#I TAGGED THE WRONG PERSON AND WHAT I SAW WAS A NAKED MAN

[peachrii]

I offer Giant Siren Mhin, who is receiving their very own offering from the 'player'

This week(or, weekend) planning to work on my au's and world building for my stories. Looking forward to it :DD

,,,

@kimiro-art

#art #touchstarved #touchstarved game #touchstarved mhin #tsgiantau #ts mhin #mhin #ill probably post the reference sheet for giant mhin right after this #how the flip do you operate this thing(tumblr mechs) #I TAGGED THE WRONG PERSON AND WHAT I SAW WAS A NAKED MAN

[hunterwritings]

i saw ur post about smartass! and clingy!reader and that would literally be me ldfnakjf so i am now requesting hc's for this <33 ty ily

YESS FEED INTO MY OBSESSION

miguel with a smartass & clingy reader

summary: miguel seems to tolerate you much more than everyone else

warnings: none | wc: 799

notes: literally speed wrote this because I'm obsessed

tags: @heythere525

you were very comfortable around miguel, almost too comfortable

the other spider people saw the way you hung around him and were in shock when you wouldn't get an arm ripped off when pissing him off

but miguel loved you; everyone knew that

you will almost always burst into his space whenever he's trying to do work and ask him the most absurd questions just to annoy him

sometimes it's just to try and engage conversation with him because you knew he couldn't resist giving a witty comeback

"what's your stupid long name for the spider verse again?"

"It's not stupid, it's factually correct." He shakes his head

"Uh-huh, and it's super easy to say. Y'know, you should get little business cards that say, 'I work in the Spider Society to protect the Arachno Humanoid Poly Multiverse.' I'm sure villains' would get a real kick out a' that." You smirk, hanging upside down from a web attached to your foot.

"Y'know, intelligence is supposed to be a common trait among spider people, but I guess it missed you, huh?" He raises an eyebrow and smirks as he turns around to face you hanging upside down.

"So is humor & charm, but I guess they don't like you." You smiled, crossing your arms upside down.

"You're so stupid." He just groans before turning his back to you once again and returning to staring at his holographic screens.

you laugh before pulling yourself up and jumping to land sitting on top of his shoulders, thighs on each side of his head.

"Oh, you love me." You say with a smug as you reach both of your arms down to hold onto his head.

Miguel didn't move or ask you to get off of him, he just accepted it.

normally, you'd just lay your head against his back and wrap your arms around his body as you hug him closely while he does work; he doesn't mind it as long as you don't interfere with his work.

if you're tired or extra clingy, you'll jump up onto his back and wrap your legs around his body and wrap your arms around his neck.

you like to lay your head against his muscular back and hear his heartbeat, it can almost put you to sleep.

if you are tired or falling asleep while on his back, he'll reach his arms down to hold your legs from falling onto the ground

you love talking to miguel, even if most of the time he won't talk back

even though this man doesn't have spider sense, he knows when something is wrong with you

on days when you are upset or something happened, there will be no snarky comment from you or messing with miguel

you just walk in and jump up onto his back and squeeze him tight

when he notices it's you and you're quiet, he already knows something is wrong and is ready to stop everything he's doing to find out what

he hates it whenever you get injured on missions and you continue to make stupid jokes

You groaned out in pain from the metal that pierced your side. "Heh, that armored suit is looking real good right now." You hissed in pain.

Miguel kneeled down next to you and applied pressure to the gauge in your abdomen

"Hey Miguel, I guess it's still better than your suit huh? One wrong malfunction to your suit and you're naked." You laughed.

"Oh my god, you are the stupidest person I know." Miguel shakes his head.

"Ouch, that's hurts more than the wound." You fake being upset and then smirk at him.

"You're literally bleeding out!" Miguel snaps, whispering Spanish curse words under his breath.

Miguel would be lying if he said he didn't like your company

He definitely doesn't watch the tracker on your watch almost everywhere you go if you are even one minute late

let's be honest, miguel is touch starved

once he sees how much of a touchy person you are after getting comfortable with him, he's not a fan of it

at first, he was one to push you away from him and hate the idea of physical affection towards him

it wasn't until one day when you were help fix him up from after a rough fight and you had your hands holding his head in place. Your hand lied on his cheek and he never realized how nice it felt for someone to hold his face so softly. It was the first time you felt him lean into your touch.

Now he he let's you do almost anything you want to him, even with spider people around.

sometimes, he'll even initiate affection when he really needs and you are more than happy to give it to him

#— hunterwritings #hunterwritings #atsv #miguel o'hara #across the spiderverse #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel spiderverse #atsv miguel #miguel x you #spiderman 2099 #spider verse #across the spider verse #miguel o'hara x you #miguel o'hara x y/n

[littlexscarletxwitch]

── ༊*·˚⋆ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹

paring: amy march x fem!reader

tag(s): fluff, cute, kinda spicy towards the end but it mostly fluff and cuteness and amy kinda worshiping r, period piece, wlw established relationship

warning(s): hint of smut/spicy, grammatical errors, unedited

word count: 1.1k

note: A little Amy March appreciation post. I just... I guess the Bridgerton hype is getting to me and with that comes the Amy hype back again. Hope you all enjoy this one, it's kinda based off of titanic (if you couldn't tell). I love you, M <3

requests are open! + check my rules + masterlist <3

“What are you doing?” you whispered right into her ear, causing Amy to jump on the spot a little. 

“Do not do that, Y/n,” she said, clutching her hand to her chest. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“I apologise,” you said, chuckling as you kissed her temple. “What are you up to?”

“I’m just trying to find something to paint.”

“What are your options so far?”

“Well, this bowl of fruits,” she pointed to her left. “Or that one,” she pointed to her right.

“Again?” you asked, scoffing and raising your brow at her. 

“I guess I could paint that vessel with the yellow flowers, they are nice, aren’t they?” she said, lost in her thoughts.

“You know, the other day, Aunt March showed me some French painting…”

“Did she now?” she said, gathering her things to paint the flowers, only half listening to your words.

“Yes, they were quite… interesting,” you said, mischief filing your voice.

“How so?”

“Well… they were lovely women, beautiful really…”

“Yes?” Amy was paying attention to you, she was trying at least, but her brain chose to focus more on the flowers in front of her. 

“And they were… um… naked.”

Amy stood still for a second at your words, but then continued on as if it was nothing. Because in reality it wasn’t, the French had a thing for the human body, so what? It annoyed her, just a little, that you saw other women naked. But as long as her body was the only one you would touch, then she could do peace with it.

“They were fascinating, breathtaking even. Imagine being immortalised that beautifully.”

“Mmmh,” Amy agreed. 

“I would love for someone to do that for me…” you said, enough with the playing around and getting to the point.

And then you had Amy’s whole attention. “Are you saying that you would stand, naked, in front of a man, just so he could paint you? That you would gladly expose your body?” she said sternly.

“No! God, no,” you scoffed. “You would paint me.”

You smile as you watch her cheeks turning red. It was no surprise really, you had lost count of all the times you and Amy had seen the other naked, did things while at it. But despite Amy’s strong personality, deep down she was as shy as a baby deer.

She cleared her throat. “I think I have heard wrong, it was as if you wanted me to paint you—.”

“Like a French model,” you finished for her. “Yes, you heard correctly.”

“Naked?”

“Yes, that was the whole point of this conversation,” you chuckled, as you stepped closer to her and took away the paint brushes from her hands to warm them with your own. “I do not mean to make you uncomfortable, Ames,” you peck the back of her hands. “I just thought… I was not really thinking, actually. You said you were looking for something to paint, and the pictures Aunt March showed me just came to my mind. But if you do not wish to—.”

“It would be my absolute pleasure,” she interumped you. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am,” you couldn’t hold back the smile forming on your lips.

“How do you want me then?”

“You remember the pictures, right? Just do as you please, but… um… naked,” she winked at you, turning around to find her paintings, a new canvas and her favourite paint brushes. 

You took the opportunity, as she wasn't looking, to undress yourself. As you peeled off piece by piece off your body, you felt the temperature in the room shift and realised it was a bit cold. But as you settled in your position and Amy finally looked at you, you felt your whole body burning with fire. 

“Is this okay?” you shyly asked. 

Her eyes trailed down your body, taking in every curve, your soft skin, your chest. She could even tell how hard and heavy your breathing had gotten, which caused a shiver to run down her spine. It was silly, really. She would wake up to your naked body as many mornings as she could, but seeing you in that perfect golden light, exposed for her eyes only, took her breath away.

“Perfect,” she managed to word out somehow. 

She took a deep breath, and let her mind thrift away, only one thought remained in her mind and that was you. She allowed herself to be taken away by her light brush strokes, she let herself capture the intensity in your eyes, the softness of your body, the sun kissing your skin. 

She was extremely immersed in the painting, that she felt as if it wasn't you who she was painting anymore. Sure, you were naked, the piece would tend to have some sexual appeal, but Amy felt as if she was painting something —someone— too pure to ever be turned into just a mere object of lust. She was sure she was painting the vivid image of an angel, and she couldn't believe that she had gotten so lucky to love and be loved by this angel.

“Almost done,” she muttered after what felt like ages, but really it was the fastest she had ever worked on a piece. There were still some more details to add, some lighting to be fixed, some shadows that looked odd. But she didn’t need you to keep on posing, to keep on being naked in the cold room. 

“Is it finished?” you asked in disbelief. 

“Not yet,” she chuckled. “I’ll keep on working on it later, I don’t need you to stand still.”

“I like being still if I have your eyes on me,” you grinned at her.

“I like it as well, but I can’t have you catching a cold,” she said, as she wrapped you around some warm coat she had lying around for the cold days.

“Thank you, for doing this,” you said, pecking her lips. 

“I have you to thank, my muse.”

“Oh, so now I am your muse,” you playfully scoffed, your arms snaking around her shoulder while hers found your waist.

“You always have been,” she muttered as she left a kiss in the corner of your jaw. “I just guess it’s now official,” she chuckled, her uneven breath sending chills up your spine.

“Is that so?” you giggled. “Then, please do tell me more about it,” you said, throwing your head back giving her access to the sensitive skin of your neck. 

“I don’t feel like talking right now,” she bit your skin. 

“What do you feel like doing?” you were already breathless.

“Well…” she said as her hands drifted away to the belt securing your coat.

“Oh, I see,” you laugh, bringing her lips to yours. 

Likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated! <3

-M

#amy march #amy march x reader #amy march x fem reader #amy march x you #amy march x y/n #florence pugh #florence pugh x reader #florence pugh x fem reader #florence pugh x you #florence pugh x y/n #little women #littlexscarletxwitch's fic

[havecourage-darling]

What You Meant To Me // Eddie Munson

I saw this on @creativepromptsforwriting and IMMEDIATELY thought of Eddie.

Prompt: Person A is a famous celebrity who is being stalked by someone. Their team doesn’t want to make it obvious that they hired a bodyguard, but to explain why Person B would be with Person A all the time, they act like they are Person A’s new lover.

exes to strangers to bodyguard to ???? || Masterlist || AO3

tags: Mayfield! Adopted Female Reader, angsty bitches, running from Big Feelings™, Rockstar! Eddie, Post S4, ten years later, canon compliant, light smut at the end, implied sexual content, bodyguard reader  

///

“YOU’VE got to be shitting me,” Eddie said, eyes going to Robin. “Buckley-”’

“It’s out of my hands Munson,” she said, crossing her arms, “besides, this isn’t a joke. This is the fourth time these people have tried something.”

Eddie rubbed a hand down his face. “It’s just a couple of fans! This is ridiculous. The guys aren’t getting some person following them around.”

“The guys didn’t come back to their home and find a girl naked in their bed-”

“-that’s a gross simplification-”

“She had a knife, Eddie,” Robin snapped, her voice shaking. Eddie glanced up at his friend and manager. She glanced around the room to the rest of his publicity team. “Can you guys give us a moment?”

Eddie watched Robin’s hand tremble just slightly as the rest of the interns, managers, and coordinators filed out the room – Mike shot him a sympathetic look before closing the door behind him.

“I am assigning you a bodyguard for around the clock watch until the end of the tour,” she started, explaining the process and how it’ll be from now on.

Groaning, Eddie let his head loll to the side and watched as Robin continued, ignoring him like the professional she was.

He had to give it to her – she wasn’t wrong per say. He was starting to get major mental instability vibes from these two. It was always the same couple – a man and a woman who sent him unnerving amounts of fan mail about how God had sent them a message that he was meant to join them in a throuple. All he had wanted to do was play guitar for a living, now he had clinically insane people breaking into his apartment and taking fucking naps in his hotel room.

There was a small part of him, a very small part, that was a little relieved. It was extremely unsettling to have people be so obsessed with any morsel of information that they could find about you. Eddie had fought hard to have a peaceful life and he didn’t relish in feeling the need to look over his shoulder every two seconds again.

A sharp thwack to his head had him stumbling out his thoughts. “Ouch! Robin!” He hissed, rubbing his ear.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Honestly, no,” Eddie admitted. “All I heard was you’re getting an undercover bodyguard and she’ll pretend to be your girlfriend so you’re not stabbed to death in some ritual. This person is going to have to be following after me every second of the day – that’s…you know how I feel about new people in our circle.”

Robin sighed, shooting him a knowing look. “I know you all value your privacy and it’s my job to help protect that. But we still have two months left on this leg of the tour. They keep fucking finding you and we have no idea how. The security the label keeps sending is baffled at how they’re doing it – we don’t need a professional, we need an expert.”

“Robin-”

“I didn’t help carry you out of that hellhole and keep you from bleeding out on Harrington’s seats for you to get stabbed on me now,” Robin said softly, her eyes betraying her anxiety. Eddie sighed. Jesus Christ, she’d pulled out the big guns. “International dates go on sale at the end of this month – you four are just going to get more popular at this rate. The rest of this leg is officially sold out; this is what happens when you’re good, Munson – you’re famous now. Everything is changing. We need to take precautions.”

The pain in his temple took another jab at him. “Alright, alright. I’ll play along and be part of a happy couple or whatever.”

Robin grinned and he sighed. “Great. I’ve already called a company and they’re sending their best employee over tomorrow. We’ll meet her at nine, sharp. Do not be late.”

“Tomorrow?” Eddie sputtered. Wasn’t the point of this meeting to get his approval?

She shot him a look as she stood and walked to the door. “I’m sorry, did you think you were in charge here? You signed a losing deal the day you agreed to let me be your manager Munson. Suck it up, Buttercup. You got yourself a bodyguard.”

///

You hated being left in the dark.

The whole nature of your job – your profession – was to know everything at every moment. You were hypervigilant; a side effect of being a pseudo monster hunter for a good chunk of your childhood.

So, when Hopper called you up for a special assignment, you found it odd that he’d refused to give you any details. There was no file, no briefing, no notes for you to have any idea on what this assignment was about. He said they needed an experienced female agent, that it was very under wraps, and they were currently in Atlanta for the next two days - which what a coincidence, there you were. You’d been closing out the paperwork on your previous assignment – the youngest daughter of a senator – when he’d called.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, but not liking the secrecy, you had asked Hopper to assign it to someone else. You had a few years of experience on Johnson but you’d trained her yourself – she wouldn’t let anyone down.

“It has to be you, Mayfield,” Hopper said, voice tinny like it always was when he called from Hawkins. “Do it for me.”

Hopper never called in favors. Never. So, you were both interested and mildly disgruntled as you rode up a fancy glass elevator into a massive building. It was clear they – whoever they were – had money and needed discretion. But that wasn’t new to you.

By the sight of the rented office, your guess was either musician or a writer.

You had barely put a foot out the elevator when a blur of dark blonde hair slammed into you. It was only the familiar sound of someone screaming your name that kept you from body slamming her into the floor next to you.

“Robin?” You asked incredulously. “Holy shit, I haven’t seen you in-”

“Years? Three to be exact,” she said, squeezing you once more before stepping back and shooting you a knowing look. “Once you get running, you really don’t stop do you?”

You rolled your eyes at the jab. You had a standing weekly phone call with Robin and Harrington, the three of you adamant on not losing touch despite the fact that two of you travelled so often. Wait, the reason Robin hadn’t been around to meet up was because she’d become…

Straightening, you barely controlled the scowl on your face. “I’m going to kill Hopper.”

Completely unbothered, Robin linked her arm through yours. “If we told you – you wouldn’t have come. I don’t know why you two avoid each other like the plague but it needs to be you. We need someone we can trust. Please, just hear us out?”

“Robin,” you groaned.

“I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t serious.”

At that, you perked up. She was right, she didn’t know – no one knew – what had happened between you two but she had always been respectful of the boundaries you’d set. No matter how stupid. So, if she was asking, it was important.

“Fine. I’ll hear you out,” you promised, rolling your eyes when she grinned like she’d already won.

Who were you kidding? You’d do anything for Robin – for any of them. It was part of the trauma bond at this point. Without giving you a chance to change your mind, Robin led you down a hall and into a massive conference room.

You squinted at the brightness, the entire room looked like it was made from glass, the view of downtown Atlanta impressive and beautiful. As your eyes adjusted, you knew that no amount of preparation or notes would’ve prepared you for the sight of Eddie Munson.

It’d been ten years and your heart still jumped up at his presence.

His dark gaze was on yours immediately and it brought you back to the last time you’d seen him. He’d been cleared of all charges and given the green light to go home. You’d walked in on him while he was adjusting to walking again, torso littered with bandages. You’d gone to tell him you were leaving and you’d never forget the look in his eyes-

“Mayfield!”

You found yourself in the middle of a group hug, one led by Gareth – someone you’d actually seen in the past few years. Jeff was at your side while Liam and Mike were squishing themselves in the best they could.

“Hey boys,” you said, not able to keep your laugh down. “It’s been a long time.”

“I saw you two months ago,” Mike said and you watched Eddie’s eyes narrow at that.

Jeff snorted. “It’s been a good handful of years for me. Last I saw of you, you were kicking someone’s ass on Hollywood Boulevard.”

“In my defense-”

“- they started it,” Jeff and Liam chorused.

You grinned, happy to be around people who you knew so well. People that knew you – before…before it all went to shit. They all herded you over to the table, sitting you down next to Robin.

Eddie, across the table nodded. “Mayfield.”

“Munson,” you said, just as detached.

“This is going to be fun,” Gareth whispered.

Eddie shot him a withering glare and you decided to be the only adult in the room and ignored them all.

“This is our plan,” Robin said, sliding you the thick file.

With a grimace, you pulled a pair of glasses from your small purse and shot Jeff a pointed look when he giggled.

“Didn’t know you wore glasses,” Robin said, her own teasing smile growing.

“I usually wear contacts but today was supposed to be my day off,” you said, pointedly, and shrugged. “I only need them at night or when I’m tired. I – well, Harrington and I had one too many concussions it seems.”

Robin and Mike nodded, sympathetic and understanding. Eddie, however, stilled.  

“So, what do you think? I put together the plan after the most recent incident.

“Who’s seen this?” You asked.

Robin glanced at the band and Mike. “Everyone in this room.”

“That’s it?”

She nodded. “I don’t know how they keep getting to them – obviously Eddie’s is the more dire but, I’m keeping my cards close.”

Distracted by the most recent bout of disturbing fan mail, you nodded. The words ‘FAKE GIRLFRIEND, UNDERCOVER’ blared at you. Grip tightening on the file, you frowned. You couldn’t be his girlfriend – it wasn’t…surely at this point it wasn’t ethical. You both hadn’t been around each other since you packed up, wrapped your little sister in metaphorical bubble wrap, and got the hell out of Hawkins. You were about to tell Robin that you couldn’t do it, that your subordinate would be more than capable – when you saw Eddie’s statement.

Officer F. Jacobs: What happened after that?

E. Munson: Nothing happened, I ran out of there and called the fucking cops. This is so violating; she was in my house man! She touched my shit. I don’t know if anything is missing or if he did anything to my stuff – this is the third time I’ve found them. I just want to be left alone.

Your chest tightened at the crime scene photos, clearly of Eddie’s apartment with the front doorknob unscrewed from its hinge. You’d clearly taken too long to respond because Robin had launched into a pitch on how they really needed your help.

“It pays really well!” She added on, her brows jumping up when you shot her a look. “Mayfield, please-”

Eddie straightened. “She clearly doesn’t want to do it, Robin, just let her-”

Fucking shit, you cursed. You might’ve left Hawkins behind but your loyalty to this group ran deep and you knew that Hopper knew that.

“I’ll do it,” you said, interrupting the growing fight between Robin and Eddie. Silence fell, everyone’s eyes swinging around to you. “I’ll need to fly back to Headquarters – whatever. I can do it I just need a few hours to get everything in order. I need a schedule of every single stop you have from here until the end of the tour.”

“That file is your copy, the only copy, and it has all the information you’ll need,” Robin said, looking delighted.

“Uh, wait-” Eddie sputtered but you all ignored him.

“The proposal here indicates that you want our office to completely overhaul your security protocol?” You asked, blinking down at the text in your hands. “Are you sure? What about the record label?”

Robin’s eyes flashed. “They’re clearly incompetent and if we’re going to be spending money, I want to spend it on people I trust.”

“They’re willing to foot the bill? For an overhaul? And my tailing him for two months?”

Nodding, Robin crossed her arms. “Corroded Coffin has had a very sudden and very quick rise to popularity. Six songs from their second album are on the top one hundred charts. It’s only going to grow from there. We’ve officially sold out the remainder of this tour and will likely sell out the international one. Anyone we have on staff now is trustworthy because they’ve grown with us. The security the label keeps sending are idiots and I don’t trust them.”

You sighed, trying to work out who was on roster back in Los Angeles. “Well, we don’t specify in full team security, I’ll tell you that. We’re a small company and we work internationally – there’s only about five I can call from California on hand now. Everyone else is on assignment. Shit, half of us are scattered around western Europe. Actually, make that four because I need to assign someone to the jobs I now can’t take. I do…know people who can lend a helping hand though. People you can trust,” you assured her.

Hares Security was not the biggest company but in the past ten years you’d been able to cultivate a loyal list of clients. Hopper started the private security firm a few years after the…earthquake. He hadn’t wanted to return to public service and being a cop was all he knew. He’d offered you a job straight out of college and had been grooming you to take over as head of the company for when he’d go into retirement.

You knew he needed someone he could trust to keep everything afloat since he’d started bouncing between Hawkins, California, and Rhode Island – where Will was a master’s student at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Jesus, this was an entire overhaul of their system. Not that they had a good one in place to start with. From the looks of it, the security team that had been assigned to them were all inexperienced and practically useless. Some had mall experience. Who the hell hired these people?

“Okay, I’ll sound the alarm and we’ll have people incoming in the next twenty-four hours. I need to talk to Hopper though and let him know what I’ve got in mind. Is this the hotel you’re all staying at?” You asked, brows rising at the fancy hotel downtown.

Robin’s head bobbed. “They’ve got some recording to do this afternoon but we’ll be there by eight for an early night. We have an morning flight to New York City.”

“Alright,” you said, standing and tucking the file under your arm. You reached out to ruffle Mike’s hair – smiling when he grumbled. “I’m going to make some calls, fly back home and gather the arsenal. I’ll see you all in New York.”

Pointedly ignoring Eddie’s stare, you pressed a quick kiss to Robin’s head and walked out the room.

The doors to the elevator had barely closed when you pulled out your StarTAC and aggressively punched in Hopper’s number.

“Hey kiddo.”

You scowled, hoping he could hear it. “This was low. Even for you.”

“I see you’ve found out the details of your new assignment.”

“How do you know I’ve even taken it? What if I’m reassigning it to Johnson?”

“Because it’s you. You never do things half-assed.”

Fucking fuck, you hated how well Hopper knew you sometimes. “This is wildly unprofessional.”

“So is my favoritism to you but you never complain about that.”

You sputtered and growled when his tinny laugh echoed through your phone. “Asshole.”

“Listen, I don’t know what the hell happened with Munson but they need your help. Help I know only you can give. If you really want out, let me know and I’ll fly down there myself.”

Jesus, this really was bad if Hopper himself was willing to sub in.

“I can do it,” you said, mildly insulted, “I’m a professional unlike some people.”

“Right,” he said, tone amused.

Rolling your eyes, you cradled the phone between your shoulder and stalked out the lobby. “This is going to be a major lift, Hop, I’m going to need all hands-on deck and outsource some general security. People we can trust and maybe some military experience for some of the larger concerts. This is…gonna be a lot.”

“Fly out whoever you need to. Buckley and the suit at the label assured me that there’s no limit. You know where to find me if you need me.”

Rubbing the headache blooming at your temples, you shut your phone and sighed. You could do this. You could protect and be Eddie’s security detail. You were a goddamn professional.

///

“I can’t believe you got Henderson to fly out for cyber security,” Robin said, watching from the lighting control stage as Gareth let Dustin mess around on the drums.

You bit back a smile when you saw Jeff wrap him up in a headlock. Immature children, all of them. “They all owe me favors until the day I kick it,” you said, turning to her, “including you.”

“Hey!”

“Besides, NASA’s headquarters is in D.C., that’s a short train ride. Dustin’s the best at this stuff, whatever he comes up with has been Suzie approved and between the two of them any holes you have in any virtual world will be covered.”

Footsteps alerted you to someone approaching. “Mayfield?” A familiar voice called out. You turned to see Johnson approaching you, clipboard in hand.

“Everything set?”

“Yes. Julian’s team should be here shortly and we’ll help them familiarize themselves with the venue,” she said, handing over the clipboard.

Glancing down at your checklist, you were pleased to see that the small team you’d assembled had already covered a lot of ground. Yang had even sent someone ahead to the Texas venue to scout out any major possible issues.

“Good job Johnson,” you said, watching as she stood up a little straighter, “you’ve got all the angles covered. I’m placing you in charge of anything I can’t get ahold of while I’m on personal security. You’ve got my number, call me if anything comes up.”

“Sure boss,” she said, jetting off towards the loading dock.

You could practically feel Robin’s grin. “Just say it,” you sighed.

“I knew you were practically the head of the company, it’s just so different to see it in action. You’re someone’s boss,” Robin said.

Rolling your eyes, you turned to her. “You’re the manager of one of the biggest bands at the moment, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?”

“Uh no, you have like – a gun,” she whispered, “you’re like a karate master or something. I still trip over their mic wires sometimes.”

At that, you couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m a black belt in Judo, not Karate and I distinctly remember all three of us in blue sailor uniforms serving ice cream at Starcourt. Once you’ve been humbled that profoundly, there’s no coming back.”

“That’s true,” Robin snorted, bumping her shoulder with yours. “So, you ready for the next two months?”

“Nope, but I’m here anyway.”

“And that’s why I love you the most,” Robin said, ducking when you reached out to whack her.

///

No amount of warning or prepping could’ve prepared you for being alone with Eddie for the first time, in a decade.

“I’m sorry,” Robin said, eyes apologetic. “I didn’t know if you’d accept and there were no rooms left available at the hotel. I was going to try to move us to downtown but our flight is after the show – it’s only a few hours-”

Stopping her increasingly frantic stumbling, you’d grabbed her hands and assured her that you could make do for the night. She almost folded under the gratitude and swore you’d always have the requested adjoining room from now on.

“Alright, see you two tomorrow,” Gareth said, swiping his card to the room and disappearing through it.

Eddie cleared his throat and you sighed. Okay, you could be the mature one if you needed to be. Holding out your hand, Eddie blinked at you. “What?”

“Give me the card.”

His brow quirked. “I can open the door on my own.”

“I know, smartass, I need to do a sweep of the room before you go in,” you said, “did you read the file I gave you?”

Eddie crossed his arms defensively. “I- it was a big file!”

Biting back a laugh, not wanting to encourage the bad behavior, you wiggled your hand again and he sighed. Opening the room, you shoot him a death stare when he went to step behind you. Sticking his hands up, he stood by the door as you made your way through the sitting room, the bathroom, the closet, and the bedroom.

“It’s clear,” you told him, ducking to double check under the bed. Eddie walked in, eyes zeroing in on your shoulder piece as you stood back up.

“Is that a gun?” His voice squeaked towards the end.

Nodding, you made way towards the sitting room and plopped down onto the sofa. “I don’t usually carry one but your situation is a bit different.”

“Enough to warrant a gun?”

Your eyes shot to his and you crossed your arms. “I’m head of your security and these people squirmed their way in with a knife, Eddie. What about that are you not understanding?”

Eddie grumbled something inaudible.

“Is it because I’m a girl or because I’m…me?”

His eyes raised to yours and he shook his head. “Neither,” he said adamantly, “you’ve always – even back then – you…you never liked bullies.” He made his way over to his duffel bag and grabbed a handful of clothes. Hesitating by the bathroom, he turned to you and you waved a hand.

“You can take the bathroom first,” you assured him, “I’m going to confirm everything is set for our ride to JFK.”

By the time you’d confirmed everything for tomorrow, showered, and had your nightly tea, you were exhausted. Eddie popped out from the bathroom, smelling like mint, and you couldn’t stop your eyes from dropping to his now bare arms.

The scars were clearly old, healed, but they were still visible enough for you to see from your position on the floor. Guilt roared in your chest and a lump settled in your throat.

“What are you doing?” He asked, feet coming to a stop by your head.

“I’m getting ready for bed?” You said, propping yourself up on your elbow from the makeshift bed you’d made from extra pillows and some of the couch cushions.

“That’s on the floor,” he said, glancing at the bed, “you can just take-”

“Eddie.”

“-you can’t just sleep on the floor-”

“Eddie…”

“-you have a bad shoulder, I remember. Besides you can’t always guard me from the floor-”

“Eddie!” You watched his jaw snap closed and you nodded towards the bed. “Listen, after this one time we’ll have adjoining rooms – that we’ll need to keep open – but I promise not to ruin your love life or whatever. I’ve done this for years now. I know how to make myself scarce and as unintrusive as possible so my clients don’t feel like their lives are turned around.”

You watched in fascination as his skin turned a violent shade of red. “That’s – I don’t – I wouldn’t – I’m not-” he stuttered, hands flailing around.

“Right, you’re the only celibate rockstar in the industry,” you said, goading him. Eddie’s flailing increased as he tried to explain what he meant.

A pang of nostalgia shot through you as he stammered through his explanation poorly. Money, fame, music aside – it was comforting to see that even after all these years, Eddie was still Eddie.

His stammering stopped as he saw your smile and he rolled his eyes. “You little shit.”

“How dare you,” you said, fluffing up your pillow, glad that some of the ice between you two had cracked. Like it or not, you were going to be his shadow for the next two months.

“You were fucking with me,” he said, gaping. “I – Mayfield.”

“Go to sleep, we’ll be up in five hours anyway to start the interviews then we’re on a flight to Texas,” you told him, gently nudging him away with your hand. He stumbled, as if burned, and hesitatingly sat on the bed.

“Are you sure-”

“Ed’,” you said, the old nickname rolling off your tongue, “go to sleep. I’ve slept in worst places than a four-star hotel’s floor.”

His brows rose, shock flittering across his expression before settling. “Yeah?”

You nodded, turning onto your side so the door was in your sight. “Last year I was on a team for a minor royal, she had no qualms about who was present during her sexual escapades.”

Eddie laughed and your stomach fluttered. Shutting your eyes tightly, you beat the sudden rise of emotion back into submission.

You were going to kill Hopper when this was over.

///

Late night talk shows were the worst, you decided. Anxiety ricocheting as the studio’s security argued with your team behind you.

Forgetting that you were playing a part, you’d almost stepped in when the security guard shouted at Johnson. Forcing yourself to smile and walk in with the band, you reminded yourself to take a few more undercover assignments in the future – your skills were getting rusty.

“You don’t at all look like you want to murder someone,” Mike said, stepping up next to you from the wings of the stage.

“Is it that obvious?”

Mike snorted. “I don’t think you’ve taken your eyes off of him from the moment we got in.”

“They’re being stubborn. Doesn’t all talent have their own security team?” You asked, glancing over your shoulder and watching Johnson hold her own. “What’s the issue with us? Besides, I’ve counted like three massive holes in their system.”

“Calm down Terminator,” he said, bumping your shoulder. Eddie’s laughter drew your attention back to him as the audio assistant set him up with a mic and explained how the cues were going to go.

The boys were on the second stage to the left, assuring themselves that their equipment had all arrived unscathed and were tuned to perfection.

“Hey, Boss!” You turned towards your newly acquired nickname – thanks to Jeff who had refused to listen to you until you’d let him know you were the boss. You were never living it down – and saw Eddie waving you over.

“This is uh, my girlfriend,” Eddie said, introducing you to Conan O’Brien.

You stepped forward, smile settled in your features, and shook his hand. Coming to Eddie’s side, you mumbled, “you’re a natural,” as Conan settled into his chair.

“Shut up,” he muttered.

“You call your girlfriend Boss?” Conan joked. “That’s either really smart or sarcastic enough to earn me a slap.”

Smiling and stepping forward, you cross your arms playfully. “He knows who’s in charge,” you winked. Eating it up, Conan guffawed.

Eddie grumbled awkwardly behind you and you smacked his shoulder with the back of your hand. “Besides, he brings me everywhere – we can’t live without each other, right pumpkin?”

“Right,” he said dryly.

Conan began talking about his own girlfriend, sitting in the green room backstage, when something in the corner of your eye caught your attention.

Your instinct won and you turned to find a woman with blonde hair running straight to you. Without much thought, your training kicked in and before anyone could step in, you had her on her stomach with a knee to her back.

“Eddie! Eddie! I love you!” She screamed, hysterically crying despite the pressure you applied to her spine. Jesus, she had a set of lungs on her. You were impressed.

A portly man shuffled forward, his eyes wide as saucers, “Uh, Miss, I can take it from here.”

“Oh,” you remembered, eyes darting up to Eddie’s. His brown eyes were dilated, mouth gaping a little, and he was frozen. Stumbling at his reaction, you tried to dust yourself off and shot a bewildered Conan a grin. “Sorry about that!”

“That’s some form you’ve got there!” Conan exclaimed, hands going up. “Man, the Giants could sure use some defense like you.” His eyes darted down your figure and you fought the urge to roll your eyes when a warm hand came across your shoulders.

“Yeah, she’s something alright,” Eddie said, pulling you into his side. “I’m lucky to have her.”

Message clearly received, you shot up a surprised look and let yourself be ushered off stage by a PA. Robin had arrived, standing there with an impressed glint in her eyes.

“Shut up,” you muttered at her.

She held her hands up, her suit moving with her, “I didn’t say anything!”

“Are you okay?” You spun around and almost stumbled into Eddie, his hands coming out to steady you.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. I’m sorry – it was instinct. I didn’t mean – I shouldn’t have hit her so hard,” you said, feeling weirdly off kilter.

Eddie scratched the back of his head, a sign you knew was a habit for when he was feeling uncomfortable. “It’s okay. I just, was worried you – uh, for you,” he said, stilted.

“For fuck’s sake,” Robin said, blowing air out of her lips, “you two are so awkward it’s actually painful. You’re not strangers, you were friends at some point, just pop the goddamn elephant you two have in the room and get over it. Nothing about this, screams romance.”

With a dramatic hair flip and a roll of his eyes, Eddie ignored her, shot you another look, and walked off when you’d nodded.

Robin sighed. “Jesus, it’s like we’re in high school all over again. I can’t deal with the tension a second time around Mayfield, I can’t.” She continued to grumble but you kept your eyes on Eddie as he climbed up the sound stage and settled his guitar over his shoulder.

Robin’s words echoed in your mind - you were friends at some point.

Your history with Eddie Munson was a little more complicated than most knew. Eddie had been your friend but he’d been more than your friend. He was your almost.

The first few chords rung through the stage and everyone in the audience went wild. You closed your eyes and bit the inside of your cheek. “Hello New York City! I’m guessing by the sound of that you know what song we’re going to play. Don’t be shy now, sing along!”

Now and then I think of when we were together

Like when you said you felt so happy you could die

Like the best kind of torture, you watched Eddie’s fingers wrap around the mic, his eyes sliding closed.

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness

Like resignation to the end, always the end

You’d heard the song, because of course you had you didn’t live under a rock. Hearing it live, however, cut a little deeper than your stereo at home. At least at home you could have a drink in hand.

But you didn't have to cut me off

Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing

And I don't even need your love

But you treat me like a stranger, and that feels so rough

Robin’s eyes slid to you and they felt like two honing signals. You didn’t want to watch anything dawn on her – you hadn’t made it this far to fall apart now. Not over a song.

“I’m going to go wait in the green room, okay?” Robin nodded, her eyes following you as you left.

Now you're just somebody that I used to know

///

The flight to Texas had been long and after the day you’d had – you were dead on your feet. But, because the universe didn’t know how ever give you a break, you found yourself doing a sweep of Eddie’s hotel room before herding him inside.

Gareth’s room had needed sudden repairs and while he’d offered up to bunk with Jeff – you’d given him your adjoining room. It was only for a night, his room would be available tomorrow morning, and you knew that being close to the client was never a bad thing.

You’d shower in the morning, unable to think of more than just brushing your teeth and falling face first into your pillow. Especially considering that you had an early wake up call to go take a look at the new venue.

“What are you doing?” Eddie asked, watching you settle into the sofa in the makeshift sitting room. This one was actually big enough that you could use as a bed for the night – it was a step up from the floor.

Not this again. “Munson, I’ll be fine.”

Eddie scowled and you felt your pulse jump. “It’s a California king mattress Mayfield, just get up here.”

“No,” you said, stubbornly.

Sighing, Eddie flopped onto the bed and you thought that would be the end of it until – “We’ve slept in the same bed before. One much smaller than this. In a trailer park. For months. Get your ass up here.”

“Eddie-”

“I saw you twinge. I know your back probably hurts from that defensive tackle.”

Eye twitching at the memories of you curled around Eddie in his small bedroom, you sat up. “What do you know about sports?”

“It’s been ten years,” he said, deadpan.

“Tigers don’t change their stripes.”

“For fuck’s sake – just get up here,” he groaned, flopping back down onto the pillow.

The twinge in your shoulder screamed for the softness of the bed but your mind was telling you this was a bad idea. It didn’t matter that you’d shared beds before – this was still a client.

“I know how to keep my hands to myself,” he said, tone defensive.

“Oh my God,” you scowled, despite knowing that he was playing you. You got up and padded over to the other side of the – admittedly – huge bed. “Fine!”

Grinning Eddie revealed a small heating pad. “I asked the front desk to have one sent up. It helps me with my shoulder too. After a while they get sore from performing so often,” he said, handing it over a little sheepishly.

Completely bowled over and shocked, you reached for it and arranged it onto your sore shoulder. The heat immediately soothed the surface ache and you smiled at him. “Thank you,” you said.

Awkward, and a little embarrassed with your earnest tone, the two of you broke eye contact.

“I’ll shut off the lights,” Eddie mumbled, hauling himself out and returning once the room had gone dark.

Two minutes in you knew there was no way either of you were going to get any sleep with the tension as thick as it was.

Put your big girl pants on, you shouted at yourself. But your tongue felt stuck to the roof of your mouth.

“Robin’s right,” Eddie said, breaking the silence first.

You nodded, despite the fact that you knew he couldn’t see you. “Yeah, we should…talk about it?”

There was a beat of silence before Eddie exhaled. “I wrote that song a long, long time ago. I was in a different head space and of course, it became one of our hits from the debut album.”

Shutting your eyes, you realized you had finally gotten the answer to a question you didn’t know you’d even wanted an answer for.

“It’s okay,” you said, because it was.

Eddie continued, a hand shooting up in the air, illuminated by the soft moonlight. “I just needed a way to cope with your absence and-”

You reached out, touching his hand softly. “You’re a great songwriter, Eddie. I would never hold that against you.”

“Oh,” he breathed, a small sigh coming out after. “Thanks.”

It seemed that even after all these years, you still knew Eddie well enough. “Just ask me,” you said softly into the silence.

“Why?” He asked eventually.

“Why what?”

“Why was I the only one who you avoided? When you left…you said you needed to get out and I tried really hard not to feel like I was being abandoned but, after a few years everyone seemed to reconnect with you. Except for me.”

Turning onto your side to face him, you watched him turn his head towards you – eyes incredibly sad.

“I didn’t, at least not purposefully,” you admitted. “When we left, I hid away. I left my mom and Max and buried myself in school. I became a shell of a person, I-I’m not proud of things I did but I was in survival mode. I started studying to become a psychologist and that was my life for four years. As horrible as it sounds, I didn’t really reach out to everyone else. They found me - they forced me back into being a human. They searched me out and once I was back among the living it felt like it’d been too long to just pick up where we had left off. How did I start to apologize for just leaving like that?”

Eddie smiled sadly at you. “I understand, in a way. We weren’t exactly easy to find either, you in California and me traveling around with the guys. I…I asked Steve once,” he admitted, “I knew you’d given me an abbreviated story about what had happened before ’86. After he told me, I wasn’t as mad, I was just…sad. You really undersold the story in that little shack.”

“I’m not belittling what we’ve been through, what you’ve been through, but Vecna was my fourth round,” you said, breathing unsteady, “so many people died. Barb…she hurt the most. I could tell Billy’s death had cut Max deeper than she was letting on.”

Eddie’s hand came up to yours and you realized you were shaking.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. I stayed in that town after everything, after Billy, and I know it’s not an excuse but it feels like Hawkins is cursed. I saw you on the floor, in Dustin’s lap, and my world just crumbled.”

His eyes softened. “Sweetheart…”

“We took you to the hospital and I sat there for days going back and forth between your room and Max’s. I just – I couldn’t let that town take anyone else from me. I wouldn’t survive it. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry that I let so much time go by before I woke up. I’m sorry I didn’t push my way back into your life like I should’ve.”

Shaking his head, Eddie’s hand squeezed yours. “I’m sorry for not trying harder. For not seeing how deeply you hurt and only focusing on my own.”

Despite your restraint, you felt tears burn your eyes. “We made a mess of it.”

“Yeah, but even messes can be beautiful in their own way.”

Because of course he’d say the right thing. The ice around you two cracked and more pieces fell to the waiting ocean below. Eyes slipping closed, you had a brief burst of relief in your chest.

Which was promptly stomped upon when your alarm jerked you awake a few hours later. Lifting your arm, you patted around the night table until you hit something warm.

“Ouch,” Eddie grunted, “turn it off.”

Lifting your head, confused, last night came back to you in a rush. Glancing down, you realized that the pressure around your waist was Eddie’s arm. You were tucked into his chest, your legs tangled, and head tucked under his chin. The same way you used to when you’d climb in through his window in the trailer park. Like no time had passed. Then you were suddenly aware of another insistent pressure on your waist.

“Turn it off,” Eddie grumbled again, voice muffled by your hair.

“Uh,” you cleared your throat, “I need you to let me go.”

Eddie’s grip tightened before it immediately disappeared and you both flung yourselves to opposite ends of the bed.

“I’m sorry – uh, oh shit,” he tumbled off the bed, popping up awkwardly. “I’m just going – I’m – I need a shower. Right. Okay.”

You watched him scurry into the ensuite and dropped your head back down to the bed, groaning. You knew you should’ve slept on the fucking floor.

So much for less awkward.

///

Robin cornered you both during rehearsals.

“What is this?” She said, smacking a magazine down. There, on a spread in the pages, were you and Eddie looking like you barely knew each other.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE?

“It’s been a week since they’ve known about me,” you huffed, looking through the poor pictures of you. “How could they know? Oh look, it says we’ve been dating for two years. Apparently, sources say you met me at a coffee shop. How quaint.”

Eddie grunted, eyes darting across the pages.

“Yeah, and who the hell is going to believe that with you two looking like you’d rather be dead?” Robin exclaimed.

“That feels like an exaggerated statement, and that’s coming from me,” Eddie said, frowning.

Robin’s hands came out to snatch the magazine from under your noses. You flinched and Eddie’s hand came up to steady you. “We need to stage some shots. You’ll need to go on a date. Something under the radar, cute, ‘they’re just like us’ type of thing.”

“I am technically just like them,” you pointed out to deaf ears. Eddie’s hand squeezed your shoulder and his small smile made your chest tighten.

“Don’t you think that’s a little gross? Staging shots?” Eddie asked.

“That’s how we get ahead of this. We control the narrative. There’s something else too – this was mailed to the office,” Robin said, clearing her throat. She placed a large manila envelope down and you sorted through it.

“Oh!” You said, straightening, “it’s hate-mail!”

Eddie’s brows flew up. “And you’re happy about that?”

“It means we’re doing something right,” you hummed, looking at the crude images and chunks of hair taped to the letter. “Robin might be right. We should do this and see if we aggravate them further.”

“Are you insane?”

You frowned. “It’s how people get caught. They get sloppy and besides you’ll be safe – I’m here all the time,” you assured him. “We haven’t had any incidents so far these past two weeks.”

“That’s true!” Robin said, perking up. “I’ve seen her decapitate an interdimensional superpowered human. Two regular humans should be easy for her.”

The memory of your machete going straight through Vecna’s neck flashed through your mind and you frowned.

“I’m not afraid for me – oh my God, you two are insufferable,” Eddie muttered, walking off towards the audio guy who was waving him down.

“Jeez, what’s up his butt?” You grumbled, looking through the mail and pointedly ignoring Robin’s knowing smile.

///

He hated to admit that Robin was right. Eddie would never actually say it out loud – she’d never let him forget it. But…the photos looked good. Eddie flipped the page and the image of you with your head thrown back making him smile.

“I feel like we should be laughing, isn’t everyone in those tabloids always laughing?”

Eddie snorted. “Did you need me to tell you a joke?”

“I can fake laugh, look,” you chortled, laugh sounding horrendously fake even to his ears. Eddie couldn’t help but actually laugh at your attempt.

“That was bad,” he said between laughter.

You grinned; Jesus did your smile make his heart sing. “Made you laugh though.”

The both of you had agreed to go for ice cream in downtown Dallas. You’d tossed your arms around him, practically touching him at every opportunity, and Eddie wasn’t stupid enough to try and lie about how it made him feel.

In fact, everything about your arrival had him feeling like he’d been turned upside down. It’d been painfully awkward at first, it still was sometimes, but you were both slowly learning how to be around each other again. And Eddie wasn’t sure if that was such a good thing in the long run. Or if he was just setting himself up to be hurt again.

The last photo, one where you were reaching out to wipe the corner of his mouth, made him smile. His eyes were on you and even he could see that you both looked like a couple very much in love.

“They look good,” Gareth said, leaning against the doorframe. Eddie slammed the magazine shut and straightened. “Well now, that wasn’t suspicious at all.”

“Shut up,” Eddie said, rubbing a hand down his face. “It was set up; you know it was.”

“Riiight.”

“Gareth.”

He laughed. “Dude, it’s me. I’ve known you since I was a freshman in high school. You can’t lie to me. I was there when you met her. She was in my class originally remember? She’s my friend too.”

You had been – that’s how he’d met you. Gareth had failed history junior year and his teacher had assigned him you at the beginning of senior year for tutoring. As cliché as it sounded, you had taken one look at him and he was gone. You were so nice to him, to all of his friends, and repeatedly defended anyone in Hellfire against bullies.

Dustin had mentioned you before – Mike usually rode home with you – but he just hadn’t really noticed you. He couldn’t fathom how because it’d taken one offer for you to come out to the Hide Out and your friendship had all but solidified.

There was rarely a day Eddie wasn’t attached to your hip. Sometimes, it’d felt like he was your shadow, following you around like a lost puppy.

He knew he loved you on Halloween. It was a wonder that it took him so long. You’d told him that you loved him on Valentine’s Day. He still had the card you’d handed to him, flustered and shy. His heart felt like it was going to beat out his chest that day.

There were things he didn’t understand - before everything exploded during spring break – like the times you’d sneak into his trailer, tears in your eyes and panic shaking your body. He’d assumed that you just had nightmares after the fire at Starcourt since you had been in there when it burned. You hadn’t like to talk about but, he quickly found out why.  

Eddie had tried his best to be comforting, to be a safe space, and for a moment – a brief moment, he’d thought that you were his future.

Then Vecna had stolen that from him too.

In hindsight, he should’ve known better. He’d cut the rope in the trailer that night because he knew you needed time to kill him. He’d done it for you. Because he couldn’t run away when he didn’t know if you were safe or not. Even if that had been what caused you to run after, he didn’t regret it. Not even in the winter when the scars and his joints hurt the most.

But…he missed you. He’d forgotten that. Forgotten how easy it was with you – how much he wanted to breathe you in and follow you around like that lost nineteen-year-old. There were things he knew about you, whether or not they were still true, that he didn’t know what to do with.

Eddie knew that you liked to have tea before bed. He knew that you liked your coffee with an ungodly amount of sugar. That you thought waffles were superior to pancakes. Your order at the diner was etched into his memory, alongside the way you were ticklish on the soft part of your thighs. The fact that you were a good daughter but an even better sister.

He knew the noises you made when he sucked on the sensitive patch of skin on your neck. He knew that you liked to take charge, never one to be bowled over. He knew just how to twist his fingers, where to touch, to get you to scream. He knew that you liked to pull his hair, that it drove you crazy when he tied it up in a bun.

But he also knew that the sounds of your sobs echoed, the ones that haunted his dreams, while he tried to claw his way through the darkness back to you. He knew what you looked like, begging him to forgive you for not being able to stay while he was still attached to monitors at the hospital. He knew that you’d loved him, once upon a time, and that it’d hurt more than he thought possible to have it taken away.

“I’m scared,” Eddie said, thoughts jumbling together, “what if I get used to her being back?”

Gareth nodded. “That could happen.”

“I don’t – I-” Eddie sighed.

“Listen, she ran after those earthquakes and you let her go. This was something that fell apart that you both let fall. You’re adults now – you’re both grown-ups, ugh,” he said, wrinkling his nose at the thought, “you gotta decide on what you want. Once you figure that out, you’ll know what to do. But…don’t jerk her around. She wasn’t doing good for a while and this is the happiest I’ve seen her in a long time. She’s settled now and she deserves to be at peace Eddie, so do you frankly.”

Before Eddie could even think of a response, let alone soak that in, Robin popped her head in the door.

“Hey! You have the magazine! What do you think?”

Eddie stood up and shrugged. “Looks good to me.”

“Right? I’m a genius! We should do a few more once we land in Chicago, to keep up pretenses,” she said, tapping her chin. “We’ve gotten a ton of fan mail for her. A few job opportunities too, apparently people like her style.”

Of course, they did. Because everyone loved you. How could they not?

“Munson? Gareth? We’re ready for you two. We need to do a final sound check.”

Gareth shot him a look and Eddie sighed again. “Let’s do it.”

As the four of them walk towards the stage, Eddie spotted a few of your team members securing the hallways. Smiling at the woman who never went anywhere without her earpiece or clipboard, Eddie wondered how you two had met.

As if summoned, Eddie caught sight of you as you spoke to one of the outsourced security teams. Julian? He faintly remembered you mentioning a second, much larger, security firm lending a hand. You were pointing at the doors to your left and the man nodded, attention solely on you. Eddie could relate. His eyes wandered down, your jeans tightly curving around your hips-

“Eddie!”

Eddie blinked, turning towards Jeff who was staring at him worriedly. “What?” He said, clearing his throat. “Sorry, what’d you say?”

“He asked if you were ready,” Gareth said from his spot behind the drums, fingers twirling a drumstick while his eyes were light with laughter.

Eddie glared at him before nodding at Jeff. “Sorry man, I’m ready. Want to start off from the last song?”

.

Pacing the length of the green room, Eddie tried his best to calm his nerves.

“You alright man?” Jeff asked, eyeing him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this nervous before a concert.”

“Uh,” Eddie said smartly, not sure how to word that he wasn’t really nervous about performing – more like he was nervous about the fact that this was the first night since you’d joined that he’d be performing that song. It was stupid, he was sure you’d heard it before and he’d gotten away with excluding it for the last few concerts but, it was popular enough that it couldn’t be ignored forever.

Gareth snorted at his indecision. “She’s never heard him sing Got Away,” Gareth said. Eddie whipped his head around and Gareth rolled his eyes. “Dude, they were there while you two pretended not to be obsessed with each other. They’re here now while you two awkwardly try to pretend like you’re not staring at the other. We’re metalheads, not blind.”

Jeff rolled his eyes. “Anyone can see you both have it bad for each other.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eddie said.

“Sure,” Liam said, chuckling from his place on the couch, “and I’m Ozzy Osbourne.”

Eddie stood up, feeling overstimulated and overwhelmed. “For my own sanity, just for this performance, can we please drop it?”

Jeff, ever the mediator, nodded but Eddie watched Gareth quirk a brow and shake his head. “The more you ignore it, the worst it’s going to be later.”

“I’m sure she’s heard it anyway,” Liam said, “at this point she’s gotta know you wrote most of that album about her anyway. Most of downtown Hawkins knows.”

“Jesus, remember the songs that fall?” Gareth snorted. “He made that girl in the audience cry.”

Eddie hated how well his bandmates knew him sometimes.

The PA from earlier knocked on the door. “We’re ready for you guys!”

Jumping at the chance, Eddie hurried out the door. He shook his arms out, hooking his guitar around his chest and nodded. It was just another concert.

The sound of fans chanting made him smile. Grabbing the mic handed to him by the audio guy, he caught sight of you on the other end of the stage. You waved, giving him a thumbs up and Eddie hated the fact that it did something to his chest. He shot you a smile before bringing the mic up to his lips.

“Hello Dallas!”

The roar of the crowd drowned out all his thoughts. The curtains dropped, the audience screamed louder, and Eddie reveled in the energy.

“We’re going to start you off with a crowd favorite, is that alright?”

Glancing back at Gareth, he nodded once before raising his drumsticks into the air.

At the first chords, the crowd went wild. Focusing on the audience, Eddie managed to keep his eyes forward, and voice steady for most of the song.

We'd keep all our promises, be us against the world

In another life, I would make you stay

So I don't have to say you were the one that got away

The one that got away

As the bridge approached, Eddie couldn’t help but give into his urge, eyes swinging around to you. He wasn’t prepared for the way you were already looking at him, eyes wide and awed. Your hands were intertwined, pressed up against your chin. At the sight of his glance, you smiled a small little sad thing that had his own heart stuttering.

All this money can't buy me a time machine, no

Can't replace you with a million rings, no

I should've told you what you meant to me, whoa

'Cause now I pay the price

Dragging his eyes back to the crowd, ignoring the pang in his chest, he let the last chorus fade and picked right back up with the next song.

///

You were mildly embarrassed at how quickly, and in such a short amount of time, you got used to being in Eddie’s presence again. You might even go so far as to say that in the rare moment you found yourself without him, you felt a little off.

It was mortifying really. You were a professional and all it took was one assignment to ruin your spotless record. Just barely four weeks into this detail and you were incredibly used to him being the first person you saw in the mornings and the last before bed.

In your incredibly weak defense, there was something intimate about being part of someone’s daily routine. It’s something you taught everyone who joined the firm. There’s bound to be a connection to the people you’re protecting. No matter how short the time, it’s only human to grow attached. It’s a major factor into why your clientele was so loyal. Most of your jobs were reoccurring or past clients. You’d created a bond with all of yours, and you’d hoped – desperately – that it wouldn’t happen here. Honestly, you should’ve known better.

“Is this necessary? We were just here,” Eddie said, yawning from the door.

You got down on your knees and lifted the bed skirt. Flashing your light, you confirmed that the room was clear. When you didn’t immediately hear Eddie’s footsteps, you turned to glance at him from over your shoulder. He shuffled in, eyes on the ground, cheeks pink.

“Fucking hell, is it only eight? Why am I so tired?” Eddie groaned, flopping onto his bed. You perched yourself at the furthest edge, massaging your bad knee and rolling your eyes.

“Because you’re nearly thirty and traveling across the country is exhausting?”

Eddie lifted his head and glared at you. “Don’t you ever mention my descent into death again.”

You laughed and shook your head. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re incredibly dramatic?”

“Once, a girl I knew from high school,” he joked when you shot him a look. “She was wrong, obviously. I’m a completely rational person. If anything, I underreact.”

“Wow,” you said, deadpan.

“What?”

“I’ve never met someone so delusional – oomph,” you grunted as a small pillow hit your shoulder.

Eddie groaned as he sat up. “I’m hungry,” he grumbled, reaching out to check the messages on the hotel phone.

“Me too,” you chimed, already thinking of places you could order from. Eddie seemed fond of the burgers from yesterday. They’d also been cleared by Michaels and Yang as a safe spot to order from for the duration of your stay.

“Robin says we’re all cleared for the night,” Eddie stood suddenly, letting the phone drop back down to the receiver. “I say we go out for dinner.”

“What?” You balked. “We have an early call time; I think our flight is at eight to Chicago.”

Eddie rounded the bed, placing his hands on his knees and bending down to your height. “Come on Mayfield, live a little.”

“It’s not safe – I’d need another person with me. Maybe Johnson is still awake? Maybe a man would look better? What if you’re recognized-” Eddie lifted a hand, his eyes going wide and pleading.

“Come on, boss, live a little. We’ll go somewhere nearby. I’ll wear a disguise! Look,” he said, pointing to the hotel’s massive windows. “The beach is right there! We haven’t, and won’t, get a chance to see it if we don’t go now.”

“We never get the chance to see anything in any city,” you said, brows raising. “It’s just a beach.”

“Mayfield.”

Feeling yourself give a little, you sighed. “What kind of disguise?”

Eddie grinned, one that you knew meant he knew that he was winning you over. “We’re in Miami, trust me – it’s easier to hide in a bigger city.” He hesitated for a moment before gathering his curls into a ponytail, wrapping it around the base, a high bun sat at the top of his head.

Something incredibly close to butterflies, but felt more like velociraptors, roared away in your stomach. Shit, you’d forgotten how good he looked with his hair up. Eddie glanced at you quickly before stuffing his hair under a baseball cap. Pushing a pair of sunglasses onto his face, he opened his arms and did a twirl.

“It’s night out, only weirdos wear sunglasses at night,” you said, laughing when he snorted.

“It’s Miami.”

You laughed. “Alright, fine, you win. I’m bringing back-up though,” you said, going to the safe and grabbing your handgun.

“Do you really need to bring that?” Eddie frowned.

“Eddie, I’m here for your protection,” you stressed, not liking it either. “There are literal deranged fanatics trying to kill you.”

He sighed but relented as you placed it in its holder and pulled a hoodie over it. “What if they just want an autograph? They could be completely rational people.”

“Someone sent me a package last week that we had to scan for explosives, Edward,” you said, opening the door.

Shrugging, he relented. “You know, sometimes you’re right.”

“Sometimes? More like all the times. Hey, no detours, okay?”

Eddie crossed his heart and held up four fingers. “Scout’s honor!”

“You were never a scout and they use their right hand to salute. It’s also three fingers not four,” you said, watching Eddie smirk as the elevator took you both down to the lobby.

Skin itching at the busy streets, you kept alert and vigilant. Eddie’s elbow bumped into yours and you frowned. “Come on, loosen up a little, we’re fine,” Eddie said, tugging his hat on lower.

“For now,” you muttered, sticking your hands into your pockets.

“You’re just a ray of sunshine,” Eddie said, leading you towards the pizzeria at the corner. “Has anyone told you that?”

Raising a brow, you watched him hold the door open for a couple and ushered you in. “You know what I do for a living, right?”

“One cheese pie to go please,” Eddie said, placing a few bills on the counter.

“To go?” You said. “Thought you wanted to live a little?”

Eddie smiled at your imitation of him. “We are, we’re gonna eat on the boardwalk.”

“Eddie,” you groaned. At least a restaurant had less variables you needed to watch over.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he said, thanking the cashier as he handed over the pizza box, “we’re going.”

The beach was visible from the pizzeria. You could smell the saltwater – hear the ocean crashing into the shore. “Eddie-”

“Oh, come on,” he said, grabbing your hand and tugging you forward. Your skin tingled and at the sight of a few people eyeing Eddie curiously, you intertwined your fingers together. He blinked down at your hands, shooting you a surprised look. Darting your eyes to the attention you were getting; Eddie nodded and pulled your joined hands closer as he pulled you under his arm.

This close to him, your sides bumping as you walked, you got hit face first with his scent. It hadn’t changed much since you’d last been this close to him. Woodsy, a bit minty, and something uniquely Eddie.

Smoke, you realized, he didn’t smell like cigarettes anymore. Now that you realized, you hadn’t seen him smoke at all.

“Did you quit smoking?” You asked.

Eddie smiled. “I was wondering when you’d ask,” he said, “yeah, a long time ago now. When we still lived in Hawkins.”

“Really,” you said, raising your brows. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” he said, sitting down cross-legged on the wooden bench facing the water. Despite the crowded streets, it seemed that the beach was mostly empty. A couple to the far left were walking away from you, two little specks in the distance. “Since you asked a question, do I get to ask one back?”

You picked up your slice and nodded. “Twenty questions?” You asked around a mouthful.

Eddie nodded, swallowing his own bite. “Do you still talk to everyone from home?”

“I didn’t have many friends outside the party,” you said, surprised that that was his first question. “Not after Will disappeared. I – I don’t regularly keep up with most of our friends either. Robin, Steve and I have a weekly phone call where I mostly listen to them bicker-” Eddie laughed and nodded.

“That sounds like them.”

You shrugged. “Aside from El, Max, and Lucas – I don’t speak to anyone else that often. Hopper, obviously, but Will is off doing his own things. Being adults,” you said, shooting him a look, “Will’s stuff is beautiful. I managed to catch his last gallery and he sent me my favorite piece in the mail. It hangs in my living room and I love it.”

“Yeah,” Eddie said, looking out to the ocean. “He’s really good.”

“Dustin is busy being a literal genius and Mike, well, is-”

“-usually around me?” He finished for you.

Smiling sheepishly, you nodded. “Gareth is the only one I called semi-regularly. He sends me postcards from wherever you guys are, you know?”

“I didn’t, the little shit,” he said, frowning. “I guess it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one.”

“The only one what?”

“The only one left out,” he said with a self-deprecating smile that just about broke your heart. Before you the shards could surface, Eddie stood and dusted the crumbs off his shirt. “Want to take a walk?”

Lump in your throat growing, you nodded.

“It’s your turn,” he said, tucking his hands into his pockets. With a quick glance around, you slipped your flats off and let your toes dig into the sand. Feeling a little more calibrated, you let your gaze fall to the push and pull of the ocean.

“When did you know things were changing for the better with the band?” You asked, betraying the tiny piece of you that craved answers and the small details of the time you’d missed.

Eddie smiled. “The first time someone recognized me on the street. We’d been doing a lot of opening acts for moderately known bands on tour. We generated enough interest that we started working on a debut album. I was writing a ton and our label decided to give us a very tentative shot. We were out for some food and this guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I was Eddie Munson from Corroded Coffin.” Eddie mimed his head exploding and you grin.

“I would’ve paid to have seen your face,” you said, bumping your elbow with his, “you guys deserve it.”

“Thanks,” he said, ducking his head like he wasn’t an international rockstar at this point. “How did you get into security? Last I remember, you wanted to be a teacher but you studied psychology?”

You shrugged, memories bubbling to the surface. “I think Hopper just found me at the right time. I was so…angry all the time. I’d shifted from sad to just pissed off – even Max steered clear of me for a while. I needed an outlet, so my roommate pushed me to tag along to her self-defense class. It was Krav Maga and I learned how to take someone down that day. It felt exhilarating.”

Eddie snickered. “Only you’d get excited about violence sweetheart.”

“Shut up,” you said, flustered, “the point is, I’d started picking up a few things and the instructor asked if I’d ever considered Judo. I said no, I didn’t really have the time, but I went to a class once a week for a year. I think, I was just fed up with feeling helpless. I’d watched so many of our friends fight for their lives, I wanted to feel like…well, like I had some sort of control I guess.”

“That makes sense, given the circumstances,” Eddie said, looking pensive. “Wanting control in a situation where you felt like you had none.”

“Exactly!” You said, smacking his shoulder excitedly. Eddie shot you a grin and you stumbled. “Well, Hopper found me right as I was graduating. He’d just started his company and needed help. I went from a class a week to four a week and a boatload of training. I helped scout some people and it went off from there.”

Eddie smiled at you, the moonlight casting a shimmer to his skin. “Who would’ve thought, Mayfield, a professional ass-kicker,” you shoved him and he laughed, the sound shooting down your spine. “It suits you though, you look happy.”

“I am,” you said, shrugging, “at least with my career. I’ve been in some tight situations but the people I’ve saved or protected, they’re all great people. It’s thrilling really.”

“I can imagine.”

A question bounced around your mind, reminiscent of an old conversation with Steve, and you pushed yourself to ask. “Who was your first after…after I left?”

Eddie stumbled and you instinctively reached out to steady him. “Jeez, Mayfield, you really choose the hard hitters.”

Mortified, you straightened. “Sorry, you don’t have to-”

“No, no, it’s fine. We…we were friends for longer than we were anything else. Even after everything, after all the years, you can always ask me anything. Time and complicated feelings don’t change the fact that we were friends. We are friends.”

“Yeah?” You asked, both embarrassed at the earnest tone in your voice and pleased.

And for the first time since you’d seen each other, without any cameras present, Eddie pulled you into his arms. He hooked his chin over your shoulder and exhaled. “Yeah. We might be the weirdest, most complicated friends to exist, but what we went through was too strong to be destroyed by something as finnicky as time.”

Embarrassed by the sudden pressure behind your eyes, you squeezed Eddie tightly. “I’m sorry, Eddie.” You wondered if the words would ever be enough.

“I’m sorry too.” After a minute, you both stepped back and continued walking forward. “And to answer your question – her name was Emily. She was, predictably, your complete opposite. It took a while but she was good for me.”

“What happened?” You asked.

Eddie shrugged, a flicker of regret flashing through his expression. “A whole mix of things. Our schedule was starting to pick up and in the early days we had to go where the shows were. You know how that goes, so much time away – she couldn’t always come with, and I don’t know. We just fell apart. Can I tell you a secret though?”

“Always.”

“I was going to propose the week we broke up,” Eddie laughed and you stared at him incredulously. “No, really. It’s crazy how a week can change your entire life. Well, I learned that years ago but, it’s old news by now.”

“That sucks,” you sighed, surprised by the complete lack of jealousy you felt. It really did suck; you’d gone through enough break ups to know they always hurt.

“What about you?”

You bit back a smile. “What about me?”

Eddie groaned and waved a hand in the air. “Come on, don’t make me drag it out of you.”

“Alright, alright,” you said, glancing back out to the water, “I…didn’t really have one serious relationship. Robin says she thinks I run from commitment but it’s deeper than that. I have a whole chunk of myself that’s permanently changed because of what I’ve been through. How do you cultivate something without sharing that?”

“You should, you know, share it,” Eddie said.

“I know but, no one felt right,” you sighed. “Steve’s favorite is this financial guy I dated for three months. He actually proposed to me.”

Eddie sputtered; expression shocked. “After three months? Did he even know you?”

“Hey!”

“Mayfield, we met the first week of our senior year and it took us almost the entire year to confess that we liked each other,” Eddie said, laughing when you balked.

“Yeah, and I was the one who confessed first! You don’t get any credit for that!”

Hands out, placating, he agreed. “You’re right, you’re right – sorry, continue.”

Stopping at a nearby boulder, Eddie plopped down and you followed suit. “It’s your turn,” you said softly, not wanting to break the easy mood you both had created.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t ever ask you this,” Eddie said, mouth twisting, “but it’s been eating at me. Why didn’t you ask me to come with you?”

The familiar inky grip of guilt tightened in your chest and you struggled to breathe through it. “Because Wayne was in Hawkins. He had a really good job there and everyone else stayed behind. The kids still finished out school, Robin went to college nearby, you needed that. Look, it took me years of therapy to realize this but, you needed to heal through your support system. They were there, in Hawkins. I needed to heal by finally creating distance. If you would’ve asked me to stay, I would’ve,” the admission was torn from your mouth before you could stop it.

Eddie’s surprise eclipsed his face. At his silence, you swallowed around the lump in your throat.

“I would’ve ended up resenting you for it. My sister almost died. She still has a limp, you know? She tries to hide it but I know her bones ache and there are scars that time won’t ever heal. We all have ghosts but I couldn’t keep living in the same house as mine. I knew you deserved more than a broken girl who would’ve turned into a broken woman.”

“I think I knew that on some level, it was just always easier to be the wounded one,” Eddie admitted.

“I don’t blame you for however you needed to cope,” you said, reaching out for his hand, “we do what we need to, to survive. Eventually though, life needs to be more than just surviving and you’re doing that.”

Eddie’s fingers trailed across your palm, tickling your skin and you sighed. “You do have the makings of a good shrink you know.”

“I know,” you said, laughing when he shot you a look. “Tell me a secret.”

“That’s not a question.”

“Will you tell me a secret?”

He huffed a soft laugh and nodded. “I kept the card you gave me that Valentine’s Day,” he whispered, his words almost drowned out by the waves, “it’s in my apartment in New York but, it’s in a box next to my diploma and other important stuff. I couldn’t bring myself to throw it out.” Pulling one of his hands from yours, he pulled one of his necklaces out from under his collar and your eyes zeroed in on the red guitar pick.

“I can’t believe you still have that,” you said, fingers reaching out to touch the warm plastic. Eddie’s inhale was sharp and you immediately brought your hand back.

“I wear it on the days I feel like I need an extra bit of courage,” he admitted.

You smiled, a little confused. “What?”

“Don’t you know?” Eddie asked, tilting his head back, eyes knowing. “You’re the bravest person I know, Mayfield.” The wind blew his bangs around his temples, the hair whipping from beneath the cap. “I wear it when I feel like I need to borrow some of that bravery.”

The intimacy of the admission made you shiver. Your skin brimming to the edge with the words, Eddie’s eyes betraying his accidental vulnerability.

Not one to be outdone, you tried to even the playing field. “I kept one of your Hellfire t-shirts. I wear it when I need comfort. It’s soft as shit and reminds me of happier times. My neighbor even knows I wear it when I feel like crap. It just…helps after one of those days where just about everything goes wrong, you know?”

“Yeah, boss, I know,” he said, gazes catching. Something you couldn’t decipher shifted in his eyes and you felt those damn velociraptors flutter awake. “We’re a mess,” he said, repeating your words from that second night.

“We’re definitely something,” you said, smiling when he snorted. You both watched the water for a few minutes, the line between ocean and sky blurred.

“We…we could’ve had something right? It wasn’t just me? I think about it sometimes, get lost in my own head about whether I’ve imagined our connection. If the depth of us was just one-sided or if we ever really had anything at all.”

Your chest hurt at the sound of his voice wavering, but you kept your eyes on the missing horizon as you answered. “Yeah. We could’ve. We’re an almost and those hurt more than tangible things sometimes. Because you know that if it had the right environment, it would’ve bloomed into the best flower out of the bunch. And you…you, Eddie Munson, are the best, most painful kind of almost.”

“That’s a new one,” Eddie said, eyes burning into you. “I went to see you once. At the California office.”

“What?” You said, shocked.

“You weren’t there. You were on some assignment in New York, ironically. Hopper said it was for some pianist?”

Ah, George Shearing.

“I saw Max though – she’d just started college and swore she could teach me to surf in weekend,” he laughed, stuck in the memory, “I told her not to tell you. I took it as a sign – we could only try so many times, you know?”

You hadn’t known that he’d tried to see you – that if you’d only just delayed that trip for a week you would have.

“Are those songs about me? I don’t want to be that girl who assumes but, I’d always wondered,” you admitted, not able to bring yourself to look at him.

In your peripheral, you watched Eddie smile with a relieved sort of expression. “All my good songs are about you, Mayfield. How could they not be? You’re seared into my memory, into who I am now.” He stood after that, dusting his pants off, and offered his hand. “If we’re an almost, then you’re my favorite almost.”

Taking the offered hand, you let him haul you back to your feet. “You’re my favorite almost, too.”

Eddie grinned, the unhindered, wild grin that you remembered. “It seems we’ve made a habit of having all our serious conversations by a beach,” he said.

Where the hell was he? You frowned, checking the time. Digging your toes further into the sand, you sighed and watched the lake ripple as a duck landed onto the surface. A flash of bright lights had you scrambling to your feet.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Eddie said, tripping out his van. “I – had a shift at the shop run late, someone brought their shitty mustang in and then I was trying to find any store that was open, but of course none were, I mean - whatever, it doesn’t matter.”

Confused at the speed of his words, you watched him walk over to you. “Eddie?”

“Yeah, sorry. I got your, uh, gift,” Eddie said, words stumbling over each other. You heart leapt into your throat and your eyes immediately dropped to your feet.

“And?”

A soft finger at your chin tilted your face back up to his. His eyes were molten in the moonlight, wide and curious. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

Eddie smiled half-heartedly, recognizing your teasing. “Are you going to make me say it?”

Nodding, you bit the inside of your cheek and tried to drudge up every bit of your courage.

“Do you…do you really love me?” Eddie’s voice cracked and your stomach fluttered dangerously at it.

“Yeah, I think I have for a while now,” you admitted. “I know we haven’t been friends for as long as you and the guys have – honestly, I don’t know how we never noticed each other before senior year. I-I don’t know when it changed, only that it did.”

Eddie’s thumb traced your bottom lip and his gaze deepened. Squaring your shoulders, you inhaled. “I love you, Eddie.”

His answering smile crashed into you like waves onto the shore. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

Elated, you brought your hands up to his wrists. “Really?” You breathed.

His eyes darted between yours, eyelashes kissing his cheeks. “Yes,” he whispered right before pressing your lips to his.

Shaking your head, clearing the memory from the front of your mind, you dusted sand off your clothes. “Come on, we both need to wash off this sand and we still have that early call time,” you said, nudging him forward.

“This sand?” He asked.

You turned to look at him at the same moment he kicked some up at your legs. You gaped. “Did you just-” you sputtered as he kicked up more sand towards you. Without waiting for your response, he cackled and darted up towards the boardwalk.

“Come back here you shithead!” You screamed, laughing as you chased him back up the beach.

///

“You, Robin, and Dustin could really rule the world, you know,” Eddie said from the sofa in his hotel room, where he was gazing at you lazily.

Rain pelted the thick glass to your left, the curtains pulled open so that you could both watch in fascination as the sudden tropical storm wreaked havoc against the river in downtown Chicago.

Smiling, you glanced around at his dark hotel room – the glow sticks and lanterns from your emergency kit casting a warm low light against the walls. You’d all barely returned from another rehearsal and security walkthrough when the lights had suddenly cut out. It’d taken you ten seconds to slam the adjoining door open and run towards Eddie, who had been face planted into his bed and half asleep.

Immediately calling Robin, you both figured out that the power was out to whole hotel. Julian’s team had reached out to assure you that the floors had been cleared, your and Dustin’s protocol followed down to the smallest instruction, and confirmed that it was a city-wide issue. The ETA for the power being back on was two hours. The hotel generator was only managing to keep common areas on, and the elevators, and anyone was welcome downstairs for some light and free food.

“Don’t you forget it,” you said, pointing to him, the phone still cradled between your shoulder and your ear.

The receptionist tinny voice echoed in your ear. “Ms. Mayfield? Yes, apologies for the wait. Your food delivery is in the lobby. Would you like us to receive it and bill the room?”

“No, thank you,” you answered, “I’ll be right down. Tell him I’ll just be a minute!”

“Of course.”

Grabbing your wallet, you pointed at the door. “Lock it behind me and do not open-”

“-the door for anyone that isn’t you, I know,” he said, propping his chin onto his hand. “I’m going to hop in for a quick shower anyway. Just take my key.”

Ignoring him, a thought suddenly came to mind. “I should probably call and check on the venue, see if there’s any damage,” you mused to yourself, reaching out for paper to write that down.

“Or,” Eddie called out, “you let the storm blow over, relax for a minute, and check on them in the morning.”

Grumbling at his laughter, you made your way downstairs.

The deliveryman gaped at you, soaked to the bone, as you handed him a generous tip. “Are you sure?” He sputtered, looking barely out of high school.

“Be safe, okay?” You said, turning to share a smile with the receptionist sitting close by. She placed the pack of cards on the table, next to monopoly, and you smiled. “Thank you!”

“No problem Ms. Mayfield. If you need anything else, please let us know.”

You waited a fair bit for the only working elevator, the attendant apologizing every few minutes. Waving away his apology, you offered him a spring roll from the massive takeout bag. Surprised, he shook his head, but smiled at your offer. Taking a bite out of your own, you smiled at a few kids running out and towards the sitting room behind you.

“Ow, hot, hot,” you grimaced as you accidentally shifted the bag in your arms too far. Dropping the rest of your spring roll into the bag, you wiped your hands on your pants and pulled out the key card.

Throwing the door open with your foot, you took another bite of your spring roll before placing the bag down on the low coffee table. “Food’s here!” You shouted, eyes catching on the video you’d both wanted to watch after dinner. Shit. “We’re going to have to return the movie and hope they’ve got a Family Video or something by the hotel. I really wanted to watch this one-” choking around your mouthful, you blinked as Eddie emerged from the bathroom.

The white towel hung low around his hips and you became intoxicated with the rivulets of water that sped down his chest from his hair. Swallowing around the sudden lump in your throat, it wasn’t the surprising clear definition of his muscles, or the hair – Jesus Christ on a stick the hair – that caught your attention. It was the scars that were littered across his chest.

The pale, jagged, lines most notable on his ribs and across his hip. And as if against your will, your eyes started to well up. You’d seen Eddie shirtless a few times before…before and seeing him after just reminded you of how close he’d been to death. You’d held the skin together on the one around his ribs, your jacket pressed against his wounds.

“Eddie, open your eyes – keep your eyes on me! Eddie! Sweetheart, please, please, don’t leave me too, you can’t! Nance, the blood – the blood-”

“Mayfield?” Eddie’s confused eyes swam into your blurred vision, crossing the room to stand by you. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Wordlessly, you reached out a hand and trailed a finger across a small scar by his collarbone. Shivering, Eddie froze in place. “Oh,” he said, glancing down at himself as if he’d forgotten he was half-naked. “Yeah, you haven’t – you didn’t see them before. Aren’t they something?”

“You’re beautiful Eddie, with and without them,” you said adamantly, surprised by your own tone. It didn’t matter in the end, because you couldn’t live in a world where Eddie didn’t know that he deserved the world.

His warm, ringless, hand hesitated before cradling your cheek. “Why are you crying?” He asked, this thumb catching the tear that had managed to escape.

“I don’t know,” you said, tentatively placing your palm on his side. He inhaled sharply, eyes fluttering for a moment before settling back on you. “I was so mad at you. When I saw you lying in Dustin’s lap, I was so mad and so scared…”

“I’m okay,” he said, ducking to catch your gaze. “Hey, I’m okay. I’m like a cockroach. Some ol’ demon isn’t going to get me.”

You half-smiled at him and his ridiculous brow wiggle.

“I’m pretty sure you’re the one who kept this one together,” Eddie said, voicing your thoughts, pointing at where your hand rested. “I never said thanks for that, you know.”

Shaking your head, you found yourself ducking down. The only explanation you had was the fact that a ghost must have possessed you because, before you knew it, you had pressed your lips to the large scar.

As you straightened, Eddie’s grip on your arm tightened, his shoulders trembling. You darted your eyes up to his, about to apologize for your temporary insanity, when your mouth dried.

His eyes were heated, a look that shot directly to your chest and traveled down to your belly. Toes curling in your sneakers, you swallowed thickly. Your tongue darted out in a desperate attempt to wet your lips but as his eyes followed the motion, your mind went fuzzy.

Both of you swayed forward and you realized he was close enough that you could see the faint lines around his eyes. You gazed at him, categorizing the subtle differences ten years made and nearly smiled when you saw the two familiar small freckles at his neck.  

“These were always my favorite,” you whispered, a confession meant to be kept to yourself. Suddenly, a memory of you worrying them between your teeth flashed through your mind and you brought your eyes back up to his. You watched, fascinated, as his Adam’s apple bobbed once.

“Sweetheart,” he said, voice an absolute wreck, as his hand fell to his side, “you’re killing me.”

Cupping his jaw, thumb caressing his cheek, you jumped when his hand came up to your wrist. He kept your hand there, his eyes darkening, and you felt your breathing turn shallow. Jesus, you wanted to rake your hands through the hair in his chest so badly you were practically salivating.

The silence of the room was suffocating, you wanted to crawl out your skin. His eyes branded you as they darted across your face, as if memorizing you, and you bit the inside of your lip.

Both of you swayed again, inching closer.

Then, suddenly enough to startle you, the lights in the room flickered on. The electricity in the building seemed to hum in unison for a moment, before settling.

What the fuck were you doing?

You blinked, realizing just how close you’d gotten, and you jumped back. Wrapping your arms around yourself like armor, you kept your eyes on the floor and shook your head. “I-I’m so sorry. I, uh, the food’s on the table. I’m not – I’m going to go back to my room.” Without waiting for a reply, you turned on your heel and started for the adjoining door.

Quick footsteps and a hand wrapping itself around your wrist stopped you. Closing your eyes for a moment, you begged yourself to stay professional before turning to Eddie.

“The food,” he said, after a beat of silence, “you didn’t eat.”

Shit. “Right, uh, I’ll just grab my-”

“And the power is back on, so we can watch that movie you wanted,” he said, hand dropping from yours. You watched him rub his neck and you realized he was actually nervous. Eddie Munson was awkwardly nervous.

Stunned, you blinked at him.

“We both have a late start tomorrow, for the first time this entire tour,” he said taking a few steps back towards the bathroom. “Besides, you owe me.”

Indignation flashed through you. “What?” You sputtered, awkwardness falling away. “How the hell do I owe you? I’m the one who kept that crazy fan off you this morning.” You crossed your arms.

Eddie beamed, shaking off his own uncertainty, and shrugged. “You just do. Get the movie on, Mayfield. I’ll be…right back,” he said, grabbing a change of clothes and you absolutely did not watch his shoulder blades shift in fascination as he walked away.

Grabbing the food out the bag, you settled on the couch, crossing your legs. What the fuck was that? You asked yourself, barely resisting the urge to rub a hand down your face. For fuck’s sake, you kissed his chest. Had you actually lost your mind?

It didn’t look like he’d minded, your mind supplied unhelpfully.

Shut up, you told it.

But the damage was done, your mind was reeling, and you realized it hadn’t looked like he minded. In fact, it looked like he’d been leaning down-

“You better not have eaten all the spring rolls,” Eddie said, grabbing the remote and flipping the lights off. He flopped down onto the cushion next to yours and you quirked your brow. “What? No one watches movies with the lights on, Mayfield.”

Shooting him a look he ignored, you smiled when he placed another spring roll into your container. The opening credits started and you laughed as Eddie ran commentary, as always.

After quickly eating most the food, you both sunk into the cushions comfortably. Halfway through the film, you felt his hand come up to yours. He nudged you and you blinked up at him, confused. He nudged you again and you let him intertwine your fingers. Eddie’s answering smile warmed you.

Without overthinking, you let your head come down to Eddie’s shoulder.

The character on screen pressed a kiss to her daughter’s head as she ran out the door. You weren’t sure when you’d forgotten how easy it was to just…exist with Eddie. The way he radiated sunshine and how its rays warmed you from the inside out. You didn’t know how you’d existed without it for so long. It was easy to forget when you didn’t have it within your grasp, but now that you did – you didn’t think wanted to let it go.

///

“Hey!” Robin said as you opened the door to your hotel. She was dressed in an incredibly tailored suit and you let out a low whistle. She waved a hand, giving you a knowing grin. “I look good, right?”

“So humble too,” you teased, letting her in. “You’re early.”

She shrugged, draping herself across your unmade bed. “I got ready quicker than I needed to. Thought I’d come down and bother my favorite person in the hotel.”

“I’m telling Eddie you said that,” you joked.

Robin’s brows wiggled. “Talking about Eddie…”

You groaned, clasping the necklace you’d bought in Chicago around your neck. “Robin, please.”

“I can’t help but notice that you two have been getting along recently.”

“We’re friends.”

“Right, and friends always check out the other’s rack when they think no one is looking?” Robin asked, propping herself up on her elbow.

Hands stumbling, you dropped one of your converse onto the floor. “Jesus Christ Buckley, why don’t you just scream it?”

“Scream what?” A second voice asked. You jumped, shrieking when you saw Gareth leaning against the doorframe of the connecting door.

“Gareth!” You said, chucking a brush at him. “What have we said?”

He sighed. “It’s not smart to scare you because you could karate chop my head off my shoulders,” he said, pouting like a ten-year-old.

“Don’t worry Gareth, we were just talking about how close her and Eddie seemed to have gotten this past week,” Robin said, glint in her eyes. You closed your eyes, reminding yourself that you’d eventually miss Robin if you killed her.

“I have a bet going with the rest of the guys,” Gareth whispered loudly, “Jeff’s winning.”

“Excuse me?” You sputtered.

Gareth shrugged. “I thought the two of you were braver than you are.”

“I-I-” Words failed, really they did. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“No? Considering earlier today at breakfast you came in from working out and Gareth had to practically reattach Eddie’s jaw back to his face after seeing you in a sports bra.”

“Plenty of people wear sports bras to work out!” You said defensively.

Snorting, Robin nodded. “I know, you’re just the only one he’s got eyes for.”

You felt yourself grow flustered, not able to really handle anymore. You’d known that things had shifted after that night. You’d spent the last four days going over it in your mind. You were both playing with fire and you wanted to be sure that – if anything shifted – you wanted this. You’d already left a town of people behind; you weren’t going to make the same mistake twice.

Unfortunately, you hadn’t gotten any closer to an answer, to any type of resolution to all of this. But it seemed to help that Eddie sounded just as confused.

What didn’t help was that you could practically feel his eyes on you, like a physical touch, and you couldn’t exactly keep your own eyes to yourself. Something had changed, or changed back, and you didn’t know what to do with that.

Gareth and Mike had already separately brought it up and you were mortified. Robin, as always, took great pleasure in fucking with you.

Saving you, the hotel phone rang and you dove for it. “Hello?”

“Good evening, Ms. Mayfield,” the receptionist greeted. “I’m calling to inform you that your party has started to arrive.”

“Thank you, we’ll be right down,” you said, hanging up the phone. “Everyone’s starting to arrive.”

You’d landed in Indianapolis early morning and had spent all day prepping as usual. Robin, like the mastermind she was, had managed to reserve a private room in the popular restaurant downstairs. She’d all but blackmailed the party into flying out for the concert tomorrow.  

“Eddie,” you called out, “everyone’s downstairs!”

“Coming!” He answered, his head popping through the doorframe a minute later. His eyes found yours first, as always. “You look great.”

Opening your mouth – Robin beat you to it. “Thanks Munson,” she said, swinging an arm around his shoulders. You watched as a blush crawled up from his neck.

Rolling your eyes, you grabbed your bag and opened the door. “Come on, Dustin and Lucas will eat through the entire restaurant if we don’t hurry up.”

“I’m telling him you said that,” Gareth said.

Without much maneuvering, you had him a headlock the entire ride down. Robin and Eddie laughed as you walked out into the lobby with him still in your grasp.

“I’m going to pass out,” he complained, his hands reaching out to tickle your sides.

Jumping away, you growled. “That’s cheating!”

Dramatically gasping for air, he ran a hand through his hair and glared.

“Watch yourself, that’s my sister you’re scowling at,” a voice called out behind you both. Whipping your head around, you found the familiar red hair and freckled face. Not wasting a second, you ran towards her.

Slamming into each other, you wrapped your arms tightly around her small frame. The smell of her shampoo surrounded you and you felt yourself ease. “Hey Mad Max,” you whispered, leaning back to get a good look at her.

It’d only been four months since you’d seen her last, but you always felt like a piece of you slotted into place when you did.

“Hey boss,” she teased, laughing when you peppered her cheek with kisses. She squealed, the sound making you grin and you ruffled her hair. “Where’s- oomph.”

A blur of blue slammed into your side and you kept a hand on Max’s shoulder for balance. El’s wide smile beamed up at you and you grinned. “Ellie,” you said, laughing when your silly nickname caused her smile to widen. “I haven’t seen you since Christmas,” you said, wrapping your arms around her small waist and lifting her up off the ground. She laughed, the sound filling you with warmth. If anyone deserved complete unrestrained happiness, it was Eleven.

“I missed you,” she said, squeezing you once before letting you go.

“I missed you too.”

Another voice joined. “Why don’t I ever get greeted like that? It’s always move Sinclair, you’re blocking my sister,” Lucas mimicked.

Rolling your eyes, you smacked the back of his head before bringing him in for hug. “How’re the Lakers?”

“Good, got an earful from my coach about keeping to my diet,” he said, scrunching his nose.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favorite employee,” Hopper’s voice boomed in the lobby.

You whipped your head around and narrowed your eyes. “If it isn’t my severely unprofessional boss,” you said, cracking and letting him bring you into a hug.

He leaned away, eyes darting across your face. “You seem different.”

“Yeah, I’m probably going prematurely grey from the stress these idiots give me,” you said.

Hopper shook his head. “You look happy, like you’ve lost some of those weights off your legs.”

“Don’t start,” you said, holding a hand up. “You’ll all be the death of me before the night is over.”

Robin clapped her hands twice, Steve Harrington already at her side – as per usual. He shot you a wide grin when you caught his eye. “This is all wonderful and everything but we got reservations I had to trade a kidney for. So, move it or lose it nerds!”

You all sat down, doors separating you from the rest of the restaurant firmly closed, and you thanked Julian’s guys stationed at the front.

Feeling a weird sense of déjà vu, you watched everyone you cared about bicker, catch up, and hug each other. Nancy sat to your left; her arm linked through yours as she told Will about her most recent news story.

The food had only just arrived when you realized there was a steak on a plate on Eddie’s right. “Hey, who’s that-”

“Sorry I’m late everyone, the traffic on the highway was a bitch.”

Spine straightening, you stood and watched Wayne walk through the doors. His eyes found yours and you almost broke in two at the way they softened for you. Turning to glance at Eddie, you watched him shoot you a small knowing smile.

For most of your last year in Hawkins, Wayne Munson had been the only responsible parental figure you, Eddie, or Max had. You’d lost the number of times he’d cook you two breakfast or given you a ride to work when Eddie wasn’t home. Affection hadn’t come easy to him but he’d never turned you away when you reached for a hug. His scruff would tickle as he pressed a quick kiss to the top of your head before leaving for work most nights.

Wayne Munson was the man who’d displayed the Christmas card you’d given him when the one you’d tried to send to your dad was sent back with a bright red RETURN TO SENDER. The mug you’d gotten him was displayed right in the middle of that old trailer.

“Well, look at you, all grown up,” Wayne said, hands going to his hips. “You lost my number or something? Just because my kid probably done and messed things up didn’t mean you couldn’t have called me once or twice among the years. I’ve saved your postcards though, every single one.”

Tears building in your eyes, you flung yourself into his arms and it took everything in you not to immediately break out into tears. “I’m sorry,” you said quietly, “I didn’t mean to stay away for so long.”

“That’s alright,” he said, thumping you twice on the back. “You’re here now and from what I hear, you been running a tight ship.”

Feeling merciful, the guys nodded, complaining instantly about your overboard security measures. Walking back down to your seat, you swiped a finger below your eyes and smiled when Wayne pressed a kiss to Max’s temple. “Hey Red.”

“Hi Wayne,” she said, beaming up at him. “Haven’t seen you since the summer. The new television holding up okay?”

“Course, you’re the one who helped me fix it,” he said, ruffling her hair. Wayne made his way down the table towards Eddie, settling down next to him.

Eddie’s eyes found yours again, concern swimming in them. You smiled, letting him know you were okay, just a little overwhelmed.

Halfway through dinner, you felt Hopper’s arm settle on the top of your chair behind you. “You can thank me with some scotch for the assignment,” he said, the glint in his eyes teasing.

“Right, and what am I thanking you for?”

Hopper rolled his eyes. “That, Mayfield, is the look of a man in love,” he said and you couldn’t help but glance towards Eddie, who was – in fact – looking at you. He smiled and you whipped your gaze back to Hopper. “You can’t be that blind,” he huffed. “You’re a smart girl. You’ll catch up eventually.”

“We did,” Joyce said, her soft voice coming from Hopper’s right. She smiled at you, her hand reaching for yours. “Don’t let him bully you.”

“Although,” Nancy said, joining the quiet conversation. “I really would’ve sworn that you two would’ve ended up together.”

“They would’ve, they still probably will,” Lucas, across from you said, voice a touch too loud for your liking. “You all see the way they stare at each other, right? It’s been two hours and I’m sick of it.”

“This is a job,” you insisted, “I’m suppose to make sure he’s – they’re all okay.”

“Not now,” Nancy insisted, “back then. When we were all still in high school.”

Your heart stopped and you felt your arms go numb. The two of you hadn’t told anyone – it’d only barely just happened when shit hit the fan. Then you turned and ran out of town before the leaves could settle.

“Shit, yeah,” Robin huffed, “do you remember the looks? God the yearning we had to put up with.”

Mike snorted. “It was, and still is, annoying. The campaigns always ended early when she sat in on them, like Eddie couldn’t wait to get rid of us.” Your pulse echoed in your ears and you darted a nervous look to the opposite end of the table. Eddie was in a deep conversation with the band, Dustin laughing at something Jeff had said.

“Remember Valentine’s Day? They got worse after that,” Lucas said. “Eddie practically ditched us every week.”

“And the nicknames?” Nancy added. “I thought it was sweet.”

Not able to handle more, you stood abruptly and you cleared your throat. “I’m going to go…to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” you said, scurrying off before you could meet anyone’s eyes.

The hurried footsteps behind you let you know that you weren’t alone. Hands reaching for the sink, you tightened your grip on the edges. Looking up into the mirror, you saw Robin, Nancy, and Max’s worried faces.

“Was it too far? I’m sorry,” Nancy said immediately, her hands coming out to yours.

Robin, however, tilted her head. “No, that’s not it. What’s wrong?” Goddamn her.

Max answered for you. “They did date,” she said, coming up to your other side.

Your eyes shot up to her knowing ones and you balked. “What?” Robin sputtered, looking completely shocked. “I spent almost everyday with you. When the fuck did you two date?”

“How did you know?” You asked Max.

She shrugged, her hair falling to her back. “We lived across from his trailer, I could literally see you sneak out his window when Wayne would get home in the morning sometimes. Besides, it’s like they all said, anyone with eyes could see you two were gone for each other,” she said. “I know something changed in February. You two were different. I always felt guilty, after we moved, I felt like I…like I’d robbed you something.”

You’d moved to her side before you could even think. “You didn’t. Even if we had gotten together earlier, I wouldn’t have stayed in Hawkins. I couldn’t. I still can’t.”

Max smiled weakly, but you saw her nod before burrowing into your arms. “I’m sorry, we need to rewind a second,” Robin said, her voice a little too loud.

“I locked the door,” Nancy reassured you.

“What the fuck, why didn’t you tell me? Oh my God! I made you guys go on so many fucking dates just to fuck with you guys. Jesus Christ. I thought this was stupid yearning, a maybe we-kissed-once-while-drunk-or-high thing. Not that you guys actually dated!” Robin said, rubbing a hand down her face. “Holy shit.”

“They definitely did more than kiss,” Max said, laughing when you shot her a glare. “What? The trailer walls were thin and you were loud. Well, he was loud. Actually, you both were.”

“I’ll smother you,” you threatened, fighting the urge to run in mortification.

The three of them grinned, even Nancy, and you sighed. “This has been a bit much for me tonight. I – I need a moment.”

“Right,” Nancy said, ever the mediator. She gripped Robin’s arm and herded her out the door. “We’ll see you all tomorrow and the day after. I’ll tell everyone you have a stomachache and went upstairs.”

“Thank you,” you said, squeezing her hand.

“But- wait- I have more questions!”

“Which can wait for tomorrow,” Nancy whispered back. “Come on Buckley, we still have dessert to go through and I’ve got to grill you about Laura.”

“What! Who told!?” You managed to smile when Robin’s voice squeaked.

Splashing some water on your face, you hurried up to your room and almost jumped out your skin when a knock echoed a few minutes later.

Checking the peephole, you let your forehead drop against the door. Of course.

“Yes?” You said, opening it a few deep breaths later.

His concern evident, he took a few steps in and shut the door behind him. “Are you okay? Robin said you were throwing up?” His hands flew to your arms.

You reminded yourself to give her a good punch to the shoulder. “I’m fine,” you told him, opening your door to his room and giving it a sweep to have something to do.

“Wait, hold on a second,” he said, moving to follow after you and stopping once you sent him a glare.

Taking more than the necessary second to check through his hotel room, your thoughts bounced around wildly in your head.

What was he doing here? Did you really want to go down this rabbit hole again? Could the two of you even be friends again? How’d you feel if you saw him dating someone else? Did he want to even do this? What if you were getting ahead of yourself?

“I can hear you overthinking from out here,” he called out.

Shit.

You walked out, eyes landing on him in the doorframe immediately. The second you met his eyes, you felt something in the air shift.

“You’re not sick,” he said softly, almost like he didn’t want to disrupt anything.

Shaking your head, you wrung your hands together – suddenly nervous. You’d unarmed mercenaries before, other highly trained security personnel, shit – you’d decapitated a monster that had almost killed your sister. You’d stared down Russian soldiers in the face and spat at them.

But this, Eddie standing in the doorway, made you hesitate.

“Are we going to talk about it?” He asked, taking a step towards you.

You broke the eye contact, looking down at your fumbling hands. “About what?”

“You know what,” he said, taking another few steps into the room. He sighed when you didn’t look up at him. “Sweetheart, if you don’t – if I’ve read this wrong-”

Not able to let him think that he was alone in this, not again, you rushed to explain. “You haven’t. Read this wrong. At least I don’t think,” you threw your hands up, “I don’t know exactly what there is to read, Eddie. I’m…it’s been so long and what if we mess this up again?”

His entire expression transformed. “Mayfield.”

“What?” You huffed, crossing your arms.

Eddie smiled, brow rising, and you suddenly felt the urge to smack him. “Do you want to date me?”

“I’m scared,” you admitted. Eddie’s teasing expression softened into understanding.

“Me too. We can be scared together,” he said, outstretching his hand. You hesitated for a moment before intertwining your fingers together. “We can make up the rules as we go. It doesn’t need to be serious, or heavy, it can be whatever we want. We can relearn who we are now, see how these versions of us fit together.”

“I want that,” you said, the words some of the scariest you’ve said in a while.

Eddie beamed at you, his face practically splitting in two. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you said, because how could you not? Ever since you’d seen him lying there on the floor, your world had been spinning out of control. You had tried to steer it for a while but now you realized, it had just been spinning back to him. “I do.”

Both of you stood like idiots, smiling at the other, until Eddie’s eyes darted down to your lips.

The air crackled immediately in response; a soft current rippled through you. Unable to stop yourself, your own eyes dropped to his lips. You briefly wondered if he still made that noise when you bit down on his neck.

As if reading your mind, his hands trailed down to your hips, pulling you in. For a moment, a small moment, you let yourself be led – but clarity quickly slammed into you and you dodged his kiss.

Hurt, he turned around to look at you. “What – was that too fast?”

“No,” you said, breathing like you’d run a marathon. “I- we can’t.”

“Because?”

You shot him an incredulous look. “You’re a client! If we – if anything – it’d be unprofessional. I’m your employee. I’m literally being paid to be with you right now.”

“I mean technically you’re the label’s employee- ouch!” Eddie huffed, glaring at the pillow you’d tossed at him.

“No. There are no technicalities here. Not if it comes down to your safety,” you grumbled. “Shit, maybe I should reassign someone.”

Eddie straightened. “You can’t!”

“But-”

“The world already thinks you’re my girlfriend,” Eddie’s eyes sparkled at the word, “it wouldn’t make sense to reassign you. You can’t reassign this.”

You sighed when you realized he was right. Shit, were you compromised? Turning to argue, you watched something flash across his expression before he managed to school it back to neural. But this was you and him. You knew him too well. No one like to feel rejected, even if it was for a good reason.

Wanting to soothe any ache you’d inflicted, even if necessary or accidental, you walked up to him again. Placing a hand to his chest, you assured him. “If I wasn’t working, if I wasn’t on assignment. I would. I- you…you have a scar right here,” you said, tapping the edge of his collar.

“They’re everywhere, Mayfield,” he said with a ghost of a smile.

Closing your eyes, you let yourself have this one moment. Your index finger reached out to trace the scar. His skin prickled at the touch, hair standing on end. “It’s shaped like half a heart,” you said, tracing it over and over again. “I want to know what it tastes like. What it feels like under my tongue. I want to know if you still make the same noise when you’re desperate and needy. I want to know so badly it’s been driving me insane trying to deny that truth for the last two months.”

Eddie’s eyes darkened and you felt a small thrill trail down your spine at being able to have done so. “That’s not fair,” he said, voice hoarse.

“I wasn’t trying to be,” you said, not hiding behind your usual wall.

Eddie groaned at your look. “Fuck me,” he sighed, head thumping against the wall.

“I already told you,” you said, smiling cheekily, “I can’t.”

His eyes darkened further and your restraint was seconds from snapping. You waved a hand in the air and put more distance between the two of you. “Okay, okay, walk it off Munson.”

“Stop teasing me then,” he said, baring his teeth.

Alright, fair.

“There’s only a week left of this assignment. Seattle and then LA.”

Eddie nodded. “Then we’re free.”

“Yeah,” you said, both thrill and nervous, “then we’re free.”

///

“No!” A shout from the open doorway pulled you from your uneasy slumber. Sleep clung to your eyes, making everything a little fuzzy, but you let instinct take over. Grabbing the nearest weapon, you all but ran into Eddie’s room.

From a quick glance, you didn’t see anything out of place. Eddie laid on his side on the right, facing the door. You glanced into the bathroom and the open shower. When you glanced back at him, eyes and head clearer, you realized he was asleep. His face scrunched, expression a little anguished. You sat at the edge of the bed, hand coming up to his arm. “Eddie,” you said quietly, shaking him softly. “Eddie, it’s a dream. You’re dreaming.”

His eyes flew open, breath coming in scared pants, and he grabbed your arms tightly. “Are you – is everyone okay?” He stammered.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” you assured him, “it was a nightmare. It was just a nightmare.”

Except you knew that things were never just a nightmare.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked, voice rough. “Did I wake you? Was I screaming?”

You shook your head, waving away his apologies. Running a hand down his head, you took his hand with the other. “We all get them. Are they – do they happen often?”

“Not as much as before,” he admitted, “they always come back when I’m finally feeling okay. Then they strike. It’s like they hide in the shadows for the right time.”

You smoothed the hair away from his face and traced a nonsensical shape into his palm. “I get it,” you told him, because you really, really did. “Do you need me to get you anything?”

Eddie hesitated and you frowned.

“What is it?”

“Can you – can you stay?” He asked a little shyly. “I won’t try anything, I swear.”

“A perfect gentleman?” You teased, knowing already that you wouldn’t be able to say no to him. He crossed his heart and you nodded. “If your hands wander, I’m smacking you in the morning.”

“That’s fine,” he said, pulling the blankets up to your chin. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” you said, yawning.

///

 You woke up slowly, burrowing your face into your pillow, you tried to fight off the day for a few more minutes.

Moving to shift onto your back after a few minutes, you found yourself unable to. You cracked open one eye and realized you weren’t in your bed. Head perking up, last night came back to you in a rush and you looked down to see an arm keeping you securely tucked. Eddie’s chest was practically molded into your back, his nose buried in your neck and breath tickling your skin.

Glancing at the time, you groaned. Shit, you needed to be up and downstairs in a few minutes. “Eddie,” you tapped his wrist softly, “I gotta get up.”

Groaning in response, Eddie pulled you tighter to him, his cheek coming to rest on your head. You, however, blinked at the new sudden pressure you felt against your hip. Trying your best to shift away, you ended up rubbing against him.

A sharp inhale hit your skin and you shut your eyes. Experimentally, you pressed back again, the curve of your hip hitting at the right angle. Eddie’s gritty voice hit your ear. “If you keep doing that, this will get interesting really quickly.”

Eddie’s grip on your waist loosened and you instinctively turned to face him. You both groaned this time, when it was now trapped between you. Eddie rocked forward, almost unconsciously, and you clenched your thighs.

“Eddie,” you said, eyes catching his. You watched, fascinated, as his pupils dilated. Unable to help yourself, you rocked your hips forward again. This time, Eddie panted, his breath hitting your cheeks and you realized your grip on his arm was painful.

“Mayfield,” he hissed, grip on your hip tightening.

Shaking your head, you rolled off the side of the bed and landed in a heap on the floor.

“Mayfield?” He called out, coming over to glance at you over the edge. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” you said, trying to calm the embers in your – well, entire body. “We both need cold showers, breakfast, and to get going to the venue. Shit, I might need a drink at this rate.”

Eddie groaned, flopping back down onto the bed. “You and me both.”

You really couldn’t help but laugh.

///

Being back in California settled your nerves from the past week like a wave returning to the ocean. There was something about your home, the city you were born in, that calmed you.

Glancing around the packed club, the one the record label had rented out to celebrate the last concert of the national tour, you took note of all the exits again.

“You look like you’re having fun,” Robin said, dropping herself into the seat next to yours. Her elbow hit you in the side and you hissed. “Sorry, sorry, this place is fucking packed. The next person that accidentally bumps me is getting smacked.”

Suddenly, the booth you were in was surrounded. Everyone had returned with their drinks in hand, Eddie taking your other side and the guys sitting around the table. “Man, everyone from the tour is here! This is great!” Jeff said, excitedly sipping his pina colada. You smiled from behind your hand, his drink of choice hadn’t changed from high school and you couldn’t help  but find it endearing.

Robin straightened. “Wait, this is it,” she said, glancing at you and Eddie. “You’re leaving us after tonight.”

“Well, technically I get a week off and then I think I’ve got a politician’s daughter who needs me for the next month.”

“What?” Eddie said, turning to glance at you. “I thought you were taking a few weeks off. I’ll be in town until we leave for London.”

Oh. You thought he’d be going back to New York after your week off. Robin, clearly picking up on both your tones, stood up. “We need a round of shots. Hey! Can I get a round of shots?”

The entire group groaned and she shot you each a look. A waitress brought them over on a tray and she waved over the few of Julian’s team that had opted to come. The guys and girls smiled and picked up a few shots when Robin urged.

“I want to toast to the woman who swooped in and saved our ass these last two months. Mayfield,” she raised her shot glass, “you’re irreplaceable, the best of the best, and we’re sad to see you go but goddamn, do we love to watch you walk away.”

You sputtered, laugh loud enough to rival the bass coming from the speakers.

“To our new guys,” she said, turning to Julian’s crew, “we’re so glad you’re staying with us. Welcome to Hell. You’ll love it here.” With a salacious wink, she threw back two shots.

The entire group cheered, lifting their glasses and drinking to an end and new beginning.

“God damn,” you hissed, the tequila stinging on it’s way down. Burying your face into Eddie’s shoulder, his hand came up to the back of your head and you felt his laughter beneath your cheek.

“Want something to wash it down with?” He asked, offering up his beer. You scrunched your nose and pointed to the bar.

“Save my seat? I’m going to go get something else. I think I burned my tastebuds off, what the hell was that?” You hissed, kissing his cheek and walking off towards the bar.

The blonde at the end of the counter spotted you and shot you a warm smile. “Can I get you anything?”

Ordering a drink, you added an appetizer as an afterthought. “Actually, can I have two?” She nodded, placing the orders for you and asking what table you were sitting at. Waving away her offer, you pulled yourself onto a barstool. “I can wait, no worries!”

A Corroded Coffin song came on and you grinned as the entire room erupted into cheers. You bopped your head at your seat, singing softly along to the words. A hand came up to your back and you smiled. “I’m just waiting on the-” your voice trailed off when you realized it wasn’t Eddie. “Oh. Uh, hi?”

“Hello,” the guy said, eyes dropping to your chest. You scrunched your nose and pulled back. “Did we meet at that party in Beverly Hills?”

Shaking his hand off your body, you straightened. “No, we did not. Please don’t touch me.”

Instead of insulted, his eyes sparkled – as if rising to a challenge you hadn’t announced. “I’m sure I’ve seen you before – you’re gorgeous.”

“Right,” you said, turning to hop off the stool. You were not going to hurt the stranger because it would kill the mood, you reminded yourself, unclenching your fists. As you took another deep breath, your eyes flew open when a firm grip pulled you into his chest. Shrieking, you went stumbling into his arms. “What the fuck?”

“I like girls who have a little heat,” he said, fingers practically bruising your wrist. “I saw it the moment you sat down. Besides, who wears an outfit like that and doesn’t want to get noticed?”

Trying to keep your temper in check, an image of you flipping him over your shoulder and slamming him into the ground flashed through your mind. Anger somewhat mollified, you were about to rip your arm from his and maybe break his index finger in the process, when you felt a hand on your shoulder. Stumbling into another chest, you glanced around to see Eddie’s fierce expression.

“I suggest you get your hands off my girlfriend before I break yours,” he said, tone leaving no room for arguments. Annoyance flashed across the guy’s expression before recognition dawned on him.

“Shit man, I didn’t know that was your girl, honest,” he said, taking a few steps back. His face paled as he stumbled away from the bar and towards the booths on the right. Not releasing his hold on you, Eddie stalked over to Johnson, who was two seconds from climbing onto table to dance.

“Who is that?” He asked her. Her glazed look disappeared at the sound of his tone.

“Plus one from a suit at the label. Want him out?” She said, all traces of inebriation vanishing at will. A bit of pride shot through you at that.

Eddie rubbed a hand down his face. “I know it’s your night off but he was feeling Mayfield up-”

Johnson’s brows flew up. “And his limbs aren’t broken?”

“I was trying not to make a scene,” you hissed, glaring at Eddie, and smiling at the few concerned looks you were getting.

Eddie’s eyes turned to you for the first time since the bar. Surprised at what you saw, you blinked. “Some things are worth making a scene for,” he turned to Johnson who smiled knowingly.

“I can take care of it,” she assured you both, “with pleasure.”

You turned to Eddie and he spoke before you could. “People are looking, darling, smile.”

“Do not tell me to smile,” you snarked. “I had that handled.”

Not dignifying you with a response, he pulled you into one of the semi-private booths. You growled at him. “Don’t manhandle me like that, I had it covered. It’s literally my job.”

Eddie ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I know. I’m sorry, I know you could’ve handled it but-” he hesitated, brows furrowing, “sometimes other people can take care of you, you know?”

You leaned back. “What?”

“Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean someone else can’t help. I know you could probably kick my ass-”

“-not probably, I definitely can-”

“-but I’ve still got your back. Even if you don’t need it.”

He was jealous, you realized, finally recognizing the emotion brewing in his eyes.

Oh.

“I…okay,” you said, taking his fingers and intertwining them with yours across the table.

Eddie frowned. “Okay?”

“Yeah,” you nodded.

Suspicious, he leaned forward. “I just – I didn’t like how he had his hands on you. I wanted to punch his stupid face.”

It was very in character that the sentiment made your heart skip a beat.

“Who goes around just grabbing people like that? The way he pulled you- and his stupid suit-” he exhaled harshly. “I’m sorry if I pulled you too hard. I know we haven’t defined anything between us yet-”

“Hey,” you interrupted his nervous rambling. “I can get jealous too you know.”

“Yeah?”

You nodded, remembering that stupidly pretty bartender at the Hide Out. The way she’d place her hand on his arm, tracing his tattoos. Blinking away the memory, you raised your eyes up to Eddie’s and felt that first crackle of electricity. “I’ve got to share you with everyone you know,” you teased, “you’re Eddie Munson, famous rockstar now.”

Instead of laughing, Eddie’s eyes shifted and you felt the tension deepen. The current snapped louder, practically visible. “Yeah, but you wanted me when I was that kid planning campaigns and standing on lunch tables. Nothing, not even sold-out stadiums and big fancy international tours can change that. You were the first.”

“Eddie,” you breathed, fingers digging into his skin, and you suddenly got the urge to kiss him.

He smiled, a soft, excited little thing. “I don’t know if you’ve realized but,” he licked his lip and you followed the motion. “I regret to inform you that your employment for Corroded Coffin has come to an end.”

“Technically it’s to the end of the night,” you joked, laughing when he shot you a half-hearted glare, “but, yes, I do know.”

“So, what do you say we get out of here?” He said, wiggling his brows like the dork he really was. Your heart sung, wanting to reach out and bury itself beneath his skin.

You leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “I’m pretty sure this party isn’t even halfway through.”

Eddie groaned, head lolling to the side. “You’re killing me Mayfield, you’re actually killing me.”

“I’m not,” you huffed, “I’d be a little ruthless if I mentioned that I’m wearing something a bit lacy underneath this all.”

Popping his head up to glare at you, you watched with unrestrained laughter as his eyes lowered – dazed. “That’s not fair,” he grumbled. “Fuck the party, let’s just go. I’ve been waiting years for this.”

“It’s only been two months,” you reminded him, “and we can’t – you have a speech to make with the guys. Robin will kill you if you miss it.”

Eddie’s desperate gaze softened into something tangible. Something real you could almost grasp in your hands. It reached out and stole your breath, leaving you gasping. “No, sweetheart, I’ve been waiting on you for years. I just didn’t realize until last month,” he stood, resting his weight on his forearms to lean into your space, “and I’ve never been one not to go for what I want. And right now, that’s you.”

With a dip of his head, he licked a strip up your neck and nipped at your jaw before hovering just far away enough from your lips. Your heart dropped into your stomach and the velociraptors in your stomach awoke with a vengeance.

“Okay?”

“Okay,” you heard yourself say, sounding incredibly breathless.

With one last heated look, he slid out the booth and sauntered through the gauzy curtains. You blinked, watching him walk back towards your friends. That little punk. You groaned, heat swirling through your belly, and you clenched your thighs together.

An hour, tops, and you were dragging that man – rockstar or not – back to your room.

Straightening your shoulders, you stood and made your way over to bar for your drink. The bartender let you know she sent the forgotten appetizers to your table and you nodded, dazed. Making your way to Robin, sipping on your cocktail, you sat next to her.

She grinned at you.

“What?” You groaned around the straw.

“That looked like a heated conversation.”

You shrugged, crossing your legs. “It might’ve been.”

“It had to have been considering the speech the guys are making is suppose to be in an hour.”

Humming, you looked at her a little confused. To be fair, you were still drowning in a cloud of Eddie’s cologne and the memory of his gaze. She pointed to the makeshift stage at the edge of the dance floor where the DJ stood. Gareth was thanking everyone on the tour for their help.

“He came over to let me know they were gonna bump up the speech and ‘do not fucking knock on our door until tomorrow afternoon even if the hotel is burning down’ or else he was plucking eyes out.”

Eddie’s voice came through the mic next and you immediately started choking on your drink, you coughed and thumped your chest, trying to dislodge the ice cube you’d just accidentally inhaled.

“I know,” Robin said, amusedly watching you choke to death. “From now until the afternoon? That’s ambitious. Just try not to break the bed, this is an expensive hotel.”

Glaring at her as you cleared your throat, she cackled. “I better be your best man.”

“Robin!” You gasped, needing a reprieve.

“What?” She huffed. “As if you two would ever end up with anyone else? Please. But seriously, Max gets maid of honor but I’m the best man. Best maid? Whatever. I’ll get to rub it in Steve’s face for years.”

The sarcastic quip on your tongue died as a hand circled your wrist and hauled you to your feet. Glass hitting the table, you stood and whirled to see Eddie’s wild eyes. “Come on.”

“Did you basically announce that we’re together to the whole group?” You hissed, following his lead – you were indignant, not stupid – and turned to glare at Robin as she wolf whistled. “Jeff isn’t even done speaking!”

Eddie, ignoring your words, kept weaving through the crowd. You reached the elevators and you opened your mouth but Eddie shot you a look. “For once, in your life, don’t argue with me,” he said, nipping at your ear and successfully shutting you up.

You were used to being the one that took the lead, Eddie had always encouraged you to do so. So when the elevator shut behind him and his lips crashed into yours for the first time in almost ten years, your legs immediately turned into jelly. Your arms went to his neck, securing him to you as his teeth bit down into your bottom lip. Groaning into his mouth, you ran your fingers through his hair and tugged sharply.

Eddie’s moan echoed in the elevator, reverberating in your bones. His eyes flashed and you shivered, thrilled at the sight. His hand came to your neck and your shoulders hit the back panel. Panting, you stared up at him defiantly and you watched him smile at your – do doubt – swollen lips. His thumb caressed the underside of your jaw and you tried to keep yourself from letting him know how much you enjoyed it.

The glint in his eyes let you know you’d failed but you didn’t mind, especially not when the elevators opened and he all but ran you to the end of the corridor. Not able to keep your hands to yourself, you pushed him against the door and finally, fucking finally, lapped at the scar on his collarbone. His head thumped at the door and you let your hand trail down to palm him through his black jeans. Eddie buckled, pupils blown wide, hands scrambling for the upper hand but you kept him pressed against the door.

Mouth traveling up to the meaty part of his neck, you worried the sensitive skin there and pressed harder. Eddie’s choked whine hit your ear and he panted. “Sweetheart, this is going to be over really soon if you don’t stop teasing me.”

“Oh yeah?” You said, eyeing the red skin at his neck with satisfaction. Eddie’s chest rose quickly, a dazed smile on his face. “Fuck,” you huffed, pushing your disheveled hair from your face.

“What?” He asked, fingers pulling the key card from his pocket.  

“You’re sort of beautiful, Munson,” you said, not stepping through the door as he opened it. Surprised at your comment, he glanced back at you and you smiled. “It’s almost unfair.”

Heat doubling in his expression, Eddie pulled you through the doorway and caged you in on the wall. “You can’t say shit like that to me when you look like that,” he groaned, his lips coming down to your neck this time. You gasped when his hand slipped underneath your top, deft fingers pulling down your bra and palming your chest. “Fuck, I want you so bad.” You whimpered when he brought a knee up between your legs and hissed at the sudden pressure.

Jesus Christ, you needed to take his clothes off, now. You both needed to be in bed, on the floor, against this fucking wall – whatever. But it needed to be soon. Your edges were frayed after this past week of building tension.

Nails digging into his back, you rocked your hips desperately seeking any type of friction. “Eddie,” you mumbled, mind completely gone and eyes opening. You took a moment to adjust the candlelight and then blinked. Candlelight? Wait, what?

The haze in your mind cleared for a moment and your sixth sense popped it’s head up.

“Wait, hold on,” you said, nudging him back – his scent was intoxicating and you needed a breath of clean air. As your brain rebooted, you took a few steps towards the massive sitting room and immediately the hairs on your arm stood on end.

Something was wrong. Really wrong. Fuck. You hadn’t swept the room before you stepped in. “Get out – Eddie, run-”

Eddie’s brows furrowed, confused, and the idiot took a step towards you instead. Acting on pure instinct, you whirled around and didn’t have enough time to bring your hands up. A punch to your face and the subsequent crunch let you know that your nose was broken. Blood instantly gushed down to your mouth. You heard Eddie scream your name, panicked.

Dazed and sprawled on the floor, you watched Eddie launch himself at the man and they went tumbling into the wall. The woman, who had been laid out on the bed, stalked up to you. Her platform heels clacked against the floors and it took you a moment to stop seeing double. Heaving for air, you felt her sharp heel come up to your face. Your head snapped back, sight going hazy again.

“Did you really think we wouldn’t come for you, stupid bitch?” She hissed. “He’s too good for you. I don’t know what he saw in you but we’re finally here. You can’t keep us apart anymore.”

“Fuck you,” you spat, blood dribbling down your chin.

“We suspected you were security, you know,” she said, twirling the knife in her hand, “considering the previous guards were easy to bribe to let us into the hotels and venues. Your guys though, I have to give them credit, clocked us in a second. But we’re devoted. He’s ours.”

You glanced back at where the woman’s companion had Eddie in a headlock, clearly trying to keep from hurting him. Eddie’s eyes caught yours and you tried to will him into collaborating.

“He’s the love of our lives,” she said, looking back at Eddie and blowing him a kiss. “We were all married in our past life.”

With a well-practiced move, you swung you leg out and collided with her. She screamed, tumbling to the ground and you pounced. Your foot came down to her hand with the knife and you leaned your entire weight onto it.

The crunching sound beneath your own heels, and her panicked pained screams, let you know you’d returned the favor and broken her wrist. “Fuck you,” you spat, rearing your hand back and bringing it down onto her temple twice before she went limp.

A fist came down to your hair and dragged you up. The man’s tight grip drew your arm back furiously. With a deep breath, you opened your mouth and unleashed a guttural scream. Throwing your head back, you heard the man shout. He released his grip on you and you turned to face him. He threw his arm out towards you but you side stepped him, using his own momentum, you leaned backwards and hooked your foot around his. In a move your Sensei would be proud of, you twisted and landed hard atop of him. Unfortunately, the man managed to fold your arm in the process and you knew by the exploding pain that if something was dislocated – you’d be lucky.

Already looking for something to grab, you barely managed to sideswipe the lamp Eddie brought down onto the man’s jaw. Going limp, you panted, and swung off of him.

Eddie’s panicked eyes darted over to you. Cradling your bad arm, you pointed to your room. “Go get my duffel bag. The blue one. I have zip ties in there, tie these two to the radiator on the wall.”

“But – Mayfield, the blood – did she – fuck-” he stammered and you looked down to realize he was right. It looked like someone had been stabbed and for a brief moment of panic, you reached out towards Eddie with your right hand. “It’s not me – I’m fucking fine – it’s you!”

You brought your hand up to your face and winced when you felt the cut on your cheekbone and temple. “That bitch caught me when she kicked me,” you said, “head wounds bleed a lot. I’m fine. Eddie, focus – go get the zip ties.”

His breathing was a little shallow, and his skin too pale, but he nodded. Running into your room, you used his absence to heave yourself up. Groaning as the room spun, you limped over towards the phone.

Before you could get there, you watched the door slam open. Martin and Johnson stood in the doorframe, eyes widening as they took you in. “Boss, shit, are you alright?” Johnson said, at your side in an instant.

“Where’s Munson?” Martin asked, already ducking into your room, where Eddie was holding the zip ties in his hands.

“I found them!” He shouted, letting Martin take them from him. At the sight of other people, Eddie darted back over to you.

“Sweep the building, make sure everything is secure,” you told Johnson, the broken nose and hit to your temple starting to make you dizzy.

Martin tied their arms behind their backs and marched over to the phone. “I’ll call you an ambulance boss,” he said, a speck of blood on his cheek and the knife in his hand.

Johnson wrapped your good arm around her neck and guided you out to your room. “How did you know?” You asked, inhaling sharply when you jostled your arm.

“Neighbors called in a complaint about screaming downstairs. Robin sent us up as a joke but we heard your scream from the elevator banks,” she said, face twisting. “I don’t know how they got passed security.”

“I do,” Martin said, holding up a large duffel and some maintenance uniforms. “Medics and police are on their way boss.”

“I want to charge them with everything fucking possible,” Eddie snarled, his hand on your leg. “Jesus Christ, look at the blood.”

Johnson nodded. “Head wounds bleed a lot; it doesn’t look too bad. What’s another few more stitches?” She joked, clinical eyes taking in your nose. “Looks clean but definitely broken.”

“You don’t say,” you snipped, watching through heavy eyes as Johnson smiled.

“She’ll be alright,” she said and you knew it was more for Eddie’s benefit than your own. “She’s got enough in her to still be a sarcastic punk.”

You huffed weakly. “I’m still your boss.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Johnson straightened, “hey now, stay awake.”

“Mayfield?” Eddie said, his hand coming out to shake you. Johnson’s fingers smacked your cheek a little but it was futile. Exhaustion and adrenaline swept through you, knocking you down and encompassing you in the dark.

///

You awoke in the ambulance a few minutes later. It seemed that not eating, drinking shitty tequila, and taking a few hits to the head wasn’t a good mix. The EMT had greeted you with a wide smile.

Robin, however, had looked like she was ready to vibrate into a different dimension when she was finally allowed into your room. She stepped in, her suit wrinkled and her expression tight. You were still a little loopy from the pain meds but a nurse had helped you raise the bed so you were at least sitting for the debrief you knew you’d have to give.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” she hissed, her fingers coming out to your good wrist.

“It looks worse than it is,” you said, knowing that your face must be bruised to shit. The swelling had already started to set in and you knew that the nose was going to look bad for at least two weeks.

“The nurse said you’d broken something but I thought it was your fucking arm – not everything else!” She said, hand hovering in the air like she was scared to touch you.

You bridged the gap for her and curled your fingers around hers. “Rob, I’m okay. I’ve had worse.”

That didn’t seem to be the right thing to say because she paled. Taking the opportunity, you squeezed her hand and tried to blink back your tears. “I’m sorry,” you said, voice thin, “I am so sorry. I was distracted and didn’t check before we went in. Eddie could’ve been hurt and I-” This time your voice did crack and you tried to swallow around it. The guilt had been eating you alive for the entire time you’d sat in this bed.

How could you have not gone in and cleared the room? You’d been doing it for two months, every day, and you’d forgotten. Everyone made mistakes but mistakes in your field got people killed.

“Sorry?” Robin sputtered incredulously. “Mayfield, you saved his life. You saved both your lives! You’re a fucking hero.”

You shook your head, wincing when it brought a sharp throb of pain.

“Is that why the nurse said I was the only visitor cleared? Eddie’s been driving himself crazy in the waiting room – he’s a wreck out there,” she said, squeezing your hand tightly. “This wasn’t your fault.”

“This is my job!” You exclaimed.

Robin’s eyes softened. “The assignment was up yesterday, boss. Besides, they’ve been arrested and slapped with so many charges I’ll be surprised if they’re not in there for a good chunk of years.”

“But I shouldn’t have let my guard down. We were distracted- I let him distract me-”

She smiled sadly at you. “Don’t do this, I know what you’re doing – how you’re working yourself up. Don’t do this to him.”

“Robin, I- I can’t,” you said pathetically, feeling like you were going to throw up.

“Listen to me. You two have always been inevitable. That’s – part of the reason I was insistent on hiring you. I knew that you both were each other’s person. Admittedly, I thought you were both just being stubborn, I didn’t know you’d actually dated. You both just needed the right circumstances and two good nudges. Obviously, you were someone I trusted but…you had to have known. Everyone who looked at you two knew.”

“Knew what?”

“That it was never pretend. It took three nurses to keep him in the waiting room, Mayfield. He’s – he was losing his mind when they wouldn’t let him ride in the ambulance. Shit, when I saw all the blood, I had a panic attack. It looked like – like when Eddie-” her breath went shallow and she winced at the rattle in her chest. “Fucking PTSD.”

“Fucking PTSD,” you agreed, empathizing completely.

“This wasn’t your fault, is what I’m trying to say. The fact that you two finally came to your senses and got lost in the moment was what we all wanted! For years. Please, don’t hide away from him again.”

The guilt piled on you in epic proportions but you were anything if not stubborn.

You’d almost gotten Eddie killed – except this time it was your fault. You were the one who’d forgotten to double check. You were the one who was suppose to know better. You weren’t dumb kids in over their heads.

Robin sighed, pressing a kiss to your forehead and patting your hand. “I’ll let them know you’re staying over for observations and you can’t have any visitors until the morning, okay?”

“Thank you,” you said, ashamed and relieved all at once.

That night, with your kind nurse checking you once an hour for any signs of a concussion, you watched the stars through your window.

You’d tried and lost, again. You knew that you shouldn’t have taken this job – panic threatened to overwhelm you. It felt like you’d been dropping into the ocean in the middle of a storm. Waves crashed into you, pulling you under.

Like a coward, you’d already asked Max to come get you upon your discharge. You’d heard the hesitation in her voice but she agreed to pick you up from the back. You needed to make it a clean break. Eddie would go off to do better things because he deserved better than you and the baggage you came with.

Chest aching and tears burning, you realize that you had almost made it this time. You’d had what you wanted within reach, fingertips grazing it, until it was snatched away from you again.

You’d learned something though. The second time around hurt more than the first. But at this point, running was second nature.

///

In hindsight, you should’ve known that your patchwork, flimsy at best, plan wouldn’t work. Hiding out for a week in Lucas’ spare bedroom helped you keep up the illusion that you weren’t being the biggest coward in all of existence. Max, like the best little sister in the world, hadn’t brought up the topic and let you mope around as you got used to maneuvering around with a cast on your arm – again.

The phone rang and you instinctively flinched. You heard Max answer and sighed when she called out your name from the kitchen.

“It’s Hopper,” she said, coming to the doorframe. “I promise.”

Grumbling, you picked the phone up from the receiver. “Do you ever pick up the phone?” Hopper asked. “Jesus. I had to hear from Robin that you’re not dead in a hospital somewhere?”

“Sorry,” you grunted, feeling like a kid getting scolded by their parents.

“Listen, I need a favor,” he said.

You groaned. “Hopper, I broke my arm,” you whined.

“And then disappeared off the face of the planet for a week. Joyce was ready to call Murray.”

Sighing, you frowned. “I’m on leave for at least a month – I can work with the cast but my nose needs to heal.”

“Calm down tiger, I just need you to go into the office and meet with some of the suits from the label. They want to hear what happened from your end. It shouldn’t take more than ten minutes.”

“Can’t I do it over the phone?”

“Would I be calling you if you could?”

And that’s how you found yourself on your way to headquarters on a Saturday morning.

Jessica, the office admin, greeted you with a warm smile when you arrived. “That looks painful,” she said, whistling.

“You should see the other guy,” you joked weakly.

Her brows rose. “They’re still alive?” She smiled when you laughed. “Come on, they’re already here.”

“Shit,” you glanced at your watch. “I thought I was early.”

“Don’t worry, they haven’t been here long,” she reassured you. She grabbed your bag and opened the door to the largest conference room.

You took a step into the room and froze. Eddie stood, arms crossed, leaning against the large wooden table. Glancing back at the door, Jessica smiled knowingly. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”

The silence was painful and you sighed. “Eddie-”

“Please don’t be mad at me, I’m so sorry for doing this. You deserve the best and that isn’t me,” he said, eyeing your cast with a guarded expression.

“What?” You said, headache blooming at your temples. You were going to kill Hopper. No, you were going to quit and then kill him.

Eddie nodded to the folded letter next to him on the table. The one you’d asked a nurse to give to him before you’d slipped out the back. He was quoting what you’d written.

“You had some audacity, you know?”

Sighing, you settled into the nearest chair and waved a hand in the air. “What did you want me to do?”

“To fight, for fuck’s sake, fight for us!” He exclaimed. “I know you love me; I know you do. You don’t have to say it, I know you better than you know yourself.”

“It’s in my blood! What do you want me to do? From the first time I fought with the kids, to that last battle. I run, it’s what I do. I don’t – I don’t know how to stop,” you said, voice anguished.

“That’s fine, but let me run with you. I don’t want to catch you, I don’t want to change you into something you’re not – but let me be by your side,” Eddie said, throwing his hand out. “Did you really think you could hand me a letter and think I’d just let it go?”

You didn’t answer because, yeah, that’s what you had thought.

“I let you go once because I thought it was what you wanted – I’m not making the same mistake again,” he said, reverent. “I realized now that you’re scared but, I’m scared too.”

“I almost got you killed,” you said, like a broken record. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry – for everything.”

Eddie sighed. “Mayfield.”

Something snapped within you. “No, Eddie, no – I can’t do this. I can’t – I don’t know why. Maybe that’s all we’re destined to be. An almost. A beautiful, wonderful almost.”

“We were never an almost,” he said, coming up to you, “this is just our story. And this isn’t the end of it - you weren’t the one that got away, you’re the one period. We might’ve worked before but we might’ve not. But those kids in Hawkins? They weren’t an almost. We weren’t almost something. We were something. But this us? Right now? We’re right where we need to be. We were meant for this. This is our story.”

Weak excuses falling at your feet, you gazed up at Eddie’s eyes and stripped yourself bare. “I do love you, I do,” you admitted painfully, “I didn’t think that we’d fit together the same way we did before but we did and I didn’t know what to do with it. Then, the beach happened, the storm – I’m scared. I’m broken, that time in Hawkins broke me and I don’t know how to stay. I don’t know how to plant roots.”

“I do though and I can do it for the both of us until you learn,” Eddie said, eyes looking at your cast sadly. “Do you want this?”

Tears welled in your eyes and you considered lying again. But you couldn’t – not a third time. Against every blaring alarm in you, you nodded. “Yes. I want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted before. But – I’m different Eddie, I’m…”

“If you say broken,” he scowled, “you’re not fucking broken.”

“I’m different. I’m haunted. It’s been ten years and it still won’t go away. It gets easier but it’s always there. The assignments I’ve gone on – the shit I’ve seen. I- I can’t cope sometimes. The shadows always come when the sun goes away,” you admitted, saying the words for the first time in years.

“Share them with me. I can help you chase the shadows away. That’s what we do, right? Tell me every terrible thing you ever did, and let me love you anyway.”*

At your shock, Eddie smiled softly, kneeling so that he was looking up at you.

“When are you going to learn?” He mused, eyes dancing between yours. “I’m yours. I’ve always been yours. I don’t deserve better because you’re the best of us, Mayfield. You’re the best person I’ve ever met and I refuse to let you think otherwise. Because I know you’re brave. I’ve seen it. I can see it now. Let yourself be loved.”

Heart cracking open, you felt tears roll down your cheeks. Your good hand came up to his cheek and you leaned your forehead against his. Taking a deep breath, you steeled your shoulders and batted at the shadows. How stupid of you to think you could outrun him, the same man who stared a tornado of demobats and stood to fight.

“Okay,” you said, “I’d kiss you but I’m scared you’ll bump my nose.”

Eddie’s answering grin was blinding.

///

“I could take a look at the security plans if you want,” you said lightly, inching towards the files on the table and leaning forward.

Yang shut the file closed and shot you a look. “You’re here as a guest of the band’s, Mayfield. Not as security.” She smiled when you pouted.

“Oh come on, you know I’m good,” you whined.

She shook her head. “What you are, is a control freak,” she teased. “Your boyfriend was looking for you a few minutes ago. I’m assuming he went to the stage next.”

You scowled and stuck out your tongue before taking off towards the main stage. Fighting back your smile, you wrapped your arms around yourself. Hearing other people refer to Eddie as your boyfriend, an official boyfriend, always made the velociraptors in your stomach yawn awake. Even after six months.

“There you are!” A pair of arms wrapped around your waist and you jumped.

Turning in the arms, you smiled up at Eddie. “Here I am,” you said, reaching up to press a kiss to his lips. “Where’d you go?”

“Robin needed me. I’m good for the next hour, I wanted to see if you were hungry.”

You quirked your brow. “You have a concert in three hours and they’re letting you leave?” You asked.

“I’ve got you with me,” he said, grinning, “they always trust me more when you’re around.”

Laughing, you tucked yourself under his arm and curled an arm around his waist. “Gee, I wonder why,” you said. Eddie’s finger trailed down your nose and you scrunched it at him.

“Let’s go wander Barcelona,” you said, eyes tracing his movements when he tucked his hair into a baseball cap.

Eddie smiled knowingly when he caught you blatantly checking him out. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said, ducking for another kiss.

“You two are disgusting,” Mike called out, carrying the backup guitars towards the stage. “Get a room!”

“I’ll remember that the next time you see El!” You shouted back, laughing when he stuck his tongue out.

“I haven’t seen you in a month,” Eddie huffed, “I’m allowed to be dramatic about it.”

You pulled him towards the side exit. “You’ve never needed permission, Munson, don’t start now.”

Finding a small park a few blocks away, you bought yourself some gelato and sat cross legged on a bench. “Want some?” You asked, offering up a spoonful. Eddie rarely ate this close to a performance but your stomach flipped as you watched his tongue dart out to catch some of the creamy goodness. His tongue managed to swipe your thumb and he smirked.

“Tastes delicious,” he said, leaning closer.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” you teased, tilting your head back further so he could nip at your neck. The current flickered for a moment, lying dormant when he leaned away.

The look in his eyes was fond when you couldn’t help but kiss his jaw. “What’s that look for?”

“Nothing, I’m just happy to have you here,” he said, resting an arm on your knee. “Are we going to talk about it?”

You rolled your eyes. “Between the two of us, you’re the one that’s having a harder time accepting this.”

“She’s a kid!”

“Max is an adult, Edward, and may I remind you that you and I were doing a lot worse things when we were younger than her?”

Eddie huffed, squeezing your shoulder. “I just keep picturing them as my little lost sheep, you know?”

“How do you think I feel?” You said. “I can still picture her all tiny and chubby limbs. But he makes her happy, you know? They’ve made it this long anyway – if anything, he took his time.”

“I still can’t believe he asked me for my blessing,” he said and you remembered how Eddie had teared up the day Lucas had asked you for permission to propose to Max. You’d cried, then laughed about how you were going to tell her he’d asked for permission like she was cattle. He’d gotten flustered the more you teased and you honestly wished you would’ve recorded it.

“I bet she cries,” you said, tearing up at the thought. Your little sister was getting married.

Eddie kicked a leg out. “Nah, she’ll probably tackle him to the floor while he cries.”

“Also likely,” you admitted. “Hey, you think we’ll ever get married?”

Choking, Eddie turned to you, shock all over his face. He sputtered a few times, mouth gaping.

“What? You planning on breaking up with me?” You asked, curled your tongue around the plastic spoon.

At that, he reanimated. “No, of course not,” he said. “I just – I didn’t think you’d want…to do that.”

That was fair. Considering your history.

“Would you want that?” You asked, curious. You didn’t have a preference really; your parents had been married and then your mother had married Neil. That was enough to remind you that marriage wasn’t the end all.

“A few years ago, I would’ve said no,” Eddie confessed, “but, I gotta admit, I want everything with you, sweetheart.”

Biting back a grin, you nodded. “Then, let’s do it.”

“Did you just propose to me?” Eddie asked, laughing and ducking when you swatted at him.

“No, doofus,” you rolled your eyes, “I meant let’s do it eventually. I want a ring and to actually be asked.”

“That’s weirdly traditional for you,” he teased.

You shrugged. “I want everything with you too,” you said, delighting in the way his eyes went soft and gooey, “besides, I want you down on one knee.”

Eddie wiggled his brows. “You have me down on my knees a lot sweetheart, doesn’t take much.”

Ignoring him, you jabbed him with a finger. “Don’t you dare ask either of my parents for permission.”

“Noted.”

“Maybe I’ll propose to you, we both know Wayne would say yes.” You thought about it and wondered what kind of ring he’d like.

Eddie rolled his eyes, all suffering. “We get it, you’re the favorite.”

“Don’t forget it,” you said, bumping your arm into him. “You’re my favorite, if that’s any consolation.”

“Yeah,” he said, looking down at you. “It is.”

Checking your watch, you stood. “Come on, we’re cutting it close. Yang’ll want to run through a few perimeters checks and she said I could help.”

Grabbing your hand, Eddie let you lead. “Isn’t this supposed to be a vacation?” He asked.

“Hey, I’m all yours after this,” you said, “last concert of the tour and we get a month to ourselves in Europe.”

Eddie grinned, kissing your temple. “There’s this bakery in Florence that I know you’re going to love. I want to take you so many places. Oh, there’s a bookstore Gareth found in Lisbon!”

You watched his face come alive as he recounted his tour of the Eiffel Tour. Yeah, you thought to yourself, you might not believe much in marriage, but you believed in Eddie.

///

“Muchas gracias Barcelona!” Eddie said, waving to the crowd as they screamed themselves hoarse. You felt tears prickle at the corner of your eyes. They’d done it – they’d finished the first part of their world tour.

The label had given the green light for another six months in the next year but this one had been a success in ways no one could’ve predicted.

Gareth darted past you first, falling into the arms of his new girlfriend. You, ready for it, found your arms filled with a practically buzzing Eddie. He hugged you tightly. “We did it!”

“You did it, I’m so proud of you,” you said, shouting a little to be heard over the fans.

You walked deeper into the side stage and took Eddie’s hand in yours. “Sorry, I’m all sweaty,” he said, bouncing on his toes. The boys were always energetic post-concert, you knew it was the adrenaline of performing. Eddie had once told you he’d hoped that the novelty would never fade.

“It’s never bothered me before,” you said, doing a perfect impersonation of his eyebrow wiggle. Eddie, however, stilled. His hair was frizzy, wild, and his smile was just a little unhinged.

“I love you, Eddie Munson,” you said, you loved all versions of him. “I’ll love you forever.”

His smiled turned into something soft. You beamed back at him, knowing that he reveled in it every time you said it. And it was so easy to give him what he wanted, because Eddie was, by far one of the easiest people to love. He was the man you’d love for the rest of your life. It was hard sometimes but, you made it work.

Eddie’s fingers came up to your chin and tilted your face up to his. “Say it again,” he demanded.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” you echoed, peppering his face with kisses. He laughed, delighted, and then – like a switch had flipped – they turned. His eyes were ravenous and hands everywhere.

His lips trailed open mouth kisses down your throat, his hands going lower and lower-

“Jesus Christ, I’m fucking blind,” Dustin cried, hands coming up to slap against his eyes. “This is a public area! Can you two get a goddamn room?”

Eddie’s insistent hand pulled you off towards an empty one down the hall. “Good idea Henderson.” Powered to ten, the electricity between you two popped, tying you together.

Dustin gagged but you’re too enamored to care much. “We’ll catch up!” You shouted over your shoulder.

“Not likely,” Eddie said, pushing you into the room and locking the door behind you. “Now, where were we?”

As he pounced, your back hit the velvet sofa, you laughed. His teeth nipped at your neck and you wrapped your arms around him. Just before your mind went fuzzy, you had one last rational thought.

Maybe you did owe Hopper a bottle of scotch.

  A/N: remember when I said I was learning to write shorter stuff? lol me @ me you played yourself 

#eddie munson x reader

[the--blackdahlia]

Two of a Kind (Working on a Full House) (MJF x Adam Cole)

Title: Two of a Kind (Working on a Full House)

Summary: Double or Nothing Weekend in Vegas. What could possibly go wrong?

Warnings: Mild dub-con, implied drunk sex, language, angst with a happy ending, drinking

The lights were too bright as Adam slowly opened his eyes. It wasn’t even that bright in the room, but when the alcohol was gone and just left its nasty aftertaste, everything was too bright. The room was spinning slightly as he shut his eyes, savoring the darkness and enjoying the arms wrapped around him.

What…what?

Adam’s eyes snapped back open. He looked down and, sure enough, there were a pair of arms wrapped around him, holding him close to whoever was behind him. Okay, so he had brought someone back to the room. That would explain why his ass hurt. God, Max was going to kill him for doing that. Especially if he had to go sleep somewhere else.

Glancing over at the bed across from him, he saw it was empty. Either Max had gone somewhere else when Adam brought back his date, or he had left early to get breakfast or something. All Adam knew was he wasn’t there, and he was praying that the person behind him wasn’t Roddy.

Adam was trying to figure out what to do. The arms around him were pretty strong, so he’d have to wake up whoever it was. He groaned softly, trying to figure out what he should do. His phone was right there on the nightstand. He could text Max and ask for his help getting rid of the guy. He slowly reached for his phone when something on his left hand caught his attention. 

A black and gold silicon band hugged his ring finger, right underneath the Dynamite Diamond ring.

Oh.

Oh no.

Adam slowly turned his head as far as he could to see if he could see the face of the man behind him. He could see a mop of curly hair, and he caught a whiff of very familiar cologne. A panic started to overtake Adam as he wiggled out of the arms and quickly stood up.

“Oh god…” Adam gasped. Sure enough, Max was lying there, slowly starting to wake up from Adam pulling away from him. Adam took in the sight before him. Empty bottles on the nightstand by his phone, condoms thrown off to the side, their clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed. Max was naked in the bed, and Adam had been just a moment ago.

Before Adam could stop himself, a scream spilled from his lips, jolting Max awake.

“What? What’s going on?” He asked, sitting up quickly. He and Adam stared at each other. “Uh, brochacho, why are you naked and screaming?”

“Why am I…why are you naked in my bed?!”

“Naked in your…” Max lifted the blanket that had pooled around his waist. Sure enough, not an article of clothing to be seen. He dropped the blanket and caught sight of his own left hand. A matching black and gold silicon ring to the one Adam was wearing. “What the fuck?”

“Trust me, I know!” Adam held up his hand to show Max the ring on his own. Max quickly grabbed his hand.

“Why do you have my diamond ring?” He asked.

“Fuck if I know! Just take it.” Adam slid the ring off and handed it back to Max, just leaving the silicon band.

“How much did we drink last night?” Max was taking in all the same things that Adam had. Adam grabbed a pair of underwear from his bag and slipped them on. “We just had a couple of drinks, right?”

“I think so? I don’t really remember,” Adam sighed. “I just remember Dax and Cash buying beers, and then we decided to go play mini golf with Yuta and Claudio. That was the last thing I remember.”

“Well, the aftertaste in my mouth isn’t whatever white trash beer FTR decided to buy us,” Max rubbed his eyes. “My mother is going to kill me.”

“Why?”

“I got married and didn’t even tell her. She’s going to cut my balls off.”

“...You just found out you married your tag team partner and you’re worried about your mom?!”

“I’m worried about other things too Adam!” Max looked around. “Like where the hell is the Triple B?”

“Did you lose on Collison or something?”

“Now is NOT the time to be making jokes Adam.”

Max was out of bed and tearing the room apart to find his belt. Adam went to look in the bathroom, because weirder things had happened, when he came upon a piece of paper. A marriage license. For the marriage of Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Adam Friedman.

What. The. Fuck.

Adam quickly headed into the bathroom. After not seeing the Triple B anywhere, he decided to use these moments alone to try to compose himself. He splashed some water on his face and looked in the mirror. Thankfully, no Mike Tyson tattoo and no missing teeth. And there was no tiger in the bathtub. There was just a mocking black and gold ring and a pain that proved they had been together the night before. After calming himself down, he headed back into the room to a scene that was anything but calm.

“I can’t find her!”

“Her?”

“The Triple B!” Max had torn apart their bags, their clothes all over the floor.

“Can you put some pants on and we’ll look together?” Adam asked, which got Max to stop for a second, realizing he was, in fact, still naked.

“Don’t like the view hubby?” Max asked, making Adam glare.

“Okay, fine, you can look for the belt yourself.”

“Oh come on babe, I was kidding…”

“Max, thin ice,” Adam growled. “Come on. Let’s get dressed. We’ll see if it’s at the desk.”

After getting dressed and making sure sunglasses were firmly on their heads, they headed to the front desk. Max had to be restrained when the poor desk girl said that she hadn’t seen it.

“Okay, okay. Let’s go get breakfast and we’ll figure something out,” Adam told him. “It has to be around here somewhere.”

The two found a cafe and were seated outside. Adam was not paying attention as Max ordered them mimosas for their drinks. He was too busy looking at the menu and staring at the ring on his finger.

“I really thought after last night, more alcohol would be the last thing you’d want,” Yuta said as he and Claudio took their seats at the table next to Adam and Max. Adam was frozen mid-sip, realizing the orange juice wasn’t exactly orange.

“How much did we drink?” Adam asked, setting the glass down.

“I don’t know about afterward, but with us, shots flowed like water,” Claudio chuckled. “We might have had a little drinking game going.”

****

The Day Before

“You miss, you take a shot?” Yuta suggested.

“We’ll all be too drunk to make a shot,” Adam told him.

“Okay, well what do you have in mind, Bay Bay?”

“Someone makes a hold in one, everyone takes a shot?” Max suggested. He missed the wicked look on Claudio’s face.

“Excellent,” He chuckled. “Let’s get to it.”

By the 10th hole, Max and Adam were starting to feel buzzed. No one bothered to tell them that on top of everything else that the superhuman known as Claudio was good at, mini-golf was on the list. And Yuta had gotten a few too, meaning that Max and Adam were several shots down at this point.

“That was fun!” Yuta laughed, slightly buzzed at the end of the course.

“Fun for you guys maybe,” Adam grumbled.

“Oh come on, at least we didn’t make you do karaoke or something,” Yuta slapped his shoulder. “Maybe you two should go get some dinner.”

“Not going with us?” Max asked.

“We have some things to attend to,” Claudio explained before walking off with Yuta, leaving Max and Adam to their own devices.

****

Present Day

“What happened after that?” Adam asked. Yuta shrugged.

“You guys went off to get dinner and we went to use our room’s jacuzzi.”

“You’re not very helpful, you know that?” Max snapped.

“You’ll have to excuse Max. He lost something very important,” Adam explained, trying to keep the peace. Lord knows he didn’t want Yuta to run and tell Mox that he needed to fight Max.

“His championship?” Claudio looked Max over. “I know that by the 12th hole, you were letting people take pictures with it.”

“I let poors touch the Triple B?!” Max asked, absolutely horrified. To the point Yuta, Adam, and Claudio all started laughing. “Did one of these, these western, desert-dwelling, Fallout wannabes take it?” Adam looked at Max. Did he make a video game reference? To a game that Adam had off-handedly said he was going to play on the plane?

“No, you did have it when we left you,” Claudio told him. Max breathed a sigh of relief, but that was quickly replaced with more worry at where the hell his belt was.

The rest of the breakfast was pretty uneventful. Yuta and Claudio made small talk, and for the most part, Adam and Max did their best to keep it up. It felt like just two couples having brunch. Nothing more. After the pancakes were eaten and the mimosas drank, Max and Adam headed back out to see if they could find the belt.

“Well, at least we know that you didn’t let some random mini-golfer walk off with it,” Adam shrugged. “I just wish we knew more about what we did last night, so we could retrace our steps.”

“We got lucky with Swiss and Yoots. What’s the likelihood that our next piece will fall right into our laps?”

“Hey! What rhymes with homewrecker?” Someone called from the right of them. Max and Adam looked to see Anthony and Max Caster sitting in the shade of some trees, notebook laid open in front of Caster. “Adam should know all about that.”

“Excuse me?” Adam asked, walking towards the Acclaimed.

“After what you did last night? To me?” Caster laid a hand over his heart, and Anthony rolled his eyes.

“He’s just being a little overdramatic because of what happened last night,” Anthony explained. Max and Adam glanced at each other.

“What…happened?” Max asked. Caster glared at him.

“Your little “engagement” at dinner? Remember?”

****

The Night Before

“This place looks nice and sobering,” Adam told Max as they approached the restaurant. Of all places to pick, they were going to Margaritaville. Max had seen a sandwich board with drinks on it, and he wanted to try the pretty blue one. 

“What are you two doing here?” Anthony asked as Max and Adam were seated at a table near them, appetizer and drink orders placed. It was obvious they were having a good time thanks to liquid courage.

“Food. Gotta sober up,” Adam told him. Their brightly colored drinks were settled in front of them along with a large plate of volcano nachos. 

“Yeah, those drinks are not going to sober you up,” Caster laughed.

“I dunno, I’m feeling pretty good,” Max smirked over at the Acclaimed. “Where’s your daddy?”

“Austin and Colton have visitation this weekend. He’ll be back in our custody tomorrow night,” Anthony munched on a stick of celery from the wings that were between the two.

After some banter and burgers between the two tag teams, Max’s eyes fell on a beautiful chocolate lava cake that was being brought over to a table not too awfully far from theirs. He looked at Adam then with a wicked smile.

“Want a lava cake?” He asked.

“Always!”

“Then play along, okay?” Max slipped his diamond ring off his finger and knelt on the ground. “Adam, I know we didn’t always like each other, but these last few months together have meant more to me than you can ever imagine. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?” Adam, in his drunken mind, found himself giddy at the thought of marrying Max. He had a big smile on his face as he nodded.

“Yes!” Adam smiled at Max. People around then clapped and cheered. Even Anthony, until Caster stamped on his foot then booed.

“That’s my boyfriend,” Caster grumbled.

“Not anymore man. He’s Adam’s,” Anthony laughed.

Not long after, the staff brought a cake out for Adam and Max to enjoy, and a couple bought them some more drinks.

The two stumbled out of the restaurant later, full of alcohol and high on each other, holding hands as they left and not letting go as they headed down the strip and out of view of the Acclaimed.

****

Present Day

“Explains how I got your ring,” Adam shrugged. “Doesn’t explain these though.” Caster noticed the silicon bands then and his eyes widened.

“You got married?!”

“Run!” Max quickly took off running, leaving Adam standing there.

“Uh, great seeing you guys!” Adam said before quickly following Max. “Max, why didn’t you ask them about your belt?”

“And give them more material to use in a rap? I don’t think so.”

Adam didn’t really say much more as he and Max continued to try to retrace their steps. They headed to the restaurant from the night before, getting warm smiles from the staff that had been present for their engagement. But they didn’t have the belt.

“You put it on him before you left,” The girl told Max. “Said it made his eyes pretty.”

“I…” Max and Adam both blushed.

“Did you see where we went when we left?” Adam asked, taking over the conversation.

“I think you headed over towards the strip?”

“Thanks for your help,” Adam signed before he and Max headed back out. They were about a block from the strip, and with no idea what happened after they left Margaritaville, their leads had come to an end. “Max, we need to talk about the other thing.”

“What other thing?”

“You know, the marriage thing,” Adam held up his hand. “I know you don’t want this. I don’t want this. So after we find the Triple B, let’s head over to the Clark County Courthouse and get an annulment.”

“Oh…” Max looked more defeated than he had just a few minutes ago, and it absolutely broke Adam’s heart.

“I mean, you don’t really want to be married to me, do you?” Adam asked. Max was quiet for a second.

“Let’s just go find my damn belt,” He mumbled. He didn’t say much, but it gave Adam all the answers he needed. They weren’t supposed to be in love. They were friends and that was it. But maybe there were more feelings behind a lava cake engagement and a chapel wedding than Adam thought. For both of them.

They had just stepped onto the strip when a voice started calling their names.

“Adam! Max!” RJ called. “There you are! Finally!”

“RJ? What’s up?” Adam asked, turning towards him. RJ held out the belt then.

“Thing is a lot heavier than it looks,” He laughed. “I had to stop Charlie from just taking it.”

“You had my baby?!” Max took the belt and hugged it against him.

“You gave it to me last night over at Venus Garden, and then we’re too busy trying not to undress each other to pick it up.”

“Venus Garden? Is that a strip club or something?”

“No. The Chapel at Ceasers. You guys dragged me, Charlie, Trent, and Chuck there as witnesses.”

****

The Night Before

“I can’t believe we’re doing this!” Adam was giggling as Max led him towards the chapel. “Wait!”

“What?”

“We’re not dressed for the occasion!” Adam told him. “And we don’t have witnesses!”

“Hey, there’s some losers over there. Let’s get them,” Max held Adam’s hand as they headed over to Chuck, Trent, RJ, and Charlie, who had just left their own dinner and were going to film some BTE skits for Brandon while Nick and Matt were blowing their money in a casino or a shoe store. 

“Hey fives,” Max greeted as he and Adam approached the group. “Us tens need witnesses.”

“For an alibi?” RJ asked.

“We’re getting married!” Adam giggled, showing his hand with the diamond ring on it.

“Fuck,” Trent slapped a twenty in Chuck’s hand. “I didn’t think they’d go through with it.”

“Are you coming or not?” Max huffed. The four looked at each other before following the couple back to the chapel. They were in complete shock at how loving Adam and Max were being with each other. Adam kissing Max’s cheek, Max holding onto Adam. It was like they had all stepped into the Twilight Zone.

“What names are we putting on here? Adam and Max Cole?” Adam asked, making Chuck laugh. “What?”

“Max Cole sounds like a porn star,” He was trying so hard to not laugh harder.

“You know, Adam Friedman doesn’t sound half bad,” Adam shrugged.

“I totally agree,” Max nodded.

They somehow managed to fill out the paperwork and picked out the rings. Since they were athletes, the lovely woman at the desk suggested silicon rings. She got those ready while everything was set up for the actual ceremony.

“We picked the wrestling package,” Adam told the gius. “It’s going to be awesome!”

That’s how the four were set in pews, watching as someone dressed as Macho Man Randy Savage performed a ceremony for Max and Adam.

“I now pronounce you Mr. Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Mr. Adam Friedman. You may kiss each other.”

Max was so gentle as he cupped the back of Adam’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss. It was so cute, sweeter than anything any of them had seen in a movie recently. To the point that Chuck even had to wipe his eyes.

“You okay man?” Trent asked.

“I love weddings,” Chuck smiled as Trent rolled his eyes.

After making sure the witnesses signed a form saying, yes, the wedding was valid, Max took hold of Adam’s hand and dragged him out of the chapel and down the strip.

“Hey! Wait! You forgot your…” RJ called after them, but they were in a rush to start their wedding night. “Well, guess I’m AEW Champion for the night.”

“Schiavone is more of a champion than you,” Charlie mumbled, making Trent and Chuck burst out laughing.

“Should I go take it to them?”

“Only if you want to see some things that you won’t be able to unsee,” Trent shrugged. “I gotta go find Hunk now.” He and Chuck left then. RJ just tossed the belt onto his shoulder and headed back to his hotel.

****

Present Day

“Macho Man? We got married by Macho Man?” Max asked.

“Are you sure it wasn’t just Jay Lethal?” Adam asked. RJ shook his head.

“Nope. It was an actual ordained person dressed as Macho Man. And we all signed the marriage stuff. You are 100% married.”

“Yeah, and we’ll soon be 100% divorced,” Max whispered. The pain in his voice stabbed Adam straight in the heart. “Well, we got the belt. Let’s go find the courthouse.”

“Sex that bad?” RJ asked, making Max glare at him. “Okay, I’m shutting up. Have fun!” Max stormed off, Adam not far behind.

“Max, wait,” Adam reached out, but Max pulled away. “What is wrong? We got your belt back. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“I don’t want to be divorced at 27!” Max yelled. “You ever think that maybe there was some truth behind this besides being drunk and wanting a lava cake? Why do you think I insisted on sharing hotel rooms with you? Not because I can’t afford them. Or why I bought a fucking, what are they called, Steam Deck? And a Nintendo Switch? And like, I watch your Twitch streams and watch video playthroughs of absolutely shitty people playing really dumb but really pretty Japanese games? Because I fucking love you, okay?!”

“You…you love me?” Adam asked.

“Let’s just go find this fucking courthouse and get this over with. We have shit to do tonight and I don’t want to have this hanging over my head when I’m beating Joe’s ass.” Max pulled out his phone to call for an Uber.

Adam tried to talk to him in the Uber, but anything he said didn’t seem like it would be good enough. Adam wanted to tell Max that he had researched different Jewish customs, that he had taken up listening to the music Max recommended and had even turned it into a playlist that he’d listen to. Or that he always got excited when he’d see Max’s name show up on his Twitch stream and had to fight the urge to call him and get him to collaborate on a video.

Oh shit.

He was in love with Max too.

“Here we are,” The Uber driver stopped in front of the courthouse. Max and Adam climbed out, Adam thanking the driver. Max was already walking into the courthouse and searching out the self-service area.

“Max, wait,” Adam said, but Max shook his head.

“Let’s go sit out on the picnic table and look through this,” Max said. “I’m not too sure about the rules.” Adam followed Max back outside with the paperwork. Max tossed the papers onto the picnic table and sat down, staring at everything.

“Max…” Adam took the papers from him, making the younger man look up at him. “Maybe I was too harsh too fast. Maybe…maybe we could give this marriage thing a try?” He took the paperwork and ripped it in half, making Max’s eyes widen. “I’m willing to try if you are.”

“I’d like that,” Max smiled at him. Adam leaned across the table and kissed Max, smiles on both of their faces. “You made me waste $25 getting an Uber here.”

“Well, gave me time to think.” Adam laughed.

“Wanna go back to the hotel until we have to go to the area?” Max asked.

“I’d love nothing more.”

****

6 Months Later

Word had spread quickly about Max and Adam’s marriage, especially after Roddy saw them kissing backstage and ran off. Things seemed to be going great, they went on dates, they traveled together, Adam was learning more about Max’s heritage, and Max was finding that Adam’s nerdy hobbies really weren’t that nerdy after all.

And then Max’s mom invited them to Long Island. Max had been nervous leading up to the trip, but Adam couldn’t figure out why. She had taken it very well considering her son had gotten married at a chapel in Vegas to his tag team partner.

“Max, I’ve met your parents several times. I don’t understand why you’re so nervous.”

“It just feels different this time…” Max shrugged.

They arrived at Max’s parent's house in time for dinner. Adam was shocked as he walked in and saw his mom talking with Max’s mom. The dads were in the man cave, sharing a beer. And before too long, they were all gathered around the dining room table for an amazing dinner. Adam noticed that Max was fidgety more than normal. 

“Everything okay?” Adam whispered under the cover of conversation.

“Everything’s great!” Max smiled at him. Adam nodded, not 100% sold, but he didn’t want to push too much.

A little bit later, Max stood up. His mom had a knowing smile on her face as he cleared his throat.

“I want to thank you all for getting here,” Max started, turning to look at Adam. “I know that we’re already married, and everything didn’t exactly go the way either of us really planned. I want to do this right. Now over a free lava cake with Cheeseburger in Paradise playing in the background.” Max knelt in front of Adam, holding up a ring box. “Adam Cole, will you do me the honors of properly marrying me?” Adam smiled, nodding.

“Yes Max, I will.”

#adam cole #mjf #fanfiction #aew #better than you bay bay #maxwell jacob friedman #adamjf

[worriedvision]

Transformation - Jing Yuan

Gender neutral reader, reader is initially a bird and Jing Yuan takes care of them for an extended period of time. One day, you wake up human. If you have an allergy to potato, bread or bird seed bare in mind the reader eats these. It reads as platonic for once! I decided to tag this as a .+ reader. instead of an ‘x reader’.

--

When you were taken in by Jing Yuan, you were struggling to hop with your friends to eat some seeds that had been scattered by the man who regularly came along to do so. Yearning for some remaining crumbs by the time you get there, you greedily try and speed up only to fall on your face, letting out a disgruntled chirp. When you stand up again, regaining your balance, Jing Yuan is right there, seeds in his hand. Extending his hand, he lets you eat your fill as he smiles, watching you gain more trust for him. You pull away from his hand once you’re finished, and you expect him to walk away after perhaps petting you, only to get caught off guard when he takes a hold of you. He made sure to make you comfortable, you got the impression he understood how to carry birds, and you hear him talking about...a vet? Whatever it was, you thought it would be good for you.

After your recovery from your treatment with the bug that latched onto your leg, you decided to stay by Jing Yuan’s side instead of flying away like he thought you would. He tried to get you to fly away once, but he learned the hard way you were happier staying with him as he watches you just drop. Thankfully, your wings did deploy, and after landing safely you chirped up the steps, Jing Yuan chuckling before allowing you to stay.

A couple of months pass happily, you accompanying him when you could and agreeing to stay home when he manages to explain why it was dangerous, you wake up outside. 

That wasn’t what weirded you out. You look down, not recognising your body, and you furrow your brows as you inspect your clothing. A note was on the ground, the writing was most certainly not Jing Yuans, explaining you had been naked outdoors and they only had time to get your clothing on before leaving for other duties. 

Slowly getting up, you get freaked out by how high up you were just by standing. How on earth did you get this...different? Jing Yuan didn’t give you anything strange, right? Surely not, perhaps this was a strange dream you were having.  

“Excuse me, are you alright?” You hear someone ask as they come into your line of sight.

You open your mouth, a confused chirp coming out, and the other person becomes thoroughly confused. 

“Let’s take you to a doctor...” They trail off, you following them as you try to get used to the legs you had now. Your arms extended whenever you went down stairs, many people saw on your short walk, and all you were thinking was ‘when can I wake up from this horrible dream’.

The doctor examined you and found nothing wrong - well, besides the obvious ‘this patient does not exist’ statement after you shake your head when you were asked about your date of birth and your full name. Word spread quite quickly about the strange bird person that showed up out of nowhere, and you learned very quickly that your way of speaking was not normal for anyone around you.

So, you opt to stay silent and live the way you used to. People were kind enough to give you bread, something you found to be patronising and far too filling for your own liking as you attempt to stomach the looks people gave from a distance. It was embarrassing, seeing the people gawking and taking pictures of you before a guard shooed them away, scolding them for being disrespectful. You had to stop eating bread - your body could take it fine (as a human), however your bird mind still insisted it was unsafe for you to continue eating.

You didn’t see Jing Yuan around, which brought you the false hope that maybe this was a horrible dream, and he would be poking you lightly to wake you up. 

--

Jing Yuan grew concerned when he realised you weren’t in your designated spot. With the other birds, he knew not to worry at all about them as they wandered around as they pleased. With you, on the other hand, you naturally slept in your usual sleeping spot and waited for him to wake up, hopping along and chirping when you saw him wake up. Try as he might, he couldn’t rest easy with the thought of you not being safe. He didn’t know what happened with you, and he was hoping to find you one day. 

One evening, a divination revealed to Jing Yuan that you had changed forms. What to? That was not clear, however it gave Jing Yuan a big clue as to what you were not.

--

“My name is Tingyun, the Amicassador for the Luofu Sky-faring Commission merchant guild.” You hear an unfamiliar voice start, sitting across from you. “Who are you?”

You open your mouth, closing it, and then open it once again. This lady looked trustworthy enough, yes, but you learned very quickly that people looked at you strange whenever you spoke. 

“Not a talker? That’s okay!” Tingyun smiles, pulling out a box. She opens it, revealing a baked potato. Your eyes brighten up, Tingyun giggling as she gives you a fork to eat the potato. “I saw people kept giving you bread, and you started throwing it away, so I figured I’d give you something else.”

You were thoroughly enjoying the potato, nodding as you let out a satisfied chirp. 

“I haven’t seen you here before, could you tell me where you’re from?” Tingyun pries in once again, you thinking to yourself before answering with a tweet. 

--

Jing Yuan had heard someone talking with what sounded like a bird, and immediately he drops what he was supposed to be doing as he searches for the source of the bird sound.  

When he turns the corner, making eye contact with you, your eyes widen in recognition as you open your mouth before proceeding to cover it with your hands. Jing Yuan decides to sit at the table as well, the three of you now trying to think of what to say. 

“I was hoping to get some clues as to where a bird of mine has gone to.” Jing Yuan hums out loud, looking around to find another possible bird noise he must have heard by mistake. “They’ve been gone for a couple of days, and it’s not like them to be gone.”

“What do you think?” Tingyun teases, seeming to connect the dots very quickly as both of them turn to face you.

You open your mouth, hesitating before Tingyun gives you an enthusiastic thumbs up, and you communicate your way of saying ‘I think it’s me’.

“Ah, so this is where you went.” Jing Yuan sighs out of relief. “Thank you for looking after them, Tingyun.” 

Tingyun nods, leaving to get back to her usual work as Jing Yuan begins to explain to you that he could arrange a room for you. You agree, the relief hitting you as you realise he isn’t going to abandon you because you are no longer in bird form. He explains the possibility of you being an assistant for him, or perhaps finding another line of work you’d enjoy, before reassuring you that you have time to get familiar with your new life.

#jing yuan #jing yuan + reader #Jing yuan + gender neutral reader #tingyun #gender neutral reader #honkai star rail #hsr

[buhtercups]

Birthday S*x With Magna

((OBVIOUS NFF / NSFW TAG) below the cut))

Magna Swing x OC, Magna Swing x Reader (Any Gender)

Smut, Fluff, Romance

It was the end of the day on Magna's birthday. You all had hung out together as a family.

The Black Bulls family. It was such a great day.

But for the entirety of the day, you had something planned. You wanted to confess your feelings for Magna in a bold way. And you were entirely sure of your decision to do this. He would either flatly reject you or this would be the start of a romance neither one of you would ever forget...

Your heart was racing as you approached Magna. "Hey birthday boy." Magna smirked at you. "That's 'birthday man' to you," he chuckled, "What's up (Y/N)?"

You let out a soft laugh. "I wanted to give you your birthday gift. But not in front of everyone else. Could we go somewhere alone?"

Zora, Luck, and Finral all gave each other a knowing glance. Captain Yami looked up from reading his newspaper for a brief moment, then shook his head, chuckled, and continued reading. "Uh, sure! I don't see why not!" Magna agreed, "Let's go to my room." Zora patted him on the back before you both walked away. "Good luck tonight." Magna gave Zora a puzzled look and shook his head while chuckling as he followed you. "He's gotta be playing dumb, right?" Zora asked, looking at Finral. "He has no fucking idea," Luck laughed. "Who knows?" Finral answered.

---

Magna takes you to his room and shuts the door behind you both.

"Well, what is it you wanted to give me?" Magna asked. "Oh...well...could you just...turn around for a moment? It will add to the surprise."

You inwardly cringed. Is that the best excuse you could come up with? "Sure. I'm sure I'll love whatever it is you've brought for me" he smiled, amused by your antics. He turned around. Your heartbeat could be heard in your ears as you gently started to take off your robe. Next, you started taking off your shirt. Magna made some type of noise.

"I won't be much longer," you squeaked, "Just be patient." You inwardly cringed again. What was wrong with you? "Take your time," Magna said, very softly.

Your arousal went up tenfold from hearing his voice. You couldn't help but start breathing heavier as you took off your pants next. He abruptly took off his sunglasses, never once turning around to honor his word to you, then he stood back up in the exact same spot he was in. You were in your underwear now and it was the only thing covering your body. You began to wonder if he knew what present you were going to give him. You could hear him breathing a little heavier than before. He was also standing there, barely moving. You noticed he was clenching his fists on both sides of his body, like he was holding back. You had this moment all figured out in your head before tonight. You'd get completely naked in front of him, you'd ask him to turn around, and he would be aroused by your boldness. Then he'd take you in his arms and make love to you....

But now? You couldn't move. You were too shy to undress the rest of your clothing. You tried to give yourself a few more minutes to muster up the courage to get completely undressed, but Magna broke the silence first. "(Y/N), can I turn around and help you?" You looked up and finally noticed the mirror. Magna has been watching you undress this whole time. You caught each other's gaze in the mirror and noticed his eyes were intently gazing at your reflection. As you both looked at each other through the reflection of the mirror, he soon revealed his bedroom eyes. His eyes were half lidded, his smile was wide yet seductive, and he looked entirely irresistible. "You know, (Y/N), I tried to push away any dirty thoughts and give you the benefit of the doubt tonight because I know you're such a kind, sweet person. But when I saw you start to undress in the mirror, I must say—" He turns around, his erection obvious in his pants. "I like this new side of you."

He walks up to you pressing his arousal against your body, causing you to moan. He starts swearing, loving how your voice turns him on, and you both start kissing with hunger and passion. Magna's got a big mouth and a large tongue and it's overwhelming at first...

"Wait. Magna. It's going down my throat."

He chuckled.

"That's what she said."

You both laughed as he pulls you back in for a kiss. He tried not to shove his tongue down your throat as much and he's learning as he goes. You love how he tastes. He used some type of cinnamon and clove toothpaste that makes his breath taste good.

He suddenly broke off the kiss, giving you a somewhat serious expression.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Y/N. This is my first time. I'm not gonna last that long. So let's take our time and I promise I will take good care of you since you're so kind to gift me your body on my birthday."

You tensed up. That isn't what you meant.

"What? What did I say?" he asked, quickly noticing you were tensing, "Is it because I told you I'm a virgin?"

"No. That's not it at all."

"Then tell me what's wrong, please," he said, frowning.

"Magna, I really like you a lot," you gush, "I wanted to make love to you to show you how much I care about you."

He smiled at you, "Well, correct me if I am wrong, but I think if you just 'liked me' you wouldn't want to necessarily seduce me into birthday sex."

You were silent, not sure how to respond.

"I know you've had feelings for me for a while," he said, "To be honest, I've been getting feelings for you too. When I saw you get naked, I felt like my wildest fantasies were coming true."

"But why? I'm nothing special—"

He frowns and quickly pulled you in closer to him.

"Don't ever say that again. You are one of the most special people I know."

"Magna..."

"I need to know," he continued, "Do you just like me or...is it something more than that?"

"No," you said, "It's something more than 'like'. I'm...I'm falling in love with you."

He kissed you and you knew he felt the same way you did.

"(Y/N) if we do this tonight, there's no going back. After tonight, you'll be mine. I'll never let you go. You'll be my first and last love."

"I had my mind made up before I came to you," you answered, "I want this with you, Magna. Let's make love."

He smiled at you, holding you close to him. He moved his hand over your lower back and gently guided you to his bed...

He had you lay down on your back while he ripped off his robe, vest, and shirt. He smiled at you as you admired his bare chest. Next, he removed his shoes and trousers. He left on his dark red briefs, proudly displaying his erection.

Soon, he moved onto the bed started removing your underwear with his hands and teeth. You felt his hands shaking while also trying to seem confident. Once he had gotten you naked, you quietly asked him to take off his black half gloves and he obliged. You felt his full hands over your body and you eagerly placed his hands in yours as he rested his body, including his warm erection, in-between your legs.

You two kissed deeply and you felt Magna rub himself up and down over you. Dry humping you. You both grunted and whimpered from your building sexual tensions. Magna kept rubbing his cock over you, going faster and faster. It almost felt like sex.

As Magna started making arousing noises, he slowed down and started moaning over you. You quickly realized that Magna had ejaculated in his underwear. Your sex was fully aroused from feeling Magna dry hump you up until this point. You had never felt this turned on before.

"We're not done yet," he managed, before quickly moving downwards. Soon, he was diving down in-between your legs.

You made new noises that you had never heard yourself make before. Magna Swing was going down on you and making you feel really good. He was licking, sucking, and kissing all over your sex. The louder you got, the more intense his action would become. Since you were already worked up from earlier, you soon started to reach your own climax.

"Magna!"

You cried out his name as you cum. The rush of pleasure overtakes you as you gasp and pant for breath. You heard Magna slurping, swallowing, and enjoying every drop of you.

"Fuck. You taste amazing, (Y/N)."

You say nothing, too flustered to respond.

Magna comes up and gave you another kiss.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," you responded.

The night continued as you wrap yourselves in each other's arms and kissed and held each other. Magna pulled back to kiss and suck your neck. Soon, he is sucking and gently biting you. You return the favor and also lick, suck, and gently bite his neck. He groans deeply and you start feeling his erection come back to life.

"Don't stop," he breathlessly pleas.

You traveled lower and kiss and suck over his chest. When you suck and bite his chest, he groans again. You rubbed your hands all over his chest, back, and waist. You enjoyed every inch of him. He returned the favor and rubbed all over your body too. As you start moaning, Magna bites gently over you.

"I'll be right back."

Magna abruptly gets up and gets something from his dresser. It's a condom.

When he returns, you get into a position that feels comfortable for you and spread open your legs. Magna takes in the sight of you, his eyes darkening and biting his lower lip. After another moment, he moved towards you and starts guiding his cock towards your entrance.

As soon as he felt your flesh connecting, he quickly shoved himself inside of you. You both moaned from the sensations. Magna got right to work and started pumping his cock inside of you. In and out. In and out. He clung onto you as he kept penetrating you over and over again.

Magna activated his stamina conservation skills as he continued to give it to you. Hearing you moan and cry out in pleasure, however, was pushing him closer to his second orgasm already.

He stopped to lean down and give you a kiss before rubbing your body gently. As soon as he calmed down, he started back up again.

You cried out his name and he called out yours.

He completely let himself go as he gave you all that he had left to give. He held on as long as he possibly could before he was about to explode again. He grunted, moaned, then felt a great release from his groin. Cumming the second time felt even better than the first.

He grabbed the condom and slowly removed himself from you. When he came back, he held you in his arms and over his chest. You could hear his racing heartbeat as you enjoyed the afterglow of your lovemaking.

"This probably has to be one of the best birthdays I've ever had," he admitted to you, smiling, "Thank you for your gift."

"Thank you for loving me," you said.

Covered in each other's sweat, you continued to rest in each other's arms in silence...

#Magna Swing #Fanfiction #Oneshot #one-shot #fanfic #smut #birthday sex #spicy #lemon #Black Clover #NFF #Magna Swing x OC #Magna Swing x Reader #Magna Swing x Y/N #Magna Swing x S/I

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

social media’s in a nutshell, but the people who actually use them.

Twitter: So did I you know your an awful person?

also twitter: Racism, racism, racism, sexism, your best friend talking about a dog they saw, sexism, sexism, homophobia, homophobia, homophobia, transphobia, NSFW art from a mutual, transphobia, transphobia, and then the worst take in the history of worst takes by some 13 year old or maybe it was actually 30 something you can’t tell.

YouTube: “why YouTube has become a capitalist hellhole for anyone who dares speak about anything not consumer friendly: A video essay” 4 hours and 50 minutes long, 40,895 views.

also YouTube: “me and my friend are mermaids btw here’s how to do the mermaid spell! Easy in 1 step!” 26 minutes long.

also also YouTube: “I COMMITED TAX FRAUD AND TRIED TO OUTRUN THE AUTHORITIES CHALLENGE 24 HOUR CHALLENGE PART 1 OF 279” 10 minutes long and has almost a billion views.

also also also YouTube: “beheading” 13 minutes long, with 1,600 views.

ALSO ALSO ALSO ALSO YouTube: “HUGGY WUGGY TOILET NAKED VORE?” 20 minutes long, 8 million views.

4chan: be me> sexless loser> finds amazing wonderful woman who loves me for me> she’s fat> keep her until someone else comes> me and her do exercise and eat better> she becomes 100/10> gets married> has kids> love of my life>

also 4chan: ROBOTS, /B/ WE MUST UNITE THIS FUCKER BLENDERED A CAT WE MUST KILL HIM>

THAT (insert string of slurs) WILL GET WHAT’S COMING TO HIM>

FOUND HIS ADDRESS AT 404 CATBLENDER MAN STREET>

AUTHORITIES CALLED I GOT THE RSPCA AT THE HOUSE LETS GO /B/ FUCK YEAH THIS IS A WIN FOR ALL THE ROBOTS LETS GO>

also also 4chan: *the most graphic picture you have ever seen that haunts your soul and your life you will never be the same* hey /b/ look what I found>

also also also 4chan: guys, *insert the most out of pocket slur filled green post you hav ever seen* and that’s why I think (insert minority) are degenerates>

tiktok: *video of hatsune miku dancing with the caption* it’s not okay to encourage ED$ instead be kind and respectful and not be f@tphobic and @blei$t

also TikTok: *a video plays before quickly cutting out replaced with a new one* YOU ARE MAKING PEOPLE UNALIVE THEMSELVES WITH THIS TIKTOK GET HELP TRANS PEOPLE AREN’T GŘOÖMËRS AND PDFILES YOU ARE AWFUL!

also also TikTok: *a video plays of a montage of red and black text* you never saw me as real, you never saw me. I’m going to k1ll myself soon, life is too hard my parents have taken away my ps5 and my phones I am making this on my friends phone. Good bye cruel world.

also also also TikTok: *dangerous things happen in quick succession* “so that’s how you do a deep clean of your home!” comments : girly😭 NO you can’t use 🔥 on wooden floorboards 😰

comments: 💀💀💀 bro’s using chemical weapons to clean her sink💀💀💀

Comments: BLEACH IN YOUR FISHTANK? GIRL ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOUR BF’S DISCUS😬

comments: okay you did so many things wrong here and genuinely I’m surprised your are still alive-1

Cleangirly: no it was pretty safe idk what you mean🤷‍♀️

Comments:WHAT DO YOU MEAN SAFE? YOU SET A FIRE TO CLEAN THE FLOORBOARDS?-2

Also also also ALSO TikTok: *a video explaining why if you hate the color blue your a narcissist* yeah anyone who hates blue is a big red flag girlies

Tumblr: “guys penis” 1 million notes

also tumblr: *a long post explaining the intricacies of sexuality, sexism, the queer identity, toxic masculinity, and how colonialism and racism plays into it.* so yeah long post whoops.

reblog: *the most loaded toxic reblog you have ever seen* woman should all be killed.

reblog: *starts out making some form of sense then devolves* ALL MEN ARE RAPISTS AND SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH NOW

reblog: *a story relating heavily to the post, which makes the original post better by its addition* so yeah some other re blogs are missing the point but you really put my experience into words thank you <3

reblog: *a picture of the tags filled with the weirdest take you have ever seen* Uhh who are you and can you leave tumblr? Thanks?

also also tumblr: gifly the gif, share gifly the gif because look at him *mindbogglingly fast images flash*

Quora: “why is the sky blue?”

answer 1: because god made it that way in his infinite wisdom

answer 2: because *long winded but concise explanation on how it works* I have a doctorate in this subject.

awnser 3: Long story short, it’s not blue it’s the ozone or something.

Facebook: “meemaw want to add you as a friend” *presses yes, anyone you have ever known tangentially appears in the Facebook friends page*

Also Facebook: “Gerald is my husband who I love”

Comments: that’s nice Geraldine, happy anniversary

Comments: *long winded conspiracy theory* that’s why the illegals want to rule the world and destroy us all

also also also Facebook: *random 5minute crafts video* TOP TEN LIFE HACKS FOR COOKING!

comments: oh what an amazing video! -Geraldine

comments: YOU CAN MAKE THE POPPED CORN WITH A COKA COLA CAN?

comments: I am showing this to my dear wife Geraldine. -Gerald

omegle: *video starts live-streaming and you see an older man’s cock* “…” “…” “you 13?” “…” *ends chat*

also Omegle: *you and a guy talk for ages* that was awesome here’s my socials! See you soon friend!

reddit: “why the Reddit mods are power hungry” *it is a screenshot of a screenshot talking about mod abuse.* “REDDIT WANTS US SILENT WE MUST FIGHT!” *deleted post*

also Reddit: “top ten anime wifus in (PEDO BAIT SHOW) and why I’d fuck them”

also also Reddit: “how do you fix a bolted screw valve on a pressure cooker…”

Vine: *5 seconds of comedy*

#-pop #My post #social media #Funny #memes #Omegle #tumblr #YouTube #twitter #reddit #Vine #Qoura #TikTok

[nullcanary]

songfic tag game!

Thank you @lamortwrites for the tag!

tagging: @fenharael @wraith-caller @no-braincells-inc @nnairdav if you feel like playing! If you want to join in, go ahead and tag me :)

Pick a song to accompany each of your fics or as many as you like. This might be the fic's inspiration or just pure vibes that you'd like to share with readers. Tag as many people as fics you feature (or do as you please!)

took me a moment to get to this, but it's been on my mind since you tagged me! while I've only publically posted one of my fics, I've still got several in my WIPs folder that I'm polishing up to post one of these days. I love finding a new song, listening to it on repeat, and diving into an hours long writing spiral.

The Night House (bg3, gortash/durge, explicit, dominate person/throat fingering/blood pacts, m/m, 4.9k)

title: Paranoic Intervals/Body Dysmorphia by Of Montreal

Counting wolves in your paranoiac intervals

Nobody's leaving, nobody is off the beat

You shouldn't try to unpeel my Pavlovian bells

You should be fucking with no one else

Anyone but me is an antipathy

Anyone but me is just your enemy

Only I see you the way you want to see yourself

You should be fucking with no one else

[bonus song]

title: Up To No Good by The Hoosiers

Don't get too comfortable with the man who has no history

Shadows climbing walls hide cracks we don't want other eyes to see

You tell me to shut my mouth, you love the mystery

So he tells you love you now?

Driving you crazy how

Fingers on lips, allow his hands on your hips

You know you shouldn't do this

But there's no turning back

Doctor's Orders (dos2, loshe/doctor|adramahlihk, explicit, possession/masturbation, m/f, 1.9k)

title: Mx. Sinister by I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

Oh you never seem to notice

That my heart beats for you

So I'll open you up

And make yours beat for me too

And I'll get you yet

I've got to make you mine

Worst Impressions (elden ring, varré/tarnished, explicit, gore/torture/drugging, m/f, 2.8k)

title: Flip by Glass Animals

Here's to the one with the smoking stare

Running through my head with a bolo knife

Chopping up the threads made up from looms

Of love and blood and hate and some empty tunes

Mechanics of Affection (bg3, dark urge/gortash look-a-like, explicit, vivisection/masturbation/crisis of faith, m/f, 2.5k)

title: Mongrel Heart by Broken Bells

Would it be wrong

To clamp down on your racing heart, Love?

And if they'd known, what sifted down to be found out?

It's not what you deserve

Love is turning you out

Sliding worry round

I try to warn its waiting game

To bring that specter down

Letter to an Old Friend (bg3, gortash/durge, angst/reunions/memory loss, 1.5k)

title: The Opposite of Loneliness by foyer

I can tell you all the ways that it goes wrong

I can fill you in on everything since you've been gone

Hold your shadow next to mine the shape that you outgrew.

Bootlicker (bg3, tav/gortash, explicit, bootlicking/desk sex/dubcon, m/f, 3.6k)

title: Hatefuck by The Bravery

What would they say now if they saw you in this place?

Naked and breathless, could you live with this disgrace?

Could you live? Could you live? Could you live with this?

And there will be no tenderness, no tenderness

When the Coat Drops (bg3, gortash/durge, angst/loss/emotional breakdowns, 2.9k)

title: Through Me (The Flood) by Hozier

The unemployment of the mouth

The waking up, having forgotten

And remembering again the full extent

Of what forever is

With each grave

I think of loss and I can only think of you

I couldn't measure it

The Black Hound (bg3, gortash/durge, explicit, a/b/o, knotting/praise kink, m/m, 3.5k)

[ this song is so goddamn hot and I will apply it to every ship forever until the end of time end tweet]

title: Fever Moon by Kevin Devine

You're quick sand

And every morning say I won't get stuck again

I work and fight but just sink deeper in the end

But by nightfall baby here I always am

I tie myself in knots

You come and shake me loose

I'm bound up in you

We push til you're through

Lit up with the proof

#songfic tag game #thank you for the tag! #lamortwrites #tag game

[darkenamour]

THIS IS A CENSORED VERSION, LINK TO UNCENSORED VERSION BELOW.

BE MINDFUL OF THE TAGS

Warnings: NonCon, Kidnapping, Rope Bondage

Summary: After a blind date gone wrong, you find yourself with an opportunity to break an eight year dry spell. Only catch is that you don't remember who they are, or if they even want to sleep with you. Too bad for them, because you want to end that day spell no matter the cost.

You were up bored and drunk one night while trying to get home. When you passed an alley you saw a girl sleeping on a pile of newspapers. You don't remember much after that. When you woke up in the morning, you had a pounding headache. It was the beginning of the weekend so you decided to sleep it off your hangover, until you heard something shuffling in your room. Sitting up on your bed, you look around your messy room, then you see her. The girl in the alley.

She was filthy, had matted hair, looked to be a teenager, and was completely tied up in thick rope. She looked at you with wide eyes and tried to scoot away, but her arms and legs were tightly bound. Her muffled screams came from her taped mouth, as tears ran down her face. You tried to remember what exactly happened last night.

Yesterday you were set up on a blind date by your friend. They told you to try to get your dick wet, since the last time you had any action was at least eight years ago. The date started off great until they heard about your job. Apparently your friend lied to them and said you were a serious office worker. She left you with a large bill and blue balls. The bar across the street looked inviting, so you stayed to drink until the bartender cut you off. After that, it was all a blur.

Muffled crying caught your attention again. Why did you bring a possibly underage girl, a homeless girl, into your house to tie up? You got up from bed to free her, until you noticed the pattern of the knots. It looked exactly like the knots in a bdsm magazine you had. Sure enough, that same magazine was laying next to the girl. It was a knot that would immobilize the person, trapping them in place. What was drunk you thinking about that made it seem like a good idea to tie up a girl?

You got closer and noticed that the girl was completely naked. She was so caked with grime that it looked like she was wearing clothes. Your cock twitched, there was a naked girl, tied up, and in your room. Now you know what drunk you were thinking about. Here was a homeless girl, someone no one would probably look for if she went missing, that you could take advantage of. Sober you really wanted to let her go, but your cock needed to sink into something soon. Your phone rang.

Answering the phone had your friend's voice greet you. “Hey, man, I got those results you asked for.” Your friend was a doctor at the local hospital, so you took advantage of his degree. This time though, you don't remember asking him for anything recently. 

“What?” 

Your friend laughed. “I knew you were fuck faced last night, but forgetting that you had me testing potential pussy? You must have been fucked!” You gave a weak chuckle back. “Anyways to recap, you had me test the stoned homeless chick, which like you must have been desperate.” He stresses. “So her results came back all negative. Meaning that pussy, even if the outside is dirty, is squeaky clean. Though personal I would still wear a condom, bro. Anyway, if you still have the stoner, homeless girl, have fun.” You thanked him and hung up.

So now you know that originally this was consensual, but something happened along the way. You decided to rip the tape off her mouth. She cried as it came off.

“Please, I sucked you off already. Let me go.” She begged. “I don't want the money any more, let me go.” 

#smut writing #tw noncon #tw kidnapping #r4p3 fantasy

[writingsofhubris]

Portrait of a Lady

↞ | ← | Master | AO3 | →

Ch 5. Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead, Rating: E WC: Tags: Lovecraftian Monster(s), Human/Monster Romance, Oviposition, Tentacle Sex, Cancer Ship: Harding Hooten/Reader Disc: You'd met Harding elsewhere, even though you'd never talked for more than a few minuets. When you'd stopped into his emergency room, when you'd visited Chelsea, you found yourself looking at a man you'd known only in passing heading your care. He'd led you through tumultuous questions, opened up as easily as any of the surgeons could open up a person. Somehow, you'd been drawn to Harding, and he was willing to take you up on your offer.

The morning sun was beautiful, streaming into Harding’s room. It was clear he’d chosen this room for that reason, the bed lined up just right to receive the rays of light without shining right into someone’s eyes. But, well, there was the little fact that both of you were still naked. You hadn’t bothered to get dressed after Harding had fucked your brains out last night, and your eyes took just a moment to move over his body, silence hanging once again in the air. With the blankets haphazardly thrown around you two, Harding’s entire body was on view. You saw scars from a long lived life, a mole on his back that was flush to his skin.

You had to cover your face for just a moment, trying to see if you were still asleep. Not just the surprise of actually having lucked into Harding’s bed, for the last few months. When your hands pulled away, you still saw it. A black tentacle, striped with a red vein from the base of Harding's back, just to the tips of black ends.

He must have felt your eyes on him, staring for vastly too long. His own lids slid open, and a lazy smile appeared on his lips from simply looking at you. Soft, kind, almost enough to distract you.

“Good morning,” you whispered.

“Good morning.” His hand moved to take yours, pressing a kiss to your knuckles.

“You’re going to have to explain something to me, Harding.” Your eyes slipped down his body, once again looking at the tentacle. Before your eyes, it slithered back to hide, disappearing. “Cause I know I’m not seeing things.” Your voice lost all strength at the last words, looking down at Harding once again.

“I didn’t quite mean for you to see them.”

“But I did.”

“You did.” A few beats of silence, before you spoke again. Sure, a million questions were flooding your mind. Certainly you were going to interrogate the hell out of him in a few hours. But, when were you going to get this chances gain?

“Can you… Can you show me them?”

“Certainly.” But he spent an extra moment before sitting on the edge of the bed.

He wasn’t facing you, so you couldn’t read his expressions easily. Instead, you saw the skin on his back start to molt and morph, undulations of flesh processing in your brain wrong. It wasn’t possible for that to happen, regardless, but you could see a passage of the past and future, uncomprehending to your mind. You hadn’t even realized you had moved to kneel behind Harding, looking at the flesh. When a tentacle suddenly wrapped around your wrist, you were shaken from the trance, and looked up at Harding quickly.

“What…?”

“You have a lot of questions that will be answered in time.” Harding stood from the bed, and moved to rest on the footboard, large hands taking his weight, watching you closely. “If you are willing to learn more.”

“Do you want me to?”

“I haven’t even offered such a gift to anyone in a very long time.”

“Are you sure you didn’t mean for me to see them?” You looked to the side of Harding, unable to meet his eyes at the question.

“Not this soon.”

“So… They’re not sentient?”

“Not in the slightest. They are controlled by my mind.” Your lip was caught in your teeth for just a moment, eyes flicking over Harding, before landing on his furrowed brows. He knew there was something in your mind, but not entirely sure what it was. His brow smoothed into understanding just as your body slipped back onto his bed letting your legs open just slightly, gaze stuck on Harding. You looked down your body at him, standing at the foot of his bed. His eyes flicked to your groin, where he’d been just hours ago.

“So they listen to you,” you continued.

“Yes.”

“Entirely?”

“Completely; they're simply an extension of myself.” By this time, you had shimmied onto the middle of the bed.

“Okay. Okay, you have tentacles.”

“I do.”

“Want to show me how well you can use them?” Your legs fell open fully, and Harding’s eyes snapped down between your legs, a grin appearing on his lips. He walked around the edge of the bed, eyes glued.

“Are you sure?”

“Please.” Your eyes weren’t on his gaze, but instead of the three dark black and red tentacles that unfurled from his skin, changing from flesh to dark like the camouflage of any normal animal. A tentacle moved from his back to your ankle, wrapping around it and slowly tugging your leg further down, sliding your body to the edge of the bed. Despite the tentacle being as immobile as granite, it still felt soft; not quite velvet or silk, a new texture you’d never felt before. It felt like a coil of warmth around your limb, relaxing each muscle. Harding met you, hovering over your legs. Your breath caught, and you looked him back in the eyes. "God, Harding. Please show me."

His grin was predatory, right before his lips moved down to press a kiss to your lips, his body pressing hard against yours. Tentacles wrapped around your arms, holding your upper body secure, tips pressed into your hands.

Nearly without thinking, one of your hands took a tentacle, and guided it to your lips. Your tongue darted out to it, tasting a salty flesh with a bit of ozone, a taste you were well familiar with. You reached the tip of the trendle, and slipped the tip into your lips, sucking on it. His breath fanned over your body, sighing in pleasure. As if in response, another tentacle moved to your breast, and flicked your nipple before sealing over it, testing your response.

You arched into the new sensation, so very similar to when Harding’s lips would seal around your own nipple, but lacked the feeling of his tongue. Another suck from the tentacle, and your attention was taken.

A tentacle wrapped around your calf, manipulating your leg to push against your torso tightly. His hand found yours, pinned open by his hand. Your slit was entirely on display for him, and a thin tentacle slipped to your clit, slowly rubbing. Pleasure bloomed through you, and you had to suck the tentacle into your mouth to prevent yourself from reacting too loudly. Harding softly groaned into the air between you two, letting the tip of one tentacle drift to your hole, sliding along the skin as a slick substance coated you.

"You're so warm."

"Please, please,” you whispered, when his tentacle pulled from your mouth. Heat penetrated your skin deeper than just when his hands would trail over your body. It was as if his tentacles could touch under your skin. It was intimate in a way deeper than before.

“Please what?”

“Harding, please show me what you can do with that.” His smirk was confident, too certain of himself and your desire. The tentacle between your legs pushed into you. It was thin, much too thin at first. He slid into you, curling around and shifting. You had to arch into the thrust, sliding and curling around in your body. He reached spots that hadn’t been touched before, pressing deeper into your body.

You curled up into him, a cry tearing from your lips. The pleasure that he was pulling from your body was new in the best way, all curved and wriggling. Each flick of the tentacle pulled a new wave of pleasure, until you felt yourself tip over the edge and cum.

The tentacle around your calf tightened just slightly, shifting your leg harder against your torso, spreading your legs further apart. The tentacles inside you slowly kept moving as you came, each tremor prolonged by the undulations of his tentacles.

“Was that what you were expecting?” You shook your head no, taking a deep breath in. “Good.”

That was all he said before you felt the tentacles start to move once more inside you, starting to shift within you slowly. Each stroke of the tentacles proved just how sensitive you were.

Another shadowy tentacle solidified from the air, just to land on your clit, slowly circling the bud to bring you more pleasure. A layer of liquid spread over your bud, the sensitivity fading as he started to rub your clit. Pleasure flooded through your body, each caress a new sensation. Every bit was new, strange, but so very fulfilling.

Harding was proving just how well they listened to him; with a rhythmic suck against your clit, he wrung another orgasm from your body.

Pulsed and wriggled, each movement drove more pleasure into your body. You don’t think Harding would be able to get rid of you even if he wanted, now.

Harding’s pager had gone off hours ago. You’d woken to find yourself alone, but with a small plate of food next to you on the nightstand. Nothing more than water, an apple, and some granola. The part that you really enjoyed was the note left just next to the food. His distinctive handwriting, long strokes on fine paper, told you to eat and have a good day, and he hoped to be home in time for dinner.

Munching on the food, you took your phone, opening the messages, scrolling for just a moment. Your goal was tapped quickly. Jolene’s name, just at the top of your messages.

[Txt from: ⧯⧯] What are you doing for lunch?

[Txt from: J] Where are you taking me?

[Txt from: ⧯⧯] I’ll be by in two hours.

She was back in one of her beautiful creations, casual and full of style. Her elegance could never be understated, never be disregarded. Jolene owned the dining room.

“Hello, dear.”

“Hello,” you replied, giving Jolene a kiss on the cheek, and her back to you. It had felt like ages since you’d last had an opportunity to catch back up, to have lunch together. “You are looking fantastic."

"And you are just glowing. This style, beautiful." She put her hands on your shoulders, and squeezed them. "You really are looking better."

"Thank you, honestly. I'm feeling loads better now. And today, I'm hungry as hell." You both laughed, pulling up the menus as you caught up. She'd found her yearly Beau, her inspiration for the next year. Whatever style he liked, combined with her signature style.

And you? Well, she was happy to hear that Harding was pulling his weight in bed, and doubly so in carrying for you so soon after your treatments.

#x reader #harding hooten #harding hooten x reader #lemon #au #.w #portrait of a lady

[borntoocry]

All Your Glory

pairing: robin buckley x fem oc! 

genre: coming out; secret crush

summary: Helena (Lena/ Lee•Na) has had a secret crush on robin for a while and thinks but hopes robin knows. 

authors note: I’ve been thinking about writing a quick robin one-shot and now that i’ve written this one... i want to continue adding to this--maybe!? also, touch tank reminds me of robin and so think of that song when you’re reading:) 

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

I wondered if Robin knew I was into girls just as much as she was. I wondered if she saw the way I wore my jeans, or how I nearly wore business attire with ties and scruffy loafers or sneakers because she enjoyed wearing the same thing. I wondered if she noticed but said nothing because she didn’t know how to bring it up in our conversations; or maybe she didn’t care. 

I also wondered if Robin knew that I liked her. That I took my time in counting her freckles and imagining them hovering over me, or in front of me as she pressed her lips onto mine. I wondered if she thought of me the same way. I wondered if she knew already, and if she did, if she even cared. 

I talked about her a lot and I never seemed to shut up about her. First it was about her recent haircut and hair tint, and how she looked absolutely beautiful. Then I spoke about her new job, and how I was excited that she no longer had to dress in navy blue attire with long socks and a lousy hat atop her head. Then I spoke about her coming over every week, almost every day, and simply being around me without speaking. Sometimes we would rent VCR tapes from Family Video, buy food from the store a couple of blocks from my house, and have a fun sleepover. 

There was nothing wrong with speaking about Robin–not in my opinion. It filled the silence; and at times it was better than speaking about what was happening at home. Robin never considered it odd either–when we were surrounded by Steve and Dustin tagging along, or Max stumbling in to rent another movie to watch with her mom. She usually pinched my side or dug her head into my back, as if she were a dog nuzzling her head into her owner. I never acknowledged her crazed movements, only if she begged me to stop with the voice of a child. 

I hung around Robin more than anyone else. She would stop by my house and my parents would cook us dinner. We would take it to my backyard where I held my treehouse and we would eat inside until it was dark. Then, we would smoke a couple of cigarettes and two dainty joints and sneak back inside, up to my room where we painted each other’s nails and I drowned her face in makeup. 

When she took a shower, I always patiently waited and when she returned to my room, I would pretend to be asleep. I might’ve been into women, but I’d never seen a woman naked before unless it was through my brother’s hidden Playboys. I wasn’t sure if I was okay with seeing a woman naked, nor if I even wanted to see a woman naked. Of course I did, but it was painful to come to terms with finally stepping into the person I was. Especially with how everyone was extremely against gay people. 

I was now lying beside Robin in my bed: her head lying on my lap, her hand stretched across her stomach, rubbing circles on the patch of bare skin. We were watching a new romance film that had recently been released to Family Video. I heard great things from the people at school, so I told Robin to steal it when she could, and she took it on a great night–on a Friday. 

At the moment there was the main character Lola, speaking to her ex-best friend, Coletta. They stopped speaking but began catching up after Coletta found out Lola was getting married to a man named John Silverspoon. And now they were… making up. Or making out. Or touching and telling each other they wanted to confess their feelings for as long as they could remember. 

Oh. Was this the movie people at school were recommending?, I thought. There was absolutely no way people from school were recommending a lesbian film. 

“This is sick!” Robin exclaimed. 

“I can’t believe people told us to watch this movie,” I whispered. 

“Why?” she asked. 

I shrugged. “I guess ‘cause no one talks about gay people. No one really wants to talk about them.” 

Robin removed her head from my lap and slid off the bed. She marched to the TV, paused the movie, and hopped back onto my bed. “So let’s talk about it,” she said as she tucked her legs into one another and pressed her hands on my knees. There was a shock that trickled over me and temporarily paralized me. 

“What do we talk about?” I asked. I most certainly sounded like a mouse. 

“You.” She smiled. She looked me right in my eyes and stuck her tongue out, coating her lips like she was truly interested; preparing herself to speak. 

While she seemed amused, I was terrified. Albeit wondering if she realized I liked women too, I wasn’t keen on her finding out and talking to me about it. I simply wanted her to find out and take me as I was without further questions.

“What do you mean… Robin?” 

She rolled her eyes and said, “I know you like girls.” 

“What?” I asked again. “No.” 

She raised an eyebrow and asked, “So you don’t like girls?” 

I shrugged. “No. They’re… not for me.” 

“Really?” 

“Yes. I like dick.” 

She burst into laughter. She shook her head and pressed her hand atop my mouth rather than atop hers. “Don’t you ever say that ever again! I know you don’t, Helena, so cut the bullshit. You like girls, don’t you?” 

“No, Robin, I don’t,” I spoke. My words felt harsh on my tongue: burning their way through my throat and marking my teeth and tongue. 

She scoffed and shrugged. “Ouch. Well I’m disappointed.” She then continued to rest her head on my shoulder and look up at me. She picked up the end of my braid and removed the elastic protecting it from unraveling. “That upsets me,” she huffed after a beat. 

“What?” I had the air sucked out of me and I wasn’t sure if it was because she was a vacuum or I couldn’t breathe because she was saying she wanted me. “What do you mean?” 

She took this time to place an icy hand on my chin and pull me down towards her. She looked at me with tranquil eyes and a parted mouth and said, “If you’re not into girls, that’s a bummer, because Lola and Coletta could have been us. Or we could have been Lola and Coletta–doesn’t matter, same thing.” 

“Oh,” is all I said. Then when she began slowly nodding, begging me with her eyes to say something, I added, “Well maybe it’s a good thing I lied… then.” 

“You lied?” 

“Yes.”

“I knew it.” 

“How?” I whined. I was desperate to know. 

“How you dress, how you style your hair, how you love talking about me and never stop, even when I pinch you and beg with my slutty voice.” 

“Slutty voice?” I asked with a laugh. 

“Like this: please, Lena, stop telling everyone I wear bright white panties! I only wear them for you!” 

“Oh my GOD!” I pushed her off my lap and jolted up so I was standing on top of my bed. 

She followed suit and stood in front of me, her hands hesitantly raking through her hair as she watched me with ruby cheeks. “I’m… I’m joking.” 

I reached out and grabbed her cheeks, shaking her face around and around. “No you’re not. You’re not kidding, Robin, and that’s okay. I… I like it. I like that you’re not joking.” 

She nodded and proceeded to nuzzle her cheek into my hand. “I don’t think I was joking. I just told you something off the top of my head without thinking bright enough. Maybe that was dumb.” 

I wasn’t sure if I needed to kiss her at this moment, but I wanted to. So I asked. “Can I kiss you?” 

“Why?” she asked. She looked down at me with wide eyes and a look in her eyes that screamed, You like me, seriously, don’t you? 

I shrugged and questioned my entire existence. “I dunno’. I guess I just want to kiss you. Is that fine?” She nodded. I began leaning in but I freaked out, so I pulled away. I froze and whispered, “But you take initiative. I’m scared and I don’t know if you’ve ever kissed a girl, which I don’t think you have because you would have told me but I don’t know, maybe you have. But you seem like you know how to kiss and I don’t have a clue… So please… kiss me before I go crazy.” 

She chuckled but proceeded to pull my face in and plant her lips on top of mine. She kissed me with passion, as they spoke of in the movies, and need, and want, and the need and want to be mine and to kiss me like she never wanted to kiss someone this badly. 

I was entranced. I would have allowed her to do anything to me. I would have given up my virginity that night if she asked me to give it to her. I knew nothing of sex with a woman, but I wanted to try with Robin. If that was what kissing Robin once did to my brain, I wanted to see what kissing her twice did, or kissing her thrice and so fucking forth. 

“I wanted to tell you…” I kissed her. She kissed me. We were still standing on top of my bed, except my back was against the wall. 

“Tell me what?” she asked. She bit my lip and I let out a noise I never released a day in my life. 

“I, uh, I was into you.” I moaned again. She licked my lips with her tongue. 

“Into me or girls in general?” 

“Girls,” I whispered. “But I’m… I’m really into you… too.” 

“Good to know,” she continued. “I’m really into you too. And boobs… God I love your boobs.”

“Good,” I moaned. “They're yours.” 

“Really?” she asked, groping them instantly. 

“Mhm.” I was biting down on my lips–enough to draw blood. “My lips too.”

She removed her lips from mine and held my face in front of hers with her jewelry-clad hands embracing my skin. “That’s also good to know. My boobs and lips are yours too.” 

“Good,” I whispered in the lowest voice. “I really like your lips.” 

“Really?” she panted. 

I hummed. “Yes. I look at them every day when I first look at you. I look at them when you talk, and I watch how you bite down on them. I watch how you chew on them and lick them when you’re either nervous or bored or entranced.” 

“Oh…” Robin was smiling now. Her big bright teeth were shining brighter than my room lights. I was blinded. “You are so gay!” 

I pressed my hand on her mouth and pushed her down onto my mattress. I sat atop her waist and didn’t remove my hand until her hands were ghosting over my hips and her eyes were struggling to stay on my face. Once she couldn’t bear it any longer, I said, “Lookie here, Robin, this is something not everyone can know. I like you, I really do, I just have to shove my sexuality into a locker or a closet and leave it shut until I like… die. Actually, maybe not. There are a lot of people coming out nowadays… but I don’t want to right now. Do you understand? I understand if you don’t understand but–” 

“I understand,” Robin murmured. “I get it. You don’t have to come out yet. I haven’t either. But I’ll be here whenever you do want to, alright?” 

I tucked my lip into my teeth and hummed. “Okay. Maybe I’ll tell Steve and Max. Maybe.” 

“Okay,” she continued. “I support you, Lena. One-hundred percent.” 

I dipped down and kissed her lips the color of cherries again. “Thank you. I also support your… uhm… I support you sexy monstrosity too.” 

She dug her head into my neck and laughed. It vibrated through me. She kissed my neck and hummed. “You’re beautiful. My beautiful. I support you in all your beauty.” 

#robin buckley #robin #robin buckley fluff #stranger things #robin stranger things #maya hawke #kissing #lgbtq community

[adirgeforsinners]

which fairy tale archetype are you?

the long-suffering knight

“Lancelot is: […] Probably sadistic or he would not have taken such frightful care to be gentle. […] 6. Ferociously punitive to his own body. He denies it and slave-drives it. 7. Devoted to ‘honour,’ which he regards as keeping promises and ‘having a Word.’ He tries to be consistent. 8. Curiously tolerant of other people who do not follow his own standards. He was nor shocked by the lady who was naked as a needle. 9. Not without a sense of humour. It was a good joke dressing up as Kay. And he often says amusing things. 10. Fond of being alone. 11. Humble about his athleticism: not false modesty. 12. Self-critical. Aware of some big lack in himself. What was it? 13. Subject to pity, cf. no. 3. 14. Emotional. He is the only person Mallory mentions as crying from relief. 15. Highly strung: subject to nervous breakdowns. 16. Yet practical. He ends by dealing with the Guinevere situation pretty well. He is a good man to have with you in a tight corner. […]18. Human. He firmly believes that for him, it is a choice between God and Guinevere, and he takes Guinevere. He says: This is wrong and against my will, but I can’t help it. […] People he was like: 1. Lawrence of Arabia, 2. A nice captain of the cricket, 3. Parnell, 4. Sir W Raleigh, 5. Hamlet, 6. Me, 7. Prince Rufant, 8. Montros, 9. Tony Ireland or Von Simm […] or whatever, 10. Any mad man, 11. Adam.” — TH White. Torn between guilt and devotion, he represents the late medieval anxiety of whether equal devotion to one's lady and one's liege is possible. He loves both, so he must lose both. He can only end the story happy if he either refuses to indulge his temptation or leaves this world – either for heaven or the fairy realm.

tagged by: no one, saw @omnilimit had done it and decided to jump on the bandwagon

tagging: I mean, whoever wants to, have at it

#memes #the results were startling accurate

[dangerousstrawberryshark]

You have a Beautiful Body (Day 8)

A/N: Hello, my 🍓Little Strawberries🍓! Welcome to day 8 of kinktober! I tried to make this as soft as I can. No major kinks like daddy or dirty talk

DAY 8: Soft Sensual Sex, Body Worship, & Comforting

Pairing(s): Chris Hemsworth x Chubby male reader

Rating: mature (?)

Word Count: 1201

Summary: Chris will show how much he appreciates your body and that you shouldn’t feel ashamed of yourself.

I hope you enjoy it! Sorry if it’s bad, and for any errors that are discovered.

If you like this and wanna read more, you can check out my masterlist.

Keys:

M/N: Male name

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MINORS DNI. FEMALE READERS… I’ll ALLOW YOU TO READ MY FICS BUT DO NOT FETISHIZED ANY OF MY STORIES

DISCLAIMER: I MEAN NO OFFENSE OR DISRESPECT TO ANY OF THESE CELEBRITIES. THIS IS JUST FICTION.

Not sure if this is good. I have never written soft smut before, so this is a first.

TAGS: @gayhopefullove @marilynmonroefanfics @softboy5393 @spnfanboy777 @elliot-damon-2006 @pietroshusband

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*Sigh*

You kept scrolling through the comments of a post you saw on Twitter. You kept looking at the comment, no matter how much you tell yourself to look away, your mind tells you to keep looking.

The picture was of you and Chris eating at a restaurant and leaving together while holding hands. The captions read, “Who is that guy? Why is he holding hands with Chris?” That wasn’t the worst thing. The comment section was the worst.

It was full of rude, degrading, and taunting comments from people who didn’t even know you. Some didn’t leave anything rude, but the majority were rude comments. Some read, “Why would Chris date someone like that?”

“Chris, I’m not being rude but why date him? You could’ve dated anyone and you picked him? You have women fangirling over you and you rejected all of them and decided to settle with a man? What’s more, that guy is overweight, you could’ve someone attractive.”

(I hate it when someone says, “I’m not being rude”)

“Come on, why settle for that one? There are so many hot women out there and settled for a guy of all?”

“I thought you were straight.”

You decided to stop there. You couldn’t read anymore. You threw your phone onto the bed and tears began to run down your cheek. You made your way to the mirror and looked at yourself.

“Am I that fat?” you said, lifting your shirt and touching your sides. You looked at your hands, “Chubby…” you cried harder than before. The bathroom door opened, and Chris came in. He could hear you crying your eyes out.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Chris said in a worried tone. He wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you to his naked chest. You could feel his muscular chest against your back. The room was silent until you decided to break it.

“Do you… hate my body?” you said slowly, but Chris could still hear what you said. You heard him sigh.

“Is it about that post you saw on Twitter?” you said nothing to him. “M/n, I don’t hate your body. Your body isn’t the reason I fell in love with you; I fell in love with you because of your personality. You’re the most handsome person I have ever met and I mean it. Don’t believe what others say online.”

Chris meant everything he said. You cried at his response and turned around, and hugged him. “It’s okay, baby boy. How about I show you how much I love your body.” Chris said, lifting your chin to face him.

You feel his soft lips press against yours as he pulls you closer to him. You wrapped your arms around his neck and Chris did the same by holding your waist. Chris’s tongue poked at your teeth asking for entrance.

When you gave Chris’s entrance, he immediately pushed his tongue in. Chris lifted your body and carried you to the bed where he laid you down. Chris pulled back to breathe. You looked absolutely stunning, face all flustered, some saliva pouring out your mouth.

“I’ll show you how much I love you,” Chris said, removing your shirt slowly and your pants. You tried to hide your body but Chris stopped you. “Stop trying, baby boy. Let me prove to you that I love you?” Chris said calmly, you nodded your head.

Chris started to leave small kisses around your neck. His hands roamed all over your body slowly, you’re starting to love it. All your worries and cries were gone… The only thing you were feeling was a blissful pleasure.

Chris continued to leave small kisses down your neck all down to your stomach. He then reached your bottom half. “You have such soft thighs…” Chris said, rubbing your thighs before lifting them to reveal your little hole.

Chris turned you over so that your ass was facing him. Your stomach touched the soft sheets, you could smell Chris’s scent on them, which kind of turned you on. You felt Chris’s slick tongue lick the rim of your hole.

His large hands gripped your waist as his tongue penetrated you and ate you out. You gripped the sheets as his tongue went deeper inside. “Are you ready, M/n?” Chris asked, taking his pants along with his underwear/boxers/briefs off.

“Y-yes… I’m ready,” you said, burying your head in the sheets, gripping them tightly. You could feel Chris slap his big cock against your ass. “Tell me if I’m hurting you.” You nodded your head.

“Here I go…” Chris said before slipping his cock into your tight hole. You moaned as he went deeper inside you. You gripped the sheets as tight as you can. “Are you hurting?” you shake your head in response.

Chris was now fully inside, his cock was present right against your prostate. You told him to stop so you could get used to it. After 5 minutes, you began to push your ass back against his cock. “I’m ready.”

Chris thrust into you slowly, but he hit your prostate head-on. “You’re so tight for me, baby boy! Your ass is milking me!” Chris groans as your ass tighten around him. His grip on your thighs tighten, that was going to leave a mark later.

“T-this… is amazing!” you moaned as Chris repeatedly hit your prostate. Chris moved one hand and began to jerk your cock off. His big hand engulfed your cock.

“I-I’m gonna cum soon!” Chris warned as his thrusts got harder than before. He wants you and him to cum at the same time. He jerked you off faster.

“I’M GONNA CUM!” you shot ropes of cum all over Chris’s hand while painted your velvet walls with his white paint. (I don’t know what I just said here)

Chris collapsed next to you and pulled you to him. His sweaty body pressed against yours, his hand gently rubbed your sides. “I hope this proves something?” Chris said, cuddling against you.

You smiled before small tears ran down your face. “I love you, Chris,” you said, burying your head into his neck.

THE END!

A/N: I hoped you enjoyed this day! Be prepared for day 9! Bye, my 🍓Little Strawberries🍓!

#x male reader #male reader #male reader imagine #male reader insert #male reader smut #chubby male reader #chris hemsworth #chris hemsworth x chubby male reader #chris hemsworth x male reader #chris hemsworth imagine #chris hemsworth smut #kinktober 2021 #smut

[pascalslittlebrat]

Say My Name

Rating: E , 18+ ONLY!

Pairing: Din Djarin x F!Reader

Word Count: ~2700

Warnings: Breeding kink, Smut- fingering, oral sex (f receiving), unprotected PIV (of course), little lactation kink mention, mentions of pregnancy, a little face tap, 

Summary: Based on a prompt by a sweet  anon, “When I get home I expect you to be undressed and waiting on all fours for me.” Din come backs from a bounty and finds that you didn’t exactly follow his commands.

A/N: I’ve never written breeding kink, so I’m super nervous about this but hope y’all enjoy xo

Also, my taglist got messed up and removed over half my answers so if you’ve signed up, please resign up so I can make sure to tag people properly (sorry if you didn’t sign up for din and you’re tagged)since google forms decided to hate me: taglist signup

Masterlist

Din didn’t know what had come over him in the cantina. Why he had been ready to kick Cobb halfway across the galaxy. He knew Cobb was a natural flirt and the man hadn’t known better, he hadn’t seen you both together since his last visit to Tatooine. Yet, it had brought out something possessive, raw in Din when he saw the man smiling at you and trying to take your hand in his. His hand had itched to reach for his blaster and rid Mos Pelgo of its marshal. He had noticed this feeling rearing its head more and more since Grogu had left.

When I get back, I expect you to be undressed and waiting on all fours for me.

Din didn’t regret those words he had whispered in your ear the moment he walked up behind you, pausing Cobb’s advancements, or the way he could see the arousal shining in your eyes from them. It had made him want to claim you, to let every person on that desert planet know you were his. 

It made him twitch just thinking about you underneath him, panting as he filled you to the brim with his cum. 

Ever since he’d seen you with the kid and others he hadn’t been able to get the image out of his head. Your sweet smile as you rocked Grogu to sleep. The way you played with the children on Sorgan and any other planet you visited with him. Something about seeing this nurturing side made him want nothing more than to take you over and over until you were seeping with his seed, knowing it might just take and end up with you round with his child. 

Maker did the image bring out something in him, that feral possessiveness that wanted to make sure every man knew you were his and his only. He had tried to shove it away, thinking it was wrong to see you in that way. You had been helping him take care of Grogu for kriff’s sake, he was your employer, he shouldn’t have been imagining you naked as he made you cry out and see galaxies of your own.

Then you both had started dancing around each other which led to sharing stolen glances, kisses in dark, learning each other’s bodies. Emotions blooming as your relationship with him progressed. Then he had to give Grogu up for training and you had become his rock, keeping him grounded to whatever planet you both traveled to as he continued his bounty hunting. A shoulder to cry on, a word of comfort, someone to make love to and get lost in, the person he trusted most, that’s what you had become and so much more.

Some would say it was his longing for Grogu, the foundling that had wormed his way into his heart as you had. But Din knew it was something more, he wanted this with you, he had not dared to say it yet but he loved you. He wanted to have you bare his children, create a family that was both of yours. He wanted to see your belly round, breast filled to feed the little ones that were pieces of you each. Siblings for Grogu to play with when he returned from his training, to be a family, complete. It was something he didn’t realize he longed for until you both came into his life.

Just the thought made him feel warm inside, a longing, a need. As he made his way to the room his words to you replayed and he couldn’t wait to walk inside, needing to feel you after the quick battle with Cobb’s bounty. He imagined you in the bed, naked waiting on all fours for him. He could just imagine how dripping wet you’d be. How warm and soft your cunt would be around him. He couldn’t wait to dive inside of you, to fill you completely, letting his cock make itself at home inside you.

He paused when heard soft moans from the room, proof his little cyar'ika hadn’t been able to wait. He opened the door quietly, breath catching at the sight in front of him.

You replayed the words over and over in your head as you laid naked in the bed of the inn you were both staying in on Tatooine. Your body was buzzing, waiting for Din’s arrival after his hunt. The more you replayed the words in your head the wetter and more impatient you were becoming. You knew he had asked for you on all fours but you couldn’t help it, laying on your back, fingers dancing across your naked body imagining his touch.

You shivered thinking of his gloved hands, warm against your skin as he touches the curves of your breasts, before he’d trail down your stomach to your soft thighs. Your hand follows your mind, one exploring your body as the other grabs your breasts, tweaking your nipple. You let out a soft moan as you imagine him between your legs, the way he’d run a thick finger along your wet sex before you’d feel the flick of his tongue, getting a taste of you.

You couldn’t help but buck up into your own hand, fingers teasing your lips before finding your sensitive clit. A gasp escaped your lips at the sensation, back arching off the bed. You knew you should stop, follow the order that had been given, but you couldn’t. Not with the images of Din between your legs running through your head, the way his soft curls would feel tickling your thighs as he devours your pussy like a starved man. You dip a finger inside your warmth, head falling back, as you tease and play with yourself.

You open your eyes, heavy with lust, eyes immediately widening when you see Din leaning against the door arms crossed, helmet tilted. You could just imagine his amused expression underneath at your look of being caught. Your fingers immediately left your now aching core, you had been so close to your climax. “Stars! Din, how long have you been standing there?” you gasp out, sitting up.

“I thought I said to be naked on all fours,” Din responds as he pushes off the wall and makes his way towards you. You gulp as you stare at the black of the visor, trying to read his expression through the helmet. “Someone’s been a naughty girl.”

You feel your cheeks warm at his words, hearing the hiss of his helmet being removed. Dark chocolate eyes meet yours as he sets it down on the nightstand, gloves coming off and being placed beside it. He stalks toward you, your breath hitching as his hungry eyes take in your naked body, making you feel like his prey, preparing for his attack. 

The bed dips and you don’t even have time to react before Din is spreading your legs head dipping between your thighs doing exactly as you had just imagined. He laps at you, drinking you in, nose pressing against your clit. One of your hands grasps the sheets beneath you, the other flying to your mouth, muffling your moan.

Din pulls back, mouth glistening from your juices, his hand swatting your sex, a squeak escaping your lips. “Cyar'ika, pull your hand away and let me hear those pretty moans or I’ll tie them down,” he growls out, you squirm underneath him, the noise going straight to your core, hand falling away. He smirks at you in response, licking a strip between your swollen lips, “Good girl, I want everyone in this inn to know who you belong to.”

His mouth is on you again, sucking on your clit as he adds a finger inside, curling it just right feeling that soft little spot that made your toes curl and pleasure seep into every part of your being. You cried out, reaching a hand down to grasp his hair as he held your thighs down to stop you from squirming. Your moans become louder, Din pulling away to admire you getting close to falling apart. “That’s it cyar’ika, don’t hold back. Say my name, I want everyone to know who makes you feel this way,” he cooes as his mouth moves back on you, his fingers thrusting in and out of you in perfect harmony with his tongue.

He watches you, your back arching off the bed, his name coming out with every flick of his tongue and curl of his fingers. He loved this, hearing you call out his name. After years of not hearing it, there was something about moments like this. The way his name spilled out of your lips like a prayer, the only thing your mind could conjure through the lightspeed of pleasure coursing through it. He could feel you starting to clench around him, your breath becoming more ragged. He pulls away from your sweet little nub, pulling his fingers out, making you let out a whine as you looked up at him with pleading and confused eyes.

Din couldn’t take his eyes off you as you begged him for more, reaching out for him in need, bringing his fingers up to his mouth to lick them clean. Your eyes widened, the desire pooling in your stomach making you squirm under his gaze, another soft plead for him leaving your lips. He quickly removed his beskar, letting it clank to the floor, his clothes joining the pile before he joined you again,“I want you to come around my cock, can you do that for me beautiful?”

You can barely manage a nod, his voice is low, practically coming out a growl.  He cages you underneath him, one hand holding him up beside you as the other coats the head of his cock with your juices as he slides it up and down your soaked lips. You whimper as you feel the stretch of his cock as he enters you, fingers digging into his back.

Din lets out a low hiss as your warmth surrounds him, easing himself inside you bit by bit to let you adjust.Your eyes squeeze shut, loving how full you he made you feel, no man had ever compared to how Din’s length felt inside you. “Fuck, cyar’ika, you’re so fucking warm and soft, I can’t wait to fill this pretty little pussy up,” Din groaned into your ear.

You buck up against him, needing more, your hands moving to grasp his face as you pull him down to your lips, “Din, please.. please fuck me. I want you to fill me.” Your words come out something between a whine and plea, your lips feverishly pressing against his.

Din pauses for a moment and you feel your cheeks burn thinking you’ve said the wrong thing. His molten eyes meet yours, something flashing through them, before he pulls back out thrusting into you roughly, a gasp leaving your lips as he sets a desperate pace, “Is this what you want? Want me to wreck your pretty cunt and fill up with my cum?”

You can barely nod, breathlessly moaning out a yes. He wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you up to rest on his thighs and flush against him, his chest against yours. Din kisses you like a man starved, his thrusts never relenting, the desperate need to have you as close to him as he can.

A hand comes down to squeeze your ass, guiding you as you roll your hips up to meet his thrusts. You feel yourself get lost in him, wanting to reach your release, to help him reach his. His words replayed in your head, feeling the build up of your pleasure. You needed to feel more of him, to have him dripping from you. His lips move down your neck, sucking that sweet spot between your neck and shoulder. 

Din can’t help himself, not after your words, all he could do was think of marking you in every way he could, leaving whatever evidence he could to let everyone know you were his and his only.That feral side of him burst out the moment your warmth surrounded him, blinding him in not wanting to do anything but breed you and make you full of him. He sucks marks down your shoulder, the sight of each one pulling him more into his frenzy. 

“Such a good girl, look at you taking my cock, I can’t wait to fill you sweet girl. I’m going to have you dripping with my cum, make you round with my child,” he breathes out, before he can stop himself.

You whimper at his words, Din was never one to shy away from dirty talk or to be expressive of his pleasure, but never had you heard him speak like this and you feel it awaken something in you. The thought of having his child, watching yourself get round, your breast becoming heavy with milk, the thought of Din’s mouth on them, drinking from you. You feel yourself getting closer to your peak, pulling him back up to you, “Pl-Please...Din...wanna have your little warriors,” you beg, the words going straight to his cock.

“Is that what you want cyar’ika? Want me to fuck a baby into you?” Din asks, watching you lose yourself on him. He sets a steady pace, keeping you close as he moves against you, setting just the right friction between his body and your clit.

You whimper as you nod, barely able to keep your eyes open. You could feel it, the pleasure shooting through your veins. Din watches you start to unfold, the way you grip his arm, body glistening in sweat, skin soft against his. He watches the way your eyes roll back, the rise and fall of your chest as your back arches, your sweet heat clenching around him. “Look so beautiful sweet girl, can’t wait to see you round, have these pretty breasts filled with milk, you’ll let me drink from you won’t you meshla, let me taste your sweet milk?”

You feel Din’s hand on your breast, giving it a squeeze as his mouth swirls around your peaked nub. You feel yourself fall apart at the thought and his mouth, crying out a yes. Your cunt tightens around his cock, the ripple of pleasure hitting you. “Good girl, cum for me baby, scream my name, I want everyone to know who you belong to,” Din grunts as he feels his own release coming.

“Y-you...fuck...all y-yours,” you whimper out as Din continues his torturous pace, you could feel yourself drenching him, sensitivity pulling you closer to another edge.

He grasps your face in his hands, lightly tapping your face. You look at him through heavy eyes, whimpering at the other orgasm he’s about to pull from you “I.want.to.hear.my.name,” he emphasizes each word with a thrust, needing to hear you. He was desperate for it,to hear you say his name as he makes you his. His hand slides between you both, thumb rubbing your sensitive clit.

You scream out his name, it continuing to spill from your lips like a chant, not caring that the whole inn could probably hear you. Din presses his forehead against yours, grunting as you tighten around him again. Your name falls out of his lips as he paints your walls with his cum, your tight heat milking out rope after rope of his seed.

You feel his warmth inside you, making you more full as he empties himself completely. You let out a soft gasp as he pulls out, laying you gently down on the bed. You can feel his cum dripping from you, a smile playing on your lips knowing he left you filled to the brim. He presses a soft kiss to your forehead, as you come down from your high, breathing starting to settle.

You shiver as you feel a calloused finger run over your sensitive lips, scooping up the cum that had dripped out. You gasp as you feel his finger push it back in before bringing his finger up to your mouth. His eyes seem to twinkle as you obediently open, wrapping your lips around his finger as you suck, tasting the salt and sweet, musky mixture of yourself and him. “Can’t let any go to waste now can we?”

taglist:  @purplepascal042 @ezrasbirdie @starlightmornings @danniburgh @mothandpidgeon @charnelhouse @wyn-n-tonic @mesmorales @221bshrlocked @agos-505 @skvatnavle @pintsizemama @starvel-3000 @agentmoonshine1 @sleepylunarwolf @greeneyedblondie44 @a-skov @prettylilhalforc @beskarboobs @stevie75 @starwarslove16 @pedrostories @chronic-nosebleed  @punkerthanpascal @ceniington @morena-doing-stuff  @rebel-fanfare   @xxxroxsxxx @vibin-hippie @spanishmossmagnolia  @kesskirata @amneris21 @punkerthanpascal @nerdypinupcrystal @littlepadika​

#the mandalorian #din djarin x reader #din Djarin x you #din djarin x y/n #Din Djarin #din dijarin fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal character fanfiction #pedro pascal fanfiction #my writing

[herofics]

Hey! Was wondering if you did suggestive content? (I was about to put slightly but this is very much out there, still not fully down and dirty though I don't think ((unless you wanna go there? 😏/hj)) so don't worry 💀💀)

So I was wondering, Dabi, Toga and Twice separately with a gn!so, right? And the s/o is like very open and expressive with everything, very important to note that it's very, very rare to actually see them like shyly flustered for this next part 💀

So basically, one day they're like in private with their s/o and like they're in the mood and whatever and it's building up to the actual thing but like when they're like just about

The *very* open and *very* expressive and *very* confident s/o just starts acting like extremely shy and flustered / embarrassed about everything... basically just a virgin... but... times... pi. Yes. Times pi.

"Oh my god naked bodies 😃😲😳😳🤯😳🤠😳🤯😳🥳"

"OH MY GOD SEX 😟🤓🙁😎😖😥😦😲🤪🤫😐🤭🤭🤗🤪🤗😝😗🥲🥰☺🥰🙃🙃🥰☺😅😝"

"OH MY GOD WE'RE *BOTH* NAKED 🤯🥳🤠🥳🤠🥳🤠🤯🥵🤠🥵🤯🤠😥🤠😥"

"STOP WHAT IF I DONT DO IT RIGHT 💀💀💀💀"

"UHH ARE YOU SURE ABOUT LIKE... DOING... *THIS*???? 😩😫🤯🥳😈😳😳😳😳"

Puts their arms around their head (kinda like deku actually! Just remembered he does that with homegirl uraraka) and just blushes at the fact that they're maybe, possibly, PERHAPS gonna go down. Honestly also just thinks about how beautiful their s/o is all the while 😇

PLS IM SORRY FOR THIS ITS BEEN ON MY MIND FOR AGES AND IF UR UNCOMFY I UNDERSTAND LIKE BEYOND CONPLETELY BUT AS THAT ONE IMAGE I SAW LIKE MONTHS AGO SAYS

"aw man! I can't find the fic that I want on tumblr! And not even the sickos on Ao3 have it, but I can't go about writing it myself!"

So I'm begging for help to my fav fic writer here 💀 I am so sorry that you had to be cursed with this ask 🙏 I truly am

I made you some HCs, since I didn’t feel like doing scenarios and I can fit more stuff into them. I’ve been meaning to add to the rules that suggestive stuff is okay, and I hope this is okay. Toga is aged up to 18 or over and the guys are with a partner of their own age too. I have this one NSFW Dabi post if you want something actually smutty, it’s older so probably not very good. If someone doesn’t want to see posts of this type, blacklist the tag: suggestive. Thank you for requesting this, it was fun to write

Minors stay away I guess?

~Twice/Jin Bubaigawara~

•Twice has not had an intimate relationship since his incident with the whole personality split thing

•He’s very much into you, but he hasn’t pressured or even really asked about if you would like to get intimate with him, because things are enough for him as they are

•Don’t get me wrong he’s totally down to fuck if you want to, but he doesn’t bring it up

•So when you’re a stammering, flustered mess and you’re muttering about how you don’t know what you should do or what you even like really, he’s telling you he’ll make sure you enjoy it and have a good first time

•When the clothes come off you’re sitting on his lap and he’s kissing your neck and his hands are traveling up and down your sides and back

•He keeps talking the whole time, praising you and telling you how good you’re doing, but there’s probably just a little bit of degradation thrown in there too, because that’s just how he talks and is

•So don’t take it badly, if you’re not into that, he tries to keep it to the praising though

•Twice makes sure to keep asking you if you like what he’s doing, because he needs the reassurance too

•You answer his questions, and ask if you’re doing things right and if he likes what you’re doing, but otherwise it’s all moaning and whimpering from you

•Twice doesn’t care about his own pleasure that much, he just wants to make sure you enjoy yourself as much as possible

~Dabi/Todoroki Touya~

•Dabi hasn’t had many relationships, at least not very permanent ones, it’s mostly been about sex for him with the people that came before you

•But it’s different now, he wants to prioritize someone else other than himself for the first time in a long time

•So when you’re getting a bit hot and heavy and he asks if it’s okay to go further, you’re really not sure what you should say or do

•You get super awkward and whisper super quietly “I’m a virgin”

•Dabi can’t make out what you’re saying, because you’re so quiet, so he asks you to repeat yourself

•You’re a bit frustrated, sexually and just normally, so you repeat it pretty loudly

•Dabi chuckles and goes “It’s okay sweetness, I’ll take care of you”

•It’s pretty slow going at first, because he wants you to be sure that you like what’s happening

•He probably kisses every inch of your body during the whole thing, and you’re very much reciprocating

•Dabi is taking the lead in  the situation, but he makes sure you enjoy everything he’s doing as much as he does

•He can get a bit rough at times, but it isn’t his intention to hurt you, unless you want him to of course

•He doesn’t talk much but when he does, he’s praising you, telling you how good you feel and how beautiful you are

•Afterwards he holds you close and makes sure you feel alright and that you enjoyed the whole thing

~Toga Himiko~

•Toga hasn’t actually really dated anyone before you, not seriously anyway, and even if she did, she would’ve most likely just ended up killing her partner before it got intimate

•So she’s never had sex either, but she is very interested and she thinks you’d be a great person to have her first time with and maybe even experiment a bit with

•So when you’re making out and you’re both starting to feel like you want to take it a step further you ask each other if you’re up for it

•Toga is more on the “taking initiative” side, so when she’s straddling your hips and kissing and biting on your neck, she notices you seem pretty frozen in place

•So she lifts her head and you’re bright red and you’ve wrapped your arm over your eyes

•She asks if you’re okay and you start stammering like “Yeah-yeah, I’m totally fine, nothing to worry about here, no sir, I so-so know what I’m doing”

•Toga giggles a bit, because you’re so flustered and awkward, she just asks what’s bothering you and sits on top of you still

•You kinda squirm and try to avoid the question, but Toga starts tickling you and you give in quickly because you end up barely being able to breathe

•You tell her you’re a virgin and you have no experience with this stuff, so you don’t want to disappoint her or do something wrong

•She tells you she’s not experienced either, and that you don’t know how it is until you try

•You’re both fumbling around, you more than Toga but still

•Toga is taking the lead a bit and you’re both exploring each other’s bodies, inch by inch

•Toga takes your hand and puts it on her lower belly, letting you decide where to go from there

•It’s a great time for both of you, many good times are achieved, many times in a row, by both of you

•Toga bites a lot though, so there is bound to be some blood involved, but not too much, because she is pretty much like a vampire

•In the end you’re both pretty tired, but very, very happy

#bnha #mha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #dabi #bnha dabi #mha dabi #todoroki touya #toga himiko #twice #jin bubaigawara #bnha headcanons #mha headcanons #bnha x reader #mha x reader #smut-ish #suggestive #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction