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writer-in-theory · 2 years

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Complete Me — harringrove

One month after Neil died, Billy gets mail.

It was two weeks after the funeral—a measly affair organized by Susan and attended only by him and Steve. Billy is sure Steve wouldn't have gone if he hadn't insisted, but he also knows his boyfriend would follow him to the ends of the world if he asked. He'd gone farther, even, traveling through what Billy now knew was the Upside Down to return him home.

The dread the clung to Billy's chest as he grabbed the envelope should have clued him in. It should have warned him, should have done anything to prepare him for what was contained within.

We cordially invite Mr. William Hargrove and one guest to the union of Mr. Roger Danielson and Mrs. Lily Hargrove.

It was a wedding invitation for a ghost, for the parent who felt more dead than his father even now.

He'd held the cardstock tightly in his hands, sitting unmoving on the couch long past when his joints had gone stiff. All he could do was run his fingers gently over the name, like that could somehow ease the storm brewing within. That was how Steve found him, five hours later when he'd gotten off of work.

"We don't have to go, you know," Steve reminded him months later from the passenger seat of his own BMW, having allowed Billy to drive most of the way because he wanted the distraction.

Billy just gripped the wheel tightly when they passed the shiny 'Welcome to California' sign. "Yeah we do, Steve."

That was how Steve knew just how badly his boyfriend was hurting. It felt like he hadn't called him by his actual name in ages, not since he'd taken down the Mind Flayer all on his own, not since that first strange flicker of light that clued Steve in that he was still alive.

Steve knew they had to go. He knew from the moment he'd leaned over Billy's unmoving shoulder that day, read the words and felt his heart sink into his chest. He knew when Billy had finally broken down a week later, sobbing into Steve's arms because she had known where he was all along, and she never came. Not when Neil moved them out of California after people became too suspicious of the bruises, not when there was a highly publicized funeral for the son who was killed in a tragic mall accident, not when that son made a miraculous return to life eight months later.

She never showed up, and yet Billy would be there on her day. Steve wished he could beg Billy not to go, to stay in Hawkins and help Lucas practice for the big basketball game coming up, help El with her high school homework and Max with her driving. He wanted to tell him that she wasn't his family anymore, hadn't been since she'd abandoned him with a monster, that his family was in a small fucking town in the middle of Nowhere, Indiana. Steve also knew, though, that he would have to decide that for himself. So he helped Billy pack up the car and set out across the country to chase a ghost, because where wouldn't he go for his love?

The wedding wasn't a small affair like Billy had pictured, but rather a full church of people he didn't know, all celebrating a woman he didn't know. It hurt worse to find that he didn't even recognize his mother when she came through the big double doors. She'd dyed her hair a darker hue in the last decade, no longer matching his blond curls. She'd ditched the carefree, free-flowing outfits for what looked like a sophisticated, traditional dress. He could have sworn he remembered a sparrow tattooed on the back of her left shoulder, but there was nothing left to show for it.

This wasn't the woman he remembered. This wasn't the woman from the beach that had saved him from the Mind Flayer. This was a woman who was no less a stranger than the man she was marrying.

Billy wanted to retch. He smiled and clapped when they kissed instead.

"We don't have to go to the reception, we can leave," Steve offered, always checking up on him at the right times, like Steve could see straight into his chest and pick through all the emotions swirling there that even Billy couldn't identify by name. Maybe he really could.

"I have to go," Billy answered back just as softly, softer than his voice had been in years. He thinks it might be the salty California air. They weren't far from the beach now, weren't far from the waves he had once considered his freedom. He used to survive solely on the image of returning here someday, but now he thinks he might die if he ever came back, like a fish once they've acclimated to new water conditions.

So they went to the reception. Billy didn't drink, hadn't since El had cried to him that the excess beer was making her sad, so he didn't now. Steve did, slim fingers wrapped around a champagne flute that he barely sipped at, maybe there more for looks than anything else.

Billy didn't think Steve had let go of his hand once since the start of the wedding ceremony, suspected that he wouldn't until getting to the hotel.

On any other day, he might've told himself it was because Steve was capitalizing on their time in California, in the state that was okay with people like them more than anywhere else. Today, though, he knew it was because his boyfriend thought he'd crumble to pieces without the physical grounding. Billy thinks that might be true.

"William! Oh, I'm so glad you made it," a familiar voice sent ice through his back, paralyzing him faster than the Mind Flayer's sickening tendrils had. He didn't turn, knowing she was behind him. He squeezed his eyes shut and wished it was pretend, wished this was all a bad dream and he'd wake up in the shitty apartment him and Steve rented after the Harringtons kicked their own son out. But then a soft hand was on his shoulder and a breath he'd been holding since he was eight years old finally eased out because he still knew the touch of his mother's hand.

So he turned when that hand guided him to do so, hearing Steve say something about getting another drink as an excuse even when his flute was still full. He was giving him time, letting him commune with ghosts.

"Oh, you're so grown up," she cooed, face melting in what could only be described as adoration. "My baby's so handsome."

And that. He wanted to snarl, wanted to lift his tucked in shirt and show her the vine-like scars that wrapped around nearly every inch of his body. He wanted to rip into his chest and pulled out the heart that she'd marred herself, the one that Steve had carefully hand-sown back together a decade after she'd torn it.

Instead, he forced out, "It's Billy."

"Right, I remember reading that in the newspaper." This was his mother, standing there in a white dress and talking to him casually as if no time had passed, as if she hadn't left him. "I'm so happy you made it, Roger thought it was silly of me to even try inviting you but I knew my baby boy would come."

"You left," Billy answered dully, wishing he had a glass or a hand to wrap his fingers around but instead finding purchase in the fleshy part of his palm. "You left me with him."

His mother's entire expression fell. She at least had the sense to look guilty, eyes tilting down to stare at the bottom hem of her dress before looking back at him. "I don't want to talk about such sad things on a happy day, Willi—Billy."

"I didn't want to spend ten years of my life getting the joy beat outta me either," Billy snapped, unsure where the anger was coming from. He normally had a good handle on it these days, working it out through exercising or punching a pillow as Steve had so thoughtfully suggested. This though, resembled the rage from before. The all-consuming rage that threatened to destroy him, made him the perfect host for that Thing, made him nearly burn himself to the ground.

"Billy, please. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. I'm sorry I didn't take you with me."

"Steve was right, I shouldn't have come," Billy forced out, turning his head because she didn't get to see his tears, not after everything she hadn't been around to see. Instead he looked at his darling boyfriend, leaning against the bar and nervously talking to who Billy thinks is his Great Aunt Karen. He was running a hand through that perfectly styled hair, sipping at his champagne at a rate Billy could only call rapid. His shoulders were shaking in a laugh, but it wasn't the real one that made his entire head tilt back and his face brighten like a star.

"I saw you with him. You two look happy together," his mother brought him back to the conversation. He still didn't look at her, didn't know if he ever could again. "Can I meet him?"

Billy used to dream about this exact question. When he'd been in the hospital after coming back from the Upside Down, when Steve gave up his life of wealth and influence for a shitty apartment with him, when Billy felt like the Mind Flayer had carved out a piece of him he'd never get back, he used to picture his mother coming back, asking to meet Steve. They'd have dinner together, and she'd love Steve too because she could see how happy he made her son. He thought it would be the moment that would complete him, but as he stood there in front of his mother with everything playing out perfectly like a movie, he can't help but stare at Steve and think he was completed long ago, by someone who smelled of Farrah Fawcett hairspray and whose lips tasted like honey and cigarettes.

"No, you can't," Billy supplied simply, "Goodbye, Mom."

He ignored her shouts for him, striding easily over to Steve and taking that hand back in his. Steve's brown eyes searched his own but the weight he'd carried for a decade had been lifted already.

"You ready to hit the beach, Pretty Boy?"

And Steve was, God he was ready, because where wouldn't he go for Billy?

#billy hargrove #harringrove #stranger things #ficlet #billy's mom #yes im on the angst train for the night did anyone ask for it? no #but here we are anyway so please take it #stranger jays #harringrove ficlet

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karleksmumskladdkaka · 18 days

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DIABOLIK LOVERS DAYLIGHT Vol. 7 Mukami Ruki Animate Tokuten Drama CD: “Sleeping Together ★ With Vampire"

Audio

No, not that kind of sleeping together.

...And yet somehow not really the other kind either because despite it's title there is LITTLE TO NO SLEEPING TOGETHER GOING ON AT ALL except at the very end TᴖT TᴖT TᴖT My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

Ok ok I'm obviously being overdramatic. Misleading name aside the CD is enjoyable and cute just...not at all in the way I was expecting (that being something akin to the Sleeping Vampire Scenario from Vandead Carnival but, alas, no). But oh well, I got to hear Ruki be all deredere towards the end so it's fine I guess lol

Ideally I'd create an actual translation to go along with this (I might do so sometime in the future, unless someone more competent does it first) but for now I've put a summary of the story under the cut. I ask that you please have mercy on me though, I am not used to writing this kind of stuff and it probably shows >﹏<;

Regardless, I hope you enjoy ( ﾉ^ω^)ﾉ ⋆⁺₊☽⁺₊⋆

UPDATE: The CD now has an actual translation courtesy of my fellow Ruki stan @otomehonyaku o(^o^)o please go check it out if you haven't already!

[Disclaimer: I always allow my stuff to be used for translation purposes, as long as I am credited. BUT DO NOT REPOST THE AUDIO ON ANY WEBSITE WHATSOEVER. I bought the CD with my own money and as such this audio belongs to me.]

Summary ~*×*☆*+*~

[Please note that there may be mistakes or I might've misinterpreted parts of the CD. I apologize in advance (╥﹏╥)]

The CD starts with Ruki encountering Yui, who is carrying an unusually large package. Curious, Ruki asks her what she's doing, and learns that Kou has tasked her with delivering the package to him (Ruki). Ruki is somewhat perplexed as he doesn't recall requesting anything of the kind. Yui suggests that it might be a surprise gift, but Ruki is skeptical. He wants to ask Kou directly but is reminded that he is currently away on a location shoot. With a resigned sigh, Ruki decides that he has no choice but to open the package in Kou's absence. He asks Yui to hand the package to him, and then invites her to come along to his room to find out what's inside. She eagerly accepts, and they head off together.

In Ruki's room they take a seat (on what I assume to be the sofa) and open the package. Inside, there are various wooden pieces resembling parts of something, along with a letter from Kou. Ruki reads the letter aloud and it's revealed that the package contains a (*drumroll*)... puzzle! And not just any puzzle but a ✨️3D puzzle✨️. In the letter Kou encourages Ruki and Yui to assemble the parts together to discover what they will form. Since he's got spare time on his hands Ruki decides to have a go at it, with Yui joining in.

After a while of working on the puzzle, Ruki asks Yui how her part is coming along. She shows him, and he comments that she's doing better than he anticipated. He helps her out with some difficult pieces before instructing her to continue on her own. Yui asks Ruki if this is his first time putting together a 3D puzzle, and he replies that he's tried some before, but that this particular type is new to him. Yui is eager to learn what it is they are building, and Ruki, not wanting to dampen her anticipation, pretends he still can't quite figure out what the finished thing will be either (awww ♡). Ruki suggests that rather than moving their mouths they should focus on moving their hands as with their current pace the puzzle won't be finished. He reasons that the faster they move the sooner they'll have their curiosity satisfied. Yui agrees to work faster and Ruki promises to do the same.

They pick up the pace and eventually the puzzle is done. The assembled pieces have formed a small foreign castle, and Ruki reveals that he suspected as much from the start. He surmises that Kou must have remembered their expressed desire to visit such a castle after seeing one by chance on one of his TV shows. Ruki acknowledges Kou's attempt to make the two of them happy in his own way. He praises Yui for doing a great job despite not knowing what they were actually assembling, noting that the part she made fits perfectly into the castle.

However, there is no response from Yui, causing a puzzled (ahaha) Ruki to remark on her lack of reaction to something she had been so excited about. Turning his head to the side to look at her, Ruki discovers that she's fallen asleep with her head resting on his shoulder. He comments on the privilege of such a sleeping position but acknowledges that it's understandable she'd fall asleep since it's past their usual bedtime. She had seemed so engrossed in their work that he didn't notice her drifting off.

Ruki carries Yui to his bed and gently places her there, saying that she should have just told him that she was tired. He realizes that she likely made an effort to stay awake until the end, though she ultimately fell asleep. Deciding that it would be a good time for him to go to sleep as well, he tidies up and hides the little castle under the table, so that he'll be able to see Yui's reaction to it in the morning.

Returning to the bed, Ruki asks Yui to scoot over to make room for him, but she's sleeping too soundly to hear. He lies down next to her and (in true Mukami Ruki fashion) begins observing Yui's sleeping face. He notes how relaxed her expression is and wonders if it's because she's tired out from using her brain (lmao rude). Ruki then ponders what kind of face Yui will make when she wakes up—will she feel guilty for falling asleep before the puzzle was finished, or will she be surprised and embarrassed to find him laying next to her? Regardless of what her reaction will be, Ruki knows that it'll be enjoyable to witness. But he's certain she'll be happy once she sees the completed puzzle and admits to himself that he really wants to see that expression on her face. He's aware that it's out of character for him, and thinks that he might even have trouble falling asleep from the excitement (asdfsdjfj this is too fucking cute I can't)

Ruki decides that he should thank Kou for the useful gift by making him his favorite food for dinner tomorrow. The mention of dinner causes Yui to stir (what a relatable Queen), and Ruki teases her for being greedy. He assures the still-sleeping girl that she doesn't need to worry; he'll make her favorite dish as well as a reward for her hard work on the puzzle.

The CD ends with Ruki saying how he looks forward to seeing Yui's reaction the following day.

Fin ~*×*☽*+*~

- _(´ω`_)⌒)_

#watch me develop diabetes from this CD #that's a sentence i never thought i'd type when i began my dialovers journey aha #diahell #dialovers #diabolik lovers #daylight #audio #diabolik lovers drama cd #ruki x yui #daylight ruki x yui #ruki mukami #yui komori #mine #and with this i've listened to all but two of ruki's CDs #which pleases the completionist in me but also makes me a bit...well sad tbh #i guess ill just miss the thrill and anticipation of hearing a ruki CD for the first time (*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)#but aah i don't even know if i'll ever get my hands on those CDs so i don't have to stare blankly at the ceiling just yet ahahahagjhdgd #changing the subject here but i think we should include “staring at his sleeping gf” on the list of ruki's hobbies #i feel like he does this so frequently that it'd be justified #some might find it creepy that he does that but idk i think it's kind of endearing just how much he adores yui's expressions?#anyway i'll finally shut up now and take a long break from looking at any screens otherwise my eyes will malfunction

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