#and i’ve been watching her videos for a while but it wasn’t until last year that i was like hmm i haven’t been excited or happy like that

[lingering-42-long]

The Last Goodbye

When they are Kia

Cod characters x f! reader

Inspired by MW3 and the tragic events that occurred this will be a three-part series if I do not get writers block lol.

So sorry for the not posting as much! It’s been a really crazy month and a lot of things had happened and caused me to have a bit of a depressive episode so thank you all for being super patient!

Warnings: mentions of death

John Price

You saw it on the news first before you got the visit. Your breath hitched when you saw the news of the air strike that had hit the base where your husband of 12 years was stationed at everything was decimated. And you couldn’t call or check to make sure that he was all right as he would not have his personal cell phone with him. It wasn’t until two days after the attack did two uniformed military officers showed up at your door holding prices old hat and SAS badge and dog tags. How they got them so quickly, you weren’t sure, but the news came like a sudden wave of cold water. “ we are so sorry for your loss.” One of the officers told you. The body would be arriving shortly within a week or so for proper burial you two had purchased side-by-side grave plots. And the will was already drawn up well before all of this had happened. John was a very precise man and always make sure to think 12 steps ahead. He knew his job was rough and he knew that at any moment he could drop dead. He made sure that his life insurance would be going to you, which was some relief sense the army didn’t pay much.

How to tell your daughter, that her father was not going to be coming back. What is the worst thing you could ever do to her young heart. She was only eight years old. She adored her father practically worship the ground. He walked on. She was always his little girl, and now the war stripped her of him. Stripped you of him..

When she came home from school, you had to sit her down. You held her hands, and with tears, you told the heartbreaking news. The young girl did not understand at first on why her father wasn’t coming back, and once again, you explained that he had died in action, and he would never be able to come home you’re a little girl started to cry, and when he tried to comfort her, she bolted from your arms and ran to her room, slamming the door, and she could hear her wails. You yourself cried yourself to sleep for the first few weeks all the way up until the funeral your friends and family members gathered around you doing everything that they could to comfort you and your daughter people were calling in every single day talking with you for hours on end, while other people stopped by to bring you food.

Every day it felt like a horrifying nightmare. The one that reoccurs every single time slightly more horrifying than the last. As you were going through your stuff and trying to decide what if his you wanted to keep and what of his you wanted to donate you noticed on your phone you had gotten an email from Kate Lasswell. She had sent a video to you actually several saying in the email that he wanted you to have this and gave her explicit instructions in case if he was to ever die.

Pressing the play button, you watched as his face appeared in the camera as he sat down and smiled at you. The way, his eyes twinkled and the crows feet around them creased. “ hello dove” he started at first and you had to pause the video because you were overwhelmed with the emotions. When you stabilized yourself again, you continued. “ I know it’s been a long time since I’ve talked to you and I know that if you’re seeing this, it means that I have passed….. mission was going to be botched no matter what I just didn’t want to tell you the statistics at first…” he paused himself, as he seem to be collecting his words in his own voice was shaking “ I really wish I could come back home to you. I told you that this would be the last mission that I would do before retiring… I promise to take you out on that date that you wanted to go to that fancy restaurant.” he paused again, closing his eyes, and releasing out a large sigh.

“ I’m sorry I never got to take you…. I had so many plans to do with you and Alice… it doesn’t seem fair that I didn’t get a chance to do that” once again, you had a pause the video so that you could take a minute to cry. The plans that you had with each other right now by the wayside. You unpause did it again, and continued on listening. “ I know right now you’re depressed.” he stated, folding folding his hands, and leaning on the desk in a slightly business fashion way. “ in the email that Kate sent you there is several groups that you can join that are for the spouses of the deceased militant partner. Please join one as well as make sure our daughter also goes to one for kids. She’s going to need that support… you both are.” he smiled again, but it was a Sad smile. “ I also made sure to have a college fund started for her. You don’t have to worry about it until she’s ready. There should be plenty of money for her to attend all the way up until graduate year as long as she goes to a decent university. Make sure it’s only used for that if she chooses not to go to university or to go to a less expensive one, you can use the money to buy her a car or whatever she needs to get her life started…. I’m sorry this had all come to this…. As you know I have set aside a life insurance, and the beneficiary goes to you. I also saved up a lot of my savings as well. Feel free to use it as necessary.” he knew that you were going to be smart with the money. “ He paused and looked at you “you are my beloved…. I’m so sorry my dove that you have to face this alone. Please take care of yourself. Find a husband that loves you like I did and a good father figure for our daughter.” This made him tear up. “I will wait for you in heaven and I will watch over you both. You mean so much love. No one or nothing can separate this love. The email that is sent to you also has several videos for Alice. For her birthdays, graduation, moving out to university, marriage and their child. I made sure to make a video for all of that… I also left many for you. Please don’t hesitate to just let me listen to you… I love you.”

The video ended and you sat in the chair, Thinking things though. He set life up for you and your daughter. He was still looking after both of you. You cried for a bit before getting up and knocking on your daughters door. Your little girl opened up with tears on her face. “Hey baby… daddy sent you something.” She sniffed as you picked her up and took her to your old husband’s office. After sitting down with her in his old chair, you turned on the next video. “Hey Angel!” John’s face lit up when the camera started you could see he had been crying. “Angel, im not coming home, it’s not that I don’t want to but it’s because I got called up to heaven. I want you to do something for me my sweet, I want you to watch over momma ok? She is going to need you and you are going to need her. He glanced up as if looking at you then looked back down at his daughter. “You are such a special little girl. I love you so much. Momma has the other videos for you to watch when you grow up. I’m so so sorry to leave you like this. I did not

I did not want to go. I know you were looking forward to see me and so was I… you are my sunshine. My only sunshine.” He stated singing the song he sang when she was down or sad. “You make me happy, when sky’s are grey. You never know dear, how much I love you, so please don’t take my sunshine away…. I love you my angel.” The video ended. Your daughter looked at you. “What now?” She asked. “Well… now we do what daddy said… we do our best to move on, but not to forget him. We will be OK.” You held her as you too watched the sunset fade beneath the horizon, a beautiful white dove landed on he window, cooed and looked at you before flying off into the golden rays of the pink sky.

Simon Riley

You were cleaning in the kitchen when you heard a knock at the door. Putting the sponge back in the soapy hot water. You wiped your hands and made your way to the door. Two military officers took at the door, Solum faces as they greeted you. “Hello can I help you?” You asked

“Mrs (y/n) Riley?” One of them asked.

“Yes that is me.” You looked at them worried.

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant Simon Riley was killed in action.” The officer said gravely as he handed you a box of his things.

You took the box with tears in your eyes. The men told you that his body was found and would be returning soon. You thanked them and closed the door as you held the box tightly in your arms and sunk to the floor sobbing. Your sweet Simon. He was gone, never to come home to you and your son. You knew it was a dangerous job, but it never really hit you till now. Your husband, the man that always let you take off his mask, the man that would cuddle with you at night and rub your back after a long day, the father of your 3 month old son who he would stay up late to let you sleep. He was gone, ripped apart from you. How were you going to tell your son about his father, the man who loved his son from the moment he was born. You cried on the cold floor till you fell asleep, still holding onto the box. You woke up to the sound of your son crying in his room. Getting up, you walked and a dead sonter to his room. Tomas your son named after your husbands brother, was crying in his cradle. Carfully you picked him up and held him close. He looked so much like his daddy, blonde hair, dark blue eyes, fair skin. “Shhhhh my love” you rocked your son with tears in your eyes. “Daddy isn’t coming back.” You stated as a hiccup got you. “He loved you so much…. He loved me.” You knew your son wouldn’t remember this but it was still so sad to hold your little boy and know he would never have a father and son bonding.

You sobbed as you held onto him. Tomas sensing his mothers destress, he quieted down and cooed. After a while you fed him and put him down to bed once more. You opened the box after sitting down with a hot cup of tea, ready to take on what you needed to. With a sniffle, you opened the lid to reveal his skull mask, the dog tags that he wore, his SAS badge, and a few other things. “Oh Simon” new murmured as you carefully picked up the mask and set the box down as he traced over the lines to his skeletal features on his balaclava. It smelled like him. That rich, earthy smell, that he always seems to have with a hint of gunpowder and bourbon. It was a lingering sent, but it was a good one at that. You held the mass close as you leaned back on the couch and close your eyes. You already missed him more than you did before maybe it was because you knew that you would never see him again, to have him be in the house and be present with you and your son. You would go on with your life fine you are a tough woman, one of the many reasons to why Simon married you, but it was your son that you were worried about. You wanted your son to have a father figure. A dad that he would learn to grow up and love. Simon never had that sort of dad, and had always wanted to be that way for his own children.

Now Simon was never going to live out his dream, and Thomas, your son, was never going to have that sort of special bond. I thought made you incredibly sad once more but no tears fell, your eyes were all dried from the previous crying. The weeks came and the funeral happened, your husband looked peaceful in his casket. You wanted some alone time with him first and held his stiff, cold hand. “ Thomas will miss you… I will miss you. You were my rock and shield. It’s going to be hard without you Si… I will always love you and miss you.” The funeral took place and it was a sad time. The team of 141, your family and friends helped with whatever you needed. Now, you were cleaning out things from your late husband. As you were cleaning out his bedside table drawer, you saw a note, folded up neatly. Curious, you unfolded the lined paper and read the words on the paper.

“My dear (y/n), Birdie if you are digging in my drawer then that means I have passed, the mission was botched… I’m sorry… I know Thomas is in good hands with you. Please don’t worry about money. My account will be given to you. As I am writing this, it’s late, you’re sleeping next to me. It’s the night before we leave… I am looking at you for the last time, taking in all your beautiful details. Your face is so soft in sleep, you look so angelic. I am going to miss you… I know you will miss me too… I’m sorry I haven’t said ‘I love you’ that much. I hope you know I cherished and deeply loved you. I still do. I know you are a strong woman, that is what drew me to you. I know you will move on. If you wish, find someone who can love you and our son just as much as I loved you. I will be waiting for you when you come. I will always be watching out for you. Please don’t let our son forget me. I want him to know how much I loved him and you. I love you my Birdie, my beautiful wife. ~Simon.”

You held onto the paper and cried. This was going to be ruff. You were going to be ok. A sense of comfort filled your mind and warmth flooded your body. “I love you my Simon” you smiled and the familiar sent of him wafted and you felt his warmth envelop you.

Gaz

when the news reached you, it hurt like 1000 tiny little daggers. You had just gotten married to Gaz, your Relationship was just beginning. The two of you had been high school sweethearts. Times had gotten tough for both of you and you broke off your relationship before time being until you rekindled it once again, realizing that he was the only person for you. You had only gotten married a few months prior and just had your honeymoon before he was shipped off. Four months he was gone. And he was supposed to come back in two, however, the letter that you received told a different story. He would never be coming home. His body was blown up so badly that they couldn’t find all the pieces to him. We would do everything that they could to get the majority of him back home so that there could be some proper burial. This broke your heart. He would never get to share the life with you that you too so desperately dreamed about, a small home, somewhere on the suburbs of London with a dog, and maybe a child somewhere down the line. That was your plan at least but now things have changed, and now your beloved was gone.

It had been a few weeks since the death, and the burial of what was left at him. You had moved back in with your parents for the time being. As you were cleaning up your room, doing the best to get over your grieving you noticed a note on your bed they have been delivered by your mother earlier. Carefully you walked up to the letter and looked at it. It was addressed to you by Gaz. A sense of panic swelled in your chest. Did he really survive? Or was this some cool trick that somebody was playing? Quickly opened the envelope, and you looked at the letter the date showing that it was a month ago that he had sent this; before his death. With shaky hands, you begin to read the chicken, scratch lettering, tracing over every word, and taking to heart as if it was the gospel.

“Hey Love!

Things are crazy right now! We’re going to be going into a city not too far from here. I’ll make sure to pick up some stuff for you. I know you’ve been wanting to decorate the house for a while and I’m so excited to see what sort of projects you’ve been working on? How’s the art piece coming? I remember you telling me that you wanted to start up painting again. We always had such a pretty drawings. I have no doubt that they’re not going to be beautiful. I hope you hang them on the wall for us to see. I miss you. A part of me wishes that you were here at least the part that isn’t the most violent. Unfortunately, we’re not in the best area we are being attacked left and right. Don’t worry sweetheart. I’ll be home soon! I promise I’ll fix the leaky faucet. I know it’s been driving you crazy. I I sent a letter to my folks, but could you tell them that I miss them as well? I want them to know how much I miss them, but I think I miss you the most. When I get back can we get a dog? Also, can we have like a full day of playing video games just with you and me? I know I sound like I’m rambling, but it’s just what’s on my mind recently. Late night cuddles with you while playing Mario kart. It just sounds so relaxing right now. I’m really tired. Well sweetheart, I better get to bed. I love you and I hope that you have an amazing day tomorrow and the next and the next after that.

Your Husband,

Gaz”

Hugging the letter, you cried your eyes out. Tears streaming down your face as you laid on the bed, holding onto the last remnant of what your husband left you. It sounded as if he was somewhere in a safer, better place. You hoped that he died quickly that he didn’t suffer and his last thoughts were good thoughts. A breeze drifted into the room from your open window and a warm bit of sunshine hit your cheek as the breeze drifted passed it felt like a stroke on your soft face. He was there sitting beside you, even though you couldn’t see it, you could feel his presence. He was safe and he was watching over you.

Johnny McTavish

The news has gotten to you quickly. It was actually delivered by Price himself. You couldn’t believe it. Your Scottish highland your man was no longer going to come home to you. He was shot through the head. Taking a bullet to save a life. Your young son, John, named after his father, was going to be home from school soon the devastating news hurt you more than anything else out there. How are you going to tell your six-year-old son that he was not gonna have his daddy near anymore? Who was going to play football with him in the yard? Who is going to read bedtime stories? Who is going to play in the rain with him? Your son needed his father that boy looked up to his dad, like he was the sun, its self. The news hurt you hard calling his parents and his family was going to be hard as well if they had an already heard the news. He was close with everybody and his family and he had quite a large family.

The upcoming days to the Memorial as you wish to have been cremated, were hard and brutal. Everybody that you knew, and your friends and his family all gave their condolences to you and to each other he was loved and well liked by everyone your son took it hard he didn’t understand why his dad wasn’t coming home and cried and cried and cried it was like that for almost a whole week, he was doing so bad that you had to pull him out of school for the time being because he was unable to function properly. You did everything you could you hold him tight in your arms until he cried himself to sleep at night in which you also cried your own silent tears. You would go walk on the open, Highlands that overlooked the beautiful scenery where your husband, his father’s ashes, cast out upon the open landscape. A small memorial was placed there in memory. You would have picnics out there are frequently, simply listening to the birds call from high above and feel the warm sun cast It’s beautiful rays. They felt cold and dull to you, but you did your best to hold out for your son.

Cleaning out the closet with all of his stuff. What is your next task as you were taking some of his old stuff down you noticed a hard drive they had fallen out of one of his pockets with your name on it. Curious, you took the hard drive and you plugged it into your laptop. It open the file which had a video and it. You clicked play.

The video with your husband sitting on the couch in your living room, smiling at you “Hello my bonne Lass. if yer seeing this then ye know what happened and I don’t think I need ta say anymore abou tha’. I am so sorry that I cannot be with Yer. I love ye so much. I love our son John so much. Please remind hem’ every day how much I love him. Please play football with hem as much as ye can. Please read to hem every night fer me. I know it’s a lot ta ask with what’s going on but I think it might be good fer both of ya ta share tha’ quality time. I’m gonna miss ye both, but I’m always going te be with yer. I’m always going to be watching over mo little family. Don’t worry Lass, life insurance should cover a huge portion of everything. Hopefully it can help provide some security fer you and fer John. I also have tha’ university fund ye wanted me ta set up fer him. Let the money grow and add te it. If ye want by the time he turns 18 he can open that account. The files are actually in my cabinet on the right side of the desk. It has all the important paperwork and documentaries yer gonna need. I really wish I was there with ya Lass. I’m going to miss holding you at night and whispering I love yous.” His beautiful eyes stared right back at you with his stupid little mohawk and broad shoulders facing the camera. “ I know you got this, please don’t ferget about me, but I do want you moving on. Find a man that makes yer heart is happy to be with as it was with meh. I know it’s a lot ta ask for, and I’m not expecting ye ta get married right this instant… I want ta see ye happy I want to see you taken care of. I love ye, my princess.” he reached over to turn off the device that he was using, and the video ended abruptly. A new wave of tears hit your face as you laid your head on the desk and cried for the fifth or sixth time in the past few days. Your son came in the room and gently touched your shoulder. “It’s OK mama! Daddy’s going to be with us. He’s just going to be invisible.” he was quoting some thing that you had told him. When you had to break the news to John, you had told him that the angels up in heaven needed his daddy to help fight the battle up there because he was so good at his job. One day he would be able to meet his daddy up there as well. Now John had taken this to heart and there’s now quoting this in hopes to make you feel better. You carefully picked up your son and held him close to you. “ you know you’re the best against your father had ever giving me? When you were born, he had tears in his eyes and he was hugging you and kissing all over your face and just absolutely doting on you 24 seven. He told me how proud he was of you. He told me how proud he was of me. Those were good times.” Your son gently hold you tight in his own little arms. “ it’s OK mama will make it out together.” You could almost feel a kiss on your forehead as if…. As if your husband was leaning over to comfort you.

#cod x reader #cod x you #x reader #cod #depressing shit #johnny soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #cod john price #kyle gaz garrick #soap x y/n #simon ghost riley x reader #john price x reader #gaz x reader #johnny x reader #simon riley #captain john price #kyle garrick #john soap mactavish #john price #ghost x you #cod gaz

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: Eddie was M.I.A. and Buck was too.

The video above includes the scenes from S6 where Buck and Eddie were either missing or weren't mentioned even though they should have been.

During Season 6, Eddie was M.I.A. (missing in action) from several scenes even though he should have been present and Buck was either not mentioned or he was missing too even though he should have been present.

While I was watching 6x4 when it originally aired, I noticed Buck wasn’t on a call while the rest of the team was at work and as 6A progressed, it became a pattern.  For the duration of 6A and well into 6B, Buck’s or Eddie’s absences became even more noticeable and they were so prevalent that they were JARRING AND GLARINGLY OBVIOUS.  By the end of 6A, viewers were wondering what happened.  The showrunner (KR) said in an interview that they were trying new pairings which was fine but hindsight is usually 20/20 and when I started analyzing the scenes that didn’t include one of them, it kind of seemed like she may have been telling a half truth.  I mentioned how storylines and pairings were affected in a post I did in November 2022 but now I believe their absences or the lack of mentioning the other one was INTENTIONAL.

Buck and/or Eddie not being present bothered me and I wanted to know why but I didn’t research it until recently because of the way season 6 ended.  With the way TM (the OG showrunner) has been releasing and rereleasing photos of Buddie and Bathena for the last few weeks, I believed their absences in season 6 became too glaring for me to continue ignoring them.  For Buck and Eddie to be drastically removed from each other’s lives had to be on purpose and IMO, it was done so the audience would realize how them not being with each other didn’t make sense.  Let’s be real, regardless as to whether a viewer ships Buck and Eddie as a romantic couple, their presence in each other’s lives and the Buckley-Diaz family’s dynamic has become a staple on the show and when they’re not included, people notice.  Everyone knows how close they are so for them to be separated and viewers along with journalists writing about it was perplexing to say the least.

Before I delve into this, please understand these are MY OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS of the things I noticed during season 6, therefore, it’s ok if someone doesn’t agree.  Everyone interprets media differently so it’s ok for two differences of an opinion to coexist without someone trying to force their thoughts onto the other person.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I believe it all started with the scene below when Eddie asked, “Buck!  Where the hell you going?” because their absences started right after it and they continued through the early part of 6B.

In 6x4, Buck was off work while Bobby, Chimney and Eddie were all at work but there was no explanation given as to why Buck was off.  Everyone knows Buck loves being at the firehouse especially since he filed a lawsuit to get back to the team after the ladder truck explosion (whether he was right or wrong in filing the lawsuit will not be discussed here.  It happened more than four years ago and I’ve moved on from it).  He wasn’t sick so it’s not like he used a sick day but maybe he used a personal day or he used some PTO time but either way, the audience wasn’t told why he wasn’t with the 118.

He went to Hen’s house to discuss Connor's request for him to be his sperm donor but since she was on leave, no explanation was needed for why she wasn’t at work.  Reminder, Buck wasn’t on leave so he could have gone to her house to talk to her after their shift ended but he didn’t.  His absence was noticeable especially since at the beginning of the episode, he was sitting at the other end of the table alone and away from the group while Eddie, Chimney and Hen talked about Eddie disciplining Chris for skipping his science club meetings.

In 6x5, Eddie took Hoover the dog to Buck’s loft but the audience didn't see it.  It was the only handoff that wasn't shown in CANON but the question is, why?  What was the issue with the audience seeing Eddie give Buck the dog ?  The only thing that makes narrative sense is they wanted viewers to not see it so they would notice.  Interesting!

In 6x7, Eddie didn't mention Buck at all when he told Felisa about Chris being lost in the Tsunami but once again the question is why?  Everyone who watched 3x1-3x3 knows Eddie took Chris to visit "His Buck" that day and Eddie showed Hen and Chimney a selfie of Buck and Chris while they were on a call. In the photo, Buck and Chris were at breakfast earlier eating pancakes.  Also, after the first wave hit, we know Buck saved Chris and they got separated so Eddie’s scene with Felisa was another glaringly obvious one where Buck wasn’t mentioned and it had to have been done for a reason.  Reminder, Eddie told Felisa “My wife died… and six months later my son was on the pier when the Tsunami hit.”  Well, Chris wasn’t there alone so 👀.

In 6x8, Buck was missing when Eddie and Chris were getting ready for Chris' first school dance. Carla was there but it was kind of off putting and it seemed like she shouldn’t have been the one Eddie was talking to the same way she shouldn’t have been talking to him in 5x10 when he was preparing to leave the 118.  If they didn’t want Buck there, then it could have easily been a father and son moment between Eddie and Chris especially since she didn't do anything but say she thought it was Chris' first crush after they went into the kitchen.  It was only one of the two episodes she was in for the entire season, so what gives?

Later in the episode, Eddie ended up telling Buck and the 118 about it anyway and based on Buck’s reaction, it's likely Chris had already told Buck about his crush (post linked here).

In 6x10, Eddie was present and at the firehouse while Buck and Chimney cleaned the fire engine and the ladder truck.  He was on the floor throwing a baseball with Hen.

But Eddie was missing from the call when a lightning strike hit the car and the woman gave birth but reminder, the scene happened after he was AT THE FIREHOUSE with everyone else.   It's possible he could have been man behind but the point is he was missing.  Also, why was he missing?  Buck helped Bobby with the baby and Bobby had to call Hen and Chimney over for assistance which means Eddie’s help as a medic was needed for all three victims but it was kind of like the show wanted him to be absent so the viewers would notice and we did.

In 6x11, Eddie was only in Buck’s coma dream at the beginning when Daniel told him the next time he goes up a ladder, he should have someone to have his back and Buck said he did.  Other than that initial interaction, Eddie WASN'T there and his absence was glaringly obvious.

In 6x13, Eddie was M.I.A. twice. The first time was after a call that he went to with Buck and Hen.  It was the one where the couple misplaced a "toy".

Chimney wasn't on the call with them but when they were leaving work and Buck was calling all the women he slept with to see if he satisfied them (which was 🙄 I don’t even have words), Eddie wasn't there but Chimney was.  But the question once again is why? Could it be the show was making a point since Buck had just had a conversation with a victim’s husband about an article he read that stated 80% of women aren’t satisfied by their partners (related post about Buck’s woodworking skills linked here)?

In 6x13, Eddie wasn’t at the loft while Buck and Chris were baking cookies and it appears to be a call back to 5x3 when AF was caring for Chris during the blackout (related post linked here).  Reminder, AF left a mess in Eddie’s kitchen but Buck’s kitchen was clean and organized while him and Chris were baking cookies for Chris’ whole class.  They even talked about cooking the steaks Buck and Eddie won while they played poker for dinner.

What was the reason for all of this?

Initially I, like many others was pissed at the lack of Buck and Eddie, Buck, Eddie and Chris and Buckley-Diaz Family scenes in 6A.  I’m still annoyed by it but like I mentioned above, hindsight is 20/20 so it’s possible the show was trying to get the audience to realize how important they are in each other’s lives by omitting them from specific and important scenes.

Did they do a good job of illustrating it?  NO!

They could have done it differently like a lot of other things but the season ended messily and by then it was too late to change it.

The point of this post is whenever Buck and Eddie are absent, it's noticeable and it can't be denied.  KR said they were mixing up the dynamics (related post linked here) but that can't be it because in 6x9 Hen ended up talking to her best friend Chimney about the way she was feeling about Denny wanting to meet Nathaniel after Eddie and Buck dropped off their four-way call, so she wasn't telling the whole truth.

Could their absences be a coincidence? No. Why?

Because in 6x7 Athena said she didn't believe in them and in 5x17 Karen said once is a mistake, two times is a coincidence and three times is a pattern.  Well, their absences happened more than three times so Buck and Eddie missing in action from each other's lives was a pattern in season 6 and it seems to have been done on purpose.

It appears the omittances of Buck and Eddie from specific scenes in season 6 was in preparation for season 7 but the question is, will anything come of them?  Who knows except for the showrunner (TM), the writers, producers and the actors and actresses so we shall see.

#buddie #eddie diaz #evan buckley #christopher diaz #the buckley diaz family #buckley diaz family #911 on abc #911 abc #911 meta #911 season 6 speculation #911 season 7 #911 season 7 speculation #911 speculation

[queenshelby]

The Fourth Season (Rewritten)

Part One: Intro

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Warning: Religious and Anti-Religious Themes

Notes:

Being obsessed with Cillian’s post Oppenheimer image, I have decided to rewrite this story as well and make it play during the filming of “Small Things Like These”…

I hope I still get some following and promise no further re-writes! Following my break from the fandom last year, I struggled a bit with finding my style and my head was a bit all over the place, so when I started this fanfic, I wasn’t planning it out properly. I do like the premise of it though and do not want to abandon it.

I also won’t rename it as “The Fourth Season” seems quite fitting considering that “Small Things Like These” follow a character leading up to Christmas.

Background

This fic plays in 2023 and, as usual, there will be an age-gap romance as Cillian is 46 and the reader is 25. I made her a little older than usual.

The reader comes from a strictly catholic family and, as a result, her family is appalled by the fact that the reader has taken a roll in this movie as it does not put the catholic church into a very good light.

For the reader, however, this is an opportunity not only for her career but also to get away from her family for a little while which is still in turmoil after the reader had separated from her high school sweetheart and husband James McCallum.  

As for Cillian, in early 2023, he is divorced with two young children. He has been single for three years and life was good. He finished filming Oppenheimer and took some time off before embarking in this passion project of his.

Six months ago…

Cillian’s POV

It was late July and the summer heat was scorching as Cillian walked down the pier in Dalkey with a fellow actor friend Matt Damon who, just like Cillian, had invested in the movie production.

The movie was said to be produced by Tim Mielants who also accompanied Cillian and Matt on their walk, and filming was scheduled to commence just after Christmas which left just one minor issue yet to be considered.

Whilst Cillian was staring the lead role of Bill Furlong, the woman who had been casted by Tim to play Bill’s wife Eileen had just pulled out, leaving this role yet to be filled with an affordable actress.

“You could ask Emily” Matt joked, seeing that both him and Cillian were close friends with Emily Blunt, but both of them knew that Emily would not be available for this role.

“I think we should concentrate on getting someone Irish” Tim told both Matt and Cillian who, by this point, had already come up with four unsuitable candidates for Tim to choose from.

“I think Matt was joking when suggesting Emily Blunt for the role” Cillian chuckled while adjusting his sunglasses and looking towards the horizon which prompted Matt to an idea.

“You know guys, I’ve seen a play last night at the Gaiety” he said before pulling out his phone and handing it to Cillian and Tim.

“The actress in that play was good and, when I say good, I mean really good. The play was called Dark Horizon and she played a widow named Siobhan who lost her husband at sea. Her ghost then plagued her until she was driven completely mad” Matt explained while showing Cillian and Tim the video he took from last night’s performance.

“She is good. What’s her name?” Cillian asked as he watched the video with an intention of his own to go and see the play.

“Y/N McCallum, aged twenty-five, from Cork” Matt said after pulling his phone from Cillian’s hand and opening the e-pamphlet which he had saved on his screen instead.

“She might be a little too young to play a forty something year old woman” Cillian chuckled while Matt put your name into Google.

“Make-up can take care of that” Tim said before continuing to read your agency profile and anything else that popped up in his newsfeed. “The bigger problem I see now is that she is married to James McCallum and working with couples on set might get a little annoying” Tim then pointed out, causing Cillian and Matt to furrow their eyebrows.

“Who is James McCallum?” Cillian asked as he could not remember anyone by that name

“He is in charge of logistics. You would have met him on the set of Peaky Blinders last year. He is thorough when it comes to staying within budget and organising essentials for the cast, which is why I hired him for the shoot” Tim explained and Cillian remembered him.  

“Fuck, I do remember that guy. He gave me a bible after he caught on to…you know…never mind…” Cillian said, aborting his sentence but Tim already knew.

“After he caught you and Sarah making out?” he thus said, causing Cillian to swallow harshly.

“Who is Sarah?” Matt wanted to know as he was not privy to this kind of onset gossip.

“His ex” Tim explained but Cillian shook his head.

“It wasn’t like that. It was just a fling. Nothing serious” Cillian pointed out but Tim couldn’t help but make another joke about it.

“Yeah, that’s why he gave you a bible, so that you could pray for forgiveness for your sins” Tim laughed before suggesting to see the play together with Cillian that night.

Your POV

Later that night, Cillian and Tim had indeed gone to see your play and the way you performed a troubled woman like the one on stage blew them away.

They were both mesmerised by your performance and ought to speak to you when you finished, which was something that you had not expected.

“This is a little weird but there are two men here to see you” one of the theatre clerks said after barging into the change room where you and some of the other actresses were putting on your regular clothes.

“That sure is weird” you joked, seeing that you did not usually get any visitors backstage.

“One of them is Cillian Murphy” the clerk then said and your chin dropped. You have heard of him, of course. Your husband had spoken of him in the past when working on set, although he did not have the nicest things to say about him.

“The actor?” you ought to clarify nonetheless, causing the clerk to nod.

“Yes” she said. “Do you want to speak with them?” she then wanted to know and, of course, you were intrigued about what they had to say.

“Tell them I will be just a minute please” you instructed the clerk who did as you had requested and, after putting on a jumper and tying back your hair, you met with Cillian and Tim in the lobby.

Both men greeted you professionally and with a handshake before telling you that they enjoyed the play and your performance.

“Thanks. I really appreciate it” you said before asking the men whether there was anything you could help them with and, when Cillian said that there was indeed something you could him with, you looked at him with some surprise.

“Okay, what is it?” you asked with a smile while struggling to focus. His eyes were really as blue as everyone had said and he must have noticed you starring at them by now.

“Well, we’ve got a role for you in a movie” Cillian said, causing Tim to furrow his eyebrows. Cillian was clearly more confident than he was and he would have approached this a little differently to say the least.

“And you want me to audition for it?” you queried, causing Cillian to shake his head.

“No, I want you to take it. Your performance on stage today was incredible and I would love to work with you” he responded, causing your chin to drop again.

“I have never been in front of a camera before” you explained but Cillian did not seem to care.

“There is always a first time for everything” he reassured you and you felt somewhat shocked.

“Well, I feel flattered” you said before asking Tim and Cillian for a script.

“I will send it to your agent tomorrow along with all of the particulars for production” Tim said just before shaking your hand and when Cillian said that he was looking forward to working with you, you could not help but chuckle.

“I didn’t say yes yet” you informed him. 

“I know, but I like being optimistic” he winked which left you and some other girls in the lobby somewhat speechless.

To be continued…

Please comment and engage. I love getting comments and predictions pretty please!

#cillian murphy #cillian murphy smut #cillian murphy imagine #cillian murphy x reader #cillian murphy x y/n #cillian murphy x you #cillian murphy fanfiction #cillian murphy fanfic

[lavenderdreams22]

Happiest - s.h.

Steve watched her sleep, her breathing even and her face peaceful. Anytime that he was able to really look at her, he was overwhelmed by how lucky he was to have her. She had always been beautiful, and when they were younger, he often found himself watching her in the classes they shared or in the lunchroom from several tables over. He loved the way that her laugh sounded like music and how her voice was soft and sweet and how she smelled of lavender and jasmine. Everything about her was intoxicating. 

Then they had graduated, and she had gone off to college. He never thought that he would see her again. Until one day, while he was working at Family Video with Robin, she came in. Her hand was interlocked with some man that he had never seen, and even though it had been a couple of years since he had last seen her, he felt his heart clench at the thought of someone else being the one to hold her, even if it was just her hand. 

She had recognized him, of course. Who wouldn’t recognize the “It Boy” of Hawkins High (her words, not his). She grinned at him in a way that he had never seen before, and Robin went utterly silent as she watched her best friend fumble for words. Steve had gone through a rough patch with girls, but Robin had thought he had made it out of the woods. That is, until she saw the way he struggled to form a sentence and the way that his jaw clenched as he eyed the man who was, in turn, eyeing him with a stare that would send anyone else running for the hills. 

Robin wasn’t rendered speechless very often, but she stepped back, arms crossed, and leaned against the counter as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.

“Steve, hi!” She grinned, “How have you been? It’s been awhile.”

“Hi, yeah. I’ve been good. How have you been? How’s college treating you? When did you get back to town?” Steve was rambling, but he couldn’t help it. He had never had her undivided attention on him before, and it was making his hands sweat.

“Oh, good! I’m moving back in a few months, just came back to find a place.” She smiled up at the man beside her, who watched her with a straight face before turning his attention to Robin. Her smile faltered. Steve balled his fists with the sudden urge to hit something. 

“I’ve heard there are some good openings over on Johnson.” Steve said through clenched teeth. 

“Oh, sweet! We will have to look at those!” Your smile returned, and Steve felt himself relax a bit. 

The two of them had gotten a movie, an Action flick. Steve knew that it hadn’t been her choice from her face alone as he rang them up. As they left, Robin laughed.

“What the hell was that, Harrington?” She asked, “Do you have a thing for Y/N Y/L/N?”

“Shut up.” Was all Steve said before setting off into the back room for his break.

*****

The next time he saw her was exactly two months later, but she was alone. She came in, pushing her sunglasses onto the top of her head as the bell rang. She scanned the room a bit before her eyes landed on him in the corner, stocking movies. Steve was focused on his task, so he hadn’t spotted her yet, but as she passed Robin, she offered her a small wave, and came up behind him.

“You know, I’ve heard that ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ is a good one.” She said, causing Steve to nearly jump out of his skin.

Robin laughed loudly from her spot behind the counter. Steve shot his friend a crippling glare before turning to her, his eyes wide.

“It’s pretty good from what I’ve heard. I haven’t seen it yet.” Steve shrugged.

“Well, maybe we could watch it sometime. Together?” She asked. “It’d be nice to catch up.” 

“You sure your boyfriend wouldn’t mind if we hung out?” Steve asked, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

“I don’t think so.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Especially considering we broke up.” With a shrug, she moved to the other side of the shelves, Steve following hot on her heels. 

“Oh, shit. Sorry, I had no idea.” He stopped short to avoid knocking into her as she stopped suddenly, turning back to face him.

Robin rolled her eyes, turning to the computer behind her to try to make herself look busy.

“Oh, it’s alright.” She shrugged again, “That relationship had run its course. He was kind of an asshole.” 

“Gotcha. Well, I would love to see that movie with you.” Steve held the VHS out to her, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach as her fingers brushed his when she took it from him.

“Awesome,” She smiled. “I’ve got boxes everywhere, but if you’d like, we can watch at mine. I live in the apartments off of Johnson.” 

She winked, and his stomach did somersaults as he nodded. She had gotten the ones he suggested, and he tried desperately not to think too much into it.

“Is that a yes?” She was suppressing a smirk.

“Yes, yeah. Your place works. When?” He asked, his voice coming out rushed and a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

“When are you off?” She cocked her head to the side.

“9:30.” He tried his best to focus on his breathing. Having her in this close of proximity was overwhelming.

“9:30 works for me.” She gave him back the VHS, winking. “You can bring the movie, I’ll get some snacks.”

His mouth went dry as he nodded at her. Her grin only widened, her eyes scanning his face, not missing the blush that was now covering his face and neck. 

****

When he got to her place, he couldn’t stop his hands from sweating, which seemed to be the new normal when he was around her, as he knocked on her apartment door. There was rustling inside before she came to the door, wearing the dress that she had been in earlier that day. Steve let his eyes wander for a moment before he met her eyes again. She rolled her eyes playfully before stepping to the side to let him in.

“C’mon in. Make yourself at home.” 

The rest of the night was spent with the two of them talking, faces only inches apart. Everything felt so natural between them, and Steve found himself thinking again how her lips would taste. 

She leaned forward, her breath fanning over his face as she whispered, “If you’re thinking of kissing me, Steve, just do it.”

He met her eyes again, searching for the confirmation that she was really okay before he surged forward. Her lips were everything that he had imagined they would be, soft and tasting of cherry Chapstick. From that night on, the two of them spent nearly every waking moment together, whether it be alone or with some of Steve’s other friends or the kids. 

*****

Neither of them were sure when it had become official. All they knew is that slowly, over the course of about 6 months, Steve had all but moved into her cozy little apartment on Johnson. One afternoon in late September, she handed him a key. He eyed it for a moment before she giggled.

“It’s a key to the apartment. Figure we should go ahead and make it official. If you want to move in, that is.” 

“Of course I want to.” His breath caught in his throat as he pulled her into a kiss, his hands gently holding onto her jaw. 

“Good,” She mumbled into his lips, “I want to be able to kiss you whenever I want.” 

*****

Steve had been in love with other people before, but never in this way. He had never felt earth shattering, world altering love before. And as he watched her sleep, he was sure that this was all he would ever need. He reached over to carefully brush the hair out of her face, thanking the stars, or god, or whatever else was out there for bringing her back to him. 

“I’m going to marry you someday, Y/N.” He whispered before leaning over and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “And I’ll do anything it takes to make you the happiest woman on the planet.”

“I already am, Steve.” She mumbled, popping open an eye to look at him. 

He grinned at her, pressing another kiss to her forehead, and then another to her lips before he laid back down, pulling the comforter up to his neck. He was the happiest he had ever been, too. And he had her to thank for that.

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fluff #stranger things #st4 #stranger things 4 #stranger things s4 #stranger things season four

[meetmyothersouls]

In desperate need of Phantom! Timothee X Reader, been thinking of it all day tbh.

This one has me so excited! Been thinking about it for a while and I think I came up with a good premise. May or may not need a part 2, since what I’ve planned would make an entirely too long single fic. Let me know if you’d like a part 2 and I’ll add it to my list :) 

Phantom of the Theater  

Warnings: feelings of being watched/stalked, not proofread, Phantom!Timothee, set a years into the future

You moved to New York City to pursue your acting career in 2029. The same year Timothee Chalamet dropped off the face of the earth. It’s a year that sticks out to you; not because you moved your entire life across the United States or because you auditioned for countless Broadway shows, sent in hundreds of video audition tapes to casting and talent agencies, but because it seemed like no matter where you turned, the first 6 months of 2029 was focused solely on one question: where did Timothee Chalamet go?

Things calmed down in the summer. People stopped talking about Timothee Chalamet’s disappearance and started talking about Kim Kardashian announcing her candidacy for US president. That July you got approved for a shitty apartment located on the top story of an old, but operating theater. It was overpriced, it was cold (even in the summer), and it didn’t have a bathroom. But you weren’t on the street, and you were no longer hopping around bed bug infested hotels, so you took it. You had a small savings thanks to your bartending job and a few Off Broadway shows you managed to score parts in since you arrived in New York. 

Things were normal at first. Every morning you woke up and searched for new roles, begged Pablo, the casting advisor for the theater’s show to give you a script of that week’s shows so you could audition--to no avail-- and every night you went to sleep to the sound of whatever play they were performing that evening. And even though it was loud, and the orchestra’s music under the stage vibrated all the way up into your apartment, it was what you always dreamed of. 

“If I could just get an audition,” you said out loud before drifting off one night.

It wasn’t long after that when the script arrived at your doorstep. 

A knock at your door happened early in the morning. Well after everyone left from the previous night’s show but well before anyone was arriving for work the next day. Normally, you’d sleep through something as miniscule as a knock at your door, but this one woke you up. Not too light that it could have been mistaken for the apartment settling. Not too hard to scare the shit out of you. You heard it. The clock read 4:35 AM. The theater didn’t open for employees until 9am, and not to the public until 11am. Armed with this knowledge, you weren’t scared. Bravely, you stepped out of your bed, and padded your way to the door. You unlatched the chain, unlocked the bolt and turned the knob. A sound on the other side caused you to stop. Footsteps? Hurried ones, running softly away from your door. You took a deep breath, grabbed the umbrella you kept beside your door for protection, and swung it open. Your eyes took in nothing but darkness. For good measure, you swung your umbrella into the vacant space in front of you and when you were satisfied with the lack of bodies your umbrella hit, you chalked it up to the fact that you lived in an old theater that would likely make noises from time to time. You let out a sigh of relief, went to shut the door, but stopped when your eye caught the sight of a stack of white paper bound together, almost glowing in the darkness. Against your better judgement, you picked it up, took one last look outside your apartment and slammed your door making sure to secure the chain and lock the bolt. 

You decided you weren’t going to look at the strange stack of papers. You needed to get some sleep; you had a few hours before you had to be up for another series of audition tapes. You turned over in your bed, the papers on your nightstand staring at you, calling out to you. You slammed your eyes shut, forcing yourself to sleep and when it was evident sleep wasn’t coming to you for the rest of the night, you grabbed the papers eagerly. 

You opened the cover page and read it out loud. 

“Patron of Sorrow.”

You flipped the pages, feeling the paper glide across your thumb and realized it was a script. Then, as you kept going, multiple scripts. Seven in total with varying cheesy titles: Rise of Anguish, Unity of Darkness, Angels of Pain, Girls of Dawn, Chasing the Castle, and your favorite: Bakers Without Fear. You took a minute to skim through each script, laughing at how bad they actually were. Then it dawned on you. These were the scripts for next week’s plays you’d been asking Pablo for. These are the plays he writes weekly that the theater shows to people who want a little less Broadway and a little more well...Off Broadway. At the time, it didn’t matter. At the time, it meant you finally had access to the scripts you’d been begging for every morning. And it meant you could memorize them. Audition for them whether Pablo liked it or not. You were going to get a spot in one of his shitty plays.

You sent in your audition tapes, like usual, only this time you knew they sounded rushed and you knew you looked tired. You messed up four times on the dialogue for a film called Without Reason, saying the dialogue for Girls of Dawn instead. You gave up on that one, sent the rest and went back to Girls of Dawn, the first show of next week.

You read Girls of Dawn all day. You ran lines with yourself into the afternoon, and by the evening, you memorized every single line of the character that was, at this point, destined to be yours: Tinsley, a grungy 20 something obsessed with finding the vampire that killed her boyfriend, only to find out the vampire is her boyfriend. You flew down the steps leading into the theater. It was 10:45pm, the show for the night was wrapping up and Pablo was seated backstage, on his laptop, feverishly typing what you assumed was another script. 

“Pablo!” you yelled breathlessly. 

Pablo jumped, his laptop jostled against his knees, sliding off of them. He barely caught and gave you a death glare. 

You winced at his stare. 

“Sorry! Sorry! I just-”

“Damn it, y/n! You made me erase two paragraphs! Thank God for Ctrl+Z.” 

“I’m not sure what that means,” you admitted, “but I want to audition for Girls of Dawn!” 

Pablo slid his glasses down and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Y/n, I told you, I’m not accepting new actors.”

“But why!?” you whined. “Why? I’m good! I swear it won’t be a wa-”

“How could you even audition? You don’t have the script,” Pablo interrupted. 

You stood straighter, and a wave a nausea overtook you. Would he think you stole them if you told him? 

“I uh...I somehow...acquired them...?” You said, your voice going an octave higher at the end, sounding like a question. 

Pablo’s expression was unreadable. “So, you stole them,” he finally said. 

“What? No! No, I didn’t steal them. Whywouldyouthinkthat?” you said way too quickly, making yourself sound unnecessarily guilty.

He stared at you for too long. Waiting for a confession. When you didn’t give one, he slide his glasses back up his nose and went back to typing. 

“I’m not seeing your audition.” 

Your breathing was too fast and too heavy, and your heart was pounding fast out of anger. Somehow those scripts ended up on your doorstep and damn it he was going to see you audition! You began with your favorite scene. 

“I know you killed my boyfriend. I know it was you!” You said dramatically, though the shake of your voice and the tears welling in your eyes weren’t an act. 

Pablo sighed, closing his eyes in exhausted annoyance. His eyes slid back up to you. You waited. Normally, in an audition, someone else said the other characters lines. It was clear Pablo didn’t plan on doing this. So, you did. 

You brought your voice down low, to imitate a man’s and said, “I did it to protect you!” 

You brought your voice back to normal, “protect me from what?!” 

Down again. “From me!” 

“Why would I need-”

“-Enough!” Pablo yelled, interrupting you and causing your shoulders to jerk upright. “I told you I’m not holding auditions, y/n. You need to leave. Now. Or I’ll have no choice but to evict you.” 

You didn’t answer or give him a chance to say anything else. You ran back up the stairs, slamming your apartment door when you arrived. You threw the scripts onto the floor, not caring if a few of the pages ripped away from its seams. You fell onto your bed face down, crying into your pillow. You screamed into a few times, letting the stuffing and feathers take all of your anger. When you finally had enough, you turned your head to the side, and sat up straight. Someone had been in your apartment. On your nightstand, sat a black a rose with a black ribbon tied into a bow around the stem. Under it laid a note. Hesitantly, you took them both. The thorns had been clipped from the rose, like someone cared enough to make sure you wouldn’t get hurt when you touched it. You took the note out of the envelope, written on a small piece of cardstock you read the words written in beautiful scrawling handwriting: 

“He will curse the day he denied you.” 

Chills peppered your body. Someone watched your encounter with Pablo, saw him yell at you, wrote you a note with a rose, left it on your nightstand and somehow left before you came back? 

You leaned back against your headboard, flipping the note over in your hands, and saw a stamp. It was small and the ink was black and elegant. The stamp was of two letters: TC. 

Outside of your door, a soft thud sounded, followed by the same footsteps from this morning. You waited a minute before answering, but when you did you gasped. An entire bouquet of red roses with black ribbons tied around the stem, wrapped in black cellophane laid at your feet. 

Someone was watching you, that you were sure of. 

Tags: @imnotoverlyobsessive @dayafied @soulofendlessbook @fashphotolife @chicchanelcigs @scentedkittenperfection @weasleytwinscumslut @timotheel0ver @mxciscastleintheair @marvelmaniac2000 @lovelyrocker @divine-1 @louievr @love-poems-only @starberry-cake @inlovewithphantasy @alexagirlie @misswestfall @softhecreator @livresjaunes @timmymyluv @inannamoon @harrys-thick-thighs @s-we-e-t-t-ea @timolaurence @its-schmackin-dude @justagirlwhoneedshelp

#timothee chalamet #timothée chalamet #writing #timothee chalamet x reader #timothee chalamet x you #timothee blurb #timothee chalamet imagine #timmy chalamet #phantom!timothee

[fanficimagery]

First High

You decide to get high for the first time, much to Steve, Robin and Eddie's amusement.

Words: 4.4K Author's Note: ST4!AU. Vecna never happened so this is Eddie hanging with Robin and Steve for the first time.  Also I've never smoked a day in my life, so excuse my poor description of it.

All throughout elementary, middle and high school, you had been content to fly under the radar and do what needed to be done in order to graduate school. You'd done well up until you decided to get a summer job when Starcourt Mall opened up, scooping ice cream alongside Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley.

Everything was fine and dandy, but then a secret Russian base was found underneath the mall and all hell broke loose.

You had trouble comprehending everything you learned about Hawkins Lab, a girl named El, and a dimension they called the Upside Down. Being drugged and beaten also didn't help things at all, but those who were in on the secret did their best to help you cope.

Steve and Robin ended up getting new jobs, both being hired at Hawkins Family Video, but you ended up becoming somewhat of a recluse and barely left the house. And when you did leave the house, it was because Steve and Robin picked you up to drag you somewhere.

Your parents were surprised when Steve and Robin showed up on your first day of senior year, the ex-king of Hawkins High unintentionally becoming your and Robin's chauffeur. Robin made sure to check in with you during school hours, even making Dustin and Mike check in with you when she couldn't. Lucas was there every once in a while, but his main priority was Max who was surprisingly not taking Billy's death too well.

So, for a while, everything was good.

It was fine.

But then Thanksgiving break came up and your parents had plans to travel to your grandparent's place that was a couple hours away. While that didn't bother you much, they then had every intention of staying your entire break up there. One day you could handle, but the entire week? Nope. Out of the question.

So, after a little convincing, you got your parents to agree to let you stay behind.

A few days before, they even went out and bought you everything you'd need to make your own Thanksgiving meal, and then a bit more groceries to last you until they came home.

Your first night alone led you to having little to no sleep since you jumped at every little sound your house made, so you ended up visiting Robin at work to ask her to stay with you during break. Steve overheard and invited himself, and you found out firsthand how the two absolutely had no sense of boundaries as they piled into your bed to sleep.

Luckily for you, you loved your space in bed, so there was more than enough room on your king-sized mattress for all three of you.

On the day of Thanksgiving, all three of you sleep in. And then when you do wake up, Steve immediately puts on a football game while Robin heats up a couple cans of Spaghetti O's so you're not too full for dinner.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Robin says as you're washing up the slight mess in the kitchen. "I invited someone from school to have dinner with us."

"What? We were allowed to invite people?" Steve wonders as he joins the two of you in the kitchen. "Why wasn't I aware?"

"Because we don't want to watch you suck face with Heidi," Robin tells him. "And I invited Eddie Munson," she then tells you.

You freeze just as Steve huffs. "Eddie Munson? What'd you invite him for?"

"You didn't see him at the store yesterday, Steve! Him and his doe eyes, and he just looked so glum about choosing what frozen meal to buy. Frozen meals are disgusting!"

You whirl around, hands still soapy as you stare at your female friend with wide eyes. "You invited a cute boy and you're only telling me now?"

"What?!" Steve yelps just as Robin grins and says, "You think Munson's cute?"

"Robin! Now I have to clean the house!" You whine.

"Gross," Steve then mumbles.

"Oh, shut up," you grumble at Steve. "I might have been quiet and kept to myself before we became friends, but that doesn't mean I didn't watch everyone around me. Need I remind you who you bedded before Wheeler got her hooks in you?" His eyes subtly widen as Robin starts to giggle. "Yeah, that's what I thought. So, while I start on cleaning the living room, Robin gets to finish cleaning the kitchen."

"Hey!"

"Ha!" Steve laughs.

"And Steve gets to pick up all the dirty laundry from my bedroom floor and put it to wash."

"Aw, come on."

"Nope. I don't want to hear it. And after you're done with that, I'm going to need you to take out the bathroom and kitchen trash so I can get started on the dinner prep."

"Ugh," both Robin and Steve groan as they get to work.

Though you're a little anxious for Eddie's arrival, you manage to keep your cool. Steve does everything you've assigned to him, as does Robin, but she ends up joining you in the kitchen while you're putting the turkey in the oven.

"So, Munson, huh?"

You shrug with a little laugh. "He's cute."

"Since when?"

"Since he let his hair grow out and got the tattoos."

"Ahh. I get it. It's the ink."

"And his stupid smile," you say a little breathily as you gather some potatoes to peel.

"And the doe eyes." Robin flutters her own eyes at you, and you laugh, throwing a dish towel at her. "But in all seriousness, why didn't you ever go for him?"

As you take a seat at the table, you huff. "Have you seen me? Like really seen me?" You ask. "I am not the type of girl Eddie goes for and he's just- he's.."

"Incredibly lucky to have a girl like you pining after him," Steve says, leaning over the little counter that separates your kitchen from your living room. "Seriously. I'd date you if I knew you'd go for me."

You and Robin both laugh, and Steve shrugs as he goes back to his game.

Lowering her voice, Robin then scoots closer to you. "Would you ever go for Steve?"

"I might have," you murmur. "That Scoops Ahoy outfit really did it for me."

"Seriously?"

"Yep. But we're too platonic now for us to ever find our way out of the friend zone."

"Platonic with a capital 'p'. Got it."

You snort and then finally start peeling the potatoes.

"So, what are we all having tonight?" She asks. "Anything I can help with?"

"Turkey and gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, and some rolls."

"Well, you pre-made the dressing and casserole last night," she says.

"Mhm. And those will be popped into the oven as soon as the turkey comes out. I'll also put the potatoes and macaroni to boil while the turkey rests, and then I'll need your help collecting the turkey water and grease for the gravy." Her nose wrinkles and you laugh. "It's good. Trust me. It's going to blow your mind."

"You're already blowing my mind by doing all of this. I sometimes mess up making a bowl of cereal."

"And that's why your job is to put the rolls into the oven for a few minutes after everything comes out."

Robin chuckles. "I can do that."

You, Robin and Steve lounge around while the turkey cooks, the smell making all three of you groan in hunger after the first hour and a half passes. Steve helps you retrieve the turkey every now and then so you can bast it, and then it takes everything in you to not fall back asleep while waiting.

However, just as you decide to pull the turkey out of the oven for the final time, you remember you were expecting another guest when there's knocking on the door.

"I got it!" Steve calls out.

You glance at Robin who beams at you in response, and you wrinkle your nose at her. "Please don't say anything. Let's just get through tonight and you can tease me all about Eddie after he leaves."

"Fine. I'll behave."

"Oh man, it smells good in here!" Eddie Munson walks into the kitchen, inhaling deeply as Steve rolls his eyes in amusement behind him. Sparkling brown eyes land on you and a boyish smile breaks out. "Sorry for the intrusion, but Buckley said it was cool that I come. And bring a set of pajamas which I thought was weird."

"Yeah. No, you're good." You flash him a smile as you chuckle. "And the pajamas are to lounge around in. After stuffing yourself full of food, jeans are very uncomfortable to be wearing."

"We can always make this a no pants party."

Both Robin and Steve snort with amusement as heat instantly blooms in your cheeks and Eddie smirks at getting you all flustered.

"I, uh, shut up," you end up muttering when the other three laugh at you. "There are drinks in the fridge. Help yourself. We'll be eating probably in half an hour."

"Well alright then."

Robin lingers around the kitchen with you as you put water to boil for the potatoes and macaroni. The pans of dressing and the green bean casserole get placed into the oven to heat up, and you have Robin set the table.

Once the food is all done and Steve's carved up the turkey, you set everything out on the table.

"So where are your parents?" Eddie asks as he piles the potatoes onto his plate. "Kind of odd you aren't together for this."

"Oh, uh, they're at my grandparent's place," you say. "They're gonna be there for the entire break and I didn't feel like being there."

"Got it." At his first bite of food, Eddie groans. "Are you kidding me? How do you cook like this and still be single?"

You choke on your bite food, Robin claps a hand over her mouth as she barks out a laugh, and surprisingly Steve nods along in agreement. "He's right. This is really good," he says while dipping some turkey wrapped up in a piece of roll into the gravy. He then shoves it into mouth, groaning appreciatively. "So good."

You clear your throat and try to will your blush away. "Well, it's nice to know I can win you boys over with my cooking."

"Don't forget your good looks." Eddie winks.

"Can you please stop flirting? I'm eating here!" Steve grumbles though you can see he's fighting off a grin.

Eddie and Robin laugh, and you shake your head in amusement.

This boy was going to be the death of you.

Everyone eats their fill, telling you how good it all is. Then as you go about putting up the leftovers, Eddie sheepishly joins you at the counter and asks if he can make a plate for his uncle. You agree and put together a container of food, setting it aside to cool off before it can be refrigerated.

"Too bad no one thought of dessert," Steve says as everyone relaxes in the living room.

"Who says I didn't?" You sleepily grin.

"What do you have?" Steve asks.

"Pumpkin and apple pie."

"Oh my god. This is the best Thanksgiving ever," Eddie mumbles.

"Just- just let me take a short nap and then I'll pop the apple into the oven."

"But- but why can't you do it now?"

"Are you serious?" Robin scoffs. "How are you still hungry? I'm stuffed."

"Now the pajamas make sense," Eddie muses. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna grab mine and change. I mean, only if it's cool that I still hang out with you guys."

"Yeah. Feel free." You wave him off. "My parents don't return until Sunday afternoon, so it's just going to be us here. There's no rush for anyone to leave."

"Cool. Is it alright if I smoke?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. We'll just.." you trail off, glancing around the living room. "Do it in my room. I don't want the smell to cling to anything in here."

As Eddie walks out of your house to go grab his change of clothes, both Steve and Robin look at you.

"Are you really going to smoke with Munson?" Steve asks.

"If he offers." You shrug. "I've never actually smoked weed. Just cigarettes."

"What?" Steve's eyes widen before he starts to smile. "You're so totally getting high then. I need to see this happen."

"Like I said, if he offers, I'll join in."

"Oh, he's offering," Steve says. "If I have to buy it off him right now, I will."

When Eddie walks back into your house, you realize he'd changed in his van. Instead of the band tee and jeans he'd been wearing, he's now wearing one of his infamous Hellfire club shirts and a pair of red and black plaid pajama pants. He kicks his shoes off by where the other shoes have been left behind and you must audibly swoon because Robin elbows you. "Knock it off unless you want him to notice."

Grumbling, you pull out the pies from the refrigerator and place them on the counter. The pumpkin is automatically picked up by Steve as Robin retrieves the whipped cream, and you put the apple into the oven before setting a timer to remind you to check on it.

"So how much would a pre-rolled joint cost me?" Steve asks.

Eddie looks up from his plate of pie. "You looking to buy, Harrington?"

"Yeah. Our wonderful hostess has yet to partake in the fun and I need to be there for her first time."

Eddie glances at you then, a smile blossoming. "You've never...?"

"I didn't have friends before. I wasn't going to get high all on my lonesome."

His smile falters. "You didn't have friends? I could've sworn..." he trails off, frowning. "You were always surrounded by a group of people."

You open your mouth to reply, but Robin speaks up, grinning. "Watched YN, did you, Munson?"

Eddie freezes, his own cheeks turning a faint red as Steve starts to grin. Eddie looks nervous all of a sudden, so it's your turn to elbow your friend while coming to Eddie's rescue. "Knock it off, Robin. And just because people were around me, it didn't mean we were friends. I wasn't very confrontational back then so everyone just kind of sat around me and carried on with their conversations as if I weren't there."

"Jesus. That's cold," he says.

You slowly smile at him, and Steve rolls his eyes. "So how much, Munson?"

"Free." Eddie's fast reply surprises even himself. He then clears his throat and tries to make himself seem cool and collected as he digs into his piece of pie. "I love popping cherries."

His smug and teasing smile as his lips wrap around his fork makes you blush so hard that Robin ends up muttering, "Trust me, that cherry has been popped for a while."

"Robin!" You bark at her, and Steve and Eddie explode with laughter. "Jesus Christ." Your friends stare at you, giggling, and you shake your head at them all. "This is why I never keep friends."

"Oh, come on, YN. You know I'm your favorite."

Steve and Eddie end up splitting the pumpkin pie while you and Robin wait for the apple. Then when the boys are nice and full again, and you've cleaned up the kitchen to the best of your ability, you lock up the front door and lead the way to your room.

Eddie enters last, whistling slowly at what he sees. Your room has a black and white theme, with very little color splashed here and there. There are band and movie posters along your walls, as well as a small section dedicated to nothing but polaroid pictures you started taking when you worked at Scoops Ahoy. Your king-sized mattress sits in the right back corner of your room, pillows and blankets piled on top of it and looking quite inviting. White Christmas lights are strung up above your bed, and Robin hurriedly plugs them in so you don't have to turn on the main light.

Steve immediately opens the door to your small balcony and then crawls into your bed to sit right next to Robin. Eddie glances between your desk chair and your bed, and you grin as you grab your ash tray that was hidden within your desk before walking towards your bed.

"Hop in, Munson. We don't bite," Steve muses. "Well YN might."

"You sleep right next to me, Harrington. I will strangle you."

"Not tonight. Robin's taking the middle."

With Robin and Steve gleefully sitting side by side at the head of the bed, their backs against the wall, you sit with your back against the other wall and pull a pillow into your lap. Eddie tries to figure out where it's best to settle down before he caves and shamelessly lays across the foot of your bed.

Setting the ashtray between you and him, you wait for Eddie to light up.

Eddie takes the first hit before passing the joint to you, and when it's your turn you inhale and exhale so easily that he doesn't believe it's your first time. "How the hell..."

You grin as you take another hit, letting the smoke release from your nostrils before passing it back. "I smoke cigarettes when I'm stressed and lately I've been stressed a lot. Smoke is smoke."

"You're going to regret those words in about half an hour," Eddie muses. He takes a hit and closes his eyes in pure bliss, pushing one hand beneath his head. "Cig smoke doesn't relax you like you're about to be relaxed."

Once the joint is finished, you crawl over to Robin and lay down with your head in her lap.

"Are you doing okay?" Steve asks, amused.

"I'm good, Harrington." You practically moan as Robin slides her fingers into your hair, nails scraping at your scalp. "Nothing's kicked in. I'm just getting comfortable."

Eddie chuckles as he moves the ashtray to the floor, laying back down on his side with one hand supporting his head. "If you're a sleepy stoner, I'm gonna be seriously let down, YLN."

You grin, letting your head loll to the side and cracking open an eye. "Talk nerdy to me, Munson. I won't know what you're talking about, but I actually like the sound of your voice."

Eddie gapes at you, and you and Robin end up giggling. After Eddie finds his footing, the boys start talking to each other, landing on the topic of Dustin since that was the only person they had in common. Surprisingly, they bond over the fact that they both think the freshman is a little shit.

Eventually you feel your body really sink into the bed and you subconsciously start to hum. Robin's fingers slow in your hair and the boys stop talking. You continue humming, smiling with your eyes closed until...

"Okay, so am I the only one who thinks that's the creepiest song ever?" Robin asks.

You huff a laugh and continue humming.

"I know that song. Why do I know that song?" Eddie mumbles.

Your humming trails off. "Stars shining bright above you," you sing instead. "Night breezes seem to whisper I love you. Birds singing in the sycamore tree. Dream a little dream of me."

"Wow," Steve says. You chuckle as your eyes open once more, turning so you're hugging Robin's legs now. "You're totally stoned," he then realizes.

"Maybe."

"You so totally are." Eddie laughs.

"Stop laughing at me." A buzzer suddenly sounds and you hurriedly sit up, gasping. "The pie! I got it."

You try to crawl over both Robin and Steve, only for your arms to give out on you and for you to fall face first onto the hardwood floor. Luckily it wasn't a far drop and your friends laugh at your misfortune.

"Jesus H. Christ." Eddie guffaws. "Are you okay?"

"Ow." You grumble and maneuver around until you're laid out on your back. "Fuck you, gravity."

Steve continues to giggle as he gets up, no doubt going to check on the pie for you. Robin lays out on her stomach, head hovering over the side of the mattress as she looks down at you. "You good?"

"Fantastic." You sigh and then quickly sit up. "Hey, have you ever thought what would happen if gravity just like... cut off?"

"What?" Robin snorts.

"Would we- would we just float away?"

"YN, that's- that's a horrifying scenario."

You laugh, but then slowly come to a realization that she's right. It's terrifying! A look of horror overcomes your expression and your friends both laugh at you. You grasp onto your bed covers, gripping tight. "I don't wanna float away."

Hands drag you onto the mattress then, arms and legs wrapping around you. "Don't worry. I got you, YN."

"Oh my god." Robin laughs.

When Steve re-enters the room, he stumbles to a halt. Eddie and YN are sitting side by side, a blanket wrapped tight around their shoulders and over their heads as Robin snaps a picture with a polaroid camera. "Uh.. what did I just walk in on?"

"YN's convinced she's going to float away and that was Eddie's answer to keeping her grounded."

"They're so stoned."

"Totally stoned," Robin agrees. She snaps another picture when Eddie murmurs something to YN that ends up with her giggling, and then hands the camera off to Steve. "Here. Take this and document anything cute or blackmail-ish. I gotta pee."

As Robin leaves, Eddie glances at Steve and practically beams.

"Hey Harrington, who am I?" He then points his finger towards the ceiling just a bit, shaking slightly, as he says, "ET phone home." Steve snorts and YN giggles, falling to the side and dragging Eddie down with her. The two stoned individuals maneuver around until Eddie is behind YN, arm wrapped around her waist. Their giggles die down and Eddie hums. "How is your bed so comfortable? I seriously don't want to go home now."

"Then don't." Your amusement vanishes as you start to play with Eddie's fingers that were tapping against your abdomen. "Steve and Robin are staying. You might as well too."

Steve groans and Eddie laughs. "Are you inviting me to an orgy?"

"No!" Your face heats up, eyes wide. But then you calm down and- "Well..."

"Don't even think about it," Steve says.

"We don't have to do it, but I'm still going to think about it."

Steve frowns at you before turning his attention to Eddie who's shaking with silent laughter at your back. "See what you started!"

Robin walks in to see Steve, hands on his hips, glaring at Eddie and YN who are still wrapped around each other, only this time they're laying down. "What did I miss?"

"Apparently we've just acquired another bed partner."

"Well, on the bright side, if Munson stays wrapped around YN like a limpet, then we'll have more room in the bed."

Steve seems to brighten up a bit. "Fine, but if there are noises coming from their side of the bed in the middle of the night, I'm suing for emotional damages."

"Whatever. Just get in bed."

The next time you're fully conscious, you grimace and try to hide under the covers from the sunlight. An arm squeezes around your waist and you tense just as the person chuckles.

"How are you feeling?"

You reluctantly turn your head and lift the covers to find a sleepy Eddie grinning at you. Your nose wrinkles at him. "I have a headache. Why do I have a headache?"

"The weed hit you hard."

You groan and hide back under the blanket, letting your body relax once more. "So, how'd you sleep, Munson? Was casa de YN to your liking?"

He chuckles. "Better than I ever imagined, princess."

"Imagined it a lot, did you?" He doesn't reply and it's your turn to chuckle at him. Reluctantly turning over, you smile up at him as he tries to hide behind his hair. "I'm just messing with you. I'm happy you had a good time."

"Are you?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well until yesterday I wasn't sure you even knew who I was."

"Are you kidding me?" You lean back a little, staring incredulously at him. "Eds, you're hot. Of course I knew who you were!"

His expression is slack in awe until a shit eating grin forms. "You think I'm hot?"

"Dude, do you even know the number of girls at Hawkins High that find you attractive? It's a lot, but they're just a bunch of stuck-up bitches who will never admit it outside of the girl's bathroom in fear of it messing with their reputation."

"So, what does that make you?"

"A dumb bitch for just admitting that I think you're hot to your face." Your face heats up as your words finally catch up to you and your heart pounds. You can't believe you just admitted that to him.

Eddie snorts and pulls you closer to his body, and you willingly go with an embarrassed groan. He leans his face close to yours, his nose just barely brushing yours. "Then it's a good thing I think you're hot too."

"Y-Yeah?"

"Mhm." His lips press chastely against your own and you quietly moan at the contact, especially when his hand travels down to your thigh and lifts your leg until it's settled over his hip. "And don't even get me started on that sailor's uniform you had to wear when you worked at the mall."

Surprised laughter spills from your lips and Eddie smirks at you. You continue to laugh as he presses a kiss to your jaw, teeth quickly nipping at your neck.

Suddenly your bedroom door is shoved open, and you and Eddie spring apart.

"Gross." Steve scowls at the two of you. "Now if you two are done canoodling, we kind of need YN downstairs. Robin burned breakfast."

Groaning, you reluctantly pull out of Eddie's embrace so you can turn over. "How many times do I have to tell you Robin can't cook?"

"Sorry, but we were hungry and you were dead to the world!"

"Yeah, yeah. Go clean up and I'll be right down to cook something for us."

"Thank you!"

As you sit up, you stretch your arms above your head and then glance over your shoulder to find Eddie smiling fondly at you. You return his smile. "To be continued?"

"To be continued."

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fanfiction #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfiction #eddie munson #stranger things #stranger things 4 #robin buckley #steve harrington

[justkending]

Moral of the Story. Chapter 22.

Summary: Marrying too young out of highschool leads to a naive and failed marriage. Now 10 years later, word comes that the divorce was never actually completed. Bucky and Y/N have to come back together after all these years to settle what wasn’t all those years back. Passive attitudes, miscommunicated endings, and reminiscing of old loves and lives all comes back for the two.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Y/N

Word Count: 3900+

A/N: Ok! So this is the last official chapter! I have finally finished the series and my next plan is to write an epilogue eventually as soon as I come up with a storyline I would like this to round out to. I hope you all enjoy as much as I did writing this series. It's crazy that it all started with listening to a song while doing my hair. I have a lot of stories I've been brainstorming on, but refused to start until this one was done. So bare with me and my crazy schedule of teaching for when the next story is to come:) XOXOXOX

Chapter Twenty-two:

Another long list of flights to get her across the country, but she was back in her childhood bedroom and resting for the night. 

She had gotten a really late flight in and her dad was nice enough to pick her up around midnight. 

The house was quiet and being home brought back a form of peace. A peace she never knew she missed until she got a taste of it again in the recent months. 

But there wasn’t much time to rest and focus on that as she had lunch with one of the new businesses the next morning. 

She hadn’t told anyone besides her family she was coming in since she wanted to surprise the rest of the group. However, a piece of her was also not sure how to with a certain person. 

But for now, her focus needed to stay on work. 

She had a great lunch with one of the small businesses that she had become rather close with in her time in highschool, which was now a booming business in the community it had started in. They were the florist shop she would visit anytime she went to the farmers market and were now in the top three florist shops in North Brooklyn. 

The meeting went well and they were very flexible and open minded on starting and learning new concepts to start implementing more eco-friendly routines into their work. 

Since the meeting was short, she decided to head to one of the coffee shops in the area and get a taste for a new place she was sure she’d become a regular at. 

She did a little research as to what was the most sustainable in the area, something she was pretty consistent with, and happened to find a small shop about a mile walk away. 

She ordered a matcha latte and grabbed a chocolate chip cookie to snack on as she looked more into some of the businesses she would be talking with throughout the week. 

In a little nook, she watched as the New Yorkers went about their normal day. Dogs being walked to teenagers giggling at the videos on their phones. 

She missed this atmosphere. Though LA and Brooklyn were big city based, it didn’t mean that they were similar in every way. East coast and west coast were two very different cultures. 

After doing a substantial amount of research, and a little bit of spaced out daydreaming about the changes of the city, she packed up and headed out to get back home for dinner. 

With her hands full, she turned her back to the push door and opened it while backing up. She said a quick thank you to the barista who wished her a happy day, and before she could fully step outside, she was already running into someone. 

“Oh, sorry!” she mumbled, quickly trying to catch the extra pastry bag she had bought for her father. 

Before the bag could hit the floor, the stranger caught it and she looked up seeing those damn piercing blues as if they had been waiting for their entrance into this next chapter in her life. 

“Y/N?” he said, followed by a surprised smile. “What are you doing here?” 

“Bucky,” she laughed, somehow at ease with his reaction. “How are you?” 

“I-I’m good,” he chuckled, handing her the brown paper sack and going to open the door so she was no longer leaning on it. “Wh-What-?”

She moved out of the way as another person excused themselves behind her. Bucky and her relocated to the side of the door where a few outdoor tables stood half occupied. 

“What am I doing here?” She asked his question again for him. “Business,” she nodded. 

“Business?” he questioned relaxing in his spot. “On the other side of the coast?”

“Funny, isn’t it?” she smiled at him, knowing his brain was still trying to catch up. “Yeah, um, my co-founder, Donna, and I got a lot of feedback from the stores I handed out company cards to on my short visit here. My friend thought it would be a good move to come over here and work with them and see if we could start reaching out to other areas.”

“Wow,” he sighed. “That’s amazing. I’m sure your family is extremely happy with that.”

“Oh, you know exactly how that’s going,�� she smiled, looking at her feet then back at him. His gaze never once wanted to leave hers in case this was a dream and she would disappear any second. “Dad’s my own personal alarm clock. Sherri is helping me get the bathroom organized upstairs so it's ‘just as I like’ as she put it. Chloe is insisting on a movie night every night until I leave. The list goes on…” 

“I can think of a few other things one of the best bed and breakfast might be doing,” Bucky agreed. 

“They are a really good host family, huh?” she teased. 

“So how long are they hosting you for?” Bucky questioned, tilting his head. 

“That’s TBA…” Y/N hesitated to answer. “At least 3 months, but it all depends on how business goes.”

“3 months? Wow,” his eyebrows shot up. “That’s quite a bit.”

“Yeah, I’m excited for it though,” she shrugged with a happy grin. “I had kinda been moping around work since my visit here, and Donna came up with a way I could get out of that rut and possibly make our company bigger in the long run. Sure, living with my parents for 3 months might be a push.” She sighed. “But I just feel like I missed so much of their lives being so far away that being back makes 3 months seem like no time at all.”  

She realized her short rant was a little more personal than she meant to come out with, but when she looked up at Bucky, he was following every word like it was a start on a treasure map looking for lost gold. 

She let out an awkward laugh. “That was a lot for answering how long I’m staying. I guess you’re just the first friend that I’ve seen, so I’m unloading it all on you first.”

The word. Used so simply and so naturally, either of the two could have carried on without a thought to it, but they didn’t. Because it wasn’t simple. The natural part had made it convincing and sincere. 

She had thought out the sentence and when it filtered through her mind, she didn’t think to correct it because it was… Natural. 

They were friends again. And the tension held between the two had been healed to non existence. It felt comfortable again…

“I’m glad I’m the first friend to find out,” Bucky said just as simply as she had. 

They stood there smiling at the other and a silent emotion flowed spontaneously through them that was the utter perfection of peace. 

The 10 years apart had done them good in the end. Little did they know, it wasn’t until that 10 years came to an end that they fully transformed to their best selves.

_________________

“We haven’t had a poker night with Y/N since highschool. Think she’s going to be as good as she was last time we played?”

Bucky chuckled at Steve’s comment as they laid out bags of chips and the blonde scooped dips into serving bowls. 

“I think I still owe her at least sixty bucks,” Bucky mumbled as he thought back to their highschool gambling days. “Maybe more, but don’t remind her.”

“I’ll keep quiet. I think I owe her more than that,” Steve realized, pausing on the dips. 

There was a second of silence as they set up for their party and classic rock played in the background from Bucky’s playlist. 

“I still can’t believe that you, out of all the people in the city of Brooklyn, ran into her before she told us about her return home,” Steve laughed, grabbing some of the beers they had out and putting them in the fridge before going back to his previous job. 

“You and me both, pal,” Bucky nodded, leaning on the counter. “But I’m glad it happened.”

“I’m sure you are,” Steve chuckled under his breath. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bucky shot a friendly glare his way. 

But then a knock on the door sounded and before either could look at the direction of the wood barrier, Sam was running out from the hall to answer it.

“I got it! I got it!” he shouted, jogging as if he had been waiting for someone. 

Steve and Bucky shared a look. The crew of everyone coming tonight wasn’t going to be here for another 30 minutes or so. And they don’t remember ordering anything…

After a minute they heard him mumble a thank you as he closed the door with a box in hand. 

“Whatcha got there, Wilson?” Bucky asked, slowly watching as Sam grinned at the delivery. 

“Is that-?” Steve seemed to catch on faster than Bucky.

“Dinner from my sister? Hmm mm,“ he hummed with a wide smile that showed the gap in his teeth. 

“I thought we were doing finger food tonight?”

“Y’all are, but this isn’t for you,” Sam was quick to correct.

“Whose is it?” Bucky raised an eyebrow.

“It’s for Y/N and I,” he answered simply, putting the fresh cajun food into the oven to stay warm. 

“You and Y/N?” he resaid as if it would make more sense a second time. 

“Yeah,” he said. When he turned back to the other men he saw their faces waiting for an explanation and sighed before obliging. “Sarah is slowly starting up her business up here. She’s doing well, but I know Y/N has all kinds of connections and suggestions for local businesses. I want her to try her food and possibly take my sister as a client if I can convince her.”

Steve laughed and crossed his arms as he placed the last bowl of dip on the bar top. 

“I’m pretty sure you could have just mentioned your sister was a local entrepreneur and she would have jumped at the opportunity to get in touch with Sarah,” Steve smirked. 

“She’s actively looking for people to work with anyway. That’s the whole reason she’s here,” Bucky added. 

“Well, this way, she can sample just how good my family's passed down recipes are worth to invest in,” Sam shrugged, happy with his plan anyway. “All it takes is one bite.”

“You’re really going to not share,” Bucky asked, peering at the closed oven door. 

He had a taste for Sarah’s home cooked meals. Sam was kind enough to bring leftovers when they had family dinners, and they were also regulars at her new restaurant that had been open for the last three weeks now.

“You’re more than capable of calling a delivery in,” Sam retorted, getting a not as friendly glare from Bucky this time. “Or are you struggling with money? Cause I can let Y/N know that you may need a little longer on getting her that $60 you were talking about…”

The glare became even less friendly at the dig and he wished he hadn’t said anything with Sam in the vicinity. 

“Why did you have to go and make friends with that guy?” he huffed, turning around and directing his question to Steve even though Sam was in the room. 

“God, you guys,” Steve groaned, shaking his head and escaping to the living room. 

____________________

Wanda and Vision were the first to come, then Clint and Laura. Slowly people trickled in and though it was a small reunion, it was nice to see the entire crew back together. 

Now they were just waiting for their last guest. 

“She’s running a little behind, isn’t she?” Bucky asked, checking his watch for the 10th time in the last 5 minutes. 

“Relax,” Steve sat at the table where they were getting the poker chips sorted. Wanda and Clint laughing next to each other and Vision and Laura on the couch talking about random things. “She texted she was stuck in traffic. Her Dad took the car, so she had to haul a cab.”

Bucky heard him, but that didn’t give him any sense of ease. He felt as though he needed to be a little bit prepared for her coming, and the only thing he had control over in that area was the time they had set. Of which she was late for such a punctual person. 

As if manifesting her to appear, the last planned knock of the night cut through the room. 

“I got it!” Bucky practically jumped up from his seat and raced to the door.

In his tunnel vision to the door, he missed the looks the entire crew shared and the smirk Steve had as he shuffled the cards. 

Taking only a second to collect himself, he opened the door, and there she was; dressed in a pair of jean shorts and what Bucky knew was a thrifted vintage shirt with sneakers and bag of chips and case of beer in hand.

“Sorry I’m late,” she smiled at him bashfully. 

“Better late than never,” he replied with a smile of his own. “Come on in,” he waved, moving out of the way for her. 

She thanked him as he took the food and drinks from her, yet stayed by her side. He could tell that there were nerves in her stance, but upon seeing a sincere smile, she relaxed.

“Y/N!” Wanda shouted, jumping up from her seat and rushing to hug her friend. 

“Wands!” Y/N chuckled, opening her arms as she met her in the middle. 

She went around the room saying her hellos and happy to see you’s to everyone she had missed. It took a second for them to get to the poker part of the night as they were catching up and reminiscing on life.

Eventually they were seated and Bucky grabbed the chair right next to Y/N with Wanda on the other side of her. In the olden days, he was one of the few people who could catch onto her tells in the game of bluff. Because of that, his best vantage point was from across the table, but he didn’t care about winning or losing tonight. He just wanted to be next to the person he had so long wished to be this close to again. 

And if Y/N was being honest, it was nice being in close proximity to him now that it felt like old times. She missed the comfort this group gave her, but she realized she also missed all the little quips and classic Bucky behaviors that came with being friends with him again. 

It didn’t go without notice from those around them how easily they fell back into the habits they used to share as best friends. Slight nudges when the other had tricked them. The eyes rolling anytime Y/N caught Bucky trying to jokingly peek over her shoulder to see her cards. The name drop of “Everest” every once in a while as he teased her. 

They may not have picked up on it, but it was clear as day that the flirting was happening and the sass and sarcasm they two spit back to each other was spoken as if the 10 years between now and then had never happened. 

“Sam, this is amazing,” she said in shock as she took a bite of the shrimp pasta that his sister had perfected. The buttered bread along with it was perfectly dusted with garlic and other spices to compliment the main dish. 

“My family has the talent of making some of the best comfort food around. And now I don’t have to worry about flying out to Louisiana anymore to get it,” Sam gleamed in pride. 

“This is,” she paused, finishing her bite. “Just amazing.”

“Thank you,” Sam chuckled. “I was actually wondering if-”

“Here, let me get you a card. I would love to work with your sister if she’s willing. I think she’d be a great partner as a locally owned woman started business,” she rushed to her purse to hand off her business card. 

“I told you,” Bucky mumbled, coming in and overhearing the conversation as she ran past him to the living room. 

“I like her,” Sam grinned. “I never thought I would say it, but you have good taste, Barnes.”

Bucky rolled his eyes at the comment and Sam followed behind Y/N to continue talking business until their next round of whatever card game they decided on next. 

But like any night, the evening was coming to a close and people had to get back home for work the next day. 

Clint and Laura were the first gone and Vision and Wanda had just left, leaning Sam, Bucky, Steve and Y/N. 

“Welp, I guess I’m the next one out. I should get home before midnight since I’m waking up early for another meeting,” Y/N announced, standing and stretching. 

“Do you want me to call a cab for you?” Sam offered his new friend. 

“No, that’s fine,” she grinned, patting his back. “I just need to check the app-”

“I can take you home,” Bucky interrupted, making everyone turn their head to the brunette who was sitting on the couch. 

Steve’s eyebrows raised at the quick proclamation and looked between the two as they stared at each other, both caught offguard by his quick offer. 

“I have some things I need to drop off for your dad,” he was fast to cover. “For a new project we’re working on,” he added. 

“I don’t want to be a bother-” she started, trying to be polite, but also internally hoping he didn’t listen to her.

“It’s not an issue,” he waved off, standing and coming around the furniture. “I’ll go grab those things and we can head out.”

He pointed back toward his room and waited for the all clear. 

“Ok,” she nodded with a smile. “I guess you can make it your way of paying me back for that $60 you owe me for the last poker game.”

He wasn’t expecting that quip and immediately put two and two together, turning slowly and threateningly to Sam. 

Steve tried to stifle a laugh at the conversation, but wasn’t successful. 

“I’m going to kick your ass,” Bucky muttered, walking by Sam giving him a smack to the back of his head. 

Steve’s laugh got louder as he gave up trying to not be too loud. 

“Don’t think I forgot you too, Steven. You also have a debt to my poker skills,” she pointed. 

Steve sombered at the call out and sent a nervous smile to her, before taking the beer from the end table and bringing it to his lips to keep him from having to respond. 

_______

The ride started out a little awkward. Especially since now it was just the two of them and they didn’t have their friends to be buffers. 

The first couple minutes was quiet until Y/N spoke up pointing out a new store she hadn’t noticed on the block before. 

They had small talk about the conversation starter and it got quiet again. 

“You know, you didn’t have to drive me home. I could have called a cab,” she mentioned while looking over at him. 

He smiled and shrugged and moved to just have one hand on the wheel. 

“I wanted to,” he replied honestly, looking back at her before the road. “That and I really do have somethings to drop off for your dad.” He figured if he made it awkward, the deflection would help. 

“Not like you couldn’t come any other day of the week,” she sassed but in a joking manner. 

“Right, right,” he nodded with a small laugh, going along with her sarcasm. “Well, long shift tomorrow and the next day, and the next day…” he waved his hand, selling his point. 

“Hm, what a shame,” she shook her head with a sly grin. 

Bucky turned at that comment. 

“How so?” 

“Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to join Chloe and I for movie night tomorrow. I think she was inviting Becca, so I figured I’d invite the other Barnes kid,” she smiled looking ahead. She was too nervous to see his reaction in case she was taking too big of a step. 

But all she heard was silence. 

Her cheeks began to burn red. She was scared that if she looked at him, she’d see confusion and realize she played her cards wrong. 

But that was the opposite of what she saw. 

She turned, seeing that at the stop sign they had approached, luckily the only ones at the four way stop, he had turned and was staring at her in shock. But not a bad kind of shock. At least it looked good. He had a soft smile as if he couldn’t believe she would suggest something as amazing as it was simple. 

“You want me to come to movie night with you and Chloe?”

“Well, yeah. It would be like old times but with both of our little sisters,” she replied, refusing to look away from those eyes that she had gone so long without really gazing in. “I hope that didn’t come off weird,” she was quick to redirect. “I just realized I really enjoyed your company tonight, and if I’m being honest, I’m feel we are at a spot where we are trying to step back into our friendship, and-”

“Y/N,” he stopped her when she began fumbling on her words in nerves. She stopped and looked at him worriedly. “I think a movie night is long overdue,” he said simply. “And I’ll be honest as well… I really miss hanging out with you too.”

His hand came to lay on top of her and he gave her a squeeze. Instinctively, she opened her hand to hold his. 

“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” she smiled widely. 

“It’s been a while.”

“I’m glad that wait time is over then.” 

“I agree completely.”

The tags are being weird and won't let me tag. I'll try again tomorrow, but if you know someone reading this, feel free to tag them!

Moral of the Story Taglist:

@taylormobleyy​​​​ @ximaginxinx​​​​ @vicmc624624​​​​ @leyannraerae​​​​ @lonelylovescompany​​​​ @jessyballetlet​​​​ @angstysebfanebfan​​​​ @tita127​​​​ @youcanbethebeauty​​ @im-a-light-child​​​​ @alyssahowden​​​​ @studiesinspanish​​​​ @natyvwe​ @rebekahdawkins​​​​ @fanfictionjunkie1112​​​​ @millennial-teenybopper​​​​ @scotlandasshole​​​​ @aquariusbarnes​​​​ @shinykoalacat​​​​ @wayward-river​​​​ @buckyswillows @natdrunk​​ @iloveangstposts​​​​ @fanngirl19​​​​ @seybox​​​​​

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx​​​​ @death-unbecomes-you​​​ @heyiamthatbitch @lizzymacy555​​  @srrymydood​​​​ @xa-dia​​​​ @redhairedfeistynerd​​​​ @morganclaire4​​​​ @connie326​​​​ @captain-asguard​​​​ @mollygetssherlockcoffee​​​​ @teenagedreams-bucky​​​​ @shower-me-with-roses​​​​ @livstilinski​​​​ @basicallylool​​​​

My Lovelies forever:

@natura1phenomenon​​​​ @lauravicente​​​​ @kakakatey​​​​ @traceyaudette​​​​ @notyourtypicalrose​​​​  @laneygthememequeen​​ @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​​​​​ @sandlee44​​​​ @thorne93​​​​ @thefaithfulwriter1​​​​ @essie1876​​​​​ @greyeyedsmile14​​​​​ @capsiclehan​​​​​  @xostephanie​​​​​ @averyrogers83​​​​​ @awesomenursingstudent​​​​​ @gh0stgurl​​​​​ @cs-please​​​​​ @torayuri777 @jjlevin​​​​​ @rainbowkisses31​​​​​ @anise-d-castle6 @deannotmoose​​​​​ @their-bibliophile​​​​​ @kitkatd7​​​​​ @willowbleedsonpaper​​​​​ @mariaenchanted​​​​​ @snffbeebee​​​​​ @couldabeenamermaid​​​​​ @rebekahdawkins​​​​​ @alyispunk​​​​​

Bucky Barnes Tags:

@chloe-skywalker​​​​​ @charmedbysarge​​​​​ @jbarness​​​​​ @bellamy-barnes​​​​​ @katiaw2​​​​​ @aikeia​​​​​ @stopjustlovethemcu

#moral of the story #moral of the story finished #justkending #marvel moral of the story #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x ex reader #bucky barnes x highschool sweetheart #bucky barnes #marvel au #marvel au series #marvel bucky x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes au series

[demonkidpliz]

I’ve read almost all your work and I have to say I understand your disdain towards Radha. Like I do not understand why she is so remembered when she was in Krishna life for only ten years, eleven at most. And he was ten or eleven when he left to kill Kansa, I highly doubt a toddler was romantically involved with someone like people say. That’s like the last thing on their mind.

Although some people believe that she didn’t exist and was made up by later texts since she wasn’t mentioned in Ved Vyas’ original texts. I personally believe this or that it wasn’t a romantic relationship at all, more of a devotion or friendship, she could’ve been been his babysitter or something and he really looked up to her since she was older than him, to the point that her marriage was fixed with someone else.

But it really bothers me that people remember her the more than other wives of Krishna. Especially when she was barley in his life compared other women. And it really bothers me that people don’t even know who Rukmini is. Rukmini deserved to be remembered along with Krishna just as much as Radha. She was the one who fell in love him without even seeing him or meeting him. She only had his stories that were told to her by other people. She was the one who left her family to be with him, risking never seeing them again. She was the one who planned the whole “kidnapping” because she knew that no one but herself would be able to save her from that marriage. She was the one who had endure the separation from her first child. She was the one who shared her husband with 16107 other women, it couldn’t have been easy. And she did it happily too, something no women today would be able to do. She was the one who took care of Dwarka when Krishna was off helping the rest of the world. She was the one who assumed the form of Mahalaksmi and blessed Sudama and his family with prosperity and beauty. She was the one who held the fort and after Krishna died she was the one who made sure everyone was safely on their way with Arjuna before committing sati. Some say that Dwarka only drowned after Rukmini committed sati because it couldn’t handle being separated from its Queen. After everything she only gets one temple in Dwarka dedicated to her and that away from Krishna’s temple too, when she was the queen of Dwarka while Radha is one of the deities in the Dwarkadhish Temple. Whenever I search up Rukmini and Krishna, Radha is always there, whenever I search up murtis of Rukmini and Krishna, Radha and Krishna are the first to show up. How is that fair?

She’s barely mention in those feminist retellings of the great women of Mahabharata/Hinduism or just videos/books that talk about the awesome/underrated/or misunderstood women in Hinduism, even Gandhari gets a mention but not Rukmini. Lakshmi is sometimes excluded too. I didn’t even know about Rukmini until my parents made me watch the B.R. Chopra Mahabharata over quarantine. I absolutely fell in love with with her and it just makes me upset how people don’t recognize her enough.

Rukmini deserves this too, she deserves all the stories, the songs, the bhajans, the shows, the movies and for her name to taken before Krishna. She deserves so much better and so much more.

Vishnu’s avatar’s subjects have a habit of mistreating his wife. I’ll forever be mad at Ayodhya for questioning Sita and than being all sad after she left them. Those fake bitches had it coming. I’ll forever be mad at society for not recognizing Rukmini enough for her her kindness, and generosity.

Kashibai was right, the lover will always be more remembered than the wife. (RadheKrisha, BaijraoMastani)

Sorry for the long rant, I didn’t expect this to turn out so long. I just wanted someone would understand how feel about this and I felt like you would the best. I might just post this in my main page later

Love this! Couldn't have put it better myself. So glad you've read my stories. One day, I hope we get a book or show about Rukmini and ordinary people get to learn about her greatness. Till then, I guess we make do our mytho fiction.

#ask me anything #rukmini #mahabharat #bhagvat puran

[gamerwoo]

hansol: the lovers playlist

characters: hansol x female reader

genre/warnings: idol au, best friends to strangers, getting over a ‘breakup’, slight angst but it’s not too bad ig, slight comfort???

word count: 1,083

summary: put me on the shelf, discipline myself to let the sparks die out; shattering anything that has reflections of you

tag list: @anissanightyoung @aceofvernons @mythicalamphitrite @caratluvie @juliettechokilo @liemwantstosleep @rubyreduji @ohchangyu @minluvly @honeyylin @miki-chi @heemingyu @noraehey @awkwardnesshabitat @floweryjessy @woozarts @anothershorthuman @shuabby1994 @vernxnsfool​  (if you’d like to be added to the tag list, please fill out this form!!!)

a/n: things in bold italics are song lyrics and things in italics are texts

previous song | next song | back to playlist

You were trying, at least. You were actively trying to feel better; to be better. You made the effort to go out -- at least sometimes -- and you tried to stop feeling sorry for yourself. It came in bursts and it wasn’t all the time, but it was something.

“Whenever you think about him, we should bonk you in the head with one of those hammers,” Eunji had said, half-joking.

All 12 of you decided to just hang out in the living room and switch off playing some video games after your schedules had ended that day. Currently, 4 of your members were battling it out in Mario Kart while the rest of you watched and talked. You were sitting between Ayako -- who was doing her absolute best to catch up from last place -- and Xiulan, with one knee to your chest and the other curled up underneath you while you shouted encouragement at the TV for Ayako’s Yoshi to pass the Shy Guy in front of her.

You felt your phone vibrate on the couch beside you, resting slightly under your leg. You lifted your phone, and when your face unlocked the screen, you almost gasped seeing the name that popped up.

Kim Mingyu: _____, I’m sorry for reaching out so suddenly, but I wanted to see how you were doing

You just stared at the screen for a minute in silence, not knowing what to do. You stared until the screen eventually went black.

“_____?” Xiulan was the one to notice you frozen. Your eyes shot up from your phone to look at her. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly at your expression when she glanced away from the screen to look at you again. “Is everything okay?”

You nodded, maybe a little too quickly, “Yeah, just a weird notification.”

“Who is it?” Mira asked slowly, seeming skeptical of the answer.

“Old friend from school,” you lied smoothly. “I haven’t spoken to them in years, but I guess they...saw I was in a kpop group now.”

Thankfully, they all seemed to buy the lie, so you went back to your phone.

‘You didn't close the door; left a crack open; I couldn't ignore...’

You faintly picked up the song that had started playing -- again, another one of Mira’s playlists -- as you tried to decide if you should text Mingyu back or not.

...But you were weak. Unable to resist knowing anything about what might be going on in Hansol’s life, you replied. Plus, Mingyu was the one to help you through that night, so it was the least you owed him, right? Some sort of response?

“‘The faint possibility of having hope in this insanity...’“ Mira started softly singing, her eyes focused on the screen of the TV.

_____☺: that’s okay. i’m...okay. how’re you?

Kim Mingyu: I actually didn’t expect you to respond...

Kim Mingyu: I’m happy you did though!! 😁

“‘That we still could be...’“

Kim Mingyu: I’ve been alright. Same stuff lol. We all miss you

The group still talked about you? Or was he just being nice?

You didn’t want to tell him you missed them, too. You felt like that would be taking even more steps back than you probably were now. 

“‘But we’re stuck floating in between.’“

_____☺: how is everyone?

That was a decent response, right? It didn’t really seem like you were ignoring his statement since you were asking about them.

Kim Mingyu: All the same lol. Just as annoying and chaotic as ever

Kim Mingyu: But... Hansol was kinda different for a while...

You hated how much that piqued your interest. It also made you feel kind of...happy. Was that sick?

_____☺: different?

Kim Mingyu: He went to talk to you one night, and then he came back and didn’t say much for a while. He wouldn’t tell us what happened but it didn’t seem good...

Kim Mingyu: I’m not trying to get you to tell me, though! Just telling you what happened since you asked. I don’t want you to feel pressured. But we all felt worried for both of you

Kim Mingyu: But he still talks about you sometimes...

‘Oh no...’

And there went your heart, suddenly feeling like it was rising from your stomach just a little bit. It was beating so hard and you hated yourself for it. You felt a little spark of hope that maybe Hansol still cared. That maybe he was feeling a little lonely without you, and Ivory wasn’t enough to fill the gap that you hoped you made.

“‘Our eyes were closed with hearts open wide,’“ Mira was still singing along, “’dismissed every rule to abide by.’“

Kim Mingyu: I don’t know if telling you will make you feel worse or not, so I won’t unless you want me to

Kim Mingyu: I don’t even know if you’ve recovered from what happened

Kim Mingyu: I’m still really sorry, _____...

Blood was pounding in your ears, drowning out the sounds of Mira’s singing, the song itself, and your members laughing and joking together. You had two choices in this situation: ask, or stay in the dark. Asking was what you wanted to do. Your heart wanted you to beg Mingyu if you had to, to tell you what Hansol had said. 

But your brain knew that was bad. You knew it would just make you hurt more. It would make you hold onto that hope when you were trying to let go of everything that had to do with him. You couldn’t let yourself trail along behind him like this.

“Put me on the shelf, discipline myself,’“ Mira suddenly belted the lyrics at full volume, breaking you from your internal battle as your thumbs hovered over the screen, “‘to let the sparks die out; shattering everything that has reflections of youuuu, youuuuuu...’“

You laughed at her, along with the other members who were startled by her suddenly loud singing, or who were giggling and telling her how obnoxious she was.

Finally, you looked back down at your phone, deciding on a reply.

_____☺: don’t worry about it, i’ll be fine

_____☺: i’ve gotta go though. we’re pretty busy!! thanks for reaching out

You put your phone on ‘do not disturb’ before reaching forward and placing it on the coffee table. Then you settled back into the couch to watch the last lap of the race.

And when the final chorus came back around, you sang it just as obnoxiously as Mira was.

#seventeen #hansol #vernon #seventeen au #seventeen imagine #seventeen scenario #seventeen oneshot #seventeen fanfic #seventeen x reader #hansol au #hansol imagine #hansol scenario #hansol oneshot #hansol fanfic #hansol x reader #vernon au #vernon imagine #vernon scenario #vernon oneshot #vernon fanfic #vernon x reader

[thegettingbyp2]

Can you do one that involves this version of Aaron singing a mashup of I can't make you love me/All I ask?

https://youtu.be/toJ-UZLRSkM

Maybe he's really hopelessly and truly in love with the reader but she feels like she isn't good enough for him. Maybe he's trying to let her know that she really is the only one he'll ever love. And she shows up to his concert where he sings this, and he sees her in the crowd.

Believe Me When I Say I Love You

You were head over heels for your best friend. The two of you had been friends for around ten years and you couldn’t remember a time since then that you had been there for each other whenever the other needed. However, the more time you spent with Aaron, the more you caught yourself falling from him. You wanted nothing more than to tell Aaron how you felt but you also knew that he deserved to be with someone so much better than you.

So, when Aaron turned to you out of the blue one day and told you that he thought that he was falling in love with you, you were quick to shut down any and every attempt he made to convince you:

‘(Y/N), can you just listen to what I’m trying to tell you?’ Aaron asked desperately as you shut him down for the fifth time that week.

‘There’s no point,’ you replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, ‘you don’t mean it. You just think you do.’

You watched as Aaron’s jaw clenched tightly in annoyance and you wanted nothing more than to run your thumb soothingly over his jaw until he relaxed again. You couldn’t look into his eyes because you knew that the moment you did, you’d melt into him and spill all of your own feelings and you knew that Aaron didn’t need to hear them. Aaron stood staring at you for a few seconds before his shoulders deflated and he let out a heavy sigh.

‘I think I should probably head home for a while, I’ve got to be at the theatre in a couple of hours anyway,’ he said quietly, this time it was him not meeting your eyes. He turned around and started to walk back down the street the way the two of you had just come.

‘Aaron,’ you called, not wanting him to walk away so upset with you. ‘I’m sorry,’ you said when he turned around to face you. He gave you a soft smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes before turning back around and disappearing around the corner.

You’d been avoiding Aaron for the past two weeks, hoping that the distance would help him get over his little crush quicker. It didn’t stop him from constantly messaging you though; constantly apologising, thinking that it was his fault that you weren’t talking to him. After two weeks of his constant messages, you were surprised when you looked at your phone one evening and saw that you only had one message from him that day:

‘Hey, I promise I’m not going to try to get you to talk to me again but I just wanted to let you know I’ve got a gig tonight if you wanted to come? It’d be nice to see you there.’

Your heart twisted in your chest as you read the message and you could just tell that he was upset at the fact he hadn’t heard from you for the past two weeks. You decided that the least you could do was go to the gig, cheer him on and then apologise for ignoring him afterwards and explain why. To kill the time, you clicked onto Twitter where you saw that Aaron was practically trending. Curious, you searched his name and were shocked when you saw all the tweets from people wondering who this mystery woman was who had broken his heart.

Underneath a few of the tweets, there was videos from people who had gone to see Aaron in Moulin Rouge and filmed the last section of Roxanne. Even if you didn’t know Aaron better than you knew yourself, you’d be absolutely stupid if you didn’t notice how broken-hearted Aaron looked, you knew that his character was supposed to be tormented during the song but something about these videos didn’t sit right with you and you knew that Aaron wasn’t acting; especially when he’d sing “believe me when I say I love you.’ You spent the rest of the afternoon, scrolling through the tweets and before you knew it, you were grabbing your shoes and heading out of your door to go to Aaron’s gig, determined to set things right between you.

Due to the Subway being busy, you got to the gig a little late and Aaron was midway through a song. You tried to blend in with the crowd by hanging around the back so you wouldn’t cause a commotion by trying to get to the front but, almost as if he had a secret radar that told him you were close, Aaron’s gaze moved over to you and you watched as his whole body picked up as he finished his song, not daring to take his eyes off of you.

‘So, this next one, I wasn’t actually planning on doing tonight but something’s changed, someone I wasn’t actually expecting to be here tonight has come so we’re going for it and I hope it turns out okay so, bear with me,’ he said, causing a low chuckle to reverberate around the room from the audience. The piano started a soft melody as Aaron practically turned his whole body until he was facing you, his eyes not leaving yours as he began to sing.

As soon as he started singing, you recognised the song immediately as ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ and the way he was watching you as he was essentially pouring his heart out to you, you knew that he meant every single word that was leaving his lips. Tears began to prick at your eyes when you heard the piano start to change and he went into ‘All I Ask’ by Adele.

For the whole duration of the medley, it felt like it was only you and Aaron in the room and you were only reminded of everyone else when the applause set in. From the looks of it, Aaron was feeling the exact same and as soon as the applause had started to die down, he called an interval, heading over to you as soon as he’d put his microphone down.

‘You came!’ he said gently, a soft smile gracing his features. ‘I know you don’t want to hear any of it but that - are you okay?’ he asked when he realised that you had tears streaming down your cheeks. His thumb automatically reached out to brush your tears away and without thinking, you nuzzled your cheek into his palm; God, you’d missed him.

‘I’m so sorry. I knew what you were going to say the other week and I had to stop you before you could finish because I didn’t want to turn you down because of course I love you too, Aaron, it’s just that you deserve to be with someone so much better than me.’ You braved looking up at his face and you inwardly cringed when you saw the frown on his face, thinking that you had completely missed the mark.

‘Is that really what you think?’ he asked in almost a whisper. ‘You think that you’re not good enough for me. (Y/N), if anything, it’s the other way around. You’re incredible! You’re my best friend and there’s no one else I’d rather be with. We know each other in a way I don’t even know how to describe and I know that we would be amazing together. The past two weeks have been absolute hell, I haven’t been able to focus on anything and I’ve even had people asking me if I’m okay after they’ve been to see the show.’

‘Woah, slow down, hey, you’re okay,’ you soothed when you realised that Aaron was talking so fast, wanting to get everything off of his chest that he wasn’t giving himself room to breathe. Your hands came up to gently rest on his chest and his hands gripped yours like a lifeline, like his was scared that if he let go, you were going to disappear.

‘(Y/N), please can we give this a go. I love you and loving you has made me realise that I don’t think I’ve ever been in love before you came into my life because I have never felt the way I feel about you with anyone else.’

You smiled softly and looked down at your feet, however, Aaron’s hand quickly came up to your chin and tilted your head back up to look at him. You inhaled softly when you realised that he was a lot closer than you thought and his lips curved into a gentle smirk when he heard your gasp.

‘Please,’ he mumbled, not tearing his eyes away from your lips or letting go of your chin. It was in that moment that you decided to say “screw it” to all of the doubts you’d placed in your own head and you mumbled an ‘I love you,’ before wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling yourself against him until your lips crashed together.

#aaron tveit #aaron tveit x reader #aaron tveit imagine

[bichettes]

dreaming big (league) || chapter 3

word count: 5204 summary: baseball and life over the years content warning: mention of death, injury, head injury author’s note: this chapter was a fucking BEAST idk what came over me these last two-ish weeks goddamn. This is the most i’ve written EVER for a chapter. I hope you guys like it and catch these little moments i have sprinkled in. prev | next

May 21, 2004

“Andrew, take lots of pictures, okay?”

“I promise I will, Sev.”

Andrew heard his partner sigh on the other end of the line. Severino hadn’t wanted to miss Carrie’s first day of tee ball but there was a private dinner booked at the restaurant. It was such a good opportunity for them. He knew he couldn’t cancel and Andrew said he would be upset if he did.

“She’ll tell you all about it when you get home.”

“Can I talk to her?”

“Carina, papa’s on the phone!”

Andrew heard her running from her room. He looked his daughter up and down when she appeared in front of him. She was already dressed in her tee ball team’s electric blue shirt and a pair of pink shorts. Her hair was still down and laying flat against her back. He’d fix it up after she got off the phone. Carrie held her hand out for the phone and he passed it over, making sure the wire wasn’t tangled.

“Hi papa.”

“Hi baby. Are you excited for your game?”

“Yeah!” she cheered. “Daddy promised he was going to braid my hair!”

“Oh he did?”

A swell of pride blossomed in Andrew’s chest. He wasn’t the best at braiding but it made him happy knowing his daughter was excited for him to do her hair. He busied himself with putting together snacks and drinks while they talked. Carina ended the conversation with an “I love you” before calling him back to the phone. They chatted for a little bit longer until Carrie called out down the hall with a, “Daddy, my hair!”

“Duty calls.”

“Of course. I’ll be home by 11.”

“We’ll pick you up.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

-

“Go Carina! Run!”

Andrew launched himself to his feet and cheered as Carrie flung the bat away from her and ran to first base. She jumped up and down next to the kid who was the other team’s first baseman. He was thankful he decided to turn on the video camera again at that moment. Severino would be happy to watch back all the videos he took. A group sat down next to Andrew.

“Hi, sorry we’re late. Did we miss anything?”

Andrew greeted the family of three. Catherine Shaw and her family lived a few doors down from them. It so happened that she and Andrew also worked together in the ICU at Toronto General. He watched her son, Beckett, walk down to the fence by the first base line to watch Carrie.

“Don’t go too far, son.” his dad, Michael, warned.

“Carrie just got her first hit.”

“Did she?” Catherine’s eyes lit up.

He went back to the camcorder and found the short video he had taken of his daughter.

“Oh look at her! I told you two putting her in tee ball would be a good idea.”

It was true. Catherine and Michael had put Beckett into tee ball when he was the same age and he’s been playing ever since. Severino and Andrew were unsure whether or not to go through with it due to Carrie’s ever changing interests. Just last week she had asked her papa to buy her a skateboard after seeing an older kid riding one while they were on their way to the grocery store.

“You’re doing good, Carina!” Beckett yelled. Carrie turned her head. She knew that voice.

“Beck!” She waved at the boy and he waved back, both of them sharing a smile.

Carrie was happy to see him. Just as she was about to step off the bag, she saw Beckett hold out his arms, making her stop.

“You can’t get off the base!” he giggled.

“But you’re there!”

“You’re playing a game, you need to help your team!”

She stayed put.

October 31, 2006

“Weren’t you a baseball player last year?” Maddie, one of Carrie’s classmates, sneered when they lined up in the yard to be taken into the building. She had sounded a little insulted for some reason that Carrie was repeating her Halloween costume from the previous October. Maddie was a cowgirl this year. 

“Yeah, so?” Carrie shot back. 

“That’s boring!”

“No it’s not!”

“Is too!”

Before they could go any further, their teacher, Mrs. Sanders, came up to them.

“What’s going on over here?”

“Maddie said my costume was boring because it was the same one from last year!”

Mrs. Sanders looked down at the taller girl and Carrie stuck her tongue out.

“Maddie, that wasn’t a very nice thing to say. What if she told you your-” she looked her up and down “-cowgirl costume was boring?”

She frowned. “But it’s not because-”

“Madison.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry.”

But before Carrie could respond back, Maddie had already started following the other kids inside. Carrie glared at the girl’s back. Mrs. Sanders tried her best to stop the smile threatening to break out onto her face. She crouched down next to Carrie and adjusted the helmet on her head.

“Your costume isn’t boring. I like it.”

That put a smile on Carrie’s face.

July 19, 2007

Carrie was sitting on the steps of their little deck watching on as her papa got down on one knee and presented a black velvet box to her daddy. Andrew had been picking a few things from the little garden area in their backyard, a little preoccupied to notice what was happening behind him.

“Daddy!” she called out.

“Yes-” he started, turning around at the same time. The basket that had once been in his hand now on the grass as his hands flew to his mouth. He looked down at his partner. Tears were already shining in Severino’s eyes.

“Andrew, you are my best friend, my other other half. I have loved you since we were teens. I- I didn’t think I would have this kind of love again after losing Lena-” he took a breath in and let it out “-but there you were. You jumped in right away to help me with the house and Carina and- and so many more things. Fuck, my head’s all over the place.” 

Both of them chuckled. Andrew wiped a stray tear that started rolling down Severino’s cheek.

“You’re doing good.”

“I look around our home and see all we’ve done together, all we’ve built together and I want nothing more than to keep doing this with you but married. I want you to be my husband and I yours. Will you-”

“Yes, yes! God, yes!”

Andrew didn’t need to wait for Severino to finish the question. The tears flowed freely from their eyes as he got Severino back on his feet and pulled him in for a kiss. They broke apart for a second so the silver band could be slid onto his left ring finger. They kissed again and laughed, wiping the tears from the other’s face.

“We’re getting married!” Andrew cheered, holding his now fiancé’s hand and kissing the back of it.

Severino picked up the basket Andrew had dropped and they walked over to where Carrie was waiting for them on the deck. She launched herself at her papa.

“You did it!”

She wrapped her arms and legs around him. Carrie was turning 9 next month and she was already a little too big to still be carried around but Severino didn’t care.

“Couldn’t have done it without your help, baby.” He kissed the side of her head.

“You helped papa?”

Carrie nodded and reached for her daddy’s hand. He gave it to her easily. She ran her finger over the emerald cut diamond that was laid in the centre of the ring.

“Yeah, she helped me pick out your ring.”

“You both did a good job, thank you.”

Carrie smiled. Her dads were getting married!

August 26, 2009

“Okay, close your eyes Carina.” Severino instructed.

She was sitting on the floor with all her opened presents and gift wrap around her. She looked up at her papa.

“Why?” she asked, scrunching her eyebrows together.

“Just do it.” her dad said from behind her where he was sitting on the couch.

She let out a sigh. “Fine.” And with that she closed her eyes.

Severino went to the garage and grabbed the blue box tied up with a red ribbon.

“Are your eyes still closed?” he asked upon re-entering the room.

“Yes papa!”

He placed the box down in front of her and gave Andrew a thumbs up to start recording.

“Okay, open.”

Carrie looked down at the box in front of her, eyebrows knitting together again. She shook the box very gently. It had some weight to it.

“What did you get me…”

She took the red bow off and cut the ribbon off. But before she could even get her hands on the lid, it popped up on its own. Carrie screamed.

“Oh my gosh!”

She quickly got rid of the lid and looked into the box. Sitting inside was the cutest german shepherd puppy she had ever seen. She gently took him out of the box and cradled him.

“Hi baby…” she said, tears rolling down her face. The pup licked them up, making her laugh.

She looked up at her parents.

“He’s mine?”

“He’s all yours, sweetheart.” Andrew said.

The two men watched as their daughter cried even harder. It made them tear up a bit as well. She stood up from the floor and hugged them both.

“Thank you,” she sniffled.

They both kissed the top of her head. She had been asking for a dog since she was 9 but they both felt she wasn’t ready yet to take on the responsibility. But after a good school year with stellar grades and staying on top of her extracurriculars, they knew it was time.

“Have you thought of a name yet?” She shook her head.

Later that week they got a custom dog tag with the name Rolo on it.

November 2, 2009

The family of four walked through the field, occasionally whispering apologies where they stepped. Severino held a bouquet of sunflowers in one hand and a candle in the other. Carrie and Andrew had a bouquet of their own as well. He spotted where they needed to be.

“There she is.” Severino said. 

It took a few more steps before they reached the tombstone. Rolo sniffed the nearby area before running back to Carrie. It had been a particularly uneventful and silent drive to the cemetery. Severino spent the majority of it holding Andrew’s hand as he drove, his thumb brushing the back of his hand for comfort. Carrie spent her time looking out the window and rubbing Rolo’s ears.

The four of them stood in front of the marble marker.

Magdalena Reyes Panganiban 1969 - 1999 Beloved mother, daughter, sister, friend A heart of gold stopped beating, two shining eyes at rest. God broke our hearts to prove, He only takes the best.

“Hi, love.” Severino greeted the stone. He went around and bent down, pressing a kiss to the top of it. 

“Hey, Lena.” Andrew said, pressing his palm to the front. “Hope we’re not bugging you.”

He watched as Severino got down to his knees and put on a pair of gardening gloves, getting ready to clean up her gravesite and tombstone. Carrie came from behind and wrapped her arms around the black marble and pressed her lips to the top just like her papa had.

“Hi mommy.”

While Severino busied himself sprucing up the area, Andrew laid down the blanket they had brought and laid it down behind the tombstone. Carrie helped him by taking out the little feast they prepared. They even brought some treats for Rolo to munch on. The father and daughter duo were focused on setting up their little picnic but stopped when they heard a couple of sniffles come from behind them. They looked at one another. Andrew gave Carrie a sad smile and got up. He laid a hand on his husband’s shoulder and Severino stopped.

“Here, let me do it.”

Severino shook his head.

“Baby, I got this.”  Andrew gently pried the trowel out of his hand. “Go have something to eat.”

Severino could only manage to nod, afraid that if he were to speak he would start crying and not stop. He walked over to the blanket and sat down cross legged, wiping at his eyes as he did so.

Without saying a word, Carrie got up from her spot and sat down in between her papa’s legs. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her head. The scent of Carrie’s raspberry shampoo filled his nose. She pressed herself closer to her papa, a solid weight against him. Nothing needed to be said at the moment. Rolo kept watch while Andrew did the last bit of care to the grave. 

The family spent the day with Magdalena; eating, listening to music, praying. They even got in a little nap with her. Both men shared stories of Carrie’s mother with her, some new, some old. Every word spoken felt like a balm to Severino’s heart, soothing the ache in his chest he always felt when visiting Magdalena’s grave. The two men watched Carrie and Rolo run around. Andrew kissed Severino’s shoulder.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked.

“Still sad. It’s not as much as when we first got here but I can still feel it.”

“I know.”

Andrew brushed his hair back.

“I’m sure she’s looking down at us right now.”

“Do you think she’d be happy, seeing how our lives turned out?”

“I think so.”

Somewhere in the skies above, Lena was sitting with the family that left before her and smiling down at her family left on earth.  

June 30, 2010

Carrie stared down at the heap of gear at her feet.

“What’s this?” she asked her coach.

“Catcher’s gear.”

“I know that but why is it in front of me?”

“Because, Carina, you’re our new catcher.”

“What? No I’m not.”

“Starting today you are.”

“Why?”

“Evan quit the team and because you were the last one to join us, you got the short straw.”

“But-“ Carrie felt her shoulders sag.

“You want to make it to the bigs, right?” Coach Williams asked. She picked her head up.

“Yeah, why?”

“Playing this position will get you there, fast.”

She looked at her coach questioningly. “I don’t have time to get into it but trust me. I will teach you everything I know to help you, okay? You have a lot of potential.”

Carrie let out a breath, nodded, and picked up the catcher’s mitt. “Okay.”

September 5, 2011

Carrie plucked the grass at her sides and kept her eyes on her gear which was sitting in a pile in front of her. It was an unusually humid Labour Day and Beckett had the bright idea of getting in one last throwing session before school started. She could feel the sweat sticking to all parts of her. The boy passed his water bottle over to her so she could take a couple gulps. He watched as she did.

“Are you excited for tomorrow?”

She wiped her mouth. “What’s tomorrow?”

“First day of school?” he answered back in a ‘duh’ sort of tone. Carrie shrugged in response. 

“I guess.”

“You guess? You’re usually excited for school to start and you’re going into grade 8.”

Carrie didn’t give him a reply.

“Carina, what’s going on? You’ve been weird with me all week.”

She shrugged again.

“Are you okay? Are you sick?”

“No.”

“Then what is it?” Beckett’s chocolate brown eyes bore into the side of her head. She looked at him for a second before going back to the grass.

“It’s just-“ she stopped herself. “You won’t be there anymore. At school.”

He sat up, scooting his bum a bit closer. “Oh, but we’ve talked about this already.”

“Yeah, I know and I know I’ve had all summer to deal with it but now that it’s starting tomorrow… it’s hard.”

They were sitting in the outfield of the local ballpark close to their house. It’s a spot they frequented all summer and summers past when they had nothing better to do. They looked towards home plate where their bags were sitting.

“We’re still gonna see each other almost every single day.”

“Will we?”

“Of course. Just because I’m going to high school doesn’t stop us from being neighbours. I’m still going to come see you and bug your dads.”

“My dads don’t care because they love you.” Carrie rolled her eyes.

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Do you love me too?”

“Sometimes.” She didn’t miss a beat with that answer.

“Sometimes?!”

Carrie let out a chuckle but it died down quickly.

“Are you sure you won’t forget about me?”

“I promise I won’t. I’ll even pick you up after school and buy you a McFlurry.”

They both got up from the grass, brushing themselves off. Carrie collected her catcher’s gear.

“If their ice cream machine is broken again, you owe me double.”

“Okay, deal.”

The ice cream machine at McDonald’s was in fact broken once again.

July 20, 2012

The moment the batter swung, Carrie knew it was going to the outfield. She took a quick glance at the player at first who looked like they were getting ready to tag. She heard her teammates yells of, “Throw it home!” behind her.

She got in a position to catch and from her peripheral she could see the player tag the bag and start running towards her. Carrie saw their outfielder, Daniel, throw the ball towards home with all his might. The ball took a bounce a couple feet in front of her and popped into her mitt. What she didn’t see when she turned was the player launching himself at her, the force of the impact knocking her to the ground as well as her helmet and mask. The baseball popped out of the glove.

She couldn’t remember much after that. She could hear cheering somewhere behind her and her coach, one of them at least, yelling at someone. It was probably the umpire. She couldn’t tell if it was Coach Williams or Davies. Her head was spinning. When she opened her eyes, she could see the clear blue sky but with black spots popping in and out of it. A face came into view right above her.

“Carrie!” She winced at the loudness of her papa’s voice. Somewhere not too far she could hear her dad yelling too. He sounded angry. Her papa’s face got closer to hers.

“Where does it hurt, baby? Tell me.” He gently stroked her cheek.

“Everywhere- my head-” she could feel tears running down the sides of her face.

“I know, I know. Daddy’s coming, okay? Try not to move.”

All she did was blink at him. She felt hands on either side of her neck. She knew they belonged to her daddy.

“Daddy?”

“I’m here, sweetheart. Daddy’s here. Sev, call 911-” she could feel her papa pulling away from her.

“Papa, don’t leave-” She wasn’t thinking when she shot her arm out to hold onto him.

“Catherine-” her dad sounded like he was looking for her “Catherine! Call 911!”

“I’m on the line with them!”

“Beckett, untie her cleats and take them off- gently, okay?”

“Beck?”

“Right here, Carina.” She heard him say from below her.

Andrew and Catherine did their assessments on her and waited until the ambulance came. Beckett held her hand.

Everything moved quickly after that. They got a collar around her neck and put her on a backboard onto the stretcher. Andrew went with her in the ambulance and Severino followed behind in their car along with Catherine and Beckett.

-

Severino, Catherine, and Beckett sat in the waiting room of the emergency department. Andrew stayed with Carrie while they ran tests.

“John said they’re looking at disciplinary action against the player and his coaches.”

“Yeah, I sure hope they fucking do.” Severino spat out. Catherine laid a hand on his shoulder. “The kid purposely threw himself at her, you saw that. He jumped at her. Who the fuck does that? And then they had the audacity to celebrate while my daughter was laying on the ground.”

“I know, Sev.”

“And the kid was huge; he was bigger than Carina. They were playing a kid’s game, Catherine.”

She rubbed his back. A beat of silence.

“Look, you guys are going to be here awhile, probably have to stay overnight. Why don’t we get you something to eat?”

He nodded.

-

In the end, Carrie was diagnosed with a grade 3 concussion due to her losing consciousness for a few seconds after the impact. She didn’t play baseball for the rest of the year.

August 31, 2014

Carrie ran out from the dugout, catcher’s mitt covering the lower half of her face.

“Three outs, that’s all we need.” she chanted to herself. She felt someone come up behind her and tap her lower back.

Beckett.

“Hey-” 

He turned his head for a quick second as he ran to the mound and sent her a wink. He strode up to the pitcher’s mound. Carrie watched him as he prepared himself for the inning: writing his lucky number 12 in the dirt, crossing it out with the toe of his right cleat, shaking out the tension from his shoulders, looking down at the dirt beneath him then up to the sky, then to his left and his right. It’s a ritual she’s watched him do and perfect over the years. He’s never missed a step. Well he did once before and it was the worst game he’s pitched so far in his career. He never made that mistake again.

She saw him take a deep breath in and let it out slowly, letting her know he was ready for her signals.

Three outs, that was all they needed.

-

Carrie took a quick glance at the batter at first. The girl was only a few steps off the bag and she wasn’t dancing around. She didn’t seem like she was going to try for second. The umpire threw a new baseball back to Beckett. The count was 2-2 and Beckett had just thrown a ball into the dirt that thankfully stayed in front of Carrie. She called for time and ran towards him.

“What are you doing?” were the words that came out of his mouth.

“One more strike, Beck. That’s all we need, okay?” She looked up at him. He nodded.

“One more strike,” he repeated.

“Good. You got this.”

She gave him a little nudge before taking her spot back at home. The batter got back in the box. She gave him her signs and he threw the ball.

Fouled off.

They went through the motions again.

Fouled again.

One more time. Carrie felt and heard the pop of the ball hitting the centre of her mitt.

“STRIKE THREE!”

Carrie immediately got out of her crouch and threw her mask somewhere to the side. She started running towards the mound.

“We did it! We won!”

Everyone rushed around them, jumping up and down. All she could see was him.

November 27, 2014

Carrie walked through the front door of the restaurant with her backpack over her shoulder. She greeted everyone she ran into on her way to the kitchen. She found her papa hunched over a tall pot of… something. It was probably kare kare.

“Hi papa.” She came up behind him and gave his shoulder a squeeze. She looked into the pot. She was right.

“Oh, hi baby. How was school?”

“It was okay. It just felt really slow. I’m going to Tim’s to grab a snack before I start, do you want anything?”

“I’m okay but can you get the- ano ba yan- the box with the different baked goods. Do they still do that?”

“I think you have to get them separately. Like, a box of muffins, a box of donuts, and a pack of Timbits.”

“Yeah, do that.”

“Okay.”

She came back within 15 minutes with a bag full of goodies. She had a Boston cream donut and a couple of Timbits to start her shift.

-

“You guys all done with these? Alright.” Carrie collected the table’s dishes and brought them to the kitchen to be washed. When she came back out she found a table that needed to be cleaned.

Her night went on just like that. Bussing tables wasn’t the most glamorous of first jobs but she did it happily because she was working in her papa’s restaurant. Since she turned 16 in August she was finally allowed to work. She worked every Friday and Saturday. Sundays were to rest and obviously Monday through Thursday was for school and extracurriculars. If she wanted to have a Friday or Saturday off she had to go through the booking off process just like everybody else. No special treatment just because she was the owner’s kid. She was perfectly fine with that.

When 10pm hit they began to lock up, making sure the restaurant was clean and ready for the following day. Carrie collected the remaining dishes and wiped down the tables, humming to herself as she did so. It was a pretty busy night for them which made sense considering it was Friday.

The restaurant was younger than her by a few years but she remembers spending all her free time there after school, being “babysat” by the servers and bartenders and hosts who worked. It wasn’t much babysitting considering she behaved, occupying herself with colouring books and reading books that turned into homework when she finally started to get it. Sometimes they’d sit with her and keep her company on their breaks. It was nice knowing some of them stayed after all this time. They felt more like family to her than just people that worked with her papa.

When she finished her tasks for the night, she grabbed her things from the upstairs office and brought them down to the main dining area. All she had to do was wait for her papa. It didn’t take long before Severino emerged from the kitchen holding a couple takeout boxes that her dad probably asked to bring home.

“Ready?” she asked him.

“Yeah, come on.”

And they left through the front door of the restaurant. Another work day in the books.

September 26, 2015

“Sige na, pagbigyan mo na ako, okay? I just want you to make sure you have all your options open.” 

Carina looked at her papa. He was giving her his, “Please, for me?” eyes. She could never say no.

“Okay, fine.”

“Thank you.”

Carrie hadn’t wanted to go to the university fair. She would be graduating the following June so she had to start thinking about what to do after high school. And she did. Carrie was pretty much set on taking time off after graduation to try and go farther with her baseball career. She had several sit downs with her coaches and her parents over the summer to discuss how they were going to help her reach her complete potential and get her noticed. Her dad had been sceptical but he eventually put his full trust in her coaches. Her papa on the other hand? It wasn’t so easy. He was reluctant to give the go ahead, coming at Coach Williams and Coach Davies with all these questions at every meeting. It reached a point where Carrie had asked her dad to talk to him because it made her feel like he didn’t believe in her. 

Now with the university fair happening that weekend, her papa started up again. She knew how important it was to him for her to go to post-secondary but why waste it on a school- on a program- that she didn’t really care for? It would just be a waste of money for her parents. But alas, the day of the fair came and she couldn’t say no to him.

-

“Carina, wait-”

She jogged the last few steps back to their house. She went rifling through her bag to find her keys. Her dad ended up opening the door for her when he heard her struggling to put it into the deadbolt.

“I knew he would do this!” she yelled and dropped the bag they got from the fair by their shoes.

She stalked up the stairs. Andrew saw Severino walking down the driveway.

“What did you say to her?”

“I just told her she needed to be realistic.”

Andrew gave his husband a look.

“Seriously?”

“You know I’m right.”

“There is no right or wrong here, Sev. You basically told our daughter that her dreams aren’t realistic.”

A few minutes later, Carrie came bounding down the staircase with her gear bag in tow. She had changed into a sweater and some leggings. 

“Where are you going?” her dad had asked even though he knew exactly where she was going. He didn’t miss the way her eyes had looked red and puffy underneath.

“For a workout.”

She left just as quickly as she had come.

“You’re apologizing to her when she gets home.”

October 16, 2016

“Oh, congratulations, Michael. That’s great news.” Severino said.

Carina looked down at her dinner plate. She could feel Beck’s eyes boring into her forehead. The adults chatted for the remainder of the dinner while the kids remained silent.

Beckett’s father received a promotion at work (great!) that needed the family to relocate (not great). They used this dinner to tell Carrie and her family. It’s not like she didn’t know already. She overheard her dad and Catherine on the phone a few days ago, probably when it was confirmed that he got the promotion.

The rest of the dinner passed in a blur with Carrie using homework as an excuse to leave.

“I thought you finished it already.” her papa commented.

“I forgot something.”

Her dad made a noise of disapproval. “I told you to double check your agenda, remember?”

“Yeah, I know.” And with that she retreated up the stairs.

She stuck her headphones in her ears and laid down on her bed, facing away from the door.

“This doesn’t look like homework.”

Carina turned around and glared at Beckett.

“What do you want?”

He put his hands up.

“What are you getting mad at me for?”

She turned back around. She felt her bed dip behind her.

“I know you’re upset about us moving…”

“…”

“I don’t want to go either.” He laid down next to her. “We’re not leaving until next year, though, if that makes you feel any better.”

“It doesn’t.”

Beckett sighed. 

“I’m sorry.”

After a few moments of silence, Carrie finally turned over. She looked at him.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

He brushed her hair back behind her ear.

“We’ll be okay.”

Would they?

#tricia writes #dbl #writing

[peterpparkrr]

The Lost Boys (Ch. 1)

Series: the lost boys

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Summary: Steve Harrington has spent the last three years of his life fighting alternative demotion shadow creatures. But when the dust settles after the final battle and it seems like things are finally getting back to normal, a ghost from the past comes back to haunt the former King of Hawkins High.

AKA

Eddie Munson is a vampire and Steve Harrington is his little spider monkey. 

Word Count: 2.2k

A/N: Gonna be honest, I’ve given minimal thought to the vampiric lore of this fic, but more will be explained next chapter once I plot it all out. (I’m just too excited by this idea to worry about it right now)

// Next chapter

Steve Harrington was going crazy. Like, literally going insane. 

He had naively assumed that after they killed Vecna that this whole stupid nightmare would be over. 

Now nightmares were the least of his worries.

After the Demogorgon, there had been night terrors. He’d wake up with cold sweat dripping down his back, heaving and shaking with vivid flashes of the Demogorgon ripping Nancy and Jonathan, and sometimes even himself apart still flashing across his eyes. As he tried to calm himself down.

The next year, after the demodogs, Steve started having panic attacks. It felt like almost anything had been able to set him off. If it got too dark, or too quiet, the sound of rustling leaves, the smell of blood, the littlest things could bring right back and he’d worry the dogs or even Billy Hargrove would get him or the kids and he wouldn’t be able to calm down for ages. It was those times that he was glad he was usually alone in the house. If he had to deal with his dad's silent, judgemental disappointment, or even a lecture about manhood, he might have snapped.

He’d rather deal with it by himself.

After everything at the mall, he’d thought maybe it was okay. Things were getting back to normal. He and Robin would spend hours talking about what happened, and helping Robin work through her own anxiety had weirdly helped him too. 

Who would have thought?

For the first time in forever, it felt like he wasn’t alone. When he and Nancy had still been together he’d thought it was easier to pretend everything was okay. And Nancy had never really pushed the envelope, never wanted to talk about her own experiences, at least, not with him. In their own ways, they had both been happy pretending things were okay. 

But with Robin, it was like he finally had someone in his life who truly understood him. Even if it was just a friendship he felt like they were able to connect in a way Steve had never felt before. 

And he’d truly never been so grateful to have met Robin as in those nights they spent sitting in his car outside her house talking for hours. 

But then Vecna happened. And He and Robin and Nancy had almost died. And Eddie had. 

Eddie.

And just when it felt like the worst experiences of their collective lives were finally over. Like they could maybe live lives that weren’t governed by demons and hellish creatures, Steve started seeing things. 

He’d been able to brush it off at first. It had just been out of the corner of his eye, so he could chalk it up to someone else with the same dark, curly hair. Or another kid in a leather jacket. A member of Hellfire who still wore their shirt around town.

But then he’d seen him outside Family Video after he and Robin had closed up for the night.

Why he and Robin were still working their shitty customer service jobs after saving the world was still anyone’s guess, but Robin hadn’t wanted to quit, so neither had Steve. 

Robin had been locking up behind them, still rambling about some weird foreign movie she’d watched with Vickie that she insisted he ‘had to watch’ while Steve looked out into the quiet parking lot, the street lights illuminating the pavement, His car right in front of the door the only one left in the lot, Robin’s voice the only sound, the only sign of life until Steve’s gaze had traveled across the parking lot to the street.

Eddie was standing there. Dead center in the street, staring directly at him.

And when Steve had seen him he’d frozen. Whether it was shock or fear or something else, Steve hadn’t been able to move or to look away from the man that he had been so sure had died protecting them. 

“What are you staring at? Let's go,” Robin said as she broke Steve out of whatever trance he had been in.

His gaze flicked over to Robin in confusion but as he glanced back at the street, opening his mouth to ask her if she saw him too, Eddie was gone. 

At first, dread had gripped him, along with the fear that they hadn’t killed Venca after all. This felt exactly like how Max had described her visions when they’d realized what Vecna was doing, how he was getting into the mind and using fears and secrets to terrorize his victims.

He was next. 

Because he had seen Eddie. 

And Eddie was dead.

And it kept happening. 

Steve felt like he saw Eddie everywhere he looked.

He’d been so desperate for answers. He'd knocked on the Byer’s door, and a confused and slightly suspicious Jonathan had watched him like a hawk while Steve sat on the Byer’s couch waiting for Will.

Will had assured him that Vecna was dead. That he couldn’t feel him anymore. 

But that there the Upside Down was far from gone. And it seemed like something else had taken Vecna’s place.

“It’s not bad, per se,” Will assured him. Maybe it was crazy to take the word of a fifteen-year-old so seriously, but something about Will’s kind but direct tone calmed Steve for the first time since the visions had started.  

“It actually feels like the opposite of what I felt with Vecna,” Will continued. “I’m not connected to it in the same way, but whatever’s down there, I don’t think it’s evil.”

“So I’m just crazy?” Steve asked with a huff, as his relief was quickly taken over by a new wave of fear as he considered the other explanations for what was happening to him.

“I don’t think you’re crazy, Steve, you just need to talk to someone,” Will assures him. “Maybe confronting your fears might help. Does he talk to you, when you see him?” Will asked him quietly.

“No, he hasn’t,” Steve admits. He honestly didn’t think he wanted to know what Eddie would say to him if they spoke. 

I mean, they’d barely been friends when he had died. They’re bonded over the trauma of it all. But he wouldn’t say 48 hours of high-stress monster hunting were conducive to a solid relationship. And before that? Eddie Munson had just been a ‘freak’ that he disregarded throughout high school, and then tolerated once it became clear that Dustin was enamored with him.

Their newfound partnership had been shaky at best, and while he had no ill-will towards Eddie, he doubted Eddie would feel the same way now, after they’d all left him in the Upside Down. 

Steve had a feeling that dying left people feeling pretty ungenerous towards the people who had survived. 

“It might just be a personification of your survivor's guilt,” Will tells him, as if he had been reading Steve’s mind. 

“How do you know all this?” Steve asks.

“I’ve seen a lot of shrinks, you tend to pick up on the lingo,” Will replies with a shrug.

“You’re a smart kid, little Byers,” Steve replies with a grin. “I knew there was a reason I liked you more than your brother.”

“It probably helps that I didn’t steal your girlfriend from you,” Will replies with an uncharacteristically wide grin. 

“Yeah,” Steve replies as he bursts out laughing.

“Hey, Steve?” Will adds. “There’s nothing wrong with needing help. And I know you probably don’t want another 15-year-old best friend. But I’m always around if you want to talk.”

“Thanks, Will, I might have to take you up on that,” Steve replies. “I’ll see you around.”

“Harrington,” Jonathan bids Steve farewell cautiously from the kitchen as he watches Steve get up and move to leave.

“Later, Byers,” Steve replies as he pushes through the Byer’s front door, making his way back to his car with a lightness in his chest that he hadn’t realized he’d been missing.

Steve had closed up Family Video himself tonight, Robin had the day off due to a dentist appointment and had called him in the middle of the afternoon to ask him an unfollowable series of questions about the Cuban Missile Crisis while she had still been loopy on the laughing gas. 

And he’d known he’d see Eddie before he’d even spotted him out in the parking lot.

“I know you’re not real, you can’t scare me,” Steve says as he walks up to Eddie. Who’s leaning against the hood of Steve’s car with his usual smirk as Steve comes up to him.

“I can’t, Harrington?” Eddie teases as he pushes himself off the hood of the BMW to come face to face with Steve. “Because it looks like you were consulting that little Byers kid about me.”

Steve doesn’t say anything to that.

“I can assure you, I’m as real as they come,” Eddie adds.

“You died,” Steve says with an unfamiliar feeling in his mouth as he struggles to get the words out.

“Did I? Because I don’t remember you all taking the body back up here with you,” Eddie points out.

“You all left me,” Eddie says with a melodramatic sigh as he tilts his head back, giving Steve a good look at the column of his neck. “Even Henderson.”

“Because you were dead,” Steve reiterates, his patience already running thin. This had been a stupid idea. Maybe Will was patient enough, kind enough to sit through this sort of conversation with his subconsciousness, but Steve definitely does not have the tolerance for this bullshit.

“Or was I?” Eddie questions as he tilts his head to the side as his lips pull down into a frown.

“Fuck you, dude,” Steve hisses as he moves to reach for the drivers-side door of his car.

“No, dude,” Eddie replies, mockingly as he steps between Steve and the car, blocking his path. “Fuck. You.” 

“I’ve officially lost it, Jesus fucking christ,” Steve mutters as he rubs his hands over his face.

“You are such a drama queen, Harrington, I’m very much here,” Eddie says as he stretches his arms out on either side of him. “You can reach out and touch me if you want.”

Steve reaches out a tentative hand, fully assuming his hand will swipe right through Eddie’s chest, but instead makes hard, awkward contact as his palm connects with Eddie’s sternum, even pushing him back slightly. 

“Shit,” Steve mutters in equal parts shock and alarm as he makes the connection, pulling his hand back quickly as he reels backward. 

“Yeah,” Eddie replies with a nod as his arms drop back down to his sides.

“So you didn’t come back to haunt me?” Steve asks in confusion.

“I don’t know, maybe I did,” Eddie jibes as he shrugs his shoulders.

“Munson,” Steve hisses. “I swear to God, if-”

“God is dead, Harrington,” Eddie quips. “Just ask me the question you’re dying to ask.”

Steve stares at Eddie with a hard look. He does know what he wants to ask. Of course he does. But he’s terrified of the answer. And of what that answer might mean. 

“How are you here? What happened to you?” 

“Well, Henderson was right, my heart did stop beating, I mean, those bats really did a number on me, it was gnarly,” Eddie explains. “But I didn’t die. I’m not alive either.”

“Quit with the riddles, Munson, what are you?” Steve asks impatiently.

“A vampire,” Eddie replies with a wicked grin. 

“Seriously, Eddie? You expect me to believe that?” Steve scoffs.

“Deadly serious,” Eddie replies. “Well, undeadly.”

Steve stares up at the night sky, cursing whatever God or entity he pissed off that is forcing him to deal with shit like this. Shit like Eddie Munson. Even as a ghost, or a figment of his imagination, a vampire, whatever the fuck is happening, he’s still as annoying as shit. 

“After everything you’ve seen, this is too much for you to accept?” Eddie asks. “I’m not trying to fuck with you, I swear, I’m just trying to… lighten the mood, I suppose,” He admits with a sheepish lift of his shoulders.

“Who else knows?” Steve asks.

“No one,” Eddie admits. His signature bravado falters slightly, reminding Steve a lot more of the Eddie who was running from the cops, the scared version of Eddie that he’d seen when they’d been trying to help clear his name. “I’m uh, still trying to figure out how all of this works.”

“What? Have you got vampire powers now?” Steve asks, his brow furrowing as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Hell yeah, I do,” Eddie replies a grin returning to his face. “Wanna see?”

#stranger things #stranger things imagines #Stranger Things Spoilers #stranger things imagine #steve harrington #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington headcanons #steve harrington fanfic #eddie munson #eddie munson imagine #steve harrington x eddie munson #steve x eddie #steve x eddie fanfic #steve harrington x eddie munson fanfic #steddie #steddie fanfic #steddie series #steve harrington x eddie munson series #steve x eddie series #vampire!eddie

[nanogrem]

Not a super happy post, TW? Vague mention of suicidal thoughts and self harm.

Making a little note of my mental health issues lately since I’ll be seeing someone about it the morning and I’m all kinds of nervous - I’m happy I’m having the chance to start treatment so soon though.

So for the last few years I’ve been in some kind of funk that has been steadily progressing. It started out as a weird brain fog that made it really hard to think and “hear” myself - like talking to yourself in your brain. I’d stutter, have to force words out, and sentences would run together and turn into an incoherent jumble of thoughts.

After that came physical symptoms that aligned with my anxiety getting worse; Feeling sick and nauseous all the time, chest pains, heart palpitations, and most noticeably - Vertigo and Hypoglycemia.

I don’t have POTS and I’m cleared for diabetes, my CT scans and EKG I got from my trip to the ER earlier this year we’re also clean so at least I know my brain looks physically alright.

Another thing was how much harder it’s gotten to do basic things; like laundry, cooking, simply getting out of bed and using the bathroom in the morning. I’ll just sit there fighting with myself for a few hours until my back hurts enough to get me moving.

I don’t want to talk about the worse stuff in detail but I’ve struggled with increasingly manic delusions that I struggle to get out of and can’t tell what’s reality and what isn’t, as well as more harmful thoughts towards myself and sometimes other people for many years, I used to be able to talk myself down and calm myself but it’s gotten harder and harder to do so. I’m not physically self destructive aside from mild dermatillomania, picking at existing areas of psoriasis that is on my scalp and behind my ears.

Another big thing was my emotions being all over the place, little things would stress me out so much to the point of tears like my mom having her phone on full volume while watching videos in the living room while I was there watching TV, and my friends not interacting with me directly. I’d get so upset over not being invited to spontaneous get-togethers online (meaning it wasn’t planned and just happened) as well as just people not talking to me frequently. I was aware of my feelings and I knew that clinginess was bad and that other people had their own lives and were not responsible for my happiness so in my head the only option I had was distance myself and self-isolate and remove any ability I might have that would result in me messaging people out of the blue either not thinking or by impulse. Even now I have removed all ability for myself to potentially message my friends from my phone, I still have access to group chats though and them directly from my computer - it’s harder to contact them that way so I do it only when needed.

For the most part my friends were not happy with that, I’m glad they didn’t let me try to cut them off completely because I don’t think that would end well for me at all. I’m a very lonely person and I’m very desperate for any human interaction I can get, which I hate. I wish there was an alternative that didn’t require me to have to go to my friends all the time just because I want to talk about my stupid little art projects or talk about the movie I’m watching. Hell my mom found a little anole in our house that I kept overnight so he had the sunshine to find another spot to Brumate in the morning and the very first thing I did was send them a picture of it to the group chat I have access to.

I want to try and be less annoying? If that makes sense? I made social media to share my art, projects, and even stupid things like fictional characters I like or what lizard I saw today. So I need to use that.

I don’t know how mental health treatment will go, most likely thing is either being referred to a therapist who will hopefully accept insurance or I’m going to be put on medication. Either by my GP or getting a referral to a Psychiatrist, the latter not being super likely though.

Fingers crossed I get lucky either way and that I find a good therapist/medication works well on the first try

#heavy vent - tread with caution

[weirdgirl92]

Huge Confession Time

(SLIGHT CONTENT WARNING: This post will contain some heavy topics like depression and mental health…)

So, I don’t normally make posts like this, and I already know it’s WAY past International Asexuality Day, but I’ve been going through somewhat of a depression/identity crisis over the past couple weeks (which was basically why I couldn’t even get around writing the Little Dice oneshot I promised y’all).

Anyway, before I made this Tumblr account, back in May of last year, I used to hang out a lot on DeviantArt and Twitter (mostly DeviantArt, because Twitter, for me, got way too chaotic, WAY too fast), and I’d get together with similar people like me to talk about current media and social politics. Never really considered myself as either extremely right-leaning or extremely left-leaning, so I preferred to be in the center most of the time, though I was frequently on the anti-SJW side of things. In fact, I’ve had my DA account since 2016, and that was when “woke culture” started to become more mainstream. So by that time, I’ve stopped watching the television news altogether, and found comfort in more center-right and center-left politic channels on YouTube. However, things became way more violent and depressing here in America, since the COVID pandemic hit, and I was just about fed up with all the internet toxicity in terms of both politics and fandom drama (I used to hang around the Naruto fandom a lot before finally fleeing to the Cuphead fandom).

Flash forward to 3 weeks earlier, when I discovered this video from Annemarie Forcino in my YouTube recommendations:

And I’ve already had some prior knowledge of Matt Walsh (thanks to YouTubers like JLongbone and Hunter Avallone), but what he said here REALLY got under my skin. Though, it wasn’t until this video that I started having doubts about my own asexuality…

Now, I can respect that some LGBT people have different political and scientific viewpoints, but learning that there were both straight and LGBT people who thought this way about asexuals was very disheartening for me. So, I stayed off of Tumblr for a while to seek more answers, till I saw this video…

And after learning about her story, and the feelings she had growing up, I FINALLY realized that I was (and still am) exactly the same way! At first, I thought I was a biromantic-asexual, since I’ve shown some attraction to both men and women, but that was only in regards to fictional characters. I’ve never had any interest in being apart of real life romance ever since my first signs of puberty back in middle school! Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy shipping and fictional romance in general, but as far as real life was concerned, I was strictly a platonic gal.

So, I came to the conclusion that I am, in fact, an aroace (with some minor bisexual tendencies), and I wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

#thank you for coming to my TEDtalk #aromantic asexual #aroace #coming out story #ace pride #asexual pride #asexuality #random ramblings #aro pride #aromantism #aromantic

[chrisbitchtree]

Mr. Fud Packer

For @disdaidal and @prettyboybillyhargrove, who wanted more of shy Billy prank calling Steve at work, originally from this post!

Thank you @grey-sides for the hilarious Fud Packer line!

***

The bell over the door of Family video jangled, and Steve looked up, actually hoping for a customer for once. It was a Tuesday, their slowest day of the week. Even Mondays were busier, as they sometimes got sales while customers returned their weekend rentals. Tuesdays, Steve worked the midday shift, and it mostly consisted of him sitting, staring into the distance, praying that anyone would show up and give him a break from the monotony.

“Hey Dingus, has your boyfriend called yet?” Nope, not a customer. Just Robin, there to save the day and entertain him for the two hours that their shift would overlap, with stories about all he was missing out on at Hawkins High now that he’d graduated. He couldn’t say that he missed it, but it was fun to hear her tales of food fights and marching band drama.

Steve could feel his cheeks heating up. He never should have told Robin about the calls. “Don’t call him that, Rob, he’s not my boyfriend.” She approached the counter, unwrapping her scarf from around her neck, and pocketing her hat and mitts, looking at him expectedly. “Well, that may be the case, for now, but has he called was my question, I believe.”

Steve shook his head. “Nope, nothing yet.” As if on que, just as Steve said that the phone started to ring behind the counter. Robin pushed Steve towards it. He sighs and picks up the phone. “Family Video, this is Steve speaking. How can I help you today?” The voice on the other line said “Hello?” before remembering to deepen their tone. “Uh, hello. I’m looking to speak with Fud Packer?”

Steve indulged them for a moment. “Sorry, Fud Packer? I don’t believe we have anyone here by the name of Fud Packer.” There was silence for a quick moment, then “Are you sure? There are no Fud Packers at Family Video?” Steve shook his head fondly. “Sorry, nope, no Fud Packers. We have a Robin and a Steve, but no Fud Packers. Is there anything else I can help you with today?” There was a hint of a smile in the other voice now. “Nope, that’s all. Have yourself a great day.”

Robin is at least nice enough to wait until Steve hangs up the phone before she starts laughing, but not a moment longer. “Fud Packer? Real original guy you got yourself there, Steve.” Steve chuckled. “He’s not my guy, Buckley. I’ve told you a million times. I don’t know why he’s calling here, but he’s not into me. If he was, he’d do more than terrorize me with lame prank phone calls.” Robin leaned over the counter, patting his hand. “Like I’ve said before, maybe Billy’s just shy. I really think he likes you.”

***

Billy had been home from the hospital after recovering from Starcourt for about two weeks the first time he prank called the video store. Steve had yet to see him in person at that point, but Max said he was doing well, able to recover in a peaceful household after Max’s mom had kicked Neil Hargrove out that fall. He was taking his last year of high school through correspondence, and when he wasn’t studying, he was parked on the couch watching reruns and old game shows, and apparently, prank calling Steve.

That first time Billy had called, Steve had picked up expecting a frantic mother trying to procure whatever lame kid’s movie their child was demanding that they watch right now, or Dustin calling to see if they had The Goonies so he could rent it for the hundredth time. Instead, he got who he was pretty sure was Billy Hargrove asking him if his fridge was running. The call ended when Billy shouted to Steve that he’d better catch up, before slamming the phone down.

Steve’s head had spun. What had just happened? Did Billy know who he was calling? Even though he couldn’t be completely sure, he started to think of his prank caller as Billy in his head. His prank caller. Steve shook his head. At first, he’d thought Billy was just calling at random, but once he realized that Robin and Keith were receiving the same calls, but getting hung up on once they spoke, he understood that Billy was targeting him.

His suspicions about it being Billy were confirmed after about a month of the calls, when one day, a minute or so into Billy trying to convince Steve that he’d called him, and he’d dialed the wrong number, in the background, Steve could hear “Billy, get off the phone! I told Lucas I’d call him!” followed by a muffled “Shut up, shitbird! I’ll be done in a minute.” Steve had been impressed by the fact that Billy had finished the call without breaking character. “I’m sorry,” he’d said, “You really do have the wrong number. I would check before calling again if I were you.”

Now they were four months into whatever this was, and they were at a stalemate. Billy clearly had no intentions of taking things any further than asking him to confirm his order of exotic dancers for his bachelor party, and despite Robin’s insistence that Billy was doing this, so he’d have an excuse to talk to him, Steve didn’t want to call Billy out and ruin his little pranks. It was too adorable.

***

The next day, Max came marching into the store, flanked by Lucas and Will. She approached the counter, waiting until the customer that Steve was serving had left the store. “What can I do for you, Max?” he asked, as he grabbed a stack of videos to return to the shelves.

Max followed him. “What you can do is do something about Billy. The calls are getting pathetic, Steve. Like really, Mr. Fud Packer? You need to show him some mercy and make the first move.” Steve almost dropped the videos. “Make a move? What are you talking about?” He knew full well what she meant, but he wanted her to say it.

“Billy’s calling you because he likes you, Steve. Duh. But he’s never going to do anything about it. He’s too shy and he thinks there’s no way you’d like him.” She gave him a grin that was eerily reminiscent of Billy’s. “Is there no way you’d like him?” Steve could feel the blush creeping up on his neck. “I am so not talking to you about this, Max. It’s not your business.” She slid a pack of Twizzlers and a copy of Weird Science towards him, slapping down a couple bills beside it. “I’m making it my business.

As Max and the boys left, Steve could feel his heart beating faster. She was right, he had to do something, and Billy was due to call any minute. He waited, tapping his fingers on the counter, and soon enough, the phone rang. He picked it up. “Family Video, this is Steve speaking. How can I help you today?” After a second, Billy’s reply came in the form of “I was wondering if you could tell me where babies come from?” Steve was proud of how quickly he came back with “It’s kind of hard to explain, but if you come here right now, maybe I can show you, Billy.”

Twenty minutes later, the bell on the door jangled. Steve’s eyes flew to the door. There was Billy, looking adorable, wrapped in a scarf, his hair mussed from the wind and his cheek pink from the cold. He walked up to the counter, a shy smile on his face. Steve leaned forward towards him. “Hey, Hargrove, here to take me up on that tutorial?”

Before he knew it, Billy’s lips were on his, and he was seeing fireworks. Billy wrapped his arms around Steve’s shoulders and pulled back from the kiss, giggling. “Yep. You think you’re up to the challenge, pretty boy?” Steve dipped his head back down to capture Billy’s lips in another kiss, thankful for once for the lack of customers.

Steve got so lost in the feel of Billy’s lips on his own that he barely heard the bell when it jangled again. “Hey Dingus, has your boyfriend…” the words died on her lips and a grin split her face as she rounded the shelves and saw their little display. “I see Fud Packer has finally met his match.”

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #billy x steve #my fic #chrisbitchtree writes #harringrove fic #robin buckley #stranger things fan fiction #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fan fic

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Coming Home: Part 3

...

*Akeru investigates the rest of the house until she comes across a set of stairs that lead downwards into the basement. With nowhere else on the floor to investigate, she starts to head down.

Wha...What the...!?

*Upon going down, she is immediately greeted with a horrifying sight. In the center of the room is a bed with messy covers that appear to be stained in blood. Lining the room are several sharp tools and surgical equipment, alongside a bunch of computer parts and technology Akeru doesn’t recognize.

This is bad...this is reminding me of the basement in my birth mother’s mansion...Is everyone else seeing this?

...Guys?

Guys...!? Guys!? Where are you!?

*Akeru begins to panic. She tries talking into the earpiece, but hears nothing in response.

Wh-Where did you all go!? D-Don’t leave me down here!

???: Akeru! Calm down!

Wha-! Who are-!?

Wait...404?

404: Yes, it’s me. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Going down into the basement briefly cut the connection to the earpiece. It’s too dark and musty down there to establish a secure connection.

Wh-What do I do then?

404: Relax, I’ve already sorted it out. I reorganized the connection so that everyone can get a clear-enough view of what you’re seeing and hearing. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to hear them, but trust me when I say everyone’s listening.

I...Ok...I trust you.

But...is this what you wanted me to find? This horrible place?

404: To be honest, I actually hacked into the earpiece and have been watching you the whole time. I see you already encountered poor Lara. It was brave of you to do what you did.

Thanks but...just level with me...Does it get worse?

404: Why don’t you find out? I left a file on the table. After Seishi does one more reconstruction for you, you’ll know the full truth.

...Is it a truth I want to know?

404: Do you want justice?

...

Seishi, begin reconstruction.

C-Ceeeertainly...

*Seishi’s AI, glitching out like mad, begins another extremely buggy reconstruction. The two figures from before, Zen Katagiri and Seishi Yodogawa, appear once again. Zen examines the utensils on the table, while Seishi lies in a bed. Seishi appears to be in a terrible state.

Ah...here it is...

No...No drugs...

...

*Zen doesn’t hesitate to fill Seishi with the sedative he picks up.

How...dare you...

See? That wasn’t hard, was it?

How dare you...

Sssh...go to sleep old friend...

*The brief recording cuts off.

There is a second-second-second-second-second part to this recon-construction. Would you like to view it-it-it?

Something’s really going on with this Alter Ego.

404: Forget him, just say yes!

Ok! Yes! Please!

*The digital reconstruction glitches and shifts. Seishi’s hologram continues to lie in the bed, but this time, barely even moves. The hologram silhouette of Katagiri sits next to him, writing on a clipboard.

*sigh*

...

What’s going on?

*Akeru takes a closer look at Seishi lying on the bed.

...

Wait...is he...!?

“Neural mapping procedure ended at 14:29pm...”

Huh!?

“Subject passed away at 14:31pm...”

!!!???

“That is...a two minute...post-scan...deterioration...Which is a significant improvement...on the early days...”

*Katagiri gets up and starts unplugging the machines hooked up to Seishi’s body and the bed he lies on.

Consider yourself lucky my old friend...

*He writes one last thing on his notepad...

“Subject ready for...Neural Deletion...”

*...and the hologram ends there.

No...It can’t be...! Seishi Yodogawa is-!?

404: I’m afraid so...I’m sorry Akeru but...Seishi Yodogawa has been long gone for years now. He...succumbed to his illness.

But...wait! If Seishi Yodogawa is dead, then...WHO’s the current CEO of LegionTech!?

404: ...I think you and I already know the identity of our true mastermind, don’t you?

...

...Zen Katagiri...! HE’S the one leading the AETHER!

404: And he’s posing as Seishi to do it. That alone is unforgivable, but...

???: Ake...ru...

!!??

*Akeru hears someone call her name and turns around quickly.

...

Seishi...?

...Video...playing...please...playing...

Playing...?

*Seishi’s hologram points to a computer and the switch required to activate it.

Are you...trying to...talk to me?

404: That IS peculiar...It looks like there’s a sliver of conscience left in him after all...

...

404...This hologram...it’s not an Alter Ego, is it?

404: Why don’t you do as he asked and find out?

...

*Akeru goes over to the computer. She activates it, the AI beside her automatically logging her in.

Select Folder...XX/YY/ZZZZ - XX/YY/ZZZZ

Alright...

*Akeru selects the folder and she sees a set of prerecorded videos on the computer screen. 

What is this?

*The video loads and shows a small projector in the room she is currently. Akeru cannot see anyone in the video, but she hears Zen Katagiri’s voice in the background.

Katagiri: I am Zen Katagiri, and this is the first day and first recording of the Neural Deletion process. Subject is one Seishi Yodogawa...

...

*The camera pans to focus on Seishi’s corpse.

Katagiri: Right...activating...now.

*The projector starts to illuminate, and from the ground up, a figure begins to...

...

Huh? Where am...I?

!!??

...

Wha...What is...going on...!?

*The hologramic Yodogawa reaches out, attempting to grab the untensils on the table, only for his hand to phase through.

Katagiri: Excellent...Subjects lucidity appears to be exactly what was registered in the code...the neural map is intact and fully functioning.

Zen! What is-!? WHAT IS THAT!?

...

*The hologram suddenly lays eyes on Seishi’s corpse and begins to panic.

Is that...me!? What did you-!?

Katagiri: Beginning deleting lines of code now.

You...! Oh my god...You son of a bitch, you actually did it!

Katagiri: I’m glad you’re impressed Seishi...See now that you were a fool to have doubts about me...And unfortunately, I must make you pay the price for it.

Zen, please, don’t do this to me...! Please...I should be dead...Let me die in peace!

Katagiri: Day 3 of the process...I spent basically all of yesterday having to delete my old friend’s ability to scream. He tried to attack me, but obviously he’s as a ghost now. I am currently in the process of deleting the motor strip, because I deem in unnecessary.

*Though he cannot be seen, Seishi’s hologram can be heard crying in the background.

Katagiri: I’ve also decided to reserve the limbic code for now. The emotional responses I’m getting are...fascinating. 

Katagiri: Day 6...Moving onto the frontal lobe. Chances are I may end up erasing most of the essential data. After all...my house’s new security system won’t have any need to think for itself.

...

Katagiri: Hm...No rants and raves about me being a psychopath today, huh? Looks like I really did turn you into a working computer.

Zen, please...If you only knew the pain...

Katagiri: Day 10...This should be the last day of the experiment...All I need to do now is delete the limbic code...And...Let’s see. Seishi?

Good morning Zen. What do you require of me?

Katagiri: Turn off the lights, please.

Certainly.

*Seishi’s “AI” turns off the lights.

Katagiri: Good...Now...play some music...You know what I like...

Got it. Playing Michael Bublé’s “Cry Me A River.”

*The song starts playing over the surround sound speakers in each corner of the house.

Katagiri: Hahahaha...Good...Good...This new arrangement will work nicely...

*The video’s end there. Akeru takes a step back from the computer.

...

*inhale*

HRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH!!!!

*SMAAASSHH!*

*In a totally blind rage, Akeru reels back and with a single punch, smashes the computer into oblivion.

I can’t BELIEVE this! I thought my mother was the worst person ever when she was microchipping people, but THIS!? This is clearly NOT! FUCKING! OK!

I can’t believe he...he...DID this to you!

...

Ah...!

*Akeru instinctively runs to hug Seishi, but she goes straight through him.

...

You knew this whole time, didn’t you?

You knew from the moment I entered the house that I wasn’t Zen Katagiri. You let me in so I could see all of this.

Seishi Yodogawa...Relationship Status: Unmarried. Previous relationships include...Shinitani Yozora...

Facial recognition...Confirmed...Akeru Yozora. Daughter of Shinitani Yozora and...Seishi Yodogawa.

So it’s true...

Vocabulary is...limited. My apologies.

Scan-Scan complete...Blood temperature rising. Your current mood appears to be...angry.

Yeah...I’m angry...I knew I would be feeling somewhat angry when we finally met. I couldn’t understand why it was that you abandoned me for that woman for so many years of my life. She told me you had been killed.

But...Now that I’m here, I’m not mad at you. Because I know what you’ve gone through is way WAY worse than anything that happened to me.

You are: 14 years old-old.

Children...should not...pain.

...Adults shouldn’t have to pain either...

And you...you’re in a lot of pain right now, aren’t you?

Eternal...pain...

I figured.

Listen, I don’t want to treat you like a security system anymore, but you NEED to tell me where the guy that did this to you is. I will make sure he receives justice for what he did!

Yes...I need...Your...Help...I don’t want to...Live like this...Zen...is...“Twisted”

“Zen, please...If you only knew the pain...”

...

...I get it. You don’t need to worry about my feelings. 

The truth is...you want me to put you out of your misery like I did Lara, right? You want me to end your suffering.

Yes... “Please...I should be dead...Let me die in peace!”

But...You...

Because I’m your daughter, I shouldn’t be forced to do this? I get it. No girl should be tasked with ending her own father’s life.

But like you said, you should have died a long time ago. And I would rather end your suffering than leave you like this.

404: If you’re really going to do this, you can do it from that maintenance panel on the side of the room. Deactivating security for the entire house will shut Seishi down...permanently.

Alright.

404: You really want to do this?

Of course I don’t! He’s...my dad! I’ve been waiting so long to meet him!

But THIS is SCREWED UP! If I leave him, he’ll be trapped here as a house servant forever! Death is a far more graceful fate!

404: I understand...it’s your call.

...

*404 cuts off and Akeru reaches for the shutdown switch. She holds her hand on it, turning one last time to look back at Seishi.

...

...

I had so many things I wanted to say to you...So many questions I wanted to ask...But right here and now, I only have one thing in my mind...

...Thank you.

...

...DRGH!

*Akeru yanks the switch. The lights in the house immediately go down, and Seishi’s hologram disappears.

...

*She falls to her knees and rests her head against the panel.

Thank you...Daddy...

*WHAM!*

Ah...!?

...!

*Akeru is caught off guard when she suddenly hears a loud noise and quick footsteps coming down the stairs. She turns around to see Komaru standing in the stairway.

Komaru...-!

!!!

*Komaru doesn’t hesitate. She runs at Akeru and yanks her into a tight hug.

It’s ok...Mommy’s got you...It’s over now...

M-Mom...I...*sniff* I...Yeah...It’s over...*sob*

W...WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!

...

*Akeru finally succumbs to the pressure and breaks down, balling in Komaru’s arms. Komaru refuses to let her go, crying with her.

Akeru...I am SO...proud of you...You’ve done so many things kids your age could never handle. 

Ngh...mrgh...*sniff*

I was 5 years older than you when I was thrown into the Demon Hunting Game, and I barely handled that all the way through.

You do not deserve to suffer like this.

???: I wholeheartedly agree.

...!?

...!?

*Komaru and Akeru suddenly hear another live, but familiar voice from the stairway. Someone begins walking down the stairs until they finally stand up straight in front of the mother and daughter.

You’ve done more than enough for the operation Akeru. I think it’s high time us adults took responsibility, right Komaru?

That voice...Agent 404..!?

Hehehe...

In the flesh~

#danganronpa survivor #danganronpa #danganronpa ultra despair girls #drae #danganronpa blowback #drb #danganronpa v3 #drv3 #danganrebirth voices #akeru yozora #komaru naegi #rantaro amami #seishi yodogawa #zen katagiri #the monster in me arc