, popped into a bunch of little stores for the sole reason just to look, and even ventured into the fancy stores to make fun of their obscene prices.

“Robs! I want you to guess how much this shirt is.”

“Uh… like ten bucks?”

“Try seventy-five.”

“Holy shit! It’s so ugly!!”

“I know! God, rich people are weird.”

“Steve… you are rich.”

“Yeah, but I have taste. That’s different.”

“Keep telling yourself that, dingus.”

They were beginning their trek back to the car when a small, multi-colored flash caught her eye. A rainbow flag sticker was stuck to the store-front window of a small record shop, and Robin immediately grabbed Steve and pulled him in.

“Robs, what—“

“Shut up, and come with me. I might’ve found something.”

She didn’t wait for his response, only shoved open the shop door with a huff. The bell above her jingled, and a woman behind the counter nearby looked up from a magazine on the desk below her.

“Hi there, welcome to Rainbow Records!” The lady greeted them. “New releases are in this bin here,” she gestured to a bin full of records next to her, “and all other records are sorted by genre and alphabetically.”

Immediately, Robin was in love with her. She had long black hair that was shaved on the sides, the top of it pulled back into a sort of half-bun. Her ears were full of piercings, some dangling almost to her shoulders, that matched the flowy skirt she was wearing.

She felt Steve nudge her with his elbow, and that was when she realized she had been staring rather intently with her mouth hanging open like a newborn baby bird waiting for its mama to puke up worm goo for food. She snapped it closed with an audible click.

“Sorry, uh… Hi! Thank you for uh— that. I… um,” she floundered and pointed to herself. “Robin.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Robin. I’m Delia,” she responded, smiling before looking her up and down.

“We also have a room in the back you might be interested in. There’s an assortment of different media back there I think you’ll enjoy,” Delia said before she winked at her, and Robin knew she was in the right place.

“Well, Robs?” Steve spoke up behind her, quiet enough to not be overheard. She had almost forgotten he was there. “You wanna go look?”

It was more than a question, it was an out. It was his way of asking if she was ready, if she wanted him to be a part of this, too. If she wanted him to be a part of this stage in her life, this self-discovery.

She looked back at her best friend, whose face was so open and earnest that it made a huge smile bloom on her face.

“Hell yeah,” she said with a grin. “Let's do this, dingus!”

She grabbed his hand and walked up to the counter, and Delia pointed her head towards a small hallway on the other side of the room that Robin only just now noticed.

“It’s back there whenever you’re ready to look,” she informed. “I hope you find what you’re looking for. Both of you.”

“Thanks, Delia,” Robin responded, blushing enough to be seen from outer space, and looked up at Steve, whose face was a similar shade of red. She rolled her eyes and dragged Steve behind her into the room.

It was dimly lit, giving it a cozy atmosphere that made her feel completely at home. Posters and colorful flags lined the walls, with pictures of queer artists and figures as well as local drag queens and advertisements for different underground clubs filling in the gaps. There were different sections for movies, books, music, and magazines, all with different subcategories depending on which sexualities they included.

Robin’s eyes began to sting. She had spent years of her life feeling like the only person in the world, knowing that she would never find anyone like her in Hawkins and trying miserably to make peace with that. Then Steve came along and accepted her with open arms and zero complaints, and it made her feel a little less lonely.

But now, looking at a room filled from wall to wall with things by people like her? By people who knew what it was like to fall for people society says you shouldn’t fall for, by people who have defied what society said and expressed themselves anyway? It was enough to bring her to tears.

“Woah, hey, Robbie,” Steve began, moving in front of her to block her view. His hands came to rest on her cheeks, wiping away her tears as they fell. “What’s wrong? Is it too much?”

Robin shook her head, clenching her eyes closed.

“Happy tears,” she laughs wetly, hand coming up to wipe away a tear that snaked its way under her chin. “They’re happy tears, promise.”

Steve pulled her into a tight hug, hands wrapping solidly around her and she instantly felt better. She melted into him and hugged him back, and the two of them stayed there until she pulled away.

“Alright, help me find some hot women, okay?”

Steve laughed that big, loud laugh of his and Robin couldn’t help but to join him. They sorted through all of it; books, movies, and magazines alike. She went home that night with two books, a handful of magazines, and more knowledge than she ever imagined having about being queer.

It was time she put it to good use.

“Have you ever heard of the term ‘bisexual’?” She asks. He shakes his head. “It means liking both, Steve.”

He goes silent, so quiet she would have thought he stopped breathing too if she wasn’t still laying on his chest. His mouth silently forms the word, before a smile breaks out on his face.

“Bisexual. I think… I think that’s me,” he confirms.

“Now tell me properly this time,” she suggests. He smiles at her, and she can’t contain a smile of her own.

“I’m bisexual, Robbie,” he says, his words full of genuine confidence.

“Thank you for telling me, Steve.”

They smile at each other, both so wide she’s surprised their faces haven’t split in half yet. She scoots up to wrap him in a hug, laughing a little when his arms immediately squeeze her back.

Turns out her best friend, her platonic with a capital P soulmate, is more like her than she thought.

———

Permanent tag list: @tea-beloved @estrellami-1 @merricatty

Disposable Heroes tag list: @madcapromantic @hannahhook7744 @h3rmitsunited @willim-billiam-byerson @stuftzombie @acowardinmordor @zerokrox-blog @my-chemical-sexuality-crisis @grimmfitzz @ladygrimheart@bestwifehaver @blanketlicker @fishinforfiish@vi-an-te @orionchildofhades @7shrewsinatrenchcoat @whackyrach@stevie-crow @missmagillicuddy @1cookieburn1@mightbeasleep @jettestar @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @imyelenasexual @yikes-a-bee @that-agender-from-pluto @sufjuringstevens @sofadofax@lolawonsstuff@rajumat @ksierra674 @i-threw-my-name-out-the-window @justforthedead89 @gregre369 @vanillatwist @actually-races-erster @background-noise-headache @warlordless@largechaos @noctxrn-e @hope-can-be-your-sword @foundintheshallows @burningoffaroad @obliosworld @lemon-astra @midnightskeeper @venteraltus @lovelyscot @juleswashere3 @child-of-cthulhu @phantomcat94 @davekat-has-consumed-me @weirdandabsurd42 @dreamlandforever @madamonsieur-silvrene @pottenloved247 @froggistain @mycatsstolemybiscuit @greatsportsprofessorathelete @m-owo-n @pickledcarrots0 @cringe-culture-is-dead-99 @niko-is-d3ad @quickenedheartbeat @crazyhatlady86 @says-swag-unironically @potato-of-the-lord @piebook67 @crisisinverted17

#steddie #stranger things #pre steddie #disposable heroes #eddie munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #stobin #platonic stobin #platonic soulmates stobin #stobin friendship #stobin stans come get yalls juice #internalized homophobia #internalized biphobia #stranger things drabble #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fic #disposable heroes mcir

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reidslovely · 9 months

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can i request a little something something with frat!peter and reader where one of them has a bad dream and the other just comforts them?🥺

this is so cute 🥺 but ii do mention gwen and ben so content warning for bad dreams and illusions to death!!

(in place of liking/hearting this post please reblog and/or comment!! pretty please)

Peter hadn’t had a bad dream since you had started staying the night at the frat house. There were no dreams of a young blonde woman falling to her doom, Peter standing outside of his body just watching it happen. There were no nightmares of him holding the gun that killed his uncle, his hands soaking in Ben’s blood as he asks why over and over again. Peter was lucky his senses were dull with you around but in the best way possible. His guilt didn’t eat him alive, and he was thankful for that.

However, the day had been off, both you and Peter noticed that. He was rather grouchy that morning, snapping at you over the window having been left open, and then later for taking the campus bus to your dorm instead of waiting for him like you usually do. You knew he had moments like this, his frat brothers always mentioning how you had ‘calmed the only one who could actually fight down’. You were somewhat aware that his last girlfriend had a rather traumatic death a few years ago that still lingered with him greatly. It was obvious in the way he held you in his grasp when walking past a group of guys, or a tall drop off anywhere. Almost to the point it was bruising in his grasp. You both sat in his room that night, the styrofoam from the chinese take out pushed to the edge of the bed.

“Had a hard day huh?” You asked your fingers combing through his hair. Peter's jaw clenched as he nodded his head.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“No, I’ll be fine.” His lips pressed against your shoulder, breathing you in.

You wanted to push and beg him to tell you, but you also knew Peter valued his space and often bore the weight of the world on his shoulders because he saw himself as some type of superhero. You were sure that even Spider-Man himself even talked about all the bad he saw.

Peter was asleep in a matter of seconds after the conversation, from that alone you knew it had been a draining day. You wrapped the blankets up around both of you, your fingernails dragging softly over his back muscle zoning out while listening to the YouTube video playing in the background. He’d been asleep for about 20 minutes before he’d started talking.

“Gw..en. Stop stop stop stop. Gwen.”

Gwen?...Gwen.

You stopped all movement watching his breathing pick up, his hand squeezing onto your bareback skin, pinching it in an above human grip.

“Peter..Pete wake up. Wake up Petey.”

A gasp of ‘Gwen’ fell out of his mouth as he sat up, releasing your skin with it. You let out a shaky breath from the pain, but your eyes found him quickly. Tears rolling down his cheeks, his breathing gagged. He caught a glimpse of a dark red mark in the shape of his fingers on your back. That was going to be a nasty bruise. He wouldn’t touch you for 24 hours if he could help it.

“You’re okay. I’m okay. You’re here, breathe.”

You spoke to him, wiping the tears off his face. You smiled sweetly letting him know you’re here and listening to him.

“I’m sorry.” He gulps roughly, you reach over to the nightstand grabbing your water bottle getting him a drink. He drinks quickly, finishing off your bottle.

“I’m sorry I was so mean to you today. I didn’t mean, I hurt you emotionally..physically now. I’m so sorry.” He stumbled through his words, head resting in your neck, keeping his hands to himself. Your pressed your lips to his temple shaking your head.

“No Peter, no. No you never hurt me. I know today was hard, I’m sure she was on your mind.” You shushed him, hand rubbing his shoulder soothingly. “Harry told me it was her birthday.”

“It was.” He whispers against you. Your heart hurt for him, you wished you could help.

“I’m sure she’d have been happy to have spent it with you. To know you were thinking about her today. We could..go visit the grave tomorrow, if you didn’t get around to it today.”

“You’d be okay with that?” He laughs.

“Course I would. I love her, she gave me you.”

“You guys would have been best friends.” Peter laughs softly.

“I like to think we would have been..of course I don’t know if I’d like the love triangle. It’s my least favorite book trope” You joked. Peter shook his head. “No love triangle.” He stated simply.

“No?”

“No, we could have like…dated each other. Had a sister wives moment or whatever.”

You laughed a little louder, covering your mouth. Peter's own laugh ripples against your skin, giving in and placing a loving kiss on your collarbone. “Gwen would have found that funny.”

“Good.” You responded by kissing his head, hand rubbing the plane of his back. He kissed softly against your jaw pulling you back into him.

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megxplryxb · 1 year

Text

Minors DNI...

Not my gif!

Warnings: Mentions of sex, heavy flirting

Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Imagine....Robin dragging you to one of Steve's stupid parties and it’s honestly the last place you want to be, having already had to endure 8 hours in Family Video with him that day. Steve’s already in the corner of his kitchen, looking like a million dollars, talking to some blonde you recognise from the video store and you hate how it’s bothering you that she has her well manicured hands on his biceps but you grit your teeth, grabbing a drink and downing it quickly (your first of several that night). Of course it’s all part of Steve’s big plan to make you jealous, cause he’s really only got eyes for one girl. But you’re too damn stubborn to admit that you might actually like your handsome coworker because you didn't want to be one of those stupid girls that fell for Steve The fucking Hair Harrington....

When Steve grows bored of the lingering looks you've been exchanging all night, getting tired of pretending the guys lining up to make their move on you weren't irritating him, he walks toward you, a confident smirk across his face as he lifts his arm over your head to lean on the wall, closing you in.

You try your best to look displeased in his presence but when he boldly presses his body against yours, telling you just how pretty you look in your little red dress, you know instantly you're done for, cause you couldn't keep pretending that you didn't want to fuck Steve Harrington's brains out.

“So, princess, what exactly do you suggest we do about this sexual tension between us?” He whispers so causally in your ear and you're cursing at the way he has your thighs clenching just from how he was looking at you. Like you were the only person in the room.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Harrington." You reply, smiling sweetly, as Steve bites the corner of his bottom lip, grinning.

"So those hot little denim shorts you wore to work today weren't for my benefit? Like you didn't knock over those tapes on purpose so you could bend over in front of me, sweetheart..." He teases, stealing a little moan from you as his fingers begin to dance on the bare skin of your backless dress and you weren't sure how much longer you could stand not kissing him.

"Liked what you saw, Stevie?" You ask boldly, knowing it wasn't the alcohol setting your skin on fire now. It was all down to him.

"I think you already know the answer to that, sweetheart. But if you want me to admit it, then yeah, got me hard as a fuckin' rock."

"Did you touch yourself thinking about it?" You whisper in his ear, tugging at his shirt, his lips trailing the exposed skin of your collarbone, slowly moving his fingers from your hip, sliding them down your thigh but stopping just as he hears your breath hitch.

"Did you?" He smirks, letting his hand fall back to his side again and he can't help but grin when he sees the disappointment spreading across your face at the lack of friction between you.

"No more games, princess, you know I want you and I know you want me, even if it kills you to admit it.... So, I'm gonna go upstairs and if you want me to show you just exactly what I wanted to do to you earlier, you'll follow me there in five minutes." Steve instructs, leaving you standing there hot and needy for more.

It didn't take you five minutes to make your decision but fuck, work was going to be totally awkward on Monday.......

#steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington smut #steve harrington #steve harrington imagine #king steve #steve the hair harrington #stranger things smut #steve harrington stranger things #stranger things #joe keery #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fic

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lovethetasteofnothing · 6 months

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Hello! If you can, I would like a headcanon of Task 141 with a tiktoker s/o and see them doing a dance, you know, some tiktok trends. Thank you so much! <3

my apologies for this being so late, i haven't touched tiktok for months and have no idea what trends are currently popular

the clock app vs task force 141 | price, ghost, gaz, soap

includes: captain john price; simon "ghost" riley; kyle "gaz" garrick; johnny "soap" mactavish

gn!reader, gender neutral terms of endearment

warnings: nsfw content, mentions of breeding kink (implied), brief smutty descriptions, horny jokes (it's all in price's hcs)

word count: 1k, aprox. 250 words/ character

Captain Price

is so confused every time you start recording, like what are you doing?

you were just laying in his arms and decided to film a cute little tiktok because you wanted to join in the trend with your lovely husband

you looked back at it and you knew you couldn't post it, this man had the most confused face the whole time

"youngsters these days..." before picking your phone out of your hand and demanding cuddles

you tried on multiple occasions to show him tiktoks that you found funny

he just stared blankly, trying to figure out what you found funny at them

but you show him one dad humor tiktok and he's daying laughing??

watches tiktoks over your shoulder while you cuddle him

since he won't do trends with you, you might as well do them alone

so you decided to record a very pg 13 lies tiktok trend in front of him

just to spite him

we can all agree he has a breeding kink, yes? good luck with that mating press, soldier

and because you love him so much and respect his opinion so dearly, you ask him opinions on which tiktoks you should post

doesn't see the point of this but is supportive nonetheless

you use the opposite of what he chooses, sorry pop

until you accidentally stumble across some older thirst traps you recorded

he just stares at you, makes you send them to him

for safe keeping yk

Simon "Ghost" Riley

THIS MAN REFUSES TO USE TIKTOK BUT HE WATCHES REELS

"tiktok is for kids, luv" you just stare at him in disbelief for a minute (in my mind he's like early 30s)

you tried to explain that it's almost the same thing-

pretended not to hear you and went on with his day

but oh it's no longer a kid's app when you started doing the dancing trends

literally watches you doing them from the corner of the room

"you're not posting that, are you?"

he'd probably take your phone and delete it for safety but he doesn't know how to

you also try and make him do couple trends

random stage fright where he just 🕴️and doesn't move at all

confuses you because you have seen him scold a whole group of recruits before and then bark out orders to them with no problem

but you put a little phone with some music on it in front of him and he just error 404s

god forbid you have one good attempt and put this man on the internet

you dragged him into ONE trend and the video went viral

never again, you had to turn off comments

didn't even show him because... i mean we know, you're not feeding his ego any more today

its already so high, he doesn't need to see the step on me daddy comments

he also watches tiktoks over your shoulder, tells you to slow down because you're swiping too fast and he can't read

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick

type of person to have cooking videos appear when he's hungry and can't eat (me)

also type of guy who has random facts on his fyp but he actually goes to check if they're accurate

he either sends you 20 tiktoks in five minutes or 3 in two weeks

he actually does send you good tiktoks, i'll give him that

fairly normal feed (for your standards at least)

he'd argue with people in the comments about random misinformation

does cute tiktok trends with you

makes you get all dressed up for them because he wants everyone to know what a cute partner he has

i feel like he'd have a fairly large number of followers just because he's a man in uniform-

you both giggle at the simping in his comments

kisses you while telling you you're the only one who can have him

posts you so so much because he just loves to have little memories with you in his posts

i feel like he does the different outfit trends with you

overdressed bf x overdressed partner energy

knows all of the slang, trends, sounds and references them randomly

they appear on his feed before they do on yours

randomly pulls you aside and uses those "which blank are you" filters

redoes them because he's not happy with his result, also goes into a random analysis as to why it doesn't match him

"it's just a filter, kyle" you tell him because he won't stop until he gets his favorite thing

Johnny "Soap" Mactavish

this man right here sends the wackiest tiktoks with no explanation

like you just wake up with 10 tiktoks in five different genres and one of them is a poorly edited 3d animation (iykyk)

and if you ask him he just says it's funny???

also the type of person to find random misinformation about his field of work and send it to you complaining

doesn't last long

he finds another weird video and sends it right after the rant

starts recording randomly while you're talking to him

you don't notice until he shoves the phone in your face and records you mid sentence

he loves to see you doing trends (went wild for American horror show when you did it)

this man learned the dance with you and did it better

biggest fan of you posting thrist traps

there's just something about knowing that other guys are thirsting over you but he's the only one who can have you

helps you pick the best one to post and reads the comments with you

makes you post a couple tiktok right after, his account tagged and everything

has the weirdest profile pic and username

that plank/pushup training filter that was trending a while ago?

he did it like five times to impress you, makes you watch each one and give him your opinions

doesn't post anything, lets you do the bragging

he and gaz stole your phone once and recorded like 20 tiktoks with the same sound

all of them were showing how they almost burned you guys' kitchen down

they were used as proof against them

divider cred: @/cafekitsune

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thisapplepielife · 7 months

Text

Bang Dem Sticks

Character(s): Gareth | Word Count: 800 | Rating: T | CW: None | Tags: Drumming, Future Fic, Gareth & Eddie are Best Friends

Takes place in the Tuesday's Gone With the Wind universe but I don't see why it can't be read as a standalone as long as you know Gareth's a drummer.

2023

Gareth sits behind his drum kit in a little studio. It's just him, several cameras, and the handful of guys behind the glass in the control room. He was invited to come do a video for a YouTube drum channel, where the concept was sold to him as a challenge where they'll play a song they think he's never heard, without the drum part. And then he has to blindly play what he thinks the drum part actually is, just to see how close he can get.

That sounded like a fun stop on the press tour, a change of pace from the same old, same old, so he agreed. At least this involves playing the drums, instead of just talking about the new album, the new tour. Getting asked the same four questions over and over.

This time some of the interviewers are getting brave enough to gently ask if he’s getting ready to retire. He’s not. Not yet. But that can’t be too far off. He’s almost fifty-five. He’s been on the road, nearly continuously, since he was fresh out of high school. He loves drumming, he does. But he also doesn’t want to die behind his kit on the road. He doesn’t want to die on the road, at all. He worries about that. He wants to retire, and spend the rest of his time with the people he loves most.

If he’s gonna die behind the kit, it’s gonna be the one in Harrington House, surrounded by the people he loves. Not in a strange city, all alone.

Not to mention, his right knee is getting to the point of needing some attention. The steroid shots are helping, but they're a short term fix. If he wants to walk into his old age, he’s probably looking at surgery. He hasn’t told Eddie that yet, because Eddie’ll fret about it. So there’s no need to worry him until it can’t be put off any longer.

So today he takes an Aleve, shows up, sits behind his kit, and lets them rig up all the cameras. Overhead, of his face, his hands, his feet. Then he waits.

When they give him the go sign, he sits up a little straighter. They play a song, and he starts playing along. He knows this one from playing with Eddie.

They try another. Eddie.

And again.

Eddie.

He finally laughs, "You're gonna hafta go newer."

He's sure they have his resume. They are clearly staying away from metal and hard rock. But crossing genres isn't enough for older songs. If it had an interesting drum part, Eddie's probably already dragged it into Hellfire Studios at some point over the years for them to play together. No matter the genre.

"How do you know all those?" they ask through the headset, clearly a little surprised. They had a handful of songs, and he knew them all. They need to dig deeper.

Gareth just smiles.

Eddie won't want to be named, not publicly, so Gareth just laughs and says, "I have a friend I jam with sometimes. He has very broad tastes."

They dig up something else, something newer, and it’s finally one Gareth’s never heard before. He gives them a thumbs up, and counts the time signature. It’s in 4. He listens closely. Finds the groove of the bass. Feels it. Thinks about how he’d slide in the pocket, if this was his drum part to build from scratch.

The song ends, and Gareth gives it his best shot.

When he’s finished, they roll the playback of the full song, original drum part intact, and he realizes he wasn't that far off. He's been a drummer for over fifty years, a professional for decades, and he's just happy his ear still works. That his instinct is intact, even on modern music. Though, this was a throwback of a song if he’s ever heard one. They should have found something truly modern, if they wanted to trip him up. Not a young band that has clearly found inspiration in the 70s, in Zep and Rush. Gareth knows how that goes, lived it, a long, long time ago.

Weeks later, when the video gets posted to the YouTube channel, it sure doesn't take very long for the comments on the video to start naming Eddie as the friend.

That's okay. Eddie's certainly not scouring YouTube for videos of Gareth anyway. And it's not like Gareth was the one that ID'd him. It's no secret they still play together, that they are still best friends.

And in three days he'll be back home, playing with Eddie again. Where he wants to be. Maybe he’ll bring this new tune home and see if Eddie can figure out the guitar part, just for fun.

The YouTube algorithm served me up this video of Chad Smith yesterday and I was like, oh, Gareth.

And here we are. It didn't really fit in with anything I have left for Wildflowers...and All the Rest, but I was inspired to write it, and thought, hey, it can just be a little standalone.

#thisapplepielife: short fic #ficlet #gareth (stranger things)#wildflowers...and all the rest #gareth fic #corroded coffin fic #gareth & eddie #stranger things fic #corroded coffin boys #corroded coffin

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piracytheorist · 10 months

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Ranking SxF episodes least favourite to most favourite

No, I have nothing better to do. Temperature reached 42 degrees today (Celsius. That's 107 if you're American) and it was like that most of the day so going out was out of the question. We were also let off work today so I had a little too much free time so what was left was being inspired by a random video for another show and going at it for SxF!

This is all my personal judgment heavily based on stuff I liked. You most certainly will disagree with me and that's fine! Just don't argue with me because that's just personal opinions, I'm not trying to change anyone's minds or prove anything!

I didn't want to say "worst" in the ranking because even the episode I consider the weakest, you'll find out soon which one I'm talking about, is still a great episode that I've enjoyed watching in my rewatches. Just not as much as the other episodes.

There's a high chance I will change my mind after a while on this. I made the rankings quite quickly and more on instinct than anything else. But hey this is my blog I post what I want.

I chose to rank each episode by five criteria, the things I love the most about the show: 1) Humor (intentional or not), 2) Character (defining or cool moments and such) 3) Cute (mostly Anya and Bond adding to that XD) 4) Plot (how much development there is and how well the action is delivered) 5) Feels (of any kind).

So under the cut the rankings go!

#25, Least Best: 10. The Great Dodgeball Plan

Humor: 7/10 Character: 5/10 Cute: 5/10 Plot: 4/10 Feels: 4/10

Yeah, I don't have much to say about this one. As far as fillers go, it's pretty good stuff, and the anime team did a good job adding new scenes to expand it so that they could fill an entire episode about it, instead of shoehorning this chapter into another episode that wouldn't be relevant. Again, it's a good episode, but one I had no problem skipping in my, like, fifth rewatch of the entire show XD

#24: 22. The Underground Tennis Tournament: The Campbelldon

Humor: 6/10 Character: 6/10 Cute: 4/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 5/10

I'm not into sport-y action in fictional media, and this episode has a little too much Nightfall and almost completely no Forger family moments so it was doomed for me to be at the bottom. Don't misunderstand me, the action was good and Nightfall's ridiculousness was enjoyable. But not something I'd rewatch a ton of times. I also like that we got a little bit of political mention in this one, so plot points were added.

#23: 17. Carry Out the Griffin Plan/ Fullmetal Lady / Omelet Rice

Humor: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 5/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 3/10

I think I've made my stance on the moments of Damian bullying Anya clear, and no episode of the show has made me as uncomfortable as this one has. It's still got nice moments between Anya and Becky and I love the small glimpse into Sylvia's life and the ending with Yor and smol Yuri, but my biases don't allow this episode to go any higher.

#22: 20. Investigate the General Hospital / Decipher the Perplexing Code

Humor: 7/10 Character: 5/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 5/10 Feels: 7/10

I'll be honest, I feel kinda sad this is so low because Anya is so adorable and such a GremlinTM in this one, but there's only so much her little back can carry. Extra feels though for Twilight worrying over Anya's stress. Again, a very well-standing episode as far as fillers go, but not one to keep me at the edge of my seat.

#21: 19. A Revenge Plot Against Desmond / Mama Becomes the Wind

Humor: 7/10 Character: 6/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 6/10

I have to be honest. I don't really like George. He annoyed me more than anything else. Most of my enjoyment of this episode comes from the second part. Yor's part was funny and cute and even sweet, especially at the end, but as far as this ranking goes, the George plot dragged it down. Interesting addition, however, that xenophobia has run so deep in this country that George fears he'll be sold off as a slave in Westalis, so plot point up.

#20: 7. The Target's Second Son

Humor: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 8/10

The two different part of this episode, once again, make the ranking a little skewed. I actually love the second part, especially the discussion between Loid and Yor. Loid picking up Anya and whispering in the sweetest voice ever about recording Spy Wars for her makes me fucking melt. Unfortunately, it's tied to an episode with bullying and no retribution, so it's dragged down a little.

#19: 18. Uncle the Private Tutor / Daybreak

Humor: 9/10 Character: 6/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 6/10

Yuri was fun. Daybreak was ridiculous (affectionate). Anya was cute. Twilight in action was interesting. I want to remind you that I absolutely adore this show, so this episode being number 19 on the list doesn't mean it's bad. It means it's very good but not epic like the ones on the top of the list.

#18: 23. The Unwavering Path

Humor: 8/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 7/10

I laughed so hard at Yor decimating the tennis ball with the racket, that alone earns a high humor point. I loved the moment of Twilight supporting Carroll Campbell after he beat him at tennis, so character points added for that. Plot was interesting, at first I was annoyed that the tennis match was for nothing but then I found it interesting that it kind of paralleled Nightfall's obsession with Twilight. Feels points added for the end where Twilight goes and buys his girls' favourite snacks :D

#17: 25. First Contact

Humor: 5/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 5/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 8/10

This one is only so low due to the limited points in humor and cute section. This was, after all, a serious episode, but you'll see down the line that there are other serious episodes that got more points in humor and cuteness. It still got 9/10 for character thanks to a great introduction on Donovan and 8/10 for plot and don't get me wrong, it's still a great episode that I like rewatching. It gets extra feels points because of Becky being best friend material and because of the "Is that why you're using force to bring other nations to their knees" moment. Hey, I never said the "feels" part didn't include angst :)

#16: 6. The Friendship Scheme

Humor: 7/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 6/10

Unsurprisingly, the first part is more favourable to me. Yor saving Anya and Anya supporting her and loving her is adorable. We get a bit of spy stuff, we're introduced to the Handler and we love it, and Anya's punch was absolutely delicious.

#15: 8. The Counter-Secret Police Cover Operation

Humor: 9/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 6/10

I'll mourn the day where I'll watch the ending of this episode and not laugh hysterically. It's so dramatic, especially with the music added to it, I've laughed every single time like the first time I watched it. Again, Yuri is both satisfyingly funny and with good character motivations, with a great setting of his extremism and not a condemnation of him for it. A bit of cute points added for the Yor and Yuri flashbacks.

#14: 4. The Prestigious School's Interview

Humor: 8/10 Character: 8/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 9/10

I'll always love the ridiculousness of the Forgers bringing three sets of clothing for the interview. Character points very up especially for Loid defending Yor and almost going ballistic on Swan. Feels especially for the ending family scene, and this whumper also appreciates how the anime added the bandage around Loid's hand :)

#13: 13. Project Apple

Humor: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 7/10

Again, I feel it's unfair that such a good episode ranks almost in the middle but that's just because the competition is very high lol. A good balance of Anya being an Ulcer-Inducing GremlinTM, Bond being the bestest boi, Anya and Bond being the cutest duo as well as all the other pets at the adoption fair, great introduction to the Doggy Crisis Arc, and Bond and Anya bonding!

#12: 3. Prepare for the Interview

Humor: 8/10 Character: 8/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 9/10

After the first two episodes were packed with plot, the third episode comes with great balance of character and dynamic moments. Especially having read the original manga chapter, I feel the director and animators did a great job adding more stuff to expand this episode. The flow was so natural I felt shocked to know almost half of the episode was anime original. With all three Forgers coming together at the end to catch the thief, and with Twilight having a realization at the end of how Yor inspired him, I love what this episode makes me feel.

#11: 15. A New Family Member

Humor: 8/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 10/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 9/10

An excellent conclusion to the Doggy Crisis arc and welcoming of Bond in the family. That moment in the above screenshot alone is enough to make the cuteness skyrocket. Plot doesn't need to be high as it's the conclusion of the arc, but feels and humor more than make up for it. The only thing I would say about it is that it's hard for me to watch it on its own, it kinda needs to follow the impact of the previous two episodes. Which says a lot about how good the build-up and conclusion of that story was, by the way!

#10: 9. Show Off How In Love You Are

Humor: 9/10 Character: 8/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 9/10

A lot of humor for Yuri's overdramatic reaction at the first part! Also for Anya's reactions the next morning XD This episode is very defining for Twilight's perception of Yor. He opens up to her about feeling jealous of her relationship with her brother, and the next day, from the first moment he feels hesitant and guilty over doubting her. Yor unintentionally but honestly proves how much she already cares for him and respects him and it's the beginning of her realizing how much she values being a part of the Forgers. Overall, satisfying and fulfilling despite the secrets those two keep from each other.

#9: 5. Will They Pass Or Fail?

Humor: 10/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 8/10

This episode sold me with how unapologetically it gave no single fuck. It was ridiculous and they loved making it so and it shows. Such kind of humor is art. A relaxing episode (for us, certainly not for Loid) after the heavy packed introductory episodes and the stressful interview one, we get to sit back and enjoy Twilight becoming the butt of the joke and get his butt kicked, while Anya, Yor, and even Franky have the time of their lives. Princess Anya is adorable, especially with her badly-acted "Oh, no, save meee" and the ending scene of Loid and Anya warms my heart!

#8: 12. Penguin Park

Humor: 8/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 10/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 9/10

PENGUINS! Enough said! I had so much love for penguins as a kid that if I was gifted a huge penguin plush I would be hysterical. Among the best fillers, it still has a solid plot and good character moments, and I absolutely adore how Anya tries to help Loid in his mission in such a way that the only reason he doesn't get suspicious is because she's too little for him to imagine ever being involved in something like this. Which adds both to the humor and the feels. Extra feels because again, this whumper appreciates an exhausted Loid :D

#7: 11. Stella

Humor: 7/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 9/10

Anya showcasing massive amounts of bravery and kindness, and finally being recognized for it. Twilight feeling genuine pride for her. A legit intense moment of a kid almost drowning. A grand rescue! It's SO GOOD YOU GUYS!

#6 21. Nightfall / First Fit of Jealousy

Humor: 8/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 10/10

My biases all out in the open. A subtle hint that Twilight is genuinely happy as a part of the Forgers and I become a puddle of feels. At the same time, while it's clear we should root for Yor and distrust Fiona and her methods, it's great character building for her and spot-on dynamics between the rest of the characters. Anya rubbing her face all over Yor and Bond to basically tell Fiona "begone you foul witch we are happy as we are" is perfect. Loid supporting Yor (with a heavy hint that it actually means a lot to him that Anya is happy with Yor as her mother) and then showing a hint of genuine emotion that's so strong he doesn't even realize is seeping through his smile and I AM DONE. It's the beginning of my end.

#5: 14. Disarm the Time Bomb

Humor: 6/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 9/10 Feels: 10/10

I cannot express how much I love the "You know nothing about war" scene. It's so raw and so human and so disturbing (in a great storytelling way) that this moment alone makes me trust fully in the way Endo will handle the story in regards to war and politics later on. It's more of a character moment, mostly for Sylvia but in a subtler way about Twilight too, so it deserves a solid 10 in that regard. Plot is still heavy and action-packed, some humor and cuteness manages to sneak in, and then there's the moment of Bond having the vision of Loid dying which I kid you not, when I first watched the episode I felt like someone punched me in the gut. That alone skyrockets feels up to 10, but then there's also Anya apologizing to Yor for running off on her own and Yor hugging her tight while being realistic about the situation. Deserved spot in the top five.

#4: 16. Yor's Kitchen / The Informant's Great Romance Plan

Humor: 7/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 10/10

Look. I tried to be as honest as possible in my rankings, and I ranked each episode separately before seeing where they ended up on the list. The fact that with absolute honesty, this episode ranks so high says a lot about how, though combining two wholly different plots, it does so many things I love about this show so good. Yor feeling accepted and genuinely happy over seeing Loid and Anya enjoy the food she made for them means so fucking much for me. That's her revelation of love for this family, and she's still got way to go before she even falls for Loid romantically. It's still a filler but it's so good for character and long overdue focus on Yor. Franky's part has sufficient humor and character on its own, and with Twilight deciding to console him at the end it's all tied up with a neat little bow.

#3: 24 The Role of a Mother and Wife / Shopping with Friends

Humor: 9/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 10/10

I unapologetically barely acknowledge the second part of this episode because the first part hits SO HARD that the second feels like a commercial break in comparison (apologies to any who loved it. I actually find it a great part on its own, but when put next to the first part, it pales in comparison for me).

This episode ended me. I don't know if I'm biased on my rating because I recorded my reaction to watching it, and I saw myself laughing so hard and so often, as well as saw my own near-crying face in both scenes where baby Twilight was shown, that I can't help giving such high numbers on the humor and feels part. Though okay this episode wants you to feel stuff, so maybe it's just the humor part that may be a little biased. I wouldn't actually consider it the funniest episode of the season. Anyway, I don't think there's actually a lot to say regarding why I rated with the numbers I rated. It's a great episode that has a lot to say about Twilight, Yor, and their relationship and connection, and it's made with so much love by everyone, from Endo himself, to the cast and crew. I love it and I will continue to love it.

#2: 2. Secure a Wife

Humor: 10/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 9/10

Yor's introduction is, for real, one of the best and most satisfying character introductions I've ever had the pleasure to lay eyes upon. She is flawlessly presented in her full glory, with her (natural) weaknesses revealed. From her first episode you learn everything you need to know about her, and she is seamlessly inserted into the plot and the lives of the established characters so past that, you get to enjoy her being an irreplaceable part of the story. Her motivations are clear, her character agency is well established, and it's all done succinctly and efficiently within 20 minutes of screentime. It's fabulous. At the same time, the episode delivers great humor, a bit of expansion of plot and world building, as well as feels for how Twilight and Yor start connecting without even realizing it, and the hands-down best proposal scene I've seen in fictional media in my entire life.

It's for a fake marriage and still nothing compares to it. Your otp could never.

#1: 1. Operation Strix

Humor: 9/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 10/10

A quite honestly perfect introductory episode. In a little more than twenty minutes of screentime, it establishes all of the following:

Twilight and Anya's characters and motivations, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

The basis of the relationship between Twilight and Anya.

The plot of pretty much the entire story.

A succinct presentation of the political situation without long exposition scenes.

The mood and setting; a careful balance of found family humor and realistic anti-war stance.

At the same time, it manages a tight and self-sufficient episode plot that fits the characters' backgrounds and MOs, it delivers meaningful flashbacks, and all that while being honest about what it's trying to be, without fanfare and badassery trying to cover up leaks like flex tape. Every scene, every shot, every second has a reason and meaning. Paired with episode 2, it's genuinely a near flawless introduction to everything Spy x Family is about. It gives you all you need and prepares you for the awesomeness that follows!

#Spy x Family

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bratshaws · 2 years

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goodness gracious 11. brb x oc

( i mean look at those lips. sir how dare you. )

a/n: hello today we are going to talk about how Rooster has better lips than me . *starts slideshow*

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: mentions of emotional abuse ( its not a lot but im writing it just to be safe <3 ) a hint of suggestive content. We are getting closer to the spice guys, i promise.

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!!)

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj

‘I’ll be waiting’ how smooth was that? How very confident was that phrase? That was the plus of sending a text message instead of calling or doing video chat, it hid how absolutely fucking freaked out you’d be.

Bradley, once he got her message, took a few seconds to reply only because he was digesting the fact she wanted the two to have lunch together, but she wanted to cook. He only had her sandwiches, but he knew from Shells that Bea was a great cook, so he couldn’t help but be excited about the proposition, not even thinking when he sent her his address.

Then he remembered, just after he sent her the message, that he lived alone and his apartment was less than organized. He wasn’t a slob, his mother raised him right, but he rarely spent more time than the weekends here and when he did he just passed out on his bed wearing nothing but his boxers.

Which were currently his choice of clothing right now, the ones with tiny chickens on it - the lovely gag gift his friends gave him for his late birthday celebration -. He looked down at himself, cursed and tossed the phone to the side.

He had to change. Bradley rushed through his apartment, grabbing any type of tossed clothing and throwing it into his closet, kicking the door shut while he grabbed himself a pair of gray sweatpants and a white tee. Dressing up while standing should be considered a danger to society, because Bradley almost fell to his face while dragging his pants up his legs, having to lean himself against the wall to tie it up.

He then almost shoved his head through the sleeve hole, cursing and trying again, breathing out in relief when his head popped out of the collar. He ran his hands down the fabric, smoothing it before he checked his reflection on his bathroom’s mirror, running his hands through his hair to comb it down to the sandy waves he’d usually have.

Bradley fixed his bed, then checked the ensuite and guest bathrooms, before going to the living room where he took the mug he drank his coffee that morning to the kitchen sink, washing it quickly to place it back inside a cabinet. He inhaled, rubbing his hands down his pants, “Okay, it’s good.” he whispered, then checked his fridge to see if he had anything she could possibly use if she so wanted, sighing in relief when he saw it was still quite full of fresh veggies and meat.

His doorbell rang and he quickly rushed to the speaker button so he could talk to who was on the other side, “Bea?”

“Yea! It’s me. Can I come up?”

“Of course, sweetheart. Come on right up.” he walked back from the doorbell speaker, waiting until he heard the knock on the door. He eased his step, trying to not yank the door open, choosing to slowly unlock it, revealing her sweet face behind the door. She smiles brilliantly at him,holding white plastic bags with both hands.

“Hi,” she says, tilting her head up when he leans closer to peck her lips, “Sorry for the sudden message, I–”

“It’s okay,” he steps back, sweeping his hand into his apartment, “Do come in.”

He shuts the door behind her, watching her head turn left and right as she takes in his apartment. He panics for a brief second, thinking he left something behind, his eyes moving everywhere again just to check, but when she places her bag on the coffee table between his couch and the tv, she’s smiling, “I like your apartment.” she grins, “It’s very nice.”

It was a big apartment, perhaps too big for only him to live alone, but it was good enough if you were too tired. He watched her approach the piano on the corner of the living room, right next to his bookcase, running her fingers over the keys - a bit yellowed over time, it wasn’t a brand new piano after all - before she tilted her head to the picture of young Bradley being held by his father. Her gaze softened at the vision of little young, blonde Bradley, wearing a cowboy hat bigger than his own head.

She smiled sweetly, seeing how Bradley was the spitting image of his father, “You look a lot like him,” she comments, seeing the two had the same brighter than the sun smile. Bradley gets closer to her, he too looks at the picture with his jaw clenched just a bit.

“You think so?” he questions quietly, almost he is unsure of it himself, but Bea sends him a smile, then cups his cheek and he almost leans onto it. Her thumb gently brushes over his lips, over his mustache and she nods. He chuckles, kissing the pad of her thumb before he grabs the bags she’s holding, “So,you are cooking us lunch?”

“I am!” she smiles, following him to his kitchen, letting out a quiet woah at how large it was. It even had a marble top island in the middle with hanging lamps! She runs her hand over the sleek surface, then pulls back when she hears him placing the items on the kitchen counter “I thought it’d be nice.”

“I can’t say I’m opposed to it,” he opens the bags, peeking inside, “What did you have planned?”

“Well,” she grabs the one he’s not messing with, pulling out the ingredients, “I was thinking about making something my nonna loved to make for Sunday lunches. It was tradition to go to her house every Sunday morning after church just so she could cook for us…so,” she pulls out a packet, “I thought it’d be interesting if I made us her spaghetti all'amatriciana.” she looks down at the fresh pasta packet in her hands, “Usually, she’d make these by hand but…I found a place close by that makes these fresh.”

Bradley looks down at the packet of spaghetti, the strips dusted with a fine layer of flour, “Sounds nice…what’s it called again?”

“Spaghetti all’amatriciana. It doesn’t take too long.” she smiled when his lips moved, repeating the word under his breath, “You can help me out, if you want to.”

“Oh? Won’t your nonna come haunt me if I mess up?” he teases, but stands close to her as she sets everything in front of her. Beatrice pauses, her eyelids lowering as she smiles, then turns to look at him with her gaze unreadable.

“She’d say you are a bel ragazzo and that she wouldn’t mind if you messed up.” he blinks, not sure of what the word meant, “Handsome boy, she’d call you a handsome boy.” Bradley breathes out an embarrassed laugh and his tanned cheeks turn darker, going back on setting the ingredients around them. There’s something with sugar inside a box that she asks him to put it inside the fridge while she gets everything set, which he does, lifting the lid just enough to see it was cream filled.

Thankfully his friends gave him a house warming gift, even if he didn’t used, of pots and pans and other kitchen utensils, or else he’d he fucked. Beatrice pulled her hair up on a bun, tightening it with a hairband she kept on her wrist as she helped him. He knew how to dice onions and crush garlic, he’s helped his mom cook before, so he was very proud of himself when Beatrice complimented him.

She hummed to herself while cooking, some song he couldn’t identify, but she was smiling as she did it. He watched it with a small smile himself, rubbing his face with a hand only to turn around to get plates for them to eat, trying to keep himself busy.

The smell was incredible. He ate Italian food quite often, even dared to cook some himself, but never had his own cooking smelled that good before, “Okay!” she chirps, “It’s done!” she grins, picking the pot to bring to the middle of the island.

Bradley let her serve them both, about to sit down, but then he snapped his fingers, “Hold on,” he rushed the wine rack he had in the corner of the kitchen, hovering his hand above the bottles until he got the one with the red covering. He opened the cabinet above his head, picking two wine glasses, smiling towards the brunette, “Now it’s better.”

Beatrice’s lips parted in surprise, her cheeks reddening, tucking the skirt of her dress underneath herself as she seated on the stool. She interlaced her fingers in front of her mouth, trying to cover her smile as he popped the cork off, pouring them both the red wine. He slid the bottle to the side, sat himself down and raised his glass, “How do you say cheers in Italian?”

“Saluti.” she whispers, lifting her own glass.

“Saluti, then.” their glasses clink and each took a sip. She hummed in surprise, smacking her lips at the taste. This was good wine.

“This is really good.” she reached over to the bottle, checking the label while pushing her glass to the side.

“Mav got it for me,” he says, “Peace offering, I think he said.” he shrugs, fixing himself on his seat after he was done drinking, about to dig into the pasta but pausing, looking up at her, “Do I need a spoon?”

“If you want,” she shrugs, twirling her own spaghetti without the spoon, “I don’t like it because of the noise the fork makes when it scratches the spoon, “ her body visibly shudders and she shakes her head as if to get rid of the imagery. “But it’s not necessary.”

Bradley thought about it, his stomach begging for him to just eat, so he decided to do it without the spoon. He twirled the spaghetti on his fork, not seeing Beatrice trying so hard to not pay attention to his reaction but failing, slowing her own chewing down with how tense she was.

It took him just a second for his eyes to close and him to support his forehead on the back of his hand, much like he did back on Mr.Spoons, and sigh deeply, “Jesus fuck, this tastes so good.”

“You like it?” she asked, her eyes and smile bright, “Really?”

He’s still chewing when he nods, but he’s way too happy to speak, so he takes another bite once he swallows the first. He closes his eyes, holding his fork holding hand up to his mouth, ‘You know what this tastes like?” He moves his hand for emphasis, trying to find the word, “Like those fancy Italian restaurant dishes that are worth more than half of your monthly income.”

She laughs, “Shut up, you are exaggerating.”

“I’m not! I’m serious! It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever tasted.” he gestures to his plate, “Look at this! Bea, this is just incredible.”

Her cheeks turn red and she looks down at her hands, tucking a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. She’s about to explode from happiness, just knowing he enjoyed her cooking - especially a recipe her nonna used to make several times over the years - just made her feel like she was on cloud nine. She chewed her own bite then took another sip of the wine, enjoying how it warmed her all over, mixing with the warmth of her own cheeks.

“This sauce is so good.” he mutters, slurping a long noodle. She couldn’t help but giggle against her glass, suddenly remembering something that piques his curiosity, “What’s funny?”

Her cheeks were flushed a bit and not because of her shyness, the wine was starting to get to her. It wasn’t like the time she passed out at the barbecue, she was just happy and a bit more open with her words “Just remembered a quote from the Golden Girls.” she smiles, “If this sauce was a person I’d get naked and make love to it.”

Clearly Beatrice wanted to be funny, just an innocent comment about a show she adored.

But unfortunately, Bradley was just a man.

With a very sweet and attractive girlfriend who had no idea of how nice she looked with her light colored summer dress that exposed her shoulders and collarbones. He didn’t want to push her to do anything,even if it’s been a few weeks of them dating, the last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable.

He chose to drink his own wine before anything unwanted came out of his mouth, licking his lips once he swallowed it. She didn’t seem to notice the lack of reply, just continued eating her own plate in silence. Besides the words that made his brain turn on high alert, the lunch was incredibly nice.

It was delicious and he complimented her one more time while they finished. Once their lunch was done with, she went to pick the plates but he got them before she could do it, telling her she was a guest and to not worry her pretty little head because he’d wash them. She smiled, following him walk around the kitchen, her eyes focusing on how his white tee clung to his back muscles. Muscles that moved when he set the things down into the sink.

Much like Bradley, she also was just a woman who liked admiring the body of her boyfriend. The same one she pined for months. She blinked when he noticed him looking over his shoulder, his cheek flexed as he smirked, clearly happy he caught her staring, “I-I’ll, um!” she looked around, then quickly grabbed the wine bottle and glasses “I’ll take this to the living room!”

She spun out of the kitchen quickly, rushing over to sit herself down on his couch. Beige colored, suede, super soft. Her nervousness dissipated as she kicked off her sandals, curling her legs by her side, enjoying how comfortable his couch was, soon after placing the wine and glasses on his coffee table. Even more than hers she could say. The clinking of glasses and plates, followed by the sound of doors closing, signaled he was done washing them.

Bea tugged the side of her dress in hopes it’d cover up her thighs a bit more, smiling up at him when he walked around the couch, trying to keep his eyes away from the expanse of her legs, seating himself on the opposite side. “More?” she asks, gesturing to the wine bottle, Bradley nods and leans back, grinning in thanks when she hands him his glass.

They sip their wine quietly, eventually the bottle is nearing it’s end and both of them are pleasantly buzzed. She was giggly, her hair was falling out of the bun onto her back and shoulders and her cheeks got even redder, “You are so cute.” he murmurs, to which she bites her lower lip, that made his eyes dart to her mouth immediately, his tongue coming out to wet his wine stained lips.

“You always say that.” she whispers, this time pulling her hair out of the bun so it travels down her back, she shakes her head so the strands on her forehead rest by her temples.

“Hmm,I’m not lying.” he purrs, “Pretty girl that you are, it’s a shocker you didn’t hear it more often.”

She scoffs out a laugh, running her hands through her hair before she reaches for the last bit of wine in her glass, setting it on the coffee table once she’s done. The atmosphere got a bit thicker, the wine making them run a little hot under their clothes. Her hands played with her skirt a bit, sometimes revealing more of her flesh for his eyes to see.

Bradley inhaled deeply, swallowing the final amount of wine in one gulp, placing his glass next to hers, his arm stretched so he could reach the coffee table. He looked over his bicep to see her green eyes locked on his stretched limb and he honestly couldn’t help but make a bit of a show of pulling his arm back, curling just to run a hand through his hair. The muscle stretched the fabric above it and he heard her take a quick intake of breath.

He chuckles, stretching his legs to cross them by the ankle, which makes her look up at him, “What?”

“Do you remember the first time we met?” he grins, “I mean, the very first time I showed up to the counter and you just scurried away from me?”

“I…” she licked her lips “...no?”

Rooster tapped his hands on the wooden counter, looking around for either Penny or Shells, his sunglasses low on the bridge of his nose. The music from the jukebox made him bounce his leg with the rhythm as he waited. He saw Shells close by but it wasn’t her who called his attention first. There was a new face there.

There was this gorgeous brunette wearing a Metallica t-shirt right on his opposite side, she was laughing at something one of the patrons said, her hair pulled up in a bun to expose her neck. He tilted his head down just enough for his view to get clearer, he had never seen her on the bar before and he was sure he’d notice if she did.

His whiskey colored eyes dragged down from the top of her bun to the dark wash jeans, then to the black converse on her feet. She was dressed comfortably, tending to the people on the opposite side of the bar while he continued staring.

The moment she turned and saw him, her face paled and then turned a bright red. He didn’t even have the chance to call her before she rushed over to Shells, muttering something to the blonde that made her throw her head back in a laugh, only to trade places with the curvier woman.

Rooster opened his mouth, watching that now she was farther away and Shells was looking at him instead, “What can I get you, Chanticleer?” she teases, waiting for him to say something.

He frowns, but then just orders the usual, watching Shells grab the beers then moving his gaze to the back of the brunette who seemed to be trying to not look his way, “There you go.” Shells grins, but he stays put, “Hey, Rooster.” she snaps her fingers in front of his eyes, which startles him, “Your drinks?”

“Right, thanks Shells.” he leans away from the bar counter, eyebrows furrowed when the brunette still isn't looking in his direction.

Beatrice frowns, looking at her hands, “You made me nervous.” she whispered, “I mean…you were the first guy I got a strong crush on in years…I got scared.” she whispers, “I got terrified, I didn’t know what to do whenever you were around.”

Bradley’s eyebrows lowered “Was I that scary to you?”

“It’s…not scary you were just…you. You know? You are just…really fucking hot and I couldn’t focus on anything but on you.” she blurts out, not meeting his eyes, “I lost count of how many times I stood there just staring whenever you walked in. When you talked to me for real, I felt like I was going to faint. When you offered to help me out with my armoire, I freaked out. I…I just feared doing something wrong and making you uncomfortable.”

He scooted closer to her, his arms on the back of the couch, behind her as his chest touched her shoulder, “Hey, pretty girl,” he begins, “Look at me. Hey,” he cups her chin so he can turn her head towards him and her green eyes appear frightened, “You could never make me uncomfortable.”

“But what if I do?”

“Then…we’ll talk about it and figure out how to prevent that.” he says simply, “Same goes to me, if I make you uncomfortable I want you to say it.”

“...you won’t get upset?”

Bradley recoiled, wrinkling his eyebrows, “Upset? Why would I–” the way she looked away from him, immediately going back to her hands, almost ashamed of her own words, “...ex-boyfriend?” she nods quietly.

“The last one,” she murmurs, running her index finger over the tiny flowers on her summer dress, “He didn’t like how I acted. He criticized and antagonized me a lot…I never told my family about it, because I think part of me felt scared that if they knew they’d kick him away from me… and I wouldn’t find anyone else. “ she inhaled sharply “They just found out I broke up with him weeks after I told them he was cheating on me…sad thing is that I think I already knew, it was happening for months, I just tried to be better for him.”

“What happened to him?”

“...after I broke up with him, he was very surprised. I think it was the first time in our relationship I actually voiced out how he hurt me and how much I didn’t want him to do that anymore.” she chuckles dryly, “He just screamed at me, called me names… but I never raised my voice, I never– I guess I just was too tired to scream. I just wanted it to be over, I was going to go to the college I wanted after years of trying. I was ready to let go of that toxic waste.”

Bradley just watched her say it in silence, the hand not behind her clenched and relaxed. Two things were going on in his head: that how the relationship happened explained a lot of her personality around him and while the shyness was very endearing it bothered him that part of it was because of a guy who just couldn’t respect her. The second thing was that her ex better not be in Cali anymore, because he didn’t like how the mention of him made the lights in her eyes dimmer and her body to curl away from his own, with her hand rubbing up her arm, as if she was trying to get rid of an invisible stain, “Did he ever–”

“Put his hands on me? No.” she says quickly and he breathes out in relief, “He knew if he did, my family would notice and he’d be as good as dead. He always said he thought my family was part of the mafia. He joked about it once to my dad and my dad just looked him dead in the eye and said ‘he was going to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse’... I’ve never seen him so scared.” her laughter subsided until only her smile remained. “It’s been…I think four years since we broke up, haven’t seen him since.”

Bradley, while very pissed at the thought of someone willing hurting Bea so much, was very proud of her too “You are very brave,Bea.” he says and she looked at him like he said something ridiculous, “You are! You broke up with a guy who treated you like shit.”

“It took me years though…”

“It doesn’t matter how long it took,” he adjusts himself on the seat so his torso is fully turned towards her “What matters is that you got rid of him, by yourself. Without needing your family's help to do it, it is very brave.”

She looks at him out of the corner of her eye, then chuckles, “You are the one that flies I don’t know how many feet up in the air and I’m the brave one?”

“I think they both are on the same level of bravery.”

Beatrice’s cheeks hurt from smiling, but she cups his face and presses a kiss to his lips, silently thanking him for being so sweet. So incredibly sweet, “Thank you.” she whispers against his mouth, giggling when he leans over to kiss her once again, his mustache tickling her upper lip.

She wraps her arms around his neck while he goes wrap his own around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Bea’s cheeks get warmed up yet again,she’s sitting on her knees - even then he’s still taller than she was - her bare skin touching the soft fabric of his sweatpants. She doesn’t know if it’s because her brain wants to forget about their conversation or just because she wants to be even closer, but she wants to sit on his lap…however, she was wearing a dress.

That was too soon, she thought. So she broke the kiss off, smiling down at his flushed lips and enlarged pupils, rubbing her thumb on his cheekbone. “You have very pouty lips.” she whispers, running her thumb over said pouty lips, feeling his breathing against her skin. “You know that?”

“Hmmm, what?” his unfocused gaze goes from her mouth to her eyes “Sorry, couldn’t hear you.”

“I said you have very pouty lips.” she repeats, pressing another kiss to them, happy to hear him hum pleasantly, only to almost whine when she pulls back. “Very pink pouty lips.”

Bradley blinks a bit, licking his lips as if he was trying to feel it himself, only to furrow his eyebrows, “Do I?” she nods, still cupping his face in her hands, “I’ve heard people say I have a nice smile, but never about me having pouty lips.”

“They are very soft too.”

“I think they feel a bit chapped…”

“You need some chapstick then,” she says easily, “To keep them moisturized.” she breaks her grasp on him, fighting back a chuckle when he pouts his lips even more, to reach for her bag. She pulls out her own chapstick, popping out the lid and turning the containter’s wheel so the white stick comes up, “This is cherry flavored so…you might smell like cherry for a few hours…can I?”

“Will you kiss me more after?” he questions, to which she laughs but nods, “Go ahead.” he keeps himself still so she could rub the cherry flavored chapstick over his lips, there’s no color on it so the only thing that happens is that his lips seem a bit shinier for a few seconds before the oils are absorbed by his skin. She sits back on her knees, closing the little cylinder with a click, watching him smack his lips a few times then lick them, “Oh this really tastes like cherry.”

“Yeah, but I think you’d be more of a…cocoa butter type of guy.” she smiles, “Since you like chocolate and such. Do they feel nice?”

“They feel a lot softer than I remembered.” he mutters, “But I might need a second opinion.”

Beatrice laughs, wrapping her arms around his neck once more, “Gladly.” then pressing her lips back to his.

#bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x oc #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw x reader

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kimbappykidding · 1 year

Text

Vernon x Sister’s Best Friend Part One

Imagine being best friends with Vernon’s twin sister and having a huge crush on him. His birthday getaway is going well until you get trapped pretending to be Dino’s girlfriend.

Part Two Here

You'd liked Vernon ever since you were kids but were always too shy to do anything about it. Not to mention you didn’t want his twin sister and your best friend Elena to feel awkward and you had no idea how she’d take it. Then Vernon went off and got famous making everything worse.

As if your crush wasn’t unattainable enough he became a kpop star and had hundreds and thousands of admirers around the world. It just seemed like overkill.

He'd come back in the holidays and if you thought he was good-looking before now it was a joke. You stayed away from the seventeen stuff just because it felt odd considering you knew him but you’d seen a few music videos and got why he was so popular. He had the talent, personality and looks. A triple threat and despite everything you were proud of him for doing so well.

So you carried on with your life back home and tried not to think about Elena’s brother too much but sometimes he made it hard.

You let yourself into Elena’s house like usual and looked around for her. "Elena get your ass down here!" you called standing at the bottom of the stairs. You heard a noise in the kitchen so followed it "speaking of asses mine just about froze on the way over here so can we please walk fast today?" you asked only to find Vernon standing there instead. You froze in a mix of shock and embarrassment "Vernon...I didn’t know you were back". He looked embarrassed at what he’d heard but also slightly amused "yeah I came back for the winter holidays...so last day of university huh?". You nodded "yep..." still bright red "did you hear any of what I was saying?". "No..." he said but it was more of a question the way he said it. You cursed and he laughed when Elena appeared. "Hey y/n you ready?" she asked. "Yep let's go, now!" you cried grabbing her arm and dragging her outside. Vernon smirked watching you go but you were too busy trying to get out the door to notice.

After your lecture was done you headed back to Elena’s to study but you were more prepared this time. You walked inside cautiously but quickly heard Vernon. Elena walked towards the noise and you followed to see Vernon and a friend. "Hey we’re back" Elena called. "So I see” Vernon nodded “y/n this is my friend Dino. Dino this is my sister's friend y/n". The boy nodded to you and you nodded back at him. “Are you glad to have finished for Christmas?” Vernon asked looking at you. "Of course!" Elena cried "you're honestly so lucky you dropped out of school". Vernon’s friend smirked and Vernon blushed but you came to his defence “to be fair he left for a career so it wasn’t really dropping out”. Elena shrugged but Vernon shot you a smile that made you feel like you were melting even with the cold winter air.

Apparently Vernon’s friend was home for the holidays and they were in Seventeen together. Elena said he was basically your age and was really nice but you didn’t talk to him much. As usually you found yourself drawn to Vernon and spent a lot of your time with him over the holidays. It was like this every time he came home. You’d hang out a lot and it’d be like nothing ever changed...then he’d disappear again for 3 months minimum and you’d be back to square one. This time was no different and after a fun winter break he left with no idea when he’d be back again.

You didn’t hear from Vernon again until the summer. It was Vernon's birthday and he’d rented a huge house in the woods and invited his friends and sister who brought you. She said Vernon had said to invite you anyway but you figured you were mainly there as Elena’s plus one. Little did you know Elena already had her company sorted.

When Elena said you were getting picked up from her house you figured she meant by Vernon but apparently not. A car that definitely wasn’t Vernon’s appeared and Dino hopped out of the driver’s seat. Elena began loading her stuff in his car while Dino helped her. They looked pretty casual but you just shrugged and got comfy in the back. Once everyone was in the car they didn’t start driving. "Y/n we have something to tell you" Elena said and you paused panicked "what? This is how every horror film starts". Dino chuckled "no it's nothing like that" and he looked at your friend. "We’re dating" Elena said. You blinked a few times before it sunk in "ow...erm what do I say back? congratulations?". Elena laughed "thanks y/n...but the reason we're telling you is we could do with an ally on this trip. See nobody knows were together especially my brother so if you could help us keep it that way we’d be so grateful". You shrugged "yeah sure I can watch the hallway or help you sneak around or whatever". "Thanks y/n!" Elena cried and Dino smiled "you and Vernon are right, she is pretty cool". The mention of Vernon calling you cool made you smile and you nodded in a good mood. "I am the best" you agreed "now should we start driving?".

You reached the house three hours later and Vernon came out to greet you. He paused when he saw you and at first you were worried he didn’t want you here but he was staring at Dino. "Did you drive from my house?" he asked looking at you and Elena. Dino nodded "yeah I was nearby so offered to pick them up". You and Elena nodded along and Vernon shrugged “well thank you...come on in!”.

The house was extremely beautiful and despite housing all of Vernon’s members and more it still felt spacious and elegant. You and Elena would be sharing a room which you were fine with and Vernon helped you with your bags. He took them up for you and gave you a quick tour. “So you’ve got your own bathroom but if you need anything just let me know” Vernon told you. “Cool a balcony!” Elena cried not really listening but you smiled “thanks and thank you for letting me tag along. I’m really looking forward to it”. Vernon smiled “you aren’t tagging along, you’re invited. I’m looking forward to it too” and he walked away with a wave of his hand. You blushed and waved back feeling like you were back in secondary school all over again.

You soon had a holiday routine in place but it was very different to Elena’s who rose early and lived for the outdoors. Like Vernon you weren’t one to run around outside. You rose late and were pretty chill. You’d usually go downstairs, get a coffee and sit with a book for a while before you were ready to start your day. Your routine must've looked good because Vernon soon started following you. You’d sit reading while he listened to music or watched something and then you’d both discuss what had happened in each. It was a really nice peaceful start to the day and you liked when the house was quiet and it was just the two of you.

One day however you surprised even yourself by being more adventurous. "Wanna go for a walk?" you asked one day and Vernon paused "outside?". You chuckled "yeah gross I know but it just occurred to me I haven’t been four feet from the house this entire trip, seems like I should venture out at some stage atleast once". Vernon laughed "yeah sounds good, let me just grab my coat". So the two of you set off and on your way out passed Scoups and Joshua. They paused seeing you head for the door "you're going outside? But the sun’s gone in". "Yeah that's the point" Vernon laughed. "And there’s rain forecast" Joshua added. You simply pulled your hood up and Vernon pulled an umbrella from the coat rack. He accidentally opened it nearly attacking everyone which made you all laugh. Vernon was blushing which you found adorable but not wanting to embarrass him, you quickly moved on.

Although the idea of a walk was nice you were the two worst people for the task. Neither of you knew what direction anything was in and so you just started walking towards some trees in the distance. “So how has University been?” Vernon asked and you nodded “good, next year is my final year though which is terrifying”. He nodded “I can imagine, do you know what you’re doing for your dissertation?”. You shook your head “nope so let’s not talk about that. How’s work?”. Vernon chuckled at your deflection and nodded “works good, although I do miss home and wish I could visit more”. “You seriously miss our tiny little town?” you asked amazed “you see all these huge cities and cool places, I thought you’d never miss it”. Vernon shrugged “it’s more the people than the place” and he looked at you when he said that. It was like he was directing that at you which immediately made you blush and look away flustered. “That makes sense, it is weird without you”. “It is?” he asked and you nodded “yeah just sometimes things happen and I know you’d find it funny but you’re not there to tell”. Vernon paused “but you know you can always call or text me right?” he asked “i’d love to hear what’s going on”. “Really?” you asked and Vernon nodded “definitely! and just to know what’s going on with you too. There’s no reason we have to wait for my rare days off to keep in contact, right?” Vernon asked. You nodded “that’s true I just figured you might be too busy”. He shook his head “not at all and even if I am i’ll make time”. You smiled pleased and Vernon smiled seeing your reaction “actually I’ve been meaning to ask you about something” he started when the sky thundered and the heavens opened. Your hood and Vernon’s umbrella was useless with the wind and so you gave up and started running for the house. The only trouble was you couldn’t remember which direction it was. You ran around in random directions for ages before Vernon spotted it.

You finally crashed through the front door and both rushed to the fireplace for it’s warmth. "This is why I hate the outdoors!" you cried. Vernon laughed "right? It's awful" and sunk down beside you. You tugged your coat off and rubbed your hands together. "Do we have frostbite? Can you get frostbite in the summer?". Vernon chuckled "I'm not sure but probably in Russia or Canada yeah". "Well I guess I'm just cold them". Vernon smiled and grabbed a blanket from a nearby chair and wrapped it around your shoulders "here". You smiled at the gesture and for a second the two of you just held still in the moment. You were very close together and you felt the intensity of his gaze on you. In the firelight his eyes and lips looked very nice...not to mention Vernon's hair was very wet and the water droplets looked so pretty in the dim light. You both realised you were staring and looked down awkwardly. Vernon went to say something when the members appeared and Scoups and Joshua erupted seeing you. “What happened to the umbrella and hood?” they called. “Well the wind destroyed the umbrella” Vernon started “and the hood did nothing to stop water spraying directly into my face” you finished. The other members all laughed at your bad luck and then Jeonghan insisted you both go shower and get changed so you didn’t get ill.

You both obeyed and saw one another a few hours later at dinner. Vernon smiled "feel warmer?". You nodded "I'm pretty sure I used up all the hot water in the house but yes". He chuckled "fair enough, glad you're feeling better. Overall It was still a pretty good walk". You nodded "yeah it a totally was...if you took away all the nature". Vernon laughed "exactly my thought, maybe we should try it again when the nature isn't so...disagreeable". You smiled "that sounds good" and Vernon nodded "good...okay". He was blushing slightly and you paused. Was that Vernon's way of asking you out? Was this a date? "Sorry can I get past?" Jun asked appearing behind you and you nodded rushing to move out of the way. Vernon moved the cushions on the seat next to him and you sat down. You were close together and at the edge of the room but it was nice. You were both quiet and introverted so here you could just observe and relax without being at the centre of attention.

They were currently teasing Mingyu about something before he managed to shift the attention to Dino. “Dino never helps with chores!” Mingyu cried and they all nodded. “He does sometimes” Wonwoo tried but Scoups wasn’t having any of it “I haven’t seen him wash a plate since we got here”. “He keeps disappearing conveniently” Seungkwan said and The8 paused “yeah you do...where were you today? You were gone for hours”. Dino paused and you saw Elena shift uncomfortably. “I was in my room” Dino said but Seungkwan shook his head “no you weren’t, you’re sharing with Vernon and anytime I came to see if he was back from his walk it was empty”. Dino gulped and Scoups laughed “what going on, why are you so nervous?”. He blushed “because I can’t tell you where I was”. Everyone’s attention was well and truly peaked and they all started shouting out questions and ideas where he was. “Were you stuck on the toilet?” Dk asked bluntly while Joshua guessed he got locked outside or something. “Why can’t you just tell us?” Woozi asked “he’s doing it for attention”. “No i’m doing it because I wasn’t alone!” he replied. Everyone froze and The8 looked at him “you’ve been sneaking away with someone?”. Elena’s eyes were wide and you sighed figuring she’d have to come clean.

All the members heard your sigh and looked in your direction. “Y/n?” Vernon asked and you looked at Dino before looking to Elena. She suddenly stood up and announced "y/n and Dino are dating!". "Elena!" you scolded her but all the members took that as confirmation and began teasing Dino. Elena tugged you to her "please just go with it” she whispered. You sighed but nodded. "Wait is this true?" Jeonghan asked. Dino looked at you and you nodded "yep". "How?" Seungkwan asked. Dino took the lead "well you remember I went to Vernon's house for Christmas last year?". "It’s been going on since then!" Vernon cried and you remembered he was there and froze. He was looking at you both his eyes wide in shock and you noticed his voice seemed a little strained but he coughed and tried again "that was like 7 months ago”. Dino nodded smiling "yeah it’s been that long...we met then and got talking. When I left I gave her my number and we’ve been visiting each other". "Wait as in you came up to see him?" Vernon asked you "to our city?". You looked at Dino before nodding "yeah sometimes he visits me and sometimes I come up to see him". "Wow our Dino is all grown up and dating!" Hoshi cried and that started all the members off again. While they were distracted Elena grabbed you "thank you so much! I promise I'll tell Vernon I just didn’t want him to find out like that". You nodded "it's fine...where is Vernon?".

Vernon had stepped outside and headed upstairs when everyone began cheering for Dino. He was in utter disbelief. You and dino? Was he blind? How on earth had he missed that? He was also very pissed at himself. He’d wasted so much time worrying about when he should ask you out, if you’d say yes etc and Dino met you once, knew he liked you and did something about it. He was such a coward and now here was the result! He’d lost you. He sighed when there was a knock. The8 appeared "hey I thought someone should come check if you're okay". Vernon nodded “i’m fine”. “Are you sure because it’s okay if you’re not” The8 said softly. Vernon sighed "I’m okay I’m just a little angry at Dino". The8 paused "you’re mad?”. Vernon nodded “well it’s just...that’s my sister’s friend who i’ve known for years! To think he’s been sneaking around with her this whole time...I feel betrayed”. The8 paused “I know it’s weird for you but I don’t think Dino betrayed you. I mean it’s not like he was dating your sister but your sister’s friend. He didn’t really have to tell you, neither of them did". Vernon took a breath, he knew he probably sounded crazy overprotective or worse, The8 could see right through that and recognised his crush on you, but he still couldn’t just pretend it was okay. "I just wish he'd have told me...it’s been 7 months. That's a long time and what if something happened between them? If they broke up then y/n might hate me by consequence! Or my sister!". "I don’t think y/n would do that so don’t worry...I get you feel startled though so maybe talk to Dino about it? I’m sure he never meant to hurt you". Vernon nodded "I know...". The8 smiled "would you like me to bring you some food upstairs?". Vernon shook his head "no thanks I'm not hungry I think I'll just shower and go to bed". The8 nodded "okay I'm here you need me" and left.

Vernon sighed sitting down on his bed and stared at the wall. Part of him was really grateful the weather stopped him from asking you out earlier today. That would’ve been really embarassing, but mostly he was just miffed he’d been beated to it. He’d been too much of a coward and he’d lost you.

He couldn’t believe it.

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

I know Vernon’s birthday is in February but I needed time to pass so just pretend he’s a summer baby or he gets two birthdays like the queen (he deserves that).

Also I know Vernon has a sister in real life but of course this is NOT based on her. This is just for fun based on his stage character.

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lezbrarian · 3 months

Text

Title: Come On Down To The Lavender Luck Lounge

**Alright, I made a post already with the proper embedded AO3 version, but in case people are not into that ... idk this is my first go around of this ... I'll also make it a text post here as well. I did it -- I wrote some casino AU fanfic inspired by these outfits, in which Dan is a stuffy dry accounting manager and Phil is the owner of the casino. Thank you @dapg-otmebytheballs for the additional inspiration with your tags! And thank you to the anon who provided me with the name of the casino!

***

Title: Come On Down To The Lavender Luck Lounge

Rating:

Mature

Relationships:

Dan Howell/Phil Lester

Dan Howell & Phil Lester

Summary:

Gay Casino AU: Mr. Philip Lester is the suave, flamboyant owner of a queer casino and resort, Lavender Luck Lounge. Mr. Daniel Howell is the uptight and dry accounting manager for the casino. This fic was inspired by the outfits from these videos, respectively: Daniel's: (Dystopia Daily: Dan and Phil Finally Tell the Truth) Philip's: (DAPG: Roasting Our Own Red Carpet Fashion)

Notes:

This is a work in progress. It may become longer; I may leave it at this. It's just something I was inspired to write after I saw a post on tumblr with the outfits mentioned above. I'm not sure what the plot is or will be, I just wanted to play around in this gay casino alternate universe and see where it takes these characters. Speaking of which, I'll make an obligatory disclaimer. This is a piece of fiction merely inspired by the online personas of Dan and Phil to create these characters and universe. This is not speculating on the real personal lives of Dan or Phil, and I very much do not want this to be sent to Dan/Phil in any way. So please don't do that. So far the story is not explicit/graphic, but I chose to mark this as mature as it's going to feature themes of drinking, smoking, sex and "adult" language by nature of being set in a casino.

*** The casino was buzzing. The gaudy abundance of neon-light up signs were emitting a baseline hum, always there comfortingly familiar. This alone could barely be heard over the rest of the noise that almost always populated the place. The ding! and shing sha-shing cartoon cash sound effects of the slot machines. An occasional male voice over of JACKPOT or WINNER! Then there was the sloshed singles clamoring for the bartenders’ attention at the multiple themed bars. There were the slightly out-of-place yet confident bachelorette parties of straight woo girls. They shrieked and giggled and stiletto-stumbled their way around the casino in large packs. There were the dealers whose voices cut through the chaos with practice. Notes of brassy jazz or Kim Petras might float off the performers’ stages out to the main floor during burlesque or drag shows, respectively. Then of course the cacophony of having so many people in one room, endless conversations converging together into one collective murmur.

On days like this, there was all that buzz, and then some. Because today the rumor that the owner would be here was once again stirring. It didn’t matter that Mr. Lester dropped in frequently, as a very hands-on owner of the casino and resort hotel attached. Nearly every employee lost it each time this frequent rumor spread through the halls, acting as if someone had said an A-list celebrity would be visiting the casino. Employees scrambled and preened and eagerly awaited Mr. Lester’s arrival. That was just about every employee would. There was at least one person who absolutely refused to participate in what he referred to as “juvenile gossip and infatuation.” This would be the accounting manager, Mr. Howell. He mostly hid away in his office, the only place in the casino void of the “tacky” neon lights and oh-so-80s casino furniture and carpeting. Daniel’s office was the only place Mr. Lester had relinquished control on décor. Daniel had claimed he couldn’t work “like this” with a sweeping gesture to the main lobby as Philip had toured him around on the day of his interview. Philip couldn’t help feeling slightly impressed perhaps at the nerve to diss his casino before he was even hired. Plus Daniel was good for the job. He didn’t need the accountant to love casino life. He needed him to love numbers. And Phil would never admit it out loud, but any time he ventured into Mr. Howell’s office, it did provided a much-needed relief to his senses.

In here, there was almost silence and there was a break from the strong smell of pina colada and smoke. Mr. Lester would never allow cigarettes inside, but there was a classy cigar lounge and the smoke clung to clothes and then subsequently, crushed velvet seat cushions and thick carpet fibers. Daniel’s office was meticulously tidy and organized. Uncluttered. As opposed to the neon and flashing lights, and led strips that lined the hallways and floorboards out there – in here there were just soft warm lamps, maybe an open blind. The only smells a fresh inoffensive candle or the faintest hint of Daniel’s aftershave. The floor was an almost sterile white tile, if it weren’t for the rest of the décor in nearly all black to balance it out. One accent wall was painted black too, and the others a nice off-white. A few plants draped their leaves dramatically over bookshelves or the side of his desk. It was ridiculous and unnecessary but it was Daniel’s office and his own money out of his pocket – the desk housed a modern desktop computer, but also an old-fashioned calculator and huge yellowing-white computer from the ‘90s complete with a clacky keyboard. His desk was otherwise cleared, any important documents and office supplies organized neatly in drawers. There were some tasteful books on bookshelves, which Philip guessed were chosen more for their spines and color than their content. The important documents and useful books were tucked away in filing cabinets. And of course it was still a casino, so Phil’s only influence in the room (or so Daniel let Philip believe) was the occasional gold accent piece here or there.

No matter how many times Mr. Howell indicated his complete disinterest in these frequent announcements that Mr. Lester was coming with a flat monotone “alright” or “and?” – one of the youngest and most flamboyant employees would flit into his office on their OMG he’s coming! casino tour. It certainly seemed to be more about the message-bearer than any actual response to this delivery of news, as they never skipped Daniel’s office on this rumor tour.

***

Daniel’s office door rattled closed and quickly as it had been flung open. He felt his skull rattle in its frame the same way the door rattled in its own. He sighed. He didn’t bother even giving the messenger a response today. He thinks it was Felix, one of the servers for the drag shows. But it was hard to keep track of them all, especially when he spent most of his time tucked away in this office, only to be interrupted for moments like these.

Each time someone opened his door – the casino seemed to seep into his office, his sanctuary. He swore he could smell cheap perfume and well liquor. And when he blinked the led lights of the hallway were still in his vision. He closed his eyes and rubbed at them and then his temples, attempting to regain the focus and flow he’d been in before.

Plenty of the employees and even people in Daniel’s personal life wondered why on earth he took this job, if he seemed to detest it so much. He seemed so bothered with the casino atmosphere, so why this job? Well Philip had promised him he really could just stay behind this desk, not dealing with anything other than the numbers, the input and output of money. He would have the occasional meeting, and other than that he could live in his own little world crunching numbers, completely hyper-focused and zoned out from the casino world. Calculate this, manage that. Something to keep his hands and mind busy, and the thoughts out. Of course he’d worked other types of money management and accounting jobs. But he was always being dragged into other areas of business, managing employees. And that always really meant managing other people’s emotions, which he was not in the business of. Plus there were not many places he could merge his queer identity and his money management. He absolutely despised the jobs he’d worked on Wall Street, with fratty finance bros in their polos and khakis or drab blue suits and crisp baby blue button-ups. Yeah, that was not for him. The Lavender Luck Lounge casino aesthetic might have swung entirely too far in the other direction for him, but at least he was not expected to fist bump and contribute to heterosexual male small talk here. Sure it was flashy and tacky and way, way too colorful. But the workplace was ostensibly queer. The bartenders, servers, dealers, and bouncers were an impressive and intimidating mix of cool tattooed lesbians, big burly bears, adorable flamboyant twinks, nonbinary hotties with names like Twig, and the list could go on and on. There was an incredibly talented and diverse cast of drag queens and burlesque performers. All the employees were encouraged to be themselves and dress how they felt comfortable. Yes, Daniel found this place to be overstimulating and frankly gaudy for his own taste, but he would take that any day over a boring cookie cutter cubicle where he had to dress the same as every other man in the building.

Daniel was having a hard time getting back into his focus after Felix, or had it been Striker, had flung their long braids over their shoulder and bounced out of the room. He couldn’t get their damn singsongy Mr. Leeeeester is coooomiiiing! out of his head, like an annoying ear worm of a song. He sat up straight at his computer. Though Philip had made sure to have his desk and chair measured for ergonomics, Daniel found himself slouching at it frequently. At 6’3” he was just use to slouching and hunching at most desks. He fussed with his blazer, which was black with a thin white gird pattern today. He liked to dress well for the job, fashionable but nothing too flashy. He had never asked if there was a dress code, but Mr. Lester had also never provided him with a set of rules or dress code either. Judging from the range of casual to full on costume-garb among the other employees – he was pretty sure he could wear just about anything to work and it would be fine. But like his office, he preferred a style that was well-kempt, chic, lowkey but stylish. And it was almost always black and white head to toe. Today he let the blazer be the focus, with a fitted grey shirt underneath and the blazer open. He paired black slacks that tapered and revealed the ankle. To be fair this is how he had to wear most slacks at his height, unless he shopped at Big and Tall, which he most certainly did not. But he didn’t mind – the tapered ankle-showing look was in as far as he could tell. He wore a sensible but expensive sock and a shiny black loafer. The only bit of accessorizing he ever did was one small hoop earring on one side, which he’d had since his days in college, and a fancy silver watch which he’d acquired once he graduated and made some Wall Street money. In fact, it was one bit of his daily outfit from those days that he’d kept in the rotation. He’d tossed most of his ties, finding them stuffy – plus they reminded him of his all-boys-school uniform days. Not great memories there. His outfit today was fairly similar to what he wore most days, and it seemed Mr. Lester had no problem with it. In fact, he’d even give Daniel an occasional “looking snazzy, Howell.” Daniel dressed with the goal that nobody on the street would look at him and think that guy works in a casino. Daniel thought Mr. Lester dressed like he must want every person on planet earth to know he owned a casino. He often barely managed to be out of eye sight of Philip before he rolled his eyes at whatever flashy thing Philip had donned that day.

He'd had his eyes closed for quite some time. Still gently rubbing the bridge of his nose and his temples. Before he knew it, his door was being knocked on and flung open before he could answer “come in” again.

“I know he’s com—”

“Who’s coming, Mr. Howell?” Philip asked and Daniel swore he heard an ounce of amusement, perhaps innuendo in his voice?

“Not me – I mean, never mind doesn’t matter. Hi, I thought you were someone else.” Oh, god. He wasn’t the most social person, but he’d like to be able to at least perform these standard social interactions without completely fumbling.

“Okie dokie” Phil said sincerely. Daniel was sure he was the only person in the world who could pull off that phrase without an ounce of sarcasm. “Well I’m sorry to disappoint you that I’m not someone else, but I just dropped by to remind you about our meeting later today!”

Daniel is positive Philip never mentioned this meeting, but this was par for the casino owener’s course. He worked hard, and ultimately ran a tight ship. He made his employees genuinely happy and actually cared about how they were doing. He was a good hands-on owner. He was charming and whip smart too, with innovative ideas and solutions. But he was a total fucking scatterbrain. His office, not unlike the stark difference between Daniel’s and his stylistic choices in clothing, was the exact opposite of Daniel’s. Where Dan’s desk was tidy, uncluttered, a sleek black desk with a piece of green-tinted glass over it – there was virtually no way of knowing what color or nearly even where Philip’s desk was in his office. His office might as well not have a desk or shelves since you couldn’t see them anyway under the piles and piles of loose papers, notebooks, post-it-notes and knick-knacks. In Phil’s office, the aesthetic of the casino and resort certainly bled over. There were neon light-up signs in here too – one large one read Here, Queer, I Can Always Lend an Ear! – and there was a plasma ball and definitely more than one lava lamp. The office was slightly more pastel, softer compared to the deep reds and purples of the customer-facing areas of the Lavender Luck Lounge. But this man was born to own a casino. Daniel had no doubt this would not be far off from how Philip’s actual house was decorated. He didn’t know how Mr. Lester found anything at all in here, let alone keep track of anything truly important. It was no wonder he was lucky to get even a notice about a meeting earlier in the day. Daniel preferred plenty of notice, meetings written down in his perfect color-coded calendar weeks in advance. But he was used to this part of the job by this point. And everything else ran pretty smoothly, especially since all important financial documents came straight to his own office. So he was willing to let it slide that meetings often came with little to no warning. And, though he would never admit it, a little change of environment and routine was nice every now and then. Sometimes they would meet in Phil’s office. But there were conference rooms in the resort they would use sometimes as well.

“Does that work for you?” Philip asked.

Fuck. He had stopped paying attention again.

“Hmm.. what’s working for me?”

“The … time? For the meeting?” Philip didn’t seem annoyed, but maybe even a bit concerned. “You alright, Daniel? You seem distracted.”

Shit. He couldn’t possibly ask Philip to repeat the time again. Too embarrassing. No, he’d have to bribe a bartender or someone to go subtly ask Mr. Lester if he had a meeting later that day, and the get the time from them.

“Yes! Works for me,” Daniel answered with too much enthusiasm now.

Philip turned then, his heeled boots making a nice loud click-clack against the tile in his office. In this entire interaction Daniel had barely actually looked at Philip. His boots were shiny black snakeskin (Daniel assumed it was faux, but expensive nonetheless), and they had a modest heel that gave Philip an extra two or three inches to his already tall height of 6’2”. He was wearing slacks very similar to Dan’s --- tapered nicely at the ankle above his boots. But on second glance, Philip’s were a deep, deep red beyond red wine or burgundy – appearing almost black at first. And his shirt – it was a silky long-sleeve button down. The shirt was more of a cherry red with an abstract black water color stripey effect. And he had the first few buttons undone, exposing his pale chest and a surprising amount of dark chest hair for an otherwise clean shaven man. He was sporting a delicate gold chain necklace as well. He certainly looked like he owned a casino, more so than usual even. His looks often leaned a bit more flashy, sparkly even. But today – he was looking almost, dare someone say, sleazy? But in a swanky and suave way still, somehow, he was pulling it all off.

Before Philip closed the door and left, he leaned back into the doorframe.

“I like that blazer, Howell. You should wear that one more often.”

Daniel was certainly not oblivious to what was so charming about Mr. Lester, or why he seemed to have an entire casino’s worth of employees wrapped around his finger.

And without a response, Philip closed the door behind him. Daniel could still hear his heels clicking down the hallway, until he reached the carpeted main floor.

***

#dnp #dnp fanfic #dnp fanfiction #dan and phil #dan and phil fanfic #dan and phil fanfiction #au #casino au #dnp DNI !!!!! please !#my writing

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ncityavenue · 2 years

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"Do it clap?"

VERY SHORT.

Prompt: you get interrupted from doing your ELA essay when your Best friend, Jaehyun, video calls you to ask you a outrageous question.

Pairing: Jaehyun x Black fem reader

Disclaimer: use of the n word(obviously only the reader will say it), writer/reader making fun of jaehyuns huge head and mentions of drug use (weed)

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"In the beginning of the passage it shows....no! I already said that!!" You slightly shout.

You raised your clear glasses up on your face as you bend down in criss cross apple sauce position to write down more notes. You pout at your work not being the way you wanted, dragging your eraser across the pencil-beat up paper.

Right before you can get back to your sentence on your paper, you hear your ring tone go off.

Jaehyun.

You huff picking up your phone and answered,"why the fuck are you calling me?"

"Ayyyy! Long time no see!" Jaehyun smiles showing his dimples, you roll your eyes before putting your pencil down.

"I literally saw you 4 hours ago..." You reminded.

"Exactly why I said long time no see sweetheart." Jaehyun says as he rests his head on his hand.

"Anyways! What do you want? Why are you calling me?" You questioned trying to sound annoyed of his existence.

"Wow a hi jaehyun would be nice."

"Answer my question big head."

"Ok fine! I called you because I have a question." Jaehyun begins.

Now, you can visibly see that he's been smoking pot hense that his eyes are more hooded than ever and slightly pink. So, you prep yourself for the utmost crazy question that's weirder than the last he's asked.

"So.. you know how you were wearing those checkered leggings today?" Jaehyun drags on, you nodded with a raised eyebrow.

"I know I've mentioned you having a thick booty before but I have a question...." Jaehyun looks off as he ducks his head chuckling a bit.

"Jesus, jaehyun what're you about to say?" You asked as you plant your hand on your face.

"Do it...do it clap? "Jaehyun basically whispers, your eyes widen at the question. You were so shocked that you started dying laughing.

"JAEHYUN WHAT?" You exclaimed, you didn't have the energy to lecture him for the question so all you did was try to calm down your laughing.

"DO IT CLAP?!" Jaehyun repeated causing more laughter on your end.

You bury your head on your arm hiding the slight flustered face that was painted on your face, "NIGGA I DON'T KNOW "

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW YOU NEVER TRIED?" Jaehyun exclaims.

"NO? WHY WOULD I?"

"I WOULD IF I HAD A FAT ASS LIKE THAT–"

"JUNG JAEHYUN—"

"Ok I'm sorry, but I'm curious..will you show me?" Jaehyun questions with puppy dog eyes.

"..this conversation is over."

"C'MON JUST ONCE I WON'T TELL NO ONE THAT I HAVE A GIRL BEST FRIEND THAT KNOWS HOW TO CLAP HER CHEEKS "

You start to doodle on your paper free handley"Jaehyun...why do you wanna see?"

"Because I'm curious." Jaehyun shyly says even though he just said the most bold question. (There's been worse)

"No babe...just no.. maybe when I'm drunk but not right now, you interrupted me doing my essay just to ask me that goofy ass question." You firmly say.

"I was just curious don't get mad please." Jaehyun pleaded sheepishly smirking.

"I'm not mad I'm just stunned and confused." You snicker.

"Good, I'll still get my answer sooner or later because I will be asking again." Jaehyun demanded, you shook at your head.

You cant deny that you didn't feel a little flustered at the question, yes, Jaehyun never fails to remind you that you have a thicc booty but that question just gave you whiplash. (haha, get it?)

"Okay whatever, I will be ending this call now. Take that big ass head to sleep." You ordered.

"Night night princess" Jaehyun smiles again showing his perfect dimples. You close your eyes shut for a few seconds trying to not let his pet names for you get the best of you.

"Goodnight Jaehyun" you mimick his smile before ending the call.

Good night indeed.<3

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HELP IDK WHAT THIS IS😭— DONT ASK. I was just like "this is something jaehyun would do🤔" and wrote it with the quickness bc I didn't want my brain juice running out...I think I need help—

ALRIGHT BYE BESTIE BOOS😭💞💞

#nct #nct scenarios #nct 127 #nct imagines #nct fluff #jung jaehyun #highschool au #do it clap?#HELP THE HIGH JAEHYUN CONCEPT IS SO FUNNY TO ME IDK Y #i should stop

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raspbeyes · 1 year

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SPOILERS FOR EP 11 DRDT

Since I did a prediction earlier today, time to update!!

OKAY NO HiATUS WHAT NOOOOO! honestly having looked at the time during the livestream, i genuinely was questioning how they were gonna wrap this up by ep 12 like last time and started to wonder if this chapter will be longer as we spent this whole epsiode in david's extended mask off moment. as much as im sad abt the hiatus i am glad this is extended BECAUSE WE DIDN'T EVEN TOUCH THE ACTUAL CRIME SCENE OR A DEBATE SCRUM tho ughhh noo this hiatus might kill meeee

OKAY DAVID OMG bro lost it AHHHHH i really wanted to believe that david had a good/moral reason for all this but to know he did all this secret maliciously?!!? ik he's not killer for sure so i do wonder how he's gonna be used in next chapters cuz as hot as he lowkey is rn and i do love his biting sarcasm, he's gonna be geninuely such a bitchy force to deal with in future chapters. to have this man constantly causing trouble for no other reason than fun and never trustworthy, i have to wonder if there's any hope left for him. i really hope that his arc actually has him improve cuz u know, poetic irony and all that jazz. Since now we know he doesn't believe what he says, i truly hope drdt takes the time to prove him wrong cuz i really dont want a grimdark killing game proving david (and in some ways, teruko) right. and also, idk why people are surprised david would lie abt being arei's killer and want to get himself killed rn. Bro literally now has lost his career and his public image is ruined. He doesn't have a life anymore for him to go back to. He already mentions how he hates everyone there, so I see zero reason why he wouldn't lie to drag everyone down with him

ACE SLAYS ONCE AGAIN! BRO POPPING OFF WITH THE TRUTH YESSSS AND CALLING OUT PEOPLE'S HYPOCRISY FOR NOT GOING AFTER DAVID WE LOVE TO SEE IT!!! Also j saying that she doubts ace's testimony just cuz she thinks he cant be quiet makes me sadddd

ALSO NICO AND CHARLES!!!! I love that nico comes back in clutch to help actually point out david's suspiciousness. His bluntness is always needed, especially with cutting through david's bs. ALSO CHARLES YESS IM GLAD HE IS NOW GONNA BE CRITICAL TO THIS CASE!!! I like that drdt takes advantage of its video format as normally to have a character interject like that in a mainline dr game would be bad since it's interupting gameplay and taking control out of player's hands. But it works here since we're not actually playing and shows teruko and charles backing each other up and shows people actually getting involved!!!

To the actual crime ... uh i dont know ... clearly this crime is so complicated that we need a TRIAL 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO lmaoo. i mentioned before but charles's comment of "fucking up" at the end seems to strongly imply the time of the murder, and thus everyone's testimonies for that time, are now irrelevant. Since arei was alive in the evening last night (ace does claim 7:30, but i do agree with david that ace might have just said that to back up his point rather than it being true) the death happened the prior night or early that morning. it puts into the question the note, calling for 7:30 but it could be 7:30 am before the motive reveal. however, unless it was something like a trap, such a time is so tight i find it hard to believe. maybe i'll do a post later doing a fully theory as i lose my mind during this hiatus (praying for it be under 6 months)

#drdt #drdt spoilers #danganronpa #despair time #danganronpa despair time #drdt theory

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honeykngdom · 8 months

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𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢 | 𝚎. 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 | 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗

Pairing: Embry Call x Original Character Summary: Join Ainsley and Embry as they embark on a journey where they are forced to question everything they thought they knew, and embrace the pain that is inevitable to avoid in love. An imprint story. Self-discovery. Angst and romance. Word Count: 4.3k Warnings: mentions of abusive relationship, alcoholism, drinking Taglist: @leilaniers - message / comment if you’d like to be tagged in new chapters (or for Embry content in general)!

It had been about two weeks since the last time Embry and I spoke. We saw each other on two separate occasions: once when Jennie and I visited Billy for lunch and a few of the guys had been outside trying to clear his driveway from the snow that had barricaded him inside for the last few days, and again at Jared’s when Kim and I stopped by to pick up some of her things from his apartment.

Both times Embry tried to talk to me, and both times I tried to avoid having to speak with him in the nicest way possible. I wasn’t particularly proud of what happened, and definitely hadn’t heard the last of it. Maddox suggested that perhaps I had taken it too far, and had even gone as far as trying to encourage me to go see Embry and work things out.

“Mistakes happen,” he mumbled, picking a stray strand of hair from his pant leg, “we both know he would never do anything to hurt you on purpose.”

Maddox had had a point, but I still wasn’t ready to talk to him. Not yet.

Currently, we were occupying the Cullen’s downstairs quarters, lounging on opposite sides of the couch, trying to make it through whatever movie Emmett left on before he left with Rose and Esme for their hunt. I spent less time at home, after being at odds with Trent. He had the audacity to thank me for keeping his name out of the mix, sparing his relationship with Leah. For the first few days, I bit my lip and pushed through it, but after a week I was over watching how happy he was privileged to be.

I hadn’t wanted to help him in the first place, hadn’t wanted to talk to Maddox. Trent had been the one to drag me to Ink Obsession that night – what unravelled from thereafter was completely on me, sure. But it wouldn’t have happened if Trenton hadn’t pushed it and put me in a corner.

Damn that fucking obligation and family loyalty and all that other shit.

I comfortably settled into the Cullen household — while I slept in my own bed each night, I spent most of my days catching up with Maddox and Renesmee, and learning about what it meant to be a vampire in today's day and age. I learned how each family member turned, and even become quite chummy with Emmett and Rosalie.

The further into the new year we went, the less Maddox needed me to help with learning control. Not wanting that to stop me from visiting, he invited me over for an afternoon of video games and movies — he accidentally broke the controls for the gaming station, so we resorted to stealing the basement to separate ourselves from the rest of the vampires.

“Have you called him back yet?”

I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time, shaking my head a little bit. He was as bad as Trenton. “No, I haven’t.” I drawled lazily.

“You should.” He pressed, kicking my foot with his, “Jacob mentioned something about Embry losing his mind, sounds like he’s not doing too well.”

I raised my brows, unsurprised. “First of all, that’s not exactly out of the norm for Embry.” I folded my arms and rested my head against the arm of the sofa. “Second of all, him not doing too well is precisely why we broke up in the first place.”

“I feel bad.” Maddox muttered angrily, looking down at his fists. “I know how important he was to you. I feel like my being here ruined what happiness you had.”

I paused for a moment, trying not to let myself agree with anything he just said. “No, Maddox. You didn’t ruin my happiness, because my happiness didn’t just come from him.” I felt the need to spare him the part where Embry had been a large part of my happiness, and that without him I couldn’t help but feel as though he were right. I knew there was more that made me incredibly happy. Working with such amazing people that had these big, warm hearts gave me much of my happiness. Being at home with my mother, talking to my best friend about what upcoming projects I would be working on for the school semester was part of my happiness.

But much of my happiness had also come from laying in bed Sunday mornings with Embry, listening to his heartbeat, feeling his warm fingertips run along my spine. Waking up at three in the morning and feeling him pull me closer, and bury his face into my neck. Walking hand in hand through the forest from my place to Emily and Sam’s – the overwhelming sensation that I was always safe, always well protected and cared for made my heart swell and sing.

And here I was, weeks later, trying to convince myself that it was okay to walk away from things. That despite it all, the relationship couldn’t be healthy if we continuously hid things from each other. I understood why Embry decided to keep what he was from me for so long – a part of me wishes I didn’t know at all. It would be easier that way. But I was here now, and I was fully stuck in the middle of the supernatural world, despite being totally human.

So, I decided I needed a break from everything supernatural. While I might have been unable to work, I was still able to hangout with Angie. In an effort to keep Jennie from knowing about Embry and I (truthfully I wasn’t ready to tell her), I had been staying at Angie's house on and off for the last two weeks to keep her in the dark.

Provided Travis hadn’t already said something.

Maddox sighed, pulling me from my trance. “You know you should talk to him.” He said finally. “You’re being stubborn and it’s ridiculous. He’s your soulmate.”

I kicked his leg, eyes cutting sideways to glare at him. I really didn’t want to hear it. Not now.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I shivered against the cold wind, pulling the hood on my jacket up as I waited for the gas pump to register my card. I had been running on fumes since I left Forks, and desperately needed to refill before heading back into town to Angie’s for the night. My fingers gripped the frozen pump reluctantly, and I squeezed.

It was nearly nightfall – the sun was setting behind the mountain tops in the distance. Despite being less than thirty degrees, the Peninsula was absolutely gorgeous during this time of year. I admired the way the reds in the sky mixed with the frosty mountain and tree tops, setting them ablaze with warm hues. In my peripheral vision, a red Rabbit pulled up on the other side of the pump; Jacob exited his vehicle and pursed his lips together.

“Ainsley.” He said curtly, zipping his sweater a little higher to keep his neck warm.

I rolled my eyes; Jacob had been another individual in my life I decided to cut out for the time being. I hadn’t appreciated his involvement in the situation, nor had I appreciated him giving Embry any reason to rush the Cullen household. He evidently caused a mess of things – but to Jacob, I was the one being completely unreasonable.

“Still not speaking to me, huh?”

“I don’t have anything to say, Jacob.” I sighed, shaking the nozzle of the pump in my tank. “I’ve said everything I needed to.”

He leaned against the back of the Rabbit and folded his arms. “And you still haven’t talked to Embry?”

“Is my shoulder still sprained?”

Jacob then rolled his eyes, pulling his lips back into a sneer. “He didn’t mean to hurt you. He’s quite literally beating himself up over it.”

“You know,” I started, placing the pump back in its original place, “a lot of people have been saying that. You, your dad, Maddox, Trent – and I’m really sick of listening to it.”

“Ainsley, if you would just talk to him.”

“I don’t want to,” I shouted, holding my hands out at my sides, “that’s the thing. He’s not any better with me than he is without me. I can’t deal with the whole inner animal thing, Jake, and I definitely can’t do it if I’m going to keep getting hurt like this.”

“I still don’t get how you ended up pissed with me.”

I gawked at him for a moment before I turned to place the cap back on my tank angrily. “Because you have a big fucking mouth.” I growled, slamming the lid on my tank shut. “You could’ve not said a single word to him, you could’ve just left it alone –”

“No, Ainsley, I really couldn’t.” He growled, sticking his head between the stations to get closer to me. “You don’t think I didn’t weigh both sides before I made my decision? If I hadn’t said anything, if I had protected you and lied to everyone –” he shook his head, “and they found out? They’d question my character as an alpha.”

“So, you did it because it was more beneficial to you?”

“It was just the right thing to do. He deserved to know.”

Damn Jacob. Damn that stupid fucking loyalty they had.

“No, he really didn’t, Jake, but you keep telling yourself that.” I sighed, moving around the hood of the Jeep to open the passenger door. “Look at everything now. Was telling him worth it? Because he and I are done, and my relationship with Trenton is essentially destroyed because he lucked out – because Maddox failed to mention to you that he was also part of why he ended up at the Cullen’s.”

Jacob blinked and closed his mouth.

“He and Leah are fucking perfect, which is wonderful for him – but I can’t keep hearing how happy he is that I kept him out of it. I didn’t even have a choice in the matter. Instead, I was dragged down. I’m so happy that everyone else has benefited from this.”

“Not everybody did, Ains.”

“Embry’s actions ended with consequences. He showed me that he isn’t capable of doing anything except reacting with emotion instead of logic right now. If he had just talked to me instead of deciding he needed to do something right then, right there, this would be an entirely different story and conversation.” I slammed the Jeep’s door, and walked around the hood to where Jacob stood. “I get that you all have some genetic thing that makes you hate who they are, fine. I don’t agree with it, but I get it.”

“Then what is the issue?” He asked exasperated.

“Embry saw Maddox as a threat, and for a while I thought it was just because of what Maddox was. If that were the case, he would’ve come to me and asked me if I was safe, and comfortable. And if I had answered yes, he would’ve accepted it and moved on.” I stuck my hands in my pockets. “This wasn’t about what he was, moreso of who he was – he reacted out of jealousy and anger, and was trying to use the whole vampire-wolf hate thing as an excuse for his actions.”

“That’s not it at all.” Jacob dismissed, moving to pick up his own gas pump.

“It is.” I sneered, turning around to head back towards the driver's seat. “And the fact you don’t see it means you’re willing to make excuses for him – also why I don’t really have an interest in talking to you.”

“Did you forget I can read his mind? You’re being ridiculous!” He shouted over the sound of my engine.

I have good reason, I thought to myself, pulling the Jeep into drive to pull out of the gas station.

𝙴𝚖𝚋𝚛𝚢

Embry’s back settled into Emily’s couch for the fourth time that week; after spending a solid seven days in isolation, he had decided that it was about time he got off his ass and tried to attempt to be a normal human being. He didn’t typically make an effort to really associate, mainly sat in his corner with a beer in hand, watching whatever was on the television. He hadn’t gotten the chance to really clean up after his fiasco a two weeks ago.

Embry thought back to that night, grimacing.

He had narrowly missed Jared’s head when he hurled the door down the stairs, and put several holes in the drywall of his room. Jared – with great effort – managed to wrap his arms around Embry’s body, constricting his arms tightly. In between his fits of rage and anger, the reality of the situation had dawned on him, causing Embry’s knees to give out on him. The pair had fallen to the floor, Embry’s cry echoed throughout the empty home. Broken sobs had ripped through his chest, a sound he had never in his life managed to make before.

Seth and Jared tried to clear some of the mess Embry had created in his tantrum, but it seemed futile. Shards of glass were embedded into the carpet that he wouldn’t be able to remove until he purchased a vacuum, and seeing as he rarely spent any time out of his bedroom, he hadn’t considered it a priority.

Most of the house remained in ruins. Jacob was rightfully pissed.

“You look like you could use another one.” Sam tapped Embry’s shoulder with the cold bottle, offering it to him with an empathetic look.

“Don’t do that.” He grumbled harshly, taking the bottle from Sam’s hand.

The former alpha shook his head, settling into the recliner across from the sofa. Sam watched Embry for a moment, taking a large swing from his beer before he sighed and leaned forward on his elbows, “You should really consider showering.”

“Fuck you, I’ve showered.”

“Have you eaten?”

Embry almost rolled his eyes, moving his neck just enough so he could look at Sam with narrowed eyes. “No, Samuel, just let me wither away.”

“Embry, look, I know things have been flipped upside down and you’re not really sure what to do at this point but I think it would be really good for you if you just –”

“Just what?” He snapped angrily, setting the bottle down on the coffee table. “Just call her? Just talk to her? Just get over it? Just move on? Just live my damn life? I don’t know if you realize how fucking shitty this is, Sam – not everything works so perfectly like it did for you and Em.”

“You think we had it easy?” He asked casually, honestly, as he relaxed in his chair.

“You’re married and expecting your second child. How bad could it have been?”

“So, what happened with Leah was no big deal?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. When Embry pressed his mouth shut, Sam continued, “Leah may not have been my imprint, but she was my first love. The way everything worked out ruined me. Having to walk away from something I had seriously invested myself into made me angry and bitter. I know exactly what it feels like to lose someone you love because of something you couldn’t control.”

Embry sat on that thought for a moment before he leaned back in his seat and shook his head. “Not the same.”

“And why not?”

“Because Emily’s the one.” Embry stated. “Regardless of how much you loved Leah, regardless of how shitty you felt about it, she was the one. Do you really think you’d be any more put together than me if she decided she didn’t want any part of this anymore? That she wanted out?”

“I have considered that.” He nodded. “I thought she was going to leave after the accident.”

“But she didn’t.”

“No, she didn’t.”

They sat in silence, watching each other. Embry didn’t really feel any better; Sam and Emily’s accident was just a painful reminder that far worse had happened and Emily had loved him regardless. Ainsley belly upped and walked away, and Embry was certain that so long as he lived, he would never love another woman. And it wasn’t the imprint bond talking - that was simply how it was. Relationships had never been Embry’s thing, nor had he ever found any girl really worth the effort. Until Jessica. Until Ainsley.

“You’re really lousy at trying to make people feel better, Sammy.” Seth quipped as he entered the room, collapsing onto the couch next to Embry.

“The point I was trying to make was that mistakes happen,” he concluded, crossing his ankles together, “I think Ainsley is having just as hard a time as you are.”

Seth tried to disguise the look on his face that might’ve revealed otherwise, instead opting to place a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. “Ease up, Embry. We’re all here for you.”

Embry shrugged him off, swiped his drink off the table and downed half the bottle quickly. If this was going to be another night of listening to his brothers give him a pep talk, Embry already decided he wanted to be as far from sober as possible. Well, he could try, at least; it never lasted for very long.

It was always easier to pretend they were right when he was drinking.

After what seemed to be hours, Embry and Sam were almost two cases deep, with Jared and Quil not too far behind them. They had overthrown Emily in her kitchen, laughing loudly from the mix-matched chairs in the dining room, the deck of cards spread between the four of them as they finished the last of what alcohol they had. This was the fourth night this week Embry had managed to drag one or more of his brother’s out of sobriety with him. Drunk was always less lonely when everyone else was drunk, too.

He glanced at his phone, fingers aimlessly scrolling through the hordes of messages before he finally hit the phone icon in the top right corner of the screen. He held his fingers to his lips as he pressed the receiver to his ear, listening intently.

She had never picked up before - Embry was certain today wouldn’t be any different.

By now, he was simply doing it because he missed her voice, and her answering machine was the only thing keeping him completely sane.

“The number you have reached is not in service.”

Embry’s blood ran cold. His smile faded as his mind tried to push past the drunken haze and the liquor to process what that meant.

She changed her number.

He pulled the device back, watching the call screen exit to reveal the background image of them. He had his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her steady in his lap as he looked at her, smiling for the camera in her ridiculously oversized, horrendous Christmas sweater.

His fingers tightened around the phone, watching the screen crack and crumble around their faces before the screen went black. In the next instant, he stood from his chair as he launched the phone across the room, the device smashing into pieces as it hit the back wall of the kitchen.

Embry hadn’t really felt like explaining himself. Instead, he stumbled towards the door, grabbed his jacket and slammed the screen shut behind him as he pulled his keys from his pocket.

“Walk it off, Embry.” Sam ordered from the doorway, face stern as he glanced down at the keys.

“Fuck you, Uley.” He spat, shoving them back into his pocket as he turned away from his truck and headed into the forest.

𝙰𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚢

I watched Angie run her hands through her cropped hair, trying not to snicker when she half-screamed in frustration. “It’s absolutely insane,” she cried as she looked at her phone for the billionth time that evening. “I’ve been on my own for nearly two years now as my father still feels the need to check in on me every single day.”

“I think it’s sweet.” I mumbled as I flipped through the channels on the small television that sat kitty-cornered in Angie’s living room.

“He’s a Navy seal,” she grumbled, leaning over the back of the couch next to Ainsley’s head, “he literally thinks everyone is out to get me.”

“Is he wrong?” I asked, popping another Twizzler into my mouth.

Angie rolled her green eyes, and flipped over the couch to join me. “He just worries.”

“Typical dad stuff?”

Angie pursed her lips, folding her legs underneath her bottom. “Not … exactly.”

I pulled my brows together, shaking my head slightly when I decided it wasn’t my place to press for further details. “Whatever you say, Ang.”

We rearranged ourselves on the couch, Angie’s head resting in my lap while I scrolled through my phone. After twenty minutes of silence, she finally spoke up. “Has he called you?”

“I changed my number, remember?”

“Which I still think was a horrible idea – Embry seemed like a really sweet guy.”

“Stop.” I sighed, pushing Angie off my legs. “I don’t need it from you.”

Angie tossed me a look that should’ve been paired with her hands on her hips and a condescending sigh. “If multiple people have to keep repeating the same thing, then maybe you should listen.”

“It’s not that easy, Ang.” I grumbled, pulling my knees up to my chest. “There’s so many things that outweigh the good right now, I can’t see past it. He’s not going to change – and this isn’t ‘boys will be boys’ crap, it’s borderline terrifying.”

Angie gnawed on her bottom lip, pulling another Twizzler from the bag as she watched me fold in on myself. “You want to know what’s really borderline terrifying?” She asked, swallowing what doubts she had about disclosing her next piece of information. “Coming home to a drunk, and hoping that he doesn’t decide to pick a fight with you simply because you weren’t home in what he deemed ‘appropriate timing’.”

I raised my brow.

“Or locking yourself in the bathroom because he’s screaming at you from the other side of the door, angry because his friends had asked about some bruises that you should’ve spent more time trying to cover up. Thinking about running away from him every night, but never able to move because you’re absolutely paralyzed with fear that he’ll hear you and wake up. Finally being able to do it and moving seven states across the country to put as much distance between you and everyone you ever knew because there was nowhere to hide from him in such a small place.”

“Ang –” I started.

Angie interrupted.

“I know what an abusive relationship looks like, Ains. Embry is not abusive. Embry is a man who, yes, tends to react out of anger instead of logic right now, and yes it can end incredibly horrible under the wrong circumstances. But he is not someone who is trying to hurt you maliciously. You are not his property, you’re his equal.” She sighed, moving forward to curl into my side again. “I love you, Ains. And I know that being away from him is killing you probably as much as it’s killing him.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked quietly, linking my arm around hers. “All this time, I’ve been going on about it, trying to determine whether or not it classified and you –” I shook my head in disbelief, unable to speak the words. It was odd to think that it happened to the best people. Life had a funny way of sucking the sunshine out of every beautiful human being, giving bad hands to the people that were least deserving of them.

“I’ve never really told anyone.”

“Who was he?”

Angie got quiet then, almost as though she were afraid he might hear, “Avery. He was a few years older than me, graduated top of his class, super charming and a total ladies man.” She laughed disdainfully. “He took me to prom, we moved out into an apartment, he had even proposed.”

I pulled my brows together. “What happened?”

Angie shrugged, “I don’t really know. He started gambling, started drinking a little more. I was never really sure if he was touching anything hard. He’d come home late, if he came home at all. It started out with little things - like he’d yell at me, call me names, but he’d always apologize.

Then he stopped apologizing. And it started to feel like I was doing something wrong, like I was the reason he was so angry all the time. I found out from a mutual friend that he had been seeing another woman, and tried to confront him about it. Threatened to leave because I knew I deserved better than what he was willing to give. And that was the first night I really thought I was going to die. I had never seen something so hateful.”

I leaned into Angie’s side, resting my head against my friend’s shoulder.

“I was so scared to leave. He told me that even if I tried, he’d find me. That I belonged to him, that I would be good for him. My money was his money, my time was for him only - I stopped seeing my family, stopped seeing all of my friends. He always made me feel like I was nothing but a complete burden. When he started getting physical, I was terrified someone might say something, and that I’d lose what I thought was the one person that tolerated me enough to stick around.”

“Ang –”

“Ainsley, just promise me you’ll talk to Embry.” She sighed, bringing a hand up to cover her eyes. “That you’ll take the time out of your day to talk to him. Just consider it – because as much as I understand your worry and concern, believe me when I say that Embry is not a man capable of even imagining putting you through that kind of pain.”

I wanted to press the topic further, but the sadness in Angie’s eyes encouraged otherwise. I simply wrapped my arms around Angie’s frame, kissed her cheek and muttered. “I’ll think about it.”

#embry call #embry call x reader #embry call x oc #embry call fanfic #jacob black #kiowa gordon #abusive relationship tw #violence tw #alcoholism tw #the twilight saga #twilight fanfiction #series: SAH #* mine

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