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#anyway i'm crying over them again but that's like. normal for me
deuxcherise · 1 day
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Cat Burglar
C/w: Unhealthy behavior, cat boy oc, yandere OC, yandere male, gender neutral reader, reader is a bit of a blank, fluff (?), mentions crime, mentions alcohol, includes cute cat pic for reference
A/n: So I had read that weasels are just like cats, especially when it comes to bringing back a hunt, and… I haven't written about a cat boy yet… That's like the first animal people usually write about… So now I did! And this is kind of a sequel to Weasel In. Enjoy~
Part 1, Part 2 (you're here!)
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You have made peace with the fact that you will never live a normal, peaceful life ever again. Not with how Eris had somehow weaseled his way into your everyday.
It was just… easier, really, letting Eris do what he wanted so long as he didn't take things too far. With your 9-5 customer service job taking its daily heavy toll off of your social battery, having to pretend 8 hours a weekday of being this peppy, happy-go-lucky person you aren’t so you can pay your bills. The economy isn't so kind to the average person after all.
“I'm really serious, (Y/n)! You should let me install some cameras!” Eris insists.
“For the last time, no,” you answer. “Aren't you watching over my house now?”
A redness appears on Eris's cheeks and he begins poking the tips of his fingers together. “Y-yeah… about that…”
You raise an eyebrow.
“I… I got a job! A high-paying one too! Actually, you should quit your job now and just let me take care of you!”
The heck? What happened to being a stay-at-home maid for you–not that you wanted him to! This is completely the opposite of what he proposed to you about a few weeks ago!
“No. What's with the change of mind all of a sudden? What job?” you ask.
Eris bites his lip and looks away. “Just thought it would be better…”
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[Yesterday…]
“Really? And what did your ‘lover’ say?”
Eris slaps his buddy on the shoulder. “Quit it with the air quotes. (Y/n) loves me and I love (Y/n). I didn’t get rejected. It's only a matter of time before (Y/n) fully accepts me. I just need to… get rid of all those flies.”
“You mean customers?”
Eris slams his fists against the wood of the bar, shaking the iced alcohol in the cups next to them.
“Don’t you get it!? They're taking advantage of (Y/n)! I can't let them ruin (Y/n)’s life like this! Did you know (Y/n)’s losing weight nowadays? Not eating properly, not sleeping properly–I'm the worst! I need to speed things up or sooner or later… I'm going to…”
Eris covers his face and starts crying into his hands. His friend attempts to comfort Eris on the back, before an idea comes into his head. He says, “Why don't you get a job? If (Y/n)–”
Eris immediately pauses and raises his head to glare at him with vicious eyes.
“–Sorry, your lover. If you get a job, then your lover can see just how reliable you are, right? Some people are more into that.”
The light in Eris's eyes appears brightly, his face softening as he is enlightened. “That's–Oh, thank you, thank you, Ollie! I was right to come to you for help with my problems. You're the best!” he says, grabbing some dollar bills from his pocket and slamming his tip down for the bartender before leaving the club swiftly. “See you next time!”
The bartender swipes and pockets the money before resuming wiping the glass. She looks at her boss and raises an eyebrow. “You aren't going to stop him?”
Ollie smirks and takes a sip of his glass, raising a finger. A second later, Eris comes back in and sits back down next to Ollie with determination in his eyes. “Ollie–”
“Yeah. You can start tomorrow.”
“Really???”
“Yeah. Consider it a favor, as a trusted friend,” Ollie says, rolling the ice ball in his cup. “Now, what kind of job are you looking for?”
Eris thinks for a moment. “Need anything with security?”
Much to the bartender’s confusion, Ollie shrugs and says, “Alright. Bouncer it is. Dad was looking to retire anyway. 4pm on the dot. Shift ends at 10, when Lyn shows up to take over, 10:30 if you take a break.”
“Great! Anything else?”
“That's it for now. Your lover must be coming home soon, right?”
“Right! Okay! Thank you so much, Ollie. Owe you one! Bye! See you tomorrow!”
Ollie raises his glass as Eris once again exits the club. The bartender gives her boss an incredulous look. “Sir, with all due respect, Mr. Eris is…”
Ollie chuckles. “Ah. Well, you've only just met him. Back in the day, when it was just the two of us against the world, I was the brains and he was the brawn. Completely unstoppable…” he sighs, placing his cup down with a little more force than expected. “What kind of person do you think (Y/n) is to turn someone like him into such a pathetic simp?”
“... Who knows?” the bartender answers.
“... Tch.”
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For the first time in a very long while, you went to bed by yourself.
…..
You had wished him good luck on his new job, which he took as immense praise. You were honestly pretty happy for him. Now he'll be too busy to commit crimes. Maybe he might even be too busy to bother you!
….. 
It wasn't like… you missed Eris, in fact this is better for the both of you! You aren't even lovers or anything like that!
…..
It's just that… you may have… accidentally… gotten used to the way Eris's head curled up under your chin, the ways his arms wrapped around your torso, the way his legs tangled with yours, and how he'd sometimes murmur stupid things like, “I love you” or “Marry me” in his sleep.
…..
Whatever! You roll and face to the other side of your bed that strangely feels a lot bigger than you remember. You squeeze your eyes tightly, trying to will yourself to sleep.
Creeeaaaak.
You quickly sit up straight, expecting to see Eris when instead you face some stranger, glaring down at you with illuminated eyes.
Next thing you know, the stranger has you back down on your bed with an iron grip wrapped around your throat. Tight enough to be uncomfortable but not enough to cut off your air supply.
“Huh… I don't understand what he sees in you.”
“W-who?” you croak, grabbing at their arm.
The intruder narrows his cat-like eyes at you, pupils moving erratically as they scrutinize you. “I could so easily kill you right now…” he spits, before letting go of your neck, “but I won't. Only because Eris is my friend.”
The moment he lets go, grab your neck and massage the forming bruise, inhaling all of the air you can get as you absorb the situation.
Eris?? Oh great! He's not here to snugg–be your hugging pillow as per usual, and now a friend of his came all the here who knows where to threaten you? For being associated with him? Great. You're glad at least this one isn't strangely fascinated by you. It's a nice change of pace from the usual…
Ollie is somehow strangely fascinated by you. You're more quiet and lackluster than Eris had described you to be, like right now probably lost in your thoughts. Are you really Eris’s type? Eris, the type of person who just chases and strikes whenever and whoever he pleases? You don't look afraid of him at all, and it pisses him off. What's with that blank face of yours, huh??
The intruder looks pissed off for some reason, with how narrow his eyes are and the way he hisses under his breath. You try to think of words to say to the intruder, only for your stomach to make its announcement with a grumble.
“You want something to eat?” you ask, nonchalantly.
“.....”
You don't wait for him to answer as you flip off the blanket and head out of the bedroom.
“Oi! Wait a second! How dare you walk away from me!”
You pay him no mind and open up the fridge, revealing a few plastic-covered dishes made by Eris for you to eat over a span of several days. You ignore the pang in your chest as you grab one of them out that had rice in it to reheat a portion of it in a bowl in the microwave.
Ollie stands a distance from you, brows furrowed at how ridiculous this situation is. A stranger just broke into your home, without a key, and you're here just offering to feed him? What the fuck…
As you wait for the microwave to finish, you suddenly feel nostalgic about how you met Eris.
It was a few months ago, when he broke into your apartment the first time. You had been very afraid when you discovered him at that time, shrieking at him and threatening to call the police, before your rumbling tummy decided to add some unneeded humor to the situation. Too tired and famished, you had no choice but to let Eris feed you some food he had been making.
Ding!
You sigh, taking out the bowl of Eris's home cooking and settling down on the couch with a pair of chopsticks before munching on it.
The audacity. Didn't you offer him a bite earlier? Wasn’t that bowl meant for him? Why are you eating it by yourself!? Ollie heads over to the couch and hisses at you before he snatches the bowl from your hands.
“Excuse me??” you snap.
“Hmph!” He takes the chopsticks and starts shoveling down the rice and toppings, much to your horror. Once he's licked it completely clean, he throws it onto the ground without much concern.
You stand up. “Hey! What the heck are you doing? Don't just throw stuff on the ground! No manners, tch.”
You were less angry about the bowl and more about the fact that he ate Eris's homecooking before you go to today. How dare he??
Ollie flinches, having not expected your voice to reach as loud as it did. He watches you walk past him, crouch down, and pick up the unbroken bowl and pair of chopsticks to put in the sink. Your face is visibly angry, different from your blank face and nonchalant attitude earlier.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
As you're washing the bowl and chopsticks to reuse and get some more of Eris's cooking, Ollie eyes a photo on the coffee table in front of the couch. It's a picture of a child version of you and two adults, presumably your parents.
He smirks.
When you had turned around to look at him, you found him missing with a window open. Oh, the guy has finally left. You quickly close the window, taking relief that the weird guy has finally left. As you make yourself comfortable on the couch again with a new reheated bowl of rice, you look towards your coffee table–
Oh heck no...
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sureuncertainty · 1 year
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not the acoustic version of the one that got away by katy perry giving me gene/emma feelings on this lovely sunday evening
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angelsdean · 8 days
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ruthlessly deleting old 2021/2022 posts (not by me) from my dean studies tag like *click* un-incorporating that from my beliefs system! also the way SO many posts have me like ok uh-huh good aaand then say one completely wrong thing that loses me. it's so many posts.
#it's usually when they randomly drop some line of fanon. like saying dean has never admitted to being wrong in his life#or never expressed an emotion or been vulnerable or doesn't Talk About Feelings or is super duper RepressedTM#like i'm sorry. have you watched the show. oh and have you taken off the sammy POV goggles first?#bc this guy is always crying and being vulnerable and talking about his feelings. he is self-aware.#he may not always want to talk to sam abt things! but he sure does talk about things with other people#do i need to reblog the compilation posts AGAIN?#(also re: his sexualiy? AWARE. sorry i saw him flirt and be flustered by so many men. he knows how he feels.)#and then 'first time ever admitting to being wrong' this one came from a post abt dean's prayer in the trap#like i'm sorry but first of all. dean apologizes more than any other character on the show. there are hard numbers on this.#people have tracked this on spreadsheets. i think ilarual is one of them.#and often he is apologizing for things that aren't even his fault! but he still feels responsible for bc he's been made to feel that way#his whole life!!#other characters *cough samandcas *cough* apologizing Less doesn't mean they've Done less things wrong#it just means they're not owning up to it and brushing it under the rug. something both do frequently.#anyways. aside from apologies. dean also has no problem admitting he's wrong y'know when he's actually wrong#which is less often than you'd think bc he has pretty good instincts and intuition and often suspects things which turn out to be Right#but anyways. another thing abt the trap prayer is. i don't think cas Needed to be forgiven#i think dean was justified in feeling angry w cas over the circumstances leading to the Death of His Mother! totally normal grief response!#i think cas also understands dean to be someone who needs time to process and deal with his feelings (he says as much to jack)#however. despite me not think dean Needs to forgive cas. the thing is. with dean when it comes to cas the forgiveness is implicit#when he says /of course i forgive you/ and in the cut like /of course i wanted you to stay/ like. yes he was mad and dealing with grief#but also. yes cas was already forgiven even back then. he just needed Time to work through the feelings#anyways i think dean says he 'forgives' cas bc it's what CAS needed to hear to stop feeling guilty and dean gives him that closure#but i also think cas was already forgiven even in dean's anger. he wants him there always. i'd rather have you. we can fix this. etc etc#a lot of tags for a non-rebloggable post ajksdfs maybe i'll make these into a real post sometime#vic.txt#dean and feelings#so i can find this all again later
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tiredassmage · 1 year
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Your honor: bisexuals.
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jedi-starbird · 4 months
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Time Travel is my favourite trope and I think we need more fics where both Obi-Wan AND Qui-Gon time travel together because no matter when they get sent it's chaos. They're saving the galaxy and being physic flash-bangs to everyone around them.
like before Bandomeer?
The entire council is baffled to watch as Qui-Gon 'never taking a padawan again' Jinn has suddenly cut off his post-Xanatos depression tour to return to the temple and beeline to the creche with a frantic energy. His wild eyes immediately single out a fluffy, red-haired initiate.
"You." he exhales with a pointed finger, slightly ominous as he towers over the child. Said child starts vibrating with delight. "Me." he agrees, launching himself at the man. Qui-Gon drops to his knees with a thud that cannot be healthy. Obi-Wan's attempts to clamber into Qui-Gon's robes and maybe onto his shoulders is thwarted by the fact that Qui-Gon's massive hands are cupping Obi-Wan's tiny squishy cheeks. He stares at the initiate for a few minutes with an intensity that is starting to worry people.
Finally, "You're so small." Qui-Gon sounds like he might cry.
'What the fuck?' Plo Koon projects at Mace.
"I'm 9! That tends to be the case!" the child chirps back.
"You're nine." Oh. Ah. Qui-Gon's eyes are distinctively misty. He squishes the boy in a hug so hard he squeaks. Mace makes a series of gestures that imply the need for a head-scan. Depa obligingly drifts off towards the halls. Qui-Gon scoops the child up onto his hip and claims him as his padawan on the spot. The assorted council members and creche-masters burst into noise. Mace tells Depa to bring some space ibuprofen as well.
after Naboo?
Anakin is a little apprehensive of his place in both the order and Obi-Wan's life, but then one day Obi-Wan wakes up and is suddenly a lot less sad in the force?? In fact, if Anakin didn't know better he'd say he was almost giddy, but he's watched Obi-Wan try to pretend his world hasn't fallen apart for the past few months so it can't be that, right? And um, Miss Bant? He knows grief is a funny thing that affects people differently but he's pretty sure 'massive mood swing' and 'having full conversations with invisible people' is not...great? and you said to tell you if Obi-Wan got really weird in any way.
Anyway after a lot of medical exams, intense consultation with the archives, and a couple exorcisms, Anakin ends up being raised by his 'real' master and his ghost master. He is far more well adjusted emotionally and far less well adjusted for what counts as normal people behavior(not talking to thin air). When questioned on this, all he ever says is that he's talking to Qui-Gon. Isn't he...dead? Well, yes. Wait, he's a ghost? Ghosts are real? ...Well this ghost is real.
This starts a great number of existential crises among non-force sensitives and incredibly heated theological arguments amongst the Jedi. Whenever Obi-Wan is questioned on this, all he ever says is some variation of "the force got to know him for 5 seconds and kicked him back out." Mace backs him up on this even though that reasoning is technically blasphemous. Qui-Gon is having the time of his un-life. He's ascended to his final form, his sheer existence is a heresy, this is truly all he has ever aspired towards.
the Clone Wars?
The minute they get dropped back Qui-Gon immediately goes and haunts the shit out of Dooku. They have a signed terms of surrender and promise of info on the Sith Lord within the year. Only half of it is because Qui-Gon's giving Dooku complexes that are only perceptible to shrimp, the other half is because they now have a ghost spy that is not bound by the laws of physics nor spacetime.
Obi-Wan only nominally pays attention to this as he immediately goes and implements his 19 step seduction plan with Cody (he had to focus on something on Tatooine to pass the time). It fails. Spectacularly. Publicly. Ah right. Tatooine was not exactly the height of his sanity. Everyone in the GAR and temple is now riveted by High General and Councilor Obi-Wan Kenobi's attempts to go on a date with his Commander, who bats him away him like a particularly annoying stray and seems one bouquet of cactus away from committing mutiny. Anakin is worrying if it means his master knows about his secret marriage and this is some sort of really weird power play. (It is, but not in the way he thinks)
The next time Dooku goes after Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon spends a good few months appearing tear-stained at the edge of Dooku's perception and only communicating in terrible wails and discordant mutterings of 'padawan. my padawan. my little one.' 24/7.
"Wait, you're annoying Dooku into surrendering?"
"Oh no Anakin, we're crushing his psyche like a bug. :)"
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brbsoulnomming · 10 months
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Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 1
By the time Eddie is twelve, going to live with his uncle in a trailer in Hawkins, he only has a dozen or so words from his soulmate.
It used to make him guilty, that his soulmate was the kind of person who rarely lied, getting stuck with Eddie who spit lies out like they were the shells of sunflower seeds. Then it made him angry, that he only had a handful of shit like he did it! and I already washed my hands. A small spattering of normal kid shit, while Eddie had to say things like no, officer, I don't know where my father is and Mom's just not feeling well today, Mrs. Anderson.
Then, a year or so before his dad got caught for good, he got It's nothing, I just tripped and Yeah, Mom, I understand, I know he won't do it again and he thought - maybe his soulmate is the kind of kid who knows sometimes it's just better not to say anything.
Eddie can understand that.
Living with Uncle Wayne is - hard. It's hard because it isn't hard, not the way it should be. It makes Eddie say more things that he knows his soulmate will see on his skin, things like I never wanted to be here anyway, and I want to be alone, just leave me alone.
His uncle is endlessly patient, and it grates on his nerves because he wants it. He wants it so bad to be real, but he just - keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to be too much.
For Eddie to be too much for him.
It comes to a head one night when Eddie's mad at him over something or other, asks why he's doing all this.
"You're my kid, and that means I'm not going anywhere," his uncle says, all gruff and raw honesty, and Eddie can't bear it.
"You don't think your soulmate's going to get tired of all these lies that keep showing up?" he snaps, even though he regrets it the moment it's out of his mouth.
He regrets it even more when there's a heavy, aching silence, and he finally looks up at his uncle, eyes wide and terrified as he thinks this is it, he's finally gone too far -
"It's not a lie," Uncle Wayne says finally, holding Eddie's gaze. "You hear me? It's not a lie. I'm not going anywhere."
Eddie nods, and his uncle relaxes a little, then grimaces, like he isn't sure he wants to say anything else.
"I don't have anyone for lies to show up on, anyway."
He says it like it doesn't matter, but Eddie bursts into tears anyway.
Not everyone has a soulmate. The majority of people do, but it's not uncommon for people to never have words written on their skin. In school, they teach that it doesn't mean you can't be happy, it doesn't mean you can't find love. They teach about soulmate bonds that didn't work out - there's whole plays and novels and movies written about that kind of tragedy and misery, after all.
But sometimes there's still an undercurrent of pity, of bitterness. Outside of school - or inside it, when it isn't the teachers talking - some people say there's something wrong with people who don't have soulmates, some people say that they were meant for bigger and greater things.
Some people say that soulmates are supposed to be between a man and a woman, and every time someone who's queer gets a soulmate, it's because they stole them from someone else.
And Eddie doesn't believe that, not really, but he can't help but wonder if maybe his uncle does, and he can't stop crying.
Now his uncle is the one who looks terrified.
"Son, come here, it's all right, it really is." Uncle Wayne gathers him up in his arms, holds him close the way no one's ever done for him before, and just lets him cry and cry and cry.
Later, Eddie thinks about just letting it go, but - he has to know, he just does.
"Do you think someone stole your soulmate from you?" he asks as he's washing dishes, not looking at his uncle and hoping it doesn't sound anything like do you think someone like me stole your soulmate from you?
Uncle Wayne scowls. "That's a load of horseshit, is what I think. No one can control whether they have one soulmate or two or none, and it doesn't make someone greedy or a thief."
Eddie opens his mouth, then closes it again. He's known about people with two soulmates before, of course, the same way he knows about people with none - and he's heard the comments about them being greedy same as he's heard comments about them being lucky, or a dozen other things people've theorized to explain it. It's just that it doesn't really tell him what he'd wanted to know, and he can't figure out how to ask without being more specific.
Uncle Wanye is looking at him real close, though, and there's something like a quiet acceptance that flashes over his features.
"No one can control who their soulmate is," he says softly. "Whoever yours is - they were meant for you in a way they aren't meant for anyone else. Love like that can't be stolen, kid, it can only be given."
He thinks about that for a long moment, then nods. "Okay."
"Good," his uncle says gruffly. "Now finish those up and get off to bed."
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First part of a Steddie and platonic Stobin soulmates AU I'm working on, where any lie you tell gets written on your soulmate! No idea how long this is going to be - it was supposed to be a oneshot but it just keeps growing, so I wanted to share at least the first bit of it.
Now with Part 2
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katiemccabeswife · 5 months
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Selflessness (Leah Williamson x FosterMum!Reader)
You always put your kids first but can’t miss the return of Leah back to football.
Another 4.7k words 😮‍💨, also how gorgeous is Leah is that photo? PSA; I have not read through this as it it 1:30 in the morning so I am hoping grammaly as done it’s job 👍🏼
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You had been seeing Leah for a few months now but you were still too nervous to tell her about your ‘part-time job’. Of course, she knew that you were a professional dance teacher but she didn’t know that you had a second ‘job'.
It was one that fell into your lap and you couldn’t turn it down. You had all the qualifications to look after children including medical certificates and you had always dreamed of being a mother. Being a lesbian meant that that would be harder than it was if you were straight and when you came across an article about the lack of foster parents in the London area, you decided to sign yourself up.
It took a long few months to get the remaining qualifications needed and go through the training programs but you always had your eye on the target and didn’t mind waiting a few more months if that meant that you were the safest hands a child could be in.
You had your first placement 2 years ago and ever since then your home has never been silent and your heart has always been full. Some children only stayed with you overnight, some stayed a few months, and some were more introverted than others but you always put 110% into making sure they felt comfortable when staying with you.
When you met Leah at the grocery store you were a mess. A particularly troubled child had been staying with you for about a fortnight and had just begun to open up to you when his mother came out of rehab. She had done the necessary lessons and paperwork whilst in the facility and so as soon as she was released, Theo had to move back in with his mother. He had confided in you that he was concerned about moving back in with her and that he was scared she would disappear again but there was nothing you could legally do to calm his anxiety.
The night at the grocery store was the night he went back to his mother’s and you were worried sick about the 7-year-old boy who cried in your arms. You knew you didn't look your best but you needed to restock your pantry after having a farewell feast for Theo.
You were dressed in pyjama pants and a hoodie with sleeves covered in tears and snot. Your hair was thrown into a haphazard ponytail and your eyes were red from both crying and rubbing.
You stood staring at the empty spot where the Oreos normally sit and a fresh set of tears began to roll down your cheeks. You never would have cried over something as trivial as not being able to buy a snack but your emotions were all over the place and you really wanted your comfort food.
You had fallen into a squat with your hands over your eyes, trying to hide the tears when a hand fell on your back, "Are you alright?"
You looked up to see a beautiful blond looking down at you concerned, you pointed pathetically to the empty spot and quickly realised how pathetic it was and quickly stood up, "I am so sorry," You laughed at yourself and wiped away your tears, "I am a mess right now and I really wanted some Oreos and they're out and," You tried to laugh it off again but it sounded more like a cry.
The tall blue-eyed woman reached into her basket and held out a pack of Oreos to you, "You can have mine if you'd like?" She offered kindly.
You rested your hand over your heart and looked at her like she was a miracle worker, "No, I couldn't you had them first. You keep them, I'll be fine I'm just- this is humiliating," You laughed at yourself and took a deep breath, "I am perfectly fine and you can keep the Oreos but thank you for the offer," You smiled appreciatively.
The woman was still looking at you concerningly, "Trust me it's, I shouldn't really be eating them anyways," She spoke as if it were secret and you naturally assumed she was watching her weight or something and when you noticed how fit she was you looked at her in awe.
"You are so perfect," You nodded at her and she looked even more confused, "You keep those Oreos and you eat all of them," You ordered.
The blonde laughed and seemingly caught on, "No, no, I really shouldn't I'm an athlete so I really should not eat the Oreos. Trust me you have them." She thrust them into your basket, "Seriously, take them," She used her 'captain voice' and you felt like you had no other choice.
Overcome with gratitude you thanked her sheepishly, "Thank you for being so kind. Again, I'm so sorry for being such a mess," You gestured to your hair and outfit and missed the way she looked at you as if you were dressed to the nines.
"And if I'm giving you the Oreos I think it's only fair you give me your number..." She trailed off trying to test the waters.
You examined her face to see if she was being serious, "Umm, yeah? I guess sure." You nodded and tried to convince yourself that this was actually happening.
You grabbed her phone which she presented to you and added your number and name; y/n <3. She took it back and smirked at you, "I will be sure to ask you how the Oreos taste, y/n," She teased.
You gained a bit of confidence to flirt back, "I'll be sure to respond..." You waited for her to tell you her name.
"Leah," She caught on.
"I'll be sure to tell you how delicious these Oreos are, Leah," You don't know where the confidence surged from but you winked at her before moving past her to continue your shopping.
From there on, you and Leah messaged back and forth and she joked about your emotional state at the grocery store and teased her about her attraction to you when you looked like rubbish. Now 4 months later and a shocking surprise later (finding out that Leah was in fact a world-known football star) you were trying to find the words to tell her that you wouldn't be able to attend her returning game from her ACL injury.
You had taken in two little girls a week ago, Vienna was 5 and her little sister Lilah was 2. The girls were supposed to have a visit with their father at the time of the game but their caseworker went to inspect the house and found him surrounded by bottles of alcohol therefore she had to cancel the visit.
The only other option was to bring the girls to the game and you were sure Vienna would love the atmosphere but you weren't sure how Lilah would deal. That and the fact that you would have to tell Leah the fact that you were a foster parent, not that you're embarrassed of your job but you were very aware of the fact that many people couldn't handle the inflexibility and last-minute change in plans that came with either being with or being a foster parent and you didn't want to lose what you had with Leah.
You were bought out of your thoughts by a tugging on your pant leg. Lilah was looking at you curiously, she could only speak limited words and since being in your care she limited the number of words she shared with you even further. You picked her up and put her on your hip, "Would like to go see a football game?" You asked, not expecting a response.
You were met with clapping from the toddler and a smile on her face and took that for a yes. You wandered over to where Vienna was doing Just Dance on the TV and put Lilah down to join her sister. You cheered both the girls on and laughed at Vienna's confidence in her dance moves, she had been quite the opposite of her sister and seemed to flourish in your care. The girl's social worker said that she was extremely introverted and had barely ever spoken to her but after only a day being in your hands she thrived and it seemed she almost never stopped talking.
Once the dance was finished you applauded the girls to which Vienna bowed and Lilah copied her sister, "That was fantastic! Where did you learn to dance like that?" You congratulated them and bent to a squat to be more their height.
Vienna blushed and swung her arms sheepishly, "My momma," She responded and your heart warmed, the girls had been in an accident while their mother was driving and she hadn't made it out of the car. Their father hadn't taken the news well and turned to drinking which landed the girls in your care.
"Well, I think she would be so proud of how well you dance," You complimented to which she beamed and Lilah clapped her hands, "Hey, would you like to go to a real-life football game?" You offered with your hands out.
Vienna ran over to you, slapped your hands and screamed, "YES!" She then took off running around the living room pretending to play with an imaginary ball.
"Wow! Well, we will have to get ready won't we?" You gave the girls a chance to make their own choice, "Would you like me to pick you out an outfit or would you like to pick your own out?"
Vienna seemed to think for a moment before deciding that she was going to dress herself. You encouraged her decisions and helped her get dressed before helping Lilah into her own clothes, "You girls look beautiful! I think you picked a better outfit than I ever could," You commended, "Right, I need to make a phone call and get dressed, how about your guys go and do 1 more dance and then we'll hop in the car and go, is that ok?"
Lilah clapped once again but spoke up for the first time that day, "YES!"
Your jaw dropped in shock before you clapped for the girl, "Yes!" You cheered, "Alright, I will be 4 minutes, off you go," You smiled as they ran to the living room holding hands.
You walked into your room, picked out your own outfit and rung up Leah. Once the phone was ringing you bit your thumbnail as you waited, anxious for the coming conversation.
Leah's cheerful voice came through the speaker and you found your anxiety slipping away, "Hey, y/n/n what's up?" You could hear the girls in the background and assumed that they were already in the changerooms.
"Hey Lee, umm would I be able to get 2 extra tickets to the game? I have umm a couple friends who came over unexpectedly and I can't leave them here alone and I really want to come to your game but I completely understand if it's too late but if it is, I am so sorry but I won't be able to come but I will be cheering you from here and-"
Your rambling was cut off by Leah laughing, "Of course, y/n/n I'll get it sorted. Don't worry about it," You let out a breath of relief.
"Thank god, thank you so much Leah. I will make sure to be cheering you on extra loud, and I'm sure my sidekicks will be as well," You laughed.
"Will I get to meet your sidekicks?" She teased, "It's only fair if I'm getting them free seats," She egged on.
You laughed nervously, "Umm, I'm sure they would be delighted to meet you," You noticed Lilah walking into your room, "Hey, I've gotta go, I wanna beat the traffic but I'll see you there, yeah?"
"Of course, see you soon," You bid farewell and hung up the phone, turning your attention to the little girl.
"You ready to go!" You picked Lilah up when she nodded and headed to get your things together, making sure you had enough snacks and water for the girls before herding them out the door and into your car.
The trip was spent singing various songs including Adele and Taylor Swift and the girls were buzzing by the time you reached the Emirates. Vienna forced you to skip in but you had to ask her to hold your hand, not wanting her to get lost. You made your way into the family and friends section. You were glad that Leah's mum couldn't make it to this game as you weren't overly eager to explain your situation to Leah, let alone her mum.
You had spent the time before the match running around with girls, trying to wear them out enough so they wouldn't feel the need to during the game. Once the players had started to line up in the tunnel you were just coming out of the bathroom with the girls, grateful for perfect timing and quickly made your way to your seats. Leah was only slightly worried when she didn't see you in the stands when she headed out to the bench.
You ended up having a spare chair due to Lilah wanting to be in your hold. You stood up when the teams started to walk out holding Lilah in one arm and having your other arm occupied by Vienna clinging on whilst standing on her seat. Even though Leah wasn't in the starting lineup, she was going to come on in the second half but you cheered on the girls you knew were close to her and Vienna was more than happy to help, Lilah sat in your arms confused but unbothered.
When the half-time whistle went you quickly got to your feet and walked briskly to the bathroom after Vienna told you she needed to use the toilet. After cleaning up you took the girls over to an open area and continued to let them run around and made sure Vienna knew that she would have to be stationary for another 45 minutes.
Leah's concern grew when she still couldn't find you in the crowd during half time and she became slightly pissed off that you'd told her you were coming, to get an extra 2 seats, and you weren't even there. Then she grew sad that you couldn't bother showing up to her first game in almost a year.
You had just settled Vienna again when the whistle blew for the commencement of that match and you cheered on the girls once again as the ball got kicked into play. Leah had gone over the rules of football with you a few times but you were still confused over the tackling and offside rules so you just cheered and booed when the Arsenal fans did.
However, when you saw Leah stepping up to the sideline and her number coming up on the substitution board in green, you stood up on your own and screamed as loud as you could causing a ripple effect throughout the stadium. Leah didn't turn around when she heard someone that sounded an awful lot like you cheer because she was in her head about you not being here and her being about to play the sport she loved for the first time in almost a year.
Every time Leah had the ball or made a successful tackle you and Vienna were on your feet cheering and even Lilah managed to expel something resembling a cheer, the poor girl being on the verge of sleep. Leah felt truly alive for the first time in 9 months, of course, she was alive throughout the course of the rehab but felt like she was only living so she could make it to this moment and now that she was in the moment she felt like she could run forever.
Once the game ended Leah had racked up 25 minutes of playing time, an assist and Arsenal won another 3 points for the ladder. She was elated and could feel the fans felt the same way throughout the stadium, especially through her teammates who were glad to have their teammate back on the pitch.
She took one last chance and looked over to the family and friends section to scan for your face and her elation only grew when she spotted it in the crowd. Her elation turned to confusion though when she caught sight of the toddler on your hip and the child you were dancing with. She was not aware you had any children nor any nieces and she was pretty sure she would recognise any of her teammate's kids or relatives and these children's faces were not ones she had seen before.
She started the trek over to you and once you caught sight of her you had to slightly shake your head and gesture to the tunnel. You weren't allowed to let the girls' faces be on camera and you didn't want anyone to witness the conversation you were about to endure with Leah.
You were trying to convince a security guard that you were meeting Leah in the tunnel but he was not having a bar of it, "Please sir, she'll be waiting for me. I'm already in trouble, just let me through!" You were growing frustrated and the girls were picking up on it. Vienna was tugging your hand as she wanted to go run on the pitch and Lilah was getting fussy as she was starting to get over tired.
You didn't see Leah walk in but she had spotted you a minute ago and had to take in what she was seeing for a minute. She had known you for 4 months and you had never mentioned any children in your life but it did make sense that you had kids, sometimes you would have to cancel dates very last minute but you always made sure to set another one up shortly after and apologised profusely.
"Hey, it's alright. She's with me," Leah made herself known and the guard backed off cautiously. Her attention was on your face and could see how you instantly relaxed but she could also see the toddler clinging to your shirt.
Vienna tugged on your shirt and gestured you to get down to your height and as much of a concern the conversation you had to have with Leah was, your kids came first so you bent down and waited for Vienna to speak her mind, "Was that one of the girls on the pitch?" She asked excitedly.
You stroked her arm and nodded with matching enthusiasm, "Yeah she was, she even helped them score a goal!" Vienna seemed pleased with your answer and made her way over to Leah.
You held your breath but let her do her thing. Leah looked to you when she gestured for Leah to bend down, just as you had a minute ago, and you nodded in permission, "Hello lovely, what's your name?" Leah asked.
"My name's Vienna, y/n/n is my step-in mummy!" Your heart warmed at the girl's claim, "I saw you play out on the big pitch!" She reached around to Leah's back and patted it gently, "You did a very good job, y/n/n and I cheered soo loud when you went on, even Lilah cheered!" She exclaimed pointing back towards you and her sister.
"Thank you, darling, I'm actually pretty sure I heard you cheering for me, you were very loud!" Leah complimented to which Vienna giggled.
"Hey V, why don't you take this and sit over there for a minute, I wanna talk to Leah. Is that ok?" You offered her a colouring book and some textas.
"Ok!" She took both and skipped over to where a table and chair were randomly set up.
"Hey..." You rocked slightly as Lilah had fallen asleep.
"Hi," Leah said with a tone of confusion.
"Umm so- yeah," Your free hand came out as if you were about to explain and then it dropped back to your side when you couldn't find the words.
Leah raised her eyebrows before looking between the girls and you.
"I foster kids in my spare time," You tried to joke but then heard how it sounded out loud and immediately began to backtrack, "Not in my spare time, that was stupid, I don't have spare time anymore. I foster kids! All the time, except when I'm not then I'm either working or with you but sometimes I do all three! And I didn't tell you; not because I'm embarrassed of my job but because I am so aware of the fact that many people can't handle the inflexibility and last-minute change in plans that comes with either being with or being a foster parent and I always feel so bad when I have to cancel plans but them I'm like there is a literal child who needs somewhere to stay and someone to take care of them and it makes me feel better but then I'm like, Leah! I didn't want to lose you because I know you're gonna have a busy schedule now that your back playing and I didn't want you to feel bad about calling this off because of what I do and-" You were running out of breath and were on the verge of tears when Leah bought you into a hug, keeping clear of the child perched on your hip.
Once you caught your breath and the hug broke off Leah grabbed your face between her hands, "You are a bloody amazing woman." She stated and you blushed, "I can not believe how selfless you are, you are doing something so incredible for these kids and you still take into account how I would feel? Of course, I wouldn't call this off because you chose to take in kids who need somewhere to stay! If anything it makes me love you more!" She didn't even register what she was saying until she said it. That didn't mean she regretted it.
She crashed her lips into yours and you reciprocated but broke free quickly, aware of the child in your arms and the other one not even 4 meters away from you. You were still slightly teary, her beautiful confession not helping, "I love you too," You laughed but quickly quietened when Lilah stirred in your arms, "Umm, would you like to come back to mine? I'll have to put these two down but it should only take 10 minutes,"
Leah was quick to agree and ran to get her kit from the changing room and had a fast shower. She sent off a quick message to the Arsenal girls excusing herself from post-match celebrations. She met you next to your car and noticed that you only had one kid running circles around you, "Lils was fast asleep so I've just put her in her seat, ready to go?" You asked Leah who nodded.
"Is Leah coming over to our house?" Vienna asked when you were clipping her into her car seat.
You glanced at Leah sitting in the passenger seat before nodding to Vienna, "Yeah, is that alright with you?" You were worried that she wouldn't be ok having someone else in the house with you and knew that if that was the case, you would have to once again reschedule to meet up with her.
"As long as she tells me a bedtime story!" Vienna giggled.
"I'm sure if you asked really nicely, she would be more than happy too!" She was content with your answer and broke out in humming a random tune. You laughed at her and went to the driver's side to take your girls home.
The drive home was fairly quiet as Lilah was asleep but Vienna kept humming her tune and you and Leah couldn't help but laugh when she got really passionate about her song.
"McDonald's for dinner?" You asked Leah who nodded her head. You turned your head slightly to catch the gaze of Vienna, "Hey V, do you want to get McDonald's for dinner?"
"Um yes please!" She spoke as if it were obvious, "Can I get a nugget happy meal?"
You nodded, "Umm of course?" You responded in the same tone she had before.
After teasing Leah about her bland food choices, Vienna talking Leah's ear off about nothing in particular in between eating her happy meal and Lilah having a bottle and being put to sleep, it was finally Vienna's time to go to sleep.
"Alrighty, teeth are brushed and jammies are on, what's next V?" You asked and she seemed to remember your conversation in the car and ran over to Leah who watched the scene in awe.
"Excuse me, Leah?" She patted her knee to get her attention, "Would you please tell me a bedtime story?"
Leah gasped, "I would love to have the honour!" She spoke proudly.
Vienna dragged her to her bedroom and quickly got under her sheets, "Could you please tell me a football story?" She asked politely.
"Those are my favourite stories, would you like to hear about when my team won a competition against all of the other countries in Europe?" Vienna nodded dutifully.
"Isn't there like a billion countries in Europe?" She was 5, give her a break.
Leah nodded, "Almost," She went off to tell her a shortened version of the Eruos in 2022 and Vienna was enraptured by the story but was slowly falling asleep.
"You must be really good if you beat a billion other countries, I like you, you're my favourite footballer," Vienna decided and patted Leah's hand that was resting on her leg. You watched the scene from the side with hearts in your eyes.
Once the story was over Leah bid Vienna goodnight and got up off the bed so you could say your goodnights. You made sure to tuck her in extra tight and checked under her bed for monsters and after concluding that there were none Vienna was ready to go to sleep, "Goodnight, munchkin, sweet dreams," You kissed her lightly on the forehead.
She returned the favour by kissing your nose and pulled in for another secret, "I really like Leah, she's pretty," She giggled.
You smiled at the small child and nodded, "I know," You laughed with your foster daughter and wished her goodnight once again flipping off the lights and turning on the night light, "Night night V," You waved.
"Night night y/n/n," She dozed off.
You left the door open slightly and jumped when you saw Leah waiting on the opposite side of the door, "Jesus, Lee," You pulled her into your bedroom not wanting to wake either girl, "Listen, I truly am sorry about not telling you about all this. I was just scared and didn't want to lose you is all,"
Leah took you in her arms, "I understand, love. Don't worry about it," She gave you a kiss on the side of your head and pulled away, "I loved watching you interact with them, you're so good at it. And you look beautiful while doing it," She flirted and pecked your lips.
You moved your arms to wrap around her neck, "I love watching you interact with them, didn't know you had it in you, Captain Grumpy Pants," You teased as Leah was known for her stern facial expressions.
Leah looked unimpressed, "Well at least V, thinks I'm pretty," She spoke triumphantly.
You pecked her lips, "I happen to think you are very pretty," You kissed her again but let it go even further and when you had to break apart for air, "Gorgeous really," You teased.
"Stop trying to one-up a child," She chastised sarcastically.
You smirked, "You might just have to shut me up, then," You flirted but it didn't end up going much further as the two of you ended up fast asleep within minutes exhausted from playing football, cheering and taking care of two children.
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avatar-anna · 5 months
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Bruises
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"I feel so...hollow," you said, your voice breaking on the last word. "But—But like my feelings are so heavy they could drown me at the same time. I don't—I don't know when it started, but I can't remember how to be happy without waiting to be punished for it later."
Tears were tracking stains down your cheeks like small rivers, leaking out of your eyes faster than you could stop them. Not that you tried to, anyway, even that seemed exhausting. One thing you could do was avoid Harry's gaze. You felt it like a severe burn as he practically begged you to look at him, but you just couldn't. Not while you were so vulnerable. You felt stripped bare, even more so than the number of times the two of you had been intimate.
"Y/n—"
"Don't," you said, nearly leaping out of your skin when he rested a hand on your shoulder. You looked up at him then, saw the pain in his eyes at your rejection of his touch. But you couldn't handle it. Your soul felt raw as you said things you never thought you would out loud. "Please don't, I can't—"
Harry seemed to understand as he nodded and took a step back, but the concerned furrow of his brow remained, his fingers curling awkwardly at his sides. He'd always been the type to communicate through touch—a squeeze on the shoulder, a tip of your chin, a gentle nose nudge on your cheek, a hand never far away from your person. You knew that he craved touch to comfort people, and yet he stayed put. For that you were thankful, and it helped you find your words again.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," you said, almost too quietly for anything but your thoughts to hear. "I—I don't know why I'm feeling like this, or how I got here, I—I just feel like I'm stuck in this emptiness."
Saying all of that made you want to run and hide. Harry didn't need to know all this, how wrecked you really were inside. No one did. He was just someone who happened to be around when you were at your worst. Normally you were able to keep a lid on your darkest thoughts, but he'd come over when you were in the thick of it, and you couldn't exactly hide how you felt when you were crying uncontrollably for virtually no reason other than it was a Tuesday afternoon and life suddenly felt like one big chore.
Maybe it was the holiday, seeing everyone so happy, hearing songs about falling in love and kissing under mistletoes and commercials that said, "The perfect gift for that someone special!" Being surrounded by so much cheer only left you feeling more hollowed out, more lost than you'd ever thought you'd become.
"Y/n, why—why didn't you say something sooner?"
"Like what?" you laughed bitterly. "That I cry at the drop of a hat and can't handle light teasing from my friends? That I haven't felt right for weeks and getting out of bed feels like a chore? We—That's not who we are to each other. I—I have no one."
The words clanged around, grasping onto your heartstrings and convincing you it was true. You had friends and family, but when the darkness reared its ugly head, you always felt hopelessly and inescapably alone. Words deserted you when you needed them most, leaving you to smile and pinch your skin, trying your best not to cry in line at the grocery store or while sitting at your desk at work. It was all too much, too much to handle, and yet you didn't want anyone else but you to share that load, the weight of your inexplicable despair.
"Do you honestly think that?" Harry asked. You couldn't even dignify him with an answer. It had been humiliating to say it once, let alone look him in the eye and say it again. So you just shrugged and wiped your cheek. "You're my friend, Y/n, and I care about you. I'm sorry if I haven't done enough to make you know that."
"It's not just you, H," you sniffled, feeling bad for making Harry uncomfortable. It wasn't his job to make you feel better. Your problems were yours to bear alone. They always had been. "I don't—I don't know how to do this."
"Do what, love?"
Despite the discomfort of having shared so much, Harry's gentle voice felt like a warm blanket over your shoulders. It made you finally look up to meet his eye. You were surprised to see so much emotion held in them, but you didn't shy away from it like you thought you would. It helped fill that hollow ache a little, made you feel a little less alone.
"I don't know how to deal with this any other way," you said, trying to explain. "I don't...I hate sharing this stuff with people. It makes my skin crawl."
Your body felt heavy, your soul weary, as if no amount of shed tears or leaning on shoulders would ever ebb the emptiness that was taking over you. But you didn't want the pity. You didn't want anyone to worry or look at you differently because of how sensitive you tended to be sometimes. To deal with the myriad of moods that swung on a pendulum day to day, sometimes moment to moment. The pressure of feeling like you should reach out and ask for help was almost worse than the emptiness and despair.
"This is a good start," Harry said, inching just a tiny bit closer. "I just don't want you to think you can't talk to me. You can, Y/n, and I'll listen, or give you space, or help you find professional help, or do whatever it takes to make you smile. Just let me be here for you."
The notion didn't sit well with you at first. It wasn't how you dealt with things, though clearly your methods weren't working. That didn't make letting Harry in any less scary, or any easier. But Harry was still here. You'd broken down, shared just how broken you really were, and he was still here, asking to be someone for you to confide in.
Harry had been your friend for a long time. You ran in the same circles and saw each other often enough that you'd consider him to be someone you were close to. It wasn't until your arrangement that you got to know him more. You'd never had a friends with benefits situation before, but you never imagined it to be so easy. Rules had been sketched out, boundaries were made and kept, and things between you just seemed to work. Even when you didn't see each other for a week or two at a time, there was no awkwardness.
There was no jealousy at parties or possessiveness; you were exclusive, but okay with the idea of ending things should either of you meet someone you wanted to explore a relationship with. You and Harry just clicked—two friends who happened to sleep with each other, companions who could hold conversations about their jobs amicably, yet knew every inch of each other's bodies intimately. And now Harry was offering something more, something different.
Nodding, you said, "Thank you."
Harry gave you a small grin, then tentatively reached a hand out to wipe away a stray tear. You let him, not feeling like a startled animal anymore. You knew part of you should've felt embarrassed that Harry had caught you in such a state, that you'd let him see how broken and hurting you were on the inside, and maybe a small part of you did, but you mostly just felt like a weight had lifted off your chest.
"Can I get you anything? Maybe a cup of tea?" he asked, leading you over to your kitchen counter as if it was his home, not yours.
You let him, content to watch him move around your kitchen as if it was his own. He'd been over to your place enough times to know his way around and know how you took your tea.
Sitting in silence, you watched as Harry took a mug that looked like a gingerbread man and one that had a textured, cable-knit sweater design from your cabinet and fixed up two cups of tea. His shoulders flexed beneath his loose shirt, dark brown curls curving every which way at the nape of his neck. The familiarity of this moment was comforting after such an emotionally taxing and foreign afternoon. Harry was here as often as your busy schedules would allow, or you were at his place, neither of you concerned with how much time you spent together.
Though today you hadn't expecting to see him, hence the emotional breakdown. You didn't really plan those kinds of things, but you'd been feeling more down than usual and had been seeing Harry less and less recently as a result. Every text about a next meet-up, whether that was to get lunch or have sex or anything in between, had been rebuffed quickly and kindly. Today he'd shown up out of the blue.
"H?"
"Yeah?" he said, his back still to you.
"Why did you come over today? Y—You didn't text like you normally do."
Harry looked over his shoulder briefly, a small smile playing at his lips. "We hadn't seen each other in a while," he said breezily. "Which is fine, I know we're both busy, but I just had this distinct feeling you were avoiding me."
"I'm sorry," you said, finding it easier to say it when his back was to you. "I don't mean to do that."
"I know," Harry said, that same gentle and easy tone in his voice. "I've always known you're squirrelly about feelings."
You huffed at his choice of words, trying to focus on his humor rather than the fact that he seemed to know you better than you thought he did. You appreciated that he didn't state the obvious, which was that you went way past "squirrelly." The last hour had been emotionally taxing, and you appreciated that Harry offered you a modicum of normalcy.
"Thank you for checking up on me," you said. "You're a good friend, H."
Perhaps better than I deserve, was what you didn't say, because you knew he would scold you for even thinking it.
"Well, my visit wasn't totally innocent," Harry teased as he finally came over with two steaming mugs of tea, yours done just right. There was a faint blush on his cheeks, but didn't say anything more than that.
Raising your brows, you said, "Ah. You couldn't find anyone to watch Hallmark Christmas movies with you, could you?"
Harry chuckled into his mug, taking the excuse you both knew was a lie and ran with it. "Yeah, that's exactly it. I knew you'd understand."
"I wouldn't say to no a cheesy Christmas movie."
"Promise me you'll tell me when you're feeling like this again," Harry said a while later.
You could tell Harry was trying to hide his eagerness to pull you into your room and fire up your TV. His eyes scanned over you briefly, as if he was trying to assess where you were at mentally. It would be hard to see that stare, to know Harry had seen you at your lowest and would constantly be gauging if you were on the verge of another breakdown. But the thought didn't irritate you the way you thought it would. You were surprised to feel a little relieved that you weren't the only one taking care of you, at least for the time being.
You were huddled under a mountain of blankets together. Twinkly lights in your bedroom casting a warm light over you both. You'd meant to put them up earlier in the month, but hadn't made yourself get around to it, the small task falling to the wayside the same way a lot of your everyday chores did. Harry took one look at the forgotten box of lights and got to work, even going as far as putting a looped video of a roaring fireplace in his phone and setting it up next to your television. It was a little silly, and a tad over the top, but you appreciated it all the same, the lengths he was going to ease the ache in your chest as best he could.
He was practically on top of you now, but unlike the events of today, that was something you were used to. Harry liked to sprawl out, specifically with you underneath him—leg over your waist, arm tucked across you to keep you close, face buried in your neck or chin resting on top of your head. He insisted on draping himself over you like a blanket, even before you started sleeping together.
"I don't want to bother you—"
"Bother me, Y/n," Harry said, his voice gravelly as he gently turned your face to meet his gaze. "I'm not doing my job as your friend if I'm only with you when things are easy or—or good. You're not alone, okay? As long as I'm in your life, I'm in it. Good and bad."
"I'll try."
You tried to blink back tears, a little surprised you had any left to shed. Your face was undeniably puffy and a little dry, and you were tired in a different way than you had been the last few weeks. But these were different tears from earlier. A different emotion took over you as you nodded.
That seemed to satisfy Harry. He kissed your forehead, and you closed your eyes against it, allowing yourself to believe everything he'd said to you today.
You weren't magically fixed, that crushing weight was still waiting for you like a monster under your bed, but you weren't alone. Harry had turned the lights on, showing you that perhaps there was no shame in letting someone see the worst parts of you. Because he was still there, promising to hold your hand and help you until you felt whole again.
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reidspharb · 11 months
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The Moment I Knew
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*Part two
Summary: Spencer misses your 25th birthday and that’s when you realize your relationship can’t be fixed.
Word count: 800 or something idk ICBA shes a short one
Warnings: angst, Reid is a shitty boyfriend in this one
Note: hi this was written at 3 am and I’m new to writing so if this sucks sorry anyways but I got this idea from Taylor Swifts song by the Same name and I thought I would write it so yeah enjoy
Sure, you were so happy all your friends were there and everyone was having a good time… but you couldn’t help but think about Spence.
It was 10 pm, the party started at 8 and he still wasn’t there like he promised. You couldn’t help but think about him coming through the door right now, gifts in hand as he did on your last birthday with that baby I’m right here smile.
You knew he couldn’t be here, and you knew how much he valued his work, but, he wasn’t even on a case far away… he was here, in Virginia, and he couldn’t even call to wish you a happy birthday.
Your eyes were locked on the door most of the time as you socialized. People asked about him, about your relationship, and the most you could give them was a sad smile and a dishonest word about how great everything was going.
“So how have you been,” your friend Sarah said as she laughed and took a sip of her drink “I mean I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!”
you plastered on the brightest fake smile you could and mustered up an answer just normal enough to get you by.
“I've been okay, you know, with work and everything.”
All you could think about was him, how he said he would be there. He told you- no he promised you weeks in advance that he would be here. But he’s not.
You felt stupid, standing there all dolled up in your tight black dress and red lipstick. You thought maybe if you dressed up nice he would make sure to be there, but then again, there you were with no one to impress.
You knew it was hopeless, there you were on your birthday staring at the door and watching the clock tick as everyone around you danced and laughed. You looked around the room, trying to spot him in the crowd but who were you fooling, you knew he wasn’t there.
As you listened to your loved ones sing happy birthday around you, you could only hear his voice in your memory. When you blew out those candles your only wish was for him to be there with you. You should’ve been so happy, but he was the one thing missing.
Then it was 1 am, and you were barely tipsy. you already had a nervous stomach, you knew drinking would only make it worse. By now you were sick of everyone being around you, you just wanted to be alone. You stumbled to the bathroom over some discarded red cups and locked yourself in there, tears burning at your eyes when you saw yourself in the mirror.
You did your makeup the way he liked it too so that if you sent pictures he really wouldn’t miss it, such a naive thing to think you told yourself. You heard a knock on your door and there were your two best friends, Tegan and Oliver, mixed with the emotions of seeing them staring at you with so much pity in their eyes and Spencer being away made you break down.
Tegan held you as you sobbed, mascara dripping down your cheeks with every tear.
“He said- he said he would be here…”
“I'm so sorry, love bug, I wish I could grab him and rip him into pieces. You deserve so much better.” Said Oliver, holding your cold hands.
You felt so embarrassed, sitting there in front of your friends crying about some stupid boy. But he was the one who meant the most to you and he wasn’t there.
The next morning you woke up on your couch, head pounding. Your apartment was trashed, there were plastic cups scattered all over the room. As you stepped over them to get ready for the day, you felt a sharp pain in your chest as you heard Spencer’s familiar ringtone playing from your phone.
“Hey doll, it’s me” he sighed on the other line of the phone.
“Hi, Spencer.” You mumbled. You knew it would hurt to say his whole name instead of the nickname you’d been calling him since the day you met him.
“I'm so sorry I didn’t make it babe I was caught up in paperwork and I lost tra-“ you interrupted his rambling, you didn’t care anymore.
“It’s fine. I’ll talk to you later Spencer.” You hissed into the phone before hitting the red button on the screen and setting your phone back down on the counter.
That was the moment you knew.
That was the moment you knew that this would never work out.
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strangemaleswaps · 22 days
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Strange Funeral Swap
People chatted with each other around the various rooms at the funeral home, though I couldn't help but feel left out a bit. I was at the funeral of Clarence, my friend Brian's grandpa. I didn't know him too well, besides the occasional visit when I hung out with Brian. He convinced me to come, saying that funerals are a celebration of life, and I was in Clarence's life, even if it was just a bit. I couldn't argue with that, so I did it for him. Clarence would always do little magic tricks involving cards and whatnot, and he seemed like such a nice man. But still, the people surrounding me knew him alot longer, some their whole lives, so I felt like an awkward weirdo standing around while Brian talked to the rest of his family. 
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After a while the ceremony started and I felt like even more of an outcast when people started crying. After what seemed like forever, it was finally over and Brian thanked me for coming. He said that they were doing the burial the next day, but I didn't have to come. I couldn't anyway, as I had to work.
As I walked out with Brian, I noticed a man sitting on the bench in the hallway outside. He was an old guy that had a pretty big gut and looked like he was missing a finger. I think I saw him a bit earlier but I wasn't sure. I couldn't help but feel his eyes burn into me as I moved by.
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Just then I realized that I had forgotten my car keys on the table inside so I ran back into the main area to grab them. The whole place was empty so I quickly made my way into the other room where I found my keys, and back out. But I nearly had a heart attack when the man from before had snuck in while my back was turned. I didn't even hear the door open!
“Hello,” he said. Creepy.
“Uh hi,”
“Shame that Clarence is no longer with us.” I started to get uncomfortable so I slowly began walking away.
“Yeah it's sad.”
“How did you know him?”
“I uh. My friend's grandpa-”
“So you're not related to him?” He interrupted.
“No”
“Good” He then gave an evil grin. I had my hand on the doorknob when suddenly he reached his hand out and a bolt of purple lightning struck me in the face. I think I blacked out but I wasn't so sure.
“Sir. Sir. Sir!”
I woke up to the sound of a man's voice. When I opened my eyes, I realized he was the mortician who arranged Clarence’s funeral. The way he was looking at me, I could tell he was angry but was trying to hide it. I was sitting on a bench in the hallway. How did I end up here?
“Oh, what?” I said in confusion. What was even more confusing was the fact that my voice sounded so gravelly.
“Sir, there is another funeral starting soon. I'm going to have to ask you to leave,” he explained hastily.
“Ok sure.” There it was again! Why did my voice sound like it's dying?”
“Wonderful. Now please hurry up. I have a few more things to set up.” With that he quickly turned around and walked into another room.
The last thing I remembered was that old guy talking to me in the room. He hit me with lightning or something. That must've been a dream but why did I black out in the first place? I guess it didn't really matter. I started getting up, only to find doing so was a lot more difficult than normal. What’s worse was that I noticed I was wearing a completely different suit than I was before…and I gained a lot of weight! My belly was huge, so much that I noticed the buttons on my shirt were starting to give way. I looked at my hands. My fingers were huge! They were like sausages, only wrinklier. I also found that my right index finger was missing. Amputated. God what happened to me?! I searched around for a clue and found a piece of paper in my jacket pocket. It looked like a letter of some sort.
Dear Ron, sorry I had to do this to you but it is what it is. I'm sure you've noticed by now but you're not in your own body anymore. You're in the body of me…well at least the body I was in when I met you!
What? That old guy. Oh no. He's right! These are the clothes he was wearing when I saw him! I continued reading.
You see, Clarence isn't dead. But that body that was in the casket sure was. How is that possible you ask? Well it's simple really. I am Clarence. Like anyone my age, I craved youth. But unlike the others, I actually did something about it. With a simple spell, I swapped my body with someone else's. I desired a young, fit stud, but unfortunately the spell backfired and I ended up in that old guy you're in now. But fret not. The spell could be used one more time! When I first saw you, I knew you'd be my new target. I'm loving your body though, you're a hunk! Too bad for you though. You must've aged at least 40 years! Not to mention gained at least 200 pounds. Well good luck on your new life!
No way! I was stuck like this? I couldn't get up by my legs alone, so I had to use my arms to force myself off the bench. When I got up, I nearly fell right over as the weight of the new body made me lose my balance. I tried walking around like I used to, but found the gut kept hitting my arms so I had to stretch them out a bit further. My knees were killing me under all the weight, making the trek to the nearest bathroom a difficult one. I walked inside and sure enough, the mirror revealed that I was now in the body of an old man. I grazed my hands along the unrecognizable face, feeling the wrinkles that weren't there before. At first I was relieved that I still had hair despite the receding hairline, but then I touched the back of my head, revealing a large smooth bald patch.
I can't believe just like that, I was 40 years older. I glanced down at my pants, realizing that I needed to know what my dick looked like. Expecting the worst, I unzipped my pants to find I couldn't couldn't actually see it past my gut. But I reached my hand down there anyway to find I was incredibly hung! My new buddy started growing, even though I should've been turned off by a gross old man's body. But my dick didn't lie; it actually grew so far out that I could see the tip past my enormous belly. I quickly took my jacket off, and unbuttoned my shirt, to find a fleshy pair of man tits and the now revealed gut. I started jerking, and watched the tits and gut swing around like they were made of jello. I walked over to the mirror and stared at myself as I jerked some more. I came all over the bathroom mirror, and as I cleaned it off, I realized that I didn't know where this guy even lived. I reached into his jacket pocket to find a pair of keys and a wallet with an address on it. I guess this was my life now. At least I can jerk off with a huge dick anytime I want…
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ruporas · 4 months
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Would love to hear more about that angel wolfwood picture if you have thoughts!!
ANGEL WOLFWOOD… yes, i have Some thoughts but it's nothing crazy… POST TRIMAX SPOILERS BELOW
it's actually a standard revival / wolfwood returns as a plant au, caused accidentally by the large burst of power vash used to protect the orphanage. he showed signs of life but not waking after his 'revival', so when vash got back to the ship, the best option to keep him stable + safe was to put him in a cold sleep capsule. eventually he'd wake up + sees vash again + gets the worst vague explanation ever + bonks vash upside on the head.
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although the circumstances is strange, vash is happy that wolfwood was able to recover(?) and is Alive. a human-plant hybrid situation is new and worries vash on how it may affect wolfwood long term, but otherwise, he's glad to have him back.
i'd like to imagine wolfwood would be disturbed by his revival, knowing it's vash's life that kept him alive + having came back as something different + tackling the "what now" of his future and learning how to live normally again. he'd be frustrated and upset for the most part, but once he eats, sunbathe a little, walk on the outskirts of the ship with vash, and think over the things he's no longer obligated to, he'd instantly crumble and cry from relief.
and now they get to live the rest of their lives out together!! that's my au Anyway.
some other tid bits; i'm sure there's more complicated / fun ways to make a human-plant hybrid, but for my simple brain, wolfwood just has feathers + no verbal communication, communicates like how plants do + improved regen like how vash used to. every time the feathers are sprouting too far from his body/used actively, he's dying, so part of living is him figuring out how to control them better.
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TO ME, post trimax vash is basically a normal ass human who can maybe sprout a feather or 2 if he wants to die. as a result, he can't necessarily 'show' wolfwood, but he does his best to explain how it used to be for him. wolfwood was always observational, so there are some things he remembers vash doing that aids him in his predicament now. below is case a) of vash trying to resonate with wolfwood, forgetting that uses power.
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ummm i think that's about all i have to say. honestly, i'm not usually one for a revival au, but i read dunmeshi recently and was like ohhhh.. ohh……. and it gripped me, a life full of trouble but not at the cost of the world ending nor family… they could be happy… but only in this au ofc
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ahgasegotarmy116 · 5 months
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He Doesn't Deserve You | A Jeon Jungkook Series | Chapter Two
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Summary: You decide to finally do something for yourself and ease your mind Pairing: Noona reader x Jeon Jungkook (She's 28 and he's 22) Word Count: 3.5k Warnings: Not too much for this chapter in particular besides mentions of domestic violence BUT yändere, manipulation, self harm, cheating, explicit language, smut, angst throughout the rest of the story a/n: Since you guys seem to be really liking this story I worked hard to get chapter two out quickly! Let me know what you think! p.s. Fuck me y'all I literally deleted chapter 2 but luckily I write on wattpad and I was able to restore it. I was literally about to cry Requested by the lovely: @kkusadmirer 💜
We had another fight. 
Honestly I don't even remember what it was about, something stupid like I left the door open after I came in with the groceries and forgot to lock it. Or maybe it was the fact that I actually left the house and got them instead of just ordering them to get dropped off on the doorstep. 
He always tells me it's too dangerous out there or that I should just wait for him to go with me instead. If I did that though we would never have any food here and I'm not about to order takeout for every meal. 
I don't understand why leaving the door open would be such an issue. We live in a relatively nice complex and our neighbors always make sure to look out for me so I don't understand why something as simple as that could set him off. 
But then again it doesn't take much to set him off these days, I guess it was something I should've expected. 
He hasn't been home for two days and at this point I've decided that maybe it's time I went out for the night. Nothing crazy or anything but just, out. 
Putting on yet another turtleneck I make sure that the old and new marks are covered. I've taken it a step further and put some makeup on to make sure that no one will notice. Although I doubt anyone would notice me anyways since I usually fade into the background. 
But tonight isn't about feeling insecure in myself. Tonight is the night where I finally do something on my own and get out of the house. 
Taking out my phone I look up the address for the local pub I've decided to go to, making sure to wear comfortable boots since it's a little ways away. I'm luck that it's winter right now so bundling up is normal, making my outfit even less suspicious. 
Taking a couple of deep breaths I reach for the handle, unlock the door and step outside. 
'Should I really be doing this?' I question but before I'm able to second guess myself I hear our next door neighbor unlock her door as well and step outside her door.
"Oh, y/n. What a pleasant surprise! It's been a while since I've seen your pretty face" she says scanning my features, clearly having heard the fight we had had the other day and making sure that I look okay. 
"Hi Mrs. Mitchell. How have you and Mr. Mitchell been?" I ask, returning her warm greeting but feeling awkward talking to someone that isn't Taehyung or my editor. 
"As well as we could be I suppose. Harry just turned 73 last month so he's been complaining about how old he his and how his knees don't work the way they used to. What can you expect when you get to our age?" she says, chuckling at her husband who is a few years younger than her.
"Seems like no matter how old men get, they still whine and complain whenever they get sick or injured" she continues, clearly trying to lighten my spirits. "I guess so" I say, not daring to bad mouth Taehyung since he's probably already gotten a pretty bad reputation around here with everything we've been through over the past few years. 
Sometimes I'm surprised by the fact that we haven't gotten evicted with all of the noise complaints we've gotten. 
He always makes me answer each and every call from our building even though he's the one responsible for a majority of the noise but he always makes sure to stand close by to make sure I don't ask them to send help no matter how severe things have gotten. 
"Where are you off to?" she asks taking note of the fact that it's getting late in the evening. "I figured I might just head over to the pub a few streets down and see if I can clear my head for a while" I say, not bothering to give more information than necessary. Not that there would be any more information to give. 
"Good for you dear! It's always good to go out and get a new perspective on life. Let me know anytime if you need any help alright? Oh and I'm so excited to read your next book!" she says and with that last part catching me off guard. "You've read my books?" I question, taken aback and almost embarrassed at the fact that a woman of her age would be reading the type of genre I write, let alone my own. 
"Of course dear! As soon as I found out that you were a writer I went straight to the bookstore and bought all of them! You really are very talented" she finishes, with a glimmer of admiration in her eye. 
"Thank you so much, your support means the world to me, truly" I finish and she quickly shoo me off, apologizing for holding me hostage. 
"Next time I see you I'll sign your copies if you'd like" I offer and the look on her face is absolutely priceless. 
"I'll make sure to have them sitting by the front door with a pen in hand!" she beams and I wave one last goodbye before I make my way to my destination. 
~~~~
Walking in the doors of The Blue Pearl I'm greeted by the sound of soft rock being played in the background and a low murmur of the small amount of people spread through out. This pub seems to be a little old fashioned so I guess it's not a big draw for the younger rowdier crowds. Which was exactly what I was looking for. 
Just a slow night to clear my head and a strong drink to drown my sorrows. Knowing me though I'll probably stop after one or two drinks. 
I decide to sit at the bar on the stool closest to the wall and wave the bartender over. 
"Surprise me, something sweet but something strong" I say trying to sound as confident as I can. "You got it" she says and comes back soon with a pink drink of some sort a few moments later. "What is this?" I ask after taking a sip, already dying for another one at the fruity but subtly sweet drink. 
"I like to call it The Slut Puppy" she says with a proud smile. I tilt my head when I look at her, confused as to how she came up with the name. "I'm still workshopping it to be honest but your reaction to the name definitely played true to the puppy part. I laugh realizing that I subconsciously played into her game and she laughs right along with me. 
"Long night?" she asks after I've settled in, using her bartender powers to see right through my act while walking away a bit to clean up the shaker she had used to make my drink. 
"Try long life" I say, rolling my eyes before taking a sip of my drink again, sighing in contentment. "That bad huh?" she laughs bitterly, knowing one way or another that what I'm dealing with is beyond fucked. "Let's just say the best part of my week so far has been this drink" I and steal a quick glance at her, embarrassed that my words are flowing so easily to a complete stranger. 
"But it's Saturday night" she say with her brows pinched together. "Exactly" I say and before I can even ask she decides to grab another shaker and makes me another drink which I accept with a somber smile. "I put some extra ice in this one so don't worry it's not gonna go straight to your head" she says, looking out for me as if she were someone I had known for my whole life. 
"I'm y/n by the way" I say, hoping to move from strangers to acquaintances at the very least. "Rae" she answers before tending to another patron. 
"So y/n" she starts as she makes her way back over to me "what do you do?" she asks, maintaining conversation but not trying to pry when it comes to what I'm clearly upset about. 
"I'm a writer" I answer and her interest is immediately peaked. "A writer? Really? What do you write about?" she asks, leaning up against the counter so she can hear me a bit better. 
"To be honest my stories are pretty fucked up romance novels" I say scratching the top of my head feeling a bit awkward at the confession. 
"Sounds like my type of book" she laughs. I let out a breath, thankful that I won't have to explain myself to her since this genre isn't everyone's cup of tea. "So what are some books that you've written? Maybe I've read one before" she says going back to cleaning up a few things, making sure to use her time wisely. 
"Well 'Trials of the Broken' is one of them. It's my best seller at the moment. I'm actually working on writing the sequel right now" I respond, embarrassed but proud of my achievements all the same. 
"I think I've heard of that one! My friends have been trying to get me to read it but I never got around to it" she says, surprised at her chances of meeting me. 
"If you ever get around to it then let me know what you think" I say, now kicking myself for putting on the pressure for her to read it. "I definitely will" she says and makes her way over to the other side of the bar to serve some more patrons that just made their way inside. 
Glancing over at them I notice one that is a few steps behind the crowd, making me question if he's come here alone but I go back to looking at my drink, trying my best not to stare. 
My eyes somehow manage to drag themselves over toward him as he places his order and waits for Rae to make it. 
He takes off his hood and I'm met with first, the sight of his sharp jaw, then his shaggy hair he ruffled as soon as the hood dropped and finally his lips, the bottom one pierced twice rested in a soft smile. I realize though that the only way I would be seeing his full on smile would be if he was looking back at me and I make somewhat panicked eye contact with him before quickly turning my head in the other direction. 
'Great job y/n, drooling over the first hot guy you see. He's probably going to think I'm some sort of creep now' my thoughts thought are interrupted with the sound of what I believe to be is a drink set down on the counter a few seats away from me. 
"Is it alright if I sit here?" a smooth baritone voice says, making butterflies fill my stomach. 
"Um yeah sure" I say, taking a sip of my drink before glancing at him, quickly looking away again before I start to stare again. 
"So how's your night going?" he asks, clearly in an effort to make small talk. 
"It's going. How about yours?" I question back and see that he's no longer looking at me, instead watching as he swirls his mystery drink around in his cup. "About the same" he chuckles, clearly amused with both of our lack of effort to divulge any details. 
We sit there for a second or two in silence before Rae walks over and gives me another drink. I watched her make it and I can tell she she went even easier on the alcohol this time and makes sure to question nonverbally if I'm alright to which I nod. 
"What are you drinking?" he asks, smiling at the visual of the bright pink drink with two cherries placed on top. "You're gonna laugh" I say, brushing a piece of hair behind my ear, feeling a little apprehensive saying words like this to a complete stranger (a hot one at that).
"It's-" "It's called a Slut Puppy" Rae interrupts from the other side of the bar, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was clearly listening. "Um yeah, that" I chuckle, taking a big sip of it to hopefully calm my nerves. 
"A slut puppy?" he asks, flashing an amused smile at me, sending my heart beat into overload. "Her name, not mine" I laugh awkwardly. Trying, but failing at sounding normal but from the looks of it he doesn't seem to mind. "Right" he says dragging out the first syllable before taking a sip of his drink. 
"Do you guys know each other?" he asks, curious as to who our not so secret eavesdropper is. "Kinda. We just met. Although it almost seems like I've known her my whole life" I say smiling at her, thankful for the fact that she was able to lift my spirits so easily. 
"It's nice when you meet people like that" he says and when I bring my attention back over to him I can tell that he's been looking at me for a while, making me shy all over again. 
"Oh, I'm Jungkook by the way" he says holding out his hand, and I turn my stool towards him and shake it, fixing what would've been an awkward angle if I had stayed in place. He after seeing what I had done decides to turn as well, angling his body towards me and I notice now that there's only one seat between us. A respectful distance, making me feel a bit more comfortable talking to him. 
"I'm y/n" I say and he gives me a soft smile, whispering my name under his breath, almost as if he were trying to keep it as a secret all for himself. "So y/n, what's your story?" he asks, withdrawing his hand at almost the same time I do and goes back to taking another sip of his drink, making sure to keep his sparkly eyes trained on me. 
'Sparkly? Y/n you are a married woman. You shouldn't even be talking to this guy'.
"My story? Well to be honest there's not much to tell. I grew up and went to school in the city and now I'm a writer. There's not much else to my life if I'm being honest" I say, doing my best to maintain conversation but also not give away too much. 
"That ring on your finger says otherwise" he says, nodding towards it and playing around with his straw. Not in an abrasive way but more as if to remind me of something else that I might've forgotten.
"Oh, um yeah" I say, showing him the ring up for a second to confirm his suspicions but pull my sweater down to cover it up a second later, hoping he won't ask anything else about that aspect but unfortunately luck is not on my side in that department tonight. 
"Is that why you're here? Needed to get away for a while?" he asks, curious but not insinuating anything that I would expect a guy of his age would be asking me. "I guess you could say that" I say taking a deep breath deciding that if he's asking I might as well get the male perspective while I can. 
"With being a writer and everything I'm pretty much cooped up in the house all day. Which for me is fine and it's been like that for a few years" I say, taking a second to try and figure out how to formulate my next words carefully, not wanting his to worry or judge the situation too much.
"I'm sensing there's a 'but' here" he chuckles and takes another sip of his drink and waves at Rae in an effort to get both of us both another drink without me noticing to avoid protest. "But" I start out, confirming his suspicions. "with my husband being used to me doing that all the time he tends to get a bit, how should I say this..." I trial off, still not sure how to phrase it. 
"Controlling?" he offers, a bit more blunt than his other responses. "Worried" I counter, although his word is more accurate than mine. He nods a bit, clearly not believing my words but doesn't press in hopes that I will continue. "He's worried that something might happen to me if I go out alone. That someone might recognize me because of my books and try to do something like kidnap me" I say, fully confident in my words.
I hear Jungkook snort beside me a second later, leaving me looking over at him with my brows scrunched up. "What's so funny?" I ask, confused and almost annoyed by his reaction. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry continue" he says doing his best to calm down. "No, what about that is so funny?" I press as I can clearly see that he's still trying to hold his laughter in. 
"I'm sorry y/n it's just, well isn't kidnapping a little bit of a stretch?" he says, clearing his throat and breathing through what he thought was a ridiculous excuse. "Woman and children get kidnapped everyday! Look up the statistics!" I retort, trying to convince him that there's truth to Taehyung's argument. 
"Yes, I know that it happens a lot, but you can't let that keep you from going outside and living life. It's a horrible thing and I don't understand why anyone would do such a thing but you can't use it as a way to cripple yourself from ever leaving your house" he says, this time being completely serious and trying his best to convince me that I shouldn't be living like this. 
"I'm out now aren't I?" I argue, and to that he nods his head but presses further. "How long has it been since you've been out like this though?" he asks and I just let my head droop a bit in response before taking a sip of my new drink. 
"Well I'm proud of you for coming out tonight and doing this for yourself. And look, you're completely safe. Plus seems like you've already made two new friends tonight" he laughs motioning to himself and Rae and when I look over at her all I can see is her bright smile, happy to see me getting more comfortable. 
"Who knows though, you might just be acting nice to me just so I'll let my guard down so you can kidnap me" I tease and at that he acts like he's offended, throwing his hand over his heart as if I had shot him. 
"You hurt me with your words. It's a shame though, I was just in the market for a new best friend" he says, wiping away a fake tear. "Or in the market for some fresh meat" I continue laughing at his act. "Twist the knife why don't you" he says, now resorting to pouting. 
"Aw, it's okay I didn't mean it" I say patting his shoulder in an effort to apologize. "You better not" he says looking at me, still pouting. "Come on, let's turn that frown upside down. Why don't I buy you a drink?" I ask as a way to make amends. 
"No that's alright, I've actually gotta get going" he says, pulling out his wallet and placing some cash on the counter to more than cover his drinks. "Let me get you some change" Rae steps in, quick to help since she is otherwise unoccupied. "No it's okay, use it to cover us both and then keep the change" he says as he straightens out his jacket a bit. 
"No you don't have to do that" I argue and go to take some cash out of my purse as well. "It's okay I got it. But if you want to make it up to me I'll always take your number as payment" he says with a cheeky smile. 
"Just as friends of course! I would never want to seduce a married woman" he says, jumping over himself, making me sure I know his intensions are pure. 
"Can we do email? I spend most of my time on my computer so it's easier for me" I say, making excuses as to not giving it to him. "As long as you promise not to mark my messages as spam" he jokes and hands me his phone so I can add it in. "I promise. It was really nice to meet you Jungkook" I say handing it back to him, our hands touching a few moments longer for it to be seen as something with the promise of being platonic. 
"Take care" he says giving me a soft smile and then waves at Rae, clearly seeing her not even bothering to hide that she's staring at us. 
"Bye" I say under my breath, not knowing how to feel about anything now that he's gone. 
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jangofettjamz · 6 months
Text
Are You Okay?
Jenna Ortega x Autistic!Male!Reader
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Summary: Jenna noticed you've seemed a little down lately, she intended to find out why.
Themes/Warnings: Abelism
Words: 832
Jenna POV
Y/N's been really quiet lately, I mean more quiet than usual anyway but never like this with me. He's usually never afraid to speak his mind, in fact he's usually brutally honest but now... just silence... and I don't like it one bit. I need to figure out what's wrong.
He's currently building a Lego set upstairs, he's a real collector for that sort of stuff, he has his own room separate from our bedroom that contains his gaming setup, action figure collection and lego collection. To say my Y/N is a nerd would be a massive understatement, but I wouldn't have him any other way because he's absolutely perfect. I make my way over to his other room to try and talk to him and figure out what's bothering him.
I knock on his door twice to announce my arrival "babe you in there?" I call only to be met with a small "mmhmm", not unusual behaviour from him; like I said he's quiet but it worries me none the less. "Can I come in, sweetie?" I ask polity.
"Okay" he says quietly 'whats with the quietness' I thought to myself.
I see him sitting at his desk building some Legos, he said it was a very relaxing hobby for him and gives him a sense of accomplishment. "Hey hon' watcha doing" I say cheerfully and lean down to kiss his temple because I was genuinely happy to see him.
"Building" he says bluntly, seemingly annoyed by my presence.
"I see that, is it from Star Wars? I know you really like--"
"Look Jenna I just wanna be left alone, okay?" He says bluntly, his tone sharp as a knife. He's never spoken to me like this before especially in this harsh tone.
"Y/N, sweetheart what's wrong?" I say a little heartbroken by the way he just spoke to me.
"Nothings wrong just leave me be." He says sharply again, he'd give Wednesday a run for her money honestly.
I noticed the dry tear tracks on his cheeks, he had definitely been crying and by the looks of it, fairly recently too. This would explain his mood. I press on a bit further, determined to find the problem.
"Y/N, are you okay sweetheart?" I say.
He quickly glanced at me then returned his gaze to his Legos "I'm fine" he said but his voice betrayed him as I heard the sadness within it.
"I don't think you are fine, sweetie. You've got tears tracks on your cheeks babe, you're not fine at all, please talk to me baby boy" I say desperately trying to get an answer.
"You wouldn't understand" he says barely above a whisper. I turned his head to face me and cupped his cheeks.
"Please" I say softly.
His eyes turn glassy, wetness forming in them as he sniffles softly "Percy called me retarded" he said quietly.
"WHAT?!" I'm in complete disbelief. Despite my numerous rejections, Percy has been trying to get with me for months but I explained to him that our relationship was professional. He's said and done a lot of things but THIS is unacceptable.
Y/N broke instantly, the tear floodgates had truly opened and were spilling down his face like a dam. He's a fragile person and calling him such a vulgar slur with such malice is disgusting.
"Y/N can I hold you baby" he nodded erratically and threw himself into my arms, burying his face in my neck.
His tears were making my neck wet but it didn't matter he was all that mattered. "Why can't I just be normal?" He sobbed out, anger swelling within me; not towards him but towards Percy Hynes White.
"Shhhh don't say that babe, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you, being autistic doesn't make you less of a person." It seems to calm a bit so I continue to speak while stroking his back. "What he said was absolutely vile, sweetheart and it isn't true. He's everything wrong with the world put into one person and you're the exact opposite of that."
He lifts his face out of my neck. "You don't think I'm retarded?" I felt my heart shatter, Percy really got in his head.
"No sweet boy, you're not retarded. Never think of yourself like that, it breaks my heart that you'd even have to question that." I say with absolutely sincerity.
"You really mean it?" Pull him into a kiss on the lips, we pull away and he got the message that I meant what I said.
He sniffled and wiped his nose. "Thanks babe, you're too kind to me" he says making me chuckle.
"Nonsense you deserve every ounce of love in this world and I'll give you all of mine" I say "C'mere sweetheart" we embrace each other, my lips kissing the top of his head.
"Can I build legos with you" I ask and his eyes brighten and nods enthusiastically which makes me kiss all over his beautiful face. He so wonderful.
My sweet boy.
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reticent-writer · 1 year
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Blood demon art: Plants P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7(current)
Poll results: Follow Akaza (Are you ready)
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✿✼:*゚:.。..。.:*・゚゚・**・゚゚・*:.。..。.:*゚:*:✼✿  
You took off running towards Akaza crying.
"Akaza wait, please wait I wanna go Home. I'm sorry I never run away again." You wailed as your skin started to burn.
You were fast but not fast enough to catch up to Akaza, luckily he heard you.
He turned around and ran to you, he was just about to pick you up when a sword went through his chest. He ignored it, grabbed you and ran.
Hanafuda was shouting. You didn't want to look back because you know you'll see Rengoku's body.
You just cried into Akaza's chest. That's all you could do. You cried until you fell asleep.
Akaza was livid not because of you, in fact he was glad you decided to come back, but because of Hanafuda. He had no other choice but to run, the sun was coming up, couldn't he see that?
"It's alright, I'm not mad at you." He said as he rubbed you back and continued on his way to the infinity castle. He knew you were asleep but it still felt good to say.
------
You woke up in your room, on your bed surrounded by a multitude of pillows. Everything was the same as when you left it, at first glance at least.
Slowly you got up and looked around.
It was like you were in another dream, nothing seemed real yet. Even though you didn't have much time with Rengoku he taught you a lot. He was the first human death that you experienced.
Walking around your room, you notice yourself in the mirror. You looked the same, but something was clearly different, you couldn't put your finger on it.
*knock knock knock*
"I know your up Y/n." Your father said as he opened the door. (A/n Why do parents knock if they're going to open the door without permission anyway)
"Father. I'm so so sorry. I'll never run away again, I promise." You ran to hug his legs but he didn't hug back.
"Y/n look at me."
Doing what he said you look up at him with tears forming in your eyes. He kneeled to your height.
"You cannot put yourself in harms way like that. I don't care what you wanted to see when you could've died. You will be by my side until further notice. Do you understand?"
You nodded.
"Good."
"Father, you were human once, why do you want to kill them?"
He didn't answer your question and instead, he gestured for you to follow. Which you did.
On the way to wherever you were going, he talked.
"You can die just by standing out in the sun. Humans are weak, they get sick, grow old, and die they barely live for century while we can live forever. I get that you're curious, but we are not completely immortal. YOU are not immortal; as my child, your safety is my top priority."
You stared at his back while he talked. It was normal for you to receive this kind of lecture from him.
Normally you would tune him in out of annoyance but this time you listened or at least until you caught something out of the corner of your eye.
Looking over you see a blonde blur getting bigger. You almost didn't realize that it was getting closer to you.
Your father sighed, "Douma don't-"
"Y/N-SAN YOU'RE BACK." Douma smushed you in his arms, rubbing his cheek against the top of your head.
"Hi Douma" you say, hugging him back.
He picked you up and twirled you around while your father pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
These demons were going to be the death of him.
-------
Akaza was on his way out when he saw you, douma and Muzan. Muzan had not yet given him a punishment for letting you get injured. It left the basketball demon waiting in anticipation.
He was terrified.
✿✼:*゚:.。..。.:*・゚゚・**・゚゚・*:.。..。.:*゚:*:✼✿  
Tag list: @american-idiot21, @unhappy-filling, @lenasvoid, @abbylouamanda, @tempest1art, @abandonedhhearts, @muichirolover
Might or might not do an AU where reader stays with demon slayers
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hbyrde36 · 16 days
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Times Like These (The Anniversary Edition)
CH 1 CH 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch 11 Ch 12
Chapter 13: Epilogue
WC: 5937 | AO3 link | Explicit
A soft knock on hollow wood roused Eddie from sleep. It felt strange to wake up normally, not crying out or gasping for air—actually, waking up at all felt a little foreign after weeks of hardly sleeping at all. 
“Ed?” Uncle Wayne’s voice carried through the door.
Eddie glanced over his shoulder. Steve hadn’t moved, was hopefully still fast asleep, so he gently extracted himself and pulled on the first shirt within reach. He tiptoed to the door, only opening it enough to look out, and used his body to hide the view of his bed. Wayne was safe, but he and Steve hadn’t even really labeled what they were to each other yet, let alone discussed if they were okay with other people knowing. 
Wayne looked down at Eddie's chest, frowning, “‘M sorry to wake you when you’re finally gettin’ some sleep, but the kids‘re here.”
“Like, Max?”
“Like, all of ‘em.”
Oh, what the fuck. 
Eddie scrubbed a hand over his face… and then nearly jumped out of his skin when Steve’s voice, mid-yawn and raspy with sleep, came from the bed behind him. 
“Ugh, what are they even doing here, do you have Hellfire today or something?” 
Wayne lifted a single eyebrow. “Who’s your friend?”
“Uh—”
There was a rustle of fabric as Steve moved around behind him, getting dressed. Well, putting a shirt on anyway—Eddie’s shirt.
Oh.
Eddie looked down and, yup, that was Steve’s polo shirt he had on. 
God he was such a dumbass sometimes.
Wayne craned his neck, trying to see over Eddie’s shoulder—and clearly Steve didn't care if the other man saw him or he wouldn’t have spoken up, so Eddie stepped back, letting the door open the rest of the way as Steve slid up beside him. It seemed this meeting was happening right here, right now, whether he liked it or not, so he might as well accept it.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir. I’m Steve, Steve Harrington.” Steve smiled, sticking his hand out for Wayne to shake, which the older man took—as if they weren’t all standing in Eddie’s bedroom doorway at who knew what time in the morning, in their fucking underwear!
But it was fine. 
“Good to meet you too, son. I hear you’re one of the people I have to thank for findin’ my boy and gettin’ him to help. Didn’t see you ‘round the hospital, else I would’ve shown you my gratitude sooner.” 
Steve's smile faltered—and fell. “No. I, uh—I wasn’t. I’m sorry I wasn’t there, I should have been. I–” 
Eddie took his hand, squeezing, and leaned in to press their sides together. 
Wayne shook his head. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, and anyways it looks like whatever it was has worked itself out now. S’long as you boys are bein’ safe, that’s good enough for me.”
“Wayne!” Eddie hissed.
“Go see to your audience. They’re mighty interested in that fancy car out there, which I'm assumin’ belongs to Steve, so….” Wayne glanced between the two of them, chuckling. “Have fun with that.”
For the second time in as many minutes Eddie felt like an idiot. Steve’s car was parked right outside the trailer, hiding him had never been an option. Again, he reminded himself that Steve didn’t seem to mind, had known his car would be out there for all to see in the morning when he decided to stay last night.  
“Try and keep it down though, will ya? I’m gonna go catch some sleep before my shift tonight.”
Wayne shuffled away down the hall and back out to the living room where he’d spend the day sleeping on an old rollaway bed. Eddie felt a pang of guilt, like he always did when he thought about all the things Wayne had sacrificed to raise him, up to and including giving him the trailer’s only bedroom. He tried to give it up, on multiple occasions, but Wayne wouldn’t hear it. 
“I guess it’s time to face the music about disappearing, and—” Steve glanced down at their clasped hands.
Eddie looked down too, considering. This thing between them, whatever it was, felt so new, and fragile. It was one thing for Wayne to see them together, Eddie was already out to his uncle and accepted by him, and Steve had known that, but the kids? That was different—it was a lot. 
“We don’t have to tell anyone anything you're not ready for, Steve. We can always say you came over to hang out and it got late and you slept on the couch. They wouldn't think anything of it.”
“No. I don’t want to hide, not from our friends.” Steve chewed on his bottom lip. “Unless—you don’t want them to know?” 
“Sweetheart, I would tell the whole world how I felt about you if it was safe. Of course we can tell the party. I think we can trust them, and technically, all of them but Will and El saw us make out once already, not our fault they don’t remember.”
Steve grinned, and pulled Eddie in for a kiss. It was little more than a peck on the lips, a light little thing in comparison to all they’d done the night before, but it still took Eddie’s breath away.
They pulled apart reluctantly, and set about finding and putting pants on. Eddie wondered if he should offer to switch their shirts back, but he was sort-of loving seeing Steve in his clothes, and as much as the polo was something he’d usually not be caught dead in, it was much softer than it looked, and came with the added perk of smelling like Steve.
“So, um, what is it we’re telling them… exactly?” Eddie asked as he slipped his shoes on. Maybe It was silly to feel so nervous about asking the dreaded ‘what are we’ question after they’d already said I love you, but he couldn’t help it. It was all feeling a little too good to be true.
Steve strode right over, taking Eddie’s face between his hands. “Boyfriends?”
Eddie nodded, sagging in relief as he raised his hands to cover Steve’s where they cradled him. 
Steve leaned in the press their lips together one more time, whispering, “even if that word is too… small for what this feels like.”
For a moment Eddie could do nothing but stare in awe at the boy in front of him. He wasn’t used to things working out. He’d never expected to fall this hard for someone, and he’d certainly never dreamed that someone would love him with the same ferocity, but there it was being reflected back to him through Steve’s eyes. 
“You’re something else, Harrington. You know that?”
-
Just as Wayne had said, the entire group of kids, minus Erica, were clustered around Steve’s car almost like they were guarding it, or making sure Steve couldn’t take off and drive away without going through them first.  
As soon as they set foot outside, Dustin threw himself at Steve, wrapping arms tightly around his middle before suddenly pulling back to punch him in the chest.
Steve rubbed at the spot. “Hey!”
“You ignored me… for weeks! I was worried about you!” Dustin yelled, hitting him again.
“I know!” Steve shouted back, then sighed, deflating. “I know, and I’m sorry. I was going through some stuff, and I got really in my head about it, but I shouldn't have pushed everyone away. That—that wasn’t cool.” 
“What happened? And why did Eddie get to see you before I did?”
Eddie stepped in then, he couldn’t let Steve take all the flack when they were at least equally to blame for this whole mess. “Don’t be too hard on him, Henderson. It was my fault. I–” 
“No,” Steve cut him off, taking his hand and lacing their fingers together. “Eddie and I had a… misunderstanding, but–uh, we worked it out” 
Dustin’s eyes widened, tracking the movement, head tilting as he seemed to really look at them for the first time. “Steve, what are you weari—what the hell is happening right now?”
Eddie didn’t know what he expected, but It wasn’t quite the reaction he’d hoped for. “Look, if this is going to be a problem for you guys, at least—”
“No! God, no." Dustin shook his head, holding his hands up in front of him, placating. "I’m sorry. It’s not—it’s fine!. It’s… pretty awesome, actually.”
Lucas cleared his throat. “We’re just surprised, is all."
“Yeah! Because of Steve’s reputation and everything.” Dustin clarified. 
Max snorted. “I’m not.”
Mike, Lucas, And Dustin gaped at her, while El and Will quietly watched from the sidelines. 
“What do you mean you're not surprised?!” Lucas snapped.
She rolled her eyes. “Are you morons blind?”
Mike crossed his arms, face pinched as he rounded on Steve. “So what, you just decided to suddenly be gay now? Or were you gay this whole time and just messing with my sister before?”
Eddie had never wanted to snatch that little prick up by the back of his neck more. 
“Keep your voice down, Wheeler! Before you out us to the whole damn trailer park!” Eddie hissed quietly, realizing far too late that the front of his trailer probably wasn’t the best place for this conversation, but they were in it now. 
In his defense he hadn’t expected any outbursts. Surprise? Maybe… probably, but no outright hostility—though young Wheeler only seemed to be pissed at Steve rather than both of them, so maybe it was more of a personal thing than a gay thing?
“Sorry.” Mike grumbled. 
“And no, we’re not ‘suddenly gay’ now, and it’s not something you choose or decide, shithead. It’s more like something you discover about yourself, when you’re ready. Some people figure it out at a young age, like me.” Eddie tried very hard not to let his gaze flit towards Will, who in their limited interactions had started giving off a vibe. Instead he looked at Steve, and smiled warmly. “But, for others it takes a little time.”
“Like me.” Steve said, smiling back at him with a soft look in his eyes. A look that completely dissolved as he turned to Mike, “And I’m bisexual, Michael. So, no, I wasn’t messing with your sister. Liking Eddie now doesn’t mean I didn't like her then. I like boys and girls.”
“Wait, that’s… Is that allowed?”
Oh. 
Suddenly the boy’s anger at Steve might make little more sense. 
Steve softened. “Yeah, Mike. That’s allowed.”
After a moment of silence Mike bristled, realizing everyone was looking at him now. “Whatever. I’m going back to Max’s.” He kicked rocks, literally, and ran across the way to the Mayfield trailer, sitting down on its steps, sulking.
“Hey Steve, so now that you're talking and leaving the house again, can we have a sleepover?” Dustin asked. 
Steve gave him an unimpressed look.“ Shouldn’t you guys be going after him or something?”
Lucas waved a hand. “He’ll get over it.”
Dustin tipped his chin in agreement. “You know how he gets, he’s fine. Now, what do you say?”
“I don’t know guys.” Steve said. 
“Pleeeeeease?”
Steve slid his eyes sideways, looking to Eddie for an opinion. 
Eddie shrugged. As much as he wanted more alone time with Steve—like, a lot more—he knew he wasn’t the only one who’d been missing him.  
“Fine. But you all need to get your own rides, and give me a few hours to get ready. Seven o’clock at the earliest, you hear me? And make sure your parents know where you’re gonna be.”
The kids all lit up, even Max cracked a smile.
“Yes!” Lucas cheered, before turning with Max to go back to her house. 
“Thanks, Steve!” Dustin shouted over his shoulder, him and Will joining the retreat, only El lagged behind. 
“Everything alright, El?” Steve asked. 
“I am really glad you’re feeling better. I wanted to come see you right away but–”
Steve drew in a breath, a horrified look of realization coming over his face. "Oh my god, El, you remember too! I'm such an idiot, I didn't even think!"
Eddie squeezed the hand he was still holding and felt his own heart drop. With everything else it hadn’t occurred to him either.
"It's okay. Robin told me you were sad, too sad to see anyone.” El said. 
“I’m so sorry, sweetie, I should have realized—I should have checked on you. Are you okay?”
“I think so. I told my Dad everything. I felt bad… guilty at first. I thought it was all my fault because I was the one who failed to stop Henry so many times. He says it's not, and I am trying to believe him."
"He's right," Eddie said. "None of this was anyone’s fault but Vecna’s. Trust me, I felt the exact same way throughout the loops. I thought, here I was, given chance after chance and I just kept screwing it up. It wasn’t my fault, or yours, or Steve’s. We did the best we could, and yeah, it took a few tries to get it right, but we did. We did it together. El, you were absolutely incredible in there, facing him down on your own. I never would have gotten out if it wasn’t for you. You saved me."
“I think we all saved each other, but I am sorry that I did not remember, that must have been scary by yourself.”
"No. No more apologies. That’s not on you or Steve, and I won't have either of you feeling guilty about it for another second.” Eddie said, his gaze flitting between their faces. “Okay?”
El nodded, offering him a small smile. 
Steve sighed. “Okay.”
-
A short while later they were walking into Steve’s house. Eddie had snuck back inside to leave a note for his uncle about where he’d be before they took off in the other boy’s BMW.
“Sorry about the mess,” Steve said as they crossed the threshold into the living room, rubbing a hand nervously at the back of his neck. “I, uh, I didn’t realize how bad it’d gotten.”
Eddie looked around. The air was stale, beer cans strewn around the coffee table, a few left where they’d fallen on the floor, along with several pizza boxes, some dirty clothes, and the couch was piled up with a pillow and blankets in a heap. It was very not like Steve, but it also wasn’t that bad. “You call this a mess? That’s adorable. You’ve seen my place man, c’mon. This is nothing. We can have this picked up in ten minutes—tops.”
“No, this is my problem, and your arm–”
“Is fine.” Eddie insisted. “Why don't you go get us a couple trash bags.”
They worked together, and just as predicted it didn’t take long at all. He gathered up the laundry, tossing it all into the washing machine, while Steve took care of the trash and wiped down the tables, the two of them meeting in the middle to straighten couch cushions and fold blankets. 
“Were you sleeping down here?” Eddie asked.
“Tried to. I was struggling, and angry, and I missed you. Thinking about sleeping in that bed alone after all those memories came back just—” Steve shook his head. “Not that down here was any better. I know it was only a short time that you were here with me, really, but it’s like you seeped into the walls.”
When Steve finished with the blanket he was working on, he hugged it to his chest and sat down. “It was one of my happy memories, one of the places I went when I was running from Vecna. Here, on this couch, with you.”
Eddie tilted his head, taking a seat beside him. 
“You’d just cooked for us. I was so tired, and you tried to make me go to bed, but I wouldn't listen.”
“And you fell asleep anyway.”
“And you let me sleep on your shoulder for the whole movie. That night—that was when I really started to fall for you, in that loop at least.”
Eddie rested a hand on Steve’s knee. “Me too.”
-
They moved on to the kitchen next, which was in pretty good shape apart from a sink full of dishes, something Eddie couldn’t really help with, so he hopped up onto the counter to supervise and keep Steve company. 
Well, he tried to hop up on the counter at least, a task that was made much more difficult with the use of only one hand. After his second failed attempt, Steve gripped him around the waist and lifted him up on his perch before wordlessly getting to work. 
Eddie swallowed hard, feeling his cheeks warm. He could get used to being manhandled like that, and judging by Steve’s little smirk, the other boy felt the same way.
It should have been boring sitting there watching as Steve scrubbed plates and glasses, but as corny as it sounded, Eddie was just happy to be around him. Steve kept looking at him too, to the detriment of his task, as he repeatedly sloshed water over himself when he got stuck staring for too long. 
The third time it happened Eddie had to laugh. “What? Is it my hair?” He shook his head making his curls bounce around wildly. “Have I been walking around with bedhead all day and you didn’t tell me?”
“No, it’s just— a part of me can’t believe you’re here? I know it was my own doing, but I was going crazy all alone in this big fucking house.”
Eddie rested a hand on his shoulder, just able to reach from his spot. 
“I should be used to it by now, the whole being alone thing. I’m sure you’ve noticed that my parents aren’t around much. It’s… not a new thing.”
“I did.” Eddie admitted. “I figured you’d talk about them when you were ready.”
Steve smiled sadly, returning his attention to the sink as he went on. “I was eight the first time they left me alone for the weekend. I was terrified, slept with all the lights on, thought every bump in the night was a robber breaking in. The older I got the longer they would stay away. They’d swoop in every now and then, just long enough to make sure I knew how disappointed they were that I wasn’t living up to their expectations. When my dad found out I wasn’t going to college they stopped coming home altogether.”
“What about graduation?”
“They stopped by, about a week after the ceremony, to yell at me for not having a job yet, even though I’d already told them I had the interview at Scoops. That’s the last time I spoke to them in person.”
“Wait, they didn’t come home when you got hurt at the mall? I know they would have thought it was just a fire but, didn’t the hospital call them?”
Steve tensed, and very deliberately did not look at him. 
Eddie sighed. “You didn’t go to the hospital, did you?”
“Didn’t need to.”
“Baby, you were drugged and tortured.”
“That’s actually part of why I didn’t go. Didn’t think I could handle facing another guy in a white coat.”
It was hard to argue with that, and of course it was in the past now, but that didn’t stop Eddie from wanting to. “So you were just here alone after all that?”
“No, um, Robin–” Steve broke off with a breathy laugh. “Ok, this is going to sound fucked up but that was another one of my happy memories, actually. Robin, she snuck out of her house and into mine that night. She didn’t need to sneak, of course, it’s not like anyone else was here, but she didn’t know that at the time. It was crazy, this girl who barely tolerated me before everything went down—suddenly, here she was, climbing through my bedroom window, insisting on taking care of me.” He shook his head. “I don’t think I could live without her now.”
“Pretty sure she feels the same way about you, sweetheart. So it’s been almost a year since you’ve seen your parents?”
“Yeah, they bought a place in Chicago when my dad was offered a new position in his company there. Said I could stay here until they sell the place, as long as I had a job and kept it clean.”
“I’m sorry.”
Steve gave half a shrug. “It’s—I don’t need or want them in my life anymore. If anything I'm grateful it’s allowed me to still be here for the kids through all this shit without having to deal with them.”
“Still, you deserved better.”
Steve shut the faucet off, drying his hands before wedging himself between Eddie's legs where they hung off the counter, throwing arms around his waist. “Thank you.”
Eddie yelped at the contact, the front of Steve’s shirt was cold, and wet, and it was seeping into Eddie’s clothes now too, but he only held Steve tighter, and didn’t let go. 
“I think we’re both going to need some dry clothes after this.” Eddie said. 
Steve nuzzled into his chest. “How about a shower first?”
-
This wasn’t exactly how he had pictured it when Steve suggested they take a shower together. Not that Eddie would have turned the opportunity down, under any circumstances, but the plastic bag tied and taped around his casted arm, while necessary, was decidedly unsexy.
He looked ridiculous.
However, Steve didn’t seem to agree, if the hungry looks he was throwing Eddie’s way as they undressed were any indication.
Though Eddie was more than capable of washing his own hair one handed, had been doing so since the hospital, Steve insisted on taking charge from the moment they stepped under the spray together, working shampoo into his scalp until it formed a lather, letting it run through the end of his curls as it rinsed out. 
Eddie was in heaven, the feel of Steve's fingers combing conditioner through his hair was unlike anything else, and the occasional tug when he got caught up on a knot had a warmth blossoming low in his belly, and something else growing between his legs. 
He tried to hold it in but a quiet moan slipped past his lips as Steve coaxed his head back, rinsing it again, and it was all Eddie could do not to palm himself.
Suddenly Steve’s broad chest was pressed up against his back, mouth hovering just behind his ear. “Don’t hold back on my account.”
Eddie shivered, trying to press his ass back to feel if Steve was as affected as he was, but the other boy was keeping his hips a polite distance away. 
Tease.
Next, Steve took up a bar of soap and a washcloth, and began to painstakingly wash him from head to toe, reaching around to get Eddie’s front and finally pressing his own hard length against the swell of his ass. 
Eddie moaned again, long and loud this time so Steve would know exactly what he was doing to him. 
It was as close to being worshiped as he could imagine, and he’d never felt so cared for and so fucking turned on in his life, convinced that if anything more than water touched his cock right now, he’d be painting the shower wall in seconds with his release.  
Thankfully Eddie got a short reprieve as Steve stepped back to turn the soap on himself, and he took several deep breaths, purposely not turning around to watch the show that was happening right behind him. He thought he knew where this was going, and he didn’t want their fun to be so short lived because he couldn’t get himself under control. 
But then Steve was done, and in the blink of an eye he spun Eddie around, pinned him against the wall, and dropped to his fucking knees, and Eddie knew he was screwed. He would never last, but the exquisite image before him certainly would—seared into his brain forever. 
He wasn’t too far gone to check in though, to make sure Steve wasn’t pushing past his comfort zone. “You don’t have to.”
Steve licked his lips, glancing up at him through his eyelashes. “I want to.”
Jesus Christ
“Are you sure?” Eddie reached down to cup Steve’s cheek, running a thumb over his bottom lip. Steve’s eyes fell shut, the tip of his tongue darting out to lick at it like a reflex.
“Fuck.” Eddie breathed.
“Please?” Steve begged, letting his mouth fall wide open. He knew exactly what he was doing and any lingering worries Eddie had completely fell away.
“Since you asked so nicely.”
Eddie caressed Steve’s face one last time before letting it go, taking himself in hand, and began to feed his cock inch by inch between Steve’s lips. 
-
Predictably, Eddie had come embarrassingly fast, but so had Steve once they switched places, and after a final rinse off they both collapsed, naked and partially damp onto Steve's bed.
“We can’t fall asleep. The kids–” Steve mumbled.
“They won’t be here for at least another hour. I won’t let us fall asleep, I promise. I just want to hold you for a while.” Eddie said, throwing an arm over Steve, pulling him in close.
“This was one of my happy memories. Laying in here with you.”
Steve turned in his arms to face him, running fingers through his sodden curls.
“The last night before we went after Vecna, when everyone fell asleep in the living room but you and I snuck up here.” Eddie tucked himself under Steve’s chin, hiding his face. “Did you…”
“Did I, what?”
“Did you kiss me that night? On the top of the head?”
Steve groaned like he was embarrassed. “I thought you were asleep!”
Eddie chuckled. “Almost. I was never sure it wasn’t just a dream.” His lips dragged against the skin of Steve's neck as he spoke, and he was just starting to suck a bruise into the side of his throat when the doorbell rang. 
Steve groaned.
“They’re early,” Eddie grumbled as they both untangled themselves and got up.
Steve went right for the dresser to pull clothes out for them, and Eddie couldn’t help but notice a certain t-shirt in the other boy’s hand. 
“Mine.”  He snatched it up greedily. “But I’m not putting it on yet, my hair is still too wet.”
“As long as you put pants on. I don’t think we need to scar them like that—although maybe it’ll make them think twice before showing up early next time.”
“That’s an idea.”
In the end, Eddie did slide a pair of sweatpants on, for his own modesty, and followed Steve down the stairs to answer the door, a towel slung over his shoulders to catch any drips.
Steve grasped the handle, raising his voice as he threw the front door open. “I thought I said seven o’clock you—” And clicked his mouth shut abruptly when he came face-to-face, not with Dustin, Max, or any of the others, but Robin and Chrissy standing on his doorstep.
Robin crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed as she took them in. “Dustin called me.”
Steve grit his teeth. “Oh that little–
She shrugged. “Scoops troop for life.”
“Wait, did he tell you about us?” Eddie asked.
“No, just about the sleepover. I–” Robin glanced over her shoulder at Chrissy. “We—assumed the other thing when he said where and when they’d run into the two of you.”
Eddie scoffed. 
Run into them, as if the gremlins hadn’t been lying in wait, ready to pounce.
Chrissy nodded. “Oh, and fair warning I'm pretty sure the kids also told Nancy and Jonathan about your little shindig too.”
“Great.”
Eddie wound his arm around Steve’s lower back, rubbing his thumb back and forth along his side. “Hey, like I said this morning. No one has to know that you’re not ready to tell. I can keep my hands to myself while they’re around, and we can make sure the kids don’t—”
“And like I said,” Steve gently cut him off, leaning into him. “I don't want to hide, and maybe I don’t want you to keep your hands to yourself.”
“Ugh,” Robin groaned. “You guys are gonna be gross about this aren’t you?”
“Don’t be homophobic, Buckley.”
“At least put a shirt on.” Robin rolled her eyes, shoulder checking him on her way by as she and Chrissy finally came inside.
“Fine.” Eddie whined, giving Steve’s side one last squeeze before he yanked the towel off and rubbed at his head. In a huff he headed for the bedroom, and Steve’s swim team shirt. At least time he could actually enjoy wearing the Harrington name like a brand across his back. 
“I’m really happy for you guys. It’s good to see you like this.”
He heard Robin say to Steve as he climbed the stairs, while the rest of them headed to the living room. 
“What, vertical?” Steve asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. 
“No, smiling.”
-
The sleepover turned out to be exactly what everyone needed. They had won the war, and now, finally, their little group was complete again. 
Nancy and Jonathan did eventually show, and stayed for quite a while, though they didn’t sleep over—they also seemed very unsurprised when he and Steve told them about their relationship.
Was it possible he and Steve were not as subtle as they thought?
Even Hopper and Joyce paid a visit on their way to dinner, taking advantage of their most trusted babysitters to have a night out for themselves. Steve was the one to share their news that time, again to less than surprised faces. 
Joyce got teary eyed, hugged them both, said how happy she was for them, and how it didn’t change anything. Eddie just hoped Will had been in earshot, so he’d know he had a mom who was ready to accept him whenever he was ready to accept himself. 
Hopper was pretty quiet about the whole thing, but made a point to hug Steve and shake Eddie’s hand before they left, which was a shock all on its own, and probably the closest thing Eddie was going to get to a stamp of approval. 
He’d take it. 
-
Later that night, or early the next morning depending on how you looked at it, considering it was nearing 2am by the time everyone else fell asleep and Steve and Eddie had snuck away, they were finally back in bed, as wrapped up in each other as they could be. 
“So, what do we do now?” Steve asked softly.
Eddie kissed the corner of his mouth, and reached down to knead his ass. “I didn’t think you’d want to fool around with everyone else right downstairs, but if you insist—”
“No,” Steve huffed a laugh, wriggling around till Eddie moved his hand. “I mean, you’re graduating soon, right? And I guess I’m wondering what your plan is, what’s next for you.”
“Stevie, I’m just starting to accept the fact that we’ve survived this insanity, I have no plans. I guess I’d like to get a job? Sort of over being the town drug dealer after all this, y’know?” Eddie reached up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind Steve’s ear. “What about you, big boy? What do you want now that the Upside Down is gone for good?”
He couldn’t help recalling how Steve’s last answer to a very similar question had been to make it to 21, and hoped that had changed now.
“I don’t know. Robin will be heading off to college in the fall. I thought once about following her, but I was too worried about being that far away if something happened. I never thought we’d be in the clear like this.”
“Where’s she going?”
“Indianapolis.” Steve heaved a heavy sigh, as though the nearby city was on another planet.
“That’s only like an hour away!”
“But, what about the kids?”
“You know they’re not really kids, right? And they have parents.” Eddie propped himself up on his elbow to look the other boy more solidly in the eye. “Vecna is gone, for good this time. They’re safe. Besides, the little shits will be driving before you know it, and until then you can visit whenever you want.”
Steve looked down, fingers playing along the sheet. “You trying to talk me into moving away, Munson?” 
“If that’s what you want.”
“What about you—us?”
“I could always come with you… if you’d want that.”
Steve’s eyes snapped back to his. A little wider than they were before. “B-but what about Wayne?”
“I’m almost twenty years old, I think it’s time for Wayne to have his bedroom back, and me moving out is probably the only thing that’ll make him accept it.”
“Isn’t it a little soon for us to be talking about living together?”
“Maybe—probably,” Eddie grinned, letting out a long breath. “But, we’ve established that we’re both crazy, right? And we have time, it’s not like it would be happening tomorrow.”
“Seriously though, you would do that?”
Eddie reached for him, and they shuffled around until they were wrapped up closely together again. “In a heartbeat. As long as you want me around, I'll be here. So yeah, I’m all in.”
-
Six months later found them, and all the belongings they could fit in the back of Eddie’s van, flying down the highway towards their new place—a two bedroom apartment in Indianapolis they’d be sharing with Chrissy and Robin while the girls went to school. 
The two friends had finally managed to get their own shit together after that first post-Vecna sleepover. Bolstered by how open Eddie and Steve were and how accepting the group had been of them, the very next morning Chrissy finally worked up the courage to make a move—to Robin’s immense relief. 
Then Chrissy received an acceptance letter from the same school Robin was attending, and all the pieces just sort of fell into place. 
Steve sold the BMW. They wouldn’t need two cars in the city, and it was worth more used than Eddie’s van would have gotten brand new. Indy wasn’t like Hawkins, there’d be plenty of public transportation, and the money he made would be more than enough for the two of them to live on until they found jobs. 
“Are you sure this is okay? That we’re not moving too fast doing this?” Steve asked from the passenger seat, as they took the final exit that would lead them to their future. 
It wasn’t the first time Steve had said those same words over the last few weeks. He’d also asked the day they put their deposit down, the day they told Wayne they were leaving, and the night they started packing. Steve seemed to think Eddie was going to suddenly change his mind or something, as if he was less than absolutely head over heels in love.
“You say that like we haven't spent every waking moment together since we got together. How many times do I have to tell you I'm all in on this, on you, before you believe me?”
“Sorry.” Steve sunk down in his seat, cheeks going a little pink.
Eddie held his hand out over the center console, whining and wiggling his fingers until Steve finally cracked a smile and took it, lacing their fingers together.
“Do you think we’ll be happy here? That it’ll feel like home someday?” Steve asked.
“I think wherever we are will always feel like home, as long as we’re there together.”
Special thanks to @penny00dreadful for being the best beta, friend and cheerleader.
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lemonandlime22 · 1 year
Note
Obey me mom mc baby’s first word is calling the the brothers daddy if you are ok with it
The Brothers reactions to Mc's kid calling them daddy
Warning(s): cussing, not edited
A/N: sorry but I dont do fem readers so mc is gn in this. Thank you for requesting!
[Side character ver]
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Lucifer
Diavolo had called you for a last minute meeting and Luci was happy to babysit.
He was in his study doing paperwork with the kiddo playing with a little toy on his lap and babbling to themself away
he wasn't really paying too close of attention to what they were saying
it's normal for children around their age to babble and try to talk and imitate what the people around them are saying.
did that make sense? I'm trying to sound smart I don't even know if that's true honestly
But he dropped his pen
and almost the baby
when he felt them tug at his tie and start stumbling saying daddy.
He quickly gained his composure and held them closer to him and continued to work
with a very obvious smirk
that may or may not have slowly turned into a warm lil smile
Overall, rly fuckin happy, might even very subtly brag to his brothers about this. He won't tell you about this btw, he wants you to have that first word moment with them.
Mammon
Screamed
the bby started crying then he also started crying and panicking.
He was babysitting for you like usual,
he always insisted on being the person to do it
even if he was busy from sunrise to sunset, he would still demand to he the one to take care of them when you couldn't.
The two of them were relaxing on his bed with the baby on his chest, surrounded by all their favorite stuffed animals
all of which he got them
anyway, they started playing with his glasses and babbling like crazy
neither of which were that much out of the ordinary, they have been very talkative and grabby lately
but when they babbled he always responded and had very long entertaining conversations with them,
he does this with babies you can not change my mind
then the baby started slapping his chest and saying dada over and over again.
Like I said, he screamed, bby cried, he cried, then nap.
When you get back you find them asleep cuddling on Mammon's bed
and obv you join them.
Overall, he is going to brag to EVERYONE about this, surprise surprise. He takes that title with so much pride that Lucifer would tell him to pump the brakes.
Levi
Surprised pikachu face
even if he spent every waking hour with your baby and specifically taught them to call him daddy
he would still be very shocked.
He was showing the lil goblin some baby friendly games while you were taking a nap in the bathtub bed
they kept trying to take the controller from him
but he wouldn't allow it, it was one of his favorites and he didn't want them to get all their baby slime on it.
The baby would start to get fussy but then he would find a way to calm them down somehow
this carried on for a little while until the baby hit his chest and yell dada.
Like I said he was in shock, for a long while too, the kid managed to get the controller from him, and only snapped out of it when you shook him asking if he was okay.
Overall, he thinks he was hearing things, it will take at least 10 more times for him to finally believe it, and honestly he doesn't know how to feel about it and will prob go into an excisional crisis of sorts.
Satan
You were exhausted from studying for exams and really needed some sleep
and Satan was more than happy to offer you some help with your child and give you a chance to sleep
so now here we are
Satan sitting in a rocking chair reading a book to the baby who he is cradling in his free arm.
At first the bby was very talkative, babbling all about, and playing with anything they could get their hands on
eventually tho he got them to calm down enough to, seemingly, pay attention to the story he was reading to them
sometimes they'd grab at the book when there was an illustration on the page
to which he'd bring the book close to them so they could touch it.
Eventually the little one started to get sleepy and drifted off to sleep
with quite the grip of Satan's shirt
their quiet nonsensical babbling never stopped tho
but that was alright, he found it very amusing and adorable and was content in watching them rest
that was unit he was able to make sense of the word daddy
he was shocked but just shook it off and held them just a bit tighter.
Overall, he is so happy! will rub it in Lucifer's face he also doesn't tell, he thinks you should have the joy of hearing your child's first words, and will also try and teach them your parental title to them.
Asmo
Squealed so loud I'm p sure a few windows broke.
He was hanging out in your room with you and your baby for the day
watching movies
cuddling
yatta yatta you get the idea
anyway, the bby was playing on the floor surrounded by their toys on the floor while you two were doing ya thing
then they started babbling at Asmo trying to get his attention and show him a toy
he thought it was cute and pretended not to hear them
and it was all giggles with yall unit the kid threw the toy at him and yelled,
"DADA!"
you two were stunned
to stunned to speak
but when you did get yalls shit together he picks them up and did a lil spin around squeal.
He instantly rushed to the store with them to find matching clothes and new toys.
Overall, if you couldn't tell already he's quite happy, and he will rub it in everyone's faces. He may have cried a little bit but he surprisingly didn't care all that much
Beel
He and the lil stinker were hanging out together in the kitchen
well kinda hanging out?
he was making dinner with them strapped to his chest in that baby carrying thing
I think that counts.
Anyway, like I said he was cooking,
he'd taste test it then let the baby taste test it as well
only when it was safe for them ofc
and he'd change it a bit if they didn't like it.
Eventually the food got to a point where the baby really liked it and kept grabbing his hand when he tried to take the spoon away
but he managed to gently take it away and continue cooking
the kid was not pleased by this and started throwing a little fit
and Beel was quick to start rocking them so they'd calm down
didn't work very well
all he got out of trying to calm them down was a chocked out a little,
"dAdDY-"
which did nothing but shatter his heart
and he quickly went to you for help.
Overall, shocked for like the splitest of seconds then quickly went back to fulfilling the title, he does mention it to you, he wants you to know about your babies first word.
Belphie
Confused and pleasantly surprised...
This man constantly demands cuddles and naps
and the fact that you have a child changes almost nothing
only adds another member to the mandatory cuddle party.
Yall were in said mandatory nap
which was much needed for you, you were fuckin exhausted
and so was Belphie, as always
but the baby...
not so much, so they woke up before either of you
but do not worry
they made it their mission to wake the sleeping demon.
They started by climbing onto his chest and slapping his chest/face
and obv it didn't work at first so they upped the antics a bit.
Belphie eventually woke up to tiny hands slapping him and a tiny voice yelling
"DADDY"
over and over again.
He was very shocked, he picked them up and sat up to make sure he wouldn't go instantly back to sleep
for a minute he thought he might have been dreaming but when another giggly "Daddy!" came out of the mashed potato shaped being, he sighed and laid back down with them on his chest.
Overall, like I said he is presently surprised, he'll tell you when you all wake up again. also refuses to let them go for the next week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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