#this isn't even TALKING about school; i'm gonna have to in person the week after next

[alloftheimaginesblog]

holding on {alex karev}

plot: you and alex aren't friends but he's the person that sits by your hospital bed day and night until you wake up.

character: alex karev (early seasons) x reader

The steady beeping of the various machines was something that Alex had grown tired of two days ago, the machine's volumes had been turned to 0 but his anxious eyes kept flickering to them every few seconds just to be sure. The background noise of the hospital was something he was used to and it was an oddly comforting sound. Now, the silence of being in the room with you had been nice at first but now that he was here, with you, waiting... just waiting... the silence was unnerving him.

He tapped his foot, checking the clock on the wall. Bailey should've been here by now, she promised him that she'd check on you every two hours. She was late. Anger surged through his body causing his heart to pound and his fists to clench.

"You're such an idiot," he could hear you scolding him in his mind, "if you just stopped dealing with your problems with sheer anger then maybe, maybe people would actually start to like you."

He scoffed.

You and him had hardly been friends. You and the rest of Bailey's interns were the best of friends, all living together in Mer's mom's house so why wasn't George or Izzie or Cristina or Mer here? Why was it Alex? That's all the four of them had been whispering about. Cristina asked Alex, Izzie asked Alex... hell, Bailey even asked Alex. Alex had ignored each of their questions and instead gave some snarky asshole comment with an eye roll. Alex didn't even know why he was here - why he'd purposefully demanded the week off to be by your bedside day and night sleeping on a camping bed with the scratchiest sheets in the world. He didn't know and yet, here he was.

You were annoying. You annoyed him. But since the news of the accident and since you'd been in a coma, Alex couldn't stop thinking about the way you laughed as you teased him. He couldn't get one specific moment out of his head.

You and Alex had been working on a case together - much to your dismay - and Alex had opened up slightly, letting you see that he was much more than what you previously thought.

"So... you're not just an asshole with the emotional range of a teaspoon, who knew?" You helped yourself to the bar stool next to Karev. Joe glanced at you, asking if you wanted your usual to which you nodded.

Alex rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

There was silence for a few seconds before you tried again, "I know you have this hard 'I don't care' exterior," you started, "and I know it's probably because of some past trauma in your life, Karev - believe me we've all got some shit - but..."

"Are you gonna keep giving me a stupid high school girl pep talk or are you gonna shut up and drink?"

It was your turn to roll your eyes now, "Joe, another round please."

As Joe poured the two of you more drinks, Alex sighed and looked at you, "Thanks," he murmured quietly, "I'm not- I don't..." he cleared his throat, "I don't mean to be an asshole all the time... I don't really know... Social shit isn't really my thing."

"Now who's acting like an emotional high school girl?" You teased. Alex laughed, a genuine smile stretched onto his face. Yeah... maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

So after the accident, Alex stayed.

It was then Bailey strode in, chart in hand, "Karev," she said glancing up for a second, "you look like hell. Don't you think you should go home get a proper sleep? Take a damn shower?" She could see the worry in him, she could see how stressed out he was; the dark circles under his eyes, his nails chewed down. Alex might not even know it yet but he cared about you.

"I'm staying," he said with a nod standing to look over her shoulder at your chart, "Any updates?"

"You tell me, you're the one who's been here since she got admitted." Bailey moved to you, turning the volume up on the machines, checking your levels.

"Oxygen levels were a little low at 3am, managed to level them out... No issues since." He nodded, arms crossed with a hand rubbing at his jawline, "Why hasn't she woken up yet, Bailey? She should be-"

"Karev," Bailey said, voice strong, "Go get yourself a cup of coffee, now."

"I don't-"

"Now, Karev. Let me do my damn job and stop hanging over me. Coffee."

With a few harsh words which made Bailey surprisingly laugh, Alex stormed out of your hospital room, storming past O'Malley and Stevens who had come to check in with Bailey on how you were doing.

Bailey leaned down closed to you, "If you die, god help us all... that boy..." she looked to the door where Alex had left from, "he'll be lost forever. So don't you dare, you hear me?"

The coffee machine was a minute's walk away from your room so Alex would know if anything were to happen to you, he would know but he kept checking over his shoulder anyway just in case. He was exhausted, he couldn't remember the last time he'd drank or even the last time he'd eaten. You had consumed him for the last two days; making sure that you were okay was his first priority.

He stopped at the coffee machine punching the button for a crappy black coffee that he wasn't going to drink anyway, "Come on," he grumbled as the cup dropped and the coffee began to pour in slowly, "Damn piece of crap machine, hurry the hell up!" He yelled suddenly, slamming his fist into the plastic front. Around him, people stared but he didn't care. When the coffee finally stopped, he pulled the cup out when he heard it.

"Code blue! I need a crash cart! Room 2203!" It was Bailey. It was you.

Boiling hot coffee splashed over the floor, the cup dropped and on the ground as Alex Karev took off running.

His heart pounded, usually the thrill was the thing he loved the most but this wasn't a thrill, no, this was dread. When he burst into your room, the first thing he heard was, "Clear!" and heard the noise of the defibrillator.

"What's going on?!" He yelled over the chaos.

"Get him outta here!" Bailey yelled, "Charge to 200! Get him outta here, O'Malley!"

George tried but a determined Alex was a strong Alex. He resisted George's grip, shoving him back every chance he tried to take him out. It got to the point that George gave up, "Dr Bailey!" He exclaimed, hopelessly as Alex barged to your bedside. Bailey couldn't do anything, she was busy trying to save your life, she couldn't deal with Karev as well so she let him be.

"Don't you dare die on me," Alex hissed, eyes flooding with tears, "don't you dare. Can't do that to me, (y/n). Can't have me sitting here waiting for two days to just die on me-" he looked to Bailey, "Save her... please."

Bailey's eyes met Alex's and she found a lump in her throat, "You hear him?" She asked you as the paddles charged, "don't you dare die on us, (y/n)." With one final shock, the monitor started to beep again, "Heart rate is coming back up," she said with a relieved sigh, "Thank the Lord. Levels are stabilising."

Alex collapsed into the chair at your bedside, hand clamped around yours, as his eyes closed, letting the relief wash over him. You were alive; you were stable.

"What- what caused it?"

Bailey shook her head, "Don't know, levels were fine but as soon as you left the room they started to drop so do me a favour, Karev," she looked pointedly at him, "don't leave this room again." Normally he would've bit back, said a comment about her forcing him out but instead, he just nodded falling back into his chair, hand still in yours, "I'll check every hour, okay? You page me immediately, got it?" Again, he nodded and then the room cleared out.

Alex didn't turn the monitors down, he needed to hear the steady beep to know that you were okay, you were alive and you were breathing. For the last three hours that he'd sat here, he had prayed to every god he could remember the name of - he didn't know if it counted but even started praying to some Greek Gods as well. Why have God in the title if it doesn't count? His hand was still firmly in yours.

Bailey had checked five times in the three hours, checking on you but also on him. She brought him a soda, a sandwich and a muffin and didn't leave until he'd drained half the can and eaten one of the sandwiches. He hadn't realised how hungry he was until he'd started eating, he devoured the rest of meal once she'd left. You were still stable but you weren't awake yet. Bailey was optimistic but Alex wasn't. He was dreading the worst, expecting your levels to become unstable again but as he was dosing off, he felt your hand twitch in his.

He shot up, "(y/n)?" He asked staring at your hand and then at you and much to his relief, your eyes began to flutter open. He let out a sound that was half laugh, half sob. Utter relief crashed over him, "You're awake," he grinned, "you're actually awake."

"A-Alex?" You croaked.

"Here," he said gently as he grabbed a plastic cup and straw and filled it with water from the jug on your bedside unit, "Drink up. How you feeling?"

"Sore."

"Multiple ruptured organs and a few broken bones'll do that to you," Alex teased with a smile. You noticed his hand was still in yours, warm and strong. He saw your eyes narrow at your joined hands and he was quick to pull his back despite everything inside him not wanting to, "I- I'm gonna page Bailey, you drink up." He helped you take the water and left. He was just outside, close enough to make sure that you were still safe - still alive.

It was as he left you looked around the room and you noticed the camping cot which was set up on the floor next to your bed. You frowned. Someone had been staying here. Was it... no, it couldn't have been Alex; Alex hated you.

Your thoughts were cut off by Bailey bursting into your room, "Oh thank the Lord," she grinned, "it's good to see you awake. You scared us." As Bailey checked you over, Alex returned to the seat next to you. Bailey saw your confused expression seeing him sat there, normal clothes not working, "Karev," she said, "go and get (y/n) a sandwich, will you? She's hungry." Alex went to argue, to tell Bailey she told him not to leave your room but Bailey's pointed look made him stop and nod. He left a second later giving you one last worried look, "She's fine now go."

You looked up at Bailey who sighed and looked down at you, "You had that boy scared to death, you know."

"Who? Alex?!"

Bailey nodded, "You're not the only one who's surprised. As soon as you were admitted he was here. It was his day off and he was here. Soon as you got outta surgery he was set up in your room. He hasn't left since Tuesday."

You looked down to the cot next to you, "He's been here the whole time?"

Bailey nodded, "I don't know what's going on between the two of you - if anything - but I'd say that there's something." Your frown deepened and Bailey smiled, "Just... be patient with him."

When Alex came back, Bailey gave you a secret nod with a knowing smile before she left promising to come check on you every hour and to not dare think about going back into a coma otherwise she would kill you. "I'm a doctor, I know how to save people but I know how to kill them too."

"Hey," Alex said as he placed a sandwich and soda on the unit beside your bed, "You okay?"

You nodded, finding yourself rather overwhelmed and touched by his actions. He - Alex Karev - had stayed by your side since the accident. What did that mean? What did Dr Bailey mean? You nodded quickly, "Yeah," you said softly, "just tired."

Alex puffed out a long breath as he sat in the seat next to your bed, "Yeah, you must be. Gave me- gave us all a fright."

Silence fell and the two of you fell into the comfort of the sounds of the hospital. You sipped at the soda Alex had brought before curiosity got the better of you, "Alex... why did you stay with me?"

You could've sworn his cheeks flushed a darker shade of pink but he rubbed his hands over his tired looking face so you couldn't have been sure, "Hell if I know," he muttered, "it's not like we're friends but... I didn't want you to be alone. You're the only one that's almost like a friend and... I dunno." He shrugged, "I don't really understand it myself." Maybe there was something deeper lurking under the surface but he didn't know. That was something you'd have to navigate together, "I know you'd have probably preferred Cristina or Mer-"

You took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Thank you, Alex," you whispered, "for everything. Thank you." Now, this time you could see the tips of his ears go pink. You smiled, "Now when are you going to shower cause boy you are looking rough-"

"Shut up!" Alex rolled his eyes but he laughed with you and for once, it felt nice to joke around with him. It felt normal. You didn't know what was going to happen but you somehow knew that he would be beside you, figuring out this crazy journey together and somehow, that made it a little less scary.

#one shot #grey's anatomy #grey's anatomy imagine #grey's anatomy one shot #os #reader insert #alex karev x reader #alex karev #alex karev imagine #imagine #prompt #alex karev x you #greys anatomy

[dinanikto]

Spoilers: Episode 4 of the Walten Files

I think people misunderstood Felix as a character?

I've seen so many fans WISHING that Felix would actually die?? Like, "if I was Jack, I would beat the shit out of Felix" or "Felix, do a flip".

I thought it was shown pretty well that he is not in the right state of mind.

Before reading this, please, gather all of your compassion and sympathy, and listen to what I'm about to say with a clear mind.

Let's speak chronologically:

1) Felix and Jack meet in college and decide to create animatronic-based restaurant. They are teens/young adults in the year 1958-1964 (not truly canon, but close to). According to Martin, they're very close, they love and trust each other.

2) Jack meets Rosemary, they start dating. She creates designs for Bon and other characters.

Felix is, presumably, left alone to himself, as he doesn't have anyone else.

3) They graduate and contact CyberFun Tech.

Felix meets and marries Linda, while Jack and Rosemary have their first kid.

4) october 30th, 1964.

Linda notes Felix's heavy drinking and his poor self image. She's stressed and scared.

Felix is close with the Walten family. Jack and Rose get two more kids, and they all call him uncle!

And yet, he doesn't feel welcome. He uses alcohol as a coping mechanism. "He drinks for the sole purpose of drinking!"

Please note, the year is 1964!! Even nowadays not many people can get help and cure their addictions. Not many people believe that they can, or that they deserve it.

5) december 25th, 1970.

Krankens and Waltens are so close they spend Christmas together. And yet, Felix is burdened with something.

Jack and Rose are lovey dovey, Felix and Linda are not. Waltens have three kids that love their parents deeply, Krankens do not. Jack is happy, and Felix is not.

He's still using alcohol to calm himself down.

He can't control himself anymore.

Linda tries to talk to him, but Felix doesn't respond. Or rather, it's how Linda frames it.

"He feels bad about it, but doesn't try to change."

Honestly? Sounds like he tries to communicate, but his depression isn't letting him do it well. Again, it's 1970, and I don't think anyone has ever truly tried to help him.

He's a man. Why can't he man up? Jack is doing fine, why can't you, Felix?

Or why won't you just tell everyone how you feel? It's not like men have been bottling their emotions for decades now, right?

6) april 1974.

The Bon's Burgers is about to be open in a few weeks.

Felix and Linda have a fight (verbal). He hurts her feelings.

Jack asks Felix to pick up kids from a school party. Felix says no at first, but Jack won't listen.

Eventually, Felix says yes.

7) morning of may 2nd, 1974.

Linda leaves Felix. Only thing left after her is a note.

No talking, no nothing. His wife of 10+ years left him.

Have you ever gone through a breakup? A breakup with your spouse? Were you in an intoxicated state of mind when your wife left you? Were you depressed when seemingly everyone have left you?

Wait, right, he has Waltens. So of course he's gonna get those kids home, that's the only thing left for him! Everyone are asking him of it.

7) evening of may 2nd, 1974.

The car crash happens.

8) may 3rd, 1974.

He's awfully drunk. He's depressed. He got almost killed. He tried to kill himself twice. He has no one to talk about this with.

He has killed two children. Children that he loved.

Jack is going to hate him. And he does! Jack DOES want to kill him, Felix knows it even before speaking to him.

Note that he's not afraid of Rosemary.

9) may 3-6th, 1974.

He hides. He doesn't sleep for three days, and gets hallucinations.

He's scared. But the fact he actually faced Waltens is surprising. He's trying to fix things as best as he can.

10) may 6th, 1974

He lies. What else can he do?

Jack disappears. Susan disappears. Rosemary and Charles disappear. Brian and Ashley disappear.

And THIS is noway near his fault.

Bon's Burgers close. He has no money, several murder cases. Everybody is dead.

_____________________________________________

And after all of this, people don't find Felix even a little bit likeable? But support an agressive, irrational Jack, who was blind to his brother's struggling and pain? Who was the only person to not notice Felix's drinking problem?!? I'm confused.

I feel like Felix almost constantly. The mentally ill guy with no support system, that has no one to talk to. Never the one to get any help, even when having a "family".

And it's not like he thinks that he deserves love and attention. He never goes searching for Linda. He tries to end his life multiple times. He's masking as a nice corporate guy, while suffering internally.

He suffers more than anybody else in the series. And why? What did he do? Did anyone teach him how to deal with these situations?

In conclusion: don't hate people. Never ever wish the worst for them, especially publicly.

And if you associate yourself with Kranken? Try to get help. Again, and again, and again. We live in a scary, but wonderful world. Your life is worth living, you deserve to be happy. Don't give up.

#muting this post. please dm me if you have any questions #twf #the walten files #twf felix #my thingies

[jo-harrington]

Longevity (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Longevity (noun) - continuance; durability; permanence

Previous Part: Standard Operating Procedures 1.06

Warnings/Themes: AU where the Upside Down doesn't terrorize Hawkins. Reader works at the Claire's at StarCourt. Eddie works at TapeWorld. (For now.) Fluff, a little angst, discussions of the future, vignettes/time jumps, smut, HEA.

Note: Alright here it is, and it is a HONKING CHAPTER. But how could I break it up into pieces when it's The End? I'm tucking my little babies into the dollhouse and closing it up so they can live on the rest of their lives. To Eddie and Store Manager, I love you both dearly and you were the thing that brought me back to writing and into a wonderful community of writers and readers. To everyone reading, thank you so much for your endless support. You will never know how much it's appreciated.

You can find my masterlist here for more featuring our resident Store Manager and all of my other writing. Seriously, go read it.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

---

April 1986

"Ope, if it isn't the man of the hour, Mr. Edward G. Robinson himself. We were just talking about you."

That was the greeting that found Eddie as he walked into Claire's after school on a lovely Thursday afternoon, ready to share some good news before his closing shift.

Great news, actually, if he was being honest. Life-changing news that he was sure would earn him a ton of kisses that he'd been craving after a long week of assignments and standardized tests.

Imagine his surprise then, that instead of finding you and Mindy behind the counter, chatting after a supposed "big visit" you'd told him that you had today, you still had company.

He skidded to a halt at the sight. Your guest smiled up at him with her hands on her hips.

Short in stature, blonde hair in pristine victory rolls, bold makeup that consisted of layers of glittery eyeshadow, and wrists adorned with stacks of multicolored scrunchies.

"It's nice to see you again Jen," he greeted your old Store Manager.

He'd only met her in person once, but had heard countless fond and semi-unbelievable stories about her from you--and apparently she'd heard the same about him, having greeted him with a bone-crushing hug the first time they met—so there was a familiarity and fondness there that they both indulged.

"What are you doing here?" he asked casually and crossed the distance to throw an arm over your shoulder and press a kiss to your temple. "I thought you said that you wouldn't be caught dead in Indiana."

You, Mindy, and Jen all broke out in a fit of giggles and Eddie felt a sudden sense of instinctual dread.

"Well then get ready to start planning my funeral kid," Jen announced. "Because you're about to start seeing a lot more of me."

"Jen just got promoted," you interjected finally.

"Oh yeah?"

"To District Manager. So she's gonna be my boss. Again."

"Oh, shi--shoot," Eddie felt like he'd been doused with cold water at the revelation. He peeled his arm from around your shoulder and took a wide step to put distance between the two of you. "That's...wow. Congratulations."

He'd been through a handful of DM visits at TapeWorld, never on his own, always under Kyle's cool guidance; however, he'd come to realize that the stiff authority figure of his District Manager Jeff was something to be feared.

So even though he was excited for Jen--your friend--on her promotion, the sudden realization that Jen--your boss--was standing here watching him make an idiot out of himself and possibly put your job at risk...

"Oh my god," Jen broke down in a fit of laughter. "Look at him, he's about to shit himself. Take a chill pill Ed, Jesus. I’m not gonna be a hardass until next week. If that.”

Once everyone had their fill of laughter, and Jen promised that she wasn't going to hold your relationship over your head--

"So long as you're not in here interfering with the business or making out on the sales floor or something."

--Eddie pulled you to the side and finally revealed his big news.

"So," he began excitedly. "It, uh, looks like I'm on the road to graduation. Like really graduating. Not just 'if I don't fuck it up in the home stretch' this time. I'm actually gonna graduate."

"Oh my god," you grabbed him by his jacket and shook him as joy bubbled in his chest from your reaction. "Eddie that's amazing!"

You asked him a few questions and your eyes sparkled proudly as he recounted his talk with his guidance counselor, and he couldn't help the smile that stayed on his face the entire time. Especially when you let out a shriek of joy and jumped around.

"We need to go and celebrate!" you insisted.

"I mean," he suddenly got bashful. "I haven't graduated yet."

"Still, it's big. You worked so hard." You looked back over at Jen and Mindy who were talking at the cash wrap. "I know you're closing tonight but I'm taking Jen out for drinks a little later. When you get out of work, meet us at the Hideaway. I'll get you the Wayne and a beer. And then afterwards, uh...if you wanna come back to my place? Like...actually celebrate?”

He grinned and nodded eagerly; you'd taken the words right out of his mouth.

---

His shift had gone by quickly and he’d joined you and Jen at the Hideaway with Kyle in tow. Kyle who was not only proud of Eddie and wanted to treat him to a beer for his efforts, but also intrigued at the possibility of schmoozing a pretty new face in town.

“Sometimes,” he announced with a flourish when he returned to StarCourt right before store close, dressed in the nicest clothes Eddie had ever seen him wear. “You need to take a chance. How many times did I tell you that kid? You miss all the chances you don’t take. That’s why it took you so long to get a girlfriend.”

Jen, unfortunately, laughed right in Kyle’s face when he kissed her hand upon introduction.

“I’m engaged, Romeo,” she informed him. “Sorry.”

“I don’t see a ring. You can let me down Jenny. Tell me the truth, I won’t be hurt.”

“You’re sweet. But it’s the truth. I just don’t wear the ring to work.”

“Alright, alright,” He sighed, then got a sly look. “Any chance you have a sister? Or a brother? I’m an equal opportunity man looking for true love.”

The night was filled with hearty food, rounds of beer, fantastical stories of retail hell and 4th Quarters past, and accomplishments on everyone’s part.

Kyle bragged about a new car he had just put a down payment on.

Your store had hit some Diamond Earring milestone that only you and Jen seemed to understand but the excitement was contagious.

Eddie got a round of applause from the table when you urged him to announce his big news to everyone.

Honestly he couldn’t care about Kyle or Jen’s reaction, it was seeing you look at him with all the pride and affection in the world that he basked in. He couldn’t wait for the actual graduation ceremony, for you to be front and center with Wayne and Rick and all of his friends. There to witness his hard work come to fruition…and for him to flip Principal Higgins off.

And then Jen stood up and announced her own accomplishment right before last call.

“So,” she cleared her throat and held up her glass and pulled something out of her coat. “I know I already celebrated back home and I don’t really know either of you, Kyle and Ed, but I know my little protégée here would be happy for me.

”Alongside my wonderful and well-earned promotion to DM, I also received my Longevity pin.”

She opened a little velvet jewelry box and showed off a tiny glittering purple pin with a tiny little diamond chip in place of the dot of the “I” in Claire’s.

“Ten long years,” Jen announced after a swig of her beer, “with the Purple Glitter Factory. And all I have to show for it is a pin, a little more money, and a lot more responsibility. God. Growing up sucks. But I’m very proud. And you’re next kid.”

She laid a hand on your head and you waved her off with visible embarrassment then disappeared to go and close out your tabs.

Later that night as you and Eddie settled into bed to sleep after some celebratory activities, Eddie laid awake and stared at the ceiling. Thinking.

“What are your plans for the future?” He asked after a beat.

“Uh,” you shifted your head on his shoulder so you could look at him. “Is this because of all of Jen’s talk of careers and stuff?”

“Yeah. And graduation. And all of that stuff. So? What do you wanna do…where do you wanna be…when you’re older?”

“God, I dunno. I got my associates in business because I was hoping it would help me get my own store. And I did. It also was so boring, I don’t want to go back to school. I guess the next thing is…actually take a vacation day now that I’m earning them. What about you?”

“Music legend,” he answered immediately.

“Uh huh.”

“Guess that’s gonna take some work though, huh?”

“No shit.” You rolled your eyes and then sighed as you settled against him once again. “There’s a reason you asked, Ed. What’s going on in that big head of yours?”

He ran his tongue along the seam of his lips repeatedly as he considered…everything that was laid out in front of him.

Corroded Coffin.

Tape World.

What about Hellfire? Damn, he knew Dustin and Will were the future of the club but…a few years down the line. What about next year? He was gonna have to pass the torch to Gare or Dave after he left. They weren’t ready yet.

And what was he gonna do after school was over? Could he see himself taking a class at TCCC? Maybe. Jeff had been showing him the Catalog at lunch the other day. There was a Creative Writing course that looked cool.

10 years.

That was half his life away. Impossible to imagine. Would there be flying cars by then? Space travel? He could enlist in Starfleet, meet Captain Kirk. Ok maybe that last one was stupid.

"10 years,” Eddie whispered into the top of your head as he rid himself of the fantastical thoughts. “That’s an awful long time.”

“Well it’s a good thing we have all that time to figure it out.”

We…

“Yeah. Yeah we do.”

He could only hope you’d still be there with him. One way or another.

---

July 1987

The spot lights were blinding and the air thick with humidity; his throat was dry and his fingers ached from how hard he was on the fretboard.

But the crowd was cheering and that’s all that mattered right?

No, what really mattered was the music.

And the band.

That's why he was up here with his friends, demolishing the bridge of The Sentinel, laughing and jumping and barely giving a shit when he missed a note or Jeff’s fingers fumbled or Gareth lost the beat for a second. He didn't even mind that the County Clerk had them censor out the "cuss words" of the songs they'd chosen.

It was exhilarating just to be able to play on an actual stage.

It had taken 2 years but they were finally playing at the Roane County 4th of July Festival. An actual gig. And not the first one they'd played, but certainly the biggest so far. Big enough and successful enough that Eddie expected it to be a standing gig for the foreseeable future.

The Polka Band from Kenosha hadn't gotten nearly half as many people and they were, by far, the most successful act of the night before Corroded Coffin.

There was a sea of friends, neighbors, families, and out-of-towners just below the stage, snacks and drinks in-hand, as they danced and jumped and headbanged to song after song. Rick and Wayne were out at Benny's getting all set up for the next stop on Corroded Coffin's "Independence Day Tour" but you were out there in the crowd with Mindy and her family, singing along and cheering louder than everyone whenever a song ended.

Which was why Eddie didn't hesitate to dedicate the final song of the set to you.

"This next one isn't our usual sound," he spoke into the microphone, words a little muffled as his lips brushed against it. "It's a little slow. Something you can dance to, so gentlemen please grab your ladies, tell them how much you love them. But before we begin...did you all know...it's almost Back to School time."

There was a series of boo's from the crowd.

"Now now, maybe yet not for you all, but definitely for a special someone out there," he shushed them and traded Sweetheart for his mom's old acoustic guitar. He plucked a few notes and then continued. "A special someone...who leaves me all alone every once in a while. Late nights. Lonely nights while I wait by the phone, as she and her team make magic happen and she forgets all about me. See I'm saying all of this because she's about to leave me high and dry this coming Sunday night, so I have to guilt her a little otherwise she won't let me surprise her with hash browns and coffee when she gets out of work.

"Queen of Glitter Kingdom," Eddie squinted and looked around the crowd until he found you standing there holding your hand over Mindy's mouth as she looked like she was about to cry. He pointed right at you. "My life, my world, my cheeseburger. This one's for you."

He and Jeff then began to harmonize their guitars for the opening of Beth.

---

"You're a shithead, you know that."

"Mmm...but I'm your shithead, sweetheart."

It was late. Wayne, Rick, and the guys had all left. You and Eddie were sitting across from each other in a booth at Benny's, as the last few fair-goers trickled in for a late night snack. Your own dinner sat half-eaten on the table between you--patty melts and an apple pie shake to share--as you talked and laughed and played footsie.

He and the boys needed to rush across town after their set was over so they made it in time for Ben's advertised happy hour, so he hadn't gotten the chance to get an earful or a kiss from you after his little spectacle.

Fortunately, you were giving him hell for it now, and although he was wiped, he gladly accepted your teasing wrath.

"Is Wayne still around?" You turned in your seat and looked at the sparse group of customers. "I'd like to make a return."

"Mmm...well I moved out in January so I think it's after the 90-day return policy," he said matter-of-factly.

"God damn it," you laughed and snapped your fingers. "And I think I lost the receipt too."

"Stuck with me forever," he teased in a sing-song. There was a beat and he straightened up in his seat and drummed a rhythm on the table with his knuckles. "So...I think it went well."

"I think so too," you agreed brightly.

"You know, Jeff found some...Septemberfest thing out in Jasper..."

Your eyes sparkled at Eddie's words, and he felt the flutter of butterflies deep inside of him that always kicked up when you gave him your excitement and encouragement.

“It’s not a competition or anything but there’s a prize for most popular act of the weekend. Audience ballot and everything. I think it would be cool.”

"That's great!" you grinned. "You should go for it."

"But it's Labor Day weekend."

"So?"

"Paulie's going for a promotion," he shrugged. "Kyle's gonna want us all there in case Jeff comes for a visit."

"And? I didn't know Paulie was planning on opening for Corroded Coffin. What's he playing? The kazoo?" you joked.

"Well no," Eddie shook his head. "But if he leaves...I mean, I'm the best bet for FTASM. I don't want to lose out on that for the future. That'd be...the money would be nice. Can do some repairs on the van. Maybe I'd get my own store someday too."

Your face crumpled--brows furrowed and lips pursed--and you didn't hesitate to shuffle out from your side of the booth and kneel beside him on his. You placed a hand on his forehead for a moment and then tilted his head back and forth.

"Uh, sweetheart," he placed a hand on your waist to steady you as you shuffled closer to pull the back the neck of his t-shirt to look for something. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to see if my Rockstar Eddie Munson action figure is broken," you explained.

"Uhhh."

"Or at least if I accidentally left him at the fair and picked up a Corporate Shill Eddie action figure instead?"

"What?" he laughed.

"How about Suburban Dad Eddie?" you asked. You straightened your posture, pulled on non-existent suspenders, and lowered your voice comedically. "Gotta prepare for tax season. Cut the grass. Do some repairs on the van."

"Stop," he pulled you down to sit beside him in the booth. "I just...don't wanna take the chance on that when I know the full time position is a sure thing."

"Ed," you shook your head at him. "I know you like Tape World but...promotions always come around, music is your dream."

"I know."

"Why did you tell me about this Septemberfest thing if you were not gonna go through with it anyway?"

"I dunno," he turned away from you and went to grab the shake. "I guess I just wanted to pick the thing...that you'd be most proud of."

"Listen here mister," you grabbed him by the chin and made him look at you, Apple Pie Shake be damned. "I'm always gonna be proud of you and support you in whatever path you want."

He nodded for a second and then stole a kiss from you with a soft "I know, thank you." You let yourself get lost in the feeling for a second, but Eddie knew that you weren't gonna let him distract you from the discussion at hand.

You put a hand on his chest and pushed him away, then stared him directly in the eye.

"So?" you asked. "What kind of future do you want?"

His eyes darted between yours--your gaze hard and challenging but nonetheless filled with hope and affection--and he had his answer.

---

May 1989

You could feel Eddie fidget in the seat beside you.

"Calm down," you muttered to him.

"Can't help it," he whispered back; you could tell he straightened out his posture, but his knee still bounced. "Too excited."

A name was called over the loudspeaker, then another, then another.

"Eddie seriously," Gareth was the one to give it a shot this time, leaning across you to put a hand on Eddie's knee and get him to stop fidgeting. "You're gonna shit yourself if you don't stop."

"Shit, sorry, this is only like..." he shook his head. "The most important thing I've ever done in my life."

You, Gareth, Jeff, and Dave all shot him skeptical and unamused looks.

"I don't have time to argue right now," he scoffed at the rest of you. "Shut up, here it comes."

"Peter Halliwell...Dustin Henderson..."

All five of you jumped to your feet and cheered and clapped, along with another group a few rows up that consisted of Dustin's mom, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, and their respective partners.

It was a repeat occurrence several times over that afternoon, as you witnessed the Hawkins High Class of '89 cross the stage and receive their diplomas.

"That's my kid," Eddie wiped a fake tear as each of his former Freshman Sheepies were called on stage, but he was especially emotional with Dustin. And when the newest DM of Hellfire flipped Higgins off before running off stage? Eddie stood on his chair and whooped and whistled. “That’s my boy!”

“Sit down Munson,” Higgins spoke into the microphone, over an audience that had become uproarious with laughter.

“It’s tradition now, Higgy,” Eddie shouted, words amplified by the hands he’d cupped around his mouth; still, he jumped down and took his seat so the rest of the ceremony could continue.

“You’re unbelievable,” you giggled at his antics. “You do know that right?”

“I’m unbelievably loveable,” he replied, quickly accompanied by the scoffs and mocking fart noises of his friends. He leaned closer and whispered in your ear. “Unbelievably in love with you.”

“Uh huh.” His tongue snaked out and he licked into your ear obnoxiously. “Fuck off!” You pushed him away from you with a shrieking laugh.

It wasn’t long before that the real reason you were in attendance at the graduation walked across the stage. Because yes, the kids were your friends but you wouldn’t miss this for the world.

“Jane Hopper,” came the announcement and you, once again, got to your feet with a cheer, along with her family and friends in the next aisle of seats. Chief Hopper had his camcorder out and his shoulders visibly shook as he sobbed for his daughter, and you couldn’t help but feel your heartstrings pull.

If Dustin and the boys were Eddie’s little sheepies, you supposed Janey was one of yours. From a shy girl whose ears you’d pierced for the first time in your early days at StarCourt, to one of your die hard regulars who looked up to you over the years trying to emulate your style, to one of your associates when she came in for her first summer job at 16; you’d watched Jane grow and gain confidence and really come into her own.

That was the high point of your career as a Store Manager, and something you happily shared with Eddie: seeing the kids you took under your wing flourish.

“All the birds have flown the coop Mom,” Eddie teased as you sat down and actually wiped a tear from your cheek.

“I think you guys can cut the Mom and Dad bit now,” Jeff said matter-of-factly. “Until you guys have your own kids someday.”

That was something you and Eddie happily shared too.

The two of you looked at each other for a moment…before making the most exaggerated vomiting and gagging noises, unfortunately getting looks from the people around you.

“Pass,” you and Eddie announced in tandem.

---

After the ceremony was over, Chief Hopper invited everyone to the shared Hopper-Byers abode for a barbecue. And by everyone, it seemed like he literally invited the entire town to the lakeside cabin the family called home.

All of the kids and their friends and families, Benny was somehow there—had he closed the diner for the day? Good, he deserved a day off—a handful of Hop’s coworkers and friends, including Wayne and Rick.

There were hamburgers and beers, conversation and music overlapping one another.

Eddie was in his element though, and it warmed your heart to see him talk and spiel and be accepted by such a big group when, not so long ago, it seemed like he’d been shunned by them. Even now, you could see some hesitation as he stiffly talked with douchebag Callahan and Mike’s asshole dad, but he wasn’t sweating bullets or falling back on the pricklier parts of his personality. He even cracked a smile once or twice.

What would his life had been like if he’d had this all along?

It was silly to think about after you’d been dating for years but…would he have asked you out sooner? Would you even still be together now? You thought about the ways that the kids had grown into their own…but it wasn’t hard to also appreciate how much the two of you had grown side by side as well.

Especially when you considered the next step you were about to embark on together...

“You’re thinking too loud,” Eddie startled you as he snuck up behind you and dangled a fresh beer in your face. You shot him a scathing look but he easily recovered, back into your good graces, as he swooped an arm around your shoulder and pecked a kiss to your temple. “What’s got you all sour?”

“Not sour,” you shrugged and picked at the label on the beer bottle. “Just…I don’t know. Thinking."

"Always a bad idea."

"Reflecting.”

“Well you look like you’re about to tell someone to get fucked so…”

"Maybe I am," you grinned at him cheekily.

"As long as it isn't me." He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "But you know it gets me going either way."

You slapped the back of your hand against his chest just as a gaggle of voices called your names.

Jane was the first one to run your way from across the yard, with Dustin and Lucas hot on her heels. They were all talking over one another, and Jane especially looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Eddie was the one to try to make sense of them, and he yelled a bellowing "shut up" that got them to stop their barrage.

"You're leaving?" Jane asked, looking directly at you. "Leaving Hawkins?"

"Uh," you paused and looked at Eddie, who held his hands up innocently.

"Gareth's got a big mouth," he reasoned.

"Of course he does," you rolled your eyes and then turned back to the kids. "Uh...yeah we are. At the end of the summer. I’m opening a new store. Again."

"What about you?" Dustin demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Eddie.

"Where my lady goes, I must follow," he stood tall and held a hand over his heart for a second, chivalrous as ever, before he took a sip of his beer and slumped back into his usual posture. "Besides, Corroded Coffin has a better chance in a bigger city. We're big fish in a small tank in Hawkins. Gonna pack up the van; give Chicago a chance to chew us up and spit us out."

Eddie and the boys bickered back and forth--gathering a small crowd of onlookers the longer it went--about the trip and the plans about where you'd all live and work while you stood there with Jane.

"How could you just leave?" she asked.

"Oh, honey, that's just...how it is," you reassured her. "I get a new assignment, Mindy takes over. And I'll be back to visit. Maybe you and Max will take a drive up for a weekend in the city."

"That'd be fun."

"It isn't goodbye."

"I know," she nodded somberly.

"Besides, you're going off to school in the fall," you reminded her. "You weren't meant to stay at StarCourt Mall forever, and I wouldn't want you too. You have a bright future ahead of you. I know it's scary, but it's all gonna work out. One way or another."

They were the same words that Jen had said to you before you embarked on your big adventure to Hawkins, and you were happy to pass the sentiment along to Jane.

"What about you?" she asked after a minute. "Your future? Are you afraid?"

That was the question, wasn't it? A new adventure, maybe in a more familiar setting but...a new challenge nonetheless. But you looked over at Eddie, who had both Dustin and Gareth in headlocks; his head was thrown back in obnoxious laughter and he gave you a shrug that said "how could I help myself" when he noticed you looking at him.

He was an idiot. But he was your idiot. And he'd be by your side for this next adventure, just like he promised he would be.

"No," you told her honestly. "I'm not afraid at all."

---

September 1990

"Alright, here's a question?"

"Shoot."

"When…is our anniversary?"

"Uhh...Ed..." You let the question hang awkwardly in the air, unasked, but Eddie could read your mind.

The two of you were symbiotic at this point; still, he was happy that you had no idea what he had in mind for the day.

"No hear me out," he took a few steps ahead and turned to walk backwards so he could look at you. "Because I really put some thought into it. If we're going by first dates, it's in January—”

“Like it has been for the past 4 years.”

“—but, if we're going by first kiss..."

"If we're going by first kiss, that was last week," you laughed and rolled your eyes. "So you’re late."

“Yeah,” he agreed wickedly wistfully. “I guess I am.”

Of course you remembered.

The two of you were walking. Exploring, actually, around the cemetery where your Papa enjoyed his eternal rest.

5 years and it was a lot easier now.

You still cried sometimes but the initial guilt was gone and you found enjoyment in spending the day traversing about the sprawling cemetery grounds, visiting this great uncle and that distant cousin, just like you did with Papa when he was still alive.

“Did he make sure he bought flowers for everyone he ever met?” Eddie had asked as you piled bunches and bunches of flowers into his arms at the florist that first visit after Papa passed, when you told Eddie of the tradition. “Aren’t they just gonna die?”

“This is why I don’t like flowers,” you explained. “They die. At least when they die here, the dead can still enjoy them.”

“Well shit, that’s a pretty metal thought baby,” he cooed softly and shuffled the bunches to hold them with some more care. “Can I put that in a song? I’ll dedicate it to you.”

He had and you’d cried when he first sang you the haunting ballad in the privacy of your living room.

Today, though…well you’d already made the rounds today. Only one stop left; the most important stop. Eddie had suggested taking the long way through the mausoleum—down hallways lined with plush red carpet and dated sofas and marble walls filled with the dead—partially for his own curiosity, and partially so he could build up the courage.

You were doing quite a good job distracting him from his nerves as you conversed easily—whatever thoughts popped up in either of your heads—and explained the differences between this Saint and that one as you passed their statues and depictions in stained glass. They all looked at him with serene eyes and he thought that meant this journey would be a successful one.

There would be no crying, if he could help it.

Maybe tears of joy? He could settle for that.

“So what has you thinking of anniversaries?” you finally asked as you sat on the tufted velvet ottoman in front of your grandparents' epitaph.

Eddie shrugged and looked around, absorbing the names and dates inscribed on the marble walls that surrounded him.

“Been a lot of milestones lately. It’s been a couple years since graduation, 5 years since your grandpa passed…” He trailed off for a moment. “Been a year since we moved…since we’ve both been at new stores.”

You gasped and he felt his heart stop in his chest.

“Is…are you thinking of quitting?” You asked with big eyes.

“What?”

“That new Hot Topical store they’re opening? Or whatever it's called? I saw you chatting with that District Manager in the food court the other day. Are you leaving TapeWorld? Eddie, that’s so exciting. You should…”

“No I’m not quitting,” he announced with finality, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“…nevermind then. Then what’s going on? You thinking of breaking up with me or something?”

“No.”

“Well I know you’re not proposing; you literally just wrote a song called Marriage is a Death Sentence.”

Your laughter echoed through the mausoleum but you stopped abruptly when Eddie didn’t join you.

He watched your expression change as you processed the thought. And when you looked back at him again he smiled nervously.

“Eddie…” you said hoarsely and then cleared your throat. “Eddie, you just wrote a song called Marriage is a Death Sentence.”

“About my parents,” he explained. “And how they did everything wrong.”

“Yeah,” you nodded frantically. “A lot of people get it wrong. Marriage is a Death Sentence. Those are literally the lyrics. You’ve been singing it when you wash the dishes.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s catchy.”

“It is, isn’t it? But...while I was working on it...it got me thinking that…I mean…just because they got it wrong, and a lot of other people do, doesn’t mean we will.”

You said his name almost desperately now.

"A-and," he continued. "W-we don't have to get married but...I don't know. Spending the rest of my life with you sounds pretty great."

He pulled one hand out of his pocket casually and with it came a small ring box. He shook it a few times and held it out to you.

There were a bevy of emotions cycling your face, all of them undecipherable, until you settled on shock.

Good shock...hopefully.

“You’re supposed to get down on one knee I think,” you whispered again.

Yeah...good shock.

He let out a sigh of relief.

“Yeah but what if it isn’t a ring? What if this is all just a red herring? What if I had to get one of my teeth pulled and it's in here?”

You let out a shocked laugh and your brows hitched together in question.

"Did you put a tooth in there?"

"I don't know...seems as likely as any other potential surprise."

“Is it another cootie catcher?” you guessed.

“Only one way to find out.”

He shook the box again.

You slowly took it from him, fingers deliberately brushing against his which caused his heart to race.

He felt lightheaded when you opened the lid.

You smiled so brightly, he swore you rivaled the sun.

“Oh…Eddie…”

---

December 1992

"So what'd you do?"

"What makes you think I did something?"

"I love you son," Wayne sighed and leant against the counter. "But you always do something."

It was Christmas. The worst time of year for both you and Eddie. Long shifts, angry customers, restless coworkers...but a standing promise to make it back to Hawkins for the holiday had been the light at the end of the tunnel. Especially since Wayne and Rick had come out to see you for the past few years.

It was tough but you and Eddie made it work; hit the road right after your Christmas Eve shifts had ended, fallen into bed as soon as you'd arrived at Rick's close to midnight.

And you didn't need to be back to work until the 27th.

It was a perfect little getaway.

Except it hadn't been perfect.

Because you hadn't been talking to each other past the standard "good mornings" and "see you tonights" all week. The drive had been made in silence. And you chose to sit as far as you could from him during Christmas dinner, opting to sit beside Wayne and chat all night, instead of right next to him like you always did.

And unfortunately, yeah...it'd been Eddie's fault.

Eddie knew that, and usually he could admit it easily. Fights between the two of you were few and far between, and you had a good track record for recovering from them. For some reason though, this time was different, and it was hard for him to admit how badly he'd fucked up.

Wayne could see right through the two of you, though. Especially through his nephew. No matter how good you thought you were at hiding it.

"There was this...big opportunity we could have had," Eddie began his explanation calmly. "But it wasn't a sure thing."

"Oh yeah?" Wayne hummed. "How big?"

"Big. Like...a once-in-a-lifetime thing. An underground show a buddy of mine heard about it through the grapevine. Said they were looking for an opening act. Wanted to throw me a bone." He hit the counter with his fist gently. "But...he got his wires crossed. Told me it was tonight. So it meant we'd need to miss Christmas. But it's really next week."

"Hmmm..." Wayne nodded sagely and kept listening.

Eddie suddenly felt uncomfortable at the tone though, and became desperate for his uncle to understand.

Understand that he hadn't meant to hurt you.

"Work's been hard this season Wayne," Eddie continued with an edge to his voice. "Made me realize that I don't wanna do this forever. I wanna make music. You know that. It's been my dream forever."

"I know it has."

"Me and the guys. Our dream."

"What'd you say to her?" Wayne asked suddenly, as he lifted the mug of eggnog to his lips.

His knowing gaze made Eddie fidget and harsh words echo through his memory.

"Why can't you understand? This is huge for us. How can we say no?"

"I didn't say you had to pass it up, I just said it was a shame that we'll miss Christmas."

"You don't have to miss Christmas, you can just go to your aunt's if you don't want to go to the show."

"You know what I mean. You know Wayne and Rick look forward to seeing--"

"Wayne and Rick would understand how big this is. Why can't you? Why the fuck do you care anyways? It's not like they're your family!"

Wayne swallowed a mouthful of eggnog and then his lips pressed together tightly with a long exhale. Eddie turned to watch you and Rick chatter while you organized the gifts into neat little piles; even though you were avoiding each other, seeing your smile made him feel a lot better than his uncle's intense stare.

"I fucked up," he croaked. "I know."

"How're you gonna fix it?" Wayne asked.

"That I don't know."

Wayne sighed and clapped a hand on Eddie's shoulder.

"I would suggest," he leant in close and his voice rumbled, the same way it always did when Eddie would get in trouble growing up. The few times Wayne needed to intervene at all. "I would suggest you start with I'm sorry."

---

Eddie stared up at the glow in the dark stars that were stuck to the ceiling of the old guest bedroom that used to be his designated room at Rick's once upon a time.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

He couldn't sleep.

He might have spent most of his life in Hawkins but a few years in and around Chicago and he'd gotten used to the sounds of traffic and trains and people walking around late at night.

And it might've been easier if you were closer to him than you were, if the sounds of your sleep-deepened breathing and the soft snores you always denied were in his ear. Instead you were lying on your side at the edge of the full bed, as far from him as you could get, equally as awake as he was if your near-silent breaths were any indicator.

He turned his head and watched you for a moment before he took a breath of courage.

"Sweetheart," he whispered. When there was no response, he said your name, a little louder this time. "You awake?"

There was silence...heavy silence...and then you responded.

"Mmmhmm." You shifted to look halfway over your shoulder at him. "It's too quiet."

"I was just thinking that."

"Hmmm."

"I've got...a lot on my mind too."

"Yeah?" you turned fully now, lying on your back just like him; your shoulders touched but you refused to look at him. "What about?"

"I was thinking..."

What was he thinking? A lot of things. How to start an apology, how to fix this. How to make tomorrow better so your Christmas wasn't ruined.

"...that at least when we fight fight, we still talk to each other afterwards."

You scoffed and he closed his eyes, cursing himself and his big mouth.

"That...wasn't the right thing to say."

"No it wasn't," you sassed him immediately.

"It wasn't what I wanted to say either," he quickly added. "I wanted to say...that I'm sorry."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Aside from the fact that I know you too well," you began. "Rick was trying to get me to forgive you all night."

"Why did he think I did something?" Eddie asked incredulously.

"Because you always do something."

"God damn it, did Rick say that? Wayne said the same thing."

The two of you laughed together for the first time in days, and as you settled down, Eddie reached over and took your hand in his. He threaded your fingers together and rubbed his thumb back and forth to soothe you.

"I'm sorry that I...that I was a thick-headed, stubborn, big-mouthed idiot who hurt your feelings," he apologized. "I know that we've both been under pressure but there's no excuse. I could've been more level-headed, but I wasn't and I hurt you."

"Yeah well," you squeezed his hand tightly as you responded, "I guess I'm not innocent here either. I could have...been more excited for you, supportive. Instead of trying to make it about Christmas. I was thinking about how desperate I was to get away from work, excited to be back here. And it's no excuse. I'm sorry too."

"Yeah but I told you Wayne and Rick weren't your family."

"Well I told you--"

"Are we gonna fight again?" Eddie stopped you before you could get ahead of yourself. You huffed a soft "no" and melted into the bed, all tension in your body gone. "Did you like your Christmas gift?"

"Jesus." He could hear you rolling your eyes.

"Well did you?"

"Duh," you deadpanned. "Did you like yours?"

"Uh, duh," he parroted, a little more exaggeratedly. "You didn't give me a kiss though."

"Well you didn't give me a kiss either," you retorted, but you were already rolling over so you could close the distance and seal your lips against his.

The two of you showered one another with more whispered apologies and words of devotion before you got ahead of yourselves.

Clothes were shed, soft caresses shared, and lips lavished over the most sensitive parts of you.

You still liked it when you dragged your teeth along the shaft of his cock a little and got him to beg, and then Eddie returned the favor when he sucked a bruising hickey to your nipple that made you squeal and call him a god.

The two of you had lived on your own for so long that it was good fun trying to keep your voices down, or make sure the bed didn't slide across the hardwood floors with your passionate fucking.

And all slights were soothed when you reached the height of pleasure together, and whispered sweet words of affection and forgiveness as you descended back to earth.

Come morning, Wayne obnoxiously asked when the two of you were planning to hit the road back to Chicago.

"It's been a good while since I lost sleep thanks to your spirited activities," he noted, embarrassing the two of you in front of Rick. "No more fighting when you come back to visit in the future alright? I miss you dearly, but I can't say I miss that at all.”

---

April 1993

"It took you guys long enough," Dustin announced as he threw open the door.

“You know what, you try sitting in a rusty old shitbox with a bunch of musicians that still act like they're teenagers for 10 hours," you deadpanned and then pushed past the guys as they protested to pull Dustin into a hug. "Happy housewarming, congratulations."

It was Spring Break.

Well for the kids it was--although, they weren't really kids anymore were they--but for you and the guys, it was more like a long weekend. You'd scheduled yourself off for a few days, Eddie'd requested the whole week off, Jeff and Dave had traded shifts with coworkers, and Gareth simply quit his job.

"I'll find a new one," he reassured everyone, including his girlfriend, on St. Patrick's Day when he announced his departure before he and the guys had gotten on stage to play for a crowded pub in the suburbs.

It had been a headache and a half to get everything in order and everyone in the right place at the right time, but you were all here for one thing and one thing only.

Dustin's first apartment.

A Hellfire Club Reunion.

And a special one-shot that Dustin and Eddie had spent hours on the phone planning for the past few months.

Months.

You didn't think you'd been invited at first, but when Dustin told Eddie the full guest list, Eddie volunteered your attendance immediately.

Your forays into Dungeons and Dragons were few and far between; never a big campaign, only the one-shots that Eddie had put together here and there for the guys or a few coworkers who were interested. And this would be the first time that you played with such a big group. Or such an experienced group.

You were nervous.

"You'll do great," Eddie reassured you as he plucked snack cakes and sodas off the gas station shelves for snacks on the road. "I know the roleplaying is not your strongest suit, but it's just Henderson and the gang."

Now you were here and your nerves melted as you slipped further into mother hen mode the longer you looked around at what was obviously the apartment of college students. It was a familiar sight; you, Eddie, and the guys had all crammed into a duplex when you'd moved to Chicago and you'd had your fair share of pizza boxes stacked in the corners before garbage day and underwear of questionable origin and cleanliness tucked into the cracks of the sofa.

But that was a time long since passed and seeing it now made your fingers itch.

And your ears ring.

"...be here soon and I figured that you'd be here first to help me set u--Mom you ok?" Dustin stopped his chattering when he noticed you were frozen in the door of the living room. He glanced around the space that would soon host all of his friends. "Oh...yeah I should probably clean up a little more. To be fair, most of this isn't my mess."

You felt your eye twitch at his dismissive laugh.

"Jesus Henderson, didn't you just move in January?" Jeff asked when he saw the sorry state.

The boys all started giving Dustin shit, and Eddie had the foresight to put a hand on your shoulder and steer you back towards the door.

"We're gonna go take a quick smoke break; why don't you four nerds try to get this place looking a little more Hellfire appropriate in the mean time, m'kay?" he ordered them with faux sincerity. "We brought those props you asked for Dustin."

You heard the faint, sorry Mom, come from the boys as Eddie got you outside.

---

Eddie was extremely attentive and was quick to take charge of the ragtag group, running back and forth between the little stoop where you'd essentially set up camp right outside of the building, and back up to Dustin's apartment to make sure the cleaning and setup were underway.

"Hey listen, you boss enough people around at work," he reassured you when you insisted that you'd be alright to go back in. "You don't need to do it on your day off too."

You proved to be useful enough as the other started to arrive, little by little.

Max and Lucas had flown in from California and arrived via cab.

"It kind of sucks when the place you live is the place everyone else goes on vacation," Lucas laughed good-naturedly.

His younger sister Erica, who you remember from her days of buying scrunchies and glitter makeup, was now grown up and toted an entire kit filled with binders and notebooks and dice.

"It's my first ever Spring Break," she sniffed. "I could have been in Miami with my friends. But...I wouldn't miss this for the world, so it better be worth it."

Mike and Will drove up in the Wheeler's old station wagon, their siblings in tow in the backseat; Nancy and Jonathan had apparently been broken up for some time now.

It apparently had been an awkward drive for all of them.

Jane unexpectedly arrived with a new love interest friend and was beyond ecstatic to see you, barely letting you get a question in as she told you about everything she'd been up to.

Robin was unfortunately absent, but sent her regards along with the last person to arrive. Someone who you honestly didn't expect to see at all, but who had pulled up in a shiny new car, sporting a wedding band and a mustache: Steve Harrington.

"Look what the cat dragged in," you greeted with a smile. You pointed at the wedding band. "Seems like you don't need my relationship advice anymore."

"Same relationship," he chuckled and shrugged, suddenly bashful.

"No shit," you laughed. "Congratulations."

"Congrats to you too," he pointed to the ring on your own finger but you waved him off dismissively.

"Marriage is a Death Sentence. This is just...symbolic more than anything. We both know we're not going anywhere."

"Get more of a deduction on your tax return if you guys do tie the knot."

"Alright Ned Flanders," you rolled your eyes. "Taxes are a death sentence too. I'll ask Ed to write that song and dedicate it to you."

"By all means, I'm actually an accountant now. Maybe it'll get me some more clients."

You cackled.

You and Steve made some casual chit chat as you walked up to join the others now that everyone had arrived.

The apartment looked worlds different, especially with the abundance of candles that surrounded the table you all crowded around.

Dustin was taking the lead with this one, his DM screens in ominous abundance as he sat at the head of the table and filed through stacks of papers.

You looked around at all of your friends...really all of Eddie's friends who had become your friends, your family. It was nice to see them all in one place again.

Then you looked at Eddie himself, who looked right at home surrounded by them all. Laughing and spieling and picking on them with bright, glowing fondness that radiated off of him. You didn't think you could feel any more love for him, but suddenly in that moment, your cup overflowed.

He deserved this; deserved all of this...all of the love you all had to give and share with him because he loved you all so hard in return.

You took your seat beside him and grinned and patted your knee encouragingly.

"Perfect timing, sweetheart," he announced. "Hope you're ready to get absolutely obliterated."

Dustin hit a button on the stereo he'd set up beside him and everyone started to cheer as music and sounds created the ambiance of the adventure you were about to embark on.

"Welcome friends as we revisit a grand adventure of old tonight," Dustin began. "As we venture deep into Greyhawk and come face to face a great evil once defeated. Timelines have shifted, and what you might remember from the past is no longer what it seems; it will take great courage and strength to overcome challenges that you'd previously faced with ease. Are you up for the challenge?"

Everyone cheered again."

"Good," he said with a guttural groan, eyes rolling back in his head dramatically. "Then let us begin on our quest to face...The Cult of Vecna."

---

May 1995

It was like deja vu.

Maybe because he'd done this a thousand times, just not recently. It'd been years since he'd worked at the Mall, after all, and the muscle memory might have been a little out of practice, but it was still there.

He ran up the stalled escalator, long legs skipping every other step, until he reached the top, out of breath.

"Fuck," he bent over with his hands on his knees, panting. "Fuck. This is why I gotta quit smoking."

He'd taken the day off to surprise you; he and the guys were supposed to be recording today--their first album; it'd taken long enough--but this was bigger and he wanted to be there for you.

Needed to be there.

It wasn't every day that his best friend and beloved--the love of his life--his dear Store Manager...wasn't going to be a Store Manager anymore.

You'd both broken the news to each other on the same day. For weeks you'd only mentioned small developments in passing, never letting your hopes get too high just in case of a let down.

"We're getting signed," he announced as you'd collided into one another outside of your apartment building. "It's happening we're getting signed and we're gonna make a whole fucking album sweetheart!"

"Oh my god!" you shrieked. "Holy shit Ed!"

"No more weird touring schedules for fests, no more begging to get a song on the radio during the 3am broadcast, it's happening!" He cupped your cheeks and peppered kisses around your face.

"It's happening for me too," you laughed and tried to shake him away. "I got the job."

"What?!" he squished your cheeks harder until you jabbed him lightly in the stomach to get him to let you go.

"I got the job," you laughed, head tilted back as you announced it to the world. "Eddie, baby...you're looking at the new associate manager of Visual Development."

You'd spent the night indulging on a deep dish pizza, fucking making love, and talking about the future.

Maybe you could buy a house...maybe you could get a puppy...take an actual vacation someplace and not just a weekend trip to the Dells or wherever Corroded could find a gig...the possibilities were endless...

But from that moment on, it was a whirlwind.

The band had gotten started right away, signing contracts and working with the small label that had seen their potential and believed in them.

And now, a few weeks later, it was here. Your big day. Your last day as a Store Manager at Claire's, before you went off to their home offices to tell people what color scrunchie was gonna be big for the season.

There were a bunch of purple and pink balloons tied to the sandwich board outside of your store, and as Eddie got closer, he could hear snippets of conversation as your associates asked you about your new position.

"Have you seen your office yet?"

"Yeah, I have," you laughed.

"Is the desk pink?"

"No but the walls are."

"Do you get your own cell phone?"

"Probably not. I'm not the CEO guys. I'm just a manager."

"Are you gonna have to wear business suits?"

"No," Eddie answered for you as he quickly snuck up behind you. You jumped as his arms wrapped around your waist, but you quickly melted into the embrace. "But she's not gonna have to wear clothes from Seventeen Magazine anymore either."

"Yeah," you sighed. "It really sucks to wear clothes from the juniors department once you're past 30. They're just not made the same way."

"Gotta take your word for it sweetheart, I'm not 30 for another few months," he blew a raspberry against the side of your neck and squeezed you tightly in his embrace.

Your associates all sighed dreamily at the sight of the two of you canoodling—power couple who?—and Eddie was thankful for this once-in-a-lifetime chance that you wouldn't just swat him away for PDA while you were on the salesfloor.

"I'm sorry this is coming from the man who still dresses the same as he did when he was 17," you laughed and reached back to pluck at his battle vest that had only accumulated more pins and patches over the years.

"I'm very sorry that I'm not trendy, sweetheart." He kissed your cheek. "But I'm what you would call timeless."

"I'd like a divorce." You pulled his left hand away from your torso so you could attempt to pull the band off his ring finger. "Effective immediately."

"We're not married," he murmured teasingly in your ear. "Or did you forget?"

"You finally gonna seal the deal Munson?" you whispered back. "It's only been 10 years."

"Just so you can file for divorce? I don't think so."

"What if I trade you my longevity pin? I think it would look nice on your vest."

"How about...I take you to lunch first?" he asked, voice back to its normal volume. "And we negotiate the terms and conditions? She's got her big corporate lady pants on, trying to get me to sign a contract."

"I guess I could pencil you in," you feigned annoyance and then looked to your assistant manager. "Let me ask my secretary."

Both you and Eddie stared at them expectantly.

"Get out of here," they laughed at your antics. "Before I kick you out; so sweet, you guys make me gag sometimes."

---

The rest of your final shift was eventful, and Eddie sat in the chair of the Ear Piercing station while you chatted with your regular customers and received one visitor after another.

Old employees and coworkers, your mom who made you take a picture with the whole team, and then a very cheesy one with Eddie who dipped you for a kiss at the very last second.

Jen had come around close to 5 to bring even more balloons and a cake, and had made jokes that she was gonna have to haunt the corporate offices even more now.

"So we can talk shit, obviously," she joked.

Eddie had called Kyle up, who was now managing a store in Milwaukee, to tell him both bits of good news and Kyle had made the drive down to bring a sentimental gift to both of you on your last day.

A picture frame with a collage of polaroids from your years at StarCourt. There was a filmstrip from one of the photo-booths that depicted a younger you and Eddie, making funny faces and staring longingly at one another.

"You left this in the stock room once upon a time," he told Eddie as he pointed it out specifically. "That was before you were dating too. I squirreled it away and forgot about it but was gonna keep it in case you never got the courage to ask her out. And look at the two of you now."

"Yeah, Eddie watched you as you caressed the glass. "Look at us now."

"I still think I should have won the bet," Kyle sniffed bitterly.

You had scheduled yourself to close, and you were expertly restocking the scrunchie wall as the last few customers shopped.

Eddie kept snaking his arms around you and switching this scrunchie here for that one there, and you'd whine and complain about him messing up the color flow. Still, you never made any effort to stop him, and each time you stomped your foot petulantly, he would drop a smooch right on your cheek to "earn" your forgiveness.

"You know, this is what I was doing when we first met," you recalled after a few kisses. "Officially met."

"What?" Eddie asked.

"Restocking scrunchies."

"You sure?" he frowned and tried to think back. He vaguely recalled...bracelets of some sort...or had he just been looking at the jewelry. He'd been so nervous to ask you out back then...it was all a blur.

And he hadn't really even asked you out at that time either. Jesus Christ, what a loser he'd been.

Where would the two of you be now if only he hadn't fumbled on that first not-date? Right where you were now? Maybe broken up? A lot of the growing the two of you had done had been done with the soft buffer of friendship first...it almost caused his heart to ache to think that they might have caused an end to a relationship if things had been different.

Because now he couldn't imagine what his life would be like without you.

"You still haven't let me pierce your ears," you leaned in close to him, nose brushing against his, and teased him.

Eddie froze and then backed away.

"Well," he licked over his bottom lip pensively. "It is your last day...the last hour of your shift too...I think I could be persuaded."

You squealed and ran to get the forms ready. You didn't even let him fill them out, you just pushed him back into the seat he'd been occupying all day as you got it all ready.

"No more being afraid of needles babe," you cackled, the kind of cackle he'd only ever heard when you were being especially devious or evil.

"I have tattoos," he argued, trying to stand from the chair in protest, but you pressed your hand to his chest to get him to sit back down. "I have a ton of tattoos; if I was afraid of needles I wouldn't. Your logic is flawed."

"Yeah ok Spock," you dismissed his reasoning. "This one takes a chunk out of you though, so it's different."

"What argument are you trying to win here baby? Are you trying to get me to get my ears pierced or are you trying to get me to admit I'm afraid."

"Dealers Choice."

"You're lucky I love you," he grumbled.

You were silent for a while as you marked his ears, as you snapped on your gloves, and readied the piercing gun.

Was he afraid? No. He trusted you. But damn if the anticipation wasn't making him sweat a little.

Eddie closed his eyes as he prepared himself for the next step, but you paused and made one quick run across the store before returning.

"Alright I have one last important question to ask you," you began, and he peeped an eye open to see you standing there with your hands behind your back. "It's the age old question and I don't think we ever got a solid answer."

You revealed your plunder and then stared at him expectantly.

"Take your pick: broken hearts or gummy bears."

Eddie went soft as he stared at the two sets of studs backed by purple carding: little black broken hearts and the neon green gummy bears.

It was the age old question wasn't it? The first question he asked you before he even asked you out.

"See, if it was still 1985," he tilted his head back and forth, "I think this would be a hard one to figure out."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. But uh," he reached out and pointed to his choice. "Now it's a no brainer."

"Seriously?" you laughed.

"Seriously."

"And why are you, Eddie Munson, lead singer of Corroded Coffin, the most metal band on Earth, picking the Gummy Bears?"

"Sweetheart," he singsonged, pausing for dramatic effect. "I think you know."

"I don't think I do," you parroted.

"Ugh," he scoffed and turned his head. "I guess I am the more romantic of the two of us."

"Answer the question, Cassanova."

"Sweetheart," he turned back to you, hand over his heart. "It has to be the gummy bears."

"Has to be?"

"Must be."

"Because..."

"Because I can confidently say that my heart is never gonna be broken if I have you around."

Your challenging gaze softened and Eddie swore that he saw tears at the corners of your eyes. For a moment he didn't know if you were gonna kiss him or start crying.

"Shut the fuck up," your associate shouted from across the store, ruining the sweet moment. "That was so adorable. Oh my god."

"Language Chels!" you scolded her good-naturedly.

And then, in those last few minutes of your career as a store manager, you kissed Eddie softly on his forehead...on his lips...and then punched holes right through both of his earlobes in rapid succession.

"Fuck!" He screamed. "Fuck!"

"I love you," you chuckled at him.

"Yeah. Love you too..." he grimaced. "Fuck! I love you."

---

Thank you for reading The Store Manager Verse.

#store manager verse #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #Eddie Munson smut #Eddie Munson fic #stranger things fic

[daydream-cement]

Ooohhhh been obsessing with your work!! When you have time can you maybe do a flirty reader who has a crush on Larissa and likes to tease and flirt with her with funny sexual harmless innuendos. Larissa can’t help but blush all the time. One day Larissa was like f@ck this and slams reader on the wall and kiss her. Reader suddenly gets shocked because never in her life would she expect this to happen and even if she really is a big flirt she is secretly a virgin lol. Reader suddenly became embarrassed since with all the jokes and flirting she did on Larissa she actually have zero experience. How would Larissa react when she finds out her minx of a reader is a virgin?

The Flirt

Larissa Weems x Reader

Authors Note: No smut, but people can use their imaginations.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite customer. Don't you look incredibly gorgeous today..." You grinned widely at Larissa Weems, who was still approaching the register. She would visit the diner you worked for lunch three times a week, always ordering her same half a sandwich with a side salad.

For months you had been flirting with her, not interested in hiding the fact that you found her to be intoxicating. There was no doubt she was the most beautiful person you had ever met and you wanted to make it known.

"Ah, Y/n. You always flatter me." Larissa (as always) brushed off the compliment, pulling out her wallet to pay for the lunch she knew would be ready on the counter behind yourself.

"I just need to make sure someone tells you. Have you given a second thought to that date? Dinner at my place? I'll make your sandwich and salad just how you like it and what ever happens... happens..." You give her a wink as you take her cash and pop open the till to get her change.

"Forever the charmer. I'm afraid I don't sleep with the people who make my lunch. Where else would I go for a decent meal?" She laughed lightly as she took her change, depositing the bills and coins into their rightful place. Larissa had always seen your flirting as a way to tease one another, never had she taken you seriously.

"I never asked to sleep with you..." You turned to grab the brown bag that contained her lunch, but you hesitated giving it to her so you could talk with her longer, "But now that you mention it..."

Larissa shook her head, unable to hide her smile, and held out her hand, "Hand it over."

"Aren't you gonna give me a kiss first?" You tease leaning forward a bit, tapping your cheek where you hoped she would grant you a kiss.

Her smile faded and she shook her head. When she realized you were only half joking, she leaned in to press a kiss to your cheek. You let your guard down, almost shocked this was about to happen after months of relentless flirting. She yanked the brown bag from your hand and pulled away from you, a triumphant smile gracing her lips, "Have a wonderful day."

-----

When Larissa hadn't come in for her usual, you felt particularly concerned. She never missed getting lunch from you, even if she sent another teacher to get it from you. The lunch rush was surprisingly slow, so you easily convinced your coworker to cover for you so you could drive Larissa's lunch to the school.

You had never been to Nevermore before, only ever hearing stories from the locals about the outcasts who lived here. The building was quite beautiful, but she shear size of it made you wonder how you would possibly find Larissa. With the guidance of a few different students, you finally found Larissa's office, knocking on the door twice before hearing her voice granting you access, "Come in!"

"Y/n... what are you doing here?" Larissa was completely shocked to see your face enter her office. Before you could respond, her eyes fell to the brown paper bag in your hand, "Did you bring me my lunch?"

"Well when my favorite customer didn't show up, I knew I had to deliver this myself." You stop midway on the walk to her desk, narrowing your eyes at her dress as she stands to greet you, "Wait one moment..."

"What? Is there something wrong with my dress?" Larissa looks down to her outfit, turning and scanning the fabric for a stain or tear.

"No. I just like looking at you..." You smirk and let out a small laugh when Larissa rolls her eyes at your flirtation. She continues moving around the edge of her desk, coming to rest against the side closest to you with her arms folded over her chest. You approach her and hold out the lunch to her, "I even added a little treat for you... It's not as sweet as you, but-"

Larissa's hand grabbing your wrist instead of the bag caught you off guard. She pulled you closer, making your heart beat wildly in your chest. Was this really happening?

"You really must stop the phony flirting. You are going to break my little heart when I find out you haven't meant a word." Larissa's tone suggested she was messing with you, but when you looked up into her eyes, you knew she was completely serious.

"It's not phony." You narrow your gaze, frowning at her assumption. Your eyes wander down her body before glancing back up into her eyes, "You are simply one of the most beautiful people I've ever met. I would do anything for a date with you."

Larissa's grasp on your wrist loosened, but you didn't move away from her, rather you shifted a centimeter closer. Her eyes caught yours for a moment before looking away. Was she nervous?

"I've never stood this close to your before..." You whisper as you study her face. She had a divine scar above her lip and you wondered if you could feel it under your lips or tongue if you were to kiss her. You look away when she doesn't respond. Never did you want to make her uncomfortable, "Maybe I should go. Enjoy your lunch."

You push the brown bag and turn to leave. Larissa tossed the lunch on her desk and followed your every step, pushing the door shut when you began to open it. When you turn around to face her, wanting to enquire why she wasn't letting you leave, her other hand pushed against your stomach, pinning you against the door. Her lips crash to yours without a moments hesitation.

Larissa's hands wandered to your hips as she deepened the kiss. While you tried enjoying the kiss, her knee between your legs made your head pound and your chest tighten. You weren't ready for this. Larissa was ready for so much more, but your inexperience made you hesitant.

Her lips traveled down your jaw to your neck, but she paused when she felt your body go rigid. She pulled away, concern filling her eyes, worried she had done something to upset you, "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"No.. No, no, no. Larissa.. I-" You wince at the information you were about to relay her, "I am a virgin."

"You? My little flirt?" The possessiveness of the nickname made you smile. Larissa took a step back from you, offering you some space from her wandering lips and hands.

You nod in response, a blush beginning to creep across your cheeks.

"Perhaps we can start with that date? And see how things progress from there?" Larissa brought a hand to your cheek and cocked her head as she spoke gently to you.

"That sounds wonderful."

#larissa weems x reader #larissa weems #principal weems #principal larissa weems #wednesday netflix #fanfic #oneshot #gwendoline christie

[tatumslollipop]

♡ Soon Darling ♡

Pairing: Yandere!Wanda Maximoff x Witch!Reader

TW: Stalking, Badly portrait witchcraft,bad grammar, and mentioning of death and cancer

Something has been following me for the past months. I never saw the person but I just know it's there. It's been freaking me out so I stayed at my friend's house for the last few weeks after not feeling safe alone anymore. Sometimes I get these visions of someone whispering stuff in my ears that I can't seem to understand and them caressing their hands gently over my shoulder. It's been happening more in the last weeks. And this night I heard what the person was saying "Soon we will be together again. Soon darling".

I've been telling myself that i'm just going insane but I can't convince myself to believe this anymore. My Mom was a witch she teached me the basics of witchcraft until she past away a few years ago due to cancer. That's why I now only live with my dad, he works in a office so he's away most of the time so I learned to take care of myself. I am now at my house. My friend drove me here so I can get some things like clothes and other stuff. When my mom died she left me a box of her belongings, she told me to open it when i'm 18. My birthday is tomorrow so I am already taking it with myself. Then I grabbed some more stuff I needed and my friend and I drove back to her house. Her Mom and my Mom have been friends since middle school so we went to her house often and me and Victoria got friends quickly. Her mom is also a witch and she is too. "Are the visions getting worse again?" She asked while driving. "Yes, I can't really get sleep anymore. I'm scared. I think we should really do that spell you wanted to do." I said. Victoria advised to put a protection spell over me so no magical being could get to me or reach out to me.

When arriving at her house we immediately got everything ready to do the spell. I lighten the candles while she is pouring holy water around the circle to shield it from any bad spirits. When practising the spell I could feel something inside of me fighting to stay inside of me. It's trying to take over me. It's stronger than anything I have ever fought. The earth started to shake, we started to levitate and my friend was continuing. After what felt like an eternity I fought it. And we finished the spell. It was like nothing I have ever felt before. I felt so strong. My friend looked at me stunned. "What?" I said confused and giggling. "Your eyes they turned purple. There is only one witch that can do that. The Violet Witch. I thought it was only a myth." She said shocked. The Violet Witch is the strongest witch there is, even stronger than The Scarlet Witch. She died a long time ago but said to return again. So this is now. "No that can't be true the Violet Witch isn't real." I continued talking but then I got an idea. I grabbed the box my mom gave me and opened it. Inside of it were a letter,books and jewelry. I opened the letter and it says:

Dear Y/N,

if you are reading this then I am dead and you are 18 and have to face the truth. All my life I wanted to protect you from your faith but I learned I couldn't. You are the Violet Witch. It might seem scary and hard but you need to face your destiny. In the jewelry box is a necklace out of amethyst and it's for protection it tells you when there is a danger around by changing it's colour to red. The books are magic books they have all the knowledge of witchcraft and magic inside of them. But I know you can't do this alone so I asked a old friend of mine to help you with your journey and finding out everything about your power. Agatha Harkness. She is the only one I could trust with this mission. She is gonna take you today and teach you. I hope you'll find peace with yourself. I will always love you. Stay strong and safe for me.

Mom

I could feel cold tears running down my face while reading this. "What does it say" Victoria asked. "My m-mom... she-" I cried and then I felt warm arms wrapping around me. "It's okay" She said gently. After a few minutes I calmed down so much I could tell her about what was written inside the letter. "Do you know this Agatha Harkness?" she asked her I just shook her head. "Maybe my mom knows her. Come on, let's ask her" She said taking my hand and leading me to her mom inside their living room. We immediately got greeted by her mom with a big smile "Hi Kids. What's up?" "We wanted to ask you if you know a Agatha Harkness?" "No- I don't know her" Her mood seemed to have changed instantly when hearing this question. I knew something was up but I didn't want to bother the woman anymore so I simply said "Okay" and walked out of the room with Victoria to her room again.

"That was weird" she said while sitting down on the bed "I never saw her like that" she continued while fidgeting around with her hairbrush on her bed. "Yeah it was" I answered her. Then I let myself fall on the bed beside her "This is all so crazy. I mean one day you get stalked by some magic being and the next you find out you are an super witch. I don't know how to deal with this" "I know this might seem hard but I will always be there for you." "Thank you Vic. You're the best." I said and then hugged her. I never wanted to let go. It could stay like this forever but I knew it wouldn't. After some time of shit talking and playing games it was time for us to fall asleep. I made myself ready for bed but couldn't sleep the words of the unknown woman still hunting me.

"Soon we will be together again. Soon darling"

I mean what is that even supposed to mean. Again?. I don't even know her. Or do I?

A/N: This is a little different from the normal marvel comics and movies but I hope you don't mind too much. Should I make a part 2?

#yandere!wanda #wanda x you #wanda maximoff x reader #yandere!wanda maximoff x reader #im delulu #witchcraft

[ambcass]

ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴛɪᴍᴇ

"ᴡᴀʟʟʏ ʜᴀꜱ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ ʙᴜᴛ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ'ᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴇᴇʟ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴀᴍᴇ ᴡᴀʏ."

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ/ᴛᴀɢꜱ: ꜱᴡᴇᴀʀɪɴɢ (??), ᴀɴɢꜱᴛ, ʜᴜʀᴛ/ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ᴄᴏᴍꜰᴏʀᴛ, ᴘᴇᴛ ɴᴀᴍᴇꜱ, ʏᴊᴀ ᴡᴀʟʟʏ!! <3

a/n: request are open! I'll make a part two if i feel like it

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Wally isn't desperate for a relationship, at least I don't think he is. Sure he flirts with every girl he finds attractive but he's just doing it out of boredom. Right?

I was sitting on my couch doing my missing homework. It's not like I don't understand school, it's just I don't have time to do it. Ever since I became a hero, I hardly had time for any non-hero things. I was on the verge of falling asleep until I heard knocking on my door. I got up , headed over to the door, and opened it halfway. A boy with short fluffy red hair greeted me. I fully opened the door and gestured that he was welcomed in. He walked in and sat down next to my homework. I closed the door and sat next to him. I was confused, lost even. I had no idea why he came in here without a word but it had to be important.

"Are you gonna talk or not, Wally?" I asked, crossing my arms. He looks around the room and gets all fidgety. "Earth to Wally? Hello?!" He snapped out of his trance and turned to me.

"Sorry," He stares at my homework, grinning at the not-so-smart excuse he cooked up. "Is the math homework due last week? Geez babe, you really have to learn how to turn in things on time" He gave me "those" eyes again. Those innocent eyes. He's up to something, I just know it.

"Don't start. Why are you here Wally? What do you want-NEED from me?" I got up and crossed my arms. Wally stood up and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Look-I just really want to talk right now. It's an emergency," he spoke to me in this tone. As if he knows something will happen. Something bad. "Please don't hate me after this," He mumbled to himself. He took a deep breath and asked. "You know how I flirt with people, right?" I nodded. "And you know I can't help it, it's my charm" he chuckles and I smile.

"But?" I asked. He sat down and let out a big sigh.

"But I don't expect an actual relationship with them...So to get to my point. There's this person. This really they are the most attractive, smart-ish, and warmhearted person I ever met. I just can't tell them how I feel. Their answer will affect me mentally AND maybe even physically." Wally was almost at his limit. I could tell that he really liked this person.

"Wally. You know you can talk to me about anything." the soothing sound of my tone assured him that he could tell me anything.

"I don't know how to tell you this but for a long time I wanted to be more than friends," Wally said. He stared at me with a soft smile. I wanted to feel the same. I really did.

"I-Wally. I will always be there for you. I care about- and love you so much...I just can't love the way you love me. I don't want to hurt your feelings but I'm just gonna hurt you more if I pretend to like you that way." His smile turned into a face of regret. His eyes looked like they lost the spark in them. He turned away but I saw a tear come out from his eyes.

“Wally I’m so sorry. Please let me help you!” I screamed. I couldn’t stand him like this. I tried reaching out but he shoved my hand out of the way.

“Listen. You are the most wonderful person ever. Swear on it. But I just want a break, okay?” he muttered between his tears. Tears flooded my eyes. This heart aching feeling made me feel unsteady. I’m better than this. I have to be. Before Wally stepped foot out the door, I needed him to know that I cared about him.

“Wally, I care about you so much and I’m sorry that can’t give you the love you deserve. I’m sorry that I will never be the one for you. But you deserve better than me. You can talk to me and I’ll be here, waiting for you, always.” He chuckles softly,

“Right back att’ya, babe.”

#ambcassspeaks #ambcasswrites #wally west #wally west x you #jaime reyes #wally west x reader #wally west fanfic #wally west angst #angst with no happy ending #kid flash x reader #kid flash #mild angst #angst #xolo mariduena #angst fic #fluff if you squint your eyes #dc x reader #dc angst #dc comics #heaadcanons #oneshot #angstshot #fluff #young justice #wally west young justice #female reader #gn reader #male reader #x female reader #reader is gn

[sea-of-dust]

Could we get please some headcanons about Ann and Haru with a s/o that no one thinks is her s/o? Like everyone, especially strangers, people in the modelling world, and high society folks, always think s/o is just a friend, family member, assistant, pity date, someone they pay to keep away suitors, etc, and they just don't think that a super model or rich heiress would date someone as average as her s/o?

Fancy tuna?

Ann,Haru x GN! Reader

So what if my s/o isn't as popular or as rich as me it's what's personality that counts right?

notes: YOU WALKED URSELF INTO THAT HEADER IM SORRY. Ima need a name for persona annons yall are just sucking my soul out my body 💀

Warning: spoilers for okumuras palace

"Who are you texting while giggling like a pixie" "Ann" "Ann? You only-" your friend stares at your screen to various I love you texts between both of you with you just about to finish typing out plans for a date. "YOURE DATING TAKAMAKI?!" "were in a library"

Even after a week of knowing he still can't wrap his head around it. YOU?! TAKAMAKI?! And then it kinda all made sense the more he thought about it. The rest of the school? Nah they just wanted something to complain about. "You're not even that popular how could she wanna date you?" "Have you seen how rude the popular kids are" you yawn waiting for the three people to finish speaking only slightly waking up to hear a familiar voice saying something along the lines of "Leave em alone!" "But Takamaki they're so average what do they have that I dont!" "A life that's what" she huffs linking arms with you and dragging you off with her "what nerve" "Relax I wanna fill out my bingo sheet for how many times they said that"

Surprisingly people didn't really come by as you thought they would only just kinda theorized. Surprisingly all you had to do was just show off your talents and then they just kinda understood why. "Hey y/n do you mind helping me with this" you lean over them looking at their screen. Ann would have considered that kid the luckiest person alive you carefully instructing them with such a gentle look in your eyes. Most rumors kind of cleared up after that.

She's quite protective of you out and about as soon as someone asks what you're doing on set she's saying it bluntly "we have a date after this" wide eyed stares go your way before they get back to the shoot. They never got to ask because of Ann shooting glares at them.

It was dumb when Ann pointed it out but whenever youd just stop by to eat somewhere there would be people staring at her and then at you and then back at her. It got to the point youd stare back and you two would just make a game to see who could stare back at the most people

If they ever did get under your skin shed be pissed! But you matter more than those guys. She's always ready to comfort you. "So what? I'm with you because of how you are and how you don't just see me as an object" she pulls you in for a hug. "I'll make sure of it they quit talking behind your back" "I'm more worried for you Ann" she sighs putting a kiss to your forehead. "It's fine just a glare and they shut up real quick orr" she searches for a small bracelet. "Lets just make it more.." she ties it around your wrist with one already around hers. "Perfect! Everyone's gonna know now" getting you to giggle while crying is something she loves doing, she's gonna keep matching with you now just to show you off to people to flex who she's with.

You shouldn't piss off the girl with the axe is something that rings true. As soon as someone asks she grabs your waist firmly with something a bit passive aggressive or "Why they're just such a good cook how could I ever pass them up" "so you have them around only to cook? There's way better butlers-" "then perhaps you've never experienced what it's like being with someone that you didn't have to pay off" she huffs taking off with you.

Very close to you at all times when you're together she's hearing you breath. "You're so warm" "you sure the sun's not getting to you?" "Nope" all cuddled up to you while your walking somewhere thank god the tablod articles didn't catch clear shots of you two.

Okumura can't say anything about your relationships but the guy she was forced to marry by him does. Just because the guys dead dosent mean you can just take his wife! He's fuming, unfortunately he can't really do anything about it. "HOW DARE A COMMONER EVEN TRY TO MARRY MY WIFE" "sir without okumura I'm afraid we can't do anything about it" "NON-" and then the convent security cam footage of you looking straight at the camera as if knowing hes talking about you, with narrow eyes and a clearly annoyed look. "Yea- you know let's just find another ya know!"

You fully expect people to come for your status whenever Harus involved, unfortunately for her want for blood, you're pretty fine at public speaking yourself. "Why a civilian dating a rich girl is outragous" "Why it's ironic for you to say such a thing when as soon as Okumura fell you swarmed my poor lover like flies trying to make alliances, really seems like I'm the only one around her without some sort of motive" the person who said that did go whinning to Haru only to be met with a totally not very passive aggressive letter.

shop keepers that know her always flip when they know youre dating. One of their sons did an actual flip too was incredible. But theyre always asking how you two met, sometimes they asked what you like about eatchother and you felt as if Haru was ready to pull out a shopping list over this. "maybe we shouldnt" "no i insist i specialize in these questions" this is also why you usually have flowers in your room or accessories that remind you if her that she totally didn't sneak on while you weren't looking.

They almost never get under your skin, but if they do strike a cord, she'll know. She's already brought a blanket you like as well as snacks. "They're quite cruel because of status" she wrapped the blanket around you "but status is all they have" she scoots closer to you, hugging you. "Please don't worry about it too much if you want we can think of ways to insult them" her smile too warm for that sentence, you embrace her tightly "that sounds fun" "it's great"

#haru okumura #ann takamaki #persona 5 #persona x reader #persona 5 x reader #x reader #gn reader #gender neutral reader #fluff #persona 5 royal

[dreamtydraw]

i am asking about derek and cerise. tell me EVERYTHING!!

WELL HELLO FRIEND !

First off, thanks you for asking about the babes 😔💕 i shall over writte about my otp for everyone's delight.

But before that here little doodles.

OK NOW DON'T MIND ME i'm gonna ramble becausethis ship is pining.

Sure, sure, cove x cerise was pining but they confessed when they were 13.

Derek and Cerise ??? took them 10 years to realize the other liked them.

As shown, Cerise did not talk but she was nice and she has her charm, she was a cute girl with a kind heart so that is why the first time Derek managed to make her laugh this was a huge victory.

After some time talking around him became easier to try. She said hi, she asked for the ball and slowly she started to talk with him and have full speaking conversation together.

Then one day summer started to approach its end and it felt sad. Cerise didn't like school and she didn't like the idea of not seeing her friend and them Derek asked "do you like boys ? I mean would you consider being with one"

cerise brain went :

"maybe?"

So they made the 10 years pact. It was sweet, to have someone who you could trust to have in your life in the future, and at that moment, even with all the signs, it occurred to neither of them that in the present, someone wanted to be here.

They saw each other less and less until they both got their phone. Age and distance occurred and it was during this period that Cerise realized her feelings toward her friend. It was hard to find time to see each other but they kept calling and texting.

She tried her way to show affection by sending letters and taking pics "oh this reminds me of" "I think you may like it" and "would be nice if we went here". Sadly even with all the effort they could make, distance was here.

Derek loved cerise, he knew she liked crackers and had terrible balance control, he knew she liked green and that every week she would send him pictures of seagulls or sunset after school.

Cerise loved Derek, she knew when he had games and tried to send messages before the events, she tried to learn about what sport he liked the most and how his family was doing, how school treated him.

They both knew and loved each other, but couldn't realize that they were also loved the way they dreamt they were.

"he's just being nice, derek has always been polite"

"she's just being friendly, she likes to share her stories"

also with distance: miscommunication and doubt

Derek had a lot of friends back there, Cerise didn't know what it might feel like to be that liked, but she knew that meant there could be people who liked him as she does and there is nothing she could do about it because of that life. For a long time, Derek's selfless attitude just make him think he had no chance, then one day... Baxter arrived (yeah causing angst here too, I will talk about Baxter and Cerise when his DLC comes out ).

Baxter is really a special person in Cerise's heart. He is the first friend she managed to make by herself and engage with on her own. This role of his first step toward being more sociable is something she badly hides, Cerise openly shows affection and interest toward her friend. This lead to Cerise's talk drifting from what she did that day to Baxter, talking a lot about Baxter. How they hang out that day, how he offered her a ride, how she gifted him a bracelet.

The more she talked about Baxter, the more a little feelin' started to grow on Derek's side. Any hope was dead at this point.

They both think they have no chance with each other Derek totally throws away any possibility as he wants to be suportive but Cerise still holds to it with her new confidence. Both have a lot of conflict regarding school and career at this point in life, so their relationship isn't on the radar at this point. When summer 2021 rolls in and they have a chance to meet after all this time there is a mix of so many things, maybe it's not the right time and it will never be.

It's been so long since they hang out only by themself and this meeting is planned purely platonically. I won't develop here to not spoil the events of Derek's DLC but to the one who read it, the Park scene hit hard for both. They kept so many things for themself and worries mixed with support made it a hard night.

Regardless Cerise view Derek as a very important person to her, so even though it's been years, her ease to interact with him staying, and being around each other felt natural again. It's nice to know that after all this year, they do have someone here for them. During this reunion, she finally confesses her feelings and they both feel a lot of things but mainly they think of how dumb and oblivious they have been for years.

Still here? Oh helloooo there, thank you for reading. Fun facts about this idiotic couple will arive soon

#doodle #my art #my oc #Olba #Our life #our life beginnings & always #derek suarez #Olba derek #Our life mc #dreamty's ramble

[mx-ryder]

Some thoughts on Hazbin Hotel

I literally just watched HH this week, followed by binging Helluva Boss on YouTube right after. And my Dash is full of HH and HB stuff now. And the other day I saw someone posted their thoughts on the show, including one specific take that it falls right back under the typical "Sinners are bad but hey, we can fix them!" sort of trope. (I really don't know if I'll be able to find the post again, if I do, I'll reblog/link it here or something).

And hey, I'm not gonna argue that it doesn't, per se. I just think there's a bit more to it than that.

c.w for general religious trauma talk, SA mentions, drug use/abuse, alcohol use, addiction, gambling, probably other things I'm not thinking of

(Also please don't feel like you have to read this. It's literally just me rambling because I haven't been able to stop thinking about this topic all fucking day, so I wrote it down to get it out of my head. Obviously if you read it and want to comment/continue the discussion, feel free. Just please. Be respectful.)

Now.

All my thoughts on HH are very much colored by my past experiences with religion, US christianity, specifically. More specifically still, the sort of christianity that makes people believe that "home schooling" their kids, isolating and indoctrinating them away from anyone who might make them question it all, is the best course of action. I grew up bouncing from church to church, from home schooling co-op to co-op, all so my bio-mom could find the exact group to echo her own sentiments back at her.

Among the things I grew up believing were great ideas such as:

Sexuality is inherently disgusting, and something you should always be forcing down/avoiding/punishing yourself about. Masturbation, porn, sex before marriage, dressing "immodestly", and any sexuality outside of heterosexual were inherently evil and worthy of punishment. Sometimes that punishment was being assaulted, because really, she should've covered up, right? Girls, sometimes girls as young as 12-13 (if not younger) were villainized for wearing tank-tops and shorts, because they were causing the boys to stumble and immodesty was a moral failing on their part.

Drugs, alcohol, substances in general, are bad and wrong and using them, or heaven forbid becoming addicted, is a moral failing on your part. You are a bad person for consuming a drug, and therefore deserve to fall into addiction, houselessness, starvation, and/or abuse.

Poor people deserve it. Accepting help of any kind is leeching off good, hard-working people. Your worth as a person is directly tied to your ability to be a "productive member of society."

Any mental health issues are your fault, and are either because you don't believe in jesus hard enough, or because you're inherently broken and sinful and therefore unsaveable. There is no room for sympathy or empathy for anyone struggling.

There's a reason these are the same stereotypical archetypes you see in this sort of show. The queer sex-addict. The gambler. The "weirdo" who isn't like other people and enjoys "weird" things, or enjoys things "too much". Even just the party-girl character. Because these aren't just stereotypes. These are actual entire groups of people who are ostracized and vilified just for being who they were born to be, for making choices christians don't like, or for being sick.

And that brings me to Angel Dust. Who, by the way, I wish I could've been given a content warning about, because holy shit Ep 4 and Addict hit me really fucking hard. My friend recommended the show to me without having watched it, so I went in not expecting that sort of storyline to punch me in the gut out of nowhere.

Anyway! Angel Dust! Literally named after a drug. A gay porn star who flirts shamelessly with anyone and everyone, who proudly shows off his best films to his friends, who secretly hates his job, not because of the sex, as we come to find out, but because he's under the thumb of a fucking psycho who treats him like shit and actively physically, sexually, and mentally/emotionally abuses him. He's basically been trafficked, and hates that he doesn't have any say in what happens to him in front of the camera. It's a horrifying position to be in, and one that left me a little shaken up, tbf.

The take I'm mostly writing this based on is that Hazbin Hotel falls into the trite tropes of "rich white girl attempts to fix people who are below her" and specifically mentioned disappointment in how Charlie didn't try to argue that Angel Dust didn't deserve hell based only on his addiction or sexual past, but that she instead claimed that she could "fix him."

And I just . . . think that's a little bit of a black/white take.

For the first part, what would people rather she do? Put all her time, effort, influence, and power into trying her damnedest to help her people, who are being slaughtered by the thousands every year just because Adam is bored? Or sit at home and use all that time, effort, influence, and power to make rubber duckies like her father? She could just ignore everything going on, call it hopeless, give up, and ignore the suffering of her people. Would that be better? Would that satisfy this weird little "she's just a rich white girl with privilege" gripe?

Charlie is a rich girl. A princess. Someone with huge amounts of privilege, power, influence, etc. But you know what? She's also stuck in hell. She was born there, through no fault or choice of her own, and because of who her parents are, she is trapped in literal hell, with no hope of ever, ever ascending to heaven. She does not get a chance at redemption, because she was born to the wrong people. She is a young woman who was born into horrifying circumstances, living in a world that she frequently expresses disgust for (her frequent discomfort with sexuality, her disgust toward the cannibals, her dislike of violence, even necessary self-defense).

And she still loves her people and wants to see the best in them.

She would be completely justified in hating everything about hell, her life, the people around her, her parents, heaven, everything, really. She has every right to hate her entire existence, but she puts all that hatred for the system into her efforts to fucking do something about it. Why is that a bad thing, just because she was born into a position of power and authority??

And now on to Angel Dust.

Charlie never once makes a judgement call about Angel or his habits, his work, or his personality. She expresses discomfort with the sexual nature of his work (tbh wouldn't be surprised if she's a sex-repulsed ace), but she does not think he's a bad person because of his work. Nor does she think that he needs to stop doing his work in order to become a better/good person. When she tries to get him some time off, she's explicitly doing it because she wants him to have time to decompress and participate in activities at the hotel, not because she wants him doing less of his specific kind of work.

She never condemns his partying, either. She has a bar in her hotel! She defends him partying, right to heaven's face, because she knows everyone present has partied, everyone has enjoyed a drink with friends. There is no condemnation of his partying activities, and I don't think she ever makes it seem as though Angel needs fixing.

What I got out of that episode, watching Charlie passionately defending her friend in front of the worst fucking person in the universe, was that people do not need to be fixed, but some love and support can help them make better choices for themselves. Angel still has a good time. He still has his job (contract, y'know, but would probably be in the industry regardless). The only thing different about that particular night of partying is that he's out with people who care about him, and who he cares about.

Even Cherri, though she expresses some joking disappointment that he's spending so much time worrying about Nifty, doesn't actually seem that put out by it. She teases him a little, but leaves him to do his thing. And his thing is making sure his friend, who is less experienced at partying (and who is significantly smaller/more vulnerable than most other people), is safe and okay. His thing is defending his friends from an extremely dangerous person, at massive risk to his own personal safety.

And he didn't do any of this because he'd been "fixed" or because he'd "changed." He did it because, for possibly the first time ever, he has people around him who love and care for him, and who want the best for him. And who he loves and wants the best for in return. He said himself that he stays out of his mind on substances, allows himself to be drugged and assaulted, puts on this persona of care-free-crack-whore-who-only-thinks-about-sex, because he is trying everything in his power to dull the pain he's in. Because he doesn't believe he deserves any better.

And this, this is what Charlie is trying to show Heaven. She is trying to show them that there is nothing morally damning about alcohol consumption, or even drug use, sex work, or anything that makes Angel who he is. She's trying to show them that, with some love, care, and support, with a safe place to call home, with their base physical and emotional needs being met, people don't need to resort to the sort of destructive behavior heaven/Adam is condemning! People can choose to engage in these behaviors safely, consciously, and with people around them who want them to be safe and have a good time.

Then we get on to the idea that this entire episode ends on. Heaven doesn't know how people get there. They don't know what it takes to be "good enough" for heaven. Sera herself admits that Adam was just "the first soul in heaven," all but admitting that he's just there because he defaulted into it. (Though that does make me wonder, what about Abel? He would have died long before Adam, and considering how long Adam lived, and that there were plenty of other people around by the time he would have died, where were all those souls going??).

And Adam is the fucking worst! He is literally the worst, most selfish, violent, vulgar soul in the entire show, but he is allowed in heaven, for reasons no one even understands.

You know what the difference is between Adam and Angel?

Adam can't be fixed.

His behaviors are all destructive, not to himself, but to others. He insults, abuses, hurts, and kills with abandon. He made this weird, shitty deal with Hell and Lucifer because he wanted to murder innocent souls, because he was bored, and the rest of heaven doesn't even know about it. He has free reign to be an absolute piece of shit to everyone around him, damaging people left and right, and he will never face any sort of justice for it, because hey, he's already in heaven!

But Angel? Angel's behavior is all self-destructive. Again. He gets fucked up to dull his immense pain. He allows himself to be drugged and assaulted because he believes he deserves it. Because he's been told, for who knows how many thousands of years, that he's a whore anyway, so why shouldn't he be free to use for anyone who wants to take him? He has been beaten down, physically, emotionally, sexually, until he's a shell of a person who is struggling to find any reason to continue his shitty existence.

And he hurts only himself.

I mean, okay, he does piss off Husk sometimes, crosses boundaries/etc. But he and Husk pretty clearly fix that between themselves. There's no lasting damage there, and idk if anyone else noticed, but he stops that behavior pretty much entirely after that ep.

Angel is hurting. He is hollow, and hopeless, and trapped. And he does not need to be fixed, nor does Charlie ever attempt to do so.

All she does is reach out a hand, and say, "Hey, I see that you're struggling. This place is fucked up, isn't it? Maybe I can help."

Charlie is a flawed person. She takes her privilege for granted. She feels the immense weight of her choices, and the pressure of having taken responsibility for a people who may never want her help. She messes up, because somehow, she's endlessly cheerful and optimistic, despite her upbringing and the world she grew up in.

Charlie is flawed. But she's trying her fucking best. She isn't trying to fix. She's trying to help.

We all need some help, every now and then, don't we?

#non writing #not writing related #maybe kinda writing related? #story telling #story themes #story elements #themes and motifs #Hazbin Hotel #angel dust #charlie morningstar #hazbin hotel adam #religious trauma #narrative #storytelling #SA #abuse mentions #SA mentions #drug use cw #cw drugs #cw SA #cw abuse #cw religion #cw religious trauma #cw alcohol #cw gambling #cw self destruction #cw emotional abuse #rambling #media #media literacy

[genericpuff]

you ripped off your entire "theory" about LO being made for kids from Pyrrhic Victoria's latest video lol. Word for word, that's pretty hypocritical but then I guess that's to be expected from the person who still financially supports Webtoon and LO even though you've based your entire image off how much you supposedly hate LO

if I "ripped off" P&V then this is news to me because I've only watched each one of their videos once (they're long and they cover a SHITLOAD of topics, bruh) and it's been ages, BUT-

This honestly makes for a great segue to talk about opinion sharing in the fandom in general because ima be honest with you, there's like... only so much you can talk about in the LO crit community. Like as much as we make fun of the stans for all sharing one echo chamber of opinions, the ULO community isn't that much different in the sense of like, having the same takes and opinions about the topic we've chosen to unite on and being hyper passionate about it to the point of having the same conversations at least ONCE per week. Like it's just a webcomic about pink and blue people, a lot of takes are pretty much the exact same and that's not a BAD thing but ... both P&V and I have been in the ULO stratosphere for AGES now so ?? There's only SO MUCH to cover about LO before it all starts blurring together lmao I can't "own" an opinion, and they undoubtedly know that they can't "own" any one specific opinion either, especially within a fandom like this. C'mon now.

"LO is made for babies" or "LO is marketed to children" is also one of the way more common takes, that's like saying I'm ripping off panel redraw accounts for doing my own panel redraws. LO's been compared to other things that are commonly marketed to children like MCU films, Disney movies/shows, etc. time and time again because that's been SUPER common knowledge for YEARS now prior to any of us joining the community, regardless of "who joined first", it's literally WT's entire business model and it's pretty plainly obvious. The specific comparison I made was just one that came to me during a ramble on stream the other night and I wanted to put it to paper because that's what I do here. If that specific comparison has been made in the past already in a 3 hour video that I completely forgot/didn't realize, then great! I'm not the only one who came to this conclusion! Thanks for the validation!

None of this is with shade at P&V or even you, btw, I think it's honorable you want to stand up for them if you enjoy their stuff and I can't harp on you for that but like... this ain't it? Y'all gotta understand this community is still HELLA small as far as fandom culture goes, we all know everybody, have helped build these parts of the community together from cardboard and glue whether or not we still directly affiliate with each other, and share many of the same takes and schools of thought that stem back YEARS before even WE were in the community ourselves so it's kinda silly to try and point fingers at any one person and say "abc is ripping off xyz!" esp when the "ripping off" is just like, having the same opinion about something? A lot of both our takes also intersect with takes from other antiLO accounts and channels that pre-existed theirs and my own. It's a fandom, after all, no single person can lay claim to any specific opinion we're all coming from many of the same schools of thought with foundations that pre-exist us, it's just different people delivering their own unique spins on takes that have been heard many times before. Some of us do re-imaginings, some of us do panel edits, some of us just crack great jokes about it. We're not all pals with each other, we're not even all from the same platforms or community bubbles, but I think we're all pretty familiar with each other's content and what each one of us is about for the most part.

I know you're likely not gonna take "trust me" as a promise that I'm not ripping anyone off, but like... trust me, I'm not sitting here sifting through P&V's 15+ hour video backlog and going "huehuehue I'm gonna steal this!" because I would gain nothing from doing that and their content is ultimately just part of a bigger genre of topics and opinions that are constantly being re-assessed and re-discussed as the comic goes on, they were just the first ones to make an ongoing Youtube series about it (which is commendable in and of itself with how much content they've made around it, most other Youtubers just review it once in 20-90 minutes and call it a day).

P&V's contributions to these discussions have their own personal unique flair to them but the opinions themselves aren't all brand new revelations. Back when I still watched their videos, their alternate scenarios as to how something could be written were pretty neat because it came with their own unique experiences and viewpoints as webcomic creators which isn't something you'll find on every other account. But "LO is marketed to children and here's why" isn't exactly one of those takes because it's one we've all talked about in the community LONG before those videos even existed. And it's been talked about since before any of us were in the community, period. So... yeah, that's pretty much all I have to say on that lmao it's not that complicated, there's no "conspiracy" going on here, it's a Tumblr post about something that's already been talked about in the past by many others, my guy.

As a closing note, accusing me of being hypocritical on the basis of something you don't even have facts on like "financially supporting Webtoons and LO" is such a silly hill to die on, c'mon pal. You want me to stand here and tell you my side of it as if you're even gonna believe me? Because even if I do say "actually, I no longer even have the Webtoons app on my phone and I can't even remember the last time I paid for coins on the app because all the series I usually FP nowadays are on hiatus and I stopped FP'ing LO back at the start of S3" are you really gonna believe me? Did you even bother to read through the majority of this post? You want receipts or something? What do you want from me? I got nothing to hide, but I'm not gonna sit here and try to explain myself to someone hiding behind an anon filter who's already decided I'm a hack so idk what you want 🤣 Even if I did still FP the series, what then? There are people in this community who do still FP to keep up on content so they can keep talking about it, why is that a crime all of a sudden? Since when did this become some kind of weird "prove you're loyal" indoctrination? Or are you just mad my takes are basic?

#anon walks into an antiLO blog and goes 'you built your entire image around hating LO' #like okay welcome to red lobster ofc we serve lobster what else did you expect #welcome to social media where people show you what they want you to see #i do have a whole life outside of here y'know #y'all just don't know it exists because this is the only place where the majority of you engage with me #no shit it's gonna look like my life revolves around antiLO when that's the only menu you're being served #never mind the 2000 page webcomic series i worked on for a decade #or the day job i have that's not even related to comics at all #imagine really thinking one blog on tumblr is someone's 'whole image' #this place ain't even my whole night #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #antiloreolympus #lo critical #ama #ask me anything #anon ask me anything #anon ama #spicy post

[sleepy-gee]

temptation┊tbosas/skins

sejanus has to switch rooms on a school trip due to his roommate– and supposedly best friend– being a bit of a homophobic asshat. he ends up bunking with coriolanus, leading to some.. very, very interesting conversations... (based on 1x06)

word count: 1k

trigger warnings: some homophobia, suggestive content, cheating, peer pressure (ish)

a/n: tbh i don't really like anwar and don't care enough about him to give him a solid character in my au so he's gonna be interchangeable :] here he's represented by hilarius who i have selected to represent chris in my au!! also this is more of a "missing scene" than anything because i do plan on turning this into a full fic some day

It's not every day your next-door neighbor since childhood offers to give you head. “For comfort,” he said. “We're in Russia. I want to try something new! And you need comforting.”

The icing on the cake? Sejanus might have a bit of a crush on the boy as well…

The first time Coriolanus had asked, he knew it was a joke, but it still caught him off guard. Professor Sickle had decided it would've been a good idea to take the senior class on a trip to the remains of Russia to study the economy before the war that brought the downfall of most of the world– Including America. Russia was one of the only remaining places on the earth that still resembled the Old World.

Sejanus had originally bunked with his friend, Hilarius, for the trip, but after a few homophobic comments? He couldn't wait to get out of there. So, him and Festus (who was the straightest man alive– a perfect fit) swapped rooms, leaving Sejanus with Coriolanus.

“You wanna talk about it?” The blond asked him as he unpacked.. Or, rather rearranged. Their hotel room was small and dingy, it would be able to fit one person just fine but two boys? They were lucky their suitcases were so big. You could even argue that it was holding enough for three, since Coriolanus had packed more than enough for this trip. He was staying for a week, not a month.

Sejanus opened his mouth to say no originally, but decided against it. “.. I guess he's just decided to feel a different way on me being–”

“District?”

“No–”

“Short?”

“Gay!” Sejanus blurted out, turning around to face the other. Coriolanus only nodded, leaning back on the bed before flashing him a grin.

“I could give you head?”

The brunette nearly choked. “Wh– No!”

“It'd cheer you up.”

“For fuck's sakes, Coryo, you're my friend! I came to you with a problem, and you-”

“Slow down.” Coriolanus laughed, standing up. “C'mon.. We're in Russia. I wanna try something new.”

“It's not a hobby, Coriolanus, I–” Sejanus was cut off by Coriolanus’ lips on his own. It took nearly every ounce of his willpower to push him off. “Coriolanus, please! I'm not a hobby!” He began again. “This isn't canoeing or–”

“Eh.. Canoeing isn't really my thing. This could be.”

“What about Lucy Gray?” He asked, changing the subject. Maybe it'd bring him back to his senses.

“Lucy? She likes canoeing just fine.”

Sejanus groaned, covering his face with his hands. “That's– That's not what I fuckin’ meant..”

“Then what did you mean?”

The two boys were cut off by the door opening, and Lucy Gray's head poking through. Speak of the devil. “Sorry to interrupt.. Sej, y'mind if I talk to Coriolanus in private for a moment?”

Sejanus bit his tongue to refrain from lashing out. “No, yeah… Sure.”

The next time Coriolanus offered, it wasn't all fun and games. After a shitshow party and a bunch more arguments, Sejanus was ready to call it a night.. Which he couldn't even do because Lucy Gray was passed out drunk on his bed.

Whatever. Coriolanus got him into this situation, so it's only fair that he surrenders his bed for the night. The brunette slipped off his shoes and shirt before flopping down onto his bed, head throbbing already. He'd be hung over the next day without a doubt.

He had nearly dozed off when suddenly, something planted itself on his abdomen, forcing all the air out of his chest. Sejanus gasped, brown eyes flying open. He looked up to see Coriolanus sitting on top of him, baby blue dress shirt half unbuttoned, and sleeves rolled up. His blond curls were disheveled, probably from having run his hands through them so many times.

“C-Coryo? What the fuck-?!”

“My offer still stands,” Coriolanus whispered, grinning like a madman. “I saw you at the party.. You're the king of moping..”

“Coryo, please get off–” Sejanus looked away, desperate for an escape. Coriolanus just so happened to seat himself on his hips, applying just a tad bit of pressure to his already semi-hard cock. He really didn't need the added embarrassment of a boner.

He lifted his hands to push the blond off, finding his wrists caught and pinned down by the other. Coriolanus shifted, pressing against him harder, leaving Sejanus to swallow a groan that threatened to bubble out of his throat.

“Coryo..” Sejanus tried not to gaze down at his lips. He really did. But they were just so soft and plush and… Perfect. Coriolanus caught his gaze, and closed the distance between the two of them, kissing him for the second time this day. It was the first successful attempt, though.

Coriolanus’ grip on his wrists loosened. Sejanus took advantage of that, moving his hands up to cup his pale cheeks. When he felt a tongue prodding at his lips, though, he was brought back to reality. Gently, he pushed him off. “.. Coryo, we can't– Lucy Gray is–”

“Passed out drunk. She won't know..” Coriolanus persisted, kissing his cheek before trailing kisses down his neck.

“Still-! It's– It's wrong! We can't..” Sejanus sat up. “.. You're with her and you're not gay and–”

“Who said I'm not?” Coriolanus cut him off again, moving off of his lap. “I know you are.. So I figured maybe we could play around, huh? It'd just be two friends helping each other..”

“For fucks sake, would you listen to me for once?! That's what I've been trying to say, Coriolanus!” Sejanus paused. “We.. Can't mess around. Even if you are interested in men, you have a girlfriend.. Does she even know?!” Coriolanus shook his head no. “Then why are you doing this?”

Coriolanus shrugged. “Why not?”

“Oh, for the love of–” Sejanus grabbed his shirt from off the floor, sliding it back on before smoothing it out and standing up. “I'm going to stay with Clemensia..”

“You can't! Same sex pairing only, remember-?” Coriolanus called out, cut off by the slamming door.

#the ballad of songbirds and snakes #tbosas #tbosbas #thg #the hunger games #skins #skins uk #coriolanus snow #sejanus plinth #snowjanus #coriolanus x sejanus #tbosas au #skins au

[johanna-swann]

Okay, so here is how Buddie can still win without us throwing Marisol or Natalia under the bus and without them being just meaningless props:

Buck and Natalia date for a while (I'm thinking at least 5 to 6 months) and they take it relatively slow with the big steps like their first "I love you" and meeting the family and stuff like that. No rushing in, no moving to fast. They're really happy together.

Eventually they start talking about living together but can't really decide where that is supposed to be. Buck is all for abandoning the loft (fuck that loft), but Natalia's appartement isn't really that big either. They discuss looking for a new place together and Buck throws the idea of children into the room. He's just trying to be practical because moving is exhausting, especially in LA, and do they really wanna do that again in a couple of years?

And that's what eventually breaks the deal. Because Natalia can handle the dangers of the job (death is her job after all), she loves Buck's eccentricities, she loves his found family and they fit together really well. But she doesn't want children of her own. And that's not really a negotiable topic for Buck. Holding Kameron's baby in his arms really showed him how much he wants to be a dad. So they decide that even though they work as a couple and they're both rather heartbroken about this, they need different things for the future.

Eddie and Marisol have a really good relationship too. He thought she was kinda cool the first time they met and she just gets what makes him tick. He may not be in love yet, but he definitely has a crush on her. It's not like the thing with Ana. He was with Ana because he felt like that's what he was supposed to be doing, but he chose Marisol because he wanted to.

Everything is going great until one day over dinner Marisol says "I love you" and he can't say it back. Sure, he likes her. A lot. But love? She says it's okay if he's not there yet, she just wanted him to know. But as the weeks go by Eddie feels more and more uncomfortable with the situation. It's been months, why won't the big feelings just settle in? Where's the feeling of "I want more of this, I want to live with you, I want to marry you one day"?

Because in general, that is what Eddie wants. A life partner who he can share everything with. And he really likes Marisol. Why won't those two things just fit together? Marisol is a great person and patient, but at some point she notices Eddie's discomfort and sits him down to talk things over. Eddie answers her questions honestly because how else are they supposed to work things out?

At the end of the night she breaks up with him. She doesn't think that Eddie will just magically wake up one day and be madly in love with her and silently Eddie agrees. He's sad to see Marisol go and doesn't want to lose her. But it's not fair to her to keep her waiting for something that's just not gonna happen.

So coincidentally, Buck and Eddie end up single again roughly around the same time. Again. Neither goes back to dating. Eddie because if the past has shown him anything, it's that he can't force a relationship with a random stranger. Buck because he's scared of getting his hopes up again for something that the other person can't give. They just stay single and start spending more time with each other (and Christopher) again. They talk about their hopes and fears about dating and love. It just grows naturally from there.

And - magically or not - one day Eddie wakes up to the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen and the smell of fresh pancakes in the air and he steps into the room, eyes finding Buck and Chris next to each other sporting twin grins, and he's in love. Maybe the realisation should scare him, but it doesn't. It just feels normal. The sky is blue, the earth is round and Eddie Diaz is in love with his best friend.

He tells Buck later that day. It's a quiet moment, Christopher's working on a school project in his room, Eddie's washing the dishes, Buck dries. "I love you", he says calmly. There's no expectation behind it, no big speech following the statement. Buck looks at him. Surprised at first, a small smile beginning to light up his entire face. "Of course", he whispers, as if he should've known all along. "I love you too."

#buddie #911 fox #911 abc #evan buckley #eddie diaz #long post

[sugaroto]

There's a lot I wanna say about uni and how I feel about the whole shit, but imma start by one thing for now

"Friends"

I'm gonna take it from the begging

The first 2 days I was hanging out with a group of girls that were... too straight-girly for my liking and toxic

And when I say straight girly I don't mean "I like pink" or shit focus on the TOXIC part

Examples:

*girl leaves*

Toxic *literally 2 seconds later* she's a weirdo isn't she? You agree with me don't you?

*next day* Let's keep her around she's fun. The *[name_of_her_hometown]* gurl. Omg

(She literally called her the "Το [μερος] γκερλ" [μέρος] as in where that girl was from)

Example 2

"I can't have guys friends, they ALWAYS end up hitting on me and ruining the friendship, I only want gay queens for bffs"

Those 2 examples are actually of the same toxic girl

Oh also she's independent since 14 and has been smoking since then #cool #not like the others girls or something

Now, to be honest that group had a bunch of people, mostly girls, she was the most annoying,

I ended up keeping in touch with one girl from that group who we're gonna call Keila (used random name generator) who was actually cool

Before uni started we also met Floretta who I really liked cause she watches the same shows like me, like anime or good omens etc that kind of stuff, oh and also books like 6 of crows, she also knew what all for the game was and wanted to read it

In class we met Jessi... and I'm not sure how to describe her

And Beatrix who I don't remember when she appeared but she seemed nice and have become real close with Floretta

I am giving a description of these girls, cause supposedly that was the group of friends I made

Now, an ironic thing, one of the first days I was out with Floretta, Jessi and Beatrix (I think Keila was out of town or something) one of them asked if we knew that trend "where people bring food of different colors to a house gathering"

And I replied that "Oh my friends actually did that last year but I wasn't invited"

Jessi said "I would have not let that slide! The audacity" and stuff, in which I kind of tried to justify my school friends, bc if we're being honest I was mostly hanging out with other people at the time, and I was not this close with the girl that the party was at her house

And they said stuff like "We'll involve you now, in the stuff we'll do and all"

Guess what they did

Guess who was the only person they did not invite in shit they did

Well, we did do stuff at first, we had a sleepover at someone's house, we went to the cinema together... that I think

We sat together in class and all, and I could see that some of them were closer with each other than I was but I still thought we were a friend group

We didn't really hang out much lately, and too be honest the last... 8? Weeks I hadn't left the house on the weekends, daily I would go to uni for class and the canteen to eat with them but on the weekends I would stay inside the house for the whole 2 days... which was probably kind of lonely

Oh btw, there was a group chat, but nobody sent anything, they stopped texting right after a few days, and too be honest there were 2 other girls in the gc who found other friends and we stopped talking so I kinda expected someone would make a gc of the supposedly friend group we had

Anyways the other week, one of our classes got canceled, I stayed in and the next day Keila was describing to a girl from class what happened last night at Floretta's home on a sleepover and how Jessi got drunk and Beatrix slept etc

So I'm realizing they all had a sleepover and didn't tell me, but I'm not the kind of person that would make a big deal out of it even if I felt bad or something. I guess it was a last minute thing cause class was canceled (?) And didn't tell me cause I live in a different town 5 minutes away

Later that day Keila was telling Beatrix something like "I sent her(Jessi) *something something* on the group chat"

So I realize there's a group chat I'm not a part of

btw that was on a Friday, oh also that day, I asked Keila which bus I should take if I wanted to go to jumbo

Later on Monday, I had a morning class which I only share with Jessi, we didn't really talk. And I took the bus to go to town and 2 hours later I saw all of them across the street

Turns out they were waiting for the same bus I was waiting to go to jumbo, (I was on the wrong side of the street) but I ended up talking with Floretta outside the bus while she was looking for her ticket like "hello" "Oh hi... what are you doing here?" "I'm going to jumbo" "oh cool us too"

And since we had the same destination we ended up going together, since we're also friends

And honestly I'm a little mad cause like Keila knew I wanted to go to jumbo, and Jessi saw me that morning, but no one told me hey why don't we all go together, but the 4 of them went

And I did feel like an outsider and had my own basket while they had their own, I didn't feel like putting anything I wanted into their shared basket since I wasn't in the plan

Does this even make sense its 3am

Anyways Floretta was also buying candles and balloons and decorations, and when we were in the elevator she told me "Oh by the way I may do something for my birthday on Sunday if you want to come" Μπορεί, Κυριακή, αν θέλεις, are not enough information to invite someone in your birthday

Especially when you pick out the decoration like "but girls, I don't want to celebrate it" and then go "μπορεί" may means you're still thinking about whether or not you do something about your birthday, also I don't know when and where, do I just show up at her house at 7am on Sunday? No?

I've gone uninvited to 2 birthday parties as a kid I'm not doing it again if you want to invite me do it properly

She obviously told me cause I was with her when she was buying everything, but wouldn't she end up informing her guests about the time and all when she decides what she does? She didn't text me anything or told me anything about it the rest of the week

So on the weekend, I saw two birthday stories, one from Keila on Saturday and one from Floretta on Sunday, I already explained Floretta

Keila, tried explaining herself to me when I saw her on Monday

Which personally... I find ... stupid?

That's what she told me: "I want you to know the reason I didn't invite you was because I wanted to do something small with only the people from [town] cause they live close, and I didn't want anyone to sleep over, cause my dad died, and my dad died I can't be doing parties. Shame" all in one breath. 9am I didn't not have the energy.

And GIRL. Seriously when you try to excuse it like that it sounds stupid. 1) I live literally 5 minutes away with the bus, the taxi costs 4€(considering in my island it costs 27€ I DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT SPENDING 4€ ON A TAXI) 2)If she told me "come to my birthday" I would not have brought my pajamas with me, I would have left with a taxi, I do not know why she assumed I would sleep there without her wanting me to sleep there

3)... I know what grieving is. I assumed she didn't invite me bc she wanted to do something small due to her father dying.

(Considering I am the only one she didn't invite, I don't know what huge difference I make but anyways)

Also. I don't know how to explain it but I feel it ridiculous that she tried to explain this to me. I stopped inviting people at my house after my uncle died.

And don't tell me anything like "but that's her father it's just your uncle" or some shit because of what I know it seems I had a much better relationship with my uncle than she did with her father

I know no matter what of person he used to be, she still lost him and will grieve him, but ... explaining those reasons to me?

I used to have a group of 11 people coming to my house almost biweekly and then I just stopped. It took me a long while to actually invite people over again cause I have forgotten how to do so, and the people that came were 2 really close friends. Only after a year did I ended up inviting over my bsf and 2 classmates(3 whole people) for board games

I know what grieving is.

And I know people can grieve in different ways

...but when you word it like that it just sounds like an excuse....

I assumed she didn't invite me bc of it but the whole paragraph? "Only from the town, no sleepover, dead father"

Honestly I had similar experiences when I was 12 and I have hated those kind of excuses since then. You did not invite me. For whatever reason. Okay. Making an excuse is worse. I don't care

And like as I said, I had assumed the grieving part was why and I was not planning to fight her about it. Her paragraph just makes me mad

I'm tired it's 3.30 am

I have a few more things I'll say tomorrow

#sugar uni life

[fatecantstopme]

Before I Knew What Love Was

Pairing: BBF!Bucky Barnes x reader

Summary: Bucky Barnes had been your older brother's best friend for as long as you could remember...and you'd had a crush on him the entire time. When you get a job at the same law firm as him, all those old feelings come rushing back.

Warnings: An uncomfortable amount of angst. Some fluff. Mucho Smut. Cursing. Oral (F receiving), unprotected sex (P in V), dirty talk.

First day at your new job and it was already going terribly. You'd managed to unintentionally insult someone in the elevator, spill coffee on yourself, and you'd nearly broken your ankle when your heel got stuck in a sidewalk crack on your way in. As far as you were concerned, it couldn't get any worse.

You'd finally made it to your new office, a small space, but clean and tidy, and you immediately removed your shoes and sat down, a small groan escaping your lips.

"Tough day already?" A familiar voice asked from the doorway.

You looked up with a big grin on your face. "Bucky!" You got up and moved quickly to the door to wrap him in a big hug. "It's easily the worst first-day I've ever had."

He chuckled. "Are you sure? I remember your first day of high school, you know."

You sat back down at your desk. "Oh god, please don't remind me."

He plopped down in the chair across from you and shot you another one of his award-winning grins. Damn him for looking so good in that clearly expensive suit and smiling at you like that. It was annoying.

"Okay, so I'm gonna give you the scoop on all the office drama so you're prepared for any of the insanity that will definitely be coming your way."

"This is going to be terrible, isn't it?" you mumbled.

"Oh, absolutely," he leaned forward. "I did warn you about working here."

"It's the best firm in New York, Buck. Where the hell else was I gonna work?"

He shrugged as he leaned back. "You have a point." He went on to give you all the details you never wanted to know about your new coworkers' drama and personal lives.

After about 20 minutes of nonstop drama, he finally switched topics. "Are you doing anything tonight?"

The sudden shift surprised you. "Umm, no, not really."

"Perfect. I'm gonna take you out for dinner to celebrate your first day." He stood up, clearly prepared to leave.

You couldn't deny that you wanted to go to dinner with him, but you also knew that nothing romantic could or would ever happen between you, so why even entertain the possibility? "Well, I--"

"Don't even think about saying no, (Y/N). I won't hear it." He walked to the door. "I'll swing by your place at 7:30." With that, he was gone, leaving you to your thoughts.

You sighed audibly. Bucky had been your crush for your entire childhood and teenage years. As your older brother's best friend, he'd always been around and it was hard not to like him. He was funny, charming, smart, and well...handsome as hell as he got older.

Now that you were both in a position where maybe dating would be a possibility, you'd gone and gotten a job at the same damn law firm as him, thereby removing any possibility of dating from your future. You didn't date at work. End of story. Plus, there was still a strong possibility that your brother would murder you for dating his best friend.

Not that any of this mattered anyway. Bucky never returned your affection or interest. He was out of your league, and had always been a ladies man, much to your chagrin. You swore he went to red carpet events and modeling shows solely to pick up women he could have on his arm for a week or two before moving onto the next.

You'd led a much more simple, down-to-earth life thus far. It's not that you weren't attractive or that men weren't interested, you just never had much time to devote to dating. For the last 6 years, school had been your entire focus and now your career had your attention. It was a lot harder to be a high-powered female attorney than it was to be a male one. You had to do everything just right or you'd risk losing everything you'd worked so hard for.

**********

By the time lunch rolled around, you were already enmeshed in a new case your boss had handed you about 5 minutes into your meeting with him. He seemed to think you could handle it and you didn't want to let him down.

Your assistant knocked at your door, bringing you out of the file in front of you. The fact that you actually had an assistant was still kind of weird to you.

"Hey, do you want me to grab you some lunch? I'm going down to the cafeteria," he asked.

You looked at your watch, noting the time with surprise. "Shit, I didn't even realize it was after 1. Umm...yeah, just a salad or a sandwich would be awesome."

"Perfect. Anything you don't like?"

"Tomatoes. She despises them," Bucky said from behind him.

You laughed. "He's right, I do hate them. Thanks, Clark."

"No problem." Your assistant smiled and walked off in search of the cafeteria.

"I was gonna see if you wanted to get lunch, but I see you've already made arrangements."

"Yeah, I got a little too tied up in this case already."

"Damn, Briggs gave you a case on day one?"

You nodded. "So either he hates me or thinks I have what it takes."

Bucky chuckled. "It's definitely the latter. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?"

You smiled at him. "Sure, thanks, Buck."

"Anytime, doll."

Bucky disappeared from your office before you could process the fact that he'd just called you 'doll' for the first time in your entire life. Hell, you'd never heard him call anyone doll. You looked back down at the file in front of you and sighed. You didn't have the time to think about what it meant or dwell on it...you had a client who needed your help.

**********

It was 6:45 when your assistant knocked on your door again. "I'm heading out for the evening. Need anything before I go?"

You looked up at him and realized it was actually starting to get dark outside. "Oh, no, Clark, I'm good. Thank you, though. Have a good night."

"You too."

You looked at your watch and gasped as you noted the time. "Shit, shit, shit." You quickly gathered up your belongings and rushed out of the building. If you took a cab, you'd get to your apartment with about 10 minutes to spare before Bucky came to pick you up.

He'd stopped by your office on his way out around 5, and you'd said you'd be leaving soon too. Apparently, you once again lost track of time.

You hailed a taxi and told him to book it back to your apartment. You gave him a nice tip for getting you there in record time. You had 15 minutes to get ready.

You didn't really have time to think about what you were going to wear, but you'd be damned if you didn't at least shower quickly before going out. You still smelled like coffee from your earlier accident.

You jumped in the shower, careful not to get your hair wet or mess up your makeup, determined to not have to redo either one. 5 minutes later, you were brushing your teeth and staring at your closet, wondering what the hell you should wear.

"It's not a date," you mumbled to yourself. Then again, it was Bucky and it was Manhattan, so no matter where you went, you wanted to look presentable. You grabbed your favorite black dress and a pair of heels, tossing both on the bed.

You changed quickly, fixed your hair, touched up your makeup, and was putting on your shoes when the doorbell rang. You pressed the button and buzzed the person up.

Seconds later, there was a knock at your door. When you opened it, Bucky stood before you in a different suit than he'd been wearing earlier and this one somehow looked even better on him.

He looked almost surprised at your appearance as he took you in. "You look incredible," he said warmly.

You bit your lip subconsciously. "Thanks, um--so do you."

He laughed and extended his arm to you. "Shall we?"

You slipped your arm through his and stepped out of your apartment, locking the door behind you.

"Remind me to give you a list of apartment buildings," he said as you got into the elevator.

"For what?"

"Doll, you can't be living here. For one, it's not a good neighborhood, and two, you're a high-priced attorney now, you can't be living in a dump."

You would have been hurt by his statement if it wasn't so painfully accurate. Your apartment was kind of trashy and you heard gunshots every single night, but it was cheap, and lord knew you weren't rich (yet).

"I'm not exactly rollin' in dough, Mr. Rolex," you sassed.

He laughed. "You will be." His face turned serious as you stepped outside. "I'm serious though, doll. This is a bad neighborhood and I worry about your safety."

You looked surprised. "I've lived here for 3 years, Bucky. You've never seemed concerned about my safety before."

"Of course I was. I just didn't say anything because I knew you'd probably knock me out for insinuating that you can't take care of yourself."

You grinned. "Accurate."

"Plus, I knew it was all you could afford."

You winced. "Thanks," you said sarcastically.

"Hey, it's not a judgment. I lived in worse conditions when I was in law school."

You laughed. "There were rats."

He shuddered. "God, don't remind me."

You thought Bucky was just going to flag down a taxi, but instead he walked up to a large black sedan that was parked outside your building. The driver was standing beside it and he opened the back door for you to get in. You looked at Bucky and he simply smiled, gesturing for you to get in the car. He slid in behind you and the driver shut the door before returning to the front of the car.

"Is this a car service?" you whispered.

"Obviously."

"James," you hissed, annoyed at his mocking tone. "How expensive is this?"

He gave you an odd look that you couldn't place before waving you off. "Don't worry about it, doll. I've been doing this whole attorney thing for a couple years. I promise I can afford it."

You just nodded and sat back against the insanely comfortable leather seat. The car smelled fresh and was impeccably clean, something you were not used to. Every taxi in NYC was disgusting and you couldn't even begin to describe how gross the subway was.

When the car stopped again, the driver opened the door to let you both out. He extended his hand for you to take as you got out of the car. You thanked him and he inclined his head before going back to the driver's seat.

Bucky reached for your arm, entwining it with his as he guided you to the front door of a restaurant you'd only seen from the outside.

"Um, are you sure we can get in?" you asked hesitantly.

Bucky smiled. "We have reservations."

"It's impossible to get reservations here."

Bucky shrugged. "The chef owes me for a case of his I worked last year."

You rolled your eyes. "Perks of the job?"

"Perks of the job," he confirmed.

The hostess smiled as you entered and you silently thanked the gods you'd decided to dress up. This was a five-star restaurant and you would have looked like an idiot in 70% of your clothing.

Bucky gave the hostess his name and she glanced down at the iPad in front of her. She gave you both another smile before escorting you to a private table near the rear of the restaurant.

"This is really nice," you said softly after she'd left.

Bucky smiled. "I'm glad you think so."

A server appeared almost immediately after you'd sat down, almost as if he'd been waiting for your arrival. "Chef Jennings gives his regards to you both," the young man said.

Ahh, so he had been lying in wait, you thought to yourself.

"Please give him mine as well," Bucky said.

"Of course, sir. What can I start you off with tonight? Your evening is on the house, compliments of the chef."

"Excellent, although he doesn't need to do that."

"He insisted, sir."

Bucky chuckled. "Of course he did. Tell Henry that we'll eat whatever special meal he chooses to prepare this evening." He looked at you. "If that's alright with you, sweets?"

You smiled. "Sounds lovely."

"Good. Also, we'll take a bottle of your very best Chardonnay, oaky, not buttery."

The server smiled and rushed off to place your order.

"What the heck did you do for this guy that he's literally comping your meal?" you whispered.

"He sued another chef for taking one of his personal recipes. I was his attorney and I won."

"A recipe? Seriously?"

Bucky smiled. "He got 35 million dollars out of it, so I think he's grateful."

"For a recipe?" you nearly shouted.

He laughed. "Apparently it was an old family recipe going back generations. Plus, the other chef had made a massive profit off it, so it was only fair that he repay those profits and then some."

You were saved from having to reply by the return of the server. He poured two generous glasses of wine, leaving the bottle in a bucket of ice for the two of you to share.

"Why Chardonnay?" you asked casually.

"It's your favorite," Bucky said with a shrug.

Your heart fluttered internally. "I'm surprised you remember that."

"Oh, please (Y/N/N). I've known you my entire life. I know everything about you."

"I wouldn't go that far," you teased, mentally chastising yourself for flirting with him.

He took a slow sip of his wine. "Perhaps I would like to."

Your lips parted in surprise, unsure of how to respond to that statement.

His eyes studied you intently and you suddenly felt as if you were under a microscope, being observed at an uncomfortably close range. You would have given everything you had to know what was on his mind in that moment, the intensity of his gaze stirring something in you that you couldn't control.

"You are incredibly beautiful, (Y/N)," he whispered softly, eyes still locked on yours. "Your beauty seems to grow with every passing year."

You could feel the heat spreading to your cheeks along with a spark of desire burning within you. "Thank you," you said softly, the two words all you could manage in the moment.

"You've never ceased to take my breath away. From the moment I was old enough to understand attraction, I knew exactly what I wanted--who I wanted." He sighed. "Fuck, doll, when you called me and told me you got a job at the firm, I was thrilled. Having you close to me all the time? It's a dream come true."

His voice was hoarse from emotion and it nearly stopped your heart in its tracks. He was saying all the words you'd never even imagined you'd hear from him and you loved it. But at the same time, you'd laid a line that you never crossed...dating at work was off-limits. Had been for a long time.

But you couldn't bring yourself to say that to him--to Bucky--to the man you'd loved more than half of your life. "Why me?" you whispered instead.

He shook his head, unable to put his feelings into words. "It's always been you," he said simply.

"But why now?"

"Because you've made it, (Y/N/N). All of the goals you set for yourself, you've achieved. I'm proud to have been there to watch you achieve your dreams. You've worked so hard and you deserve the world, doll." He took a deep breath. "I want to be the one to give you the world, to be the one you wake up to. I want to be the person you come to when your world comes crashing down, or when you're on cloud nine. I want to give you everything and more, for as long as you'll let me."

You felt like your brain had just short-circuited. There was no way that Bucky Barnes had just said that to you...does not compute. Your mouth opened and closed several times, words completely failing you.

You were once again saved by the return of the server. He set a plate in front of each of you, as well as a plate of dumplings to share. He left as quickly as he'd appeared, taking with him the welcome distraction.

"This looks good," you mumbled, eyeing the food in front of you.

You weren't looking at Bucky, but if you had been, you would have noticed the hurt look that crossed his face. He'd just bared his heart and soul to you, and you hadn't exactly given him any response, let alone the response he'd hoped for. "Yeah," he said softly.

You heard the sadness in his tone and your head snapped up, eyes scanning his face. You saw the way his eyes were downcast, his brows furrowed slightly, a soft frown pulling on his features. You'd known him too long to miss the obvious pain in his expression. A pain you had caused.

"Son of a bitch," you mumbled under your breath.

Bucky looked up at you in confusion. "What?"

You sighed heavily. "Do you remember John Anderson?"

Bucky's expression darkened. "How could I forget him?"

"Yeah, he was a terrible person, but um--we worked together, remember?"

He nodded.

"And he made my life a living hell during the relationship and after the breakup, if you recall. So much so that I had to quit my job and move to another apartment to get away from him."

"Yeah...?" he had no idea where you were going with this.

"After that, I sort of made a rule for myself, a line I would never cross."

Bucky just stared at you, waiting for you to get to the point.

"I told myself I would never date another coworker, that I would never put myself through that again."

Realization dawned on his handsome face. "Doll, that was almost 10 years ago."

"Yeah, but it fucked me up for a good 5 years after."

"That's not because you worked together, it's because he was a dick."

You let out a breathy chuckle. "Again, not wrong, but I thought it would be a way to protect myself, I guess."

"I get it, I do, but you're an adult now, a different person."

"I suppose," you sighed. "Don't misunderstand me, Bucky. If you'd said all of this to me 3 months ago, I would have never applied for this job."

"What would you have done instead?" Hope was laced in his tone and he knew he sounded desperate, but he didn't care.

This was perhaps your one and only chance to ever be truly honest with him about how you felt, and you owed it to yourself, and to him, to not hold back. "I would have told you that I feel the same way. That I've felt the same way my entire life. I've never met anyone who could compare to you and I don't think such a person exists. You won my heart long before I understood what that meant, and I don't think I'll ever get it back."

He looked at you with an unreadable expression, his eyes filled with emotion you couldn't place. "I think we should eat."

His words shocked you. "What?"

"Eat." He immediately dove into his food, eating too quickly to truly enjoy it.

You just stared at him in shock, confused by his actions.

He looked up at you. "Doll, I need you to eat your food, okay? Please?"

You had no idea what the hell was happening, but you nodded your head anyway. You started to eat, but your brain was too preoccupied to actually enjoy anything you were eating.

Chef Jennings made an appearance at your table to thank both of you for coming out that evening and to make sure the food was to your satisfaction. You both told him how good everything was, despite the fact that it had been a complete and utter blur.

The moment the chef left your table, Bucky turned his attention back to you. "Let's go."

You weren't sure you had any surprise left inside of you, so you simply followed Bucky to the front door. Once outside, he grabbed your hand and practically dragged you down the street, away from any prying eyes.

He pushed your back up against a wall and you gasped in surprise, eyes widening as you watched him. "I'm going to kiss you now. Just once. I need it more than I've ever needed anything in my life."

His sudden urgency in the restaurant was starting to make sense, and before you had time to really process what was happening, Bucky's lips were pressed against yours.

All at once, you couldn't breathe, you couldn't think, you couldn't even move. His lips tasted like wine and his touch sparked something in you that you couldn't control. The shock wore off and you began to kiss him back, hands snaking around his neck to pull him closer.

Bucky groaned, tongue darting out to lick at your lips. You opened for him without a thought, allowing him to taste the desire you'd held in your soul for years.

His hands gripped you tightly, pulling your body flush against his, corded muscles pressing against your softer form. You could feel the outline of his arousal against your abdomen and your fingers gripped the hair at the base of his neck in response.

With sudden clarity, you realized that you needed him so badly you weren't sure how you'd survived this long without his touch. Desire pooled in your lower belly and began to drip into your lace underwear.

After what felt like hours, Bucky's lips finally left yours, but he remained as close as before. Your breaths intermingled in the space between your lips, both desperately trying to breath normally again.

"Doll, I'm sorry, but I had to do that."

You wanted to smack him for apologizing, but instead you simply whispered, "Take me home."

He pulled back, a shadow of sadness passed over him before he got a good look at your expression. Your pupils were dilated and you were still breathing heavily, despite having regained your breath after the kiss. You licked your lips as you eyed him, shifting your weight and rubbing your thighs together in an attempt to ease the burning between them.

"Fuck, doll," he whispered, hands pulling you towards him again.

"If you kiss me again, I'm going to rip your clothes off right here," you threatened.

He laughed darkly. "Part of me would love that, but I'd rather take you on a nice soft bed. I wanna take my time and worship you."

You licked your lips again and nodded. "You better call that car now."

He pulled out his phone and placed a quick call to the driver, who appeared moments later as if by magic. Bucky practically ran to the car with you right behind him, his hand never leaving yours.

Bucky told the driver to drive to his apartment as quickly as humanly possible. The driver nodded with a knowing smirk before taking off. If you weren't so completely focused on Bucky, you might have been embarrassed.

Bucky looked incredibly uncomfortable as he shifted back and forth in his seat.

"You okay?"

"My body is on fire, my clothes feel too tight, and I'm afraid if I kiss you again, I won't be able to stop."

You laughed breathlessly. "So you're saying you're good."

He laughed and shot you a dark look. "Doll, I've never been so good in my life."

"You'll be saying that again in an hour."

He groaned. "Fuck, you're a tease."

"Shamelessly," you whispered as you laid your hand against his crotch, feeling the hard length about to burst through his slacks.

He grabbed your hand and hissed sharply. "Doll," he said in a warning tone.

You grinned and removed your hand, offering him an innocent shrug.

He shook his head. "You're going to be the death of me, aren't you?"

"I certainly hope not."

He laughed again, but you could see how much discomfort he was in. You'd be lying if you said you weren't uncomfortable yourself. The need to have his hands on you was so strong you could barely breathe. It felt like every nerve ending in your body was on fire and only he could soothe it.

The drive couldn't have taken more than 10 minutes, but to the two of you, it felt like 10 years. The moment the car was stopped, Bucky was dragging you out of the backseat and rushing to the front door of his building.

The doorman bid him good evening as he opened the door, but Bucky was too preoccupied to even respond. He was solely focused on getting you inside of his apartment before he completely lost control.

You stood on opposite sides of the elevator for the entire ride up to his apartment. You both feared if you were too close to each other, then you wouldn't be able to control yourselves.

The elevator doors finally opened onto his floor and Bucky slipped his hand back into yours, guiding you to his apartment. He put the key in the lock and turned it, but stopped before opening the door.

"Doll, if we go in there, I'm going to fuck you senseless. If you don't want that, you should go now while you can."

You reached up and turned his face to look down at you. "Buck, if I didn't want that, I wouldn't be here." You reached past him and turned the doorknob, allowing his door to swing open.

He gave you one last look of confirmation before pulling you inside his apartment and shutting the door behind you.

Before you could even react, Bucky had you pinned against the door, mouth on yours, body pressed tightly to you.

You moaned against his lips, tongues dancing, hands roaming his muscular form. You tugged on his jacket, which he removed quickly, lips still glued to yours. You started to undo the buttons on his shirt, but he pulled away to rip the shirt open, buttons popping off all over the room.

"Bucky!"

"I can buy another one," he murmured before latching his lips onto your neck.

You moaned softly as his soft lips explored your neck and collarbone. You felt his hands slide up the back of your dress, searching for a zipper to remove it. "It's stretchy," you mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"The dress. It stretches."

Bucky got the hint and pulled away just long enough to tug the dress off over your head. You now stood before him in nothing but a black lace thong and black lace bra. Normally you would feel at least a little insecure, but the way he was looking at you made you feel anything but.

"Fuck, you're gorgeous," he whispered reverently.

"You're not so bad yourself," you joked lightly, taking in his very toned torso.

Bucky grinned at you and pulled his shirt the rest of the way off before scooping you up in his arms and carrying you to his bedroom.

He tossed you down on the bed, but you stopped him as he started to crawl on top of you. "Lose the pants, babe."

You had never seen a man remove a pair of pants so quickly in your entire life. You blinked and the pants were on the floor, outline of his throbbing cock visible in his boxer briefs.

Bucky practically pounced on you, lips pressing against yours again, somehow even more hungrily than before. His lips slowly trailed down your jaw, neck, and chest, landing on your lace-clad nipples. He could feel the hard mounds beneath the thin fabric, lips locking onto one and then the other.

"Sit up a little, doll," he whispered.

You sat up just enough to allow his hand to snake behind your back and undo your bra with expert precision. The moment your breasts were bared to him, he inhaled sharply.

"Damnit, baby, you just keep getting better," he moaned as his lips reattached to your nipple.

You gasped, hips bucking slightly as you searched for some form of friction.

Bucky noticed, but he was too preoccupied with your breasts to touch you anywhere else...at least until you started to beg him.

"Bucky, please touch me, please. I need it."

"I am touching you, doll."

You shook your head and lifted your hips again.

"Tell me what you want, sweets, and I'll give it to you."

"I want you to touch me," you whispered.

"Where?" he asked in a teasing tone.

You bit your lip, not used to such dirty speech.

"Come on, baby. Use those words and I promise I'll make you feel so good..."

"My pussy," you said so softly, he almost missed it.

He grinned. "Well since you asked so nicely..." He tugged at your underwear, ripping them right at the seam, before discarding them on the floor.

Normally you would have been annoyed about the loss of your lingerie, but you didn't care if this man ruined every single piece you owned. All you wanted was for him to touch you.

Bucky settled between your thighs and exhaled a warm breath against your core, causing you to clench around nothing. He smiled to himself before leaning into you and licking a slow stripe up your pussy. He groaned at the delicious taste, even better than he expected.

"Bucky," you whimpered, tired of the teasing touches and licks.

Normally, he would have teased you for a while longer, but he needed this as badly as you did, so he decided to take pity on you. Without warning, he dove into you, eating you out more thoroughly than any man ever had.

He had you writhing on the bed in seconds, your first orgasm only moments away. You had never in your life cum so quickly and you were both surprised by the sudden waves as you came.

Instead of stopping once you'd orgasmed, Bucky continued his ministrations, determined to get another one out of you before stopping.

"Bucky, I--what are you--ohh, fuck," you gasped out.

He'd slid a couple fingers inside of you and was stroking your g-spot in that delicious 'come-hither' motion that always got your legs shaking. His mouth wrapped around your clit, tongue dancing against it in-between sucks.

"So close, Buck," you whimpered, hips jerking upwards against his face.

He held you down as he sped up his pace, quickly coaxing your second orgasm from you. You came with a cry of his name and a tug of his hair, legs tightening around his head.

When you gave his hair another strong tug, he removed himself from your pussy reluctantly. He looked at your blissful expression and he grinned, pleased that he'd given you such pleasure.

You reached for him, pulling him up to once again kiss your lips. You were dying to touch him, to feel him inside of you, but you wanted to return the favor first.

When you reached for his briefs, he quickly removed them for you, eliminating the last obstacle in the way of touching his throbbing cock. The moment your hand wrapped around the thick shaft, Bucky groaned and thrust into your hand.

"I wanna taste you," you whispered.

"Fuck, doll," he groaned, "as amazing as that sounds, I don't think I'll be able to last if you do that. I need to be inside of you."

You pouted slightly and he pressed his lips to yours again, determined to eliminate any negative emotion.

Bucky shifted his body so that he was comfortably between your legs. When he sat back, you had your first proper view of his cock and your jaw dropped.

"There is no way you're putting that inside of me," you said with wide eyes.

Bucky laughed. "It'll fit, baby, I promise."

Your eyes flicked back up to his. "You're gonna break me half."

He laughed again. "That's not physically possible, doll."

You looked back down at his cock, the length and the girth both larger than you'd ever had before. You were genuinely concerned about the pain, but at the same time you wanted him inside of you so badly you didn't quite care.

You nodded at him. "I'm ready."

"Okay. I'll go slow, alright? Give you time to adjust."

You nodded again.

He could see the worry in your eyes still, so he lifted your face up to look at him. "If you tell me to stop, I'll stop, okay? We don't have to do anything you don't wanna do."

His concern warmed your heart. "I want you, Bucky. Please."

Your soft, pleading tone did something to him that he couldn't quite explain. He groaned softly and lined himself up with your entrance. He looked up at you one more time for confirmation and you gave him a small nod. "Just relax, sweets. I've got you."

He slowly began to sink into you and you gasped in surprise at the stretch. It definitely hurt a little, but that quickly faded into pleasure, so you begged him for more. "Keep going, Buck."

He slid more into you, eyes never leaving your face. You would tense up with each slow push, but the moment the tension eased from your face, he knew you were ready for the next bit.

After a few moments, he was fully seated inside of you. You'd never felt so full in your entire life and you had the sudden realization that this man had the potential to ruin you for all future men. If he was even half as good at this as he was at oral, then you were so totally screwed.

"Move," you begged.

Bucky started to move his hips, cock sliding in and out of your almost painfully tight pussy. As his pace started to pick up, the room filled with the salacious sounds of your bodies mixed with the filthy moans and dirty whispers coming from Bucky.

You clung to Bucky as he fucked you, body so full of pleasure that you couldn't even think, let alone speak. Your nails dug into any part of his body that he could reach and the only sounds you could manage were broken moans and gasps.

Bucky, on the other hand, was absolutely filthy as he fucked you.

"This pussy was made for me doll, fuck, it feels so good."

"I just wanna stay here all night. Tight little pussy squeezing me just right. Never felt so good before."

His hips sped up and he shifted his angle so he was hitting your g-spot with each thrust.

Your gasps indicated to him that he was hitting your spot and your moans told him you were close to coming again. "Fuck, baby, can feel you clenching around me. You gonna cum, baby? Gonna cum for me?"

You nodded with a loud moan.

"I need to feel you cum, doll. Please, cum for me sweet girl."

The pleasure you felt mixed with the pleading tone in his voice sent you over the edge. You cried out, body convulsing with pleasure.

Bucky's movements sped up again as he chased his own high. "That's it, doll. Feels so good. Wanna fill you up," his own words became more broken as he neared his orgasm.

Your body was satiated, but you wanted to feel him cum inside you. You clenched your pussy as tightly as you could and whispered, "Cum for me, James."

Bucky yelled your name as hot spurts of his seed painted your walls. His thrusts slowed and his body shook with the aftershocks of his orgasm. As he began to come down from his high, he rolled off of you, collapsing on the bed beside you.

You both laid there trying to catch your breath for several minutes. Finally, Bucky turned his head to look at you. He pushed a sweaty piece of hair off your forehead and placed a kiss where it had been. "You're incredible, sweets," he whispered.

All you could do was smile. "You're definitely the incredible one, Buck. I've never felt that good in my life."

His chest puffed out with pride. "You deserve to feel that good every day of your life."

Your brain had started to clear from the sex-induced haze, and you were reminded that he would not, in fact, be yours for the rest of your life. You felt your heart break a little as you looked at him.

He could see the sudden sadness in your eyes and it nearly broke him. "Doll, just hear me out." He rolled over to face you.

He could tell you were about to say something, but he didn't want you to try and dissuade him. "Please, (Y/N), just listen."

You closed your mouth and waited for him to continue.

"When I said that I've liked you my entire life, I wasn't exactly being honest," he began. "'Like' isn't the right word, neither is 'adore' or any other simple term of affection. I didn't know what the right word was to describe this feeling until recently. Why does my heart soar every single time I'm near you? Why does it hurt so much when we're apart? Why can't I look at you without wanting to kiss you, touch you, hold you? Why do I need you more than I need air to breathe?"

Your lips parted slightly and inhaled softly. You weren't sure you wanted him to answer those questions...if he did, there would be no going back, for either of you.

"When I actually stopped and thought about it, really thought about it, I realized the truth. I love you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N). I have loved you all of my life and I intend to love you every single day for the rest of it."

The moment the words left his lips, it felt like you were suspended in time. Nothing else mattered. It was just you and Bucky, in the most intimate moment two people could ever share. The baring of one's soul to another is the hardest and most rewarding thing a person can do.

Your logical side kicked in, yelling at you about work relationships and bad outcomes and past pains...but you realized that you didn't care about any of that. This was Bucky, your Bucky. Not some random fuckboy. Your heart had belonged to him since you were a kid...and you knew now, you didn't want it back.

You rolled yourself over to face him and pressed your lips to his. He pulled you against him and deepened the kiss, allowing you to push him onto his back and roll on top of him.

You pulled away from him for a moment. "I've loved you for longer than I can remember, Bucky. I can't stop now."

He smiled up at you, the biggest, most beautiful smile you'd ever seen on another person. "So you'll stay?"

"As long as you want me to," you whispered.

"Forever sounds pretty good to me, doll."

You chuckled and kissed him again. "I'll have to check my calendar, but I think I might be able to do forever."

He laughed and rolled you over so you were under him again. "Round two?"

"You're insatiable."

"Oh doll, I've got 15 years of pent-up love to express..." he teased.

"For the sake of my body, please don't do it all in one night."

He grinned. "Just one more?"

He didn't know it yet, but you couldn't say no to him. Whatever he wanted, you would give him. No matter what. "Alright, one more."

#brother's best friend!bucky barnes x reader smut #bbf!bucky barnes x reader smut #bbf!bucky barnes x reader #bbf!bucky barnes smut #marvel smut #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x reader smut

[mikkokomori]

Right here's the long list of mostly fluff with a little bit of angst.

I had a few ideas for how the incident might play out, but I'm gonna go for the less angsty one so Mari gets love and support during this tough time even though she blames herself.

Basically the incident happens how it does in Canon, but with one major difference, Sunny jumps down and grabs onto Mari when she falls, and ends up taking the brunt of the damage and (Without realizing it, saves Mari's life), falls into a coma.

Basil sees this happen, but Mari doesn't see him, He runs and calls an ambulance for him and hides in a panic.

A couple of weeks after this happens Aubrey and Kel stop fighting and team up to make their friends feel better.

Their first target? Basil.

Ever since the incident he hasn't stepped foot outside, so they go visit to check up on him, His grandma is worried about him too so she lets them in and goes to make some snacks for the kids.

It takes a bit, but eventually Basil opens up the door, He looks terrible, like he's been crying and hasn't slept.

So they both end up hugging him and trying to reassure him that "We're sure Sunny will be fine! He may be small! But he's tough!"

After calming down and having something to eat, Basil takes them both to his room and tells them he has to tell them something.

He ends up telling them what he saw on the night, but not what he heard as it was less than flattering to Mari, and he didn't want to upset them anymore than they were already. Plus it was pretty personal and not exactly his place to say

So the kids end up with the view that "The situation is terrible, but Sunny tried his best to protect his sister, So lets try to cheer her up!"

All three of them then go to Hero and try to bring him into the "Sunny and Mari Protection Squad".

So unlike in Canon, Hero isn't in a giant depressive slump because of Mari's 'Suicide'.

He's still depressed because his Unofficial little brother is in a coma and his crush is very much not ok.

They gang up on him when he gets home from trying (And failing) to talk to Mari.

They tell him what Basil Saw and try to convince him to join them.

It works and there's a new member to the "Sunny and Mari Protection Squad".

They work together to try and talk to Mari and let her know that they're on her side and don't blame her for the accident, but this doesn't happen for years due to Mari locking herself inside and being tutored instead of continuing in school.

The attempts still happen, but it calms down over the years as they get demotivated.

One thing they always do though is visit Sunny in hospital.

Basically they'd take turns visiting him after school and they'd spend an hour of two on the weekends either drawing, reading, telling stories, or playing games in there with him because they don't want him to be lonely.

On his birthday they all Help Hero bake a cake and get him some presents so they can celebrate it with him, but also so he'd have gifts when he wakes up.

So one thing I've mentioned before on your blog is that Sunny would be in Mari's Headspace, even when she's awake. But he's also at least semi aware of what's going on around him. So when he's in there he hears the stories, them talking with each other and celebrating. Not only that but any drawing they make for him shows up in there too.

While they never see him really react to them. They do feel a sense of peace after spending time with Sunny and he's always happiest in Headspace during these visits.

Now for some Basil Stuff

Polly and Grandma end up becoming good friends. But Polly and Basil? They get along like a house on fire. Pretty much from the moment they met Polly was ready to stab someone for him.

His Grandmother was always His Grandma, but Polly ends up being a Pseudo Mother for him and she always treated him like her Son. They're both semi-unaware of this fact, with Polly being more aware and Basil less so.

The most aware of them however was his Grandma, She only wants the best for her Grandchild and can see just how close those two are.

When she becomes bedridden, she ends up updating her Will in secret, just Asking Polly to Fax it to her lawyer claiming it's just "Some boring legal stuff".

What does she add to the will you may ask? Turns out she had added in that she "Wishes for emergency guardianship be granted to Polly upon the event of her death." and that she "Knew how close both Polly and her Grandson Basil are and wishes for Her to adopt him to finally solidify the relationship they both clearly had but were unaware of".

Once she dies and they both hear what's in the will they're surprised. Polly finally admits that she's seen Basil as her son for a while and had thought about adopting him once his Grandma passes, but didn't mention it to him because she didn't want to upset him.

He ends up crying, but they're happy tears and he also admits that "You're the closest thing I've ever had to a Mom" And that he loved her too. It takes a couple of months, but in the end Polly becomes the Adoptive Mother of Basil and they're both very happy with this situation.

Polly also ends up becoming close with Aubrey and Kel but not to the same degree as Basil. So whenever Aubrey's 'mother' is being more shit than usual she's perfectly happy to let her sleep on the couch for as long as she needs. They also team up to cheer up Basil whenever he has a bad day and vice versa.

And finally some Post Good end content

So the first time Mari and Sunny go shopping for new clothes for him they end up going with mostly darker colours, with one exception, a white T-shirt with rainbow cats on it.

Because he was already really short for his age due to parental neglect, and the fact he's barely grown from being in a coma for years he's very small and gets mistaken for a kid much younger than he is (He's roughly 15 in this AU)

(I don't actually know if coma patients grow normally or not, So lets assume the Staff wasn't doing their jobs properly and he was basically kept alive, not exactly growing.)

Him being very small, and having tall friends *Cough*Hero & Kel*Cough* means that if they're all outside and he's getting left behind because short legs or he's worn out from the lack of exercise that they can just pick him up and give him a piggy back ride. They all can, but he likes to be tall.

Because he's somehow charmed the entire town and no-one bothered to correct people on his age, he sometimes gets free sweets when they're shopping. Due to him being a total sweetheart though he tries to share with his friends.

Sometimes he'll either write or draw about his adventures in Headspace and when people ask he tells them about his 'dreams' when he was in a Coma. Mari saw one of these and got a bit freaked out because "How does Sunny know what was happening in my Headspace?!?". He doesn't show them to Mari anymore, Not wanting to cause a panic attack.

When in a coma his friends would sometimes play some of their favorite music and when he's spacing out he sometimes hums those songs.

Despite everything he's quite perceptive to everyone's needs, but he's not very attentive to his own. Leading to situations where he forgets he's meant to be hungry, or unaware he's tired. So he'll sometimes just pass out on his friends and they try super hard to not wake him up because "It's adorable and he needs sleep"

Mari upon realizing that Sunny never tells her when he's hungry has decided to set up a strict food schedule, This has had the unintentional effect of also making Mari eat regularly and healthily because Sunny would try to share with her, So she ended up making herself food with his.

Whenever Mari and Sunny go out of the house she has a small bag she carries with her. Inside are juice boxes, water bottles, and healthy snacks.

When Sunny first comes out of the hospital his parent's aren't willing to pay for PT to regain his muscle mass, so he ends up in a wheelchair for a few months while he regains his strength. One of the nurses took pity on him though and gave Mari a pamphlet on different types of exercises someone could do to regain lost muscle mass.

While Mari can cook, she's rusty as she's only really cooked super simple means for herself. So Hero decides to help and offers to supervise her while she practices some simple meals to regain her skills. Sunny insists on watching because he wants to help one day.

Mari with the help of the gang end up moving both of their beds down into the music room which has been unused for years (Maybe her parents sold the Piano because she wasn't actively using it.)

Sunny is a little scared when he finds out how much time has passed and how much his friends have changed. But he quickly gets over it because he still loves them.

At one point, Hero and Kel brought Sally over to meet Sunny and he quickly became her new favorite person, much to the slight jealously of the brothers.

Everyone in the group introduce Sunny to people as "Sunny, My Little Brother". He just accepts his fate, and they are his family so it's not unwelcome.

He never spoke much before the accident, and speaks even less after. But one thing that became more common is his laughter and it always brightens everyone's day when they hear it. Kel is the best at bringing it out just by being his goofy self.

He ends up becoming sick a lot more frequently, but luckily he has his friends to take care of him! They each have their own ways of helping when he's sick.

Mari cooks soup and primarily takes care of him in this scenario, but sometimes she's busy.

Hero also cooks soup, and the soup Mari cooks is one of his recipes, but he also brings over one of his weighted blankets to keep him comfy.

Basil will bring over various plants to help liven up the atmosphere, as well as some various plants that he's grown that can help with illnesses.

Kel has many VHS tapes of various Movies and TV-shows that he brings over and sets up to help keep Sunny entertained and stop him from becoming super bored while bedridden.

Aubrey brings various bits of bread from the Bread Twins, but she also reads out loud whatever book she's reading at the moment.

When he finally gets out of the wheelchair, the first thing he does is give Mari a big hug.

More often that not he ends up sleeping in Mari's bed both due to Mari missing being able to do it with him, and that Sunny never has nightmares when he's there.

He doesn't end up going back to school for a few reasons, the biggest two being that he's missed 4 years of school, and that he's tiny so he gets tutored with the same tutor Mari had before she turned 19.

Sometimes he'll go to the school with Mari if one of the other kids have forgotten something. But he's always there whenever there's some sort of event that family can join in on.

While Mari never ended up going to College, she did get a job at Othermart so sometimes Sunny comes with her and helps out with simple things. (He also gets paid for this, don't worry)

Kel still takes up Basketball, But Aubrey takes up Baseball. Basil is also the head of the Gardening club in the school, Don't ask how this happened, because not even he knows.

Mewo is still alive and healthy in this AU, so she spends a lot of time with Sunny.

Sunny ends up befriending the entire cat population of Faraway and they actually bring him things sometimes.

Aubrey swears that he's some sort of Disney princess.

He regularly wears various accessories that his friends have given him.

Basil gave him a hair clip, similar to himself.

Aubrey gave him a cat keychain.

Kel gave him a Captain Spaceboy Pin.

Hero gave him a cat novelty watch.

*hyperfixates on the Sally and Sunny content because it fits with one of my hcs of Sunny fr* 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

#I LOVE EVERYTHING ELSE BUT IT WAS JUST THIS SPECIFIC THING #i just like the idea of sunny naturally being good with little children aheem aheem whimper #Sunny Coma AU #omori #omori sunny #omori basil #omori mari #omori aubrey #omori hero #omori sally #omori polly #omori spoilers #miko doodles #oracleks44 asks #miko panta #miko talks

[xplrvibes]

Also it's amusing to me that Colby and Sam are both like 'why and how are we sick right now?

'I'm like 'it might have something to do with the fact you've been socialising and partying for weeks on end, if just one or even two person are sick at any one of those parties it's highly likely you're all gonna get sick, it's why at university people who attend the freshers weeks events tend to get a sickness labelled 'the freshers flu' because it's spread the exact same waaaaaaaay'

Me just shaking my head at them, I know they only got a high school education but reallllly, after the covid years this isn't obvious to them? LOL

Hey now, as someone who didn't even bother getting out of bed to take her SAT's, let alone putting any additional effort into anything beyond getting that high school diploma, I'd say the problem with snc is less to do with their education level and more to do with the fact that they share one brain cell and its being pickled in white claws on a daily basis, lol.

What's actually really funny about all this is that they talked about this illness of theirs on xplrclub recently and Colby said something to the effect of, "I have a really low white blood cell count since chemo," and yet he's still tempting fate by mixing it up at these parties every night and traveling every week like clockwork. I'm surprised it took this long, honestly. 🤣

They have been blaming the excessive partying though, so at least they're self aware lol.

#asks #sam and colby