#Going to try and get over 7 1/2 hours of sleep again! it just made dealing with today so much easier and tomorrow is going to be longer

[sanakimohara]

hi, is it okay if i request something? 💖

thinking hard about roommate! seungmin..

imagine you havent been able to get off in over a month or so and youre so sexually frustrated that you end up impulsively buying a fuck machine online.. your roommate ends up going out to meet with friends so you find it the perfect time to try your newly bought toy out, and as you use it the pent up stress and frustration just spills out and youre so fucking horny you end up orgasming and squirting for what seems like hours, until you finally hear the door click open and you try to reach for the remote to turn it off, only to realize it fell on the floor, and youre lying on top of your bed with legs too weak to even attempt to sit back up. the machine is still fucking in and out of your dripping cunt and when seungmin shouts that hes back but never hears back an answer, he gets worried and walks into your room only to find you desperately begging him to help, to turn off the machine for you, but he cant help the fact that hes slowly getting hard as he watches you get fucked by a pathetic little dildo..

“SURREAL SATISFACTION” K. S. Pt.1

….now this is a mouthwatering request 🖤 lets get to it shall we?…breaking this down into 2 parts btw.

[ MDNI ]

+++++++

"Ugh!" You groaned loudly, pulling your hand from between your spread legs and sitting up with a dejected expression on your face as the desire to touch the edge of yourself disintegrated without warning.

Frustration, stress, and despair coiled in the pit of your stomach -erasing the prickle of pleasure you'd been trying to increase for the past week and a half.

There was no luck for you though. It seemed like something went wrong or interrupted every time you touched yourself. The first few times hadn't bothered you much, but now….going nearly two weeks without masturbating was altering your psyche for the worst.

Everyday tasks were becoming annoying to complete, and sleeping through the night turned into restless tossing and turning, but the cherry on top for you was the consistent ache your cunt wouldn't let go of. Being horny 24/7 wasn't news for you, and you'd found that watching porn while your roommate was gone helped quell some of your urges.

However, this wasn't always an excellent solution for two main reasons:

Seungmin could return to your shared apartment anytime -already comfortable with just waltzing into your room whenever he pleased if the door wasn't locked. You knew he'd never judge you for watching erotica since sex was the causal topic for the both of you…but somewhere deep in your soul, the thought of Seungmin seeing you so desperately in need of sex -to the point you'd turned to porn for salvation- made you blush shamefully.

You couldn't even get off to porn anymore. It was nice to watch; it was better for edging yourself, but it was still not enough to finish the job. Yet, despite how numb you were becoming to sexual media, you continued to consume it.

Now, you were stuck in a frivolous circle, edging, giving up on that, and resorting to your laptop's browser history….again.

"Fuck my life…" you mutter angrily, laying flat on your stomach as you slip your laptop from underneath your pillows and open it right up to visit whatever porn website you can find.

You'd already greedily indulged in most forums, raking through each website category to find your favorites and watching a handful of videos before becoming bored or dozing off.

A heavy sigh fell from your lips as you passed page after page of porn content, feet kicking back and forth gently, and your bottom lips catching between your trashy as you scanned more forums.

One finally caught your eye. "Specifically for Women" was the headline, and you immediately clicked on it with a shadow of hope on your face as it loaded on the screen.

You browsed the site for nearly an hour, thoroughly enjoying the content provided, but still unable to get off to it. You began to consider exiting the forum, seeing how late it was, and deciding that getting some sleep would benefit you. That was your plan before Seungmin stalked into your room without warning. "You have any plans for tomorrow, sweetheart?" He asks you nonchalantly, heading straight for your nightstand to retrieve the charger you'd borrowed from him earlier.

You snapped the laptop shut as he neared the side of the bed, unplugging the cord with one swift hand as he raised a brow at you, waiting to hear an answer to his question. You smile nervously, nodding to whatever he says, "You are busy? I'm just double-checking because I'll be out with some friends all day, but I have a package coming in. I was gonna ask you to sign for it while I’m gone.”

You cut into his explanation, studying his features as he looked you up and down, "Sure, I can sign for it while you're gone, Min. It's no problem…" you offer your help with a tight-lipped smile, subconsciously hugging your laptop closed to your chest. Seungmin laughs softly as he takes notice of your anxious action. "I thought you said you'd be busy-"he pries, and you gulp before rushing out a haphazard excuse.

"W-well, I won't be gone all day, Min. Sorry if you misunderstood what I meant.."

He stared down at you, scanning your obviously flustered state with a smile tugging at his lips. "What were you up to just now, Y/n?" He asks the question casually, holding your gaze for what seems like an eternity until you mumble, "…nothing." Seungmin can feel the guilt oozing off your skin; it's swimming in your eyes, and he wonders why you'd lie to him about something bothering you.

He thought by now -after two years of being roommates- that you'd established a typical exchange of trust. Neither of you acknowledged the steady tension growing up til now, and he preferred it that way, but within moments like this, he wished you'd open up to him like a proper significant other would.

But you weren't his partner, and he decided not to press the issue if you weren't comfortable addressing it.

"Hm…okay. Well, I'll be up pretty late tonight. If you need anything, just shout for me…"!Seungmin circles around your bed again, flashing you one last smile before he leaves your room, and when the distinct 'click' of the door closing hits your ears, you open your laptop up again.

"That was way too close," you mutter to yourself, exhaling heavily to slow the rapid beating of your heart, but the image of Seungmin looming over you -unknowingly feeding your lust-driven psychosis- had your core throbbing all over again.

You couldn't take this much longer, enduring the sight of Seungmin without jumping on him for a bid at sexual relief, and if you thought about how that's playing out for more than ten seconds, you were back to square one of the problem.

So, you tried to fix it with a hasty decision. Buying a sex toy, not just an essential aid for arousal, but a contraption you were confident could get the job done…at least once.

Thankfully, the site you'd been browsing through for the past hour and a half had an expansive selection of products. Finding and purchasing the needed item took you only a short time.

< Your order is complete. Express shipping arrives in 24 hours or less! >

You stared at the message, confused as to why it said you paid for express shipping when you clearly clicked on "standard', but since the mistake was made and over with, you shut your laptop with a tired sigh.

In the living room, Seungmin sauntered over to the plush black cushioned couch, a bottle of alcohol in one hand, his phone occupying the other. He wasn't lying when he told you he'd be up late. The reason why was similar to your own for dodging his question.

Sex.

More specifically, how to get it from you, and with all the intelligence in the world, Seungmin thought his friends could help him achieve this.

He was proved wrong. They all had suggestions he'd previously employed that all ended with little to no results being attained.

"Have you walked around shirtless like Chan Hyung," Jisung piped up at the end of their three-way call, to which Felix laughed and added to the question, "Try shirtless with grey sweats. That'll be more accurate."

Seungmin groaned at their idiocy, grumbling as he sank onto the couch, "I've tried both, but she just avoids me the entire day when I do. And I know it's not because she doesn't like me back. She'll walk around barely clothed the next day, asking me to help with everything, and I know it's her way of getting back at me…"

It was, but you'd never say it aloud for him to hear, and he'd grown too headstrong to admit the effect it had on him.

Felix spoke up, amused by his friend's troubles but still wanting to provide a helping hand. "This might sound weird…maybe even a little off-putting…but let her catch you…ya know..?"

Seungmin sat up straighter, face scrunching as he tried to decipher what he meant, "No, I don't know, Lix…" He heard a nervous chuckle from the blonde, a sharp inhale, and an explanation he'd never imagined Felix, of all people, to give.

"Let her catch you masturbating."

"Felix?!" Jisung shouted in disbelief, voicing the same shock Seungmin couldn't seem to put into words as he mulled over the suggestion. Felix huffed, disregarding Jisung's dramatics to address Seungmin directly. "Listen, it worked for me before. Maybe it'll work for you. Sounds like she feels the same way you do. She just probably needs…a sign from you."

Felix had a point…sort of. Seungmin knew it but wasn't sure jerking off to get your attention was the right way to go.

That was until he heard your muffled moans vibrate through the wall.

He froze, unconsciously licking his lips as he listened to your whimpers of pleasure, not hearing a word Jisung or Felix said for the next minute.

Is she….touching herself right now?

Seungmin hung his head, gripping his phone so hard he thought it would break, and his joggers started to pull tight as his cock hardened. "Seungmin…hey Min, you still there?" Jisung's voice sounded miles away, drowned out by the salacious moans that you failed to stifle in the mess of your covers, but he heard every slutty sound you made.

"I. I gotta go, guys. I'll call you later.." he ended the call without a second thought, barely registering his friend's farewells, closing his eyes as he honed in on your voice. He could hear the thick covers on your bed shifting with your every move, and it wasn't hard for him to imagine how dainty you must've looked, tossing and turning with a hand tucked between your thighs.

Seungmin felt his throat go dry as the image of your legs spread open for him, what your creamy folds would look like when he sank two fingers into you, and how long he could make you cum like that -clenching around his fingers as they fucked you at a practiced rhythm.

His head reeled back against the wall, a soft grunt leaving his lips as he henpecked them and laid one of his hands over the bulge in his pants. You were talking yourself through it now, trying to edge your body closer to a release but unintentionally encouraging Seungmin to touch himself as he listened.

"…fuck, please…just like that…" you whined into the still air of your room, twisting your head against the pillows as your own fingers deviled farther into your walls. You were right at your end, closer to achieving your goal by using the image of Seungmin staring you down as fuel, but the oncoming threat of dissatisfaction crept in quicker than you could pump your fingers. You couldn't reach deep enough and explore the entire expanse of your warm walls as thoroughly as you assumed Seungmin could, which drained your imagination entirely.

You drew your hand away from your cunt with a defeated groan, whining curses as your slick-coated fingers started to dry, and tears pricked the corner of your eyes. This was unfair. The universe had to be playing a sick joke on you to make you crave a man so much that the simple act of pleasuring yourself to the thought of him felt useless.

The devastation had your head spinning, lacking logic, and doused in a pathetic sense of loneliness. "Seungmin.." you mumbled hopelessly, ready to cry as you snuggled into one of the pillows at the head of your bed. Saying his name eased your distraught state, made you remember who he was to you, and brought you back down into the depths of reality. He was your roommate who occasionally flirted with you.

Nothing more and nothing less.

Crushing on him was bad enough; craving his touch was worse, but you couldn't bring yourself to do anything about it. With a heavy heart and mind, you dozed off into sleep, hugging your pillow tight to substitute Seungmin 's embrace, and tried to forget your shameful night.

Seungmin's eyes shot open when he could no longer hear your sweet cries, his hand just beginning to fist his fully erect shaft, and precum oozed from his aching tip in a steady stream.

Why'd you stop? How could you leave him on the edge like this? Were you trying to agitate him, or was this another ploy to get back at him for something?

He was too frustrated to formulate answers to those questions, hyper-focused on the coil in his torso begging to snap, and unable to resist the urge to finish himself off. He pumped his fist slowly, replaying the last five minutes of your soft moans as a guide, and his own groans began to surface then.

Seungmin didn't bother to shut himself up, considering Felix's earlier suggestion, but put his own twist on it.

You didn't need to catch him.

No, he'd let you hear him as shamelessly as you had. And even at the brink of sleep, you listened, biting your lip as his husky voice trembled through the wall, and the sound of his cock sliding through his wet palm brought a heady blush to your cheeks. He moaned your name with confidence, smirking to himself as his hips bucked involuntarily at the thought of you, "Y/n…Y/n…mmm, fuck.. you're so good baby…so, so good."

The heat rose in your cunt like a raging wildfire as he let your name ring through the apartment.

Did he not care that you were on the other side of the room? Was he that certain you were asleep? Why don't you want him to stop? Why are you listening so intently?…

You gulped, subconsciously wrapping your legs around your pillow to rut against it, following the cadence of Seungmin's moans. His words began to slur together, dissolving into rough grunts as he reached his high, and with a final curse falling from his lips, he came.

You bit into your pillow to mask the excited mewl you let out, hearing him unravel. Visualizing the amount of cum that drenched his hand felt sinful; having to bite the tip of your index finger to keep from rushing out of your room to lick his hand and cock clean felt even worse, but you managed to stay sane…to stay put as he shuffled around in the other room to fix himself up.

Seungmin heard your timid squeals, though, grinning like a madman as he cleaned himself up and took a sip of his alcohol. His plan had gone smoothly, if not perfectly, and if your reaction meant anything…..he was sure it wouldn't be long before you came crawling to him for more.

++++++++

Like I said, I’m breaking this down into to two parts. 🖤 We’ll get to the best half soon. ;)

[ BONUS CONTENT + ]

I support the Seungmin Sir/Master kink agenda and this edit is a contributing factor in my argument. 🖤 credits to creator btw 🖤

#skz #stray kids #skz smut #stray kids x reader #skz imagines #skz x reader #skz hard thoughts #skz hard hours #kim seungmin skz #kim seungmin smut #kim seungmim #kim seungmin scenarios #kim seungmin stray kids #kim seungmin #seungmin x reader #seungmin imagines #seungmin skz #seungmin stray kids #seungmin smut #seungmin #seungmin hard thoughts #seungmin hard hours #sir kink #master kink

[alessiasfreckles]

amnesia - part 11 (ona batlle x alexia putellas x reader)

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

a/n: things might just be starting to look up for our girls :) once again, thank you to @codiemarin for all of the advice and suggestions!!! ❤️

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The tears kept going, and by the time you got home you felt absolutely exhausted. All you could do was crawl back into bed and cry yourself to sleep, the feelings of hurt and betrayal threatening to consume you from the inside. 

You awoke a few hours later to the sound of your doorbell ringing and your name being called through the door. It was Alexia, her voice making your heart ache. You wanted nothing more than to let her in, have her console you, comfort you, make you feel safe in her arms, but all you could think about was how they’d treated you and how foolish you felt.

You stayed quiet, hidden under the covers of your bed, waiting for Alexia to give up. After about 10 minutes it went quiet, and you breathed a sigh of relief. Wanting to make sure she was gone, you trudged to the door and looked through the peephole. The captain was gone, but you could see something on your doorstep.

When you opened the door to see what it was, you were greeted by a familiar scent - your favourite drink and pastry from the café down the road, the one that Alexia had taken you to just over a week ago.

Had it really only been a week? It felt like that afternoon was forever ago. 

Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes as you picked up the drink and pastry bag. Yeah, you were mad at Alexia, but it’d be a waste to just leave this on the doormat. You brought it inside and slumped down on the sofa, desperately trying to blink away the tears filling your eyes. You ate the pastry in silence, unable to find the energy to even grab the tv remote. 

The next days passed in a blur. At first, everything you did was consumed by hurt - it felt like your heart had been ripped out of your body, leaving a gaping wound. You knew it was dramatic, that you were probably overreacting, but that didn’t change how betrayed you felt. The hurt soon gave way to numbness. You went through the motions of each day, waking up, going to therapy, coming home. You tried to go for a daily walk in the park, something your physiotherapist recommended and something you knew would be good for your mental health, but even your walks in the park felt empty. 

You avoided seeing Alexia and Ona. It was easy enough - they were usually in the middle of training when you had therapy, and when you did happen to be in the gym you wouldn’t look at them, eyes fixed to the floor. The first time you saw them it was as though the air had been sucked out of your body, and after that you were careful not to look at them. You couldn’t get the image of them out of your head, though. How tired they looked. 

Try as you might, you couldn’t avoid them completely. Every single morning, like clockwork, a pastry and a drink would be waiting for you on your doormat. Sometimes it was from the café nearby, sometimes it was from a different café, one you remembered being near Ona’s place.

That was another thing - your memories. They were slowly returning, bit by bit, trickling in through the cracks of your closed-off brain. They reappeared softly, quietly, so that you didn’t even realise they were there until something made you think of them. A small bouquet, lying in front of your door, made you think of your first date with Ona, your first real date. She’d tried so hard, buying you flowers and everything, and you’d been so overcome you’d forgotten how to speak for a minute. A song playing on the radio reminded you of a post-match celebration, dancing in the changing room with your teammates. Memories you didn’t even realise you’d been missing.

The accident brought other things, as well. There were things you’d forgotten how to do, things you knew you should be able to do - the first time you tried to tie your shoelaces, alone, you almost cried with frustration. Alexia or Ona had always noticed you struggling before and had helped you without a word, but now you had to do it by yourself. After a few failed attempts you gave up, and pulled on a different pair of shoes. You knew you should just ask your physiotherapist or occupational therapist for help - you’d been told multiple times by various people that it was extremely common for people to forget or not know how to do basic tasks anymore after an accident like yours, but you just felt so stupid.

And lonely. You hadn’t noticed the frustration in your everyday life with Alexia and Ona there to distract you, help you, but without them it was more present than ever, and without them you realised just how alone you were. Sure, you were friends with the rest of the team, but those two had been your rocks, your best friends. 

One day, you were looking for a sweater to wear - laundry was another thing you didn’t have the energy to do - and found one you didn’t recognise, tucked away at the back of your closet. As you pulled it out and held it up, you were engulfed in a familiar scent, one that brought fresh tears to your eyes. It smelled like Alexia, like her perfume, and you knew without a doubt that it was Alexia’s sweater. You bundled it up and brought it close to you, holding it tight like a teddy bear, and found yourself unable to stop the tears from falling down your face - one, then another, then a cascade of them. You sobbed into the sweater, the feeling of loneliness overwhelming you. In what felt like a moment of weakness, you shook the sweater out and took a picture of it, sending it to Alexia.

[Y/N]: is this yours?

You regretted sending the message almost immediately, frustrated at yourself for giving in and messaging her. You were about to throw your phone aside when it buzzed.

[Alexia]: Si

[Alexia]: I gave it to you a few months ago, you kept forgetting to give it back to me

Something inside you told you that you hadn’t forgotten to give it back, but that you’d kept it secretly, loving how safe it made you feel. That you’d wear it when Ona wasn’t around, feeling guilty for keeping it, knowing that you should return it, but something always stopped you. 

You took a deep breath and began to type.

[Y/N]: I don’t think I forgot. I think I was keeping it on purpose, I wanted to have something that smelled like you

It was easier, somehow. Messaging her, rather than talking to her face to face. You felt like you could say things you wouldn’t be able to say in person, emboldened by the lack of eye contact. 

[Y/N]: it still smells like you

You stared at the screen after sending the message, your stomach in knots. You weren’t sure why you were so anxious about her response.

[Alexia]: Does it?

[Y/N]: yeah, like your perfume, I think

[Alexia]: is typing…

You watched the three bubbles appear and disappear, desperate for her to reply. Yes, you were still angry at her, but it was hard to be angry at a screen. And, if you were honest, you just missed her - missed both of them, more than anything else. 

As you waited for Alexia to respond, you went over to your chat with Ona. If you scrolled back far enough you would find inside jokes, sweet messages, heart emojis and selfies. You paused, then typed out a short message.

[Y/N]: hi

[Ona]: Hola, bebé

[Ona]: I’m so sorry about everything, I shouldn’t have lied to you like that

[Y/N]: actually, can we not talk about it, please?

You frowned at the phone screen. You missed them, you wanted to talk to them - but you didn’t want to be reminded of what had happened.

[Ona]: Of course

[Ona]: How was physio today?

At the same time, your phone buzzed with a message from Alexia.

[Alexia]: Ah, you always liked that perfume. You always wanted to steal some after training.

A warm feeling spread through your body as you read the message, your mind filling with memories of laughing in the changing room. As you sat on the floor in front of your wardrobe and typed away, chatting to both of them, with Alexia’s sweater still in your lap, you couldn’t help but smile.

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part 12 here

#hannah writes fics #ona batlle x reader #ona batlle #ona batlle imagine #ona batlle fanfic #alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas imagine #alexia x reader #alexia putellas fanfic #alexia putellas #ona batlle x alexia putellas #alexia putellas x ona batlle #woso x reader #woso #woso fanfics #woso imagine #woso fanfic

[souliebird]

[[and then I met you || ch. 12||

Series: Daredevil || Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader || Rating: Explicit

Summary:

A one-night stand years ago gave you a daughter and you are now able to put a name to her father – Matthew Murdock. Everything is about to change again as you navigate trying to integrate your life with that of the handsome and charming blind lawyer’s and Matt realizes he needs to not only protect his new family from Hell's Kitchen, but from the world.

pt: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

Words: 5k

banner thanks to the wonderful @theradioactivespidergwen

Even in the middle of the night, the heat of summer in Hell's Kitchen is oppressive. It doesn't help that there is a storm rolling in and it is so humid Matt feels like he's breathing in water. Sweat is pouring off of him and he's glad he opted out of wearing his red armor - he has the feeling he would have overheated within an hour.

The only good thing about it pushing eighty degrees at two am is that only people that have to be out are out. Even though it is Saturday night/ Sunday morning, the streets are empty and Matt has only encountered people on their way back home. He hasn't even needed to scare off any muggers or stop any break ins. In fact, all he has really done all night is track people to make sure they got to their destinations safely.

There was a small surge of people around midnight coming off the trains and they had been rowdy, but hadn't caused any problems. Matt quickly worked out they were part of the protesters who have been crowding outside the courthouse for the past few days and deemed they were not a threat to his beloved city.

He's spoken to a few of them while at the courthouse and he fully supports their cause and their right to protest. Admittedly, Matt is not one to stay on top of current events, but he thinks it is suspicious that the government will not reveal what caused the massive explosion in Connecticut. It's been weeks but instead of answers, it feels like everything about the incident is being shoved under the rug and Matt knows if it was closer to home, Karen would be chomping at the bit to investigate.

Over six hundred people lost their lives and no one is being brought to justice for it. They are saying it was an attack, but no one is claiming ownership or being blamed for the destruction. It makes him angry, and though this isn't his fight, he'll do his part protecting the voices in his community who demand the truth.

Tonight, it seems like his community is safe and Matt will be able to get more than two hours of sleep before he needs to go to Mass. He needs to do a final pass around the neighborhood before he turns in for the night, so he pushes himself up from where he has been crouching like a gargoyle and stretches his limbs. His knees pop and his back screams at him and he decides that despite the heat, he will take a scorching shower to soothe his muscles. He may not have gotten into any big fights the past few nights, but that doesn't matter to his body - it's always aching and throbbing in one way or another.

He pulls his mask down over his face, hating how it instantly makes his forehead sticky and wet, and starts his loop.

He starts at the top of 10th and weaves across and down until he passes Foggy and Marci’s apartment. He pauses across the street and crouches down as he tunes his ears to their bedroom. They are both in a deep sleep and there is no threat he can detect, but still he stays for a minute just to be sure. Daredevil may have complicated his best friend's life, but Foggy has never had trouble making his own enemies. He may not be a vigilante, but his sense of justice is just as strong as Matt's and that has caused people to come at him violently. Someone breaking in is not out of the question.

Marci has her own enemies but if anyone ever tries to come after her, well, Matt will pray for their soul because not even he is that self-destructive. She once made a joke about becoming a crime lord and he still has the occasional nightmare over it.

Matt scans the surrounding buildings for any problems once more before he starts off towards Karen's place. She was still awake when he last passed her building and the odds of her still being up are pretty even. He wouldn't be surprised to find her typing away at some article - stirring up the pot as always. He loves her for that personality trait, even if it mentally puts him through the ringer with worry over her - he supposes it is nothing compared to what he does to her.

But luckily, for the collective sanity of Nelson, Murdock, and Page, more people care about Karen's well-being than care about Matt's.

He knows she has Jessica's number on speed dial - letting them meet is one of his greatest regrets in life. He is well aware of the cameras set up by Frank's computer friend and while the Marine is out of town, he's left her with another layer of protection - his dog Max.

Not that Karen can't take care of herself.

If she and Marci teamed up to take over Manhattan, Matt doesn't know if he could stop them.

Maybe he'll tell her that for her birthday - it will make a better gift than anything he'd be able to think of.

Matt lands on the roof of Karen's building, relieved to find she has gone to sleep since he last checked on her. She must have let the dog get in bed with her, because it's snoring is making it hard for him to tune into her without concentration. She's safe and seemingly happy, so he lingers only a moment before resuming the last dredges of his patrol.

He heads down to the docks next. There are people there, but they are meant to be - prepping for the fish markets and early morning cargo ships. These are good, hard working men who don't dabble in things that would make the Devil hunt them. In fact, he's got a good contact in one of the fish mongers, who will let him know if there's been anything suspicious in the wee hours of the morning. He doesn't need to check in now, as there have been no whispers as of late, and he disappears back into the shadows of the city to head towards Clinton Church.

Matt's stomach turns as he gets closer to where he grew up. His feelings about the location and the people there have been a ridiculous rollercoaster since he found out he was a father.

He deeply misses Father Lantom. Despite what everyone has told him, he firmly blames himself for the man's death and does not understand why God made that choice. It hurts that he isn't here and Matt can barely bring himself to go into the church - he's only started to re-attend Mass since learning about Minnie to seek guidance from God about this new path. He'd give anything to be able to speak to the man who mentored him in life - to hear what he would say about Matt having a daughter.

It isn't that Matt dislikes the new priest - he just doesn't like him. He's resistant to change and it should be Father Lantom giving Communion and taking his Confession.

It should be Father Lantom who Baptizes Minnie, not this man Matt has never even spoken with.

Maggie is trying to get Matt to interact with the man, but his relationship with her is going through a rocky patch and he hasn't actually spoken with her in about two weeks. She hasn't done anything wrong - he is just having an internal crisis over how learning he is a parent changed him and his abandonment issues. He's spent a lot of time in reflection and understands why she left him and his father, but he now has a renewed anger at her for not telling him the truth sooner.

Did she not love him like he loves Minnie? Was it something he did wrong?

Will she love Minnie like she loved Matt? He trusts her to care for his daughter, but will she love her granddaughter the way she deserves to be loved?

Everything is made more complicated over how guilty he is over having these feelings and so, instead of talking to his mother, he's been avoiding her. He knows he needs to eventually address it, but for the moment Maggie is none the wiser about his mini-me.

He'll tell her after he tells you about her.

It is something he needs to do still - it just hasn't come up yet. Most of your conversations center around Minnie and you are still getting to know each other. You've shared few stories about your childhood - mostly about school - and Matt isn't so sure how your anxiety will handle Maggie. His mother is a good person, but she is a lot and he knows you have your own parent issues.

Like at the docks, there are people active at the Church. A few homeless patrons are seeking shelter before the rain and there is a nun tending to their needs. The kids are safely tucked into bed, and while it sounds like a few are having nightmares, there is nothing he can do for them at the moment.

If they wake and cry out, he prays their calls are answered.

Matt practically flees the sacred grounds and his anxiety only settles once he crosses into Chelsea.

As he runs, he hones his senses to the apartment building you live in. It is easy for him to lock onto - he's already spent countless hours perched on the boundaries of the two neighborhoods listening to you and Minnie sleep. He knows it is creepy, but he cannot help himself.

Minnie’s laugh is his new favorite sound, and not far behind it is your heartbeat. Much like his daughter, he's found himself focusing on it when things get too much and it is the perfect way to end patrols - winding down while you and Mouse dream.

You mumble in your sleep and it is the most endearing thing he's ever encountered. He likes to respond to your strange statements, imagining he's right there in bed with you. There has been a recurring theme of parrots and he is thinking that the bird exhibit will be off limits during Minnie’s birthday trip to the zoo, based on what he's heard.

But it isn't you mumbling in your apartment tonight - it's Minnie.

His daughter is awake and has moved from the bedroom to the living room. The television is on - playing what he thinks is Sesame Street - and she seems to be fussing with a toy. Context clues tell him she's playing with a doll or stuffed animal - dress up is one of her favorite games and he knows it is one of her Quiet Games.

“Nexts,” she says sweetly to her toy, “we gotta do your make ups.”

Matt decides to wait until he's landed on the roof before he makes her aware of his presence. He kneels and takes a moment to center himself, taking a deep breath to do so. He focuses on calming the Devil in his chest - this is the first time he's caught Minnie awake in the middle of the night and he needs to address it as Matt and not Daredevil.

He doesn't want to scare her, after all. She'll probably be very confused as to why he's there and being scared won't help anything.

“Minnie, sweetheart, can you hear me?” He asks, keeping his voice soft as possible as he does.

To her credit, she doesn't start at all. It takes her a moment to process, but then she questions, “Daddy?”

The name makes his heart soar - everytime she says it, he breaks into the biggest smile. It is the sweetest sound and the fact she switched to calling him that all on her own means the world to him.

She wants him to be her Daddy.

“Yeah, sweetheart, it's me. What are you doing awake?” he questions, smiling as he hears her get up and start to walk around. He wonders if she is looking for him and his guess is confirmed when he hears her start lifting things up to look under them.

“I'm watching Cookie Monsters,” she replies and Matt chuckles. He thinks it is so adorable she is also so direct with her answers. She always answers exactly what is asked.

“I don't think it is time for Cookie Monster, Mouse. I think it's sleep time. Mommy is sleeping.”

You are in a deep sleep, your breathing slow and even. He can tell you've been exhausted lately and probably need the sleep. More than once he's found you awake during his patrols. If Minnie tried to wake you up, you probably weren't responsive and she had left you to sleep.

She peters her way back to in front of the television and plops back down after checking under the dining table. Matt waits for her to respond, knowing sometimes it takes her time to form what she wants to say.

“I can't sleep,” she mumbles, upset clear in her voice, “there's a monster.”

The Devil flares up inside of him and he instantly scans the area for a threat. There are few people awake in the area and he focuses in on them - none of them appear to be any sort of danger to his daughter. At the moment.

But they could have been earlier. They could have woken her up by doing something horrible. A mugging. Domestic violence. Something worse.

He curls his lip into a snarl.

He'll find whoever upset his daughter and drive them from his city. The state.

It's a miracle he manages to keep his voice calm and gentle, “A monster?”

“A monster,” she confirms sadly. Her breathing becomes muffled and Matt figures she has shoved her hand into her mouth to self-comfort.

“Can you tell Daddy about the monster?”

She sucks on her fingers and with her free hand, pulls her toy into her lap. He wants to push her to tell him, but he knows he can't. She's not a witness or a suspect - she's his daughter trying her best. He can tell she wants to answer, he just needs to be patient.

“He ran really fast,” Minnie starts to say, barely taking her hand out of her mouth to do so, “and went eek-eek-eek and smelled like poopy-butt.”

The words baffle him and Matt knits his brows - this monster was close enough for Minnie to smell him? The monster in his chest snarls and he has to fight to keep his composure. He knows Minnie is locked onto him and if he lets his rage show, she will know and she will get scared.

He needs to protect his daughter. He needs to believe God will not test him in this.

“Minnie, sweetie, can you tell Daddy where the monster is?”

Her little head turns up to face exactly where he is standing, asking in a small voice, “are you gonna fight him?”

The Devil roars ‘yes’, but the Father in him says, “Do you want me to?”

“Mommy scares him away,” she advises hesitantly. He can practically feel the nerves radiating off of her and it makes him clench his fist.

Matt doesn't understand. This has happened before?

Then it beams him in the head like a baseball and Matt feels like a complete idiot.

Minnie is a toddler. Her monsters are shadows, creaky pipes, and the four legged creatures in the city. Those are things that no longer register on Matt's radar but she hasn't learned to tune them out yet. Of course she would be scared of those things - Matt was scared of those things when he first got his senses and he was much older than Minnie at the time.

He remembers his first phone call with you and how it ended - something about Monster Repellent.

“I can go scare off the monster - would you like that?” he asks, the Devil in him settling down now that he knows no one is trying to hurt his little girl.

He doesn't know if it's Minnie sensing his shift in mood or if she didn't want him to fight the monster and scaring it away is what she wants, but she untenses her shoulders and her hand comes out of her mouth.

“You'll scare him away?” She asks after hugging her toy right to her chest.

“I'll scare him away,” he quickly promises.

“He smells like poopy-butt,” she repeats and Matt wonders if she is making a stinky face. That is something you tell him he and Minnie share - a certain curl of their lips when they find something unappealing.

“That's okay, sweetie, I'll make him go smell bad somewhere else. He won't bother you,” he says. “Can you tell me where he went and I'll go chase him away.”

Finally, she points down towards the alleyway between her building and the neighboring one and adds, “He can climb walls. Like Spidey-Man.”

Matt resists the urge to huff over the mention of the other vigilante. He has met the kid twice before and his biggest take, besides it was a kid under the mask and that had been its own thing, was that he needed to learn how to throw a proper punch. It confirmed for him all that Avengers training and showboating really meant nothing and they really were better off fighting aliens and wizards than helping out real people.

“Don't worry, Mouse, I can climb the walls, too.” He's definitely letting his Pride show through, but if he can't show off for his daughter, who can he show off for?

He makes a quick map in his head, then goes to the edge of the roof. Minnie’s head is still angled up towards him and she ‘watches’ as he parkours down to street level. If he adds a few unnecessary flips, well, that is no one's business but his own.

Once he is on the pavement, he opens his senses to the things he normally blocks out. The city becomes far more lively around him - cats, raccoons, birds, dogs, all sorts of bugs and things he doesn't like to think about. There's yowling and chirps and suddenly so much more movement, most of it under his feet.

Mouse’s monster is easy to find. It is a disgustingly large rat that has built a nest of trash and grime under a dumpster. The thing has a respiratory infection, which has it wheezing and rattling and he very much understands why Minnie was scared of it. It is not a pleasant sound and the infection is not at all helping how the creature smells. Animals smell at the best of times, but this rat clearly enjoys the sewers and ‘poopy-butt’ doesn't begin to cover how rancid it is.

Matt starts to work out what he needs to do to make sure this sick rodent stays far away from his family. If it has a nest, it will come back, so he needs to destroy that - without damaging the animal. He doesn't have the heart to actually hurt the thing.

He pulls out his billy clubs and snaps them together to make a bo staff, then moves to crouch in front of the dumpster. “Okay, sir, I'm here to evict you,” he says, more for Minnie’s benefit than anything. “You gotta go.”

He jabs at the nest of wet cardboard and almost immediately, the rat scurries out and hisses at him. It snaps its jaws at him a few times instead of running away and Matt huffs at the display, turning his staff towards the creature and swatting at it. “Get out of here.” To its credit, it tries to fight him, biting at his billy clubs and screeching at him, but after a few good thwacks to its side, it realizes it has no chance against him and dashes toward a nearby grate.

He listens to it go down into some pipes and once it's out of range, he tilts his head up towards Minnie, a smile starting to form in his lips, “The monster has been vanquished, my princess.”

His words make her giggle and he can't help but chuckle as well. He hears her push up into standing and she toddles towards the window. There's a table in front of it, so he knows she can't see out of it, but he knows she's trying to find him.

“He's not gonna come back?” She questions and in response he starts to break up the nest. He spreads the trash around, knocking things down and away. It's not a big very big rat den, relying heavily on the dumpster.

“He's not, he's gonna go find a new home,” he promises as he works, and once he's satisfied with his destruction, he collapses his billy clubs and holsters them. He pushes up into standing and steps away from the trash can.

“Far away?” Minnie asks and his heart breaks for her. The stupid animal must have terrified her.

“Very, very far away.”

He locates the fire escape and starts to scale it back up to your apartment floor. As he does, he starts closing off his senses again. Things begin to fade into the background - the things he will need to start teaching Minnie. She's got a good handle on it already, having learned to function with it instead of needing to adapt.

He's so proud. So unbelievably proud.

She's such a good and pure child. She always wants to help and asks about other people. She may be shy, but she's empathetic.

You've taught her well.

Matt understands how Minnie is a mini-him in her abilities and mannerisms due to those abilities, but her sweet nature is from you.

He knows he's gone for you.

Foggy has pointed it out. Karen has pointed it out. God has smacked him in the face with signs.

His realization moment was hearing a man purchasing an engagement ring for a woman who shared your name. He had gotten so furiously jealous he had to go take it out on the punching bag.

Foggy laughed so hard at him.

He doesn't think you noticed at all. It is nothing against you, he completely understands. You are like him - you don't think you deserve love. You had been painfully shy your first night together, as well, and he had been charmed by it.

He's angry at himself for letting you be a one night stand.

He should have been there when you needed him most.

He's not going to fuck that up again.

He pulls off his mask before making a show off popping up in front of your window and Minnie dissolves into giggles.

“Hi, Daddy!” She waves at him and he can tell she is absolutely beaming. He eagerly waves back and he knows he's matching her smile.

“Hi, Mouse.”

“Why are you outside?”

He's planned for this. He has discussed this with Foggy and Karen at length. He did the unthinkable - he asked Frank - who apparently knew who Minnie was before either Foggy or Karen did. They had attacked the question from all sides. As the firm. As friends. As parents.

They couldn't lie to Minnie. Matt can see the signs she's picking up on what different heart beats mean. She's going to know and there's nothing they can do to hide it. She can hear all of Hell’s Kitchen just as well as he can. It may not happen until she's older, but she'll figure it out.

So, he's not going to lie to her. He thinks you would approve. You don't like lying to her - you soften the truth into something she can comprehend. He's going to follow your lead.

“I'm working,” Matt answers, crouching on the rails and resting his wrists on his knees. He's suddenly very glad he had a very boring night. “What are you doing inside?”

Mouse accepts the answer and hugs her toy to her chest, swaying side to side “I'm talking to you.”

He laughs at her utter sweetness. She giggles along with him.

He gives a fond shake of his lead, then leans forward so she can see him a bit better, “What should you be doing, sweetheart?”

She scrunches up her face as she thinks, then she falls into a pout, “Sleeping.”

“Yeah, you should be sleeping. You're going to be tired tomorrow. It's not going to be fun,” he gently warns. He knows it isn't her fault, but he knows it will eventually help her learn to push those noises to the background.

“Okay, I'll go bed. I gotta clean up first. Mommy says …Mommy says don't leave it until morning. You'll make morning you sad. Be nice to morning you,” she recites, patting her hands against her stuffed animal - it's not Scooby or Pig. (He doesn't know this one. His best guess is it's a Raggedy-Anne type princess doll. His little girl loves princesses - no specific one, just the concept and aesthetic.)

He loves the values you are instilling in her. He's going to steal this mantra and tell it to Foggy and Karen.

“Okay. I'll keep watch for any monsters,” he tells her. This is one of the reasons he wants her to know the truth. He wants her to know her Daddy will protect her from all of the monsters.

“Okay. Thank you. Love you!” She chants, then turns away.

“I love you, too, Mouse. So much.”

And he will tell her every chance he gets.

She carefully walks back to where she had been sitting and turns off the television, then goes to put her toys away. Like always, she's very methodical about what she does. He could spend hours watching her play. She fascinates him. She picks up one toy at a time and tells it good night as she puts it back into her toy chest.

She doesn't have much to clean up and when she finishes, she turns to face him.

“Will you tuck me in? Please? Thank you?” Minnie asks like he can say no.

“Of course, my love. Are you all ready for bed?” He questions as he hops down onto the fire escape - one of the screws holding it together shakes and he decides he'll come back another night with a wrench to tighten everything up.

“All ready!” she confirms and he can tell she's watching him with great curiosity.

He begins to run his fingers over the edges of the window, searching for a way in. You certainly don't make it easy - you invested in apartment security and it takes him a moment to disable it. He's careful as he slides the window up and pops out the screen. He slips into the apartment, then quickly closes the window behind him, leaving the screen on the floor.

Minnie has the decency to wait until that moment to run to him with open arms. Matt scoops her up, swinging her a little before putting her on his hip and once she is settled, he leans down to press his forehead to hers.

“We have to be quiet, okay? We can't wake up, Mommy,” he tells her and she quickly nods in understanding.

He doesn't know what he'll do if you wake up and find him in your home - but luckily you are still in a deep sleep. As long as Minnie keeps calm, you should stay lost in Dreamland.

He kisses her forehead then starts towards the bedroom. She returns the affection, planting a big kiss on his cheek before she gently smacks him in the face with her doll with a quiet, “mwah!” Then, she flops against his shoulder, using him as a pillow.

He has to fight back a pleased huff - his little angel is so sweet. He'll never get sick of getting kisses from her toys - it's so loving and innocent and he is greedy for any and all affection.

Your bedroom is a good twenty degrees cooler than the rest of the apartment - there's a fan going and accompanying it is a little window unit blowing in cold air. It feels like Heaven in the blistering heat that is the rest of the city. The chill seems to suck the consciousness from Mouse - she gives a big dramatic yawn, smacking her lips against his neck. Her body slumps into him and he rubs her back encouragingly.

He crosses the room carefully, hyper aware of any toys that may have found their way to the floor post-bedtime. It absolutely breaks his heart to have to pull her away from him and she does try to stay clinging to him - not fighting him just resistant - but she ends up in her bed and under her covers. He doesn't know if he would have had the strength to force her to let go if she really did want to stay in his arms.

He helps her adjust her sleeping headband so it is around her eyes and ears, then kisses her cheek one final time, “ready for sleep?”

The response is a barely there nod and Matt can't help but feel so much love for his daughter. Being able to conk right out as soon as she's comfortable shows how much she trusts him. His little girl is always so wary and subtly alert.

He's going to cherish this moment forever.

“Love you, Mouse.” He whispers.

“Luvo, Daffy,” is what it sounds like she says as she rolls to bury her face into her pillow. A moment later she is snoring.

Matt allows a few tears to fall before wiping them away and turning his attention to you. You have nested yourself under your blankets, breath hitching every so often. He's learned over time from various people this usually means bad dreams - not nightmares but things that can leave you shaken.

He doesn't dare move closer to try to soothe you with touch - that would certainly wake you up.

Instead, he promises, “I'll chase all your monsters away, too.”

tags:

@midnightreids @cloudroomblog @yeonalie @thychuvaluswife 

 @petrovafire39 @allllium

@dorothleah @mattmurdocksstarlight @mars-on-vinyl @mywellspringoflife @sleepdeprived-barelyalive @simmilarly @soupyspence @darkened-writer @akila-twt

@murc0ckmurc0ck @groovycass @sumo-b98 @just3rowsing @tongueofcat @zoom1374

@theclassicvinyldragon @aoi-targaryen @lunaticgurly @nikitawolfxo @shireentapestry @snakevyro @yondiii @echos-muses @honeybug-victoria @the-bisaster @ristare @mrs-bellingham @eugene-emt-roe @cometenthusiast @stevenknightmarc @hunnybelha @

Specialagentjackbauer @yarrystyleeza @ofmusesandsecrets 

@mayp11-blog @danzer8705 @thinking-at-dusk @remuslupinwifee @akila-twt  @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment @dil3mma @allllium 

@

two-unbeatable-beaters @kiwwia-wiwwia @1988-fiend @xblueriddlex @loves0phelia @ninacotte @lovelyygirl8 @littlenosoul @ednaaa-04  @ astridstark13

 @lovingkryptonitehideout @moongirlgodness @soocore @bluestuesday

#soulie writes #fanfiction #daredevil #matt murdock x you #matt murdock x reader #and then i met you

[exhaslo]

Puzzle Pieces Ch.7

(Mafia!Miguel x Shy!Reader)

Ch.1, Ch.2, Ch.3, Ch.4, Ch.5, Ch6

Warning: Eventual Smut so Minors DNI, mentions of abuse, blood, murder, language, fluff, bullying, mentions of sex

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

It had been far too long. Far too long since you've stayed alone with a man overnight. Your nerves were kicking in as you kept thinking about staying over at Miguel's place. You knew that he would never take advantage of you, but the nerves. The nerves wouldn't go away nor stop the thoughts.

Unable to stop shaking, you gasped as you dropped the order you were wrapping on the floor. Prepared to be yelled at, you shrunk and covered your ears. To your surprise, none of your coworkers yelled at you. They just quickly made another order and had to wrap it for them again.

You apologized and redid the wrapping, glancing around. You've seen these guys scream and yell at each other whenever someone fucks up. How come they didn't do it to you? Recalling Miguel, you started to wonder if he had a hand in this. Miguel was a regular and someone who did use the supermarket for something else that you still didn't know.

Could he have said something?

Playing with your sleeves, you tried to calm down. Could Miguel have said something to your bosses? The thought did make your heart flutter. How much was this man going to take care of you? You needed to find a way to return the favor.

"(Y/N), go take a break." Your Supervisor told you. You flinched and nodded,

"S-Sorry," You whimpered, hurrying off to the breakroom.

Right as you left, your Supervisor exhaled loudly and walked over to the small seating area in front of the deli. He placed a sandwich in front of a woman holding a newspaper.

"You got patience. I could never sit and watch someone for eight hours a day."

"That's why I got hired," Jessica said, lowering her paper, "You and I both know it isn't going to last forever. Miguel always gets what he wants."

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

You held your bag in your hand, waiting for Miguel's text. You had prepped last night and the manager allowed you to leave your duffel bag in her office for your shift. Stepping outside the supermarket, you gasped lowly, spotting Miguel exiting his car.

"I was just about to text you," Miguel hummed. His driver rushing out to take your bag, "Would you like to go anywhere first before dinner? There's still some hours of daylight left."

"O-Oh, hmm..." You covered your mouth, trying to think as Miguel motioned you towards his car, "I-I'm not sure, there is...a few things I've been wanting to see..."

"Name them,"

Once you were both in the backseat of his car, Miguel brought you in for a deep kiss. He loved seeing how dazed and red you get each time. It was so addicting seeing your innocence. As you started naming some places, Miguel informed his driver to take them to each one.

Before they left, Miguel made sure to signal Jessica a good job and for her to go back home. Miguel was determined to make sure nothing gets you stressed or worked up. Especially not after seeing those scars.

Right as he leaned back into his seat, Miguel eagerly waited for a report from Miles. There was so much anger inside of Miguel that he needed to let it loose soon.

"Thank you, Miguel," You whispered, resting your head against his shoulder. Miguel wrapped his arm around your waist,

"Of course,"

---------

You were exhausted. Miguel had taken you all over the city, sightseeing a bunch of places you had wanted to visit. You felt so happy and loved. But mainly exhausted. All of that walking around since he couldn't drive into those places, did take a toll.

Rubbing your eyes as you sat back down in the back of Miguel's car, you whimpered a small yawn. Once the car started to drive, you immediately fell asleep.

---------

Miguel resisted a chuckle as he watched you sleep against him. Wanting to make you comfortable, Miguel adjusted you and had you lay your head on his lap. Miguel's jacket resting over you as a blanket. It was funny. Normally Miguel had women lay down in his car for other reasons, but this was nice.

As Miguel played with your hair, he felt his phone buzz. Assuming that it was Miles, Miguel hurriedly answered.

"Update?"

"Weeeeeeeeell," Lyla forced a laugh, "That mission you sent Miles on turned out to be a road trip."

"Que? (What)"

"See, Gwen and Hobie found out that Miles was going out of town and decided they want in. Then they dragged Pavitar with them, so to make sure they didn't mess up the mission or do anything stupid-"

"Don't say Peter-"

"I had Peter go supervise them," Lyla laughed.

Miguel couldn't handle hearing anymore. He hung up, groaning lowly. It just had to be the youngling of his group. They kept adding to his stress. But, at least Miguel had you.

"Shall I take you home, sir?" Miguel glanced up at his driver,

"Yes. Perhaps take out will suffice for dinner instead." Miguel replied, adoring your sleeping visage.

The last thing Miguel wanted to do was overstimulate you. You were fragile. His reports from Jessica were very detailed in what got you to tick and explode. It took every ounce of willpower for Miguel to stay back whenever Jessica reported you crying over a stupid, angry customer.

But, you won't be working there much longer. Arriving at his penthouse, Miguel carefully picked you up and carried you upstairs while his driver grabbed the bags.

You looked perfect in his arms. All nuzzled against him, sleeping peacefully. Why didn't you appear sooner in his life? Miguel was going to treat you like the queen you deserve to be. His precious little wife. A title so fitting for you.

Miguel had his driver leave the bags on the counter and told him to enjoy the rest of his day. With ease, Miguel took off both his shoes and yours and proceeded to take you to his bedroom. Miguel placed you on his bed, kissing the top of your head before leaving to order some food.

"Que duermas bien mi conejito. (Sleep well, my little bunny)"

-----------

It was quiet. Your felt yourself start to come too as you shifted slightly in your sleep. You felt relaxed and comfortable. Slowly opening your eyes, you titled your head at the different, yet fancy ceiling. Miguel must have taken you to his place.

Gasping, you shot up, covering your face since you realized that you fell asleep. How embarrassing! You looked around, seeing that you were in his room, but no sign of Miguel. Laying back down, you felt yourself sink into his mattress.

"It smells like him," You whispered, holding his pillow close.

Your cheeks started to warm up as your heart pounded against your chest. You were really at Miguel's place. You wanted to feel like everything was moving so fast, but it also felt so right. It was corny, but you felt like Miguel was filling in the missing pieces.

"Ah, you're awake. Did you rest well?" Miguel asked as he entered the room. You quickly released his pillow and sat up,

"Mhm, s-sorry for falling asleep,"

"Don't be. I made you exhausted after a long day of work," Miguel sat beside you, cupping your cheek, "I got us some take out. Ready to eat?"

"Yep,"

You took Miguel's hand, giggling softly as he lifted you off the bed. Your arms wrapped around his shoulders, enjoying the moment. Miguel held your hand as he showed you around his penthouse, at least until he took you to the dining room where dinner was waiting.

"T-This place...is...is so big. It...It must feel really lonely," You whispered.

Miguel glanced at you in awe. Every other women would compliment on his place, saying it must cost a fortune, or make a sly comment about him needing a maid. Yet, here you were, worried about him. It was funny how much Miguel loved you.

"Not too much since I'm only here so a short time. Unless I get a reason to home won't, I'll stay out working." Miguel handed you a plate.

"T-Thank you,"

You watched Miguel as he set the plates, finding him much more attractive. This was new. You sat up, wanting to help him, but Miguel insisted that you'd sit and relax. As Miguel set the plates, you picked at your sleeves. He was so nice to you. So understanding.

Perhaps, you could tell him your secret. It was something hard for you, but if you were going to be serious with Miguel, you wanted him to know. You were just worried about his reaction. What if he decided that you were ugly? What if he didn't want anything to do with you afterwards?

"(Y/N), what's wrong?" Miguel hurried to your side, wiping your tears away, "Tell me, mi amor (my love)."

"I-I'm so-sorry. I-It's just...I...I want...w-want to t-tell you s-something b-but...but I-I'm scared...t-that you'll w-want n-nothing to do...w-with me." You sobbed.

Miguel knew you were scared due to your worse stuttering. He held you against his chest, letting you cry. Miguel had a rough idea that you wanted to tell him about your scars. Hell, Miguel wasn't sure how he would react. Stroking your hair, Miguel sighed softly,

"(Y/N), I never want you to be scared of me. You can tell me anything. I'll still love you all the same," He tried to reassure you.

You sniffled, trying to calm down. You apologized for ruining dinner, but Miguel dismissed it. He reassured you once more, and told you to eat. Miguel wanted you to have some energy before telling him anything.

You agreed and ate beside Miguel, still sniffling every now and then. Once finished, you offered to do the dishes, needing some more time to calm down. Miguel said he was going to shower. That gave you some time.

Once dishes were done, you quickly looked through your bag for your pajamas, puzzles and cookies. When Miguel came out of the shower, you proceeded to enter. You grabbed Miguel's hand, slowly bringing him back into the bathroom.

"(Y/N)?"

"I-I was...in a....v-very bad relationship...b-before. Which, which is why I'm s-so scared...I-I really...really...like you Miguel. I-I want y-you to understand...m-my fear,"

"Of course,"

You closed your eyes as Miguel held your cheeks in his hands. He kissed your forehead, giving you motivation. You hummed lowly and slowly started to take off your clothes.

---------

Miguel watched you, telling himself to relax no matter the outcome. You needed his support, which was something he was not used to giving. His brows furrowed as you took your pants off. There were cuts, scars and a few cigarette marks.

Miguel felt his blood boil. Tears were streaming down your cheeks as your body started to shake. You were gripping the bottom of your shirt, hesitating to pull it up. Miguel almost didn't want you too, but this was for you.

"Lo mataré por ti, mi conejito. (I'll kill him for you, my bunny.)" Miguel whispered as he gave you a deep kiss.

Miguel watched the sparkle in your eyes shine as you made eye contact with him. His hands rested over yours, helping you remove your shirt. Miguel inhaled deeply as he observed your body, which was covered in those marks as well.

"S-Sorry...f-for not being-"

"Beautiful?" Miguel interrupted, needing to change your mindset, "You didn't make these marks, but they don't cover your beauty. (Y/N), I'll get revenge for you, but I need you to love yourself as much I do." He whispered, kissing your hand.

"B-But-"

"You have no idea how much I'm behaving right now. Seeing you shaking in front of me, ready to be devoured."

Miguel chuckled lowly as your face turned bright red. He captured your lips in another kiss before taking your hand and showing you how the shower worked. He smiled, watching you nod and hold his hand tightly.

You were warming up to him, and Miguel liked that. Letting you shower peacefully, Miguel made sure to compliment you once more. He stepped out of the bathroom and returned to the dining room, to make sure everything was cleaned.

To his surprise, he saw your cookies. A smile formed against his lips as he placed one in his mouth despite hating sweets. To his surprise, it wasn't too sweet. It felt just right. Feeling his phone buzz, Miguel looked at a text he received from Miles.

'We have a name.'

"Tch," Miguel hissed lowly, calling the kid, "I want more than just a name. I want everything on his fucker. If you guys find him, bring me to me."

"Whoa, guys? It's just me-"

"I can hear Hobie and Peter in the background," Miguel said unamused. Miles laughed awkwardly,

"Okay, fine. Hobie's asking if we can rough him up a bit?"

"No. Leave that to me."

Miguel immediately hung up upon hearing your call. He returned to the bathroom with a grim look on his face. Miguel was going to make sure your ex paid for what he did to you. For damaging his precious future wife.

You belonged to Miguel.

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next chapter <<<Heavy smut

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[esmedelacroix]

Coffee Shop Love: Sweet Tooth

pairing: miguel o'hara x f!reader

summary: It's Christmas Eve and Miguel has a different kind of Christmas gift in mind...

contents: no use of y/n, not proofread, kinky, food play, oral f!receiving, cum play, cum eating, fingering f!receiving, sweet fluffy aftercare

author's note: Hey lovies, this is a Sequel to the series I just finished recently, Coffee Shop Love, wanted to try something new and write something kinky and whorenee, I'll get better at smut with time but hope you like...

word count: 1.6k

Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4, Pt. 5, Pt.6, Pt.7, Sequel: Sweet Tooth

You heard your house door open and close followed by the clatter of Miguel's car keys hitting the ceramic bowl at the entrance of your apartment. "I got your whipped cream you little psycho," he joked as he placed the grocery bag on your kitchen table.

"Thank you, hon'," you whispered sweetly as you got on your tippy toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Just an hour earlier you were on the verge of tears because you had no whipped cream and the gingerbread house you were making and, "everything would be completely ruined," You had told Miguel that it wasn't Christmas Eve if you didn't have a meltdown anyway.

You and Miguel had been together for weeks now. All you could say about being with Miguel was that it was like being happy every day. There was not a single day where you had nothing to look forward to because you knew he'd either come to the shop or sleep over if you begged him enough. And the sex? Well, it was mind-blowing. You thought Miguel would be more of a vanilla guy in bed but you were poorly mistaken.

You now know to never judge someone's sex life by their age. Sex with Miguel had you wondering if you had ever truly orgasmed before. When you did it with him it felt different from any other time. When he made you orgasm it felt like you were in a whole new universe on top of the world. He was anything but vanilla and he took note of things you liked.

"You like that?" he grunted in your ear after he had spanked your bare ass as you bounced on him. You nodded your head frantically, begging him to do it again.

As the night went by you both decided to get in bed a little early to give Santa some time to drop your gifts off. You got into your bed and waited for Miguel to come back from the kitchen. He soon walked into the room hiding something behind his back. You sat up trying to get a better look at what he was up to. "What's behind your back, Miguel? Are you going to hit me with another pillow, cause if so I'm so prepared this time," you started before Miguel put a finger to your lips.

"You must be a witch of some sort," Miguel whispered. Your face contorted in confusion.

"I can't seem to stop craving sweets because of you, I think I may like them more than you do," he muttered, bringing his mouth closer to your ears. His warm breath tickled the sensitive part behind your ear.

"So what are you gonna do about those cravings?" you whispered in a low tone. You finally understood what Miiuel was getting at when you caught a glimpse of the gingerbread whipped cream he held in his hand.

Miguel put some whipped cream in his mouth and pressed his lips against yours. The kiss was wet and messy, as your tongues swirled, you could taste the sweet cream.

His warm hands wandered under your shirt groping your tits, his calloused fingers circling one of your hard nipples. You moaned into the kiss, pulling at his wavy locks. With a swift motion, he takes off your shirt. To his pleasant surprise, you were wearing absolutely nothing underneath.

"Lay down baby,"

You lay yourself down on the bed, parting your legs a bit leaving your naked body on display for him to feast on with his eyes. Miguel licked his lip at the alluring sight before putting some whipped cream on the tips of your boobs.

With a grin, he slowly licked the whipped cream off of your tits causing you to shudder and giggle at the sudden feeling of his tongue on your skin. As his tongue swirled around your nipples you could feel your aching cunt throb. You began to rub your thighs together unconsciously to give yourself some friction.

He brought his lips back to yours, and you could still taste the sweet whipped cream on his tongue as he kissed with more passion than he ever had. He hadn't even touched you yet but you were already in haze.

He put some whipped cream in a trail from your sternum to the bottom of your abdomen. He placed himself between your legs and licked and slurped down stopping at your sopping wet cunt. He took a moment to savor the flavor. Your hand gripped the sheet tightly in anticipation of his next move. You whimpered and whined for him to continue. "Please Miguel—need you—p-please touch me," you whined as you grabbed him by his curly hair and practically shoved his face into your cunt.

"So needy baby," Miguel moaned into your pussy as he began his assault on your clit. The sensation of his moans vibrating from your cunt right to the tension building up in your stomach.

You clamped your eyes shut as you felt tears threaten to spill as you finally got some relief. You moaned loudly as he sucked on your sensitive bud. You felt his hot wet tongue lick up and down your slit, before he plunged it into your tight aching hole. Refocusing his attention on your clit, he plunged one of his thick digits into your cunt. Your moans only became higher-pitched and louder as he fed another finger into your cunt. "You like that baby?" he asked as he moved his fingers in and out of cunt at an ungodly pace. His tongue collected all the sweet slick dripping out of you. He humped the bed desperately at the same pace looking for any type of release.

You nodded your head frantically in response to his inquiry and gripped his hair even harder. "Miguel s'close," you whined as you babbled nonsense feeling the tension in your stomach explode like a thousand fireworks on the 4th of July, you moaned his name loudly as your thighs shook rapidly as you squirted all over his face.

When Miguel lifted his head from your cunt after cleaning all the juices of your thighs. Miguel was completely pussy drunk and drenched in your slick. "God that was so hot baby," he sighed as he gave you a quick kiss. You could taste yourself on his tongue as well as the faint taste of whipped cream. As Miguel lay against the headboard you settled between his legs hoping to return the favor but when she pulled his boxers down, all she saw was his sticky cum coating the inside of his underwear and his thigh. "You came in your pants?" you asked with your eyebrow quirked up at him.

"Stop teasin'," he says as his cheeks heated up and the pink crept at the side of his cheekbones. How did I cum in my pants like a little teenage horndog? He asks himself.

"It's okay hon', I'll clean you up," you said slowly looking straight into his eyes as you licked him clean and savored the salty taste of his seed.

You straddle Miguel sitting in his lap, and you crash your lips onto his. He holds you by the hips and gropes your ass as you kissed. Your tongues engage in a heated dance as he lifts you and walks over to the bathroom. You had your legs wrapped around his waist and fingers raked through his soft wet hair. He sits you down on the toilet seat and starts the shower.

The steam enveloped the bathroom as the scent of your Vanilla body wash floated through the bathroom. You got in the shower with Miguel. He helped you wash your hair and wrapped it up in a towel. He treated you like you were as fragile as authentic China. You helped him wash his hair as well. He wrapped his arms around you from behind before helping you get your back. You both got out afterward and lotioned up before slipping into your pajamas. You both opted for the matching holiday set you bought at the store.

Miguel had even gone so far as to put your hair oil in, detangle, and put it into two French braids before you went to sleep. "I had no idea you could do hair so well," you exclaimed, very happy with the outcome smiling at him through the mirror.

"Well you remember my late daughter I told you about, I used to braid her hair for her before bed and for her soccer games," he explained, smiling at the memories that resurfaced.

"I would love to meet her Miguel," you murmured as you took his hand and placed a kiss into it.

"She would've loved you even more," he reassured as he urged you to get comfy in bed while he made her a cup of tea.

He walked into the bedroom with a nice hot mug of Earl Grey tea. You could smell it when he brought it over to you. You had over 50 different teas in your house but he still knew exactly which one to bring you. "Thank you hon', you know me so well you even put some honey in here!" you praised.

"I've never met a coffee shop owner that hates coffee but it's fine because I make the best tea," he teases.

You roll your eyes playfully as Miguel rubs his hand along your thigh listening to you babble on about whatever drama was happening in the shop while occasionally kissing your hand.

When you were all done you slowly felt yourself fall asleep in his warm embrace. It was the merriest of Christmas nights you had ever had.

author's note: Thanks so much for reading this series! I had so much fun writing and I am so thankful for your support. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any requests, they are always open, let me in on your ideas, or critics. Thanks again xoxo

taglist:

@iite-cool@jewelz-teehe@br0-please@d1lf-loverrr@corpsebridenightamare@laysmt@bitchystrawberrystudent@lotionlamp@local-mr-frog@scaleniusrm@migueloharastruelove@thedevax@3zae-zae3@veyveys@simmerarmy@amber-content

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[daydreaming-nerd]

Young Love and Old Money (Cassian x Female! Reader) Part 9

Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 10

AN: Okay remember when I said there would be a lot more angst? Well here we are. We have arrived at angst station, everybody off the train. This part is so dramatic I really laid it on thick here. Regardless I hope you enjoy and I will try to get part 10 up ASAP!!!

Summary: She was the most beautiful woman in Prythian, sister to the High Lord of Night, and now she is the soon-to-be wife of Eris Vanserra. Despite her many titles and her aura of unattainability, Cassian can't help but fall deeply in love with the princess of the Night Court. But will it be enough to stop her impending wedding to a man who is sure to destroy her from the inside out?

Warnings: Sexism, super heavy angst, this got really dark, violence, blood, implied rape (but not described), did I mention violence?, (I'm sorry you guys.)

Word Count: 6,333

The next morning I wake up in my own bed and I don’t move for hours. 

Thankfully, after about an hour of crying by the Sidra, Azriel found me and took me back to the House of Wind.  Apparently Cassian had sent him, which gave me a little bit  of hope. That is until I went to his door and found his room empty. According to Azriel he left for Windhaven after returning home to pack a bag.  I didn’t need to interrogate further to know that Cassian wouldn’t be back before the wedding. 

I spent the entire day before the wedding in bed, staring at the sliver of light on the floor that the curtains let into the darkened room. Everytime I close my eyes I could hear Cassian and I’s laughter, which made me unable to fall asleep. When I wasn’t reminiscing over memories of Cassian I was listening intently to the sounds of the house, hoping I would hear his heavy boots thudding back to his room. I just wanted to see him one last time. 

However, those footsteps never came, and I found myself staring at the wall until my body gave up on me, from either exhaustion or hunger and I fell asleep.

Cassian’s pov: 

The second I landed in Windhaven I cracked open a bottle of whiskey and downed a glass praying it would allow me to sleep. Of course I was wrong. 

The entire night I saw images of y/n holding that little girl in her arms. God I had practically melted right then and there, thinking about what she would look like holding our own children. How adorable they would be with their tiny wings. 

My sleepless night had carried over with me the next day, everything and everyone putting me on edge. A young Illyrian had dropped their sword while sparring and I blew up at him. Devlon tried to argue that the females shouldn’t be training and I nearly slammed his head into a wall.

I was aggressively sharpening my swords on the edge of the sparring ring when Azriel found me, my brother simply  nodded his head towards the center as if to say “blow off some steam big fella.” I couldn’t turn him down, as he was the only one who could give me a run for my money, and today he sure did. 

“You fight like shit and you look like shit too brother,” Azriel barked after beating me again. He tossed his sword to the ground seemingly calling it quits for the day. 

“Yeah well my mate is about to marry another male in the next 12 hours so how did you expect to find me?” I gripe at him taking my seat on a weathered rock. 

“I suppose I wouldn’t know what to do in your situation either,” he admitted, taking a seat next to me. 

“Seems about right for me. Grew up a bastard and lived in the mud till you and Rhys’ sorry asses came along. Lost my mother and never even got to bury her, fought for 500 years, and then became mated to the princess, who is marrying another male.”  I scoff, shaking my head at the ridiculousness. “I’ll give the mother one thing, at least she’s consistent.”

Azriel was quiet for a moment, as if taking in what I had said before clapping a hand on my back, “The pain, it will go away Cass. It will take time, but I will be there with you every step of the way.” he assured me, and for a moment I felt a little lighter. 

“Get wasted with me tomorrow?” I ask more seriously than I should.

“You know I will,” he said, offering me a slight smile. 

I hoped that Rhys had gotten some more whiskey since the last time I raided his cabinet, because I don’t think any amount of drink could make me forget the way she looked at me the first morning we woke up together. The way she would laugh when I kissed her cheeks, the feeling of her delicate hands running soap over my wings. How she would say “you need a bath!” when I would give her a sweaty hug after training. The face she made when I distracted her from one of her romance novels by tickling her feet that rested in my lap.  

By the cauldron, I was a dead man. 

y/n's pov:

Stepping into the Autumn Court felt like I was walking to my own execution. Instead of Eris being at the end of that aisle there would be a guillotine. I almost wished for that instead. Any comment made by Rhys about how I seemed tired I chalked up to pre-wedding nerves and thankfully he didn’t push after that. 

The entire morning had been spent poking and prodding at my skin, my hair and my eyes.  If I thought that Nuala and Cerridwen were meticulous I was sorely mistaken. The ladies of the Autumn Court didn’t mess around and if this was my life going forward (which sadly it was), cauldron boil me. 

The ladies in wait primped me up until a half an hour before I walked down the aisle. I had to literally commande them out of my suite in order to have a moment alone. I sat staring at myself in the floor length mirror. For what it was worth, I looked beautiful. I half expected the dress that was chosen for me to be  awful and gaudy, however it was elegant. The lace along the neckline mimicking the flames associated with Eris’ power. Had I been walking down the aisle to a different groom, I might venture to say that I was excited to be married. However as I stared at myself in my white wedding dress I couldn’t help but feel a tear slide down my face. 

A tentative knock reverberated through the room, nearly making me jump out of my skin. I took a deep breath and wiped away a stray tear. 

“Come in,” I said with shaky words looking at the double oak doors through the mirror before me.

The door opened slowly, whoever it was looking around the room before entering. A large figure finally popped it’s head in, eyes finding me immediately. I would know that jet black hair anywhere. 

Cassian. 

I whirled around to meet his gaze as he shut the door, taking slow and tentative steps towards me. His eyes searched my face for any hint of anger or resentment. 

“Cass,” I breathed, as if to assure myself he was really there. 

“You look beautiful,” he smiled looking me up and down, but I could see the veiled sadness on his face. He was putting on a front, and a bad one at that.

“Thank you,” I say, taking a tentative step towards him. “How did you get in here?”

“They don’t have you that well guarded,” he chuckled, stepping closer till he stood before me. Neither of us reached for one another, unsure of where we both stood. It felt wrong not to instantly wrap my arms around him. “I don’t like where we left things,” he continued.

“Neither do I,”   

“I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I yelled at you that night. I’m sorry about the things I said,” he starts again. His hands reach for mine but pull back as if afraid to touch me. “I wanted to say that I understand now. And that I think you are incredibly brave to be doing this for Velaris. I’ll never be happy that you’re marrying Eris, and I’ll always wish it was me. But I understand now, and I respect the love you have for your people, and the lengths you’re willing to go to to keep them safe. Will you forgive me?” 

I feel the stray tear pricking my eye once more, “There was never anything to forgive Cass. I was more upset with myself for giving you false hope. For going along and loving you and acting like things were going to be alright when I couldn’t guarantee it.” I sigh, casting my head down, unable to face him.

I feel his gentle calloused hand tip my chin up to meet his gaze. His eyes, that beautiful hazel, glassed over. Despite it all, despite what I put him through, there is still so much love in them, and I know I’ll never really deserve it.

“Loving you was the greatest gift I’ve ever known, and ever will know,” he smiles as if he’s remembering the short time we did have together. “I’ll be here waiting if you should ever change your mind or in case something ever happens.” 

“Cass,” I start to protest but he stops me.

“I’ve loved you for so many years y/n. There can be no one else but you. If I don’t get to have you until we are both old and gray so be it. I’ve waited this long,” he assures me cupping my cheek.  

I don’t even have words to reply to his confession. Boundaries be damned. I threw myself around him pulling him as close as possible. His arms tighten around me like he had been waiting for me to make a move. In the embrace there’s an understanding, an unsaid agreement.

I back away to see those hazel eyes once more, my own eyes raking over his body. I notice he’s not dressed in a fine suit jacket, or even his fighting leathers. Instead, he’s donning a loose fitted shirt, something completely unfit for a royal wedding. 

“You’re not staying are you?” I ask, pressing a hand to his stubbled cheek that tells me he didn’t shave this morning.

“No, I just had to see you one last time,”  he answers, taking my hand from his cheek so he could hold both of them. 

The weight of his words shoot right through me, and as I look at him, I let them sink in. I watched as a tear slid down his own cheek, it was the only time I had ever seen the general cry. 

“One last time,” I repeated, letting the words consume me. 

His eyes glanced down at my lips, a silent plea to taste them again,

“Can I?” he whispered. 

“Gods yes,” I sigh. 

A hand drifted up cupping my cheek and pulling me into a kiss. The last kiss we might ever share. I poured every ounce of love into it trying to give him something to remember me by, trying to savor every moment of it for when my days ahead were darkest. My chest heaved as if being pulled forward and then…

Snap.

It was as if a piece of me was returned, one I never knew I lost. I pulled back to meet his gaze and by the way he looked at me I could tell he knew, had known. I felt like I was truly seeing him for the first time as that shimmering golden bond glowed between us.

“You’re my-” I started but I jumped at the bang sounding throughout the room. 

My eyes met the fiery auburn of Eris’ as he entered the room, at least twenty autumn court soldiers behind him. I didn’t have time to step away as he winnowed to me pulling me away from Cassian. 

“You!” he seethed at my general who was already assessing the situation. “I had my suspicions but never the proof and you fell into my trap so easily.” he boasted.  

My thoughts scrambled to what Cassian had said earlier…”They don’t have you that well guarded.”

“Restrain the bastard!” Eris ordered his grip on my arm tightening at the command. 

“No!” I screamed lurching for Cassian but Eris hauled me back to him. 

The soldiers were on him in an instant all of them falling like dominos before The Lord of Bloodshed. Cassian’s eyes blazed with a fury by the likes of which I had never seen before, he wasn’t a general protecting his princess. He was a male protecting his mate. 

Eris’ body tensed behind mine as soldier after soldier fell. In an act of desperation I felt him unsheathe the dagger at his thigh, pressing the blade to my throat. 

“Oh general,” Eris sang. 

It was enough to catch Cassian’s attention for a split second, his eyes widening as he saw the position I was in. A  rogue soldier used the small window of time to pull his dagger and stab it through Cassian’s side. 

“NO!” I screamed as Cassian hissed, his knees hitting the floor. Immediately the rest of the soldiers were on him, restraining him and binding his wings. His siphons tried to come to light but sputtered out.

“Bloodbane,” Eris smiles, lowering the dagger from my throat. “Stings like a bitch doesn’t it?” 

“Eris please, don’t do this. He’s my mate, I didn’t know until now and-” 

“I would choose your next words very carefully, pet,” he cuts me off. “Right now your ‘mate’ has been stabbed with a dagger laced in bloodbane, which means that even if your dear brother did know he was here he couldn't communicate with him. As for Rhysand, he now sits in a wedding chapel completely unaware and unarmed with a bloodbane arrow aimed for his fucking throat. And last time I checked the only asset you had was a magic cunt.” 

Cassain growled from the other side of the room at Eris’ vulgar words. My eyes flitted to where he was pulling against the restraints. 

“However, I consider myself a merciful ruler,” Eris taunted, grabbing my face to meet his stare. “I’ll give you a choice. You either walk down that aisle, be a good little wife, and pop out a couple of heirs as promised, or you call off the wedding and I’ll gut your precious general where he kneels.” 

“y/n, no!” Cassian gritted through bared teeth. 

I watched my mate struggle to break free, the bloodbane in his system beginning to take over. I looked to Eris who stared at me with hungry eyes. I tried to think of some way out of this, but Eris was right. We had fallen right into this trap, and my hands were tied.

My gaze met Cassian who could read my face like a book, “I’m sorry Cassian, but I once told you that I could never live with myself if something happened to you and I had the power to stop it.” I turn to face Eris and his shit eating grin. “If you promise not to hurt him, or my brother, I will go with you.” 

“You will submit to me fully?” Eris asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” I nod, my mind flashing back to when Rhys was in the same position. 

Eris steps closer to me, tilting my head up in an act of dominance, his mouth too close to mine for comfort. I could hear Cassian’s grunts as he continued to try and break free. 

“And you’ll warm my cock whenever I please?” he muses, clearly loving the control he has over me. 

“Yes,” I grit. 

He smiled triumphantly, releasing my chin as he turned to his guards, “Take him away and lock him in the dungeons.” 

“You said-”

“When you walk down that aisle and say ‘I do’ then I shall send him back to the Night Court, Jewel of Prythian. I won’t be taking any chances.” Eris growls in my face before turning to Cassian who had now been brought to his feet. “If I ever see you in my court, or anywhere near my wife again Prince of Bastards, I will make sure that she pays the price.” 

“You fucking bastard!” Cassian roars, body nearly limp from the bloodbane as he’s hauled off by the guards. 

“Wait, let me say goodbye!” I cry running to him, but I’m yanked back by my arm so roughly it nearly pops out of its socket.

“Your obedience begins now!” Eris grits but I pay him no mind thrashing about in his grasp trying to touch my mate once last time as he disappears behind the oak doors. 

“Cassian!” I scream for him, tears waterfalling over my eyes.

“y/n!” he shouts back. 

But it’s too late. The doors close with a definite slam and I’m left weeping in Eris’ grasp as I hear the sounds of Cassian struggling down the hall. 

Cassian’s pov: 

Eris was right, the bloodbane hurt like a bitch. Even an hour later as I sat on the cold, wet floor of the Autumn Court cell, the toxin still made me feel lethargic. As if I had taken the world's strongest sleeping tonic. 

The worst part of it all was that I could hear everything. The organ playing signaling that y/n was walking down the aisle and the cheers of the people as they finally said their vows. The worst and loudest of them all were the bells. 

They rang with such clarity, and joy. The happy little melody could be heard from everyone in the Autumn Court, announcing that the Eris and y/n were finally wed.  The ringing made me double over with grief, their sound a reminder that I was the only male in Prythian who could not protect his mate. A shame greater than being a bastard, and one I would carry with me until the end of my days. 

Metal on metal screeched from somewhere in the dungeon as a light poured in. The jingling of keys and stomping of boots stopped at the door to my cell and I didn’t even bother to look up. Nothing mattered anymore anyways. 

“Come on ‘Prince of Bastards’, time for you to go back to your own court,” the guard grumbled, like hauling me home was a huge inconvenience to him. 

I rose to my feet and stepped languidly out of the door. The restraints on my wrists and wings  were removed, the skin on my wrists rubbed raw from the blue stone shackles. I was led up the stairs to where the wards ended and was immediately winnowed to the border of the Autumn and Winter Court. The cold blizzards of winter whipping around us and chilling my wings. 

“Prince Eris has asked me to remind you that you are now banished from this court. He also says that should you choose to seek out his wife once more you know what the consequences will be.” the guard relayed. 

Before I could even think about punching the asshole square in his jaw he disappeared into thin air, no doubt going back to his post in the basement of the palace.

I was left with nothing but the sound of my own thoughts, and the feelings of my own guilt as I flew home towards the House of Wind where I knew Azriel was waiting. The flight was the longest one I had ever been on, as normally I took this route with y/n in my arms.

 I had never been so happy to touch down on solid ground once more. Azriel tentatively walked out onto the balcony, two glasses of whiskey in hand. His shadows told him that something was very wrong. 

“What the hell happened?” He asked, an alarm ringing in his voice. 

The lump in my throat returns as I remember how it all went down.  “The bond snapped for her, and she changed her mind. Eris found us, said he had set the whole thing up. I was stabbed with a bloodbane dagger,” I say, lifting my arm to assess the blood leaking from my side. “He told her that if she didn’t marry him he would gut me and Rhys.” 

The next words teeter on my lips as I feel my eyes brimming with tears. It felt like pieces of me were being ripped out as I finally confessed to my failure. 

“I couldn’t save her,” I choked out, voice cracking halfway through. 

The words being uttered into the world was enough to have my  knees crashing to the ground. The impact radiating through my body to the open wound on my side that still hadn’t healed.  I was sure that Azriel had said something as I heard the glasses of whiskey clatter to the ground. But the roaring in my ears was so loud, so unbearable, that the only thing that assured me he was still there was the arm he slung around my back as he knelt next to me.  

y/n’s pov:

The wedding was uneventful and to be honest the only part of it I remembered was when the priestess said, “If there is anyone present who can show just cause why these two may not be joined in matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.” 

The silence that had fallen upon the crowd was so deafening I nearly shuddered. I was stupid to hope that he would come charging in like some fairytale I had read as a child.  The smug look on Eris' face as the priestess continued with the nuptials made my blood go cold. 

The reception was even worse. I had spent the entire time sipping wine with a bland expression on my face. It seemed as though Eris’ new favorite word was ‘wife’ considering he found a way to use it in every sentence.  While most would think it a term of endearment I knew it was just to show his ownership.

“Prince Eris, congratulations on stealing ‘The Jewel’ from us all,” a voice said, cutting across the sea of chatter. I looked up from my lap to find the High Lord of Spring, standing before our table. 

“Thank you Tamlin, she is quite the prize,” Eris crooned, placing a kiss to the back of my hand. 

“That she is,” Tamlin nodded, his eyes raking me from head to toe. “Almost makes me regret crossing her brother, I would’ve liked to have been in the race for her hand.” 

“All in the past now,” Eris smiles, kissing the palm of my hand.  “Right wife?” 

“Right,” I nod to him before turning to Tamlin. “High Lord, where is the Cursebreaker tonight? I would’ve liked to make my acquaintance.” I ask secretly hoping that my brother might catch a glimpse of his mate tonight. 

“Feyre is,” he averts his gaze from mine as if trying to decide what to say. “She is safe at home. Busily planning for the wedding.” 

“The wedding?” I inquired further, wondering if Rhys knew.

“Yes we are to be wed soon,” Tamlin beamed with pride. “I’m sure we will see you both present?” 

“Of course Tamlin, of course,” Eris assured the High Lord of Spring. 

Surely if Feyre was getting married to Tamlin my brother knew. I hoped I would get the chance to tell him. The last thing our court, well I suppose his court now, needed was another separation of mates. 

The rest of the night passed on quite slowly. At one point I was able to feel the bond between Cassian and I. It was faint, but it was there, and I almost swore that I felt him tug on it at one point. It wasn’t until people started making their excuses to go home that Eris finally said the words I had been dreading. 

“Shall we go to bed, wife?” he mused his lips brushing the shell of my ear. 

“After I say goodbye to my brother,” I nod standing up to find Rhys, wherever he was. 

“You’ll see your brother soon enough, my pet. For now let us retire to our chambers,” he growled, grasping my arm and winnowing away to what I assumed was his room.

He watched intently from behind me as I took in my surroundings. 

The bed was large, draped in furs and crisp white sheets. Wood paneling surrounded the four walls, giving the place an ornate look. The fireplace was a glow, casting a warm light upon the room. If it had been anyone else’s room it would’ve been cozy, maybe even romantic. 

The air filled with tension as I waited for Eris to do something, or say something, as I refused to turn and meet his gaze. The only sound heard was the crackling of the fire. 

“I’ve waited for this moment for quite a long time,” Eris mused from where I knew he was leaning against the door. 

“You’ve made that abundantly clear throughout our courtship,” I say straight, unable to meet his predatory stare.  

“How should I have acted when you are so tempting? So innocent, so pure, and now so completely mine,” he purred and I could hear his feet shuffle as he pushed off the wall. “And now that you’ve promised me your submission? Well,” he chuckled. “I’m going to have a great deal of fun with you.” 

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I knew what was coming and I knew he wouldn’t be gentle and loving like Cassian. I knew that once again my hands were tied.  

“Tell me you belong to me,” Eris uttered, taking a step closer to where I stood rigid. 

I sucked down the lump in my throat, “I belong to you,” I whispered.

“Tell me you want me to touch you,” he went on, taking another step forward, his presence looming. 

“I-I want you to touch me,” I repeated back, a tear slipping down my cheek.

Eris hummed in approval behind me. He took one, two more steps until I felt his warmth at my back. Finger tips danced up and down the backs of my arms causing my breath to lurch in fear. His breath was hot on my neck as his presence sucked out every bit of air from the room. 

“Tell me you love me,” he purred. 

My heart stopped cold. There were many things I would have to do or say to please Eris in the millennium that I would be tied to him. But these three words? He would never hear them from my lips. Maybe towards our children, but never to him. 

“You know it wouldn't be true,” I whisper, feeling the tension radiating from his body. 

His hands grip my hips like a brand, ripping my body around until I am face to face with his seething eyes. 

“Then I will make it fucking true!” he growls hauling my mouth to his. 

Eris had kissed me a thousand times before, not one of those times did I ever enjoy the experience. But this time? This had to be the worst. All of it felt so wrong.  Knowing I had a mate. Knowing he was somewhere in this world right now. It made me sick. It was rough, all teeth and tongues. He didn’t want to kiss me, he wanted to devour me.  

“Say it!” Eris demanded, breaking apart our so-called kiss.

“I will love your hounds and your mother, I may love your brothers and one day our children, but I will never love you, Eris Vanserra,” I seethed, unable to take much more. 

I expected him to growl, or curse or hit me. I expected a thorough lashing for what I had said, but he didn’t even so much as flinch. What scared me more? His mouth curled up in a smirk. 

“You forget that you are also a Vanserra now and speaking of heirs, I think it’s time I put one in you right now,” he mused and my stomach bottomed out. “What do you say ‘Jewel of Prythian’ think I can get you knocked up on the first try?” he smiled, backing me to his bed.

There were no words for the terror I felt. No handbook to prepare me for what came next. All I could do was shut down every emotion I had and do my best to become a ghost. A shell of myself. 

No matter how hard I tried, it didn’t subdue the pain. 

Azriel’s pov: 

I thought that getting Cass drunk might help distract him from the feelings floating down the bond tonight, but boy was I fucking wrong. 

I had seen my brother lose soldiers and whole infantries. Had seen him lose his first love, the valkyrie, Tanwyn. I was there the day Rhys and y/n went under the mountain and we thought we lost them for good. 

None of that compared to the screams of agony that emanated from the male before me. 

“He’s fucking hurting her!” Cassian bemoaned, gripping the nearly empty bottle of whiskey. 

It didn’t take much to figure out that he could feel everything y/n was feeling through the bond. And at this late hour? It wasn’t hard to guess what Eris was doing to her, and Cassian had to feel every moment of it down the bond.

“Shh calm down Cass you have to try and block her out,” I pleaded with him, gripping his hand in mine. 

His eyes were glassed over, his hair tangled from him nearly ripping it out at the roots. He had been like this for well over an hour now, and I almost wished the whiskey would do its job and make him fall asleep simply so he would be unconscious. 

“I can’t Az I’ve tried,” he yells at me, nearly slumping to the side from where he sat on the floor leaning against the wall. 

Earlier Rhys had spoken into my mind and asked if everything was alright. I had lied of course, telling him everything was fine, not wanting to insert myself in my brother and the princess’ business. Now I wished I had told him to come if only for him to break into Cass’ head and make him sleep. Watching him feel everything his mate was feeling while she was being… well there weren’t words for it. 

“Breathe Cass, breathe,” I soothed, trying to get him to catch his breath long enough to breathe in and out fully. 

“I-I can’t,” he cried. “My mate.” 

His voice resonated with hopelessness and brokenness, reminiscent of the tragedies depicted in literature. This situation felt nothing short of hellish. For centuries, I longed for a mate—a bond that every fae yearned for. But witnessing how it tormented Rhysand, and observing its impact on Cassian, made me question if I truly desired a mate. In my 500 years of life, I had never seen a male stripped down to his core as profoundly as this.

y/n’s pov:

The next morning I woke up late in the day, the atrocities of last night lasting well into the early hours of the morning. It took me a moment to get my bearings. I wasn’t in the House of Wind, I was in Eris’ room. It wasn’t Cassian’s arms around me in a possessive grasp, it was Eris’.

I slowed my heartrate down enough to assess the room around me. Behind me, Eris was fast asleep, which meant I had a few moments to collect myself before he woke. I looked around the room for a second space and found a door ajar that appeared to lead to a bathroom. I saw my opportunity and took it, carefully wiggling out of Eris’ grasp. 

My body ached all over, especially between my legs, but I pushed through until I stood from the bed. I tiptoed over to the bathroom, shutting the door as quietly as possible.  Thankfully there were two robes hung on the door. The one for Eris made up of thick cotton, and the one for me made of a cream colored silk. 

I reached for the silk robe and slipped it over my bare body, noting every large bruise and handprint that littered my skin. A problem for a later time, I told myself. 

I must’ve spent fifteen minutes in the bathroom collecting myself. Constantly repeating my new found mantra. 

I will not cry.

I will not cry.

I will not cry.

I spent so long taking deep breaths that I thought I was prepared for whatever came next. But the second I opened the door and saw Eris standing, staring down at the white sheets of the bed expectantly I knew I was sorely mistaken.

“You didn’t bleed,” Eris stated, tossing the bedsheets aside, stalking towards me. 

“What do you mean?” I replied feigning innocence like I didn’t know what he meant. 

My heart began to beat out of my chest as Eris stalked closer and closer to me. How could I have been so stupid? To overlook the one thing that meant the most to him in this entire facade.  

“Virgins are supposed to bleed the first time they are taken by a male, yet you didn’t,” he growled, stepping into my bubble as my back hit the wall. Never in my life had I felt so small.  “Which means you weren’t pure when you married me, or when you came to my bed.” 

Every nerve in my body froze over as I watched him put together the pieces. There was no telling what happened next, and the only thing I could do was beg for mercy from whatever plans Eris had for a soiled female. 

“Eris I-” 

“Did you let that Illyrian bastard deflower you?” he gritted out, a rough hand came to grip my  throat, slamming my head against the wall. 

Tears pricked my eyes. Even if I had wanted to answer, the hand on my neck wouldn’t allow me. I could only shake in terror and anticipation of what would become of me. 

“You useless, pathetic fucking whore.” he gritted, hand squeezing tighter with every insult. “Our marriage is now null and void by the traditions of my court, which means you no longer have the protection of being called my wife.” 

His hand releases my throat and I have mere seconds to suck down a breath before a harsh slap falls across my cheek, knocking the air from my lungs once again. The next thing I know I’m kneeling on the floor, clutching my face. Eris reaches out a hand to yank me up by my hair. 

“Let me show you what we do to ran through sluts in my court,” Eris spits in my face. 

His hand doesn’t relinquish its grip from my hair. Instead it begins to drag me out of the room and down the hall. My scalp is burning from the tug on my hair. He takes a back corridor reserved for servants and my bare knees bump, slice and break on the rough stone stairs leading down to wherever he’s taking me.

My hands try to find purchase on the walls around me so that I can ground myself and fight back but it’s impossible. 

“ERIS PLEASE!” I scream, but my pleas fall on deaf ears. 

We reach a basement room that drops in temperature and he finally releases me. I try to catch my breath as I watch him scribble something on a piece of paper, picking up a hammer and nail. I instantly go to cower in a corner as he walks towards me. The autumn prince pulls me out of my fetal position by my  ankles pinning me to the ground beneath his weight. 

“In case I did get you pregnant on the first try,” he seethes before I feel a sharp pain to my lower abdomen. 

I don’t look down, I can’t look down. Afraid of what I might see there when I do. My eyes roll to the back of my head as Eris grasps my arm and a cloud of darkness washes over us. 

When the shadow withdraws my bare skin is whipped and flayed by blistering cold winds. The ground beneath me is soft, but ice cold. I open my eyes long enough to see white as far as the eye can see. 

The Winter Court. 

“And just  in case you get any ideas about utilizing that so-called mating bond,” Eris speaks again before another sharp sting plunges into my side. 

White hot pain spreads from the intrusion and spreads like acid moving through my veins. I feel like the blood beneath my skin is on fire, and I almost wish it was in order to combat the blizzard around me. Only one thing could disable me like this, bloodbane. The very same used on Cassian.

“You’ve brought this upon yourself, ‘Jewel of Prythian’. I hope that bastard general was worth your life and your court. Because when Hybern comes to call it won’t be Autumn Court armies that come to your aid.” Eris says, the disgust in his voice evident. 

I can’t speak, can’t even think about anything but the agony I feel. The throb from my lower abdomen and from my side. The bite of the wind and snow on my bare skin. I can barely register the cloud of darkness as Eris winnows himself away, leaving me with nothing but a silk robe for warmth. 

I reached down with a cold hand to rip the dagger from my side. I hoped if I could stop the bloodbane from spreading that I might be able to use the bond to call Cassian. The second I discard the dagger blood stains the white snow surrounding me, and I realize my mistake. My hand grasps at the open wound, attempting to apply pressure. As I sat there, bleeding and freezing to death I thought of one thing. 

It was all for nothing.

All the pain, all the suffering. Hurting Cassian, hurting myself. It had all been for nothing. I was dying and alone, fingers and toes already losing feeling and I still had no army for my people. Cassian nowhere in sight to save my body and my soul. And I would die here knowing that it was all for nothing. 

Because time was of the essence, and no one was coming.

Part 10

Taglist: @crystalferret202 , @nickishadow139 ,  @graceshifts , @writeroutoftime , @heyyitsnat21  @stinkinstuffie , @lilah-asteria , @12358 , @fxckmiup, @daughterofthemoons-stuff, @mybestfriendmademe, @anxious-study, @bxm-1012 , @mal-adaptive-dreams ,  @sh4nn , @talesofadragon , @5onedirection5 

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#cassian smut #cassian acotar #cassian x reader #cassian x you #cassian #cassian x reader smut #eris vanserra smut #eris vanserra x reader #eris vanserra #eris acotar #eris x reader #eris vanserra fluff #eris vanserra acotar #rhys acotar #rhysand x reader #rhysand fluff #azriel shadowsinger #rhysand angst #rhysand acotar #azriel x reader #rhysand #acotar #a court of thorns and roses

[janeyseymour]

Fire in My Heart pt 2

for @milfjuulpod who asked for a second part :)

Summary: You and Melissa host a barbecue where the crew officially meets you for the first time. Melissa is nervous, to say the least.

Part 1

WC: ~4.1k

Her friends from work are coming over today for a barbecue. They’ve all been here before. The only differences this time around are that they know you exist now, and you’ll be there. But even before, they’ve been here. It was always owned by the two of you. So when Melissa wakes up that morning in a panic, you really don’t understand why.

“Babe,” you whine as she tries to roll out of bed. You pull her back to your chest. “C’mon. I wanna lay here with you.”

“We’re having guests today,” she says as she tries to fight out of your arms. “We have things we have to prep.”

“You did most of your food prep last night,” you remind her as you kiss her neck gently. You nip at her again before she can say anything.

“We have to clean the house,” she tells you, matter of factly. Then she lets out a small groan at your affections. 

“The house is spotless,” you mumble into her skin. “Mel, your friends have been here before. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“It is,” she whines. “They’re meeting you for the first time, and I want it to go perfectly.”

“Since when do you care what anybody at work thinks besides Barbara?” you chuckle softly.

“In case you forgot, Barb is coming,” your girlfriend tells you. “And I do weirdly care what they think.”

“And I’m sure it will be just fine,” you try to assure her.

“It’s never too early to start,” she tries to argue.

You look over at the clock on your bedside table. “Honey, it’s… 7:15 in the morning. They aren’t coming until three. C’mon. Just lay here with me. I’m tired, and I want to spend time with you before things get crazy.”

“Twenty minutes,” she tells you sternly as she stops trying to wiggle away from you. You grin as you hold her close. She stretches to press a gentle kiss to your cheek with a grin. 

You manage to fall back asleep, and when you wake up again, Melissa isn’t curled up with you anymore. You roll your eyes and slip on a pair of shorts before heading downstairs to see what she could possibly be up to at… 8:27 in the morning. You’re somewhat shocked she didn’t wake you after the promised twenty minutes had passed, but you’re grateful for the extra hour of sleep.

With a yawn, you enter the kitchen. You can tell she already made breakfast, and there’s a pot of coffee calling your name.

“Mel?” you call out.

“In the yard!” you hear her voice float in from the screen door. “Your breakfast is in the microwave waiting for you!”

You grab your things with a tired smile on your face before heading outside and sitting at the table. The redhead is currently on her hands and knees pulling out weeds from the potted plants the two of you keep.

“Babe, take a break and come sit with me for breakfast,” you sigh as you let the hot steam rise from your coffee into your face.

“I’m weeding,” she sighs.

“No one is going to- well, Gregory might, if what you have to say about his gardening is true,” you shake your head. “But come on, Mel. It’s only 8:30, and they won’t be here for another six and a half hours. I think you can spare ten minutes to sit with me while I eat.”

“You’re lucky I love you,” she rolls her eyes as she stands and dusts herself off. She goes inside to grab her own coffee before sitting next to you.

“Oh, c’mon, hon,” you try to pull her into your lap.

“Y/N, I’m covered in dirt right now,” she tells you as she bats your hand away from her body.

“I’ll shower,” you snort and pull her all the way into your lap. She huffs playfully but gets comfortable on top of you, kissing your hair. 

“So, what’s on the agenda today, my love?” you ask as you take a bite of your breakfast. You know she wants today to go perfectly, and you really don’t feel like dealing with a Melissa Schemmenti meltdown before her friends come over.

She smiles at you before rattling off the list of things she wants to accomplish before they come over.

“I can handle the living room if you want to handle the kitchen,” you offer. It’ll help the two of you cross things off your list faster, and you won’t be in her way while she’s finishing her food preparations and setting everything out. “When I’m finished that, I’ll clean the grill and run out to grab some more propa-”

“I already got it,” your girlfriend says sweetly. “It’s in the trunk of my car. You just gotta bring it around back. I also picked up some more beers and seltzers. The only thing you might have to pick up is another bag of ice to put in the cooler for the drinks.”

“Anything for you,” you tell her as you kiss her shoulder. You notice how tense she is. “Honey, it’s gonna be fine. We really don’t even have all that much to prep today, so we can take our time, yeah?”

“I’m just nervous,” she admits to you. “I want this all to go perfectly.”

“It’ll go just fine, Mel,” you promise her as you finish up the last of your french toast. You pat her back. “Alright, up. If we’re going to get you to calm down by the time your friends get here, we have things to do.”

You finish cleaning up the living room by 10:30. You’ve cleaned the grill and put in the new tank of propane by 11:15. The beers and seltzers that your girlfriend bought are sitting in the mudroom waiting to be taken outside by 11:25. The cooler is sitting right next to it.

“Babe?” you wander into the kitchen, twirling your keys around your finger. She’s standing at the island trying to set up the charcuterie board she’s insisting on making. You snake your arms around her waist and set your chin on her shoulder. “How many people are we having over? Because damn did you buy a lot of drinks.”

She shrugs as she continues to set different meats on her serving board. 

“Well, they’re all inside,” you relay to her. “I’m off to go grab the ice to put in the cooler. Do you need anything else? Or maybe want to take a break and come with me?”

“Can you pick up another thing of brie?” she asks you. “And maybe some chocolate covered almonds?”

“I can do that,” you chuckle. “Anything else? Maybe some Xanax?” you tease.

“Hey,” she pouts.

“Brie and chocolate almonds,” you repeat to her. You silently make a note to also pick up a bouquet of flowers for her. “Got it.”

“Thank you, hon,” she sighs quietly. She pauses for just a second to press a quick kiss to your lips. “You’re the best.”

“I know,” you laugh as you give her one more gentle squeeze and peck her cheek. With a playful toss of your hair, you release her and head out to the store.

When you return, you quickly dump the ice into the cooler and arrange an assortment of drinks into the container. You make sure to take two out of the pack to take in with the cheese, almonds, and flowers. 

“Mel?” You call as you walk into the house.

“Outside! Backyard!” you hear her voice float into the house.

“I’m putting the brie and almonds on the counter,” you tell her as you set them down. You make your way outside with the flowers and drinks, and she’s currently rearranging the chairs. “Hon.”

“What? I’m making sure that the seats are- some are in the shade and some are in the sun,” she tells you as she continues fussing over them. She has yet to look over at you holding her favorite flowers.

“Melissa,” you sigh. You set down the drinks you brought out and take her by the shoulders. “Sweetheart, it’s going to be okay. People can move the chairs as the sun moves.” You kiss her gently and hand her the flowers. 

“You got me flowers?” she asks softly.

“I did,” you tell her. “I thought they might help calm you down… I also brought beer.” You jut your chin out in the direction of the drinks.

“You’re too good to me,” she shakes her head.

“That ain’t true,” you roll your eyes. “I’m treating you the way you deserve.”

You let her go and crack open her beer for her before taking a sip. It’s an IPA, and god… she laughs at the face you make. You hand it to her with disgust.

“Why do you always take a sip when you know you’re going to hate it?” She asks as she brings the bottle to her lips.

“I like sharing with my girlfriend, but Jesus Christ does that stuff taste like dirt,” you quickly open your own seltzer to get rid of the nasty taste in your mouth. You sigh in content. “So much better.”

She takes your can and takes a small sip of it. “Eh.” She puts both drinks down on the table and starts fussing over the chairs again.

“Honey,” you sigh. “I think everything looks fine. Why don’t we go inside, finish up the charcuterie board, put your flowers in a vase, and then… I don’t know about you, but I need a shower.” You wiggle your eyebrows suggestively. She smacks your shoulder playfully but nods.

After a longer shower than anticipated… the two of you get dressed and ready for your guests.

“Help me set the sides out?” she asks softly, and you can tell she’s getting more and more nervous again.

You frown at the way she’s balling up her denim over-shirt in her hands. You nod. Usually, you let her do it because she’s rather meticulous about it, but she’s asking for your help, and you’ll do anything to make her life easier for her. You let her instruct you on where to put things and what spoons to put where and- “Hon! Don’t put the plates on the edge of the table, or Janine will knock ‘em all over the floor!” 

“Sorry, babe,” you apologize. She’ll say she’s sorry for snapping on you over something so stupid later, but right now she’s stressed and you’ll just let her be. It’s for the best that you just let her so her thing. You put the plates exactly where she wants them.

“Just let me do it,” she finally snaps and snatches the cups from you. “Jesus.”

“Mel,” you look at her with furrowed brows.

“Sorry, sorry,” she sighs. “I’m just-”

“Stressed,” you finish for her. “I know. But it’s all gonna be fine. Everything looks gorgeous, including you. Now, I’ll let you handle this while I grab the cooler from the mudroom and take it outside, but you need to take a deep breath and try to reset, or you’re going to lose it.”

You head into the room over to grab the cooler before she can say another word. You take it outside and grab another seltzer for yourself and a beer for her.

“I grabbed you another,” you tell her as you head for the bottle opener hung on the fridge. You take yet another sip of her drink, fully knowing you’re going to hate it, before passing it to her and looping an arm around her waist.

“I’m so nervous,” she admits to you as she leans into your embrace and takes a rather big swig of her beer. 

“It’ll all be fine,” you promise her. You kiss her head, and the doorbell rings.

It’s Barbara who is first to arrive, and you can see the way Melissa relaxes when her work wife comes in with a big grin, a bottle of wine, and immediately goes to give you a hug. 

“Barbara, this is-” Melissa goes to introduce the two of you.

“The woman who has so graciously allowed me to keep burning my candles at the school,” the kindergarten teacher grins. “Oh, thank you so much, honey.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” you say quietly as you hug her back. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Barbara chuckles as she pulls back from you to give Melissa a quick embrace. “But this one and all her secrets.”

“Y/N was never a secret of mine,” the redhead rolls her eyes. “Youse never asked, so I never had the opportunity to tell.”

The veteran teacher hums. “Where can I put this?” she gestures to the bottle of wine still in hand. 

Your girlfriend ushers her friend into the kitchen and dining room, showing her the spread proudly. You stay in the living room and fiddle with the television to try to put on some music to have in the background. They’ve just opened the wine and have barely started to chat about the chaos of the day before when the doorbell rings.

“Mel? Do you want me to get it?”

“Yeah, hon,” your girlfriend calls back. “That’d be great, thanks! Did you want a glass of wine?”

“I’m alright, but thank you,” you tell her as you go to the door. On your front stoop is Janine, Gregory, Jacob, and Mr. Johnson. You take a deep breath before opening the door with a smile. 

“Hey, come on-”

“Y/N!” Janine grins. “It’s so nice to meet you! Well, actually meet you because we technically met at the fire safety meeting that you had to hold, but you know what I-” Your girlfriend was right. Her coworker does talk a lot.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Janine,” you tell her. You nod in the others’ directions as well, also saying their names.

“Oh, you know all of our names already!” Jacob says, and he looks pleasantly surprised. 

“Mel talks about you guys every night when I get home from the station.” You fight the urge to roll your eyes. “Of course I know who you all are.”

“Even me?” Mr. Johnson asks from the back.

“Yeah, Mr. J. Even you,” you chuckle, and the janitor looks mildly impressed. 

“Well, come in. Barbara is here already. There’s drinks outside in the cooler, there’s some stuff to snack on out in the kitchen, and I’ll probably get the grill going around four.” You usher them in, closing the door behind the last of them, before heading into the dining room yourself. 

“Melissa!” Janine and Jacob exclaim at the same time as they lay eyes on the charcuterie board.

“Yeah?” the redhead raises a brow.

“This looks exquisite!” the history teacher grins. “I didn’t know you could do stuff like this!”

“I ain’t just cheesesteaks, wings, and beer like youse all think I am,” your girlfriend deadpans. “I got some class.”

“It looks amazing!” Janine tags on.

“Thanks, kid,” Melissa smiles. “So, I’m sure Y/N already told you, but there’s drinks outside, there’s snacks in here, and you can hang in or out. It don’t matter.”

Everybody heads outside to pick out a drink, and you take the opportunity to pull your girlfriend in close. “See? Nothing to worry about.”

“I know,” she says softly. “But you know how I get.”

“I know,” you tell her. “Just know I got you.”

Your fingers intertwine as the two of you follow your guests out to the small little backyard you have. She lets you go so you can pull a chair up next to her, and the second you’re sitting down, her hand is resting gently on your knee. 

“So… I wish we could say we’ve heard all about you,” Barbara chuckles. “But we know your name and that your the chief of the fire station.”

“That’s me,” you chuckle. They all lean forward for more information. “What do you want to know?”

“Guys, don’t grill her,” Melissa rolls her eyes. “She’s a private person like me.”

“I’ll answer,” you squeeze her hand gently. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Jacob says immediately.

You sigh. “I was born in Philly, I grew up in Philly and wanted to be a firefighter. Always thought my redheaded teachers were hot… ended up meeting Mel at the bar, rest is history.”

“She said the two of you have been seeing each other for three years?” Barbara asks. You nod. “And you’ve been living together for the last year and a half?” You nod again.

“So you know she’s hit that,” Ava says loudly as she walks into your backyard. 

“Ava!” Melissa whips around and glares at the principal.

“You know I’m right,” the woman shrugs as she closes your gate. At the exasperated look everyone is giving her, she rolls her eyes. “Don’t act like you weren’t thinking about it.”

“Hello, Ava,” you chuckle and smile in her general direction.

“Don’t flirt with me,” she tells you, making a face. “I don’t need Melissa threatening to kick my ass and all that.”

“I won’t threaten,” the redhead says quickly. “I just would do.”

“I wasn’t flirting,” you laugh and squeeze your girlfriend’s knee. “I only got eyes for my girl. Redheads, man. Redheads.”

“If you show up to school on Monday with red hair,” Melissa points a finger at her boss. “Don’t think I won’t kick you ass.”

You settle yourself at the grill, away from all of your girlfriend’s coworkers. You need a few minutes to yourself. They’re a sweet bunch, but you’re beginning to understand why Melissa is only super close with Barb. You get why she comes home exhausted, claiming that if you thought the kids had a lot of energy… Janine and Jacob were another story. 

Those two are currently dominating the conversation talking about god knows what when you feel someone wrap an arm around your waist. You turn, and of course it’s Melissa.

“Hey, baby,” you say softly, kissing her head as you flip a few burgers.

“You doing okay?” she asks softly, and she hands you a new seltzer. You nod as you flip a piece of chicken. “You sure?”

“Positive,” you promise her. 

“What do you think?”

“I think I’m going to have to take a twenty four hour nap when they leave, but they’re a sweet bunch. They really care about you,” you tell her.

The Abbott group has nothing but great things to say about the meal the two of you put together.

“Have you guys considered a catering business?” Gregory asks. “I even like this,” he says as he eats his plain chicken.

“Seriously,” Mr. Johnson says. “Between the two of you…”

“Maybe in another ten years,” you chuckle. “She’ll retire, I’ll step down from the station, and we can start a business. What d’you think?” You look at your girlfriend.

She has an almost unreadable face for a minute before she breaks out into the biggest grin. “In ten years.” She nods.

The clan ends up staying longer than you expect. You even pull out the small firepit the two of you keep in the mudroom. By the end of the night, you’re a little tipsy, and Melissa’s had more than a few IPAs. You’re sitting in her lap, an arm slung around her neck as she has a steady hand resting on your hip.

The two of you have yet to leave each other’s sides, really- neither of you have even broken the seal. But finally, Melissa has to give in.

“Be nice,” she tells them sternly as she pats your hip. You let her up and take her seat. She sends threatening glares to each of your guests before heading into the bathroom.

“So…” Barb drawls out once her friend is out of earshot. “Three years?”

“Three years,” you confirm. “Hopefully many more.”

“Why her?” Ava asks. “You could have anyone.”

“Melissa is home,” you say simply. “She has been since our second date. I’ve known since our second date, she’s it.”

“Oh?” Jacob leans forward and prompts you to continue.

“I suppose I should clarify: our first date was impromptu at the bar. She got stood up, I was there after a… rather rough shift, and I don’t know why because I never do this, but I worked up the courage to hit on her. We closed down the bar, and our second date was three days later- when my schedule allowed me to see her again. We had dinner here, and I-“ you sigh happily. “She was just… more than I could ever expect in a woman. I knew I couldn’t let her go.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet!” Janine can barely contain the squeal that leaves her body.

“She’s my person, you know?” you ask, like a lovesick puppy.

“That’s how I feel about my husband,” the kindergarten teacher says softly, a smile on her lips. 

You lean forward to make sure the redhead isn’t coming or around the corner before glancing at Barb. You take a deep breath. “I got a ring.”

“You what?” the veteran teacher gasps.

“I got a ring hiding at the fire station,” you admit. “I’m gonna ask her soon, but I wanted to meet you all before she just showed up with a ring outta the blue and engaged.”

“That is so sweet!” Janine grins and she grips Jacob’s hand. “You have our approval!”

“I wasn’t really looking for it,” you tell her gently, but she doesn’t care.

Melissa returns, and she sees the way that everyone in her friend group is looking at you- like they approve of you.

“Dammit, Y/N,” she breathes out as she sits down in your lap. “What’d you tell them.”

“That you’re my girl,” you say honestly. “That you’re home. Stuff you already know.”

“Oh, god. You didn’t tell them anything else?” she asks, nervous you exposed her soft side.

“No, hon,” you assure her. “All from my brain, none from yours.”

“Well,” Barbara sighs. “I suppose it’s getting late, and Gerald is expecting me home tonight. But, it was absolutely lovely to get to official meet and know you a bit better, Y/N.”

“I guess we should all start heading out,” Gregory says when he catches the yawn you try to fight away. He takes Janine’s hand in his own.

“Don’t be a stranger,” the custodian says as he stands from his chair.

“Your tasty ass is welcome anytime at Abbott,” Ava winks at you. She then raises her hands defensively. “Melissa, I’m joking!” 

“Alright, get out, all of you,” the redhead shakes her head playfully. “I’ll see youse all on Monday.”

Once her friends are gone, you help your girlfriend clean up the place- as much as you can with the exhaustion setting in. Really, all you do is put out the fire and then help put a few of the dishes into the dishwasher and put away the last of the food.

“We can finish this all tomorrow,” Melissa tells you as she wraps her arms around you.

“It’s okay,” you mumble. “I know you don’t like waking up to a dirty house.”

“You’re tired, I’m tired,” she sighs into your shoulder. “We can clean up the rest tomorrow.”

“Oh thank god,” you sigh as you start to practically drag the two of you in the direction of your bedroom.

The two of you prepare for bed, and before you know it, you’re laying half on top of her.

“So, you actually liked them?” the teacher asks you.

You hum. “Sweet group. Told you you had nothing to worry about.”

“I know, but I-”

Talk more tomorrow,” you whisper. “Tired, Lissa.”

That’s how she knows you’re beat- you only call her Lissa when you’re utterly exhausted.

“Okay, babe,” she chuckles quietly. She presses a gentle kiss to your head. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you mumble, already on your way to a deep sleep.

Meeting the Abbott crew hadn’t been that bad- it was fun, even. You knew from the second everyone had walked in, they approved of you. Because you make their favorite feisty teacher happy. But you’re absolutely drained, and you fall asleep against your girlfriend, ready to continue on with this life that the two of you had built together- without hiding. Soon hopefully, she wouldn’t have to introduce you as her girlfriend of three years, but instead as her fiancee. 

#melissa schemmenti x you #melissa schemmenti fanfic #melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti #abbott elementary fanfic #abbott elementary fanfiction #abbott elementary

[simply-wlw-kpopstan]

7. Home

⚠️ Spoilers ahead, brief mention of suicide (implied in 1 sentence)

You got a message from yewon with everything you needed on Sunday. She even did more than you asked and hacked into the psychiatric visitor's list to get your name on there. She truly was a gifted hacker if she can do all of that without getting caught. Now what will you do when you get there?

First things first, call your aunt and explain everything that happened. Step two get a good lawyer so you can fight harin's sorry excuse of a family and get her out. Step 3 get your aunt to agree to let harin stay with you. Thinking it over, the hardest part would be step 2. You knew your aunt would let harin stay if you asked, she already knew a little about her since you accidentally slipped out you had a crush. What will happen when you see harin? What if she thinks you're there to take her home and you have to tell her that you can't? You shook your head and waved those thoughts away.

The day had arrived when You were going to visit harin for the first time and got nervous. At first glance it looks like a small hospital but once you actually look, you notice the barred windows. you realize how isolated it actually is when you don't hear a sound and it starts to feel eerie.

When you arrived at the doors, they were locked and you buzzed the intercom. A woman at a desk looked up from inside, smiled and the buzzer made a noise before her voice came through "hello, how can I help you?"

"I'm here to visit someone, my name is y/n y/l/n."

"hold on just a second. " a slight panic creeps up. Does she know? What if they arrest you for hacking into the system? "ah yes I found you. I see you're visiting a new patient here. I'll buzz you in and you have to fill out a form"

"alright." you took a deep breath of relief once the line cuts and the door buzzes open. You walk in and take care of the paperwork, once that was done she gives you a visitor's pass and asked you to wait until one of the nurses comes down to get you.

The metal doors swing open and a middle aged woman walks up to the reception with a clipboard. "I swear things are getting worse up at 4. We got another one." she sighed as she hands over the papers.

"isn't this the 3th one this month?" the receptionist asks and the nurse nods, "Okay, I'll call the family and the morgue. Can you please take that girl to visit so Eun? She's the newest arrival, she's on floor 1."

So eun? Right. That was harin's name before she got adopted. That family really stripped her from everything didn't they? " ofcours." she turns to you with a smile and motioned to follow her" Come along. Sorry It took so long. It's been a hectic day." you quickly follow after her as the doors begin to close again. "You're the first visitor for her, we didn't think anyone would come since there aren't any emergency contacts mentioned in her file."

"It's complicated but I'm taking care of it. She had a family but they abandoned her recently. "

The nurse smiled broadly. " I'm glad she still has you then. Being here can take a toll on a person the first few days, it's important that she knows she's not alone in this. "

" I've told her that before. No matter what happens she'll always have me. "

"I don't mean to be rude but what is your relationship to her? Are you family?"

"I Uhm I'm a friend."

"hmm, a friend." she smiled, "or perhaps you're more? It's okay. Love is love, you can't help who you fall for." you smiled at her words and were thankfully she didn't ask anything else, "well here we are. She normally has roommates but they are all participating in classes at the moment so you have some alone time for the next 2 hours."

You thanked her for everything and stood in front of harin's door. You try to control your emotions before you walk in, she doesn't need to see you emotional while she's going through all of this. She needs a shoulder to lean on and you will be that for her. You walk inside the room and see her sleeping, she looks peaceful and you're debating on letting her rest or waking her up. Before you can decide harin shifts around in bed and opens her eyes, looking straight at you with a little frown. "hi there." you spoke softly

"I hate this. Why do I always dream about you being here?" her voice cracks and you saw the tears well up in her eyes, "It's not fair, please go away." she turns around and faces away from you.

"harin this isn't a dream," you walk around her bed and squated down so you'd be face to face with her, "i'm really here." you tug a hair strand behind her ear and she just stares at you with teary eyes. "i'm here harin. Just like I promised"

She loses the battle and a few tears slip down as she cups your face with one hand and traces her thumb in circles, "H-How did you find me?"

"does that matter?" you lean into her touch and kissed the palm of her hand. "I'm sorry that it took so long but I'll get you out of here, I promise. I'm already working on-"

"don't" she pulls her hand back and shifts to sit up in bed. "this is what I deserve"

"what? No. You don't deserve this." you shook your head and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I do. I've hurt so many people and never even cared about anything but myself. I deserve to be in here. I deserve what happened to me. "

You wondered if she knew about what happened after the fire. What her 'family' did. You took her hand in yours and started to play with the bracelet you had given her, she's still wearing it. " do you know about your-"

"that they disowned me? Yes. When I woke up I asked to call my grandma but they told me there weren't any contacts and that's when I knew." she sighed.

"you still want me to believe you deserve that? You don't. I'm working on this, I'll get you out and you can stay with me. I'll expose them for what they did. How they treated you and-"

"don't. Let me stay."

"what ? You- you want to stay here?" to say you were shocked was an understatement, you would've guessed she would want to get out immediately.

"yes. I don't want you to go against them. They have too much power, you don't stand a chance against them. Just let me work on myself in here, I'll prove to everyone I can change. When I get discharged we can go out on our first date. I'll have that fresh start I wanted with you."

"are you sure? I already have an amazing lawyer who's looking into things. I can get you out of here, you can still work on yourself without being here."

"there are professionals here that can help me. I know you want to help me but this is what I want. This is my shot at redemption."

"alright. If this is what you want I'll support you. I'll visit as much as possible. Once you have your schedule we can work out which days I visit."

"that works for me." she smiles, "I'm really sorry I dragged you into this. I asked my grandmother if she could get you into baekyeon and in my class. If I just left it at that one meeting you woul-."

"Harin, don't. In the end I made the decision to go didn't I? I don't regret anything because if you didn't ask your grandmother we never would've had a chance together."

"I can't argue with you if you put it that way." she pouted.

"then don't argue with me." you smile and you leaned in until your eyes caught the sight of medication and then the overdose popped into your head making you pull back.

"what? What's wrong" she frowned and followed your gaze, "Oh." she looks down as she catches on to your thoughts. "they give us these pills in the morning. I guess it's to keep us calm? We don't have to take them but they write it down if you don't so they can see who actually needs them and who doesn't."

"were you actually planning to...." you couldn't get it over your lips but you didn't have to, she knew.

"I don't know. I want to say that I knew how much to take but I didn't. It was all pure luck. I don't really want to think about what could've happened, to be honest."

"that's okay, at least for now. I do want to talk about it but only when you're ready."

She nodded and tugged at your hand, "can I get that kiss now?" She asked as she looked down at your lips.

"you don't have to ask" you smiled and leaned in for that much awaited kiss. The moment your lips touched everything felt right again, she was here in your grasp and nothing else matters but that. "just so you know. Once you're discharged from this place you're coming home with me. My aunt and her lawyer are taking care of all the legal stuff."

"so we'd be living together?" She smiled.

"well, my aunt will be there in the beginning so she can get to know you and once she knows she can leave us alone she'll take off again. That were the conditions."

"I look forward to the baby pictures and all the stories." she teased.

"I was a cute baby for your information! But she does have some stories that I'm already dreading." you thought over all the embarrassing moments of your childhood she could tell. "maybe don't ask her in the first few weeks I'm begging you."

"hmm, you'll have to keep my mind off of it then." she smirked.

"Oh I'm sure I'll find a way to keep you busy." you smile, "I did want to ask you about what you want me to call you. Do you want to keep harin or change it back to so eun? Or maybe you can get a new name?"

"harin is fine. So eun is my past, I can't go back to that and if I change my name again my-- they will win. I don't want to give them that satisfaction." her expression changed from sad to determined really quickly once she said that. "they might have disowned me and are revoking the adoption but they can't change my name."

"what about your last name?"

"maybe I can mix my names? How does So Harin sound?"

"perfect." you kiss her hand and she smiles. You look around the room and it feels so empty, "so, what do you usually do around here?"

She chuckled at your attempt of normal conversation, " at the moment I usually talk with a bunch of doctors and psychiatrist so they know what type of therapy I need. They're all nice which makes talking about what I did worse. "

"Well, I'll sneak in a book next time." you wink and she laughs.

"I can have books. This isn't a prison where you need to smuggle stuff in. I am getting my own room soon though. Apparently they want to take me to a different floor, one with more people my age and stuff."

"as long as you don't fall in love with someone else I'm okay with it."

"Oh so you'll ask the staff to relocate me if I do?" She clocked an eyebrow.

"are you saying you'll find someone else?" you fired back.

"nobody would compare to you. You've seen me at my highest and lowest, enjoy it 'cause that' s for your eyes only. No one has seen me the way you have."

"I kind of like the thought of that if I'm being honest."

You stayed until visiting hours were over and promised you'd be back soon. True to your word you made regular visits after harin got her schedule and after a few months of good behavior on harin's part you could go out for a few hours. You mostly took walks in the nearby forest and did have some little make-out sessions in more secluded area's. Eventhough you had planned some cute little picnics harin refused to call it a date, she already planned out what she wanted to do with you when she was discharged and that was going to be your first official date. You didn't mind to call these picnics dates but since harin was so stubborn you agreed to calling them hangouts, as long as you were with her you were fine with anything.

It took a year for her to be discharged from the place. You had gotten yourself a drivers license and borrowed a car from your aunt to Suprise her. She didn't know you got one and were planning this for months but you'd do anything for her. You're leaning against the hood of the car when she walks outside. She stops and takes a second to close her eyes and bask in the sunlight, you can't help but stare at her and fall even more in love.

"will you finally tell me where we're going tonight?" you smile as she walks up to you.

"no. Not yet." she wraps her arms around your neck and pulls you close, "hi there." she smiles.

"hi gorgeous." you smile and kiss her, "you ready to leave"

"yes. as Nice as everyone was, I'm ready to start my new life with you." she looks around and frowns, "where's your aunt? Isn't she driving us home?"

Home. You could get used to hearing her say that. "actually," you grab the keys from your back pocket and dangle them in front of her face, "i'm driving. I wanted to be able to pick you up when the time came so I got my drivers licence. Now you can be my passenger princess."

"You're amazing." she smiled and gave you a peck on the lips before pulling back and putting her bag in the trunk with you scolding her for doing it herself. "i'm a big girl i can put it away myself."

You hummed and got in the car together, "are you ready to meet my aunt tonight?" you ask as you pull out the parking lot and drove home.

"I'm nervous but knowing you, you've already told her a lot about me." she smirked as she leaned her head against the headrest while looking at you, "you look really attractive driving."

" whatever is going on in that head, stop those thoughts. I'm driving." you throw a quick glance to see her smile. You took a hand off the steering wheel and placed it on her thigh, "we have all the time in the world now. No need to rush."

"I'm happy you said that because as long as your aunt's home we're not doing anything." she laughed at your small pout.

"define anything. Does it include-"

"nope. Stop those thoughts you're driving." she smiled and you loved how relaxed she looked. For the first time ever you saw her posture falter a little bit, she's just leaning against the window but the harin from a year ago would still have a straight back and a straight face while looking out the window. She's looking at the scenery with a content smile and you're happy she chose to stay and work on herself. it couldn't have been an easy decision to make when she heard you talking about getting her out but she stayed and it worked.

She was finally showing who she was, the girl that she had pushed back all those years. The person you saw when everyone else saw a mean powerful heiress. She was excited in showing people she had changed. jaeun had agreed to meeting up with the both of you in a few weeks, suji hadn't really answered but jaeun had mentioned she'd get her to join. It was an important step for harin to face the people she hurt and to try to make amends with who was willing to listen. she prepared for the worst when she asked you to contact them, not expecting them to agree and now she was looking forward to the meeting. You hated to remind her there was a chance they wouldn't except her apology but she said she was ready for it.

Once you got home you took harin's bags to the spare bedroom, sadly also one of the conditions of your aunt. You did compromise that you could sleep in the same room for the first few nights. As you were walking to her bedroom with some drinks you hear a thud from her room. "What was that? are you okay?" you ran into her room to see her laying down on the bed with a smile.

"yes don't worry. It's just this bed is so comfy compared to the bed I had." she sighed as she stretched out. You laid down next to her and she immediately cuddled into you, laying her head on your chest with a leg thrown over yours.

"I love you" you said as you ran your fingers up and down her back.

"I love you too." she leaned up a little and planted a kiss on your lips, "it's about time I said it isn't it?"

You chuckled, "you wrote it down, that also counts."

"no, not for the first time."

In the end everything worked out for the both of you. You went on your first date and harin got to talk with jaeun and suji. It took some time but the both of them saw how much she had changed, how much she regrets what she did and eventually forgave her. Harin occasionally woke up from nightmares and you always took a walk around the block when that happened. You'd sit down on the couch with hot chocolate and some TV show playing in the background as she talked about her dreams. There were a lot of things that she still had to overcome from her childhood, some things she wouldn't and it would be hard.

In the end harin knew she had a home with you and your aunt. Come to think of it She might be your aunts favorite since she calls her more than you but you didn't mind. It's about time harin felt the love of a parental figure, to have them care about her without any expectations. You slept in separate rooms when your aunt was home most of the time but once she left harin always ended up in your bed. Things slowed down and as the both of you settled into this new life you couldn't wait to see what the future had in store for you two.

masterlist

This is the end of this story🫣 thank you to everyone for reading, sharing and liking❤️ special thanks to @iwendix (I know Suprise mention😁) for reacting on the posts and leaving those comments. They really helped me come back to the story to finish it.

#baek harin x reader #baek harin #pyramid game x reader #pyramid game

[rubra-wav]

Why So Blue? Vox x Reader

[ Part 1 - A Like Morning Unlike Others ]

A/N: I have a kind of loose idea of where I'm maybe taking this one, but I am very much open to any suggestions.

People asked to be tagged in what was going to be part 2 to the oneshot. My ideas changed a bit with this tho, and it's being rewritten as a fic from the start - sorry if this isn't what you really had in mind w that request 😭

[ Taglist ] @gigglesandshits @serendipitous-fernweh @valentinosbabycakes @ seriouslyaverage (won't let me @ ???)

[ part 2 ] >>

Cw: SFW, Gn!Reader, slight staticmoth reference

The morning you first showed up was like any other for the Video Star.

As always, Vox awoke at 7:00 am on the dot, staring at the ceiling for a couple of seconds as his system warmed up properly for the day ahead.

After the 'sleep' cleared from his mind, he sat up and then climbed from his bed to quickly change before swiping his phone off his nightstand as he walked to the personal kitchen in his part of the building (he had it installed so he didnt have to see his colleagues before his persona was up to snuff) and began scrolling through his emails.

He opted for those from Carmine rather than Velvette or Valentino.

It was frankly too fucking early to deal with whatever bullshit they were yelling about on seemingly all of his socials in his mind. (a decision he'd come to regret rather soon)

Last night's hangover still clung to him, but he pushed through it. He was rather happy all things considered. Carmine's email confirmed that she was on board with partnering up for personal surveillance systems without much questioning, thankfully.

He was about to get even fucking richer.

He grinned widely at the prospect as he leisurely made his coffee - black, naturally - fantasising about how he'd be able to spy on hell's citizens even more with them literally installing surveillance cameras into their own homes for security purposes.

Those poor, desperate idiots practically exploit themselves!

Vox chuckled at the thought, humming as he walked in the direction of his broadcast room, scrolling to look over the email Carmine sent once again to fully understand all agreements. To try to see what he'd be able to push her into doing potentially.

The hatch to his lair broadcast room opened loudly and closed just as loudly behind him as his footfalls echoed in the silent room against the cold tiles.

Vox didn't look up once as he made his way to his seat.

He didn't need to.

He knew where everything was in here as nobody else was ever in here. And if they were?

Well, those demons wouldn't be 'employed' much longer, we'll say that.

His seat squeaked as he sat on it, sipping his coffee as he swiped through some more notifications.

He glanced at his monitor momentarily as he took a deep sip of coffee that would gross anyone else out, then promptly choked on it, gracelessly spitting some onto his keyboard and lap.

He felt truly chilled to the bone for the first time in a long while.

Wide, red eyes watched in horror as a very drunk version of himself from last night met him. In the video, he was shaking his hips from where he stood on a bar while singing (he assumed) shittily if his memory served right.

The video was muted from where it played on the screen of every monitor in his room, but he expected it.

His frozen present self watched himself in the video as drunk Vox stumbled and then proceeded to topple off-camera to the ground.

His instant assumption was that Valentino or Velvette had posted it online, but that was quickly off the cards when he noticed that not only were both of them watching him while laughing with no phones in their hands, but it was posted from his own fucking Sinstagram account.

It already had over a million likes, and it'd been up for only an hour at this point. His colleagues wrote surprised comments underneath, asking if he meant to post it. Valentino adding that Vox looked cute in it either way.

He could feel his fear and anger rising, loud zaps of electricity emitting from him already as his claws dug into either armrest of his desk chair, leaving long scratch marks on them which exposed the padding within.

Then he read the bottom caption of the looped post of himself and fully lost it.

'For someone who talks so big about being ahead technologically, it was awfully easy to hack old Boxy here.'

Vox lets out a loud, enraged yell, slamming his fist on his desk, promptly causing himself to Bluescreen and knocking out much of Pentagram's electricity in the process despite not being plugged into his set-up.

-

On the other side of the city, you laugh loudly as you watch the press conference where the Tech demon overlord fought to clean up his image.

It began just a few minutes after you were exposed to Vox's rage in the form of your lights shutting off.

It didn't affect your setup, of course. A certain someone you knew had helped you craft it, and it ran on a different server.

While others were still waiting for their shit to get back in order after Vox stopped plastering his rather strained grin on every screen, you were watching the press conference in one window while admiring how quickly his men raced to try and patch up the code you'd gotten through last time in another.

Of course, it hardly would do anything for you the next time around you decided to clown on him.

You shifted into a cross-legged position on the floor, glancing between the mess of old and new monitors surrounding you all interlocking with equally messy and tangled cables.

You passively wondered if anyone had been killed during all this, expecting yes, but not paying much attention to it. You couldn't do anything about what he decided to pull in response to your attacks.

Anything for your entertainment.

You cracked your fingers loudly as you began to prepare for the next bag of shit you'd be leaving on his doorstep.

Snickering with a smile, you watched his hypnosis ability activate, manipulating everyone watching outside of your own eyes.

They would forget this, but you wouldn't. And neither would Vox. You'd make sure all of them remembered you eventually.

Snorts and giggles echoed out in the silence of your small, shitty apartment as you mulled over all the things you had planned for the next few months.

Jesus christ, this would be fun.

Yeah, this reader isn't a good person either. They just wanna fuck around with Vox as much as they can and don't care much who becomes cannon fodder in the process.

I was considering also writing pt. 2 into this as well, but I figured that I would do this as just a taster for this series starting for the first post. Pt. 2 will be soon 🙏

Why So blue Masterlist (not much here yet obv)

Main Masterlist

#hazbin hotel #vox #vox x reader #vox headcanons #hazbin hotel vox #hazbin hotel vox x reader #vox fanfiction #why so blue fic

[riality-check]

daisy jones-adjacent au. part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. tw substance abuse, ptsd, references to past torture (canon, the russians.) part 7.

ao3

Writing the album is, somehow, the easy part, even after Steve put his foot in his mouth.

He had his suspicions, but he shouldn't have asked that. It was a dick move, and he's been trying not to be a dick for the past few years. So, he apologized and didn't bring it up again.

Eddie softened after that. Like he wasn't expecting Steve to apologize. He accepted it, and things have been good since.

Well, more than good, if Steve's being honest. Things have gotten a lot better since.

He's noticed a few things, even after their permanently discontinued game of "truth or truth." Mostly, the things Steve has noticed have been about Eddie, like:

He laughs at the dumbest things.

He quotes books and movies constantly.

He has an accent that he masks unless he's tired.

He hates strong smells.

He deflects by becoming bigger.

There's more. A lot more that Steve has noticed, but listing everything about Eddie's brilliance and stubbornness, his courage and obnoxiousness, his gorgeous face and sharp tongue would take all day. Steve has noticed a lot over these few weeks spent hunched over instruments and notebooks at his house, and he thinks Eddie has noticed him in return.

He hopes so.

It's been a long time since Steve has wanted to be noticed beyond the superficial adoration of fans. It's been a long time since Steve has wanted to be known.

There are a plethora of reasons for why that's a bad idea. Steve is able to forget them momentarily when he sees Eddie smile.

All too soon, after far too long, they're done writing. They start recording, and that is the hard part.

It always is. There's always something wrong with the levels or slightly out of tune, or someone sneezes right into the mic on the first good take. There's things that work and things that don't, and, always, songs on paper that have to get fixed before they can be songs on the radio.

The album has good bones, though. It's angry and hopeful and scared and sad and triumphant. It's music, it's art, it's life.

And once they can make it work, it's going to be great.

That's what Steve is doing now. Making it work. He's awake at 4 AM on a Tuesday, sitting at a piano and trying to rework the bass line to stop it from clashing so much with the melody.

The only good thing about this situation is that he's made it to seventy three hours awake for the first time, courtesy of a well-timed line right before he got to work.

If it keeps working, he might trash the pills entirely.

He plays the introduction to the song again on his right hand and starts adding low notes on his left. As it is, it sounds empty. To much distance. But if he raises it a fourth-

"Steve?"

He freezes, fighting back against the instinct to jump away from the piano like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar. He forgot that the band has been crashing at his house - it's close to the studio and he has the rooms to spare - and because he forgot that he wasn't alone, he failed to remember that most people aren't awake at this hour, nevermind working.

So, he calmly turns around to see Eddie, in pajamas, standing in the doorway, blinking sleep out of his tired eyes.

Steve swallows and hopes that Eddie is too tired to catch him openly staring.

"What are you doing?" Eddie whispers.

"Reworking something," Steve says. "Trying out something different for the bass line in Envy, the one that's giving us trouble."

Eddie covers his mouth to yawn. "Couldn't sleep?"

Steve wonders when the last time he thought that was a bad thing was.

"I can be quieter," he says. "I was just trying to fix this. But that can wait until morning."

"Steve," Eddie says, and he's got that look on his face.

Steve hates that look.

Eddie looks at him like he can see inside his skull, inside his heart, and read his DNA letter by letter. He looks at him like he can see everything about Steve: past, present, and future.

And there's pity in every second of it.

Steve can't stand pity.

"I just- I gotta see the whole picture, you know?" he continues so Eddie doesn't get to voice that pity. "And you guys all have your instruments, but piano gives me everything. I can play the bass and the guitar and sing and- I'm just able to get it better that way. Where are you going?"

Eddie is almost out the door again. "I- I can't be here, Steve."

"Why? Are you tired? You can go-"

"You're high, and I know that if you offer me something, I won't say no."

Oh.

"Eddie, I wouldn't-"

"And even if you don't, if you take something in front of me, I know I'll ask for some," he says, like it's a fact, the same way the sky is blue.

"I'm not- I wouldn't do that to you," Steve says. No point in denying that he's high, not when they both know it. "I wasn't- I'll get off the piano. I'll read, or, well, reread something instead."

He gestures aimlessly at the bookshelf on the wall near the door. It's crammed full of recommendations from Dustin and Robin and Erica and Nancy. All of them have been read at least once, most of them twice.

"You like to read?" Eddie asks.

"No, I hate it," Steve says, completely genuinely.

Eddie huffs out a quiet laugh. "I will never understand you."

"I know."

Because that's the thing. No one can understand it, can understand him, unless they were in Hawkins, Indiana, too. Unless they saw what he did. Unless they signed the same NDAs. Unless they fought the same monsters and went to the same other world and endured the same things.

Eddie, like most other people, will never be able to understand.

So, his smile fades as he stands there in the doorway, confused.

"I like stories, but I hate reading," Steve explains. "I just do it to fill-"

"I can read to you."

Steve stops mid-word. "What?"

"If you want to hear the story without reading," Eddie says. "I like reading. I can read to you."

Steve has spent seventy four hours, at this point, awake. He is sitting at a piano bench at 4 AM on a Tuesday, high on cocaine, and is staring at a hot guy his age who, over the past few weeks, has alternated between seemingly hating him and smiling that smile.

Forgive him for making the stupid decision to say-

"Okay."

Eddie smiles, though it's tired. He takes a book from the shelf at random and walks out the door. Steve has no choice but to follow, back to the guest room Eddie has taken as his own.

Eddie turns on the bedside lamp and lays down underneath the rumpled sheets.

"Come on," he says, patting the space next to him. "I don't bite."

"You sure?" Steve jokes, but he climbs on alongside him, careful not to touch.

He really wants to touch.

He's not thinking straight.

Eddie cracks the book open and starts reading in a low whisper.

Steve can barely understand what he's saying, but that doesn't matter. What matters is Eddie's voice, quiet and rough and breathy. What matters is Eddie's voice, steady and soothing.

It's nice. It's really nice.

Steve finds himself curling up, closer and closer, until his head is on Eddie's chest.

His eyes slip closed at hour seventy-five.

And the next thing he knows, he's standing with his back to a corner, holding a metal, foldable music stand in front of him, with a voice hoarse from screaming.

Clearly, he fell asleep.

Fantastic.

Sometimes, he's able to tell what the nightmare was before he actually remembers it. It's all in the little habits he's developed.

When he finds himself checking to see if all his fingernails are still attached to his hands, blinking nonexistent blood out of his left eye, and still murmuring Robin's name, he knows that this one had to be about the Russians.

And then the memory of the bone saw, of the screaming, of taking hit after hit after hit crashes into him so hard he almost doubles over.

He reminds himself he's safe. That he's unharmed. That Robin is safe in her dorm at UCLA. That they never got Dustin or Erica.

That all of this is fucking useless.

He's gotten it all out. He's written song after song about all of it, all of the monsters and the fighting and the fear and the good in spite of it all. He writes and plays and sings close enough to all of it to almost break the NDAs.

And none of it is of any use at all because, years later, Steve still can't fucking sleep.

He swallows. Swallows again. Tries to breathe, even if it's in the form of great, heaving gasps.

And that's when he realizes that Eddie is standing right in front of him. Clearly confused, clearly terrified.

This is why, though he can never understand Steve, he shouldn't know him, either. This is why Steve can't reach out and touch.

Because even if he could explain it to Eddie, even if he would lie and say he believed him and understood, no one wants someone who can't make it through a night without waking up at least three times. No one wants to have to calm someone down from weekly screaming fits brought on by the back of their eyelids.

"Get out," he says.

"Steve," Eddie says, and there's that pity again.

Steve can't stand pity.

"Get out!" he shouts, heedless of the fact that he's probably waking everyone else up, that this is the room Eddie is staying in.

He can go to Steve's room. Everything in there is hidden, so he can't break his sobriety unless he snoops.

Steve hopes he doesn't snoop. He doesn't want to drag Eddie down to where he's at.

Eddie nods and makes his way to the door. Before he leaves, he stops and looks back.

"I don't know what you're running from," he whispers. "But when it catches you-"

"What?" Steve snaps.

"Let someone know."

If Steve were in a better state of mind, he'd ask what the hell that meant. But he's shaking and tired, so goddamn tired, that he watches Eddie go.

He sits on the floor, in the corner, still holding the music stand. The sun is up. It streams through the windows along with the sounds of birds chirping.

And Steve wonders how he's supposed to live the rest of his life like this.

He makes it an hour before he falls asleep sitting up on the floor. He makes it two more before he wakes himself up again, checking his fingernails.

#ria writes #dja au #this part is long and also a doozy #apologies #steddie #steddie ficlet #steve harrington #eddie munson #st #st ficlet #stranger things #stranger things ficlet #tw drugs #tw substance abuse #tw torture #rockstar eddie munson

[brbsoulnomming]

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 13

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | AO3

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Eddie wakes up in the morning - or at least, he thinks it's morning, though he guesses he could still be losing track of time, and it might still be the same day. His head lulls automatically to the side, gaze seeking out the hospital bed next to him like it's second nature, and -

Steve's gone.

There's no one there, the bed clean and empty with sheets all tucked and a pillow still in plastic, like no one was ever there in the first place.

Fuck, what if he wasn't there? What if Eddie's doped up brain imagined all of this, giving himself the comfort of a circle of friends that would stay with him in the hospital, that promised they wouldn't leave him and meant it? What if he really is alone now?

His breath is coming in short, desperate gasps, and he recognizes enough to know that he's hyperventilating again - though it feels distant, fuzzy, like it's happening to someone else and he's just observing.

Somewhere through the thick cotton obscuring his ears, he can tell someone is saying his name.

It's Dustin, fuck, he knows that voice, and he knows that means he's not alone, that they're still here with him, but he can't quite seem to get the rest of him on board with that thought, can't make it cut the panic racing through him.

There's a loud squawk by his ear, a hitch-pitched whine of feedback and a rush of static, and that startles him enough to focus in on Dustin urgently asking someone to do what they did before.

"Hey, Eddie, can you hear me?" Steve asks, voice tinny but still there, and Eddie tries not to feel pathetic about how hard he latches onto it. "You're all right, you're safe. You're not alone. We've got you, Eds, everyone's okay. We all made it out, we're all with you."

He keeps up the mantra as Eddie's breathing slowly evens out, as he feels himself settle back into himself. Dustin's sitting next to him, eyes wide and panicked, clutching a walkie-talkie and holding it up close to him as Steve's voice sounds from it.

"I'm-" Eddie starts, then has to swallow a few times around how dry his mouth feels. "I'm here. I'm good. Just - saw your bed empty when I woke up, kind of panicked."

"We've all been there," Steve says. "I got myself discharged a few hours ago - I'm out getting things ready. I'll let Dustin take it from here, okay? See you guys soon."

Eddie hums an affirmative, and Dustin lets go of the walkie, tucks it back into his pocket. There's a moment where Eddie has no idea what the fuck to say, but then Dustin shoots a little smile at him.

"It's okay," he says. "It happens to all of us. We skipped school to be with Will the first time this all happened, and I spent the night at Steve's for a week straight once."

Eddie's eyebrows shoot up. "Your mom let you sleep over at Steve Harrington's place for a week?"

Dustin rolls his eyes. "She loves Steve, it's kind of annoying. I told her he got his concussion defending us from bullies that time, and he needed someone to stay with him and make sure his brain didn't bleed out of his ears in his sleep."

There's a pause, and then the kid's eyes go a little bit earnest, like he's trying to sell him on something. "It was great, though. Steve made breakfast every morning, and he let me get whatever I wanted on my pizza, and he cooked dinner sometimes too, and he's got a huge TV and a ton of movies on tape, and he only complains a little bit if you-"

The door slams open, and Eddie jumps.

"We gotta go," Robin says as she and Lucas crowd into the room. "Did you tell him?"

"Tell me what?" Eddie asks, eyes darting around the room, fully expecting to see clocks or vines or fucking bats. "Is it Vecna, did that fucker recover already?"

"No, Max says he was in pretty bad shape. He's gonna be down for a while," Lucas replies.

"It's the cops and the rest of the town looneys," Robin says, taking up a post by the door while Lucas paces across the room, looking out the window. "We heard on the police radio channel, they found out you're here. We gotta get you out."

"Fuck." Eddie swallows, tangling the fingers of his good hand in the sheets of the hospital bed so tight it makes his knuckles creak. "I'm kind of out of options on safe places to lay low and recuperate here."

"What?" Dustin looks affronted. "No you're not. I told you, you've got us."

"All of us," Robin says, as Dustin comes to stand by her at the door.

He cranes his head down the hall. "Is there a doctor coming to release him?"

"Yeah, Erica yelled at him until he gave in, he's on his way." Lucas glances away from the window to look at Eddie. "We hid El in Mike's basement for days without anyone knowing, you think we can't do the same for you?"

Robin snorts. "It's not going to be Wheeler's shitty basement, Eddie, don't worry."

Eddie stares at them. Part of him is aware of what they're saying, is processing that he needs to get out of the hospital and he's not going to have to do it alone - that even though the world isn't technically ending right now, they're all going to stand by him.

But he feels like he did when they came back from sticking up for him with Carver and the others - overwhelmed, like he hasn't done anything to deserve this, like he doesn't know what to do with such clear, undeniable evidence that they've made him one of this party now.

"Eddie?" Dustin asks, stepping in a little closer. "You okay?"

Eddie snaps himself out of it. "Yeah. Just - fuck, all right, let's do this."

Robin helps him stand up, stays by his side as he steps into a pair of loose scrubs that someone's scrounged up for him - he doesn't ask, and he's assuming the clothes he wore in the Upside Down are trashed - and lets him lean on her shoulder so he's somewhat steady on his feet by the time a harried looking doctor makes it into the room.

"You realize you're not ready to be discharged?" the doctor asks immediately.

"I'm over eighteen," Eddie replies. "You can't keep me here if I want to leave, right?"

The doctor sighs. "You'll be leaving against medical advice."

"But I'm not going to, like, die of blood loss or infection or something if I do?" Eddie presses.

"We can't answer that question with any surety without another few days of observation," the doctor replies, then relents when everyone glares at him. "It's highly unlikely."

"Just tell us what we need to do to keep an eye on him," Robin says.

The doctor goes over the cliff notes - soft foods for a while, showers are okay but no soaking, no lifting things over five pounds, there's a page of stretching exercises for his shoulder and leg, a timeline for recovery, and a prescription for the rest of his antibiotics and a smaller one for some painkillers.

"That's all I can give you since you're leaving against medical advice," the doctor says, which Eddie knows is a load of bullshit, but he's too exhausted and itching to get out of here to call him on it.

They herd him out of the room and to the elevator, standing in a little half circle around him like he's got his own little string of tiny bodyguards, and the thought makes him giggle, just a little bit hysterically.

"You guys look like little lion cubs," he says.

"You think we can't protect you?" Dustin asks, sounding hurt.

Eddie shakes his head. "No, no, I'm feeling very protected right now. Thank you."

The elevator dings, and Eddie takes a deep breath as he steps off - into a controlled chaos. The waiting room is packed, some gurneys set up right out there with nurses tending to what seems like minor cases, and even some people sleeping on the floor. Eddie feels a moment of swooping panic, but no one even looks his way. They shuffle him out of the hospital to where Nancy and Erica are waiting in the Wheeler station wagon.

Eddie gingerly climbs in, and Lucas and Dustin slide into the backseat with Erica.

Robin holds up his prescription. "I'm gonna get this filled. Swing back and grab me after you drop them off?" she asks Nancy.

Nancy hums an affirmative, eyes flicking around to make sure everyone's wearing their seat belts before she takes off.

Eddie thinks about asking where they're going, but his stomach and chest and legs and arm ache, and he's wiped just from the walk out of the hospital and to the car. So he just tips his head back against the seat of the car, closes his eyes, and tries to hold himself still enough that the seatbelt doesn't rub up against his wounded gut.

Eventually, the car stops. He expects more talking, but there's a tense silence in the flurry of activity, until someone pulls open the car door and is unbuckling his seatbelt for him.

"Shit," Dustin says. "Is he out again?"

"M'up," Eddie mumbles, though admittedly, he's not entirely sure he's up for moving.

"Go get Steve," Erica orders imperiously. "Someone needs to drag his sorry ass around again."

Eddie forces his eyes open. "M'up, m'up, I got this."

In the time it takes for him to get oriented well enough to notice that the car is in a garage, and then shuffle around to get his feet pointed in the direction of out, though, Dustin's apparently managed to collect Steve, who emerges from what Eddie assumes is the door to a house, wearing a pair of sweats and a Hawkins swim team sweatshirt.

Eddie waves his hands around, preemptively slapping Steve away before he can even get to him. "No," he tells him, as he comes to a stop just out of slapping range. "I know you've got stitches, too. No heavy lifting."

"We're not going to lift you, Eddie, we're just going to help," Nancy says, coming around to his other side, and -

Hmm.

"Yeah, okay," he agrees, lowering his arms for a moment before changing course, and holding one hand out to each of them.

Nancy takes one hand, and Steve the other, and they both step in closer to help guide him out of the car and to his feet. They promptly sling one of his arms over each of their shoulders, and start shuffling their way into the house. Eddie pretends the sharp hiss and the sting of tears in his eyes are due only to the edge of pain from the movement, and not to the fact that he's feeling overwhelmed again by just how willing all of them seem to be to help him when he needs it.

The house that they shuffle him through is fucking pristine, a laundry room that feels bigger than Eddie's kitchen right off the garage and into a hallway, a closed off double door to the right and then a massive living room. There's an l-shaped sofa all made up with pillows and blankets, and that's where they take him, letting him settle down on it with a sigh of relief.

"Robin's filling his prescriptions," Nancy says to Steve. "I'm going to go get her, we'll be back soon."

She heads out as the herd of children Eddie apparently belongs to now troop into the living room, their voices all clamoring together.

Steve whistles, sharp and clear and making Eddie wince, though it does cut through the noise.

"You two," he says, pointing at the Sinclairs. "With me, we're calling your parents from the kitchen. Dustin, you're after them."

The noise picks up again, and this time Eddie can make out loud protests. Steve puts his fingers to his mouth again, and nope, nope, Eddie does not want that sounding off this close to his ear again.

"Hey!" he roars, and even though it makes his throat hurt, it works to shut them up. "Thank you."

"Parents," Steve repeats. "Or they're going to come looking for you, and maybe no one else will think to look for you guys here, but they will."

Dustin groans, but he doesn't protest again.

"What are we even supposed to tell them?" Lucas grumbles.

Steve shrugs. "What do you usually tell them?"

Dustin considers. "…yeah, okay, the babysitter cover will probably still work."

"Add in the Starcourt special," Lucas says.

Eddie looks between them all. "Is any of that supposed to make sense?"

"I told you, our parents love Steve," Dustin says. "He's been beaten up enough protecting us that they think he's some kind of defender against bullies and natural disasters."

Unwillingly, Eddie remembers the headlines after Starcourt, puts it together with what Robin'd told him and how beat to hell Steve looked when Eddie saw him. It doesn't sit well with Eddie, how casually Dustin talks about Steve getting beat up protecting them, but he also remembers Dustin holding onto Steve like he was a lifeline back in the hospital, so he thinks maybe it's a coping mechanism as much as it's a belief that Steve is invincible.

"We'll just tell them Steve was with us when the earthquake hit, and he kept us safe, then we waited with him at the hospital until he was discharged," Lucas says. "It's not even technically a lie."

Erica snorts, unimpressed. "And how does that explain you three sneaking out of the house when the cops were there and running away?"

"The cops? Oh, fucking great," Steve mutters. "What'd they say to you, are you guys okay?"

Max waves her good hand. "They didn't have anything on us. We weren't under arrest, they didn't tell us not to leave the house. They've got nothing."

"Question," Eddie says, holding up a hand. "How does that fit in with Steve carrying my unconscious ass into the hospital and telling everyone we were attacked?"

"You were attacked by the real killer, obviously," Dustin says, rolling his eyes. "But we're not going to bring that out until things have settled down a little."

Eddie considers if it's worth protesting exactly how flimsy that cover story is, and how much it won't hold up to anything, but - well. If he thinks too much about how deeply screwed he is with this murder stuff, it just makes him panic, and he doesn't really have room for all of that right now considering he's barely able to physically function.

He's pretty sure their parents will be too focused on their kids being safe after the "earthquake" for now, so he lets it go.

Steve seems to agree - or comes to an entirely different conclusion with the same result, fuck if Eddie knows, because he just points at Lucas and Erica again. "Kitchen. Now."

The Sinclairs reluctantly follow him, leaving Max and Dustin alone with Eddie.

"They're probably going to make us come home," Dustin mutters.

Max gives him a disdainful look. "At least you probably have a home to go back to."

"Wait, what?" Eddie asks when Dustin winces.

"The trailer park's a wreck," Max says flatly. "The earthquake or whatever it was hit the worst at the gates."

The gates. One of which was on the ceiling of his living room, right where -

"My uncle," Eddie says, trying not to freak out. "Is he okay, has anyone-"

"He's fine!" Dustin says hurriedly. "He was already out of your guys' place, cause, you know, crime scene. The school's been set up as a temporary housing until they can get everything sorted out, he's there."

Fuck if that doesn't make Eddie feel guilty all over again, but knowing his uncle is at least physically safe calms him down.

Max looks a little abashed, like she'd forgotten that she wasn't the only one in this little group who lives on that side of town anymore, which makes his heart go out to her. It's easy to forget about the things that should divide them, when they're all focused on saving the world and just trying to survive another day. He wonders how she deals with it when they're not all caught up in the Upside Down - wonders if she just hasn't been dealing with it at all, considering he knows she's a new resident of Forest Hills and that she'd been pulling away from the group before this.

She doesn't say anything else, and he doesn't ask.

Steve comes back before it gets too awkward, eyes automatically landing on Max in a way that, for a ridiculous moment, makes Eddie wonder if the guy is actually psychic.

"Mrs. Sinclair is asking for you," Steve says. "Do you want to come talk to her?"

His voice is soft, gentle, and he gives Max time to think it over - Eddie gets the feeling that Steve already has an excuse prepared for the Sinclairs if Max says no.

Max's eyes dart over at Eddie and Dustin for a moment, like she's not sure she wants to say anything in front of them. Then she deflates a little and looks back at Steve.

"My mom call back?" she asks.

"Not yet," Steve replies. "We can try again."

Max's jaw sets, and she shakes her head. "No. I want to talk to Mrs. Sinclair."

She stands, and doesn't push Steve's arm off of her when he grabs her in for a side hug as he guides her back into the kitchen.

Dustin leans back in the recliner he'd claimed, propping his booted foot up on the footrest. "I'm going to see if Mom'll let me stay over here a few days," he declares.

"Good luck with that," Eddie says. "Your mom's love of Steve aside, you've been gone for days. I think she's entitled to a day or two of hovering over you."

Dustin's nose scrunches, like he really wants to protest that but he's pretty sure Eddie's right.

"Fine," he mutters. "But you guys have to agree to walkie me every night. Every night, Eddie. And you have to make sure Steve leaves it on, and charged up, and I'm going to make him promise to check in as soon as he wakes up in the morning."

His heart - his stupid, not nearly cynical enough heart - cracks a little. "I'm okay, Dustin. Steve and I made it out okay."

"This time," Dustin says, and he won't meet Eddie's eyes, his voice thick enough that Eddie suspects he's holding back tears. "But you almost didn't. You almost died, Eddie, if El hadn't been ready for Vecna maybe you would have. And Steve - he's my brother, and I know he thinks he's invincible but one day he's not going to be, and he doesn't know how much I need him, how much I need you both -"

"Hey," Steve says.

Dustin yelps at the same time that Eddie jumps, hissing when that pulls at his stitches.

"Shit, Steve, make some noise next time!" Dustin complains.

"Sorry," Steve says, then reaches out to ruffle Dustin's hair. "I know, Dustin. Eddie and I both know, okay? We need you, too."

Part of Eddie wants to wheel back, to tell Steve that's awfully presumptuous of him, but - the part of him that he doesn't want to acknowledge, the bigger part right now, really fucking likes the way Steve says we, the way it makes Dustin stop looking so broken.

"Go home for a few days, then you can tell your mom that you're worried I'm going to rip my stitches trying to take care of myself and come stay over for a while, okay? We'll do it just like the first time."

Dustin considers that for a moment, then nods. "Okay."

"Good," Steve says. "Because it's your turn. You want me to bring the phone out here?"

"Nah, I can make it." Dustin lets down the recliner and slowly shuffles his way to the kitchen.

Steve shoots Eddie a look, and there's something quiet and intense in his eyes, something that Eddie feels like he can almost get, if he just -

Then Steve's moving, following Dustin back to the kitchen, and it's gone.

Eddie's alone.

This is the first time since he spent that long, shitty night in the woods that he's actually had some space to himself without one of the others in this strange little party right there. Part of him thinks he should enjoy the reprieve, taking in a breath and letting it out without worrying about what anyone else might see. Part of him thinks he should be panicking, like he did every time he thought he might have been left alone in the hospital.

He doesn't know what he actually feels.

There's a faint murmur of voices from the kitchen, low and soothing, and he thinks - he thinks about how if he yelled, any one of them would come running for him. He thinks about how if he heard yelling from them, he'd be launching himself up off this sofa and scrambling for the kitchen, bloody bite wounds or not. He thinks about how he ran, and how he didn't, and how none of them seemed to blame him when he ran from an invisible monster that turned a girl who was nothing but nice to him into a broken doll, and how they yelled at him for almost dying when he didn't run from a mob of demon bats who almost tore him to pieces. He thinks about how not one of them ever called him a coward, thinks about how they dragged him out of hell and slept in his hospital room and whisked him off to safety.

He thinks, maybe, they might just keep him, even if he isn't Steve's soulmate.

Steve comes out of the kitchen, shoots him a little wry smile and says, "Kind of figured none of us really want to be alone right now," and Eddie -

He thinks, fuck, he still really wants to be Steve's soulmate anyway.

Taglist (always happy to add more!): @vampireinthesun @koibug @estrellami-1 @mentalcyborg @allbimyself26 @questionablequeeries @the-s-is-silent @whimsicalwitchm @a-gae-af-racoon @tinyplanet95 @n0-1-important @velocitytimes2 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @newtstabber @jcmadgirl @roblingoblin285 @lexyvey @paperbackribs @goodolefashionedloverboi @evix-syne666 @raisedbylibrarians @stxrcrossed186 @nightmareglitter @greekgeek24 @starman-jpg @crazyhatlady86 @imfinereallyy @manda-panda-monium @deleataecount @prideandsensibility @chaoticvictorianspirit @maydillydally @disrespectedgoatman @scarlet-malfoy @i-less-than-three-you @hbyrde36 @hallucinatedjosten @dragonsandgayships @arepaconchocolate @g4ys0n @novelnovella @bisexualdisastersworld @ghostofyourvampiregf @scarletyeager @pettrichore @nerd-and-nervous @hiimlevi @queenie-ofthe-void @cinnamon-mushroomabomination

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Part 14

#stranger things #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie fic #steddie fanfic #steddie soulmate au #robin buckley #dustin henderson #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #nancy wheeler

[ktwritesstuff]

The Babysitter (a Last of Us fanfic) pt. 2

Title: The Babysitter Fandom: The Last of Us Rating: Explicit Characters & Pairings: Joel Miller x Reader Word Count: ~3,500 Summary: Outbreak day and adventures in babysitting. Lovingly beta-read by @bs-fangirl. Additional content notes below the cut

Part 1 | Part 2 (below cut) | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Content Notes & Warnings: Man, oh, man, the Last of Us girlies are thirsty! This part follows the game/show fairly closely so there shouldn't be too many surprises. Just to forewarn you, this chapter includes a teenager fantasizing about a grown ass man (explicit, but short,) canon violence, & character death.

Austin 2003

You usually didn’t get into the school spirit, especially when it came to football.  You played in the marching band at halftime, but weren’t usually invited to the afterparties.  It was your senior year and the Bulldogs were headed to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. So when your best friend invited you to a celebratory bonfire after the game, you figured it was probably the last chance you had to make fond memories of the place.

You drank a few beers while Cheryl and her boyfriend made out on the blanket next to you and listened to Mike Zurowski try to give an inspiring speech about how they would dominate the state championship.  But after the first string running back took off his pants and streaked across the highway you decided you’d better leave before someone called the cops.  You were just heading out when your phone rang.  It was Joel Miller.  You felt butterflies in your chest, wondering why he would call you so late.  

“Hello?”

“Hey, Sweetpea,  It’s Joel.  I didn’t wake you, did I?” he sounded tired.

“No,” you said.  “We were out celebrating the big game.  I was just heading home.  What’s up?”

“Listen, I’m sorry to call so late,” he explained.  “I’ve got to go see Tommy–is there any chance you could come keep an eye on Sarah?  She’s already in bed, I just don’t want her waking up in an empty house.”

“Yeah, of course,” you said.  Of course it was for Sarah, it was the only thing that made any sense.  

“Give me about 10 minutes. I’ll have Andy and Cheryl to drop me off.”

“You’re an angel,” Joel sighed.  

“I’ll see you soon.”

The short drive was surprisingly harrowing; you nearly got pancaked by a fleet of firetrucks and emergency vehicles.  You guessed some folks had partied a little too hard.  

Joel already had his keys in hand as Andy dropped you at the curb.  Thankfully, he seemed to be in too much of a hurry to notice you still reeked of Lone Star beer, despite the mints Andy kept stashed in his glove compartment.  

“Thanks again,” Joel said, meeting you at the door.  “Be sure to lock up behind me.  Make yourself at home; help yourself to anything in the fridge.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.” 

“Sure thing, Mr. Joel,”  you said.  “Drive safe; I think the drunks are out.”  

You went to the kitchen and checked the fridge.  You contemplated helping yourself to another beer, but decided against it.  The Millers didn’t drink soda, but they always kept a few cans of Diet Coke on hand for you.  You took a seat on the couch and turned on the television.  

About half an hour into reruns of Dawson’s Creek, a car alarm started going off.  You ignored it at first, but it just kept going.  Finally you switched off the television and turned to peer through the blinds onto the street.

“What the hell is going on out there?” You murmured to yourself; finally the alarm went silent. 

You climbed the stairs in the darkened house to check on Sarah, cracking her door open just enough to find her sleeping soundly in the bed.  You closed the door softly.  Your gaze drifted down the hall, lingering on the door to Joel’s room.  A little voice in the back of your mind told you to turn around and go back downstairs, but he had told you to make yourself at home.

You tiptoed down the hall and put your hand on the knob, turning it slowly.  The door creaked on its hinges as you pushed it open.  You froze, listening intently, but all you could hear was a neighbor’s dog barking in the distance.  Your heart was pounding as you stepped into the room.  

There was an exercise bike in the corner, a full laundry basket with used towels and worn clothes spilling on the floor.  You had never been in a man’s room before.  Even at home, your mother devoted considerable effort to cleaning up after your father and brother.  You noticed a framed picture of Sarah on the cluttered dresser along with an oscillating fan and radio.  The bed was unmade, a striped quilt and dark sheets looking comfortably rumpled and inviting.  You took a seat on the bed, feeling the soft fabric under your fingertips.  Against your better judgment, you laid down.

The bed smelled faintly of sweat and old spice.  You closed your eyes and rolled over, pressing your face into one of the pillows.  You liked the idea of sharing Joel’s bed.  Not now, but in a few years.  You’d be 22 when Sarah graduated from high school, Joel would still be in his early 40s.  That wasn’t so unthinkable, was it?

A weight settled onto the bed beside you, warm and firm.  A soft whisper of a moan by your ear.  Your right hand followed the path of his as it snaked over your waist and between your legs.  You reached behind you with your left, fingers twisting in thick curls.  His breath was warm and his beard tickled the delicate skin of your neck as he kissed you.  You felt safe.  You felt peaceful.  You felt loved.

You leaned into him as his mouth traveled across your shoulder and down to the top of your breast.  You opened your legs so he could slip inside you, fingers stroking through your hot folds up and down and up and down as hips rocked into you.  You felt a knot tightening in your belly.  You wanted to feel him there.  You pressed back into him.  Your toes curled.  You were so close; you were already so full of him, but you needed more.  Just a little more.

You jolted out of sleep at the sound of the front door opening.  Your face felt hot and flushed with sleep with one hand stuffed down the front of your jeans–how embarrassing.  You pushed yourself up and glanced at the clock on the bedside table.  It was after 2 in the morning.  You had no idea what had kept Joel out so late, but you did not want him catching you in his bed with your hand down your pants.  You jumped up, re-ruffling the sheets as quickly and quietly as you could before slipping out of the bedroom.

In the hall, Sarah’s bedroom door was open and her bed was empty.  From the top of the stairs you could see the front door had been left hanging open as well.

“Shit,” you gasped, pounding down the stairs.  “Fuck!  Shit.  Sarah!  Sarah!”

You spotted her in the neighbor’s yard, dragging their dog toward the house by the collar.  It was fighting her hard, like it didn’t want to go.  

“Sarah!” you screamed.  Your heart pounded as you ran to her.  “What the hell are you doing?!”

The dog finally managed to slip its collar and took off down the street.  

“Mercy!” Sarah yelled, lunging after the dog.  “Mercy got out.”

You grabbed Sarah by the arm, harder than you intended.  As you stood there on the dark street, there was a deafening roar.  You looked up to see a plane flying low, too low.  A wave of icy dread washed over you.  

“Leave it!  Get back in the house!” you yelled, pushing her in front of you as you rushed back to the house.  “Now!”

Once you were inside and had locked the door, you took a breath.  Sarah rubbed her arm with a frown.  You felt terrible, realizing you had really scared her.

“I’m sorry,” you said.  “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to hurt you.  I didn’t mean to yell.  I just got scared.”

“What are you doing here?” Sarah asked.   “Where’s my dad?” 

“He had to see your Uncle Tommy,” you explained.  “He didn’t tell me why, but he asked me to come keep an eye on you.”

Sarah went to the living room and grabbed the remote from the coffee table to flip on the television.  The station that had been playing reruns earlier was now nothing but static.  She began to scroll through the channels, still nothing.  

You screamed at the sound of a key scraping in the lock and threw your arms around Sarah.  The front door swung open, Joel and Tommy were on the other side.

“Jesus, you girls alright?” Joel asked.

“We’re fine,” Sarah sighed in relief.  “You just startled us.”    

“What’s going on?” you asked.  

“There’s been an accident,” Joel said, breathlessly, pushing Sarah up the stairs.  “Tommy’s going to take you home.  Sarah, go get your backpack, come on.”     

You remembered the morning of September 11th–sitting in the auditorium as the kids with parents at Camp Mambry got called out of the room–all the teachers would say was there had been an accident, a plane crash.   

You watched with increasing anxiety as Joel disappeared up the stairs with Sarah.  No more discussion.

“Come on,” Tommy said, ushering you out of the house.  “We gotta go.”

You had met Tommy only a few times, but you knew him by reputation.  He had served in the Gulf War and spent over a year in Afghanistan before an honorable discharge.  Given that he was such a hothead, you sometimes wondered about the honorable part.  

“What’s really going on?” you asked, as he climbed into the cab of the truck beside you.  

“I don’t know,” he said, starting the engine and peeling out of the driveway fast enough that you grabbed on to what your mother referred to as the ‘Oh, Shit’ handle above the door.  Somehow that answer managed to scare you even more.  

“Are we going to be okay?” you asked.  

“You just get inside and lock your doors,” he instructed.  

You thought you heard a scream and turned to look out the rear windshield, straining your eyes in the darkness, but there was nothing.

“You got a basement?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah.”  You met his eyes in the rearview mirror.

“Get in it,” he instructed.  “You grab whatever food and water you’ve got.  Take your family down there and seal up the windows and doors, you hear me?”

You nodded.  You were shaking.  Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes and you wiped them away with the cuffs of your sleeves.  You felt like you were going to be sick.  Tommy’s driving didn’t help; he took the turn down your street hard enough to slam your body into the passenger side door.  

“If they don’t listen to you, you make them listen,” Tommy warned.  “Or leave them.”

You nodded.  Tommy pulled into your driveway, slamming on the breaks just shy of running into the back of Paul’s Jeep.

“Get your keys out now,” Tommy instructed, he flipped on the overhead light as you fumbled through your purse with shaking hands.  “Get inside, quick.”

You sprinted up the stone path and steps to the door.  The porch light was off and you scrambled to get the key in the lock.  After a few seconds the door finally swung open and you glanced over your shoulder to see that Tommy was still parked in the drive.

As you turned back, you realized Paul was standing in the hallway, but he didn’t look right–his head cocked to one side as he watched you.  There was something in his mouth.  He was covered in blood.  It coated his arms and dripped from his chin, staining the white and gold of his football jersey.         

You screamed.  Paul ran at you, slamming into you like a freight train.  You threw your arms in front of your face as he snapped at you like an animal, grabbing for your throat.  You screamed again, trying to fight him off–he grabbed your breasts with both hands, like he wanted to tear them from your body.  You knew you were going to die; you kept fighting anyway.   

There was a deafening bang…

The next thing you were aware of, you were in the bed of Tommy’s truck.  It was dark except for the headlight beams stretching out across a deserted cotton field.  

“She ain’t family.  Doesn’t mean she’s sick; I’m just saying we don’t know.”  

You blinked, willing your eyes to focus.  Tommy and Joel were standing at the tailgate speaking in hushed tones.  Tommy had his rifle in his hands, not aiming it, but still too close for comfort.

“I know,” Joel said.  “But she goes to school with Sarah–been with her all night.  If she’s sick…”

“Sarah,” you started to panic, trying to push yourself up.  Everything hurt; your arms felt like jello.  “Where’s Sarah?”

“Daddy,” a soft voice called from inside the cab of the truck.  

“You stay in the truck, baby,” Joel yelled.  “Don’t come out here.”

You smelled metallic, copper penny.  You were covered in blood.  Whose was it?  Your momma’s?  Daddy’s?  Paul?  Your chest hurt from where he had grabbed you.  He was so strong.  How had you gotten away?  Your eyes drifted back to Tommy’s gun.

“Do it,” you said.  

Joel and Tommy both froze, realizing for the first time that you had been listening.  That you understood they were debating what to do with you.  Paul had tried to kill you; Tommy had killed Paul.  Your parents, you realized, were almost certainly dead.  And whatever happened to them, that was making people go crazy and hurt one another, would happen to you, too.  

“Do it,” you repeated.  You didn’t want to die, but if you were going to hurt someone, maybe even Sarah.

“Please.  I’d do it myself, but I’m scared.” 

“Shit,” Joel sighed, lowering the tailgate of the truck.  “C’mere, Sweetpea.  Come here, let me take a look at you.  You’re gonna be alright.”  

You inched forward on hands and knees.  Joel ran his hands over your arms, your face, your neck, you weren’t sure what he was looking for.  He took an extra moment, adjusting the collar of your shirt to examine the bruises blooming across your chest, probing them with his fingertips.  You realized it was the first time he had touched you, not rough, but insistent, hurried.  

“Open your mouth,” Tommy instructed, shining a flashlight into your face, still holding his rifle in the other hand.

You blinked against the bright light, opening your mouth.

“If she’s got it,” Tommy concluded.  “She doesn’t look like the others.”

“You stay down and hang on,” Joel instructed, slamming the tailgate closed; he and Tommy got back in the truck.  “We’ll head north and cut across toward Barton Creek.”

The road back into town was rough, but once you were back on the main drag things got a lot worse.  Most folks were running and screaming–others had gone violent, feral, grabbing on to whoever they could reach and tearing them apart.

You were terrified that one of them might jump into the bed of the truck.  You grabbed onto the handle of the big toolbox and hunkered down as best you could, squeezing your eyes closed while Tommy struggled to navigate through the chaos.

By some stroke of luck, you were thrown clear of the wreckage when the truck turned over.  You must have had a concussion–you lost consciousness for a moment–your head was screaming but you were alive and as Tommy hauled you up by the collar of your shirt, you were able to get your feet under you and stand.

“Come on, girl,” he said with surprising tenderness.  “You got this.”

Your vision cleared; Joel was digging Sarah out of the wreckage of the truck.  Her ankle had been pinned, probably broken, and wouldn’t bear weight.  You stumbled toward them and ducked under Sarah’s arm to help support her as Tommy went around to the other side of the truck to retrieve his rifle.    

“Look out!” you screamed, watching helplessly.  Tommy dove out of the way as a police cruiser slammed into the overturned truck.  The officer inside slumped over the steering wheel, unmoving.

“Don’t look, baby,” you reached to cover Sarah’s eyes.  “Don’t look.”  You had read how seeing human remains could really mess a person up.  You didn’t have time to wonder how what you had seen tonight would affect you.

“You go!” Tommy called from the other side of the wreckage.  “I’ll find another way through.”

You and Joel started down the sidestreet supporting Sarah’s weight between you.  You turned down the adjoining alley, trying to get away from the crowds and the chaos, and nearly ran straight into more carnage.  Joel froze in place; there on the other side of the alley one of those things–you wondered when they stopped being human–was, well, you could only think to describe it as feeding.  Like a vampire.  You had never really cared for Tom Cruise.  But its victim was still alive.  He saw you, reached out for help with a low moan.

“Here,” you whispered, lifting Sarah’s weight into Joel’s arms, slowly, carefully.  “Here.” 

“Don’t,” Joel hissed back, holding Sarah in his arms like a new bride. 

“Go,” you said, taking another step into the alley.  

You didn’t know what you were going to do, but you had to do something.  If sharing air and close contact with these things is what made you sick, then you were already dead.  But Joel and Sarah still had a chance. 

Then the thing sat up.  You met its eyes and it met yours and you knew whatever it was, it wanted you.  You had fucked up.

“Go!” you called, sprinting back through the alley after Joel and Sarah.  You were just a few feet behind them with the thing closing in fast.

You did have one advantage that perhaps even Joel or Tommy did not.  Like every girl you knew, you had devoted a considerable amount of your brain power every day to planning what you would do if there were a predator after you.  

You followed Joel through the back door of an abandoned bar, pushing tables and tearing down stools into the path behind you as you went.  The thing stumbled and clawed its way through–one leg jutting out at a sickening angle, but it still kept coming impossibly fast and unfeeling.

As you followed Joel’s path through the kitchen you used the extra seconds you had bought to push the standing cooler in front of the swinging door.  It took all of your might–adrenaline flooding your body.  But as you raced from the kitchen, you could hear the thing forcing its way through your blockade.

You heard a shot, staring down the road at a humvee and a soldier, but even with the thing chasing you clearly dead, he didn’t lower his gun.       

“Take her,” Joel said, handing Sarah off to you.  “Stay behind me.”  

You lifted Sarah, she was too big to be carried like a child, but you cradled her with her legs looped around your waist, covering her head with one hand.

“What about Uncle Tommy,” Sarah said.  

“He’ll be fine,” you said.  “We’ll go back for him.”

The soldier was talking on his radio, you strained to listen, but your hearing hadn’t recovered from all the gunfire.  Then the soldier was lifting his gun.

“Run!”  Joel shouted.  “Run!”

He was turning toward you and you turned to run, but then you heard the shots.  Joel slammed into your back.  You tried to hold on to Sarah, but you fell–all the wind knocked out of you–rolling down the hillside.

You pushed yourself up from where you had landed on your belly.  You saw Sarah on the ground a few feet away, a dark stain spreading across the front of her shirt.

“No,” you chanted, scrambling toward her on hands and knees.  “No, Sarah.”  

Sarah moaned as you drew her head into your lap and pressed your hands into her belly.

“I have to,” you cried, pressing down hard.  “I’m sorry.  I have to.”

You didn’t even notice the soldier had followed you to finish the job until you heard the second shot and saw Tommy standing beside Joel with the rifle, the dead man at his feet.

Then they saw you, struggling to keep Sarah’s blood inside her.  Joel lunged at you, pushing you off her.  Sarah cried in pain as he tried to lift her.  You watched as life drained out of her and she went limp in his arms.  You felt cold.  You felt sick.  You felt numb.  

“You’re hit,” Tommy said, kneeling down beside you.  You didn’t know what he meant until he pressed his hand into your shoulder and searing pain ripped through your body.              

#joel miller x reader #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us #the last of us hbo #joel miller #pedro pascal #tlou fanfiction #tlou #tlou hbo

[sanjisluvbot]

ISEKAI YANDERE STRAWHATS X BLACK FEM READER PT 7

Masterlist

1 2 3 4 5 6

TW: drugging

Your eyes widened, you knew the edge you felt from Luffy wasn’t something you could easily shake off. Luffy was good at emotional manipulation but you were even better, I mean you had to be. Law was right to tell you to try and distance yourself from him but it was hard when he was really the only person you could trust.

“ Luffy what would make you think about that right now?” You said trying to remove his arm from your waist though your efforts were no use as he gripped you even tighter.

“ You’ve been really close with Traffy, I- no the entire crew has noticed and I just wanted ti know if you’re going to make us go through this again.”

Damn them all to hell honestly.

You wanted to express your anger to him so badly but that would just foil your plans completely. Deep breaths y/n, just reassure him and the crew so they can let you go to Zou.

“ Listen Luffy, me and Law just have a lot in common. We get along really well and we’re just friends. I’m not gonna leave. ”

He smiled at you and started talking to you about his plan to unlock the fridge that night with the help of one of Ussop’s new inventions. You began to tune him out when you realized that your anxiety was beginning to overflow. Your hands felt clammy and you wanted to be alone. Luffy’s grip was agonizing and you knew it was his way of threatening you silently.

If this plan wasn’t executed to perfection who knows what they’d do to you. What would happen with Law if they- no, no more negative thoughts. If you stress this too much they really will notice.

Meanwhile in the library Robin was drinking tea while reading a book with chopper.

“ Robin, have you noticed how close Y/N has been with Trafalgar?”

Robin looked up from her book and smirked at the doctor, “ I think she likes him… maybe he liked her too they’re both strategists”

“ I guess”

Robin was weary though, she knew deep down you had not fully accepted everything so why would you get close with Law? She was sure she heard everything right when you two went off but could they have a hidden agenda being together?

Before she thought any further the man of the hour walked in. He nodded in their direction and went to the book shelf himself picking out a book on ancient medicine.

“ Traffy y/n seems to have opened up to you since we’ve gotten off Punk Hazard. What made you so close if you don’t mind me asking?”

“ She’s very intelligent and we get along well.”

“ oh, well she’s more of a closed off type so I was just curious because it happened so fast.”

This is what you were talking about. Robin was the most observant and the most dangerous, Law needed to think of a way to through this woman off their tracks quickly.

“ Well aside from her intelligence she’s beautiful, I couldn’t resist wanting to know her better. When switching out the cuffs she told me about the adventures you’ve been on and she sounded so entranced with everything I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her.”

The conversation went on for a while and Law was able to tell her suspicions died down a bit but his guard wasn’t completely down. There was no wonder the government wanted her for themselves Robin had a way with words. The rest of the crew was getting ready for bed and Law was using this time to stall before questions from them kept him from the little sleep he normally gets.

Wandering towards the make quarters he saw you leaving from a shower with Nami, he couldn’t help but stare at the way your skin glowed. He wasn’t lying about you being beautiful.

You felt eyes on your back and looked up to the stairs, Law was leaning over the railing and when u made eye contact he gave u a soft smile. You waved and continued your way to the room while drying your hair, Nami nudged you when the door closed.

Here we go man here we go

“ When did you too become a thing?”

“ We aren’t a thing. We just have some things in common and when he told me he wanted to strategize something clicked and it brought us closer in a way.”

“ That’s great, he’s cute too maybe you should date him”

You gave her a fake laugh and made your way to bed wanting to end this never ending interrogation.

The next morning you were in DressRosa and everything was going accordingly till you needed to leave. There was a huge fuss on whether or not you should stay with the captains and vice captain or if you should go to Zou with the others. Law was able to convince Luffy but the look in Zoro’s eye told you he knew Law was shitting through his teeth.

“ Why would Y/N go to Zou? We can protect her here”

“ Why would a woman who doesn’t have a devil fruit or any fighting skills need to be in the middle of a war?”

“ What would she do in Zou? None of us even know your crew and without all of us there so many things could happen to her because as you said, she’s defenseless”

Law was able to manipulate the boys easily causing a fight between the two hotheads.

“ What are you trying to say you angry green drunkard”

“ I’m saying I can protect y/n better than a horny cook with shitty eyebrows”

Eventually you found yourself starring into the endless sea feeling giddy knowing you were closer and closer to freedom. Getting to see Momo turn into a real life dragon had to be one of your favorite highlights as well, you would very much miss this world even though you don’t want to admit it.

That awful nagging in the back of your head that wants you to stay started again as you grew closer to Zou.

Is it that bad to sta- YES. Yes it is stop it brain you need to go home you can’t just live this double life.

“ Y/N chaaaaaan, you look so stunning in the sun like a goddess from the heavens. Do you want a sweet tart?”

You happily took the treat and settled down after the crew dealt with the impending threat of big mom. How you wish you could stay to see it and see Sanji as a pretty prince.

For some reason, as you were almost done eating the treat you felt slightly weaker like you needed to take a nap. The crew let their eyes wander to you every once in a while like they were waiting.

Have I been drugged? Why would they drug me now?

“ Y/N chan please understand it’s only for your own good and protection that we do this.”

Your vision grew blurry and you tried to quickly stand up which failed miserably, you fell to your knees and everything just looked like shapes and colors. How long would this last? You needed to contact Law and his crew. They’re gonna save you.

Back on DressRosa while you and Law were on the deck with Ussop, Frank, Kin, Momo, and Franky the crew discussed your sudden closesness with the new captain.

“ I think they’re into something more than we know”

“ Of course they are y/n hasn’t fully adjusted to everything yet, why would she be so chummy with a captain from this world she’s never met”

“ Well they did seem to have hit it off, they could just really like eachother…”

“ Nami, although that might be true there is definitely something more to their relationship. I think it might have something to do with her being specifically one of the people to be sent to Zou first.”

“ Robin is right, he was so adamant on arguing with me to send her to Zou.. it was strange”

The crew argued, but Luffy silenced them. They awaited their orders knowing that the look on Luffy’s face.

“ Let her go, whatever they are planning won’t go as they think especially because they won’t be together for a while.”

They all silently agreed till Robin spoke up once more, “ Chooper, would you be able to make a drug for Sanji to put in y/n’s drink or food? Not one to harm her but maybe to keep her asleep for a while till we are reunited?”

The doctor and the cook were conflicted, this went against everything they stood for but it was captains orders and they loved their little y/n.

Sanji held back tears as he carried you into your room, having to go to such lengths just to keep you with them strained his heart.

“ She’ll be okay right chopper? It’s not hurting her or anything she’s just asleep?”

“ Y-yes it was only sedatives and sleep medication in a medium dose. She should only be asleep for a few days”

The guilt was clear to see on their faces, and the guilt was on the rest of the tiny crew as well but deep down it felt real good to know that this was going to ensure y/n would not only be safe but in their arms forever.

Whatever it takes.

Tags: @herwritingartcowboy @axulaphie @arminscum-slut @toshirolovebot [ If you are missing I apologize, please message me I’ll add you today <3 ]

A/N : sorry this update took a while, I’ve been dealing with some things mentally and it interrupted my writing flow. I’m really glad everyone is enjoying this series the support means so much to me along with your comments. I’m in shock with how many people are enjoying my writing, and I’ve got more things coming during the weekend <3

Not proofread btw 💀

#x black fem reader #one piece x black!reader #one piece #one piece x reader #yandere strawhats #x black reader #nico robin #one piece headcanons #one piece imagine #one piece sanji #zoro x black reader #ussop one piece #straw hat nami #sanji x black reader #traflagar law #Trafalgar law x black reader #trafalgar law x black fem reader #isekai one piece #isekai x reader #luffy x black reader

[moodymelanist]

Now That Your Rose is in Bloom

happy day 2 of @sjmromanceweek everyone! Elucien won in my poll so I had to make sure to get to them <3 title from Seal's Kiss From A Rose for... obvious reasons haha.

it's been a long, long time since I've written Elucien so apologies in advance if this is ooc or what have you. but I hope y'all enjoy!!

Summary: Lucien buys Elain a bouquet of flowers for each year they've been together.

Word Count: 2,385

Read on AO3 here!

♡♡♡♡♡ Elain

Valentine’s Day dawned bright and early in the Archeron-Vanserra townhouse, and Elain groaned as the sound of Lucien’s alarm woke her up. She didn’t have to be up for at least another hour, but he had to be at work by eight instead of nine today, hence her sleep being interrupted.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Munchkin,” Elain heard Lucien say. She mumbled something incoherent back and fell asleep to the sound of his low laughter, snuggling further into the pillows as he quietly got ready for work.

When she woke up again, Lucien was already gone for the day. Elain didn’t fully wake up until she was five minutes into her shower, and the only thing keeping her going was the promise she’d made to herself that coffee was coming soon. Once she was moisturized and her skincare routine was done, she put on a pink sweater to be festive. She loved big holidays like Valentine’s Day, but she was also a grad student. There was only so much energy she could spare, especially when she knew she’d need it for whatever Lucien had planned for today.

Elain and Lucien had been dating for just over five years now, and around their second year together, Lucien had come up with a little tradition for Valentine’s Day: one bouquet of flowers for every year they’d been together. It hadn’t been so bad in the early days of their relationship, but now that they lived together and were talking about spending the rest of their lives together, things had gotten a little… out of hand. 

Lucien had never missed a birthday, anniversary, or Valentine’s Day, and he clearly wasn’t going to start now. There was a modest bouquet waiting for Elain when she walked downstairs to make herself some breakfast, a mix of pink, red, and white flowers brightening up their counter as they waited to be noticed.

Even though she’d known it was coming, that didn’t stop Elain from smiling as she read the little card waiting beside the vase. This one had a gnome on the front and said Valentine, there’s gnome-one like you!

She laughed as she opened the card to reveal Lucien’s familiar, prep-school handwriting. Happy Valentine’s Day, Elain, he’d written. I love you more than I can possibly explain. Yours, Lucien.

“Always the romantic,” Elain murmured fondly to herself. She gently placed the card back in its original spot and snapped a quick picture before opening up a new text to her boyfriend.

Elain Archeron, 7:57 AM

[Attachment: 1 Image] Stop trying to one-up me so early in the day, Lucien!

Lucien Vanserra, 7:58 AM

Why, is it working? ;-)

Elain snorted and put her phone away, focusing on getting through the rest of her morning routine instead of going back and forth with him. She had a quick breakfast, packed her lunch, and made it out the door on time for once. There thankfully wasn’t a lot of traffic for once, and she got lucky while looking for parking, so by the time she strolled into the biology building it was shaping up to be a wonderful day.

“Hey Elain,” Nuala, one of the other grad students in Elain’s program, greeted her as she walked into the graduate office. She and her twin were both students here, though Cerridwen hadn’t yet made an appearance yet. “There’s a delivery waiting for you at your desk.”

“Thanks,” Elain replied. She made a quick pit stop at the fridge to drop off her lunch before circling back to her desk, her jaw dropping at the bouquet waiting for her. “Oh my God.”

“Lucien strikes again?” Cerridwen asked from behind Elain, finally making her appearance this morning. She walked over to Elain’s desk and made appropriately impressed noises at the bouquet and accompanying card. “Wow. He’s really not playing around this year.”

“He’s ridiculous,” Elain answered. Judging from the sound of the twins’ chuckles, neither of them quite believed her. “He does this every year!”

“Trust me, we know,” Nuala responded with another laugh. “How do you think he gets them past security?”

“By batting his eyelashes and flirting with whoever’s at the front desk,” Elain fired back without missing a beat. “We’ve been together a long time. Trust me, I know all of his tricks.”

“No wonder he got so good at them,” Cerridwen teased. She winked at Elain before heading back over to her desk, her long, dark braids swinging behind her as she did. “Guess you two got in a lot of practice!”

Once Cerridwen left for her desk, Nuala wasn’t far behind. Elain let the sounds of the rest of the biology department trickling in fade into background noise as she reached for her second card of the day, this one with a picture of an orange cat on the front. The caption read, You had me at meow!

Elain flipped open the card to reveal another few lines of Lucien’s handwriting. You’re purrr-fect for me, Elain. Love, Lucien.

Elain Archeron, 9:13 AM

[Attachment: 1 Image] It’s barely 9 am!!!

Lucien Vanserra, 9:14 AM

What can I say? You’re all that I knead 😻

Elain shook her head fondly before she pulled up her schedule for today, looking forward to TAing classes and working on her own research. She responded to a few emails and set some reminders for herself before grabbing her backpack and heading upstairs for her first class of the day, and by the time she made it back downstairs to the grad office for lunch, there was yet another bouquet waiting for her at her desk.

“He’s really stepping it up this year,” Cerridwen said once Elain got back to her desk, already nodding with approval. Nuala wasn’t in the office, so it was just the two of them for now, a reversal of this morning when Elain had first arrived. “Two bouquets in one day? Sheesh.”

“You know he does one for every year we’ve been together,” Elain replied, smiling as she gently brushed her fingers across the pink and white peonies. “I have two bouquets to go before I’m done for the day.”

“You did tell me that.” Cerridwen sighed wistfully from her desk. “Does he have any sisters?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Elain answered. “He’s one of seven boys, if you can believe it.”

“Jesus. His poor mother.”

“You can say that again.”

They fell into comfortable silence after that, Cerridwen going back to whatever she was working on while Elain reached for the card. This one was science-themed and pulled a soft laugh out of her the second she read it; the front had a molecule on the front and said, We’ve got a strong bond!

Happy Valentine’s Day, (almost) Dr. Archeron, Lucien had written. We’ve got some awesome chemistry!

Elain pulled out her phone to take another picture and sent it to Lucien immediately.

Elain Archeron, 12:23 PM

[Attachment: 1 Image] I’m not a chemist, you dork

Lucien Vanserra, 12:25 PM

Doesn’t matter

You should change your name to Enzyme the way you make me react

Elain rolled her eyes, quickly taking another picture — this time, of herself looking annoyed — before sending it over to him. He’d made that joke every single time Elain reminded him that she was in a biology program, not a chemistry one, but it didn’t stop him from making it anyway.

Elain Archeron, 12:26 PM

[Attachment: 1 Image] Can you feel my disappointment.

Lucien Vanserra, 12:28 PM

I’d much rather feel something else 😈

Elain hoped no one had seen her choke on her leftover spaghetti and meatballs as she read her boyfriend’s text. Cheeks pink, she quickly texted him back while trying not to die getting her food to go down the right pipe.

Elain Archeron, 12:29 PM

Don’t start with me I have office hours at 1!! Let me enjoy my lunch in peace you scoundrel

Lucien Vanserra, 12:30 PM

That’s 30 minutes from now, Elain Don’t be like that

Elain Archeron, 12:30 PM

GOODBYE, Lucien

Lucien just sent back a series of laughing emojis, so Elain rolled her eyes and went back to finishing her lunch in relative peace. Once her break was over, it seemed like the rest of the day flew by, between meeting with a few students for office hours, working on a study guide to distribute to her sections, and grading some quizzes she’d meant to finish last week.

Elain startled as someone knocked on her desk, looking up to find Cerridwen fixing her with a look. “Elain, get out of here already.”

“I’m almost done, I promise,” Elain replied. A quick glance at the time showed it was already 4:30, and if she wanted to get home in time to bake Lucien something sweet, she knew she needed to get a move on. “I just have a few left—”

“Come on, you know Thesan won’t care,” Cerridwen insisted. Thesan was one of the professors they both worked with, and he was well known for his more relaxed vibe in the biology department. “Just finish them up tomorrow and come on already.”

“Okay, okay, fine,” Elain agreed, holding her hands up in surrender. “Twist my arm.”

Cerridwen waited for Elain to finish packing up her things, and then the two of them were off to the garage. With Cerridwen’s help, they managed to get the two bouquets to Elain’s car without dropping anything, which was a minor miracle as far as Elain was concerned. Once they got off the elevator onto Elain’s floor, Elain somehow got her keys out without jostling anything too badly, and she almost didn’t notice the bouquet of red roses already inside until Cerridwen made a surprised noise.

“Oh my God,” Elain said incredulously once she noticed there was somehow another bouquet inside her car. “That sneaky motherfucker!”

Cerridwen gently laid the bouquet she was holding down on the backseat while Elain went to investigate the roses in the passenger seat. “He’s smooth as hell, I’ll give him that.”

“He’s ridiculous is what he is,” Elain replied, laughing off her surprise. “How did he even know where I parked!”

“He probably drove around looking for your car,” Cerridwen suggested. “Now that’s a keeper.”

“That he is,” Elain agreed. There wasn’t a card to go with this one, so Elain shrugged and put the rest of her stuff in the backseat with the other two bouquets. “You want me to give you a ride to your car?”

“No, I’m okay,” Cerridwen responded. She waggled her eyebrows as she added, “I don’t want to interrupt however you’re going to thank him when you get home.”

“Goodbye, Cerridwen,” Elain told her, ignoring the way Cerridwen was laughing at her pink cheeks. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Cerridwen was still laughing as she turned and started walking back toward the elevator. “See you tomorrow, Elain. Enjoy your V-Day!”

Elain managed to make it home in one piece, and thankfully no other surprises were waiting for her when she got through the door. She had to make two trips to carry the ridiculous amount of flowers Lucien had gotten her inside, and since the stems had already been cut, she made quick work of finding vases to put them all in.

From there, she got started on dinner and dessert. Lucien may have been a sneaky wizard when it came to leaving her flowers, but Elain was a true mastermind when it came to the kitchen. She’d been planning this meal for at least two weeks, and it felt good to finally put her plans into action. She poured a lot of love into her Marry Me chicken — aptly named, if you asked her — but the real star of the show was the lava cakes she was making from scratch. She’d been secretly testing the recipe out and she prayed tonight wasn’t going to be the night things went wrong.

Of course it wasn’t. She was just that good.

By the time Elain looked up at the time, she realized Lucien was probably going to be home in the next couple of minutes, so she ran to the bathroom to quickly freshen up. She made it downstairs just in time to see the lock turning in the door, and even though she’d long since gotten used to the sight of her boyfriend coming home, it still sent a happy little shiver up her spine every time he came home to her.

“You’re absolutely ridiculous,” Elain called out the second Lucien got through the front door. Lucien was waiting for her with a final bouquet, the sheer amount of roses stuffed into this one making it a little difficult to see his handsome face over the tops of the flowers. “Lucien!”

“My love knows no bounds, Elain,” Lucien said back, setting the frankly ridiculous bouquet down on the coffee table so he could wrap her up in a warm embrace instead. “Mhmm, I missed you today. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day to you too,” she replied. Her voice was a little muffled from where her face was pressed against his chest, but neither of them minded. “How the hell did you get flowers into my car?”

“A gentleman never reveals his secrets,” he answered, pulling away so he could steal a kiss instead. He tasted like chocolate, and she hoped it was a sign he’d enjoy his dessert tonight. “But if you must know… I took the emergency key and drove around looking for where you parked.”

“Of course you did,” she responded, shaking her head fondly. She reached onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, savoring the way his eyes crinkled around the edges as she did. “Come on, Mr. Romantic. I made us dinner and dessert.”

“It smells amazing in here,” he told her. He was still holding onto her, one of his warm hands sliding under the hem of her sweater to touch the small of her back, and suddenly she wasn’t quite thinking about the same kind of dessert. “Can I send my compliments to the chef?”

Their food was a little cold by the time they made it to the table, but that was alright. Elain wouldn’t have it any other way, and neither would Lucien.

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#sjmromanceweek2024 #acotar #acosf #elucien #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #moodymelanistwrites #elain x lucien #lucien x elain #pro elucien

[eddiemunsons80sbaby]

Everybody Hurts

Chapter 19

Pairing: EddieMunsonxReader

Summary: You needed to escape, escape from your life, your messy divorce, and all the pitying looks. Looks you couldn't ignore when everyone in town had known you and Cam, had known your shame and failure. So, you took the first job you could get, teaching third grade in a town called Hawkins. Little did you know, you were walking right into another messy situation, a messy situation with big brown eyes and long dark waves. But he's resistant, at times unbearable and you start getting curious about the town's past, his past, especially when things don't start adding up.

18+ Only for eventual smut

Next chapter: 01/03

Word Count: 7K

Masterlist

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

That place…lightning and a red sky. You couldn’t get it out of your head. You couldn’t stop picturing it, trying to make it make sense, trying to figure out where it could be, this place that haunted him, wouldn’t let him rest. Could it be the mall fire? The flames and smoke could have made the sky appear red…but didn’t the fire happen at night? And was there a storm that night? You didn’t remember there being any mention of a storm in the news articles you'd read. But with so many deaths, the weather could have been an inconsequential detail.

You lay back on the couch, Eddie’s heavy weight pressing you down into the cushions as he slept, wrapped around you like a baby lemur. His arms were locked around your waist and his leg wound around your thigh. Soft snores rumbled between his lips from where his head rested on your chest. You couldn’t move even if you wanted to and you didn’t find yourself inclined to do so, comforted by the warmth of his body, your own personal man-shaped heating blanket. 

Your fingers danced over his dark locks, appearing almost black in the darkness of the room, rubbing the ends between your thumb and finger. He’d finally calmed, slipped into sleep, about an hour ago, once the thunder and the lightning had subsided. But you found yourself wide awake, your brain unable to stop the mad dash it was in as it tried to search for answers to your never-ending questions. 

Soft whimpers filled the silence as Eddie began to move, small, jerky movements at first, building into more erratic ones. His head shook from side to side, jaw stabbing into your sternum, fingers trembling against your back. Then his arms shot out from underneath you and you made a cage with your own around your head, preparing for him to lash out. Because that’s always where it led. You had quickly learned within the past week to dart out of the way once the nightmares took over but there was nowhere for you to go with him on top of you and he was going to feel awful if he managed to hurt you again. 

“No! No! Dustin, please!”

“Eddie!” you cried out, trying to break through the horrible memory he was living, to bring him back to the present, to you. “Eddie! It’s okay. You’re safe.”

“No! Stop! Please!”

His body flailed on top of yours and you grunted, gasping for breath when his elbow slammed into your ribs. Jesus, he was heavier than he looked, his panicked writhing weight making it hard for you to breathe. You reached out, wrapping your arms around him, trying to stop his movements before he hurt you. You couldn’t bear to see that guilt devouring him again. He didn’t mean it, had no control of it, but he would never look at it that way. 

“Eddie! Eddie, you’re safe,” you cried, holding onto him as tightly as you could but he was so much stronger than you and you couldn’t keep him still no matter how you tried. “I’m here. You’re safe. You’re with me. You’re not in that place. It’s okay. Just open your eyes, baby. Come back to me. It’s okay.”

Deep brown eyes shot open, darting around the room as if searching for any signs of danger, a wild animal ready to defend against a predator. His large hands gripped your arms tightly and when his eyes finally found yours, you could see as he visibly relaxed, shoulders dropping, tense muscles in his face releasing. Then his hands were cupping your face, so gently, as if you were made of glass. 

“Are you okay? I didn’t…did I hurt you?” he asked and your heart broke with the fear in his words, the tremble in his voice. This man, who was tormented every night by monsters you didn’t know, was more concerned for you than he was for himself.

“No, you didn’t hurt me,” you assured him with a shake of your head, hands running up and down his back soothingly. “I’m fine. Really. Are you okay?”

“I’m…fuck. No. I’m never okay, am I? Okay people don’t turn into massive babies because of a little thunder and lightning, they don’t fight invisible monsters in their sleep every damn night, and they don’t have to worry that they’re going to hurt their girlfriend.”

“Eddie, it’s okay. I know what to do now. You haven’t hurt me since that first time.”

“Princess,” he huffed, pulling away from you, sitting up. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, all mussed, smushed down on one side from where his face had been pressed against you. “This is insane. You know that, right? You shouldn’t have to think up defensive tactics just to be able to sleep next to the guy you’re seeing.”

“It’s not a big deal, Eddie. It’s fine.”

“It’s not. Did you even sleep?” challenged Eddie, dark eyes shooting over to you. “Or did you lay awake just waiting for the moment that I lost my shit, getting ready to cover yourself in case of attack?”

“I wasn’t sleeping but it had nothing to do with that. I was just thinking.”

“Thinking about what? How you made a massive fucking mistake deciding to date someone as unstable as me?”

“Jesus, no,” you groaned, pulling yourself up next to him. Your arms came around his waist, chin resting on his shoulder. “Just thinking. Us women are quite known for that, you know. Men just lay down and conk out. Us women have to run through all the problems of the world first, not to mention our to-do lists and chastise ourselves for everything we didn’t get done on our to-do lists that are still on there for tomorrow now, and we have to think of all the ways we’ve failed that day. It’s a lot to run through and sometimes it makes for bad sleep. That’s all.”

Eddie’s cheek pressed against the top of your head, his fingers running along your forearm, the movement soothing. Back and forth. Back and forth. Each sweep of his fingers caused your eyelids to droop, the lack of sleep you'd been experiencing for the past week starting to catch up to you. Your body was desperate for some real rest, a full eight hours of uninterrupted slumber. 

But there was only one way for you to get that and you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. You couldn’t ask him not to stay over with you. His face, the expression of hurt that would be on it, flashed before your eyes and no. You couldn’t be the cause of that. You couldn’t be just one more person who couldn’t accept him for who he was. You wanted him, wanted this, in spite of all of his baggage. And if that was the case, then you needed to heft up some of the load and figure out how to make it work.

“Hey, come here,” he whispered, twisting his torso to wrap his arms around you, pulling you into the safety of his chest. He sank back into the couch, bringing you with him, his lips brushing over your forehead. “You sleep for a bit, okay? I’ll stay awake this time.”

“No, it’s okay. You need…”

A calloused finger pressed against your lips, “You need sleep, too. Let me be the one who’s got you right now, okay? Just close your eyes and relax. No alarms need to be set. No big schedule or to-do list for today. It’s Saturday. Just get some rest. I couldn’t go back to sleep right now if I wanted to, anyway.” Eddie shifted and then you heard the sound of the tv, turned low, through the sleep that was pulling you under. “Just sleep, baby. I’ve got you.”

And then you were gone, Eddie’s heartbeat your own perfect lullaby, sending you off to peaceful dreams.

____________________________________________________________

“Come on,” Eddie whined, dragging you behind him, your feet rushing to keep up with his long strides, toward his van. 

“Where are we going?” you laughed, feeling much more yourself after a solid seven hours of sleep. 

Eddie had let you sleep until eleven. You'd woken to the smell of bacon beckoning you to the kitchen where Eddie stood in his boxers, frying eggs and popping Eggos down into the toaster, a sight you could definitely get used to. All lean lines, long limbs, and inked skin. You could not think of a single thing more beautiful than Eddie at that moment. You'd enjoyed a large breakfast where he’d been bouncing like a kid who was getting ready to head off to the amusement park and just couldn’t wait, pressing you to eat faster. 

He’d told you that he had a big surprise for you but he would not tell you what it was. So, you had headed in for what was supposed to be a quick shower but became anything but when Eddie decided to join you. Borrowing one of his Iron Maiden tees, pairing it with the shorts you'd worn yesterday, you had brushed out your hair and called it good because Eddie appeared to be in a rush. 

“Eddie, seriously,” you laughed as he ushered you into the passenger seat and then raced around to the driver’s seat. “What are you in such a hurry for?”

He turned to you, eyebrows raising and dropping dramatically, that grin taking up his entire face. “You’ll see.”

What in the world was he up to? Eddie turned up the music, hands drumming along to ‘Sacrifice’ by Motorhead. The windows were down, a warm breeze moving through the van on this perfect late spring day. You tilted your head, your arm propped on the frame of the door, closing your eyes, relishing the feel of the warm sun beating down, the wind rushing through your damp hair. 

School was going to be out in just one week. Come Friday when that bell rang, you would be facing ten glorious weeks of freedom. Two months ago that had sounded like hell. Ten weeks of nothing ahead of you. Ten weeks of working on whatever house projects you could scrounge up the money for just to keep yourself busy. Ten weeks to dwell on all the ways your life had gone wrong, how you were thirty and all alone and that wasn’t likely to change soon. 

But now, you were looking forward to all that time. Time you could spend with your new friends. Time you could spend with Eddie. Yes, you still planned on doing some things around your house. But now instead of sitting alone in your house with a carton of Chinese food and television, you could picture cookouts and bonfires in the backyard with friends. Instead of silent mornings, drinking your coffee on the couch while reading a book, you could see you and Eddie staying in bed far too late, wrapped up in each other, before tumbling out to make pancakes. You could see long, hot days spent at the lake, strolling with Eddie through town as ice cream dripped down your fingers, Tuesday nights sitting at The Hideout watching his band play. The future suddenly looked bright, as if someone had changed the bulb, shining light into the dull dreariness that your life had been. 

“So, before we get to this surprise, there was something I wanted to talk to you about,” Eddie announced, turning the volume down to conversation level. 

“Okay.”

He looked so nervous, tongue dancing around the corner of his mouth, his fingers gripping and loosening around the steering wheel. You turned in your seat a bit, noticing those little lines between his eyebrows, the ones you always wanted to smooth out with your fingers when they appeared. Something was making him nervous and you weren't sure if you should be too. 

“I told my uncle about us.”

“Okay. Is that a bad thing? I mean, everyone else knows, right? So he’d find out eventually.”

“Yeah, no. I mean, it’s not a bad thing. Trust me, the old man is thrilled. I mean, he’s ready to throw a party and invite the entire town to celebrate the fact that I am finally dating someone seriously. He was convinced I was going to be living alone in that house, yelling at kids when they walked through my grass, angry and spiteful at everybody, hating the entire world. So, trust me, he might just be happier than anyone else.”

You laughed, picturing a crotchety old Eddie, waves that had long gone white billowing behind him, as he shook his cane at kids. His cane wouldn’t just be any old cane either. No. It would be something impressive, ebony wood with some crude silver topper, maybe a hog’s head or a skull to match his rings.

“Alright, so what’s the problem then?”

“The problem is that he’s been bugging me. Hell, he’s been harassing me every day since I told him to bring you over there for dinner so he can meet you.”

“But we met,” you laughed, remembering that day. The gentle, kind man so opposite from Eddie’s surly and rough demeanor. The man who’d had a glimmer of hope in his eyes that you were more than just some girl Eddie brought around to see a car. “Doesn’t he remember me coming over there to look at the car?”

“Yes, but he wants to meet you as my girlfriend,” snorted Eddie, rolling his eyes. “Like you’re a completely different person now that we’re dating or something. Look, we don’t have to do it. I can come up with some excuse if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of meeting the parent. I mean, I know we haven’t been dating that long and it’s probably weird, right? Is it weird?”

“No, it’s not weird,” you answered, meaning it. You were genuinely touched that his uncle wanted to invite you over, that Eddie seemed to want you to get to know the man who raised him. “I mean, when were you thinking about doing dinner?”

“Tonight.”

“Oh…” You trailed off, your stomach suddenly knotting up with nerves. Yes, you'd met the guy but that had been as just some girl that Eddie was bringing to possibly buy his car. This man meant everything to Eddie. You wanted to go. You wanted to go because Eddie wanted you to but if you made the wrong impression, if his uncle didn’t like you, would Eddie still want to date you? 

“Like I said, we don’t have to,” Eddie reminded, his hand coming to find yours, fingers slipping between your own. “I can just try to deter him for a while longer until you’re ready. But I want you, he is pretty stubborn so it might not be long before he shows up on your doorstep.”

“No. I want to,” you stated, nodding and you did. You just didn’t want to say or do anything wrong. “We can have dinner with him tonight. Your uncle seems like a great guy.”

“That he is. He can come off as a little gruff,” Eddie chortled, shaking his head. “But he’s a big ass softy.”

“Hmm…sounds like someone else I know,” you teased with a smile.

The van turned onto the main road and then Eddie was pulling into a spot right in front of Melvald’s, the local general store. You knew that Will’s mom, Joyce, worked there. You'd met her the day you'd headed into town to buy a few things for the house. But you couldn’t figure out what Eddie would be so excited about at a general store.

“We’re going to Melvald’s?” you asked, confused.

“No, we’re going next door.”

Eddie pointed out of his windshield and your eyes tracked it, landing on a sign that read ‘Hawkins Animal Shelter.’ Why would they be…then it hit you. You turned to him, jaw dropped, eyes wide. 

“Eddie, no…”

“I thought since your ex is a massive dickbag who took your dog that you might want another furry companion to cuddle.” He shrugged, that cute little smirk you loved so much curving his lips as he shook his hair. “I mean, besides me, of course. Look, maybe I’m overstepping but the idea just came to me this morning. I was watching you sleep and…”

“You were watching me sleep? Creepy, much?” you joked with a grin. 

“Yeah, well, I am the town freak, sweetheart. Gotta live up to the name. But anyway, I was watching you and thinking how damn lucky I am to have found you, someone who is willing to put up with all my bullshit and my neurotic behavior. Anyway, I wanted to do something nice for you. And I didn’t want to do flowers or chocolate or that boring shit guys usually do. And then it came to me. You miss your dog. So, I thought maybe you’d like to find a new little guy who needs someone to love.”

“That is…” Your voice broke and you cleared your throat. “That’s the kindest thing anyone’s ever done for me. But Eddie, you don’t have to thank me for anything. I just want to be here for you.”

“No, I know. I know you do. I just…you know, I’m not good at always saying shit. And I just want you to know how much it means to me that you haven’t gone running for the hills yet. Because nobody would blame you if you did. I’m a lot. I know I am.”

“You’re not a lot. You’re just enough. Eddie Munson, you’re perfect.”

His hand rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, “Sweetheart, did you get into my stash because…”

“Stop it,” you laughed, swatting at him. 

“Alright, you ready to go find a new friend?”

“Yes!” you squealed, hopping out of the van. 

Eddie grinned as he came around to you, his arms circling your waist, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips. His finger booped your nose. 

“You are fucking adorable when you’re excited.”

You were probably smiling like an idiot but you didn’t care. You didn’t care because this man enjoyed you, all of your quirks and your flaws. He didn’t mind if you used your teacher voice, didn’t care that stupid things made you giddy, wasn’t bothered when you randomly broke out into song because everything reminded you of a lyric. All things that Cam used to hate but Eddie only seemed to find endearing.  

His hand trailed down to the small of your back, guiding you into the shelter. You were greeted by a cacophony of barks, a symphony of high and low, but all sounding very excited to possibly have new friends visiting. A young guy who looked to be in his early twenties approached you with a warm smile.

“Hi there. Are we looking for a new four-legged friend today?”

“She is,” Eddie told him. 

“And do we know about what size of dog we want?”

Your cheeks puffed up and then you released a long breath, “No idea. I don’t really care. I just want a dog that’s mine.”

“Something bigger,” Eddie answered and when you looked up at him in confusion, he shrugged one shoulder and added, “you know, for protection.”

“Protection? What do I need protected from in Hawkins?”

“Stop assuming that this place is safe just because it’s a small town,” Eddie told you, his tone far more serious than seemed necessary. “You have no idea the things that…look, bad things can happen anywhere, right? It doesn’t matter. Big cities and small towns. You live all alone. Would it be the worst idea to have a bigger dog?”

“No. I guess not. I’m not against a bigger dog. I mean, Marley was a husky.”

“Husky, you say? Well, then I may have just the buddy for you,” the guy told you, gesturing for the two of you to follow him into the back. 

Kennel after kennel ran along the wall. Sweet little faces, standing on their back legs, paws up on the bars, greeted you as you walked by and you wondered how you would ever pick just one to save and bring home. You wanted to unlock every single gate and tell the guy to load them all up in the back of the van but you knew you couldn’t. You didn’t have the room or the money for all of that. 

“This guy just came in yesterday. They found him wandering around out by where the old lab used to be.” You seemed to be the only one who noticed Eddie stiffen, the guy completely oblivious to the change in his body language. “The best we can guess is he’s got some husky and doberman in him. So, he’d made a great guard dog. We’ve named him Reese because of the black and brown. Get it? Like Reeses Cups?”

“Yeah, we get it,” Eddie snorted. 

“Of course, you can change that name if you’d like. He’s not used to it yet as he’s only been here a day. He seems young. We’re thinking maybe four months old.”

He opened the door of the kennel and the young pup came bounding out. You knelt down to the floor and he lunged at you, wet kisses all over your face and just like that, you were in love. Giggles rose from your belly as you ran your hand down his fur and he spun in a circle before sitting down in your lap.

“I would say it looks like we’ve found a match,” the guy beamed. 

“He clearly seems to think so,” chuckled Eddie, squatting next to you to scratch behind his ears. “So, what do you think?”

“I think I love him already,” you breathed, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. 

“I would say the feeling’s mutual. He’s already staking his claim,” laughed the guy.

“Alright. Well, let’s just get something clear, my little furry friend,” Eddie told the pup, taking his face in his hands. “You have to share. No staking claims. She was mine first.”

Reese tilted his head from one side to the other as if he could understand Eddie’s words. Then he lurched forward, paws flat into Eddie’s chest, and the man was on his back, Reese covering his face in kisses as he laughed. 

“I would say he’s a winner,” you told the guy happily. “So, what do we have to do?”

“Just some paperwork to fill out. We get him up to date on all of his shots for you and get him fixed. He just got here yesterday so we haven’t had a chance. Our vet will be taking a look at him on Monday. So, you should be able to take him home by the end of next week.”

“Alright. Give me the papers,” you stated, watching with amusement as Reese bounded all around Eddie before jumping on him once again. It looked like you weren't the only one the dog was staking claim to. 

___________________________________________________________

“Finally!” Uncle Wayne announced loudly as he swung the door of the trailer open. “I have been bugging him to bring you over. I never thought he was gonna do it. This nephew of mine doesn’t seem to want to share you, wants to hide you.”

“I’m not hiding anything,” Eddie sighed, rolling his eyes at his uncle. “We’ve barely decided we’re in a relationship. You act like I’ve been seeing her for a year.”

“Still, glad he finally brought you over. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting any of Ed’s girls. He’s never brought them around. You’d think he’s ashamed of this old man or something.” He winked, elbowing Eddie gently in the ribs to let him know he was kidding around. 

“No, I never brought anyone around because I never had a girl,” Eddie stated. 

“Oh, there’ve been girls.”

“No. There’s been flings. I’ve never had anyone I was serious enough about to warrant bringing them over to meet you.”

Wayne’s eyebrows lifted, teeth flashing as he grinned, “Serious, huh? So this thing here is serious? Well, that’s damn nice to hear. It’s about time. I thought Eight Ball was going to get a slew of new friends when you became an old bachelor just like your uncle.”

“Eight Ball?” you asked.

A small meow greeted you, a black cat appearing from behind the recliner, beckoned at the sound of his name. He gracefully pawed his way over, rubbing himself in between your legs. You knelt down, running your hand over his sleek fur, smiling when he purred in response, bright green eyes closing in contentment as he nuzzled his face into your palm. 

“That’s Eight Ball,” Wayne explained, swinging his hand in the direction of the cat. 

“What a funny name for a cat,” you laughed. “What made you decide to name him that?”

“I didn’t name him nothing,” he told you, pointing at Eddie. “This guy’s the one who picked the name.”

“I found him by the dumpster behind the pool hall,” Eddie explained with a shrug, kneeling next to you, one finger coming out to rub under the sweet kitty’s chin. “I had slipped out back for a smoke and this little guy came right up, rubbing all over me. I pet him and tried to go back in but he followed me. I thought he might be hungry so I snuck inside and stole some ground beef from the kitchen. After that, it was a done deal. The cat was on my heels, followed me to my van, meowing, looking at me with those big old eyes. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t leave him out there. It was January in Indiana and cold as hell. Little guy could have frozen to death if I didn’t bring him home.”

“Yeah. I come home from work in the morning, dead tired on my feet, and almost step on this guy as he darts between my feet, demanding food. I wound up falling on my ass, staring at this cat, wondering where the hell he came from,” Wayne chuckled. “Didn’t take me long to figure out it was Eddie. He was always trying to bring home strays. He fed a damn raccoon once and the thing wouldn’t leave, kept coming around, getting into the garbage. I yelled for him and he came stumbling out, half asleep. I asked him what the hell this cat was doing in my trailer. I had every intention of telling him to get it out of here but he turned those damn sad eyes on me and I couldn’t say no.”

“The cat?”

“No, Eddie!” Wayne harrumphed. “I’m sure he’s used that look on you, those eyes like a damn baby deer, looking all sad and shit. He knows how to pull at the heartstrings with those things. I’ve never been able to say no to him. Those eyes got him out of a lot of trouble, let me tell you. Never could stay mad at him for long.”

You smiled, glancing over at Eddie who smirked, lifting one shoulder. Oh yeah. You knew exactly what eyes Wayne was talking about. Those eyes could melt you into a puddle on the spot. Those eyes had you completely wrapped around his finger. You weren't sure there was anything you could deny him if he asked. 

“So, if he’s Eddie’s cat, why didn’t you take him when you moved out?” you asked, rising to your feet as Eddie sat down, folding his legs, the cat curling up in his lap.

“Because that old man can say whatever he wants but he loves this cat. He bitched about him all the time. He was under his feet. He was in his bed. He scratched up the couch. But then I would come home to find him napping in the recliner, Eight Ball curled up on his chest. I felt bad about leaving him here all alone so this way, he’s got a friend.” The cat rubbed his cheek against Eddie’s and Eddie planted a kiss on his nose. “Huh? Doesn’t he, buddy? You’re Uncle Wayne’s best pal, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah. I guess he grew on me. Well, come and have a seat. Dinner should be ready.” Wayne’s hand came to the back of his neck, rubbing nervously, a habit that seemed quite familiar. “We uh…well, we don’t have a large enough table for all of us so I thought we could eat at the coffee table. Sorry. Don’t usually have more than Ed over for meals. Would that be alright?”

“That’s perfect,” you assured him, recognizing the embarrassment he was feeling at how small his trailer was. “I have a table but I eat at my coffee table all the time.”

“Well, alright then. Have a seat and I’ll bring in the plates. I made a pot roast. Hope that’s good.”

“That sounds perfect. Do you need any help?”

“Oh no. I got it. I’m not as old as Ed likes to make me out to be, you know. Just go relax and I’ll bring everything in.”

Eddie stood up, placing Eight Ball onto the floor, brushing his hands on his jeans. The cat looked offended but sauntered off into a room in the back of the trailer. Eddie followed you over, sitting down on the floor next to you. His hand covered your knee as he leaned in, pressing his lips to yours, soft and sweet and leaving you wanting more. 

“Thanks,” he said, quietly enough to not be heard over the clanging of plates as Wayne assembled their dinner. 

“Not that I’m complaining. I’ll take that kind of thank you any time you want to give it but for what?”

“For being you, for not making a big deal about my uncle living in a trailer or eating at the coffee table.”

“Why would I make it a big deal? It’s not a big deal. It’s just a table. And who cares where he lives? Personally, I love this trailer. It’s so cozy. I love his little collection of ball caps and mugs. It makes it feel like a home, like a place where you can just be comfortable.”

Eddie laughed, “Yeah, well not everyone thinks like that. Why do you think you’re the first girl I've ever brought around here?”

“I thought it was because I was the first one you were serious about,” you teased. “Or were you just saying that for his benefit?”

“No, that’s definitely a big part of it. But even when I still lived here, I never brought a girl around that I was seeing. Hell, sometimes when I told them where I lived, they’d get this look, you know? Like they smelled something bad and that something was me. Of course, the town already knew where I lived so some girls said shit anyway. They’d rather hook up in the back of my van or in the middle of the woods or the alley behind the bar…”

You clasped his lips between your fingers, “Eddie, I get it. I know you’re no virgin and have a lot more experience than me. And that’s fine but I’d really rather not listen to you laundry list all of the places you’ve had sex or how many girls you’ve had it with.”

He smiled, his lips flattening in your fingers and you laughed because he looked so ridiculous. You let go and he nipped at your hand playfully. 

“Sorry. My foot and my mouth need to be way less friendly with each other,” he sighed. “Harrington tries to tell me to think about what I’m saying first but the thought just shoots right from my brain and out of my mouth before I can do anything about it. Anyway, it means a lot that you’re not making my uncle feel uncomfortable about what he has.”

“Of course not. Eddie, the richest men in the world can be the unhappiest. They can also be absolute pricks. Money does not define a person. Your uncle seems pretty damn happy. His face absolutely lights up when he sees you. You are obviously his favorite thing ever.” You leaned in close, your forehead pressing against his. “And I know the feeling quite well.”

The smile he gave you could have lit up the whole town. It was like a sunspot emerging through the canopy of trees in a dark forest. It was pure light, a glow from within that radiated everywhere, warming everything that it touched. His eyes lit up with the beauty of that smile and you swore, right then, that you would do everything you could to make him smile like that every single day.

“Where in the hell did you come from?” mused Eddie, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. 

“Galena, Illinois,” you said with a grin.

“Galena, huh?” asked Uncle Wayne as he set two plates of food in front of them. Pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and gravy: a feast that had your tummy rumbling in hunger. “I drove through there one time on my way to Chicago for a Stones concert.”

“You saw the Stones?” asked Eddie, wasting no time digging in, scooping a heapful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. “How have you never told me that?”

Wayne shrugged as he walked in with his own plate, plopping down in his recliner, leaning forward, “Never came up and you never asked, I guess.”

“How could I ask about something I didn’t know about? And never came up? I play music. I love music. I am in a band. How would it not come up that you’ve seen the Stones play live?”

“I don’t know. It just never did. It was…” His face crinkled in thought, deep furrows appearing on his forehead. “It must have been ‘64, I think. Went with a bunch of friends of mine. Hell of a night. Hell of a morning after too.”

He chuckled and Eddie glanced over at you in amusement, “Party a little too hard there, old man?”

“You could say that. Of course I wasn’t an old man then. There was some drinking…and some other stuff.”

“Other stuff?” Eddie questioned, interest piqued as his body leaned in, effectively blocking you from your food. “What other stuff?”

“I may have tried a little LSD that night,” Wayne admitted and when Eddie gasped, he held his hand out, shaking his head. “It was the ‘60s. Everyone was trying every damn thing. It was just the once. Man, I swore I was hearing colors and seeing the music. It was the trippiest fucking thing ever. I didn’t like it. Don’t like losing control of my faculties. Swore I’d never do it again.”

“All those times you’d lecture me about drugs…” Eddie clicked his tongue, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, I did because I know what they do. Not that you ever listened for all the good it did.”

“Oh, it was just marijuana. Shit, man, not even I have done LSD.”

“Well, good for you. There’s one thing you haven’t tried,” Wayne scoffed, spearing a hunk of roast. 

“There’s loads of things I haven’t tried. Even I drew the line at needles.”

Your eyes went wide, “Well, I guess at least you have a limit.”

“I mean, I don’t do any of that shit anymore. Well, weed, but that’s it and that’s barely even a drug. I haven’t done Coke or Special K or X in years. And I never touched heroin or meth. That shit would fuck you up. I watched a couple guys lose everything because of it. I’m not scared of needles but the shit they’d mix in that stuff without you knowing could kill you with one dose. No thanks, man.”

“Well, now, how about we switch over to a more dinner appropriate topic?” Wayne urged and you had to agree. “So sweetheart, tell me about yourself. Ed here doesn’t like to share much so I don't know anything about you except that you’re a teacher.”

“Umm, well, I mean, I don’t know what else there is to tell. I’m really not that interesting.”

Wayne’s eyes narrowed, “Now that can’t be true, not if my Eddie likes you so much. Something piqued his interest. What brought you here from Galena?”

“Oh, I got a job offer at Hawkins Elementary and decided to take it,” you shrugged, taking a sip of your water. “I mean, there’s not much more to the story. I didn’t particularly choose Hawkins. I was just looking for a fresh start and when they offered me the teaching position, this seemed as good a place as any.”

Wayne sat back, folding his hands over his stomach, “Well, now, in my experience if someone needs a fresh start, there’s a reason. Was there a reason?”

“Uncle Wayne,” Eddie muttered in warning, those dark eyes flashing up at his uncle. 

But the warning wasn’t necessary. It made sense that he would be curious about the girl who was dating his nephew. Besides, he was bound to find out eventually that Eddie was dating a divorcee. What did it matter if you told him now or in six months? 

When it had first happened, you had been humiliated, embarrassed, and didn't want to show your face. You hated having to open your mouth and admit what you'd allowed your husband and best friend to do. To admit that you'd been dumb enough to not know. But now, sitting here with Eddie, you found it didn’t really matter anymore. Because, if Cam and Cassie had never done what they did, you wouldn’t have come to Hawkins. You wouldn’t have all the new friends you'd made and you wouldn’t have Eddie. So, really, even if it hadn’t felt like it at the time, your ex husband and ex best friend had done you a favor. 

Besides, it wasn’t your shame. You hadn’t been the one to betray your marriage, to throw your decade long friendship out the window. You hadn’t been the one who had schemed, lied, and done something that would hurt someone you loved. You were done being ashamed. You were done being embarrassed. 

“It’s okay,” you told Eddie, laying your hand on his arm. “Actually, I came to Hawkins because I had to get out of my old town. My husband and my best friend were having an affair behind my back. It went on for a year and I walked in on them. I left him and we’re divorced now. But I just couldn’t stay in that town with all of those people knowing, looking at me like I was someone to be pitied. I wanted somewhere new where no one knew me or what I’d been through. So, when the job offer came around, I jumped at the chance.” 

“Well, I am mighty sorry that happened to you. That’s a real shitty thing for someone to do but it sure seems like it worked out well for you,” Wayne commented with a kind smile. “And for my boy. So, as much as those two deserve to be whipped for what they did, I’m sure glad they did. I ain’t seen a smile like that on that boy’s face in far too long.”

“Damn, you really gotta just call me out like that?” Eddie huffed, shaking his head. 

“Damn right, I do. You know how long I been waiting for you to be happy? Way too damn long. It does this old man’s heart good to see you like that, to know I don’t need to be worrying about you in that house all alone, cutting yourself off from the world.”

“Hawkins isn’t the world,” argued Eddie. 

“It’s your world. You chose to stay here so this is your world, kid. I know you got all those friends and they’re mighty fine people. I’m so grateful you had all of them looking out for you when this town was gunning for your head. I’m more than grateful for Hop making sure all those charges were dropped, proving you were innocent. Good man. Always been a good man.”

“I had you. You were more than enough,” Eddie told him. “You’ve always been more than enough.”

“That’s mighty nice of you to say. I tried my hardest to be everything you needed but I knew I could never fill the holes left behind by your parents. I worry about you, kid. I can’t help it. Don’t matter if you’re sixteen or sixty. I am always going to worry about you. But maybe I don’t need to lose so much sleep now that you’ve got someone. Someone who will be there all the time. You planning on sticking around, sweetheart?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” you assured him, squeezing Eddie’s knee, receiving a smile in return, his hand coming to cover yours. “Eddie couldn’t chase me away if he tried.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s done that already. My boy is nothing if not stubborn and self-sabotaging. Thinks he don’t deserve anything good. The truth is, he deserves everything good and more.”

Eddie flushed bright red as you agreed, saying, “He deserves the world.”

“Yeah, well I don’t need the world,” he mumbled, looking up at you from under those impossibly long lashes as he squeezed your hand, implying what he struggled to put into words. 

“So, how are you at playing Rummy?” asked Wayne, rising from his seat with his plate in hand. 

“Oh, I think I’m pretty good,” you told him, grinning. “My family and I used to have game nights every Thursday night. Rummy was one of our favorites and I won quite often.”

“Well now, sweetheart, those are fighting words. Eddie, go get the cards.”

“Uh-oh, you’re in for it now,” Eddie teased, lips pouting, eyebrows raising. “My uncle is a shark when it comes to Rummy. He appears to be a sweet old man but he’s got a nasty competitive streak.”

“Bring it on,” you replied with a grin.

Chapter 20

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#eddie munson #eddie the banished #stranger things eddie #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x femreader #eddie munson smut #eddie the freak munson #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #eddie munson series #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson lives #max mayfield #hawkins #ongoing #fluff #angst #smut and fluff #fluff and angst #enemies to friends to lovers #post divorce #falling in love #second chances #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #steve harrington #stranger things 4 #jonathan byers

[pimosworld]

Por la mañana (2)

Santiago Garcia x f!reader

Summary-A drunken love confession leads to a fun morning for you and Santi

CW-Explicit smut, 18+ MDNI,mentions of alcohol consumption,light angst,Fluff,Kissing, cursing, unprotected piv, oral sex female receiving,fingering,piv cream pie,soft dom Santi

WC-2.7k

A/N- We’re finally getting to the smut. This is part 2 of Santi and readers confession. Please read part 1 if you haven’t already. I will attach a link below.

Not beta read

Part 1

***

You’re certain you’ve never been this hungover in your life. Your head has its own heartbeat and your mouth is dry as the Sahara. The only comfort you have at the moment is the silk sheets on your legs and the musk smell on the pillow. You don’t own silk sheets. 

  You pull the covers from over your head to brave the sunlight but soon realize it’s barely morning. You glance over at the nightstand and notice your phone and purse sitting neatly next to some water and what you can only assume is ibuprofen. 7:05 am, Okay just take the meds and drink some water.You can sleep for a few more hours and then try and figure out why you’re in Santi’s bed and not your own. 

  ***

  Santi lies on the couch staring at the ceiling fan as if it’s going to be the answer to all his problems.He knows he should probably try and get some sleep but how can he? You idiot,you told her you loved her in the most unromantic way possible.

  Would you even remember? If you didn’t that would be fine, he could deal with staying best friends. He could not however deal with your rejection of his confession. How could he ruin this dynamic of your friendship? Was Frankie full of it when he said you had a crush on him? His mind is swimming with the thoughts of what if.  

  Santi grabs his phone not caring what time it is,he has to talk to someone. He sends a text and lays his phone face down on his chest. 

  I fucked up

  He crosses his arms behind his head and refocuses his thoughts on the ceiling fan once again when a ping sounds from his phone. 

  Fish 🐈🐠: Its 2 am care to elaborate 

  I told her I love her

  Santi watches the text bubble appear and disappear. 

Incoming call Fish🐈🐠. Santi groans and answers his phone. 

  “I’m sorry pope  I had to call you know I hate texting…so what did she say?”

  “It’s fine hermaño.” Santi sighs on the other end. “I told her let’s talk about it in the morning, I didn’t want her to make a decision drunk.”

  “Okay so what’s the issue? She told me she has strong feelings for you and she’s been waiting for you to ask her out for a while now.” 

  “Exactly, I didn’t ask her out. I made out with her and told her I loved her and she may not even remember.”

  “Listen…if she doesn’t remember then just start fresh tomorrow and ask her on a date…if she does remember I say you take her lead. There’s no use freaking out now. 

  Santi thinks for a moment, there’s no reason not to trust Frankie and he knows he’s right.

  “Thanks hermaño, I’ll try and get some sleep and let you know how it goes tomorrow.”

  “You’re welcome and I think you mean today.”

  End call

  ***

  I love you 

  “If you want this with me…tell me in the morning.” He releases his grip around your waist and exits the room.

  You sit upright in Santi’s bed and try to control your breathing. That wasn’t a dream, that actually happened. Your pounding headache has now been replaced by your pounding heart. What if he didn’t mean it? You know he had less to drink than you but not much.

  You glance at your phone to see it’s now 9:30 am. Should you say something to him or let him take the lead? You can hear rustling in the kitchen and the smell of coffee and bacon. Okay so he’s awake. Just get dressed and go from there. You pull back the covers and begin the search for your clothes when something catches your eye. Your His Metallica shirt sits neatly folded on the edge of the bed. I thought he said it was dirty,did he wash it this morning? 

  It would be rude not to wear it when he obviously set it out for you. You change out of the army shirt and quickly replace it with the other. It’s soft and still a little warm, it smells uniquely of him and the cheap laundry detergent he insists on using. You reach for your jeans but decide to be bold and forgo them. He didn’t set out pants. 

  You step into the attached bathroom to freshen up and optimistically use his mouth wash. You glance at yourself in the mirror. You don’t look half bad for a hangover and it  doesn’t matter anyways, it’s now or never.

  As you make your way into the kitchen you notice Santi at the stove-fully dressed,his too tight blue jeans and dark gray tee stretched over his broad shoulders. You’re suddenly not feeling as confident. You begin to step out of the kitchen to retrieve pants but he senses your presence. 

  “Good morning cariño, how are you feeling?”shit

  He’s still facing the stove so you make your way to the stools behind the kitchen island. “I’m feeling a lot better…thank you for taking care of me.”

  “Always.”

  He pours you a cup of coffee and puts cream and one sugar just how you like. He hands you the mug and your fingers brush his, causing your heart rate to spike. If you don’t tell him now, you never will. 

  He turns around and you stand from the stool moving slowly around the island. Before he can turn around you slide your arms around his waist to keep him in place. 

  “Sweetheart, are you okay?” His voice is laced with concern as he begins to turn in your arms but you tighten your grip and bury your face between his shoulder blades. 

  “Just let me talk and then I’ll let you turn around.” Your voice is muffled in his shirt and his giggles reverberate through your body. His amusement at this is oddly calming. You raise your head slightly and take a deep breath. 

  “I love you too.”

  His breath hitches slightly and his hands holding your arms squeeze you as he attempts to ground himself. 

  “I’ve wanted this with you for so long and I hope you meant what you said last night.” He slowly untangles your hands from his waist and kisses each palm. 

  “I meant every word.” He spins around and can’t help the smirk on his face as he finally notices your lack of pants. His fingertips brush the bottom of your shirt and slowly skate along your hips- he pauses just as he did last night and you panic briefly. You hope he’s not having second thoughts again. 

  He leans in close to your lips but not close enough to touch. “Can I have my shirt back?” He says with one eyebrow raised. You remove his hands from the shirt and raise it completely over your head discarding it somewhere to your right. His jaw goes slack at the sight of your naked body-you we’re feeling very confident and decided on wearing only the shirt. 

  He’s on you in a moment grabbing your waist with his calloused hands and pulling you flush against his chest. He kisses you like a man starved and you can feel his hard cock straining through his jeans. 

  “We should take this to the bedroom.” He pants out as you both try to catch your breath. You grab his hand and start to lead him down the hallway to his bedroom and his compliance makes you weak in the knees. You move as if you’ve done this dance before. He drops your hand briefly to begin discarding his clothes among the hallway. You hear the clang of his belt and the sound has the arousal building between your legs. 

  When you enter his room you sense a change from the night before. There’s no more apprehension. 

  “Lay back on the bed.” There’s no question in his tone anymore-only commands. You scoot back on the bed getting comfortable against the pillows. He slips out of his jeans and then removes his boxers. Your mouth waters at the sight of his thick cock already leaking precum. He crawls up the bed and lays down on his stomach, placing both your legs on his shoulder. You’re too turned on to feel self conscious as this gorgeous man smiles up at you from between your legs. He places a kiss on both thighs as he rubs soothing curl legs on your hips. 

  “I’m going to take my time okay?” Before you have the chance to decide if you should answer he silences you with a long slow drag of his tongue along your slit. You let out a whimper and he laughs. Did he just laugh?

  “You’re going to make this too easy cariño.” Is he teasing you now?  You don’t have time to think as he circles your clit with his tongue and your whimpers have turned to moans. He grips your thighs and pushes his tongue into your entrance and you can’t help but buck your hips at the sensation. He gently eases your hips back down with his left hand and slowly brings his right to your wet folds. He slowly eases in one finger and you bite your lip to suppress your moans. 

  “Look at me.” You don’t remember closing your eyes but you blink at him. “I want to hear all those pretty little sounds that I’ve dreamed about.”

  He adds a second finger as he finds that bundle of nerves and begins to fuck you slowly. 

  “Oh fuck…Santi.” Your chest heaves and you can feel your slick dripping down to the sheets below.

He begins rubbing circles on your clit with his thumb and your first orgasm slams into you,  you’ve gone into subspace not aware of the tears streaming down your face or the cry of his name over and over. 

  “Shh… it’s okay I’ve got you.” He begins trailing kisses up your body as you try and ride out your high. He hovers above you and stares down at you with your slick coating his chin. You cup his face and pull him flush with your body as your lips move against his in a slow passionate kiss. The intimacy is too much and not enough at the same time. 

  You reach your hand between your bodies and begin to stroke his hard cock pressed against your abdomen. He drops his head to your shoulder and groans, tightening his grip on your waist. He’s panting and rutting into your hand as precum coats your abdomen. You bite down on his earlobe and drag your teeth down his pulse point and he lets out a choked sound.  

  “Wait..wait.” He pants out.  You halt your movements and you feel him pulsing in your hand. “I need to feel you, I don’t want to come like this.”

  “Santi, look at me.” He raises his head from your shoulder, his sweat soaked curls on his forehead and pupils blown wide with lust. “Fuck me please.”

He opens his mouth in a slight oh when you begin to rub his head along your slick soaked folds. His eyes are still on you when he slowly pushes in just the tip and drags it back out. Your eyes begin to roll as he mutters curses under his breath. He rocks his hips over and over until he’s seated at the hilt. 

  You’ve never felt so full and safe at the same time. You tighten your legs around his waist and wrap your arms around his neck. “Santi please move.”

He wraps his arms under your back and grips your shoulders as he sets a bruising pace. The sounds of your moans fill the room as he hits a spot deep inside. He can feel your pussy flutter around his cock as he snaps his hips into you. 

  “Tell me how it feels.” He rasps into your ear not slowing his pace. 

  “It…fuck…it feels so good.” You punctuate each word with his thrusts unable to form a thought. 

  “I knew you’d be a good girl for me.” You clench down on the  praise and he lets out a growl in your ear. He raises up to look down at your slick building at the base of his cock as he stretches you on his girth. He pushes your legs into your chest with his hands on the back of your knees as he churns his hips forward.His pace slows as he places his thumb on your clit rubbing quick circles causing your back to arch off the bed. 

  “Santi…please.” Your begging has him on the edge, your pleas and whimpers are music to his ears. 

  “I know baby, I’m right here.” He leans close as his thrusts grow shallow. “I’m close…where can I?”

  “Come inside me please.” You're begging again and he definitely won’t make it. 

  “Be a good girl and come with me.” He kisses you slowly as he swallows your cries. You clench down on him as your climax washes over you in waves. He bites down on your lip and comes with a strangled sound shooting hot white ropes of cum into your quivering channel. 

  He collapses into you trying to brace some of his weight but you pull him down flush with your chest. The heaviness of his body grounding you. 

  “Fuck…that was.”

  “Amazing.” You both pant in unison. 

  He pulls out of you with a hiss and you can feel your combined slick dripping out of you. “I’ll be right back cariño.” He stands and enters the attached bathroom and you hear the water running. He returns with a warm washcloth to clean you up. You would feel vulnerable at this moment if it wasn’t Santiago Garcia, the man you’ve been in love with for years. 

  He throws the cloth near his hamper not caring if he missed, and climbs into bed behind you pulling your back into his chest. The feeling is so domestic it makes you want to cry. 

  “I was supposed to ask you on a date first” He mutters into your hair. You can't help the giggles that erupt into laughter. He breathes a sigh of relief, he would give anything to hear that sound for the rest of his life. 

  “I know this is out of order but can I take you on a date tonight?” The tone in his voice suggests that he’s afraid you might say no. 

  “I would love to, although you’ll need to take me home at some point to get some proper clothes.” He pulls you onto his chest in one motion causing you to yelp.

  “No…I think I’ll make you wear that Metallica shirt you love so much.” You slap his chest playfully and he grabs your ass pulling you down on his growing bulge. He kisses you deep and nips your bottom lip as you pull away slowly. 

  “We need to get out of bed before we end up here all day.” Before he can protest his phone pings from the floor in his jeans. 

  “Let’s try and have breakfast and then maybe we can finish this conversation.” You say as you slide off him. He grabs your hand before you’re off the bed. 

  “I love you.” The words would knock you off your feet if you weren’t sitting. You kiss his palm and place it on the bed. “I love you too.”

  The shirt you want to wear is in the kitchen so you sway your hips as you leave for dramatic effect suddenly feeling at home in this space.

  Santi lays there for a moment in a trance not having felt this happy in a long time. His phone pings again and he swears this better be an emergency. 

  🐈🐠:Congratulations 

🐈🐠: Sounds like things went well 😚

  ?

  🐈🐠: Your big ass but dialed me at some point.

  What did you hear?

  🐈🐠: Not much,just an I love you too

  Santi releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

  🐈🐠: 🍆💦 Have fun today 

  Oh sure you didn’t hear much

I thought you didn’t know how to use emojis?

  🐈🐠: Benny taught me 😋

Comments and reblogs are much appreciated.

Tagging a few people who commented or reblogged part 1

@simpforbritgents @sunakochansama43 @brekkershadowsinger @thewatcher98

@itspdameronthings @amysuemc @djarinsimp @kingtwhiddleston

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