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theladybarnes · 3 months

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CRIMSON AND CLOVER: CHAPTER SIX

"Got me stressed out. It's not even my girlfriend.”

▸ summary: it’s a mental game to get out of woods, and you need help bringing yourself back to earth. ▸ characters: steve harrington, eddie munson,dustin henderson, ft. robin buckley & max mayfield ▸ word count: 12.6k ▸ warnings: angst, semi-fluff, SMUT (MINORS DNI +18), mentions of death ▸ series masterlist

“Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!”

Your surroundings blurred as you stumbled against the railing in front of you. The air was thick with bitter smoke, and the distant cracking of fireworks reverberated through the air. You’ve been here before. This was Starcourt Mall.

The night you all faced the Mind Flayer.

In disbelief, you watched as your friends frantically threw fireworks at the colossal creature on the ground floor. Their faces etched with determination and words filled with anger. The Mind Flayer writhed and snarled from below. Whipping its gaze at all the directions the attacks were coming from.

A surge of confusion swept over you. How the hell were you back here? Was this a dream? It had to be. The mall, the flayer– it all felt too surreal to be real. Yet, the vividness of the moment, the heat of the fireworks, and the urgency in your friends' voices made it impossible to dismiss as just imagination.

There was a lull in the attack that you were able to hear your name being called out.

The voice was unmistakable. Billy.

His desperate cries echoed through the chaos, adding to the overwhelming sense of dread. Slowly, you approached the edge of the railing to peer down below.

"Help me! Babydoll, please!” His desperate pleas cut through the chaos. “Don't let it get me!"

Your gaze locked onto the unfolding horror below as one of the Mind Flayer's tendril arms snaked around Billy, pulling him helplessly toward its gaping mouth. Billy's terrified screams resonated through the air, pleading for salvation. Your heart pounded in your chest, urging you to move quickly. But an invisible force seemed to paralyze you, rendering you powerless to intervene.

As the monstrous entity snarled at Billy, the scene descended into a nightmarish mess. Walls turning dark red with the light slowly fading to the center of the room. Unable to witness his gruesome fate again, you fell backward in fear, the world around spiraling into darkness.

However, the horror didn't end there.

Your friends, done with their attack to the flayer, all slowly crowded towards you. Surrounding you in a circle of their judgmental gazes before they pointed down to you. Shouting out their accusing cries. "WHY WON’T YOU SAVE HIM?" they demanded in a chorus of eerie, distorted voices. The weight of their accusations pressed upon you, suffocating you with guilt and terror that kept you on the floor. It gave them a better chance to close in on you as they shouted out more claims.

“HE LOVED YOU!”

“HE WANTED YOU!”

HE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!”

Your jaw slacked at their words. Confusion in the mix of your fear as you tried to reach out to them. Hands shaking as you pleaded for them to realize the truth. “I didn’t want him to die! I don’t want anyone to die!”

Surely your friends would never think that about you. They had to know!

Amidst the continuing cries, was one familiar voice shouting at you. Steve, who was silent until now, emerged from the nightmarish crowd, his face contorted with anguish as he kneeled down beside you.

"Why won't you save us?" He asked desperately, hands cupping around your shoulders. “You’re leaving us to die!”

When you didn’t say anything back he began to glare at you, words coming out in a spit as he gripped hard against you. “WHY WON’T YOU SAVE US?” His final yell echoed across the whole mall and in a final surge of terror, the world around you collapsed.

You jolted awake, gasping for breath as you forward. The world around me blurred as you slapped down against the dashboard. It took you a second to realize that you weren’t just sitting on the mall floor but in a moving car.

“Thank God!”

Eddie, who looked as sick as you felt, was behind the wheel, driving erratically as if the police were hot on your heels. Chrissy's contorted body flashed in your thoughts, reminding you of the horror you had just witnessed in the trailer.

"Jesus Christ, slow down, Eddie!" you croaked out, voice tinged with a mix of fear and anger. "What the hell happened? Where are we?"

Eddie's eyes darted toward you for a moment, his hands white as he held on the steering wheel tightly. "We didn’t have a choice, okay? We needed to get out of there before whatever killed Chrissy came for us too!”

“B-but she’s back there!” you cried out, heart torn between the urgency of escape and the idea of abandoning Chrissy alone. “We can't just leave her there alone like that!"

"We can't get caught up in this," Eddie insisted, frustration etched across his face. "You think anyone will believe I didn't have anything to do with it? Freak of the town, ring a bell?!"

The reality of the situation hit you like a punch to the gut. But that was slowly pushed back when you realize just how far out of the main part of town you guys are at. You reached out to Eddie’s arm, tugging at it quickly.

“Eddie, tell me you’re not leaving town.”

“All right, I’m not leaving town.” he said sarcastically, pressing down harder onto the pedal. The road began to blur and you could feel the anxiety grow in the pit of your stomach.

“We cannot leave town, Eddie! Turn back!” you urged.

His gaze shifted away, guilt and fear written all over his face. "Look, I know it’s bad. But I–we can’t risk it. Not when we don’t even know what the hell happened!”

“It doesn’t matter! Turn back now!” The two of you are so busy glaring at each other that you both failed to notice the van veering off the road. "Shit, watch out!" you shouted as you finally registered what was about to happen.

Eddie tried his best to press down on the brake and slow down the speed of the van, but to your horror, it only skidded over the long grass of Hawkin’s massive forest. Panic surged through you as the van rushed towards a tree, and you braced for impact.

The world blurred as the van crashed through the underbrush, the sound of crunching metal and snapping branches deafening. In the midst of the chaos, you clung to your seat, desperate for it to stop. It wasn’t until one final forward thrust that the van finally stopped. Leaving you gasping for air again.

The scene felt oddly familiar to your own car accident years ago. But there’s no flashing lights, and your father wasn’t on his way to help you. The only thing waiting for you was the looming dark forest that swallowed up the lights from the headlights.

"Shit," Eddie's voice trembled with fear as he finally released his tight grip from the wheel. "Someone’s gonna see this. Come on, we can't stay here."

He threw open the door, while you stumbled out. The world spun wildly and it took you a minute to control the overstimulating thoughts and memories flooding your brain to register that Eddie was in front of you now. “I-I can’t..” you whimpered, hands reaching out to him.

You closed your eyes, feeling his hands cup around the sides of your face as he waited for you to calm down. It was only a second later that you opened them again to see the look of concern on his face. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, shaking his head. “We still have to go.”

Reaching down for your hands, he made sure to lace them together before he led the two of you away from the van towards the trees. “Wait, shouldn’t we go back on the road?” you asked, trying to keep up with his pace. The uneven forest floor beneath your feet felt foreign and slippery. Making it hard to try and keep up with your friend who had now moved on to mumbling to himself.

"Eddie, slow down! I don't know these woods!" you cried out, breath catching in your throat.

He didn't hear you, or maybe he didn't care. Eddie was on a mission, leading the two of you deeper into the wilderness. "I know a safe place, just keep up!"

But the dense foliage and the unfamiliar terrain took on your already unsteady balance. You stumbled over a protruding root, hands reaching out to break the fall. The grass was moist beneath your fingers and you took a second to close your eyes to stop the world from spinning again. Eddie continued on without noticing, his footsteps fading in the distance while you struggled to regain footing.

"Eddie! Wait!" you called out. The only response was the eerie silence of the woods. Taking a few long strides in, you called out for your friend again, hoping your voice was loud enough to break through the trees.

“EDDIE!”

It’s only a matter of seconds before you’re lost, alone, and terrified. Still, you picked yourself up, desperately searching through the thicket for any sign of your friend. The trees loomed like shadows, and panic clung to you like a suffocating shroud. He couldn’t have just left you behind right? But the more you walked, the louder you called out, the more you were hit with the realization.

You were stranded in a place you didn’t know, alone without your friend, and cold from the night sky. But the worst part of all, was the light echoes of a ticking clock in the distance.

Exhausted and disoriented, you stumbled into the main street of town as the evening sun began to break through the trees. Your clothes were damp, feet sore from your terrible choice in shoes, and body shivering from the cold night in the woods.

It’s not like you had any choice. With the road being too dangerous at that time of night to hitchhike, your only other safe solution was to tough the walk through the woods and hope you’d find the outskirts of town soon enough.

You’re embarrassed to say that despite your usual sense of direction, you managed to circle around the woods a few times. Making your arrival into town at a much later time than you’d have preferred. But at least you were back. Better than another night trying to ignore the various noises and whispers the woods had to offer to you.

It wasn’t like you had any help at all considering that at no point in the night did Eddie try and find you.

Still, you pulled through and despite the sleepiness, the hunger, and the aches, you were determined to get yourself home. But that plan seemed to come with a few complications.

With every store you passed, every street corner, the townspeople of Hawkins seemed to be highly aware of how out of place you looked right now. One glance at the hardware store window and you were shocked to find just how disheveled and weary you looked, confirming your guesses to their curious gazes.

You had to get home. You needed to get Dustin and figure out what to do about this mess.

So without wasting time, you made your way towards the bus stop that stopped nearest to your house. But just as you were about to ask around for some possible bus fare, there was a loud honk that caught your attention.

“Honey!?”

You turned on your heel, scanning through the small group of passengers to try to find the familiar voice calling out to you. Around the corner of the block stood Steve. Your eyes met and you could see that along with the worrisome look on his face was a bit of shock. Possibly from your appearance.

The two of you don’t waste a second to make your way to each other. Steve even went as far to run over to you before he stood before you.

"What the hell happened to you? Dustin told me he hasn’t seen you since yesterday. Are you okay?" His eyes scanned over your figure, possibly trying to find an injury that matched with your current state of appearance. Without waiting for an answer, he pulled you into his arms, letting his hand cradle the back of your head as he pressed your face into his chest.

You couldn’t help it as you allowed yourself to hug him back. Seeking comfort in his arms after the night you had. The scent of his cologne and heat from his chest felt amazing against your cold skin and it wasn't until he pulled back that you realized you were shaking from the weather.

He quickly shed off his jacket and draped it over your shoulders, providing a better warmth over your shivering arms. He was still waiting for you to answer, only raising a brow to you as he cupped the side of your cheek gently.

There’s a weak attempt at trying to smile. To let him know that you were okay. But you weren’t. At least mentally you weren’t. Not when you couldn’t stop replaying the events that happened just last night. It only felt even more overwhelming now that you had Steve of all people worried over you again. “I’m sorry.” you croaked, unable to stop the guilt from coming through. “We got in an accident and then we–I got lost in the woods."

Steve's eyes widened in disbelief. "Accident? Lost in the woods? What were you doing out there? Are you hurt?" He glanced around, noticing that there were a few people eavesdropping into the conversation. He carefully pulled you away from the bus stop towards the other direction. “Did he do this? Did Eddie do this?”

"No,” you answered right away, not needing for that vine to tangle up in this mess. “I can't explain everything right now. It's complicated," you replied, voice shaky from exhaustion. "Please..I just need to get home.."

For a moment he looked even more worried if possible, but instead of pressing on, he merely rubbed his thumb against the apple of your cheek before nodding his head.

"Alright, Honey.” Steve said more softly now, gesturing towards his car. “Let’s get you home." His concern was genuine, and despite the awkwardness that should be between the two of you, the only thing you could feel from Steve now was comfort.

And that was all you’d focus on right now.

It didn’t take long for Steve to get you home. In fact, you’re pretty sure he broke the speed limit a couple of times on the road. Not that you’d press him about it right now. All you wanted was to get inside your house. Where you could hopefully recollect yourself into a person again.

Despite being in the comforts of being around Steve, you were still finding it hard to come back down from the overwhelming anxiety that still ached inside of you. It was almost like you were stuck on autopilot as you exited the car.

Steve was quick to return to your side. Gentle like before as he wrapped an arm to lead you towards the front door. A glance up and you can see him sporting his frustrated frown despite the kind voice he used with you.

A step to the front door and you could hear the phone ringing inside, blaring loudly into the empty home “My key.” you whispered softly to yourself, trying to check over the pockets of your dirty dress. But all your things were gone. You’re not even sure when or where you’ve managed to lose everything.

“It’s okay.” Steve reassured you, carefully letting go to walk over to the potted plants your Aunt had placed this past summer. “The spare’s right here.”

You watched quietly as Steve moved over a ceramic frog to reveal the hidden key. It was just a couple of months ago, before the end of Summer, that you had revealed its secret spot to him. Telling him he was more than welcomed to use it any time he needed to.

He had joked that you might get tired of his surprise visits if he had a way in every time. You happily told him that it’d be impossible, but if he really wanted to surprise you, there was always your bedroom window.

“Come on,” he said, pulling you out of the memory. “Let’s get you warmed up.”

As the two of you entered the home, you glanced around with uncertainty. Unsure of where you should even start on your previous night considering the heavy load it came with. But before either of you could even touch on the subject, the shrill ring of the phone interrupted the silence again.

Steve held a hand up, quietly offering to take the call as he picked up the phone from the small table.

He muttered out a half greeting before sighing deeply. “Yeah, she’s here.” he said calmly to the receiver. "Yeah, I found her near Main… No, she's not hurt, I think, just shaken up… I don't know what happened, man. She hasn’t had a second to really explain..”

You could hear the muffled voice of Dustin on the other end, bombarding Steve with questions you’re sure he doesn't have many answers to. Steve glanced over his shoulder, noting you quietly observing him before he motioned for you to go clean up. “Go ahead, I’ll be here when you get out.” he whispered.

With that reassurance, you gave him a quick nod, grateful for his patience, and headed towards the bathroom. Once you closed the door and undressed yourself, you finally got the chance to really check over your appearance. The mirror reflected a face unfamiliar to you. One that wasn’t its usual confident self, but of someone who was scared.

You didn’t like looking at that face.

Shielding your gaze away from the mirror, you quickly stepped in started up the shower.

The hot water felt good as it cascaded over you. Washing away any dirt and grime that clung to your skin from the long night in the woods. That and the loofah you were scrubbing hard against your skin. Every swipe of sudsy soap would reveal a red burning skin that let you know it was fresh and clean.

“Chrissy! Wake up! CHRISSY!”

You nearly dropped the bottle of body wash from your hands as your mind flashed over the haunting images from before. The harsh, supernatural force that took Chrissy’s body so effortlessly as she hung in the air like a puppet. The sounds of her bones breaking echoed above the noisy shower.

Eddie’s screams came into your mind, almost like speakers pressed against your ears and you dropped everything to cover them up. Muttering for them to just go away. But it won’t stop. Every attempt to focus was met with the flashbacks that persisted. Each replay was more vivid than the last. The flash image of Chrissy's contorted body, the way her eyes sunk into her head, it all made you feel trapped in a nightmare from which there was no escaping.

You gotta get out.

You have to leave.

You need to RUN.

“Honey?”

The clear sound of Steve’s voice brought everything to halt. Your eyes snapped open to watch as a hand reached past the shower curtain to turn off the water, cutting off the remaining sound in the room. Hesitantly you pulled back the plastic curtain a bit to peek out.

Steve was standing there, concern etched on his face again, but this time with his eyes cast down to avoid your naked form while he held up a towel.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly. There’s a vulnerability in his voice that was unexpected, and you nodded as you reached out for the towel to wrap around yourself.

Finally he glanced back at you, giving you a once over as his hand extended out for you while carefully helping you exit the shower. With a small gesture towards the door, he helped usher you over to your bedroom.

The amount of patience and kindness that Steve was giving you today had your emotions turning erratic again. The mixture of your previous fear along with the current gratitude and embarrassment that came from having him see you like this.

Once in the room, he let go of you, almost turning to leave before he sighed and returned back before you. Having had enough of the uneasy silence.

"I need to know what’s going on, Trouble. I know you were there in the trailer. What happened?”

His eyes searched at yours for answers. But you found yourself hesitating, unsure of how to put it into words. Despite Steve being completely aware of things such as the upside down, hell, even your past, this was the one time it felt..unreal.

"I don’t know if you’ll believe me, Steve. It’s..unlike anything we’ve seen.” you stammered, voice barely above a whisper. His concern deepened, and he urged you to continue with a light nod.

"Chrissy... she..." You struggled to find the right words, your mind still clouded with only flashes of what you had witnessed. "She was taken by this force, this... I don't even know how to describe it. It just pulled her in the air..it twisted her, Steve. It was so fast..in mere seconds she was gone and crumpled to the ground. I've never been so terrified in my life."

You didn’t even realize you were crying until Steve had stepped over to wipe at your cheeks. His face was even more grave than before as he looked down at you. He took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving yours, and said, "You’re safe now. You’re not there anymore.”

“But safe from what, Steve? We don’t even know how or why it happened!” you whispered, feeling your throat choke up as the emotions you had been holding finally poured out. “One minute she’s just there inside with Eddie, and the next I hear screaming and she’s not talking! She was here but gone at the same time.”

Steve moved to wrap his arms around you, pulling you back into his chest to stop from shaking. “Did he say anything?..Do you know if he?..”

“No, Eddie didn’t do this, Steve!” you pulled back from the hug to look up. “He was just as terrified as I was..it wasn’t him. I-I swear!”

“I believe you, it’s okay.” he said quickly, noticing your sudden panic. But it's too late and you’re feeling the air around you turn thick, unable to get it in your lungs.

“I can’t breathe, Steve!” You gasped, moving your hands to grip tightly at his arms. His presence alone was keeping you grounded before, but everything seemed to be crashing down at this moment. Your attempts to breathe mixing with crying only made things worse.

“Breathe with me.” He shushed, pushing his forehead to press against yours. The palms of his warm hands wrapped around your shoulders and he tugged you closer to keep you from getting any colder.

But the fear persisted, and your sobs grew louder. It was then that Steve cupped at your face and planted a soft but deep kiss to your lips. Catching you off guard enough that your mind frazzled into focusing only on the touch of his skin to yours before he pulled back.

"Why did you..." you began to ask, voice trailing off.

"I just needed to help bring you back down to me," Steve whispered, his eyes searching yours. Almost as if he were afraid he had crossed a line. The two of you silently shared a moment of silence before you gave a quick nod.

"Right," you managed to say, still grateful despite the unconventional method.

Steve remained close to you. "Are you?" he asked calmly.

“Am I what?”

“Here with me?”

When you don’t answer, he sighed softly, enveloping you in his arms. The natural heat of his body called out to you and you reached out to hold onto him desperately. Seeking all the familiar comforts that came with Steve. The scent of his cologne, the warmth of his skin, the cotton of his shirt. It was impossible for you not to inhale all of it.

He rested his chin against the side of your head, holding you tightly as his arms traced soothing patterns across the bare skin that peeked on the top of the towel. Something inside you is sparked and any sane conscious thought is out the window.

You don’t want to feel this fear anymore. You just want to feel like yourself again.

Even if just for a moment.

Pulling away, you reached up, brought his face close and kissed him.

It was nothing like the shared kiss you had moments before. It was intense. Needy. All the emotions that the two of you seemed to share as you both clung onto one another.

His hands trailed down from your back to rest at your hips. The tip of his fingers dug lightly as he attempted to control whatever urge he had. Your own hands had the same problem as they crawled up to tangle in the ends of his soft hair. Tugging hard enough that caused him to groan against your lips. He broke the kiss apart to pull back.

“We’re being stupid right now, aren’t we?” he asked, hot breath fanning over you.

“Yeah,” you breathed, eyes flicking down to his pink lips. “Incredibly stupid.”

Reaching down between your bodies, you pulled the towel off from your skin, giving him a full view of yourself.

He sucked in a sharp breath at the sight, eyes scanning down your body that had you flushed. Nodding his head to himself, he reached and grabbed your face with both hands and kissed you again.

Frantically, his own desperation kicked in and he doesn’t even give himself a second to properly shed off his own clothing. Making you have to be the one to pull back and help strip him down. Once he was down to nothing, he resumed pressing his lips against yours. Using one of his hands to cradle the back of your head and the other to press your body against his.

The contrast of your cold body to his hot one had you both shivering as you stumbled backwards towards the bed. It wasn’t until the back of your legs hit the edge of the bed that he carefully pushed you to lay down.

Your back met with the comforter of your bed quickly and you gazed up to watch as Steve slowly came onto the bed, kneeling just before your legs. Though you’re both naked and practically panting with want, there’s a small flicker of concern on his face again.

“Say it,” he begged, voice slightly cracked from being out of breath and from the hurt that lingered in his tone. “Say that you want this too.”

“I want this.” you nodded, spreading your legs open for him. His eyes widened at the sight of you. His hand instantly reached out to rub down the expanse of your bare thigh. Your heart began to beat rapidly at the dark desire that flickered in his gaze. “I want you, Steve.”

He groaned at that, leaning down so that he could lay on top of you. His lips were back onto yours once again, tracing his tongue at your lips until you parted yours and allowed him the chance to swirl it against yours. The sensation had you feeling lightheaded. Your hands wrapped around his shoulders, fingers digging lightly into his bare skin.

The light graze of his hardened cock brushing lightly against your inner thigh had you jumping back in surprise. Pulling back from his kiss, you looked down between the two of you, reaching down and taking hold of his member in your hands.

“Fuck, honey.” Steve whimpered, “It’s been so long.”

The tip of his cock was already red, aching to be touched and dripping with excitement. The pad of your thumb swirled over the glaze of precum. You used its slickness to help glide your hand over the base of his member. Jerking it up and down lightly while you watched Steve’s face for his reaction.

He emitted a sweet moan that had you biting down on your lip to keep from joining him. His hips jerked with every tug you gave and you knew it wouldn’t be long for him to take control again. So you enjoyed your time, leaning down his neck to kiss at his hot skin while you worked him to a full erection.

“I’ve missed this.” you muttered softly, kissing up the line of freckles and moles that adorned his neck.

“Me too.” he gritted, hands now gripped at your hips to control himself from thrusting into your fingers. “But I��ve missed something else even more.”

One of his hands pulled away from your side so that he could release himself from your hold and slide down until they reached your aching core. The slick glaze of your arousal spread quickly over his fingers, giving him the chance to swirl around your folds.

“Steve,” you whimpered, feeling already so sensitive and desperate for release. Any more of the simple touches and you were embarrassed to say you’d come undone easily. “I need you.”

“You have me.” he promised, as. he brought the tips of his fingers up to his mouth, sucking any bit of you that was left on them. “All of me.”

With that he reached between you and easily guided his aching erection to glide against your slick folds. Teasing not only himself but you in the process as he worked you two up. You leaned up on your elbow to pull him down again, pressing your lips together as your hips instinctively thrust upward to him.

He didn’t break the kiss, but he did stop his hips in time to finally press the tip of his cock at your entrance and slowly thrust in. The walls of your pussy reacted instantly to his member again. Tightening around his long thick size until he was fully sheathed inside of you.

Shocked, you gasped and looked up at him, eyes clouded with a familiar desire. It had been quite some time since you’ve felt this full and with every small nudge, Steve managed to bottom his way in. “God, you’re so tight,” he shuddered, bucking his hips for a moment before he wrapped an arm around the side of your waist. “So hot and tight for me.”

“Steve,” you whimpered, hips rolling on their own accord before you forced your body to relax. “I need, fuck, I need–” you begged, practically desperate for him to make any movement now.

“Need what, honey?” he said, moving his hands to place down at your hips, a small thrust to get you moving a little. “Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

“Move.” you said finally, nails digging into his shoulders now.

That was all he needed to hear before he began to move again. He slid out- and back in, with more force this time, causing you to shudder beneath him. The pleasure was strong this time, possibly with how desperate you’ve become since entering the room. You leaned up, clinging around his arms to hold him close.

Every part of his warm body felt like a cover from the world. A cover from the dread that wanted to eat at you that only he seemed to be able to pull you out of. It was all you wanted to focus on, all you could focus on.

Steve dropped his face into your neck, murmuring something against your skin before he kissed at the flesh gently. “Yours.” he said eventually, another thrust back. He picked his head back up to look down at you. One arm had you pressed close to his body, making you feel every part of him while the other leaned on his elbow to give him a chance to look down at you. “I’m yours.”

You gazed up into his eyes, one hand letting go of his shoulders to cup at his cheek. “Mine.” you agreed, pressing your lips to his.

His pace quickened up at that, goading him into another set of emotions.

You wrapped legs around his waist. Keeping yourself from moving away from him as his quick thrusts that pushed you higher up in the bed. His name fell past your lips in a long moan, unable to think of any other words. It was like all you could do was think and speak his name.

Whether it be from your shifting feelings, or the fact that Steve was going at such a fast pace, the two of you seemed to be closer to your release than expected. He dropped his head down, pressing a few loving kisses to the apex of your breasts. He groaned your name against the pebble of your breast, nipping at the sensitive bud before he returned back to your face. Kissing your lips and cheeks over and over until he had to pull back to breathe again.

“I can’t hold on much longer, baby.” you warned, leaning up to press a kiss to his shoulder.

“Me either.” he nodded, taking a quick pause to look down at you. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but settled with dropping down to meld your lips once again. One of his hands let go of your waist to slip between the two of you, and you soon felt the familiar pad of Steve’s thumb press against your clit.

Without a wasted second, he began to roll the sensitive bud in a circular motion while thrusting into you at a more brutal pace.

The whole world is gone and all you could feel now was the intense orgasm as it washed over your body. Back arching up to him as you cried out in ecstasy against his lips. Your palms clasped his back, pressing yourself even more if possible to meet up with his final thrusts.

He whimpered into your lips, pulling back to allow his face to fall against your neck and catch his breath while he shot his cum into your core. The thrusts slowed down and soon enough you only rolled your hips lightly against him to ride out the rest of the euphoria with him.

It was only a second that the two of you said nothing. Both of you seemingly unsure how to process the intensity that the sex brought.

His head lifted back up, looking down at you intently before gently pulling himself out of you. The sudden pressure change had you let out a small whimper and Steve returned to leaning back on his knees. His gaze was locked over your figure and you couldn’t help but feel embarrassed to look so wrecked.

But Steve doesn’t seem to think the same thing as he gently reached down, caressing the skin of your thighs. “You’re beautiful.” he said aloud, “So damn beautiful.”

Something sparked inside of you. Maybe the sincerity of his words, or the selfish need to be taken out of that deep sinking feeling that had its grip on you lately. Or maybe it was just because you wanted Steve and to ignore the reality that was outside the doors.

“Steve?” you asked softly, leaning up on your elbows.

“Yeah?” he whispered back, looking at you with a small bit of concern again.

“I’m still not here..”

A small smile tugged at his lips before he nodded his head at you, crawling back up to climb over your body again. One of his hands crawled up this time to cup around your breast, kneading the muscle gently.

“Okay, honey. Let me try again.”

It’s embarrassing to say you two go for it another two times before you’re both satisfied. The sun was set even more into the evening and you glanced at the clock in time to see you’ve been here for over an hour.

You collapsed forward, sagging into his arms. Your chest nearly heaving as you struggled to catch your breath after all the vigorous movements you two just did. He pressed his lips to your cheek, and it burned. Like a reminder of his presence there being nothing but a burning comfort to you.

Holding your heavy breath, you stopped moving around. Allowing his arms to wrap around your body and give you the chance to savor the moment for your memory. To use it when you needed a reminder of a time you felt this content.

Eventually he helped lift your tired body up enough that he was able to pull himself out of you, hissing a bit at the cold air before he laid you to return to resting on top of him. Grabbing your bare leg, he draped over his hips and kept you close to his side so that he could use your warm skin as a cover. You gently placed your head against his chest, hand up so that you could gently run your fingers through the curls that covered his pecs. The sound of his heart beat, your favorite sound, thumped lightly in your ears.

“Talk to me.” he said before he kissed the smooth skin between your brows.

You lifted your head up to watch him. Not answering right away to gauge his reaction. He’s pretty calm considering what you two were just finished doing. Not hurt like you almost expected for him to be after having just used him. In fact, he was just looking down at you patiently, bringing a hand up to caress the side of your face while he waited.

Resting your chin on his chest, you sighed softly, not sure what to say next.

“I’m sorry.” you said hesitantly. “I know you were trying to calm me down. But I didn’t mean to just use you to make myself feel better. It was shitty of–”

“I wanted it.” he interrupted you, a firmness in his voice. You glanced back to his gaze, noting the calm was replaced with a serious look. As if he were about to lose it if you went further on with your sentence. “I needed it, actually.”

This was all so overwhelming.

The very idea that after pushing Steve away, practically forcing him and yourself to move on with others, the two of you still relied on each other to feel good in the end. You’ve never had this feeling with anyone before. It was scary. It was too real.

You opened your mouth, ready to set him up with another disappointing apology when he sprung forward to kiss you. Ceasing any words from making it past your lips as he captured the moment. Again you don’t fight against it. At this point you don’t think you can.

Down the hall, the phone sprung to life again, pulling you both back to reality. The kiss had you breathless, staring up at Steve with wide eyes because he was doing it again. He was making you question every choice you’ve ever made.

“It doesn’t have to mean anything. This whole thing could be nothing..” he said, looking at you with such fondness. “It’s just us helping each other. That’s it.”

“But it isn’t nothing.” you whispered back, unable to hide the truth. “It never is with us.”

He doesn’t say anything. Only taking a glance down the hall at the phone that’s still ringing. Reaching up, you cupped at the side of his face and made him look back at you, but all that does is create a pained look on his face. Like he was torn about something.

“It’s probably Dustin.” he said eventually, reaching up to pull your hand away. “We’ve been here longer than expected. They’re probably waiting for us.”

“They?” you asked, releasing him fully from his hold so that he could climb out of the bed to gather up his scattered clothes from the floor.

“Robin, Max, and Dustin were trying to figure out where Eddie could be hiding before I left.” he said, watching you while he dressed himself. “Max saw Eddie running to his van last night in a panic. We’re gonna try and figure this out. Get his side of the story.”

The mention of Eddie brought a sad dip to your stomach. It’s been hours since the two of you had lost each other and you weren’t sure if he was okay or not. Not to mention it had been hours and he didn’t exactly seek out to find you either..

A glance up and you watched as Steve quickly fixed himself enough to look presentable. This time the guilt rolled in when you thought of the idea of Steve wasting precious time he could have been using to help with Eddie just to go out and try and find you.

“Right,” you nodded, climbing out of the bed. “We should probably go.”

He didn’t say anything at first as you began to dress yourself, pulling on underwear and a bra. But it isn’t until you’re about to reach for a shirt that he stepped over and reached out to gently grab your hand.

“No one would be upset if you wanted to sit this one out, Trouble.” he said softly, turning you to face him again. “After everything you saw and been through..we can figure something out by ourselves”

“Are you trying to say you don’t want my help?” you ask a little guarded. In all this time you two had been dealing with the kids and the upside down, Steve has never once been the one to push you out of things. Even last summer with the Russian’s invasion, he was insisting on you joining. What was different now?

“I always want you and your help.” he said as matter of fact. “But I’m not gonna be selfish and force you to come out and join us when I know there’s something going on with you.”

Just like the night before, Steve’s intuitive mind was working double time on you. But there isn’t much time left in the day to dive into that discussion and you’re worried about wasting more time by having Steve stand around and be concerned about you.

“I wanna come.” you explained calmly, trying to sound more confident than you felt. “I need to help figure this out too.”

Steve’s eyes watched you carefully, almost like he was waiting for you to crack. But when you continued to hold your gaze, he must have sensed you wouldn’t be cracking down any time. “I’ll wait in the car.” he said eventually, leaning forward to press a kiss to your cheek.

After that, he left you to finish getting dressed and also give you a moment to collect yourself in preparation for facing the others.

If Steve was worried enough to venture out for you, and Dustin enough to be calling the house this much, then surely the others would be just the same. And while a part of you wanted to allow them in, even just a little, there were other important things now.

Like finding where Eddie was, and figuring out just what killed Chrissy.

So with that determination, you quickly finished dressing and locked up the house on your way out. The air was chilly again and you shivered a bit as you made your way over to Steve’s car. He was adjusting the radio when you entered inside. Fiddling out with the knobs for a station that he liked.

Thankfully the heater was already on. Helping thaw out your cold bones as you buckled in. Right away your eyes caught sight of something you didn’t seem to notice before in your dazed out mind.

Wrapped around the left side of the driver’s visor, was the gold necklace. The ‘S’ dangled just enough to shine in the bit of light that was left outside. You couldn’t help but watch it quietly, not sure what to think about him still having it. Steve didn’t seem to notice where your attention was as he turned to face you.

“Ready to go?” he asked, settling on a soft rock station. You nodded your head slowly, forcing your eyes to look out towards the window.

“As I’ll ever be.”

There is no real reunion when you finally get to picking up the others. Mostly, it was Robin taking control of the line of questioning. Which you were a little bit troubled with answering right away. Mostly because you needed to hear Eddie’s half to put all the pieces together.

The rest of the car ride was spent being spooked by the empty lot that led over to Rick Lipton’s house. You recognized some of the area from the road. Recalling coming to part of town the past summer with Steve so he could show you lover’s lake.

It was bizarre to think you were supposedly near this house just last night and wound up walking all the way back into town. It added to the bitter feeling inside of you when you remembered the events again.

But there were questions that needed answers and pouting about being left behind would have to be done later.

The car was parked in the dark driveway of the Lipton house and flashlights were slowly passed around before you all made an exit of the car. Steve was quick to make his way to your door, opening it up for you and extending a hand out to help pull you out.

The moment is sweet and you squeeze his hand lightly in a silent thank you. Over his shoulder, you spot a gawking Robin who didn’t even bother to conceal the small shock on her face.

Nodding for Steve to go ahead, you hang back a moment to let Robin make her way over to you.

“So,” she chirped, “that was a pretty nice moment I saw there.”

“Yes,” you agreed, looking at her from the side of your eyes. “Steve’s been really nice to me since he found me.”

She hummed playfully, giving you a small wink. “I see. And I’m guessing he was really nice to you when you guys were at your house for over an hour.”

You hoped that your poker face didn’t crack over Robin’s comment. On top of everything going on, you didn’t need to have her teasing either one of you for what may have happened in your house. Even if she was on the right track.

“I think it was mostly me needing a minute to process everything.” you said slowly, thankful that you were able to be truthful. “Steve’s just kind enough not to rush.”

Her eyes glanced over the guy, watching as he held the flash light over towards the side of the house, inspecting the area before he sensed the pair of eyes watching his back. Turning, he glanced between the two of you. Eyes shifting worriedly before he settled with putting an awkwardly forced smile on his face.

“Dingus is something else, that’s for sure.” Robin muttered with a head shake. “Sorry if I’m pushy. Just looked like something might be sparking between you guys again.”

Guilt spread over yourself at the idea of giving another person in your life false hope over something you weren’t sure of yet. Especially Robin, who most likely just wanted her close friends to get back together again.

“We’re always gonna be close.” you tried, hoping not to sound like your feelings were swinging in any kind of way. “I’m thankful that he’s always willing to help me, even when I don’t think he should.”

“He cares about you.” She said calmly, like a reminder.

Your lips pursed and you dropped your gaze to the flashlight in your hands. “He cares about all of us, Robs.”

“Yeah, but we know it’s different with you.” she shrugged, “Enough so that he’s willing to just drop everything he's doing to leave work and find you.”

Dustin called out to the two of you to hurry up, leaving you without a chance to give out a proper response. Quickly, you both followed up behind the others to the door. All holding up a flashlight to brighten up the area.

The first ring of the doorbell was met with an awkward silence. Then the second, then the third, then fourth, and finally fifth.

You couldn't help but think that neither Rick nor Eddie would be the type of person who would happily open the door that was being rung this late at night. But, you figured vocalizing that might not help with Dustin’s current frustrations. Steve on the other hand..

“Okay. Well, that’s settled. I guess he’s not here.”

Like you expected, Steve’s skepticism only frustrated your cousin further. Causing him to change the ringing into banging. Yelling out for Eddie in hopes that his friend would come out to a friendlier voice.

“Look, we just wanna talk, okay? No cops, I swear! We just wanna help!”

To your left, you watched as Max and Robin began to scale the side of the house. Trying their best to peer into the windows of the closed off home.

“EDDIE!” Dustin continued to yell, mixing his knocking with ringing again. “RICK!...REEFER RICK!”

“Don’t scream that!” Steve chided, making you slightly amused before you moved closer to try and look through the window. The house from what you could see looked completely abandoned. Eddie considered this place to be a shelter from all the mess that had happened. So why did it seem like the place had been abandoned for a while now?

“Hey guys?” Max called out, bringing the group to leave the house and follow to where she stood.

Down her line of vision was a boat house. Eerily the only thing in the area other than the street lights to have a light on. Something in the back of your mind warned you about its creepy appearance, but considering that everything lately was getting to you, it’d be something you’d have to ignore.

So down the hill the rest of you went. Lights flashing at the dingy building as you all approached its doors slowly.

Robin took the lead this time, pushing at the door slowly as she peeked her head in. “Hello?” she called out, not fully yet stepping in. “Is anyone home?”

One by one the rest of you filed in after her. Lights aiming in different directions to showcase the inside of the place. It smelled like rusted metal, wet wood, and something else you couldn’t decipher. Forcing you to tuck your nose into the collar of your jacket to breathe in your perfume.

“What a dump.” Steve called out, a light disdain in his tone.

“Did you really expect pristine conditions from a guy called Reefer Rick?” you asked, giving him a small look. He huffed amusedly before turning around to reach over for an ore on the wall. You’re about to ask what he was planning on doing with that when he suddenly began to stab the ore into the tarp covered boat. Making you and Dustin jump a bit from the rapid movement.

“What are you doing?” Dustin gaped.

“He might be in here.” Steve answered simply, continuing with his jabbing.

“And you plan on turning him into a skewer?” you frowned, taking a step back to observe from a safe distance.

Dustin shook his head, pointing over to the boat with his hand. “Take the tarp off!”

“If you’re so brave, you take the tarp off.” Steve countered, still poking around the edges. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at their cowardice.

“Don’t you think he’d have popped out by now if he was hiding in there? You’ve practically poked a hole in the tarp.” you said, crossing your arms.

“Hey, look over here.” you heard Max call out. From the other side you watched Robin and her approach a table. Fiddling with some that had been thrown on top. “Someone was here.” she continued.

“Maybe he heard us. Got spooked and ran.” Robin suggested.

“Don’t worry,” Dustin cut in. “Steve will get him with his oar.”

You chuckled at that, finding the whole thing ridiculous while Steve went on with his work.

“I know you think you’re being funny, Henderson, but considering the fact that everyone in this room has nearly died about a hundred times, personally, I don’t find it funny in the slight–”

As if he were waiting for the right moment, Eddie suddenly popped out from beneath the tarp, causing everyone in the group to jump back in fear. He shot himself forward and grabbed onto a shocked Steve and pushed them backwards until the two of them were pressed against the wall.

All of you are too shocked to react right away. It wasn’t until Dustin was pleading out to Eddie to stop that you noticed he was holding up a broken glass bottle to Steve’s neck. A flashback of Steve’s bloodied face after dealing with the Russian’s came into your mind and you found yourself panicking over his safety.

Without even a second thought you picked up one of the other oars and gripped on it tightly, sizing up behind an unknowing Eddie. Dustin called out to you next, holding a hand up as he tried to take control of the situation.

“Eddie! Eddie! It’s me! It’s Dustin!” he called out, gaining the attention of the boy. “This is Steve. He’s not gonna hurt you, right, Steve?”

You glanced over Eddie’s shoulder to watch as Steve nervously tried to respond. “Right, yeah.” he whispered, almost afraid to speak up.

“Steve, why don't you drop the oar?”

Right away he let go of the wooden piece, causing a small clanging noise to fill up the tense room. Eddie is slightly triggered by that, pinching the glass a little more against Steve’s neck and causing him to groan out. You glared at the back of Eddie’s head, ready to swing against your own friend when Dustin held a hand out to you again.

“He’s cool! He’s cool!”

“I’m cool, man. I’m cool.” he agreed in a whisper to Eddie. His eyes flickered behind the guy towards you, widening as he barely realized your attacking stance.

“What are you doing here?” Eddie grunted, never looking away from Steve.

“We’re looking for you.” Dustin answered, trying again to gain his friend’s attention.

“We’re here to help.” Robin joined in, trying to calm the tension that had risen. Eddie glanced back, probably just realizing the two girls behind Dustin now.

“Eddie, these are my friends.” he pleaded, “You know Robin, from band.” he said, gesturing to the girl behind him. Robin, while awkward, imitated the sound of her trumpet playfully. He turned to his other side and pointed over to Max. “This is my friend Max. The one who never wants to play D&D.” Max offered up her best wave, despite the nervousness that appeared on her face.

Dustin nodded over towards your direction, gulping a bit when he noticed you still were ready for the attack. “And you already know my lovely cousin,” he said, clearing his throat.

Eddie barely now registered your presence, glancing over his shoulder finally to meet your eyes. He’s shocked at your position, but still unwilling to let go of Steve right away. You made it a point to take a step closer, glaring at him as you finally spoke up. “Hiya, Ed. Remember me?”

“Eddie,” Dustin cut in, trying to bring the calmness back. “We’re on your side.” There was a flicker of hesitation on his face, making you and Dustin turn slightly more desperate the longer he held onto Steve.

“I swear on my Mother! Right guys?”

The other three shootout similar answers while you remained silent. Ready for anything.

A long heartbeat passed before he pushed away from Steve, letting him fall back against the wall with a small grunt. You tossed aside the oar and made your way to check on him when Eddie gripped at your hand.

The two of you hold eye contact and you’re unsure how to react to him calmly.

His eyes alone showed there was a lingering fear. Hell, you just saw the same eyes in your own mirror hours ago. But the mixed emotions that were going through when it came to Eddie, made it a little hard to figure out how you wanted to react.

“You’re.. okay.” he whispered, almost like he was afraid to speak aloud.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” you nodded, a frown still hard on your face. “No thanks to you.”

Tugging your hand out from his grip, you finally stepped away, ignoring the hurt look on his face as you joined Steve at his side. He was hunched over, hand rubbing lightly at his neck. You leaned down, getting close enough to inspect his neck yourself. The skin was red with a slight little nip against the spot under his jawline.

Steve smiled slightly, reaching out to place his hand on top of yours. “I’m okay.” he reassured.

“Eddie..” you heard Dustin behind you. “We just want to talk.” The two of you turned your heads to watch as Dustin lowered down to squat before Eddie. He was closing himself off to the rest of you, hand still clutching onto the bottle as he kept his gaze away.

You couldn’t help but feel guilty knowing that Eddie was probably beyond freaked out about all this. There was still such anger and hurt flowing through you. But deep down you knew you felt for Eddie too. He was still the guy who had been your friend this whole time.

Dustin tried to reach out for Eddie’s hand to take the bottle, causing him to flinch and grip onto it tighter. Robin slowly approached next, trying Dustin’s docile method as she lowered down to his eye level.

“We want to know what happened.” she said calmly. “To the both of you.”

Max glanced over at you, worry still flickered over her pale face before she glanced back to Eddie with the same expression. Steve reached out to place a hand on your back, soothingly as he nodded at you to go forward. “Tell ‘em.” he said softly to you.

Eddie sniffled a bit. “You won’t believe me.” he said, voice cracking a bit. His gaze turned to look up now and you let out a shudder at the sight of his teary eyes.

Max stood closer, giving him a light shrug as she calmly said a simple “Try us.”

Eddie was the first one to go up and recall the events of the night before. The pain, evident in his voice as he tried to describe everything in detail. Immediately your mind is plagued with the images you had seen with your own eyes. Following each part of the story that Eddie cleared out.

“..Things only got worse when I looked over to see Henderson passed out on the ground.” he said, pulling you out of your thoughts. “I..I didn’t know what to do, so I grabbed her and just..ran. I ran away. We left her– I left her there.”

Your face contorted at the painful reminder. The memory of leaving her behind still brought a heavy guilt on you that ached in your chest. Tears pinched in your eyes and you turned away from everyone to control yourself.

“But what happened to you?” Max asked when she noticed your sudden change. “How did you get separated? Steve said he found you in town by yourself.”

“I was lost all night.” you clarified, wiping the tears out from your eyes to face them. “I came to in the van when we were nearly out of town.” Eddie looked down in his hands ashamed, not meeting your gaze. “I had begged Eddie to turn back. To go someplace where we could call for help. I tried to remind him how things would be worse if he made a break for out of the state.. But that’s when we crashed.”

“Crashed?” Dustin interjected, his eyes were wide as he looked over your appearance for any scars he must have missed out on before. Steve shifted slightly beside you, eyes turning dark as he took in the new information.

“We made a break for the clearing,” you went on, anger still focused on Eddie. “I could barely grasp what had just happened, let alone follow Eddie, so it didn’t take long for me to lose him in the trees.”

“I’m sorry,” he started, hands clasped together as he shook his head. “I thought you were behind me the whole time–”

“You weren’t thinking about anything but getting yourself to safety.” you accused him, pointing a finger in his direction as you stepped forward. “I told you I didn’t know those woods at all and you just kept going!”

Eddie lifted his head up to meet your fiery gaze. “I-I didn’t mean to..I was just–”

“You were afraid?” you asked curtly, “Well so was I! I don’t have any idea what the hell killed Chrissy and the next thing I know is my friend just ditched me without even looking back!” You shook your head, feeling tears gradually make their return. “Did you even look for me?”

The room was filled with a painful silence and you had to turn your face away from Eddie before you took out more anger on him. You nearly left the room entirely, needing to get some fresh air, when you felt a hand slip into yours, stopping yourself from leaving.

“Don’t go.” Steve said gently to you. “Just take a breath.”

It felt easier said than done. But all Steve did was give you a knowing look and you settled with leaning against his side. Eyes cast down to the ground while you sucked in a sharp breath. His presence was a little calming, but you were still struggling internally.

During that bit, you could hear Eddie scoff in frustration. “Look, I can’t explain everything that I did, okay? All I can say is what I saw..it was something freaky, man.” There’s a beat of silence that had Eddie recoiling away from the group again. “You all think I’m crazy, right?”

“No. We don’t think you’re crazy at all.” Dustin reassured gently.

“Don’t bullshit me, man! I know how this sounds.” Eddie cried out, voice cracking in frustration.

Max leaned forward, keeping her voice calm and steady. “We’re not bullshitting you.”

“We believe you just like how we believe her.” Robin added, pointing a finger over at you. But it does little to relieve Eddie’s shaken state. Finally, Dustin took the lead on explaining everything.

“Look, what I’m about to tell you might be a little..difficult to take.” he started.

“..okay.”

“You know how people say Hawkins is..cursed? They’re not way off. There’s another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds into ours.”

“Like ghosts and shit?” Eddie asked.

“There are some things worse than ghosts.” Max followed, trying to help pin it together for him.

“These monsters from his other world, we thought they were gone. But they’ve come back before and that’s why we needed to find you.”

Max nodded her head, glancing back at you briefly before she looked back at Eddie. “If they’re back again, we need to know.”

Dustin’s words brought a painful reminder of all the times the group has faced different monsters these past few years. From the Byers’ demogorgon, Dart and his pack of demodogs, and recently the Mind Flayer. All things that came when all of you were finally trying to get life back to normal. It wasn’t fair.

“That night, did you guys see anything?” Robin asked.

“Dark particles, maybe?”

You tried to think back, recalling the only odd rememberable thing to be the flickering lights. But just like that night, you never saw the familiar monster that broke through walls, or the growling noise of the creatures that surrounded the house, or even the thuds of a monster in the distance. It was like nothing was there and yet it killed Chrissy.

“It would almost look like dust, swirling dust.” said Dustin to Eddie, hopeful for his memory to be better than yours. But all his friend did was shake his head.

“No, man, there was nothing you could see or, uh, or touch.” he explained, looking up at you. “It was just us in there.”

You sighed frustratedly, finally giving Eddie a sparing glance. “He’s right..aside from the lights flickering it was like..she was pulled up in the air like a puppet. As if by magic.”

“We tried to wake her, man. She couldn’t move.” he added after you. “It was like she..she was in a trance or something.”

“Or under a spell.” Dustin countered.

Some sort of realization flickered over Eddie’s face. “A curse.” he said next.

“Vecna’s curse.”

Beside you, you could see Steve’s head tilted at the name. “Who’s Vecna?” he asked Dustin. Your cousin doesn’t look back to you guys, but from your spot you could see the sudden shift in his demeanor.

“An undead creature of great power.”

“A spell caster.” Eddie added, voice soft in disbelief.

“..a dark wizard.” Dustin finished off.

Suddenly, the room began to feel smaller, and the weight of this new threat pressed down on everyone. You couldn't shake the feeling that this time, it was different – that Hawkins was about to face a threat unlike anything you’ve encountered before.

The mood between everyone didn’t get much better after you and Eddie finished retelling everything.

The others took their turn in recapping all the news coverage they had been hearing throughout the day. While it was safe to say you were clear as a suspect, it didn’t mean you were out of the woods just yet. Most likely, those closest to Eddie would be next on the public’s radar. Which seemed like the easier thing to worry about considering there was this ominous Vecna to focus on.

But since things were clear for now, the rest of the group urged Eddie to continue hiding in the boat house. Promising to return the following day. It wouldn’t be safe to move him around just yet. An unfortunate circumstance that he’d have to understand for now. The only time you saw him look a little more comfortable with the idea was when Dustin promised to provide him with food the following day.

Soon after you were all back in the comforts of Steve’s car.

The two of you back in the front seat while the three in the back talked about what could be going on and where they can start tomorrow. You’d answer one of their questions now and then, but weren’t able to fully bring yourself in just yet. Considering no one wanted to be in your line of anger like in the boat house, they were very minimal in what questions they’d call out to you.

Steve, on the other hand, was silent. Still visibly stressed from the boathouse conversations. In fact, you were pretty sure he was upset with the way his jaw would clench now and then. Ever since the mini spat with Eddie, plus the reveal of what happened, he hasn’t been the same. But even then, he set aside his emotions to still offer up a ride to the others. Making sure everyone got home safely.

You watched him carefully, wondering what was going through his mind.

Today was..definitely not what he probably had planned. Especially after everything that was said the night before, then in your bedroom, and then the boat house. It wouldn’t be surprising if he didn’t crack under the pressure he seemed to be under. You wished you could help alleviate this new worry, but all you’ve done lately is add to it.

The only solid concentration he seemed to have at the moment though was driving and keeping hold of your hand.

“Okay, Steve. We’ll meet up early tomorrow. I think Eddie’s gonna need a lot of food if he’s gonna hide this out. We’ll have to go to the market before we pick up everyone.” Dustin said from the back with a yawn.

The others were already dropped off. Mumbling out tired goodnights before Steve had finally made the return back to your driveway. The engine was off and the three of you had been quiet until Dustin broke the silence.

“Sounds good, man.” he confirmed, speaking up for the first time in an hour.

With a clap to Steve’s shoulder, Dustin quickly made his leave for the car. Calling out for you to hurry up before he used his key to enter the house. Neither of you made any motion to follow through on Dustin’s warning. Only watching in silence as he entered the home.

It wasn’t until he saw the switch of the living room light on that Steve finally turned to look at you. His eyes scanned over the features of your face before he leaned in to push a hair away from your face. “You doing okay?” he asked softly.

You’re almost taken back by his quick concern. How despite all that’s happened and been said, his first question is to ask about your well being.

“I’m here.” Was the best answer you could think of at the moment. You were still pretty upset about earlier. Especially the fact that you allowed yourself to get so angry at Eddie who was clearly unfamiliar with this type of horror. But it was hard to control anything going on with you right now. A glance down and you noted how he hasn’t dropped your hand yet. “Are you? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you be so..quiet before. Feels weird.”

He huffed amusedly through his nose before he shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve had a lot on my mind today. And honestly..I’m tired.”

You use your free hand to reach over and cup the side of his face. Unable to contain yourself from helping provide Steve the comfort you know he needs.

His eyes slipped close and he leaned forward enough to rest against the palm of your hand while you gently caressed. He looked as tired as he sounded, and you wanted to help provide him with the ease of a good night’s sleep.

“I never thanked you.” you murmured, watching as he peeked his eyes open to look at you. “Today you..you helped me in more ways than one.”

“I think you sort of showed me thanks already.” he countered, a little bit teasing in his tone.

“Us having sex was not my way of showing thanks.” you scoffed, only slightly amused by his words. “I mostly meant you bringing me home..and then back in the boat house. You helped calm me down.”

He reached up for your hand to bring them together before him, squeezing them lightly until he pulled them up to press a kiss to the front of your finger tips. Keeping his gaze at you until he settled them back into his lap.

“I’m always gonna be here for you, you know that right?”

The never failing sincerity of his words had you shyly averting your gaze away from his. Unsure how to deal with your own emotions as well as the ones that Steve kept bringing back. But he didn’t seem to want to wait for you to come up with an answer as he used the grip on your hands to pull you in and meet you in the middle of the console. There’s only a small space for you to decide to pull back but you ignored that thought as you pressed your lips against his.

The kiss, while breathtaking, was a lot sweeter than the ones you guys had shared today. Almost like a reassuring gesture to help ease you into ending the conversation.

“You need to get some sleep.” he urged when he pulled back for air. His plump lips were ghosting over yours now, enticing you back in despite his words saying otherwise. “After everything we need you back in shape tomorrow.”

“Okay,” you agreed, not quite moving just yet. “Promise you’ll get some rest too?”

He nodded his head, pulling himself further back so he could meet your eyes. “I’ll be here as early as I can.” Sighing heavily, you take your hands out of Steve’s grip and reach for the door handle, sparing him one last look before you exited the car.

The sound of his engine starting up cut through the silence as you made your way towards the front door of the house. You got the chance to watch as he pulled out of the driveway, waving to you before he fully pulled away and made his turn down the street.

Exhaustion covered your whole body as you turned to enter the house. You were more than ready to pass out on your bed for a couple of hours. However, there was one more person waiting to talk.

Sat down on the chair beside the couch, was a nervous Dustin. Looking over at you expectantly as he waited for you to finally make your way towards him. He’s barely talked to you today and while you’re sure he was still annoyed with the previous fight you guys had, you could easily tell something else, something deeper was on his mind.

“Dustin?” you called out slowly. “Are you–”

“A lot happened yesterday.” he blurted out. Though his words were clipped, there was the familiar hint of Dustin’s sincerity that lingered through. “We could have talked things out but..I just got annoyed and pushed you away.”

You blinked at that, trying not to think of the day again. “It’s fine, Dustin.”

“It’s not..I didn't know where you were all day. A girl is dead.” he stood up, moving before you. “You were with Eddie when it happened..it could’ve been..”

The words died off from his mouth but you feel you already know what he wanted to say. Taking a step forward, you reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. Trying not to downplay his worry while also attempting to reassure him. “It could’ve been me, but it wasn’t. Okay?”

“I just can’t shake the feeling that all of this isn’t gonna stop with just Chrissy.” he whispered, almost afraid to speak the words out loud. “It’s never just one attack for us. Vecna..he’s powerful. I don’t know what I’ll do if it’s you or anyone else.”

“It’s not gonna be any of us.” you reassured him.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because, we have people like you on our side.” He tried to appear confident at that, but the lingering worry still lingered on his face. He was on the verge of freaking out. “We’re gonna figure this out, okay?”

“..I hope you’re right.” he mumbled, pulling out of your grip with a sigh. “Let’s get to bed, we have a lot of work tomorrow.”

With that, he quickly turned to walk away. Leaving you alone in the dimly lit living room with his words echoed in your mind. The worry about this ‘evil wizard’ hung in the air, and the unsettling reality that someone you cared about could be the next target scared you down to your core.

Things were different this time and most of the party has been split off. All you could hope for was to hold back the fear that wanted to consume you whole.

A/N: Sorry it’s taken so long for another update! I was so busy and sick over these past few weeks. I really hope you guys enjoyed this update. I’m hoping to get this next chapter out sooner. Let me know what you guys think! xoxo

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stevie-petey · 5 months

Text

episode eight: the upside down

You know you shouldn’t, but you laugh. Honestly, after everything you’ve been through tonight with Steve, how can he possibly think the two of you aren’t friends? “Why are you laughing?” Steve mumbles, confused. “Sorry,” you wheeze out, still uncontrollably laughing. “It’s just–I mean, dude! We almost died together, of course we’re friends now!” “We are?” He looks like a little kid on Christmas day being given the gift he’s always wanted. Your heart warms. “Yes, idiot.”

summary: drinking game time ! take a shot every time jonathan tries ditching you or every time you almost die at the byers house, you find out that steve really is an athlete and tbh it's hot, but you know what's even hotter ? saving hawkins and reaching a tentative compromise with steve after he loans you $5 for snacks. after, jonathan makes a promise you really hope he can keep.

rating: general, cursing and slight scary violence

warnings: violence, use of fire and weapons, guns, use of fem!reader and use of y/n, slight mentions of blood and death

words: 13.7k

before you swing in: the final chapter ,,, my heart </3 please enjoy my child, i put so much into this chapter. action scenes scare me, they're hard and i'm weak, so i hope this lives up to everything you guys wanted n more ;) i cannot believe we're at the end (but i do have another chapter planned that's set in season 1, so shhhh). thank you so so so much for all your support. i never thought this silly lil fic would get that much attention, but i'm insanely flattered and grateful for each and every one of y'all. i'm so proud of what i've created and you guys are my beloveds ,,, anyways, enjoy !!!

You almost miss Jonathan and Nancy sneaking off.

You had been explaining a comic book that had been in your bag to El when you noticed a shift in your periphery. Turning your head, you see Jonathan stand, offer Nancy his hand to help her up, and then walk towards the main doors together.

What the fuck.

“They wouldn’t dare…” You excuse yourself and run out the gym and into the hallway to follow them, absolutely furious. You’re so sick of their bullshit, of Jonathan’s bullshit and putting Nancy first. This isn’t even a petty jealousy thing, this is about the years of friendship between the two of you that has just suddenly disappeared within a damn week all due to circumstances completely out of your control.

The slam of the main door is the only warning Jonathan gets before you’re yanking him by his coat and flinging him back, forcing him to look at you. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

You’ve never, ever yelled at him like this before. Not even earlier this week when he’d given you that bullshit apology after screaming at you for being in his room, for saying the two of you weren’t family. You didn’t yell at him for hiding Nancy’s pictures from you, for going off without you to find the monster. Despite everything, you’ve never been this cruel to him, even if he may have deserved it at times.

Jonathan’s wide eyes stare down at your hand that’s still clutched around his coat, frightened. “Bug, we were just–”

“Just what? Sneaking off without me?”

“It’s not like that, Y/N.” Nancy now steps in, her hands held up as if you’re some rabid dog she wants to calm down. “We just figured we’d help Joyce and Hopper.”

“‘We’? Are you fucking kidding me? You two talked about this, had an entire conversation, and still somehow came to the conclusion that ditching me was a great fucking idea?” You scoff, deeply hurt by the fact that the two of them had an entire conversation without thinking to include you in it.

“Bug, can we talk about this one on one?” Jonathan asks, his voice lowered. You can see the genuine upset in his eyes and for a moment your grip on him lessens, but then you see Nancy behind him and your anger only returns.

“No, we can discuss this right here.”

He sighs and tries to grab the hand not clutching his coat, but you slap it away. “Bug–”

“You’ve lost that privilege.”

“Bug–I mean, Y/N,” His voice falters. “Look, my mom and Hopper are out there right now trying to find Will while that monster is still out. Nance and I… We want to finish what we started.”

“Without me?” You don’t mean for it to happen, but your voice catches at the end.

Jonathan’s gaze softens and this time he succeeds in grabbing your hand. You let go of him and allow him to pull you in, weak against him as always. “I’m doing this to protect them, to protect you, Y/N. I’m always trying to protect you. You know that, right?”

You used to think that you did, but now? You’re not so sure, and it terrifies you.

Nancy has stepped away from the conversation, now kicking at rocks while you’re with Jonathan, and you can’t help but think about how wrong all of this feels.

Throughout this entire week it’s felt like someone has given you a photo of Jonathan, smeared its lines and edges, removed his moles and his crooked smile and made it neater, altered so that if you squint you can see the boy you grew up with underneath it all… But it’s fuzzy, almost too unclear to really see.

Now he’s standing in front of you, his smile once more crooked and cunning and his moles faded underneath the moonlight and for a second you can see him. There he is, clear and untouched and him in a way that’s never quite been yours.

“I know,” you tell him. “But how many more times do you expect me to forgive you for lying and ditching me? If you want to protect me, you need to talk to me.”

Jonathan winces. “I know, I know it sounds stupid and I know I’ve fucked up more than enough this week, I just get caught up in wanting to make sure you’re safe. It’d kill me if I let anything happen to you… I just, I can’t lose you, bug.”

“So pushing me away is your grand plan of keeping me?”

“I’ve always been an idiot.” He manages a smile, and you can’t help but laugh.

“That’s true, but if you attempt to ditch me one more time I swear to god I’ll pour tar all over your car.”

The boy laughs and for a brief moment everything feels okay again, but it doesn’t last very long. “In our defense, we figured you’d be better off with the kids since you’re not really a fighter, ya know?”

You drop his hand. “Excuse me?”

Jonathan’s smile is gone. “What?”

“I’m not really a fighter? You’re kidding, right?”

“Hey, no I didn’t mean it like that–” Jonathan fumbles over his words, clearly taken aback by your sudden mood change.

You step away from him. “How many times did I defend you against Lonnie? Better yet, remind me how we became friends in the first place. Wasn’t it because I threw milk at a bunch of idiots bullying you? Huh?”

“Y/N–”

“God, I can’t believe I almost let you get away with it again! I mean, do you even hear the bullshit that comes out of your mouth?” You deepen your voice, now doing a poor impersonation of him. “‘Hey, bug! You know I love you, right? Cool! Now, I’m gonna go do fuck all and ignore you and ditch you and then somehow turn it into me being a good guy because duh! I can never do any wrong!’”

“Please, just–”

“Did I get it right? It was a pretty good impersonation in my opinion. I mean, I am the one who has had to deal with this shit all fucking week. I think I'm an expert on this topic now.”

Jonathan looks pained but you don’t fucking care anymore. You’ve reached your limit, you’re sick and tired of being treated like some delicate creature that’s incapable of taking care of itself. You literally slapped Tommy Hagan this afternoon in order to help Jonathan, yet here he is basically calling you weak.

And yet Nancy is the fighter. She’s the one who gets to go along on the adventure while you’re sidelined because for some damn reason you’re always the second option. Never taking matters into your own hands, always the one left behind to clean up the mess and take care of those also discarded.

You’re sick of it.

You step closer to Jonathan again, so that you’re nose to nose, and whisper, “I’m tired of never being good enough.”

And with that, you reach into his coat and snatch up his keys, a game you’ve always played with him but now has turned into a bitter taste in your mouth, and run back into the gym. Someone has to inform the kids of the plan, make sure they’ll be okay on their own.

Dustin sees you approach and smiles, but when he notices the angry pace in your steps, he frowns. “Uh oh.”

“Yeah, uh oh.”

“Jonathan again?”

You nod, still too angry to trust your words. “Yeah.”

He notices the keys in your hand. “Where are you going?”

Mike and Lucas look over now, curious as to what’s happening.

You sigh. “I’m going with Nancy and Jonathan to the Byers house, we’re going to kill the monster.”

“Why the hell are you going?” Dustin exclaims while Mike shoutes “sick!” and Lucas mumbles “great, alone again”. El remains quiet, still resting.

You flick your brother’s hat. “I have to, Dustin.”

“For Jonathan?” He shakes his head. “I like him, but aren’t you mad at him right now?”

“Is it just me, or is she always mad at him these days?” Mike whispers over to Lucas, who simply shrugs.

“Girls, man.”

You ignore them and focus on Dustin. “It doesn’t matter. He needs my help, and no one in the party gets left behind. Remember?”

“Y/N–”

“I love you,” you kiss the top of his head. “I promise I’ll be safe, just be careful, okay? I’m putting you in charge, so don’t let me down. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll see you in a few hours tops!”

Dustin tries to argue some more, but you quickly run back outside before he can get another word in. You feel horrible leaving him behind, but you know this is the right decision. If you can kill the monster, there’s less of a chance of the kids or Joyce and Hopper getting hurt. Jonathan and Nancy may be fine on their own, but there’s always power in numbers and they’ll need all the help they can get.

You just… you have to help. You know this is what you’re supposed to be doing, even if it pains you to do so. Dustin and the kids are smart; as long as they stay at the school, they’ll be fine.

In theory, that is.

Nancy and Jonathan are waiting for you outside. You push past them and march towards Jonathan’s care; they awkwardly follow after you. You unlock it, throw yourself into the backseat, and promptly dig through your backpack to make sure you have everything.

The two teens get in a few minutes after you. Not one word is spoken as Jonathan starts the car and the three of you drive off, leaving Hawkins Middle behind.

–

You thought the car ride with Nancy and Jonathan from the funeral home had been tense, but this one? Downright painful.

Jonathan has a tight grip on the steering wheel and keeps trying to catch your eye through the rearview mirror but you avoid his gaze. You’ve spent the last five minutes arranging and rearranging your backpack to give you something to do while Nancy has tried three times to make conversation to make this car ride bearable.

“El seems nice.”

“You said four words to her, Nancy.” You retort, switching open your switchblade once more to watch the moonlight dance off of its blades.

“Right.”

Nancy shifts uncomfortably in the passenger seat. You know she realizes she’s once again upset the balance in your relationship with Jonathan. It was only an hour ago that she tried getting you to admit your feelings for him before convincing the boy to up and leave you. Sure, Jonathan made his own decision in the end, but damn. She could’ve at least pretended to want you around.

She notices your knives and tries to spark conversation again. “I love the color of the handle, it’s beautiful.”

“Thanks,” you switch the blades closed and sit up in your seat. “Anyways, you geniuses have a plan or were you just counting on ditching me and winging it from there?”

“Y/N–”

“No, Nancy. I insist, let’s talk about a plan. We’re here to kill a monster, right?”

She closes her mouth and frowns, turning to Jonathan for help, but he’s no use. He’s busy tapping his fingers against the wheel and praying that the world will just swallow him up whole. Too bad for him you’re a stubborn pain in the ass and would simply pluck him back up so you can torture him some more.

Nancy sighs. “Well, Jonathan and I were thinking we use the supplies we got earlier and lure the monster to his place, then we kill it.”

“Awesome plan, guys!” You say, your voice dripping with sickly sweetness that leaves them both feeling even more uncomfortable. “But may I suggest some actual details or shall we just bank off of this wonderfully dull and vague plan?”

“Sure, Y/N. Tell us what you had in mind.” Nancy rubs her face tiredly, knowing she deserves this.

“Great! I’m assuming we’re luring the monster with blood?” They nod at you, so you continue. “Okay, so before we lure it I think we should completely booby-trap Jonathan’s house. Nail the bear trap down onto the floor, make sure the floor is cleared of anything that could trip us up. Then, once we’ve got the house secured, we knick ourselves to draw some blood and pray to whatever god is up there that we can kill the thing.”

You pause for a moment, remembering how all the Christmas lights had been unscrewed by Joyce earlier. “The lights, we need to fix them. The monster communicates through the lights so if we have them, then we can track it.”

“That all sounds great, bug.” Jonathan finally speaks up, ass kissing.

“Thanks, pal. Still don’t have the bug privilege back, but I’m sure you simply forgot.”

He gulps, once more going back to being silent as he drives you and Nancy to his house.

Nancy again tries to diffuse the tension. “How do we even kill the monster though? I mean, will my bullets be enough?”

“I have this idea, but it’s… well, it’s out there.” You bite your lip, now feeling your cocky demeanor slipping. “If we can safely set fire to it, I think that’s our best bet.”

“Fire?” Jonathan exclaims, but Nancy shushes him.

“I think you’re right.”

“Y/N, I know you’re mad at me but do we really have to set fire to my house–”

Now it’s your turn to shush Jonathan. “This isn’t about that. I wouldn’t burn your house down, I already told you I’d just pour tar on your car whenever I get the chance. For now, I really do think the best thing to do is burn the monster alive. In every horror movie and book, fire always gets the job done.”

Despite herself, Nancy lets out a soft chuckle as Jonathan parks the car, now at his house. “She’s right, Jonathan. And who burns down houses these days? Tar really is the best form of revenge.”

“I’m flattered, Wheeler. At the rate you’re going, you’ll be off my shitlist in no time.” You tell her, patting her on the shoulder before getting out of the car. You quickly open up the trunk and gather the monster hunting supplies while Jonathan and Nancy take their time getting out.

You let yourself into the Byers home using your own key to the place. It’s been nestled in between the key to your house and the spare key to Jonathan’s car on your keychain for a few years now.

The first thing you get started on are the lights. There’s hundreds of them to get through, but you drop your supplies and begin screwing them in one by one. Nancy and Jonathan come in soon after and silently begin to help.

No conversation is made besides the necessary comments about the prep work. You’re all too focused on the possibility of what could happen next; the danger of the situation has finally set in. After the lights have all been fixed, you instruct Jonathan to begin nailing the bear trap down while you and Nancy discuss where to pour the gasoline. You both agree to make a path from the living room to Will’s room.

As Nancy pours the gasoline, you follow behind her and pick up any flammables. You weren't lying to Jonathan earlier, you really don’t want to burn his house down. While the house is wrecked, it’s still a home despite everything that’s happened in it. You practically grew up within its walls, you’d do anything to keep it as protected as possible.

When you’re done, you watch Nancy load her gun. A shiver runs down our spine; she looks at ease with it, which you figure should be reassuring, but the gravity of everything leaves you feeling on edge. You leave her alone and walk into the kitchen where Jonathan is, now hammering a ton of nails into his bat.

You begin to sharpen your blades next to him, still finding that you only feel secure by his side. The rhythmic sound of his hammering calms you, in a sense. It serves as a distraction. You know you insisted on coming, you don’t regret it and you know you’re stronger than everyone seems to give you credit for, but you’re also terrified. This isn’t just some adventure in the woods; this could kill the ones you love dearly.

Once you’re both done preparing your weapons, the two of you walk to Will’s room and rig up a simple snare. Jonathan grabs a yo-yo and you pull up a chair to set it on. The idea is that when the string gets pulled, it’ll alert you that the monster has sprung the bear trap. It’s not the most efficient warning system, but it’ll have to do.

The last thing to do is set the bear trap, which takes all three of you to achieve. Jonathan and Nancy hold down the edges with their body weight and you very carefully set the trap with your hand. You shake a bit as you do so, but you force your nerves down. You remind yourself that Jonathan thinks you’re too weak, too cowardly, you have to prove him wrong.

When the bear trap clicks into place, you let out a harsh exhale and sink against the wall, your heart still pounding. Jonathan and Nancy copy you and the three of you sit in silence. You’re still shaking a bit, and Jonathan is next to you just as tense, but for the first time since you’ve met him you can’t reach out to grab his hand to steady yourself. He’s too far, both literally and figuratively. Even with him next to you, you couldn’t be more far apart.

In the back of your mind, you hope the kids are alright. Hopefully they’re having a better night than you currently are.

“C’mon,” you say after a few minutes, getting up to walk over to the living room. “We’ve done all we can, now we just have to draw some blood and be the prettiest bait in Hawkins.”

–

Nancy and Jonathan decide to cut the palm of their hands, but you respectfully would rather die than have a matching scar with them. The idea makes you so uncomfortable you visibly cringe when Jonathan tells you the idea. “Yeah, no thanks. I think I’ll find somewhere else to cut.”

He looks hurt by what you’ve said but doesn’t voice it. Instead, the three of you stand in the living room in a triangle facing each other and he begins reciting the plan. “Remember…”

Nancy goes first. “Straight into Will’s room and–”

“Don’t step on the trap.” You finish.

Jonathan nods. “And then?”

“Wait for the yo-yo to move.” The girl says.

“Then…” Jonathan flicks the lighter on.

You whistle low. “Let there be light…”

“Right. Light.” The boy nods again. “Alright, we ready?”

“Ready.”

“Scar time.”

Jonathan and Nancy bring their hands up and place their knives flat against their palms. You roll up your sleeve and place your own knife against the upper part of your arm, just below your shoulder, and take a deep breath.

“On three,” Jonathan says. He begins counting and you all can’t seem to stop shaking. He senses your unease and looks up at you and Nancy. “You guys don’t have to do this.”

Nancy glares at him, her own voice shaky. “Jonathan, stop talking.”

You nod. “Yeah, what she said.”

Jonathan tries to argue, but Nancy squeezes her eyes shut and yells, “Three!”

You close your own eyes and slice at your arm, the pain immediate. You gasp out, never having been good with pain, but you know you have to do this for Will. The blood trails down your arm, dripping from your elbow onto the ground, and you watch as blood from Jonathan’s and Nancy’s own cuts falls onto the ground too.

Well, at least it’ll be an easy scar to hide compared to theirs.

“Fuck, that stings.” You say to break the silence, and Nancy nods her head in agreement.

“Not the most pleasant feeling.”

Jonathan guides the two of you over to the couch and grabs the first aid kit that you had prepared on the coffee table. He sits in the middle, leaving room for both you and Nancy on each side of him, but you’re still pissed at him and opt to sit on the floor in front of the couch.

Nancy begins to patch up his wound, and it takes everything within you not to reach over and help him yourself. It feels unnatural to watch someone else taking care of him, but the space between you still feels too vast to cross.

You patch up your own cut while the two of them talk quietly. You wind a bandage tight around your arm, ensuring you won’t bleed through, and Jonathan watches above you with guilt in his eyes. Nancy is trying to reassure him that everything will be okay, but as he watches you struggle to tie the bandage he wonders if he’s fucked up more than just your friendship.

“Bug, let me help with that.” He leans down and ties your bandage before you can stop him.

You glare at him, still having not said anything to Jonathan besides what was needed for preparation. Nancy distracts herself by cleaning up around his cut and your stomach twists into knots. This is all so miserable.

“Y/N, I know you’re upset with me and you can go whenever. I won’t blame you, you’ve done enough for me.” Jonathan says, trying to catch your eye.

You turn away and inspect your bandage, still reeling over the fact that he tied it for you. “I’m here for Will, and only Will.”

“Y/N…” There’s a hurt in his voice that almost makes you turn around to throw your arms around his neck and whisper a million apologies to him. To tell him everything, that you love him and that you’d do anything for him and that’s why you’re so terrified of how you feel. You know you’d burn yourself up if it meant he’d be taken care of, if it meant he was safe and happy and far away from anything that could harm him. You know you’d use up everything within you to love him.

Instead, you remain silent.

After getting no response from you, Jonathan clears his throat and begins to say something about how the lights will serve as an alarm for the monster, trying to pretend that everything is okay, but he’s cut off by a sudden pounding on the door.

You all jump and your fingers tighten around your switchblade, ready to open it. As your heart pounds you think of all the possible ways the plan could go wrong. When you’re on possibility number twelve, a voice calls through the door.

“Jonathan?”

“Is that… Steve?” You say out loud, in complete disbelief.

Steve continues to pound on the door. “Are you there, man? It’s… It’s Steve! Listen, I just wanna talk!”

You’re the first to react, standing up to run over to the door. You fling it open and step outside, making sure Steve won’t be able to see inside the house. When he sees you, he stumbles back a bit. “Henderson?”

His face is still bleeding from earlier and his hair is a mess, and yet there’s a softness to him that you haven’t seen before with him. “Steve, now isn’t really a good time.”

“Can I just talk to Jonathan real quick? I just… I want to apologize about what happened earlier, see if we can maybe–” His eyes land on your bandaged arm. You curse and roll down your sleeve, feeling like an idiot for forgetting to hide the wound before going outside.

Steve reaches out to touch it, a hint of worry on his face and his voice is now full of concern. “Hey, are you okay?”

You shiver at his touch, it’s gentle as he skims along the bandage and inspects it for any other problems. You pull away, now hiding the wound. “It’s nothing, but you should really go.”

“I want to help you, Y/N. Do you need me to get you anything?” His face is so full of worry for you that it makes you ache. Then a thought occurs to him. “Wait, where’s Byers? Why isn’t he here to help you?”

You’re about to make up a lie, but Nancy flings the door open. “Steve, listen to me.”

He looks between the two of you in complete shock. “Okay, what–”

“You need to leave.” Nancy orders.

Steve looks at you. “I’m not trying to start anything, okay?”

“I know, but–” You get cut off by Nancy.

“I don’t care about that. You need to leave.”

Steve begins to plead with the girl and you step away a bit, not wanting to intrude. You feel bad for him, he looks so beat down by what’s happened today and you suppose that you can’t really blame him. After spending maybe a total of ten hours with Nancy and Jonathan, you also have come close to losing your mind.

If you were with Jonathan, if you truly had him, you’d react the same as Steve. Begging for the girl he loves to listen to him, to give him another chance with the promise of him changing.

“I just want to make things right.” Steve says, impressing you with his vulnerability. He’s openly admitting to his mistakes and taking accountability mere hours after the situation has occurred, leaving you both in awe of him and also saddened for him. He loves Nancy more than anything, you can hear it in his voice.

He deserves better.

As you’re thinking this, you see his eyes flicker down towards Nancy’s bandaged hand and his brows furrow. “What happened to your hand? Is that blood?” His eyes now flicker over to you again. “Why are you both hurt?”

“We’re clumsy?” You say as Nancy yanks her hand away from Steve.

“It was an accident.” She agrees.

Steve looks between the two of you, now sensing that something else is wrong. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing!” Nancy insists, but something in Steve’s demeanor shifts.

“Wait a second, did he do this to you? To Y/N?” His once soft voice is now filled with anger and you step in front of him.

“Steve, it wasn’t Jonathan. You need to go, I promise I’ll explain everything later–”

He grabs you by your side and gently moves you so that he can get past and shove through the door. Nancy yells at him to stop and tries to push him out, but she’s useless against his strength. When he manages to break in, he stumbles inside and scans over the house.

“Shit!” You follow after him, your brain running a million miles a second trying to figure out how to explain everything to him.

“What the fuck?” Steve mumbles, eyeing the bat with nails in it. “Y/N, what’s going on here?”

He’s looking to you for reassurance and you guess he assumes that the two of you are allies in this Jonathan and Nancy situation. You really wish you could explain, but Jonathan has grabbed him by the shoulders and is trying to push him outside. The two stumble around for a few seconds and you just helplessly watch.

“Steve, there’s no time to explain, please just listen to Jonathan and get out of here!” You’re helping Jonathan now, trying to get Steve out the door and away from harm’s reach, but he’s still fighting back confused and lost as ever and you pity him.

You hear a click and turn around, gasping when you see Nancy holding her gun up to Steve. “Woah, what the fuck Nancy?”

“What! What is going on?” Steve yells, now more panicked than anything else.

While Jonathan has stepped away, you find yourself standing in front of Steve as if to somehow block the bullet. You can’t let him get hurt, he doesn’t have any part of this, he can still have a normal and happy life if he just leaves now. “Nancy, put the fucking gun down, this isn’t helping!”

Steve pleads with her as well and the two of you scream at the girl to just listen and not swing around loaded weapons, but Nancy remains firm in her stance. “You have five seconds to get out of here. I’m doing this for you.”

“Because holding a gun to his head is any better than telling him the truth?” You exclaim, entirely over the situation.

As the four of you are arguing, the lights begin to flicker. Steve and Nancy don’t seem to notice, but you do. You look at Jonathan and say your first real words to him in hours. “Jonathan…”

He hears you and he runs over to your side, grabbing your hand as the two of you stand shoulder to shoulder. You feel your heartbeat race and you can feel him shaking beside you. He’s terrified, so are you, but his hand around yours manages to steady you.

“Nancy!” Jonathan tries to get the girl’s attention, but she’s too busy counting down to hear him.

He shouts at her again and the lights start to flicker more wildly and you draw your switchblade out, adrenaline coursing through you. It’s time.

Jonathan yells once more and finally catches Nancy’s attention. “The lights!”

She whips her head around and curses, Jonathan, still tightly holding your hand, tugs you along so that you follow him as he secures his weapons and grabs the bat. “It’s here.”

“What’s here?” Steve is flailing around, utterly lost.

You all ignore him and now stand back to back in a triangle. Nancy holds up her gun, Jonathan wields his bat, and you flick your wrist to bring out your knives. “Where is it?”

“I don’t know!”

The lights flicker rapidly and you feel overwhelmed. They were supposed to serve as a guide towards the monster, but there's no possible way to see which direction it’ll come from and for a fleeting moment you think you’ve made a huge mistake.

Steve is still screaming, demanding answers, but you’re too busy scanning your surroundings to offer him some information. “Hello? Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going–”

The roof opens up, cutting Steve off, and you scream as the monster attempts to come down right above you. Jonathan shields you from the fallen debris and you cling onto him in utter fear. This isn’t real. This cannot be happening.

Nancy begins to shoot at the thing while Jonathan guides you to safety. He brings you to the edge of the living room and holds your face in his hands, forcing you to really look at him for the first time all night. “Listen to me, stay here while I get Nancy.”

He kisses your forehead and then leaves, rushing over to Nancy to pull her away and guide her towards Will’s room. Steve stands next to you, frozen, and it forces you back to reality. The plan, you have to stick to the plan.

You grab Steve’s hand and yank him so that he follows. The monster has dropped down now, a horrible creature on all fours that opens its gaping mouth to let out a horrible screech that you feel deep within your bones. This is what killed Barb.

The four of you run to Will’s room and you only just barely have enough time to warn Steve about the bear trap. You look over your shoulder and shout, “Jump!” right as your ankle catches on its chains.

You fall. Hard.

Pain sears through your ankle and you try to get up, but any pressure on it sends flames through your entire body and you let out another scream. The monster catches up, looming over you, and you brace for your death. There’s no fucking way you’re getting out of this.

You squeeze your eyes as the monster stalks close to you, its ugly mouth open and ready to kill you. Jonathan is screaming at you to get up, but Nancy is holding him back from helping. You’re relieved by this, knowing that someone has to be there for Will once this is all done. He’ll need his brother, and Nancy seems to understand this. You catch her eye and nod at her, sending a silent thank you.

“Bug! No, let go of me! I have to help her, Nancy!” Jonathan’s voice becomes hoarse by how loud he screams, his voice breaking with fear and desperation.

Then, right before the monster lunges at you, you feel a familiar pair of arms slide underneath your legs and pick you up. “What–”

Steve Harrington has swooped in to save you, picking you up as if you weigh nothing, ever the athlete, and swiftly jumps over the bear trap while screaming his head off. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!”

You’re so delirious from the pain in your ankle and the adrenaline pumping through your veins that you can’t help but let a laugh escape you. No fucking way is any of this real. Steve Harrington is carrying you bridal style into Will’s bedroom with Jonathan and Nancy as witnesses.

What a life.

Once you’re both secured in the room, Steve sets you down gently right as Nancy yells at him to shut up. As soon as Steve lets go of you, Jonathan is at your side and pulls you into a crushing hug.

“Bug.” He breathes out against your ear, relief heavy.

“I’m okay.” You tell him, threading your fingers through his hair. He’s shaking harder than ever, and holding onto you as if he’s scared he’ll lose you again. “I’m okay, bee.”

He pulls away and his hands are all over you, checking everywhere for any other injuries. “Did it hurt you, are you bleeding? There should be a first aid kit–”

You grab his hands and kiss his knuckles, which seems to calm him down a bit. “I’m fine, just twisted my ankle. If you help me up, I’m sure I’ll be able to stand again.”

Jonathan quickly helps you to your feet and you lean against him for the extra support. While you put on a brave face for Jonathan, you’re terrified out of your fucking mind. You almost died. Jonathan is still holding your hand and he’s looking at you as if seeing you for the first time and you force yourself to look away. It’s the same look from the field days ago, when you thought he’d kiss you.

You have to focus on what’s at stake.

How the hell are you guys supposed to kill this thing?

The monster screeches, breaking the moment between you and Jonathan, and he flicks his lighter on and forces you to stand behind him. Nancy holds up her gun and you bring your knives closer to your face, Steve standing weaponless behind you.

You all wait, tense, for the monster. It stalks closer to the room, its awful growls alerting you of its proximity, but it doesn’t appear.

“What’s it doing?” Nancy asks, frustrated.

“I don’t know.” You respond, equally as frustrated and scared.

Another few agonizing seconds pass, and you stare at the yo-yo and hope that it remains still. Then, the lights stop flickering and it becomes quiet. All you can hear is your blood roaring in your ears.

Nancy looks around. “Do you hear anything?”

“No,” Jonathan shakes his head, inching closer to the door.

“Wait!” You tug at your still interlocked hands. You pick up his bat that had been thrown on the ground and hand it to him. “Be careful. Please.”

He gives your hand one last squeeze before letting go, accepting the bat.

As Jonathan pokes his head out to see if the monster is outside, Steve bends his head down and whispers in your ear, “Romantic.”

“Shut. Up.” You hit him in the chest, fearfully watching your best friend to make sure he doesn't die. When he motions an all clear, Nancy follows him outside, then you, then Steve.

The house is silent and your heart sinks when you see that the bear trap has been left untouched. You realize with a horrible gut wrench that the monster is smarter than the three of you had anticipated.

So much for your plan, then.

“It’s smarter than we thought.”

“Yeah,” Jonathan agrees with dismay.

He stalks against the wall towards the living room and you all follow in a single file line. You do your best to stick close to the wall but you limp with every step. Your ankle is definitely out of commission for now. Great.

All of you are on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It couldn’t have been that easy, there’s no possible way that the monster simply up and left. You enter the living room, which has gotten even more wrecked due the monster. The wallpaper has been torn off of some parts of the wall and you see papers scattered everywhere.

“Shit…” you mumble, kicking at a shredded wallpaper strip.

In the corner, Steve has started to hyperventilate and mumble to himself. “This is crazy, this is so crazy, this is fucking crazy.”

You limp over to him and grab his shoulders, making him face you. “Steve, hey. It’s okay, I’m here.”

“Y/N, what the hell just happened?”

“It’s… complicated. For now, can you trust me that everything will be okay?”

“Of course I trust you, it’s just…” He nods, his eyes softening. You lessen your hold on him and give him a smile, he seems to be calming down. Then, he looks around the room and seemingly remembers where he is. “This is crazy!”

Steve lunges for the phone on the wall and tries to call for help.

You stumble after him, the pain in your ankle slowing you down. “Steve, wait–”

Nancy gets to him first, grabbing the phone out of his hand and throwing it across the room. He looks at her, shocked. “What are you doing? Are you insane?”

“It’s going to come back!” Nancy yells at him, and you wince at the way she treats him. You know Steve will only listen to her, but she could at least be nicer about the whole situation. The three of you have had some time to process everything happening, Steve was thrown into the deep end.

“You could be a little nicer,” you mumble, and Nancy sends you a glare. You raise your hands up in surrender. “Sorry.”

“Steve, you need to leave. Right now.”

He looks so overwhelmed and you give him a pitying look. He stares at you, reminiscent of the way he looked at you earlier in the alley, silently begging you to say something, anything, but again you can only shake your head at him. You won’t force him to stay, it wouldn’t be fair.

“Y/N, please…” He tries one more time to get you on his side, but you can’t. Frustrated by your lack of response, Steve groans. “Fuck it!”

He runs out the door.

You’ll admit that you’re a bit disappointed, but you also understand. Who in their right mind would stay?

You and Nancy share a look before the lights begin to flicker again. Dread fills you. “Fuck…”

Jonathan is back by your side and he and Nancy again form a triangle with you, all your backs pressed together as you desperately try to locate the monster. You all stumble in a circle, searching for any sign of the thing, but there’s nothing.

“Where is it?” Nancy gasps out.

“Just fucking show yourself!” You shout, just wanting this all to be over with. Your body is drained from living in a state of fear for so long.

“Come on you son of a bitch!” Jonathan echoes your taunts.

Suddenly the lights turn off and you’re left alone in complete darkness. Faintly you can hear the monster’s familiar growl approaching from behind you. The hair on the back of your neck stands up, the air stands still. It’s back. Before you can react, it pounces on Jonathan.

“Jonathan!” You scream alongside Nancy. Desperation takes over you and before you can even process what’s happening, you ignore the pain in your ankle and jump onto its back, stabbing repeatedly at it.

Your blades only bounce off of its thick skin and the monster struggles to get you off. You hold on as tight as you can, shouting and kicking at it so that it can’t hurt him, but then it opens its mouth and for a horrifying moment you’re afraid that Jonathan will die.

“No!” You scream even louder than before and double down on your effort, stabbing and slashing as much as you possibly can to try and create some damage, but your arms are starting to ache and your ankle now feels like it’s on fire.

“Nancy, its skin is too thick!” You sob out, nearing complete exhaustion. Then, just as you’re about to collapse from exhaustion, gunshots fill the room.

Nancy begins to shoot at the monster and with the help of your blades, the two of you manage to pierce its skin, but even then the damage is minimal. It’s not enough, it won’t be enough. Tears stream down your face and the monster only gets closer to Jonathan, so you do the only thing you can think of: you crawl onto the top of its body and stab at its mouth.

The monster lets out a blood curdling scream and flings you off of its back. You go flying across the room and land against the wall with a groan. All the air has been knocked out of you and your ribs are definitely going to be bruised tomorrow. Every part of you aches, but you manage to lift your head up and blearily process the monster now approaching Nancy as she continues to shoot at it, but it remains unphased.

You crawl over to Jonathan, who is still laying on the ground. He’s motionless, and you fight everything within you not to break down and sob. You have to keep going, he has to be alive. As you reach Jonathan and frantically check for a pulse, the monster has now cornered Nancy and her gun seems to be out of bullets.

It’s over. You know it is.

Right as you’ve accepted your fate, a screaming Steve Harrington wielding Jonathan’s bat once again manages to save the day.

He hits the monster with the bat, effectively saving Nancy and you’re so impressed with his batting skills that you almost find him attractive with how easily he hits and dodges the monster. However, you file those thoughts away for later and finally manage to wake Jonathan up. He startles with a gasp and you check over his chest, scared he may have gotten pierced by the monster’s claws.

“I’m fine, we need to help.”

You help each other up and you have to lean heavily against him due to your ankle. You bull riding the monster has only made the sprain worse; you’re too afraid to look down and see the damage that’s been done.

As the two of you hobble over to Nancy, Jonathan looks at you. “Is Harrington really here right now?”

“Yes.”

“Lovely.”

Steve manages to lure the monster closer and closer to the bear trap and you watch him in awe. He’s quick footed and so sure of himself, the complete opposite of the boy from only ten minutes ago who had run out of the house screaming his head off. Now, Steve is swift with his hits and even twirls the bat in his hand to show off. The small act causes you to smile despite the horrible circumstances.

By the time you and Jonathan are up and recovered, Steve has successfully led the monster straight into the trap. It clamps around the monster’s foot and it screeches, flailing around in the trap. Steve still has his bat held up, now frantically looking over to everyone else. “He’s in the trap! He’s stuck!”

“Jonathan, now!” Nancy screams, motioning over at him to use his lighter.

Jonathan listens, using his free hand to flick the lighter on and then drops it onto the ground, right into the trail of gasoline. Immediately the monster goes up in flames, letting out horrible noises. You all shield your faces from the flames and Jonathan pulls you closer into him, still having yet to let go of you; you feel yourself sink into his side as you watch the monster wither away.

“Bug, I have to get the fire extinguisher, do you think you can stand on your own?” Jonathan asks you, his voice soft but urgent.

You quickly nod and brace yourself for his departure. “Yeah, go.”

He lets go of you as gently as possible before running to grab the extinguisher. When he has it, he orders everyone to get back and then smothers the flames. It takes a couple seconds, but eventually the fire gets put out, leaving behind an awful stench that makes everyone cough and gag.

“Holy fuck,” you wheeze out, hunched over. “Burnt monster smells horrible.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Steve coughs out.

Nancy covers her face with her jacket. “Where did it go?”

“It has to be dead.” Jonathan pants against the wall, looking like he’s three seconds away from passing out. “It has to be.”

“It fucking better be dead.” You mumble, hobbling closer to see what exactly was left behind. When you get closer and see the giant lump of melted skin all over the bear trap, you gag. “Oh god. Yeah, okay. It’s dead.”

Everyone sighs with relief.

Then, you notice a Christmas light above you flicker on. Your heart stops, terrified that the monster has somehow survived, but then a second one turns on, then a third, until a path seems to be guiding you towards the living room.

You all follow, cautious but curious, but these lights don’t feel threatening. There’s an energy to them, a comforting one that leaves you breathless. When you get to the living room, tears form in your eyes, now understanding what this all is. You look at Jonathan, who also seems to be thinking what you are.

It’s Joyce, you know it is.

“Mom,” he breathes out.

You limp over to him and grab his hand. He turns to you, his eyes shining with an appreciation that he only ever has for you. He seems to be drinking you in, as if now realizing just how close the two of you came to dying tonight. You’re doing the same, thankful that he’s alive and standing next to you despite everything. There’s so much the two of you want to say, but as always the words aren’t needed. You understand each other perfectly, the balance between you centered once more.

You put your head on Jonathan’s shoulder and he brings his hand to your hair to softly stroke it. The two of you stand like that for a second, breathing each other in and enjoying the tenderness after such a miserable day, before you slowly break apart and follow the lights going outside.

The porch light flickers and Nancy stands next to you, watching it with uncertainty. “Where’s it going?”

“I don’t think it’s the monster.” Jonathan tells her.

“It’s Will.” You don’t know how you know this, or what makes you feel so certain that you’re right, but somehow you know that you are. Somewhere deep within you, you feel the faint outline of hope flicker.

A new silence surrounds the four of you at your words, and for once there’s hope between you all. Then, after a minute or so of silence, everyone begins to head back inside. Steve first, then Nancy, and finally Jonathan, leaving you alone with the crisp early winter air.

You take a deep breath, the cold air serving as a reminder that you’re alive. You let it fill your lungs until you can’t breathe in anymore, then you release the air through an exhale and feel your body settle into its exhaustion. This is the first time you’ve had a moment to yourself, so you let the exhaustion weigh upon you like a warm blanket.

Will is safe, you can feel it. Despite everything, he’s safe and alive. Jonathan is too, still your best friend regardless of all the unspoken words between the two of you. Dustin is at the school with the kids, away from danger. Everything is okay, it’ll be okay.

You let the moment wash over you, incredibly grateful to be lucky enough to have survived it all. Everyone you love and hold close to you is safe. You didn’t fuck up this time. God, you did it.

Jonathan comes running out after a while, his face alight with joy and he crashes into you and picks you up to twirl you around. You laugh, loud and freely, and bury your face in his hair as he continues. “Bee, stop! Put me down, you dummy!”

He does as he’s told, but doesn’t let go of you once your feet are on the ground. “My mom just called, they saved Will. He–he’s in the hospital, he’s okay.”

You squeal and throw your arms around Jonathan again, squeezing him so hard that you’re afraid you'll hurt him, but he simply laughs and squeezes you just as tight. Tears come again, but this time they’re happy ones, and if it weren’t for your ankle you’d be jumping up and down right now.

Jonathan’s laughter dies down and he cups your chin around his fingers so that you look up at him. “You did it.”

“We did it, bug.” You softly push against him. You can’t take all the credit.

His eyes are shining again, you haven’t seen him this happy in so long, you get lost in it. His face is lit up and his smile is back and you’re so in love with him that it claws against your throat and threatens to spill out in excess.

A beat of silence passes and Jonathan just soaks your presence in. You can’t quite read his face, but for once this doesn’t frighten you. You enjoy it, you relish in the fact that he’s still yours yet now forming into someone new and lovely and wonderful.

“You never gave up.” He whispers at last, adoration in his voice.

“Never.”

“You never left me.”

“Never.” You breathe out, the word so simple with such heavy weight behind it.

The moment is so raw, so tender, and Jonathan is giving you that look again, the one that leaves you feeling like the sun itself has settled upon you and kissed your cheek. His eyes flick down to your lips and you smile, taunting him to lean in. He seems to understand, giving you his own teasing smile before leaning in. You lean in as well, every part of you buzzing, and right before your lips touch his, Steve bursts through the door.

“Jonathan, dude, do you have like, any food in the house?” He asks, completely oblivious to what he’s just interrupted.

You and Jonathan break apart, laughing the tension away. He ducks his head down, clears his throat, and turns to Steve. “Sorry, man. Been a little busy this week for grocery shopping.”

Steve’s eyes bulge out of his head. “Oh shit, right. Sorry, okay. Uh… Well, I’ll be inside, I guess.”

“We’ll be in shortly.” You tell Steve. You want to be frustrated by his timing, but something tells you that you’ll have all the time in the world to tell Jonathan how you feel. Now just isn’t the time.

–

The moment you arrive at the hospital, Jonathan sprints out of the car and straight towards the front desk to find out where Will is. You and Nancy follow behind, figuring you won’t be able to see Will for a while since you’re not blood related, so the two of you wish Jonathan goodbye and head towards the waiting room.

Steve lags behind, obviously unsure where to go. Nancy immediately walks inside, but you notice his hesitation and nudge his shoulder. “I’m sure that the cut on your eyebrow needs to be looked out. Let’s go sit, okay?”

He sighs deeply. “Yeah, sure. Totally. Let’s go sit in a room full of people who probably hate me. No biggie.”

“Either come or don’t.” You shrug. “But the way I see it, you can start mending some metaphorical wounds while you wait in there.”

You don’t wait for Steve to figure out what to do, you know that Dustin is somewhere inside the waiting room and you’re buzzing to see him and the rest of the kids. You hobble inside, still very much in pain due to your injuries, but the moment you see your brother it all fades away.

He runs into your arms and almost knocks you down with the force. Dustin clings onto you, mumbling over and over again how sorry he is.

“Hey, wait a second,” you pull him away and crouch down, groaning a bit at the pain. “What are you sorry about? What happened?”

You look around the room and see everyone there. Nancy, Hopper, the kids, Steve, even Nancy’s parents, but there’s someone missing…

“El,” you breathe out.

Dustin’s lip trembles and he begins to cry. You soothe him, grabbing his hand to bring him over to the seats and sit between him and Mike. Lucas is to the left of Dustin and you can’t help but notice how all the boys have dried tears in their eyes.

When they’re ready, you have the kids explain what happened, and the more they tell you, the more guilty you feel. You should’ve been there for them, you left them all alone with that monster. You got Will back, and yet you’ve lost El as a result. It seems that no matter what you do, it’ll never quite be enough in the end.

“It’s not your fault.” You tell Dustin, who still keeps apologizing. It was you who had left him in charge, you’re why El ended up vanquished by the monster. “You did everything you could. I shouldn’t have left you guys all alone, but I’m proud that you all took care of one another, okay?”

He sniffs and nods his head, but you know he doesn’t believe you. All the boys are somber; you know it’ll take time for them to recover. So, you do what you do best, you console them. You hold their hands and rub their backs and offer your spare comics in your bag. You do whatever you can to comfort them, to reassure them that they’re safe now and that no one will hurt them, but the light in their eyes has dimmed.

They’ll never be the same again.

And El… she had been so young, you don’t think you’ll ever not feel the heavy weight of guilt whenever you think of her. She had been so sweet and had trusted you.

You should’ve been there, you wish you could’ve saved her.

Steve watches from his seat across from you. He listens in as you comfort the boys, taking care of them in such a natural way. He admires this softer side of you, one he hasn’t quite seen before. Sure, you’ve always been gentle and sincere, but watching you with the kids is something special in itself. You manage to get them to laugh, you offer them your shoulder to cry or sleep on, and you read aloud to them stories from your comics and Steve finds himself drawn towards your interactions with the kids.

It’s sweet, something delicate and lovely, and Steve admires everything that you are. When he sees you awkwardly stand up and stumble over to the vending machines in the hall, Steve finds himself following after you.

“Bitch!” You slam the palm of your hand against the vending machine in vain. The bag of chips hangs by the little spiral, taunting you.

“That’s not a very nice word, Henderson.”

You turn and see Steve, leaning against the wall with a fond expression. “You stalking me?”

“Nah, just wanted to watch you fight against a vending machine.”

“Ha,” you snort, turning back to the machine. “Unless you can help me get this last chip bag, you’re free to go sit back down.”

You mean it to be a joke, not expecting Steve to actually listen, but he’s at your side within a second. “Step back, let Steve handle her.”

“What–”

Steve motions for you to move, so you reluctantly do as you’re told. Once you’re out of the way, Steve claps his hands, stretches out his neck, and then begins to aggressively shake the vending machine.

“That is so not what you’re supposed to do–”

Suddenly the bag drops down from the hook and into the retrieval slot. Steve reaches inside, grabs the bag, and then dangles it in the air. “Tada!”

You laugh and grab the bag from him. “Okay, I’ll admit, that was impressive.”

“What can I say? I’m charming like that.”

“Sure,” you smile at him, neither of you have moved yet. He’s still standing in front of you with that cocky smile on his face that’s slowly started to warm on you. You truly do understand why so many girls have fallen for him. If you ever saw Steve on the street, a stranger passing by, you’d fall a little bit in love with him yourself.

The thought startles you. “Well, uh…”

“Yes?” Steve raises his eyebrows at you, smiling.

“Thank you for the chips. The kids haven’t eaten anything in hours, so…” You wave the three bags in your arms. “Gotta keep 'em fed.”

“Wait a second, there’s only three bags there. Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

“I only had enough money for the boy’s chips.” You say, feeling suddenly sheepish. “It’s fine, though. I’ll just eat a few pieces from them and wait until we get home.”

Steve scoffs. “Yeah, no.”

You frown at him, confused as he rustles through his jean pocket and pulls out his wallet. “I don’t want your money–”

He doesn’t listen and simply puts the cash into the vending machine and punches in a few numbers. Slowly, one by one, multiple different bags of sweets and chips come falling down within the machine. Once the last one has dropped, Steve bends down and offers the huge stash to you.

“A feast, on me.” He winks at you and you can’t help but blush.

“T–thanks, I guess.” You now carefully balance the rest of the snacks in your arms, the mound almost blocking your view. You’re not sure how much Steve just paid, but with all these snacks you and the kids will surely be well fed.

Steve shrugs, and if you weren’t so tired you’d think the blush on his face was a real one. “It’s the least I can do, all things considered.”

His words give you pause. You know he’s referencing earlier today, back in the alley where fists slammed against skin and he had dragged you away from your best friend, but the memory feels like years ago. So much has happened since then, Steve has saved your life since then.

“Steve…” Your ankle is starting to sting again from standing for so long, so you adjust your footing and try to figure out what you want to say. “I never got to thank you back at Jonathan’s.”

“Thank me?” His face scrunches in confusion in a sickeningly cute way that it almost distracts you.

“Yes. You saved my life tonight, Steve. I won’t ever forget that.”

“Oh…There’s no need to thank me. I mean, what are friends for?” Steve freezes and clears his throat. “I mean, shit. We aren’t friends, you keep saying that. Sorry. You know what I mean.”

You know you shouldn’t, but you laugh. Honestly, after everything you’ve been through tonight with Steve, how can he possibly think the two of you aren’t friends?

“Why are you laughing?” Steve mumbles, confused.

“Sorry,” you wheeze out, still uncontrollably laughing. “It’s just–I mean, dude! We almost died together, of course we’re friends now!”

“We are?” He looks like a little kid on Christmas day being given the gift he’s always wanted.

Your heart warms. “Yes, idiot.”

Steve starts moving around in what you can only guess is a happy dance. “Sweet! Does this mean I get a cool nickname, too?”

“A nickname?” A bag of chips threatens to fall from your arms, but Steve catches it before it can land on the ground and takes a few more snacks off of your hands.

He readjusts the snacks he now has so that he can carry them easier. “Yeah, I mean. Byers has one, why can’t I?”

You don’t think you’ll ever stop feeling so thrown every time Steve mentions a small detail about you that he’s somehow come to notice. He has a habit of doing that, surprising you by how much he seems to pay attention to you. You thought that no one ever had before, but Steve continues to prove you wrong.

“I’ll tell ya what,” you begin to walk back towards the waiting room, careful to step carefully to not drop anything or upset your ankle. “Let’s see how this ‘friends’ thing works out, then I’ll decide what nickname fits you best. Deal?”

Steve thinks for a moment and follows. “Hmm. I don’t know, I think I’ll need some type of precaution to make sure you give me a nickname in the end. I want one, Y/N. I’m so serious right now.”

You laugh at his pleading tone. “I can add you to my baking list. Whatever I bake, you’ll get a piece of it. Is that better?”

“God, yes!” Steve punches the air and cheers.

You’re smiling so much that your face aches. You haven’t felt this light and carefree in so long, you’d almost forgotten what it’s like. The two of you don’t say anything else as you walk back to the waiting room, though Steve seems to slow down so that you don’t hurt your ankle keeping up, though you still let out a few winces and groans.

When you’ve arrived back at your seat, Steve sets down the snacks and runs off without another word. You’re confused by his sudden departure but don’t think much of it. Instead, you wake the boys up and show them your array of snacks, which wakes them up immediately.

You’re mediating a fight between Mike and Lucas over who gets the bag of Chips Ahoy when a nurse interrupts. “Excuse me, ma’am. This young man over here told me I should come over and check out your ankle?”

The woman smiles and you look past her and see Steve sheepishly waving from his seat across from you. You’re stunned. Had he really gone out of his way to ensure your ankle gets treated?

You shake the thoughts out of your head and inform the woman all she needs to know. You tell her how you’d fallen and what type of pain you feel when you stand up. She inspects the ankle, her fingers cold but kind, and within a few minutes has diagnosed you with a sprained ankle.

“All you can really do is stay off of it for a few weeks while it heals. I can go and get you some crutches, if you’d like?” She asks, rolling her gloves off and tucking them back into her pocket.

You nod. “If you wouldn’t mind, that’d be great.”

The nurse leaves with the promise of being back soon. In the meantime she instructs you to keep your ankle elevated, so you prop it against the coffee table and wait. You’re annoyed that you even have to have crutches, but then you think of Barb, of El. You’re luckier than you should be.

–

After an hour or so, Jonathan opens the door to the waiting room. He spots you and Mike talking softly with each other and whistles over to catch your attention. When Mike looks up, Jonathan nods at him and the boy scrambles out of his seat.

“Guys! Guys! He’s up, Will is up!” Mike shakes awake Lucas and Dustin, who had been cuddling on the seats fast asleep. “Will’s up!”

Once they’re awake, they quickly follow after Mike and the three boys are gone in an instant, sprinting down the hall towards Will’s room. Clearly they’re eager to see their friend.

You do your best to get up as fast as possible, but your new crutches serve more as a nuisance rather than an aid. As you struggle to get up, somehow knocking over the mountain of snacks, Steve rushes over.

He grabs the crutches and offers you his hand. “Here, careful.”

“Thanks,” you awkwardly accept his hand and get up. Jonathan watches from the doorway, a curious look on his face. Nancy does the same from her seat, not saying a word as she watches Steve gently help you navigate the waiting room with your injury.

Jonathan holds the door open for you and takes over once you’re out the door. He grabs the crutches from Steve and is now the one to hold your hand, balancing you. “I can take it from here, Harrington.”

“Right, yeah.” Steve scratches the back of his head and coughs. “I’ll just… yeah.”

He heads back inside and you and Jonathan watch as he leaves. As soon as he’s out of earshot, Jonathan turns to you. “Are you two friends now or something?”

“We almost died tonight, bee. I think it’s safe to call Steve a friend now.”

Jonathan bites his lip, though there’s a far off look in his eye that leaves you feeling like you’ve missed something in the conversation. “Guess that’s true. Anyways, let’s get you to Will.”

By the time you make it to the room, the boys have swarmed around Will and are telling him everything he’s missed this week. He’s listening eagerly as they’re telling him about El, but when he sees you enter the room, his eyes light up and he tries to sit up.

“Y/N!” Will calls out, pure excitement in his voice.

You practically fall over in your haste to get to him. The second you’re close enough, you collapse onto his bed and give him the tightest hug you possibly can without hurting him. He feels so small against you, smaller than he’s ever felt before, and his sunken eyes and pale skin make you want to cry.

But he’s alive and here and in your arms once again, happy and wonderful and safe.

“Little bee,” you try not to cry, but tears are thick in your voice. “I missed you.”

Will manages a weak smile and shrugs, trying to play off the gravity of the situation. “Took a little detour home.”

You laugh and ruffle his hair. “At least you came home, that’s all that matters.”

“Ahem,” Mike obnoxiously clears his throat, effectively ending your moment with Will. “You’re hogging Will, move over.”

You laugh again and move away, allowing the boys to resume their millions of updates. You maneuver your crutches and walk over to Jonathan, who is standing by the door. He’s looking at the boys and Will with a soft smile on his face and you join him, standing side by side as you watch your boys finally come together again.

Then, you feel a pair of eyes on you and you turn around. Nancy is leaning against the doorway behind you; she looks frail and distraught. There’s a sadness in her eyes as she watches the kids. You know that watching the boys reunite with their friend must remind her of Barb. She never got her happy reunion.

You feel awful for the girl, so when her bittersweet smile drops and she turns to leave the room, you nudge Jonathan to make him aware of the situation. He sees her fleeing and begins to follow after her, but he stops.

“What are you waiting for? Go.” You tell him, knowing it’s for the best.

He shifts his weight, uncertain. “Are you sure?”

You’re not sure how to decipher the hidden meanings underneath those three words, but you find that you’re exhausted trying to keep reading between the lines. The feelings you’ve kept buried bubble to the surface, but you remind yourself that he loves Nancy, despite your weird moments of almost with him. There’s something there between you and Jonathan, you both can feel it, but it feels too raw and fragile to bring into the light.

Without having to ask, you know that Jonathan will choose her.

It breaks your heart, but you look over at Dustin and Will, who are laughing about some joke while Joyce gazes at them fondly, and you know that you can’t lose this. Maybe Jonathan knows this, too. The small family you’ve built together, it’s too precious to ruin.

Joyce and your boys, you can’t lose them. They’re yours, and Jonathan is yours in a way that you can’t quite keep to yourself forever, but for now it’s enough. You approach Joyce, grab her hand and give her a tired smile, and the smile she returns to you reminds you that this is more than enough for you.

You turn to Jonathan, pushing down your feelings once more in favor of appreciating the fact that Will is looking at you again, alive. “Go, bee.”

Jonathan gives you one last look. You study his face for a moment, watching as it shifts from confusion, to hurt, then finally into acceptance. You’ll never be sure of what exactly he’d been thinking in that moment, but it seemed to have been enough for him, too.

He smiles, lets out a deep breath, and then leaves.

The door closes softly behind him.

–

A month later you find yourself in the passenger seat of Jonathan's car, tired from your shift at Bookstrordinary but excited to pick up your brothers. Somehow, even after missing three consecutive shifts last month, Mrs. Waters refused to fire you.

But Jonathan? He hadn’t been so lucky. His boss fired him from the Hawk, but he hadn’t been too upset. He still drives you to and from work, so you suppose things could be worse.

It’s late, but the two of you take your time driving to the Wheeler’s. Nothing much has changed between you two following Will’s reappearance. Sure, maybe you’re at his house more just to make sure Will is adapting well, but besides that everything seemed to go back to normal.

Well, almost normal.

Steve appeared at your job a few days after your conversation in the hospital. He had surprised you when you walked in, and when you asked what he was doing in a bookstore, Steve simply shrugged and said, “You can’t figure out my nickname if we don’t hang out, right? So, I’m here.”

He had become a regular at the store, stopping by whenever he could, and slowly the two of you became good friends. You’ve come to enjoy Steve’s presence, something that you never thought would ever happen. But he keeps you company as you work, he wanders around and explores the comics and books you recommend to him, and it’s nice having someone to goof off with.

Plus, you did promise to add him to your baking list, so he’s also become your taste tester who happily eats any creation you bring in for him.

As for Nancy…

That was more of a sore subject for Jonathan.

There was a few weeks following Will’s reappearance that you thought Jonathan and Nancy would get together, but it never happened. You’re not quite sure why, maybe it had something to do with Jonathan’s hesitation of approaching her, but it had crushed him when you and he saw Nancy and Steve making out in the hall as if nothing bad had ever happened.

The way Jonathan’s face crumbled when he saw the couple only solidified that he’d never be yours, but you comforted him anyways. You told him he deserved better and then dragged him away. It’d taken him a few days, but eventually Jonathan was able to fake a smile again.

You haven’t spoken about it since that day, but you leave your window open most nights for him to crawl in. The nightmares from that night fighting the monster plague you both, and the loneliness feels a little heavier than usual, but at least you have each other.

“Jonathan! Y/N! Come in, the boys are downstairs.” Mrs. Wheeler answers the door, letting the two of you in. “And Y/N, I love that sweater on you.”

You thank the woman. “It was a gift from my mom. She claims I need to up my wardrobe, whatever that means.”

“Well, I think she has lovely taste.”

“I’ll let you know you think so!” You open the basement door and motion for Jonathan to go down first.

When he reaches the bottom of the steps, Jonathan makes a face. “Woah, what’s that smell? Have you guys been playing games all day, or just farting?”

“My vote is farting.” You say, hopping down the last step. Your ankle has mostly healed by now, but sometimes if you land on it wrong it makes a weird clicking noise followed by some pain, but you choose to pretend that it’s normal.

The boys laugh and Lucas points at your brother. “Oh, that’s just Dustin. He farted.”

He begins making fart noises with his mouth and you and Dustin share a look. “Very mature, Lucas.”

The boy continues to sing and make fart noises and you can’t believe that this is your life. You’re standing in a smelly basement while picking up your stubborn brother all while simultaneously enjoying the fact that you get to call this your life.

Jonathan calls over to Will to grab his things, so you follow suit and gently berate Lucas. “Alright, that’s enough. I gotta get Dustin home.”

“What, I thought I got to stay–”

“Jonathan is our ride and I made cookies, so let’s go.”

The moment the word “cookies” leaves your mouth, Dustin hops up and collects his things without any further argument.

Once he’s ready, he and Lucas play wrestle as they say goodbye. While they’re distracted, you walk over to Mike and discreetly hand him a container full of double fudge brownies. You’d specifically made them for him, knowing they were his favorite, because you noticed how hard it’s been for him to adjust to El being gone. He really cared about her, anyone could see that.

Mike’s eyes widen and he throws his arms around you. “Thanks, Y/N.”

You pat his back. “Anytime, Wheeler.”

Dustin breaks away from Lucas and runs up the stairs, so you take that as your cue to leave.

Upstairs, Jonathan and Will are talking to Mrs. Wheeler. When they see you enter, the woman turns to you and asks if you’ll be bringing over your usual round of holiday treats. “Of course, I’ll get started on them tomorrow. You guys still like the sugarbread cookies?”

“If you make them, I think I’ll die of happiness.” Mrs. Wheeler informs you, and you laugh and tell her that you’ll have them ready as soon as possible.

You bid her goodbye, Dustin now by your side, and you follow Jonathan and Will to the front door. Right before you open the door, Nancy calls Jonathan’s name from the top of the stairs.

“Hey, Jonathan, wait up!”

You, Dustin, and Will stand awkwardly in the back while Nancy hands Jonathan a wrapped gift and wishes him a merry Christmas. They share an awkward exchange since Jonathan hadn’t gotten her anything, but Nancy assures him that it’s fine. The interaction is painful to watch as Nancy doesn’t spare you a single glance. Dustin and Will look at you uncertainly when she kisses Jonathan’s cheek, but you ignore them and pretend to be interested in a Christmas decoration on the table.

This will never get any easier.

“You ready?” Jonathan turns back to you guys, a blush on his face, and all you can do is silently nod.

In the car you sit in the back with Dustin, who squeezes your arm in reassurance. He’s come to understand your complex feelings for Jonathan and has pieced together Nancy’s involvement. While he’s never outright consoled you, he’s shown his support in other small and wonderful ways.

“Thanks,” you whisper, and Dustin smiles.

“We all buckled up?” Jonathan asks as he starts up the car.

“Yes, captain.” You mock salute.

Will giggles at you before he sees the gift and looks up at Jonathan. “Can I open it?”

“Yeah, sure.”

You and Dustin lean forward so you can see what’s in the box. When Will unwraps a beautiful, and no doubt expensive, camera, you gasp. The bitterness and hurt from moments ago vanishes. This gift is from Steve, you know it is, and something warm settles deep within your bones.

You think about last month, how you’d told him not everyone can just afford a camera.

Seems like Steve listened.

Maybe he isn’t so bad after all.

–

A week later you knock on the Byers’ door, a giant container of your annual holiday cookies in your arms.

“Bug!” Jonathan answers the door with an excited smile on his face. His new camera is in his hands and before you can even process what’s happening, he’s already taken a photo of you with your crooked earmuffs and oversized box of cookies.

He’s been using the camera ever since he got it. There’s now multiple pictures of you, always unaware or caught off guard, now hanging in the kitchen. It makes you blush to think about.

“You didn’t even give me a chance to smile.” You complain, shoving your way inside. It’s snowing and you’re freezing.

Joyce grabs the container to help you as soon as she sees you. “Here, honey. I’ve got it.”

You thank her and walk over to Will, who is drawing at the kitchen table. “Hey little bee. Whatcha drawing?”

“Hi, Y/N.” He slides over his picture and you’re shown a quick sketch of you and the party, this time fighting what appears to be a misshapen dog. “It’s a Dire Wolf, we’re fighting it in our latest campaign.”

“Ah, I see. Looks fluffy, though. Can’t possibly be a dangerous creature.”

Will rolls his eyes at you. “This is why you don’t play with us.”

“Careful, you’re sassing the girl who has just bravely ridden her bike through the snow to deliver her famous Christmas cookies.”

Will is out of his seat in an instant, running over to his mom, who has just placed the container on the counter. “Did you make the oatmeal raisin cookies?”

“Duh,” you snort.

“And the chocolate chip?”

“I sure did.” You stand next to him and point at a new cookie you’re trying out this year. “This batch is a caramel banana one. Steve seemed to like it and I think it’s pretty good, so I hope you do too.”

Jonathan swoops over and kisses your head. “Of course we’ll like it, bug.”

“He’s right, you know. We always love whatever you make us, honey.” Joyce informs you, her mouth now full of cookies.

“I’d hope so, this is like my fifth year making these for you guys. It’d be awkward if you hated my baking.” You say, now securing your earmuffs back on your head. “Anyways, I should get going. It’s Christmas, my mom won’t want me out too long.”

Joyce looks out the window and frowns. “Did you really bike here in this weather?”

“It wasn’t too bad, I’ll be fine–”

“No. Jonathan, grab your keys and drive Y/N home.” She stares you down, daring you to argue with her, but you don’t. You know better than to argue with Joyce Byers.

Once Jonathan has his keys, you say goodbye to everyone and wish them a merry Christmas. Jonathan throws your bike in his trunk and soon you’re off on the road. The drive is quiet but cozy. The snowflakes fall in a pretty spiral and there’s a soft song playing on the radio.

Sometimes, if you close your eyes, you can pretend that the events from last month never happened. Will never disappeared. You never discovered that you love Jonathan. Nancy Wheeler never became friends with Jonathan, possibly something more had there been more time. When you close your eyes and sit still, you can imagine that your brother never has nightmares that wake him up screaming. That your heart doesn’t hurt when you make your best friend laugh.

For a moment, you can forget.

“Can we always stay like this?” You ask Jonathan softly, almost as if you’ll disturb the peace that winter has brought with its quiet snow.

“Like what?”

You’re not sure how to express what you’re feeling. “This, us. Together.”

“Of course we’ll always stay like this.” He grabs your hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. He says this like it’s a fact, the most obvious thing in the world.

“Pinky promise me.” You hold your pinky up. You know it’s silly, but you need him to hear you, to understand what you’re saying.

Jonathan looks over at you. “Y/N–”

“Please, promise me, bee.”

He’s silent for a moment, seeming to understand the weight of everything between, around, and within the two of you. Then, he extends his pinky finger and wraps it around yours. “I promise, bug.”

And you believe him.

[END OF SEASON 1]

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#steve harrington x henderson!reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #stranger things #steve harrington fanfic #stranger things rewrite #slowburn #angst #wdtai #m's writing #im so tired n happy and full of love for u all #cannot believe its done :')#pls pls pls enjoy <333

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hobie-enthusiast · 1 year

Text

RIGHT THERE !

— hobie brown x gn!reader

— hurt/comfort, emotional scare basically, injury and death, cursing (its the f word once)

— it wasn’t his canon event, but god it may as well have been

— i’ve been sitting on this idea teehee. also looking for reqs! send in requests please pls pls :) (directly reuploaded from my old acc @/hobieenthusiast)

The mission was simple.

Gwen, Pavitr, and Hobie were supposed to stop the anomaly along with that dimension’s Spider-man, then return back to base. Rules were same as always. Get in and out. Try not to cause too much damage.

And don’t interfere with a canon event.

This dimension’s Spider-man just happened to be another Hobie Brown. Difference? This one actually embraced the name Spider-punk.

“I think it’s cool. Why not?” Spider-punk said with a shrug, scanning around for the anomaly.

Hobie glances around as well underneath the mask. “Just don’t believe in consistency. Or labels.”

“Focus.”

The group manages to find the anomaly, but of course it would put up a fight. A city level destruction type fight. Now the Spider-people had to take the anomaly down while also saving everyone.

“Split up.” Gwen spoke, pointing downward by a bridge. “Hobie and I will take the anomaly down. Spider-punk and Pavitr, go help people evacuate.

Everyone nodded as they split, Hobie and Gwen heading towards the end of the bridge to take the anomaly down. Pavitr and Spider-punk ushered people off the bridge, quickly and effectively swinging to save any stragglers.

That’s when Spider-punk’s eyes caught sight of someone. Someone so familiar to him.

You. Stuck on the ledge of the bridge covered in stray metal and bricks. Your path was blocked.

He wasted no time swinging towards you, yelling to Pavitr what he was doing. Pavitr’s eyes widen as the Spider swung that way, but never making it. The anomaly fell back and hit him into a bus.

The anomaly stumbled backwards before falling down off the ledge, not before grasping at some held up wires and metal. All of that cam crashing down, right onto the ledge after he fell.

Right onto you.

That world’s Hobie yelled out before getting back up, getting to the debris as fast as possible. He pushed everything off of you as quickly as possible, dragging your tired and hurt body from the rubble.

“[Name], no no, ‘ey, I’m ‘ere.” He whispered, desperately taking his mask off to look down at you.

“Oh Hobie..”

Gwen and Hobie-138 swung down to the scene. Gwen’s expression turned somber at the scene, knowing exactly what was happening.

Hobie however, he just, stared. It was almost like looking at a future prediction for him.

No. It can’t be.

“Hobie..” You whisper, raising a hand to his face as you weakly cough. “I’m not.. gonna..”

Hobie shook his head, grasping your hand. “Aye, you will. Don’t say nonsense, alright?”

Except it wasn’t nonsense. The three outsiders knew the outcome of this, and they couldn’t do anything besides.. well walk away. Pavitr and Gwen kept their heads down as they snuck from the scene, getting ready to open a portal.

Hobie didn’t move a muscle.

“Hobie?” Pavitr whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. But nothing.

He could only stare at his counterpart began crying over you, watching as the injuries only make your body weaker and weaker.

“Do me a favour, yeah?” You call out weakly, taking a shaky breath. You didn’t have much time. “Keep saving the world. From enemies, fascists, all the evil plaguing the innocent. I know.. you can do it.”

The poor Hobie shook his head, not even trying to stop the crying. “I need ya, [Name]. Stay with me.”

“I can’t.” You respond, another cough escaping your lips. You offer your best smile, gently closing your eyes. “Keep rocking the world, my wonderful Spider-punk.”

And with that, you took your final breath.

Outsider Hobie stared as his counterpart cried out, clutching your now deceased body. His expression was.. a multitude of things. Sadness, anger, shock, nervousness.

Was this.. no. It can’t be.

“Hobie please.” Pavitr said, pulling him in his direction. “Let’s let him grieve.”

Hobie mindlessly followed his teammates into the portal, back into headquarters. Miguel was awaiting them as Gwen gave her description of how their mission went.

Hobie finally took his mask off, wiping the lone tear that managed to escape his eye. That.. wasn’t you. No, it wasn’t his [Name]. You were still with him.

“Hobie..?”

He turned to see Gwen and Pavitr with concerned expressions. Gwen was first to speak. “Are you okay..? I know that was..”

“‘m alright.” He responded quickly, shaking his head. “Wasn’t my [Name], yeah? So ‘m fine.”

He didn’t keep the conversation going any longer. Hobie quickly opened a portal back home, walking through it before any protests could be heard.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

You finally finish cleaning up your room, putting the last shirt you needed to hang on the rack. As you move your laundry basket back to its place, you hear your window open and close quickly.

Of course you knew who it was.

“Hobie?” You call out, emerging from the small closet. “Hey! How was the mission?”

He was wordless as he saw you, standing there, alive. But he needed more. Hobie continued his silence as he moved forward, pulling you tightly into a hug.

Your eyes widen as you wrap your arms around him. “My my, I missed you too.” You spoke with a small laugh.

The hug lasted for a solid two minutes. Hobie just simply relished in how warm and inviting you were. How wonderful you smelled, always like home. How you didn’t question his sudden need for touch, just embraced it.

When he finally did pull away, you smile, placing a hand on his cheek. “Everything alright?”

Hobie lets out a small smile, holding your hand and kissing you palm. “It is now.” He said in response.

No matter if what he saw was his canon event or not, he’ll be damned if he let it happen to you. His [Name]. Fuck Miguel’s rules.

#NEW ARTICLE || OUT NOW !!#hobie brown x reader #spider man: across the spider verse #hobie brown #hobie x reader #spiderman #spider punk #hobie brown x you #spider man atsv #atsv hobie #atsv x reader

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sexlapis · 6 months

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# TAINTED FLOWERS

nanami x student!sorcerer!reader

synopsis: you were fed misleading details about the mission you were given. nanami is late to the scene.

gender neutral reader, angst, death (not of reader or nanami), hurt/comfort, descriptions of death, blood, dead bodies & gore, protective nanami, mentions of haibara, can be read as platonic or romantic

wc: 2k

a/n: in a sad mood, i miss nanami & i wanted to write something a little dark so here ^_^

posted on ao3 here

masterlists

uneven gasps leave you mouth, your chest heaving heavily with each breath. blood soaks the blue colour of your uniform as you sit on your knees, staring at the aftermath of the chaos which ensued minutes before.

what once was lavender-coloured, fragrant flowers and fresh, verdant grass, were now painted crimson, tainted and sodden with the blood of your ally, who lay mere feet away, still, limp and unmoving.

regretfully, you look to where she lay, hoping that by some miracle, she is fine and well and victorious.

the sight of your friend has you heaving.

well, what remained of your friend.

whatever lower body she once possessed, was gone. ripped and essentially disintegrated. what it left is a deep puddle of red that pools around her widely. her patent, mary jane shoes stand in the puddle and her ruffled, previously white socks rest in them, dripping and soaked in her own blood.

her face. her face. her face.

it was barely recognisable. it was hardly even there-

acid falls out of your mouth and onto the grass on the ground, burning your throat and mouth. your clammy hands grip your thighs as the last remnants exit your body. droplets of sweat litter your forehead as you quiver, your limbs weak. they feel weighed from the battle and the fast loss of adrenaline.

you have the instinct to check on her. to make sure she’s dead or to check she’s alive, you don’t know.

but you know. deep down, you know.

mushy, salmon flesh is sprayed upwards from where her head is, the most is piled up at her “skull”, like a mountain of slush. an eyeball bulges in the middle of it all.

tears stream down your face before you even realise it, in shock, fear, despair, anger and disbelief.

low risk mission, they said.

it won’t be too dangerous, they said.

you will both be able to handle it, they said.

lies. lies. lies.

you hear faint shouting, your mind far, far away from earth at this point as you look at what was a friend of yours.

you hear running on the grass, and the yells becoming louder and louder, the ringing and screeching in your ears coming to a closing halt as you finally hear who is calling out for you.

“_____!”

nanami.

turning your head to the side slightly, you watch nanami sprint towards you, the fastest you have ever seen him go, stopping a few metres away from you, weapon in hand ready to fight. you look back to your friend.

nanami stops, breathing steadily as he takes in his surroundings. he spares a glance at the body of your peer, now not even a body - just flesh waiting to be consumed by the birds of death, who clean away the morbid remains of the dead and let the cycle of life repeat itself.

the way she died, the way her body is, reminds nanami of-

he brushes such thoughts away quickly, focusing his intentions on you.

when ichiji had rushed up to him, stammering and panicking over two fairly new fourth grade students who have somehow accidentally been sent to a handle a first grade curse, nanami prepared for the worst.

and the worst it was.

you jump and twitch uncontrollably, not even acknowledging nanami’s presence. you gulp, mouth dry and lips cracked and sit on the ground, clothes now sure to be stained with soil and grass markings at the knees.

nanami approaches you carefully, not wanting to startle you when you are in a clear state of consternation and distress.

“_____,” he whispers, kneeling down beside you. he reaches out, wishing to examine you for injuries but you flinch wildly, yelping, almost falling over yourself.

“hey!” nanami stables your, putting both hands on your forearms, “it’s just me. nanami. your mentor.”

that seems to snap you out of your lost stupor a little. you blink at him.

he sees blood splattered on your face and doesn’t know if it’s yours or not. you don’t know either.

nanami takes the opportunity to scan your body for any serious injuries and comes up empty, only seeing your blood-coated uniform and hands. he finds your eyes, red and watery.

“are you alright?” he asks. he knows it’s a stupid, stupid question as soon as it leaves his mouth, but he’s not sure what to say at this moment, to someone who just watched their friend be killed by a monster right in front of their eyes.

heavy breathes leave your mouth along with incoherent mumbles, looking around almost frantically, you’re on the edge of hyperventilating before you find his kind eyes again.

you blubber, going to turn your head to your friend’s body. “she-she’s..she’s-” you gasp in crescendo, words unable to leave your mouth, still in shock.

nanami turns your head back to him delicately, “don’t look at her.” you don’t want to see that more than you have to, he knows that well enough.

nanami waits, letting you fumble and stutter and trip over your words, still holding your arms, before you’re falling forwards into his hold, crying and weeping into his blazer, screams muffled by the fabric which you will most definitely ruin.

nanami starts at the sudden action, shocked but at the same time, knows that your behaviour is not surprising.

he was prepared for dead bodies, blood baths, life-threatening, powerful curses that he had battled before.

but somehow, nanami was not prepared for this. to comfort a person who has just lost their friend in a slaughter.

you head lay solid on his chest, wetting his clothes, but he doesn’t even bring himself to care about that. nanami envelops you in his arms, pulling you closer, cradling the back of your head as he holds you to his chest. the soft gesture simply makes you sob harder, wrapping your arms tighter around his waist as he rocks you gently.

“it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s over now.” the words tumble out of his mouth, like he knows what to say in this situation, like he’s being the person that he himself needed. “shh, shhhh, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

the sky is inked with marigolds, the tender, honey colours of the clouds and sun shine a contrast in the mood and what you have just experienced.

blood glitters on the grass and flowers, shiny and slick.

you and nanami stay there just like that for a long while. long enough to where you bawls, screeches and grieves turning into sniffles, whimpers and hiccups.

nanami moved back a short distance, still holding you. “we need to leave, now.” he states. he inspects your face and body once more, “can you stand?”

you don’t respond for a few moments and nanami is patient. with a weak nod from you, nanami begins to rise from his kneeling position, clasping your hands in his own as he helps you to your feet. your legs are shaky, unsteady like a new-born lamb.

he supposed that’s what you are in a world like this. a lamb who had no idea what they were walking into.

you stumble a little and nanami holds your hands tighter.

licking your lips, you glimpse behind you, back to the deceased. “wh..what about h…her?”

“…someone will come to get her.” there’s no gentler way nanami can put that.

you hum and nod again.

arms crossed and still quivering in your bones, you blink away tears. you just want to go home.

then, nanami is shrugging off his suit jacket, and placing it around your shoulders, the size of it dwarfing you, the fabric warm and comforting, protecting you from the harshness of the world and reminding you of the protector that nanami is.

he wraps an arm around your shoulders, guiding your forward and away from the bloodbath.

footprints of vermillion are left in your wake.

the journey back is quiet.

when arriving at the car, ichiji goes to say something, but is silenced with a quick glare from nanami.

nanami opens the door for you, helping your inside and sits in the back with you. he puts your seatbelt on, securing it around your body before doing his own.

you’re looking down, at your hands that are dry and splotched red, occasionally snivelling and breath hitching. you felt cold for some reason, even in nanami’s jacket and the summer heat your leg bounces continuously.

as nanami looks at you in the corner of his eye, an unconscious but truthful thought floods nanami’s mind.

even after all these years, after all his time away from jujutsu society and slaving away in the grand rat race, one thing has always been clear.

nothing will ever change. and nothing he does will change anything in the grand scheme of things. he could dedicate his whole entire life to serving jujutsu and it wouldn’t even crack a dent in the system.

haibara’s smiling face and bronze, crinkled eyes come to mind. then follows, the reminder of his untimely, brutal death, how he died because of a mistake an adult who should have known better made, how his death meant nothing then and means nothing now, how his bloody torso was all that remained of him and how he lives on only in nanami’s memories.

nanami groans.

why did i even come back here?

he hears you sniffle and clear your throat. you let out a breath and he looks down at you. you’re still staring ahead, but he can tell you’re about to say something.

“will…will i..be in trouble?” you croak out, a small sob escaping your mouth. “i..i did everything, i-” more cries interrupt your sentence, images of minced, pink flesh coming to mind once again, and you cover your face, gasping as your shoulders shake.

nanami is reminded of your youth, your inexperience and desire to please the adults around you with that question alone. you, who just witnessed the death of a friend, are afraid of disappointing an adult who you probably do not even know of.

his heart beats a little faster and he exhales a little, not angry at you, but at the inevitable circumstances that this “job” has on one so young and, for lack of a better word, innocent.

“_____,” he sighs, quite a sad sound. he removes his goggles and leans down a little to get a look at your face. you continue to cry. “look at me, please.”

you whimper and do as he says, your face clearly hot, eyes drowned in tears, the skin around them matted with wetness, and nose running and sniffling. your eyes had a far away, distanced look, one of devastation, destroyed childhood dreams and a permanently changed life.

“you are not in any trouble, _____” he tells you, his brown eyes filled with sympathy, reassurance and another trait that you cannot quite place. “and you will not be in any trouble. i won’t let that happen.”

you hum sadly in response, closing your eyes and shaking your head as a few more tears fall from your eyes.

nanami cups your face with one broad, gentle hand, catching one of your tears with his thumb and erasing it into the soft skin of your cheek. he caresses your shoulder with the other. “i won’t…” he trails off, speaking more to himself than anybody else.

choking on a cry, you shuffle closer to him, resting your head on his chest, ruining his blue shirt even more. he doesn’t hesitate to hold you in his arms, something that seems so natural and familiar to him.

nanami thinks this is so unlike him, to comfort a student so closely, but he does not stop. you need this. it reminds him of why he took this job in the first place and why he left and why he came back once again.

why he keeps going, going, going when he is more than able to just stop.

“i won’t…”

next week, you are appointed to third grade sorcerer level and your eyes are blank and your heart is empty.

a/n: this turned out darker than i expected tbh lmao 😕😕😕

#nanami x reader #nanami angst #nanami x you #nanami x y/n #nanami x gender neutral reader #nanami x gn reader #nanami kento x reader #nanami kento x you #nanami kento x y/n #nanami kento angst #kento nanami x reader #kento nanami x you #kento nanami x y/n #kento nanami angst

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oval3000 · 6 months

Text

Chapter 10

Final Chapter!!!

Yandere Psych Patient König x Nurse Reader

Warning: Possesive, Obsession, Death, Gore, Blood, Smut, Toxic behavior, age gap.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

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

How can things go wrong? It's not something that you never thought would happen. What did happen? You were happy. Were you? You don't know anymore. The only thing you do know is that things went downhill from this point on. You haven't heard from König, it's not like Horangi will tell you about him. You couldn't really do anything when your hands are restrained to the headboard of the bed. Your swollen belly and your son was the only thing that kept you company.

You remember the night Horangi came to you. Ripped your clothes off and planted his seed inside of you. He told you that you are his since you are pregnant with his child. When you ask you about König, he replies with a simple 'don't worry about him'. Unfortunately, you started to feel as if this is your new life. However, everything got worse. It didn't help when you felt pain being pregnant and knowing when something is wrong can be terrifying. So when you knew that you were having a miscarriage, it took a toll on you with your emotions. Horangi was disappointed about the miscarriage, especially after telling König that you are pregnant. He assured you that the both of you can try again. You shook your head as he caressed you that everything was gonna be fine. Everything wasn't. You miss König. You miss your old life. You wondered how life was for you when you still lived in your old town. The town where you grew up in. Is anyone looking for you? Is anyone questioning where you are?

Do people care about you? König was. He cares about you. You miss him. You miss him so much. He loves you.

It felt like your mind was going through a blender. You plead with Hoarngi to let you go. To let your hands go from the tightrope. Eventually, as days went on, you didn't really have any hope about this.

But you shouldn't because. Things turned up good for you. You woke up to a loud sound. A loud crashing sound. The sound of two men shouting. Your baby son woke up from the noise, crying. You reached over to grab him from the bassinet, but the loud noise of the door coming down, startled you. Your eyes widen when you see Horangi coming towards you. You quickly placed your son back on the bassinet when you felt his tight grip on your arms. He grabbed your face, pulling it a bit to show more of your neck. He pulled out his bowie knife and placed it near your skin. You felt the point, cold, metal, tip of the knife on your neck. He covered your mouth with his hand so you don't make too much of a sound. You heard loud footsteps and when those footsteps came close, you felt relieved.

You know those footsteps. It wasn't no secret that it was König. Came with anger in his eyes and palms feeling his fingernails digging into his skin for how tight his fists were. "Let. Her. Go."

König took a step closer, walking side to side. One foot over the other. His eyes stared down at Horangi, his once clear blue eyes became dark. His stance was strong and firm that you feel a little scared but also comfortable that he found you. "Let! Her! Go!" tears were going down your face and onto Horangi's hand.

Horangi dropped you on the bed. You immediately went towards your baby, who was crying. Still on the bed since the rope wasn't long enough for you to go further away from the bed. You shut your eyes and held your baby close to you. You tried so hard to cover the yells and the thuds you could hear by thinking of many things. Your past comes up with scenes you remember from your mother. The call you made towards your father while your mother was passing away. Everything faded away and the only thing you can hear is a ringing noise from inside your ears. You couldn't hear your baby, couldn't tell if he was crying or not, you couldn't hear him. Soon you felt a pair of arms around you. You were too scared to open your eyes. You felt a warm palm on your cheek which then caused you to slowly open your eyes and to look up. You saw König staring at you with comforting eyes. "It's okay, I'm here," he repeated his words towards you until you leaned on his chest. König hugged you and his son together. He helped you get out of the rope that was around your wrist."Don't look." He whispered to you. He tried his best to shield you from the bloodbath. Horangi was lying on the ground his throat slit open and multiple fractures, either way, he was dead.

König took you into his truck. You sat on the passenger seat while cradling your son. You remember staying at a decent motel with König. He would go out and come back, telling me that everything was going to be how it was. He would hold your son while you were able to get a night's rest. He would go back to being the König you remembered. While the both of you cuddled in the bed, you confessed to all the things Horangi has done, including the miscarriage you had. He told you how sorry he was and that he thought Horangi would be someone he could trust. But something that he would always find out is that you can't really trust anyone.

Can't blame him though. Being betrayed is something he has witnessed for a long time, he just didn't expect someone who he called a friend would do this to him.

He later took you to your new home where you settled in. Things turned up for all of you.

König continued to be a wonderful father and husband.

Things are indeed fantastic.

After all, it's what he planned. Seeing you for the first time in that hospital, he for sure had to plan all of this out. Cancel out all possible walls that might stop him from being free.

He knew he had to make you his wife and the mother of his kids whether he, himself, liked it or not.

In the end, he got what he wanted and you..well...you accepted it not like you had a choice.

At the end of the day, you got the love that you deserve he got his.

(Sorry for the long delay. This might be short, but I lost track of the story, so it might suck idk.)

#konig call of duty #cod modern warfare #cod mw2 #cod x reader #fanfic #konig #könig #könig cod #könig x reader #yandere konig #yandere cod #yandere #könig mw2 #könig call of duty #könig x y/n #könig x you

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hoaxriot · 9 months

Text

FOR THE FIRST TIME

pairings. sirius black x fem!reader

synopsis. years had passed and your daughter was at hogwarts. your husband was out and had not showed himself yet.

notes. this is part two coney island! i also put a name for the kid but you can imagine any other name or gender i just chose this so it would be easier to write. this follows the scenes of the movie in the shrieking shack. idk why i wrote most of the scene but i felt it was important and some things are a bit different.

it had been years since your friends were murdered by one of your best friends and your husband was put in askaban for it. of course, years since you had given birth to your only kid, your daughter— celeste. she had become your entire world after she was born.

you continued to live with remus after because you still needed that help and he was glad to do it. his dream became true and he had became uncle moony.

celeste’s first words were moony and he was thrilled about it, soon after she turned one you moved back home but he was still around. life had started to become better as celeste grew up, everything was okay again. you still missed your friends dearly but after celeste you knew you could not stay in bed all day, she made you happy.

when your daughter started to grow you knew she was a wizard which made you happy. time came around where she could finally understand that other families had a father around and she didn’t.

the right age, you sat her down and explained to her in the best way possible with remus to help.

then it was time for celeste to go to hogwarts and you to become a professor. ever since then, life had been better. your daughter was sorted into gryffindor and she had found herself friends, she was happy so you were too. of course, one of her friends were harry potter which made you happy but he had not know you even though his father was your best friend.

just days before now, you had learned the truth about who killed your friends and who was framed because of remus lupin. that’s how you found yourself running into the whomping willow like you had done multiple times before.

your daughter was in there, you knew of it. you watched as remus shoved the door open and yell a spell. you ran in behind him to see your husband, sirius black on the floor with remus pointing his wand at him. you looked up to see your daughter standing beside hermione with fear struck in her eyes.

moving your eyes back to your husband who was being pulled up by remus into a hug, “i found him!” you heard sirius say causing a frown to come upon your lips. sirius had not noticed you standing behind remus.

“let’s kill him.” sirius said pulling away from the hug, you still stood frozen behind remus. too in shock, your husband was in front of you while your kid was a few feet away from you. sirius was older just like you, he has a beard and he still wore his askaban clothing.

hermione started to yell at remus causing him to turn towards the girl, then sirius saw you. it didn’t feel real the way you stood in front him, you looked the same as you did the night he got taken away. sirius has waited for this moment since then, he saw you look towards the kids. confused he sees you meeting eye contact with one that looked like him and you. was that—

he got distracted by remus and his anger. remus told him to wait after he started to yell.

“i did my waiting! twelve years of it… in askaban!” sirius yelled in desperation causing tears to evade your eyesight and your daughter to flinch.

remus gave his wand to sirius, “very well, kill him. but wait one more minute. harry has the right to know why.” the potter boy started to yell at sirius and remus blaming him for the death of his parents. he had every right to, he didn’t know. then professor snape came in. harry then yelled a spell and he went flying. celeste scrambled back against the wall causing you to look at her in sadness, this must’ve been so confusing for her.

then somehow sirius got rons rat from him and turned him back to what he truly was, peter pettigrew. they dragged him from the hole in the wall, pushing him into the middle of the room. sirius grabbed your hand and pushed you behind him a bit.

of course, peter tried to play nice in some way but he was failing miserably. he also failed at trying to get his way. now you were walking behind the granger girl with your daughter as she held onto your hand tightly. she always thought she would run straight into her father’s arms but neither of you did.

once you climbed out of the whomping willow, sirius put ron down and celeste dragged you away.

“mom, why didn’t you hug dad?” she questioned letting go of your hand facing you, you smiled sweetly at her.

“i wanted to, badly. things were a bit difficult down there.” the both of you laughed lightly. your smiled dropped when you saw sirius making his way to the two of you. celeste noticed your expression and before she could say or do anything you took off in a jog to jump into sirius’s arms.

sirius caught you with a large smile as he wrapped his arms around your waist, clinging onto, all the years he missed with you. you still had the same vanilla smell to you, the same grip you always had on him when the two of you hugged.

there was just one thing different— the kid watching you, the kid who immediately ran into your arms and stayed with you until now. you could feel sirius lose his grip on your jacket, you knew what he was looking at so you pulled away still holding onto his arm.

“c’mere.” you said to him as you pulled his arm towards celeste, you felt her nervousness so you smiled at her.

“sirius, this is celeste,” you saw his smile grow at the name, he had brought the name up one time when you two were talking about kids, “celeste, this is sirius… your father, as you know.” you spoke looking at her, she was quiet which scared sirius until she threw herself into him, very hardly causing him to let out a small ‘hmph.’

nonetheless, he hugged her back. you smiled at the interaction. he then heard her start to cry, your smile dropped a bit but you knew she was just like you and cried at overwhelming times. sirius then brought his hand to her head rubbing it comfortingly. at that action, she gripped onto him harder.

sirius opened his eyes to see your eyes filled with tears, he laughed a bit also knowing how you were, crying when you were happy. celeste heard him and pulled away to see you as a tear fell down your cheek.

“mum!” she laughed at you making you gasp playfully, “don’t mum me, you’re crying too.” you spoke pointing at her tear covered face. she then copied your playful gasp.

“don’t mind me, i just met my dad.” celeste joked causing sirius to laugh, she had humor just like him which made him smile as he laughed. he moved to stand beside you wrapping his arm around your waist.

“let’s go home,” he whispered into your ear but then you were distracted by each other again when remus started to transform causing the moment to be ruined.

that night was only a few nights ago, but now you were sitting in the noble house of black on the floor around the coffee table playing a game with celeste and sirius.

games had become something you and celeste did every night she was home, sirius was more than glad to be apart of that.

he finally had what he has always wanted, you— his wife. a kid who loved him and who he loved, giving her a life he had never once had. he was free and happy.

#marauders #marauder era #sirius black #sirius black x female reader #sirius black x reader #sirius black x you #james potter #remus lupin #peter pettigrew #sirius black x oc

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strawberrylabs · 8 months

Text

Whumptober day 5 with Wanderer!

Prompt: debris

Whumptober masterlist

Summary: Wanderer regrets his last words to you.

Warnings: Being burried alive, arguments, blood, yelling, death, willing death

It wasn't uncommon for you and Wanderer to get into arguments.

He wasn't always the best with words, or with being honest about his emotions.

Usually conflicts could be resolved within the hour and everything would be fine.

This time it was different.

"Fine! Go ahead and die! Abandon me like everyone else did!"

Spit flew out of wanderer's mouth as his anger seeps through his words.

You had recently come back from a particularly dangerous commission, one where your life was out in danger more than once, and you had received quite a few injuries.

"You know that's not fair! I'm doing my job! You know I would never just intentionally die, that's stupid!"

Normally you were calm when arguing with him. You know he's learning, and you'd usually have patience.

But not this time.

He scoffs.

"Well you're human so I wouldn't put it past you to be stupid enough to die. You would be selfish enough to leave me alone after getting me attached to your mortal ass!"

"Fuck you."

He turns to you

"What was that?!"

"Fuck you! I have been nothing but patient with you these past months as you learn about emotions! I've dealt with everytime you yelled and given you time to calm down! But I will not be called selfish for saving someone elses life! And I will not be guilt-tripped by you accusing me of abandoning you!"

You seethe at him, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"What would you do if I did die? Is my last memory going be worrying about you hating me for supposedly abandoning you? Is my name going to be tarnished by your opinion on my death?"

You could feel yourself boiling with unbridled rage.

"Yeah well maybe it'd be better if you died! Then this false heart wouldn't feel so heavy all the time!"

The silence after his words was heavy.

"I'm going to finish my commissions. I'll come back when you stop being a prick."

You fix him in place with a hard glare.

Wanderer feels a lump in his throat. He'd seen you glare sure, but never at him.

You close the door behind you without a second thought.

Fine. Wanderer would wait. It's not like you could avoid him forever, you live with him after all.

And so he waited.

He would never admit that he didn't sit down once. He would never admit that he didn't stop pacing.

He would never admit that he didn't notice the hours passing, too stuck in his own head.

It was only when he heard someone yelling about the location of your commission did he snap out of his daze.

"Someone said the buildings in the area collapsed!"

Wanderer was out the door in an instant.

Surely you were out of there already right?

The only reason you weren't home is because you being petty, right?

'What would you do if I did die? Is my last memory going be worrying about you hating me for supposedly abandoning you? Is my name going to be tarnished by your opinion on my death?'

Wanderer bit his cheek so hard it bled.

He was an idiot.

Wanderer finally made it to the old village after a few short minutes.

The place was a wreck.

Not a single building was left standing.

But what caught Wanderer's eye was a familiar piece of clothing.

Time froze.

There, in the light of the now setting sun, painting the morbid scene in a sardonic shade of red; lay you. Your lower half covered by rubble of a half fallen, unstable, building. Blood was leaking from where your body disapeared.

He had to get you out.

And he had to get you out now- or else the rest of the building would collapse.

"Hey! You moron, stay with me!"

He got no response.

He left out a breathe when he felt your pulse. But you were unconscious.

"Come on! Wake up! I can't get you out like this!"

He grabs underneath your arms and pulls, eliciting a whimper of pain from you.

"Shit! Come on!"

The more he pulled, the more cries fell from your mouth.

He tried to lift the debris, but it just made the remaining structure unstable.

Before he knew it, hot tears were streaming down his face.

Normally he wouldn't let anyone see him cry.

But in this moment, he couldn't bring himself to care.

"im sorry! Ok?! Im sorry! I know I was wrong, dammit! I know I'm terrible with words and emotions and im sorry I took it out on you! I know it was stupid!"

he grits his teeth, not attempting fighting the tears

"But archons be damned, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me! I need you! You make me whole! You make this fake heart feel something! and I'm not letting you leave me!"

"I'm sorry I said what I did! I was a fool! I know you would never leave me and life would be unbearable without you!

He places his forehead on yours

"so please..." he whispers

"Please! Stay!!"

He feels a hand on his cheek and snaps his eyes open to see your weak gaze meeting his.

One look at your expression told him all he needed.

You weren't making it out alive.

"..I'm staying with you."

You sputter

"You can't! This building will fall any second. You have to go-"

"I don't care! I'm not abandoning you. I'm not leaving the one idiot I love in this cursed world!"

Wanderer moves to be beside you, lying down as best he can to hold you. You action is awkward given the obstacles, but it's morbidly comforting all the same.

No more words are spoken as the two of you look at each other.

No moves were made, now phrases uttered, but the emotion in your eyes conveyed all that needed to be said.

'You loved him.'

'And he loved you.'

You held each other tight as you focused only on one another, foreheads touching.

The last thing wanderer saw as the roof fell, was your resigned, love filled eyes.

And then it all faded to nothing.

Link for part 2(currently a poll to decide what to do)

#whumptober2023 #no. 5 #wanderer x reader #death tw #buried alive tw #wanderer x reader angst #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader angst

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theflyindutchwoman · 8 months

Text

I am responsible for a life that is in jeopardy, and I will do whatever I have to to save her, do you understand?

| ANATOMY OF A SCENE - CHENFORD EDITION 2.11 - Day of Death

The juxtaposition of these two scenes - Lucy being buried alive and Tim going feral - is so powerful and haunting… They might not be together physically in those moments, but you can still feel how their own actions are being driven, fueled even, by the other. Lucy is trying to hold onto his training and her faith in him, knowing instinctively that he will do whatever it takes to find her.. And Tim is ready to burn down the city in his search for her, spiralling… But you can also see how the other's absence is starting to impact their spirit as well. They're both trying to remain as calm as possible, but there's no one to ground them...

That image of the dead tree looming over the grave site gives such an eerie and disturbing atmosphere to the scene… And so is the visual of Lucy, looking all bruised and battered. She's clearly terrified, wounded, probably still feeling woozy… But most of all, she's being defiant. She doesn't scream, she doesn't cry, she doesn't beg… She refuses to give Caleb that satisfaction, to play his mind games. And in return, she even manages to turn the tables on him, getting under his skin… and forcing him to alter his plans. That might seem inconsequential in that moment but, in the end, that's what saves her : without all her efforts, the team would have been too late. She bought them and herself some time. And that's why Tim repeatedly makes sure to remind her that she saved herself. Nyla was absolutely right in her assessment : Lucy is a fighter. She's pushing through her fear and relying so much on psychology and on her training. The way she manages to compartmentalise is so incredible. Her strength is unreal… She's remembering what Tim taught her, focusing on the procedure to calm herself down. She throws her ring as a breadcrumb for him : he once told her that the most important thing she needed was her eyes, her cop eyes. So she leaves something behind for him to find, because that's something else he taught her : she's never alone. The faith she has in him… And even her last words to Caleb are pure defiance… And true. But seeing her in that barrel is so distressing. That last shot of her trying to regulate her breathing, to stay calm and not panic is so poignant… She's on the verge of breaking down and it's so heartbreaking...

And she's not the only one : Tim is also close to reaching his breaking point, but in a very different way. He's going in a downward spiral, unravelling, with no one there to reign him in… Lucy is usually the one who can get through to him. And in some ways, this is so reminiscent of the old Tim, the one we met. Only, back then, he was punching walls or lashing out at detectives when Isabel got shot… here he is being almost unnervingly calm when he threatens that man. He has finally a target to vent his anger and frustrations to. He doesn't yell. He's not reacting, he's being very deliberate. And that it is more terrifying. He is absolutely ready to cross a line for Lucy. Remember when she told him that he was always on the right side of the law? That was when he considered for a brief moment breaking the law for his wife, before changing his mind. But now? He will do whatever is necessary to get Lucy back alive. Right or wrong. Jackson is so shocked in the background : this is a side of Tim he has never seen before. Angry? Yes. But this cold anger? No. That's the thing : Tim's reaction here is far more similar to the one he had when his wife was in danger than when his best friend got kidnapped by a cartel… Not to mention that this scene is also quite close in tone to the ones where Wesley was threatening carter members for Angela or making a deal with Elijah. Both men were ready to do whatever it took to save the women they love… Except that only one of them was married. Guilt might be a powerful motivator, but this isn't the only emotion fueling Tim here. Love was a part of it, romantic or not. He just didn't realise it yet. And it kind of makes you wonder how he would react now that they're together...

Lastly : the way both Melissa and Eric conveyed all those emotions is nothing short of brilliant. Those images of Lucy in the barrel and Tim threatening to pull that guy inside out are some of the most memorable ones from the show and they did a phenomenal job in their portrayal, the micro-expressions and the voice… They elevated the material so beautifully.

#the rookie #chenford #chenfordedit #lucy chen #tim bradford #2.11 #Anatomy of a scene - Chenford Edition

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wolfqueen66793 · 5 months

Text

‼️Sonic Prime Spoilers‼️

Warning: LONG!

Putting my thoughts together on this new season, overall I found it very enjoyable! Definitely my favorite season.

Loved the Sonadow! Lots of great moments from the two hedgehogs, it’s so very important to me that we got to see a softer more concerned side of Shadow, even if you don’t ship Sonadow you have to admit him not being a asshole was great!

However I do wish we got to see more of him, I’m definitely fine with the amount we got, not only for the season but the show overall! But I hate the trend Sega has made where they put Shadow in a show and he quickly gets put to the side lines.

I think a great thing they could have done with Shadow is when he’s separated from Sonic still have episodes with him! We could have seen him recover from the fall into the ravine and fight his way out as a episode, or it could have been a prisoner situation! (Or both) Nine could have some how contained Shadow after being weakened by the Grim Bots, that would let the writers keep a power house like Shadow out of the fight but not out of the plot. Anytime we cut back to Nine we would also be cutting back to Shadow.

There was also the 3-4 Episode fighting, now honestly I didn’t care but I did notice it. Did the fights get a repetitive? Yeah, It was a lot of repeating the same stuff but I forgive it because during this long fight was all the lovely character interactions and growth, which is what I think we should focus on. Dread choosing his crew over Treasure, The Roses, The great moment between New Yoke Knuckles and Sonic vs Nine (though that probably should have been given to Shadow honestly, he was in the fight but we saw him the least it feels) and I loved the relationship between Mangey and Sails.

But I do have a small problem with how they handled Mangey and Sails in the fight, the writers gave them a “Death” scene. Now that I was really down for, but looking back on it It just makes me think “why?” Now logistically it was probably the writers wanting to take some characters out to write less, which honestly fair enough! They had a lot of characters to juggle.

But I wish there “Death” meant something more than just to get them out of the fight until the end where they come back with the Grim Big Bot, now I’m a BIG sucker for Sonic and Tails moments! And I love everything for them, I love there happy moments and I love there sad moments. Sonic and Tails’s relationship is my absolute favorite thing about the Sonic series! And because of that I wished there “death” was something more important, we got to see Sonic be actually hurt about there deaths and I love that! But I wish it just had a little bit more time, have it be the moment where he really starts to see Nine as someone dangerous, someone who can do some real damage, I know sonic is a guy who believes in second chances, and I’m not at all asking sonic to go into a blind rage and attack Nine, that just wouldn’t make sense. But I’d like a moment where Sonic would just yell up to Nine with anger but also sadness, he just had to watch other variants of his little brother die from another one of his brother, because he was too slow. (Or maybe I’m just a big sucker for angst and just like watching Sonic suffer)

And lastly there is the ending, now honestly all the other things I’ve mentioned before this point are things that I actually don’t mind but I’d probably just change a bit. And this also applies to the ending, just a tad less. I found the ending to be very unsatisfying and confusing, we were told we were supposed to understand why prime was so strange for the Sonic canon but we got 0 answers, and the ending is very open (which is a thing I don’t like for show finales, almost entirely) but, we we’re supposed to get 8eps this season but the season only had 7, that’s what Netflix ordered, so where is the last episode? What I’d like and what seems to be what others would like or at least have speculated is that Sonic Prime will get a extra long episode or Movie later down the line, to properly wrap everything up.

I’d definitely be down for something like that, it reminds me what Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles did with their show, after there show was put on a indefinite pause they were given the opportunity to make a Netflix movie to wrap up the story. And it’s one of my all time favorite movies! There is most definitely more that they can do with this show, and I really wish this turns out to be the case, because if this is where Netflix actually leaves the show off it will kinda suck ngl, a bad ending kinda can put a whole show off for me (not that this show will end up like that for me but still) and it would also mean Sega pretty much lied to us about understanding the timeline.

So I hope the strange cliffhanger we got with shadow taking the prism shards, the shatter spaces still being a thing and that random (most likely) prism energy blast with what looked to be a shadow of a large ship (probably the eggmen) appearing in the sky we will get that last episode Netflix ordered as a longer special that will help us understand things and give us a more satisfying ending!

But there we go! My thoughts and critiques on prime season 3. I definitely loved the season and I’ll be thinking about the Sonadow scenes we got pretty much every day just like the metal virus arc!

Here are some Sonadow pics for making it this far!

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sonic fandom #sonic prime #sonadow prime #sonadow #miles tails prower #shadow the hedgehog #sonic prime season 3 #tails nine

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miamochi-writes · 1 year

Note

Hello! I saw you had requests opened and was wondering if I could bother you for a Vash x Reader? I was thinking of something small where they comfort each other after they both wake from their nightmares at the same time. Hope this isn't too vague! Love your writing!

A/n: Hi! You can always bother me for a Vash x reader! Also thank you for asking this! I know you asked for something small, but I got too into this 😅 I'm so sorry this took long! I finally recovered from my cold. I kinda added some angst but I promise there's still fluff and comfort scenes to this. Also this is my longest fic with 2.7K words! Hope you like it!

Silver Lining

Vash found himself in a beautiful garden surrounded by geraniums. The sunlight’s warmth adorned his face. He was resting by an enormous tree that provided enough shade from the sun. All was right with the world for the space cowboy. That was until Vash blinked and saw Nai standing before him.

“Just how much are you willing to gain their adoration with your silly little tricks? You’re no hero Vash. Never forget what happened,” he warned. Before Vash could react, Nai disappeared. As Vash turned around, certain townspeople appeared before him. Rosa sent death glares along with Tonis.

"If you didn't show up, none of this would have happened! Leave this town and never come back!" Rosa yelled as Vash flinched from the anger in her voice.

"You said you'd save us. You're no hero. If you were, I wouldn't have lost my arm," Tonis said in an unforgiving tone. Vash tried reaching out to the little boy as he wanted to talk. As he reached for his shoulder, Rollo appeared with a face of disgust. Vash's heart rate spiked as he saw the little boy he once knew.

“You liar! You said you would come back for me! You said you'd save us,” he hissed. Before Vash could say anything, a gunshot resonated in the air. Vash flinched as Rollo transformed into his current form and fell limp. Vash's breathing became erratic as he remembered how helpless when Rollo was shot.

"You're so irresponsible. You can't even take care of us. Let alone keep your promises. You're not a hero. You're a coward who can't stand to watch people die," Nai reprimanded. The guilt was building up and weighing on his heart. He never meant to disappoint and fail to protect the people he cared for. Vash truly wanted to save everyone, but the fact that he couldn't save every human haunted him.

As he looked away from Rollo, a familiar figure appeared in the corner of his eye. Rem. She reached her hand out towards him, gesturing to him that everything would be okay. Desperate for the familiar warmth and safety he once felt, Vash ran towards her. As he got closer, Rem's eyebrows furrowed as a sorrowful smile appeared on her lips. Vash's heart quickened as he was confused. Why was she giving him that look? Then she started to disappear slowly.

"WAIT! DON'T GO! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Vash pleaded.

"I'm so sorry, my perfect boy," Rem spoke as tears trickled down her cheeks. As Vash was about to grab her hand, she vanished. All that was left were wilted geranium petals in her place. Vash's legs buckled in defeat. He was all alone again. His eyes were closed shut from the physical, mental, and emotional pain he's endured all these years. He dug his fingernails into his palms. The shame, despair, and impotence were too much for him to bear. Vash's past was creeping up more than ever as his survivor's guilt grew exponentially. The poor plant was succumbing to despair until a silver lining made itself known.

"Vash!"

Vash's ears perked up as he knew that voice by heart. He looked up and saw the one person that held a special place in his heart. The person called out for him again. Vash stood up as he tried to pinpoint the source of the sound. He squinted his blue eyes until a familiar face appeared. They cupped their hands around their mouth and yelled his name again.

"Vash! I'm right here!”

The person was waving at Vash as he ran as fast as his legs could. He hoped this time they wouldn’t disappear like Rem. Tears were welling up, but Vash wiped them away as he refused to lose sight of this person. The closer he got, the clearer he saw that radiant smile that always washed away his fears. The person welcomed them with open arms as Vash ran faster. All he wanted was to be comforted with a tight embrace that he so desperately craved. He yearned for that familiar warmth that he could find solace in. This person, Y/n, was his safe haven where no one could hurt him. Once he got close enough, Vash tightly embraced them as he thanked any higher power out there that Y/n didn’t disappear in his arms.

“Y/n, you’re real. I’m so happy you’re real and here with me,” he choked up as they returned the hug.

“Hey, it's okay. I’m right here Vash,” Y/n reassured him with their gentle words. Vash didn’t want to let go of them, fearing they would be whisked away. He looked at their precious face and saw the love and adoration that he’s come to love. Y/n gave them a sweet kiss on his soft lips after what he’s been through. Oh how his heart always fluttered any time he received affection. Once he pulled away, Vash let out an audible gasp as his eyes dilated with fear. Bruises and cuts appeared on Y/n’s face. Those wounds weren't there a second ago. Vash cupped their face and trembled at the sight of his lover's face.

“Y/n, what happened to you? Who did this to you?” He asked. Tears were forming in his eyes as Vash’s anxiety spiked once more.

“Vash what are you talking about? I’m fine. If anything, I should be asking you what’s wrong. You look like you’ve seen a ghost. You’re shaking,” they replied. Before Vash could answer, the world around them started to crack, almost as if everything was made out of glass. The ground shook, causing the two of them to lose their balance.

“Vash, what’s going on?” they asked as the cracks in the area grew around them at an alarming rate. Then everything started to fall apart as pieces of your surroundings fell like glass. One large piece landed between Vash and Y/n, causing a large rift separating the pair. Once Y/n regained their balance, a strange force was pulling them away from Vash as an ominous dark void appeared.

“Vash! Something is pulling me in! I’m scared!” They called out. The blonde panicked as he tried to run and close the distance between them. The more he ran, the farther the distance grew. Vash desperately tried to grab Y/n’s hand as he put all his energy into lunging himself towards them. He was so close to them as his fingertips were in reach of their hand. Yet, familiar sharp bladed tendrils emerged from the void, grabbing Y/n's entire body. The look of horror was plastered on Y/n’s face as they were dragged away into the dark void with no trace left behind but their scream. Vash’s heart dropped as the void disappeared. He clawed and kicked away at the spot, hoping it would come back. Once he realized nothing was happening, Vash let out a guttural scream built from all the loneliness and pain from all these years.

“Vash! VASH! VASH WAKE UP!”

Vash shot up from his bed and let out an ear-piercing scream. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw his hotel room illuminated by the moonlight. Beads of sweat covered his face, and his clothes clung to his sweaty skin. Vash held his head with both hands, pushing some of his hair back as he tried to process what happened.

“Vash?”

The blonde snapped his head towards the source of the sound. His shaky hands held Y/n's concerned face. His blue eyes stared deep into their e/c eyes. No signs of cuts, bruises, or wounds were found on their face as his thumb slowly brushed their cheek. Once he confirmed that they were real, Vash sighed in relief. His eyebrows furrowed, and his lips quivered. His eyes began to water with his body shaking.

“Vash, what’s the matter sunshine? You were squirming all night,” Y/n added. The minute he heard Y/n call him by his nickname, he immediately pulled them into a bear hug. Vash couldn’t hold back the tears as he bawled his heart out. He was relieved that his Y/n was here with him by his side. He held onto Y/n for dear life, afraid that they would disappear after experiencing the worst nightmare he had so far.

“Y/n, I’m so happy you're okay. I'm so sorry I let go of you. I promise I’ll never let you go and protect you as best as I can,” Vash wailed as his voice cracked every time he spoke. He shook like a leaf and kept hugging Y/n tighter each second. Even though Vash was squeezing the living daylights out of Y/n, they kept rubbing his back and reassuring him.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m right here Vash. Did you have a nightmare again?” Y/n asked. Vash nodded as Y/n pulled away slightly to wipe the tears off his face. Vash tried to explain what happened, but his shaking, sniffles, and lump in his throat made it difficult to understand. Y/n then placed both hands on his shoulders and instructed him to follow their breathing. Inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, hold four seconds, and repeat. They repeated this until Vash’s tremors subsided, and his breathing was normal again. Y/n then slid their hands down to his hands, and gave them a slight squeeze.

“Better?” Y/n asked as Vash nodded his head again. They then gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Good. Wanna start from the beginning?” Y/n asked as Vash took a deep breath.

“I had the same nightmare again. The one with Nai. Except, more people showed up. People like Rosa, Tonis, Rollo, Rem, and…you,” Vash started. It was still fresh from his memory. The guilt, the disappointment, the cold stares, and the broken promises were too much. But what hurt the most was seeing Y/n.

“When I saw you, I ran to you and didn’t let go. Then when I looked at you again, you had cuts and bruises all over your face. I tried to figure out what happened, but everything around us collapsed. Then we got separated again, and I tried reaching out to you, but it was too late. You were pulled away from me and vanished right before my eyes. I thought I lost you like the others Y/n,” Vash finished as his voice cracked at the very end. Y/n then pulled them into a hug as their arms wrapped around his shoulders.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that Vash. You had a bad dream, but you’re awake now. This is real. I’m real, and everything is okay now,” Y/n reassured.

“Yes, but I couldn't save those people back then. What if I can’t save you? What if-?” Vash asked, but Y/n cut them off before he spiraled. They firmly squeezed his shoulder and ensured they were making direct eye contact.

“Vash, you’ve saved so many people. Remember the Sand Worm? The bandits? The police? E.G Bomber? That was you. You saved as many people as you possibly could. You saved Roberto, Meryl, Wolfwood, and my life many times. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be here now. So I know you’ll always be there for us and the people in need of saving. And I’ll keep reminding you just how capable you are. Plus, what happened back then was not your fault. You couldn't have predicted what was going to happen. So stop blaming yourself for something you couldn't control. When life gets rough, we keep moving forward,” Y/n reminded them as they gave him a soft yet hopeful look. Vash was about to tear up from those words, but managed to wipe them away with his hand. Even though he felt he didn't deserve this comfort, he knew that Y/n wasn't wrong and knew what to say to put him at ease.

“Thank you for staying by my side Mayfly. You’re so patient and understanding. I honestly don't know how I got so lucky to have you with me. Also, sorry for waking you up like that,” Vash sniffled after pulling them into a gentle embrace.

“Actually, you’re not the only one who had a nightmare,” Y/n confessed. Vash pulled away to look at them with a face that read ‘You too?!’ Y/n reluctantly pulled away and brought their knees to their chest.

“I had a dream where everyone I cared for suffered in front of me. My family, friends, Roberto, Meryl, Wolfwood, and you were in my dream. Each of you was tortured in front of me by these horrible people. All of you were begging and screaming for help. I tried to do something, but my body wouldn’t move, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn’t even look away. I was forced to see everyone get hurt. It was...it was horrible,” Y/n explained as their voice cracked at the last few sentences. Their eyes were welling up with tears as Vash pulled Y/n into a side hug. His hand slowly rubbing their back.

“Then these people were about to deal the final blow to all of you. I was so scared that I tried to scream and move. Then I woke up to you screaming. I was so scared that I called out for you. That’s when you woke up and screamed. I was shocked but relieved to see that you were alive. I’m just glad that it was a bad dream once I realized you held me, and I saw your face. I couldn't bear the thought of losing people close to me, especially you Vash,” Y/n sobbed and covered their face with both hands as the dream felt too real.

Vash gently moved their hands away and cupped Y/n's face. He wiped away their tears, but his heart sunk seeing Y/n like this. Vash wasn't exactly sure what to say, but knew what to do. He closed his eyes, gently placed his hands on both sides of Y/n's head, and slowly leaned forward until his forehead touched theirs. He knew Y/n wasn't a plant, but it was a natural instinct for him to do. Anytime Y/n felt sad, scared, frustrated, or anxious, he would rest his forehead on them. He would hope they could feel willpower, and energy trying to calm you down like he did with the plants. Sure enough, Y/n's breathing calmed down, and the tears stopped falling. Then he heard a content hum as Vash smiled. That's the sound he was looking for. He opened his ocean blue eyes to see a more relaxed Y/n who's eyes were slowly opening.

"Better?" Vash asked.

"Just what I needed. Thank you Vash," they replied. Vash beamed at his accomplishment as he caressed their head with his human hand and held their back with his prosthetic hand. He quickly pecked their forehead and lips before nestling his neck on Y/n's shoulder.

"Anything for my precious Mayfly," Vash commented with a content smile as Y/n hugged them back and kissed the side of his head. Vash then laid down in bed and pulled Y/n with them to where they rested on top of his chest.

"How late is it?" Vash asked.

"Late enough to have a nightmare and comfort session," Y/n replied as Vash chuckled.

"Want to try to go back to sleep?" Y/n suggested.

"Maybe if I get a kiss we can," Vash teased as he flashed his cheeky smile. Y/n laughed this time and kissed his beauty mark, then his lips. Vash's smile grew wider as his eyes crinkled with joy.

"Happy?" Y/n asked as they rested on his chest once more.

"Happy as can be," he replied while intertwining his fingers with theirs.

"Maybe you can sing that song of yours with your pretty voice before we go to bed?" Y/n requested as Vash blushed at the compliment.

"Promise you won't let go?" Vash asked as he squeezed their hand.

"I promise, now sweet dreams sunshine," Y/n wished as Vash gave them a goodnight kiss.

"Sweet dreams Mayfly," Vash replied as he started humming his song. He watched Y/n get comfortable and steady their breathing. Once he made sure Y/n was asleep, he cuddled them with his prosthetic arm before slowly drifting off to sleep in hopes of a calming dream.

#vash x reader #vash x you #vash x y/n #vash the stampede #vash reboot #vash the stampede x y/n #vash the stampede x you #vash the stampede x reader #trigun stampede #trigun stampede x reader #trigun stampede x you #trigun stampede x y/n #trigun fic #I swear this is a comfort fic #I may have added too much angst #trigun #trigun reboot #miamochi writes

196 notes · View notes

crabcantwrite · 23 days

Text

The Incident

Words: 4,236

Written:

Fandom: Stardew Valley

Ships: Yandere!Harvey/reader, Clint/reader

Warnings: violence, blood, (implied) murder, injury, possessive behavior, minor character death, yandere character, male reader

You walked into the saloon, sitting down next to Clint and ordering a beer.

“Oh, hey Clint,” you said, smiling at him. “How’s it going?”

Clint’s head was spinning, and his heart was pounding. He was startled out of his fantasy by your sitting down next to him. Clint flushed red, staring wide-eyed at you.

“Uhm Clint?” You asked, giving him a concerned look, “You good?”

Clint stared at you, his eyes filled with a fierce passion. He held in his emotions, trying to stay calm. Then he let out a little sigh. "Y/N, I have something I need to tell you..."

“Okay?” You tilted your head to the side. “Should we go somewhere more private? Like outside?”

"Yes, that would be good," Clint said, getting up and heading for the door. You followed him outside, the cold air biting at your cheeks.

“So, what’d you want to tell me?”

Clint started to speak, but Harvey walked up behind you.

“I love you."

It was just a slip of the tongue, but Clint’s words struck deep within Harvey’s gut. The three of you stood there, awkwardly looking at each other.

Finally, Harvey spoke up in a bitter tone, “I guess you finally got the balls to say it, huh?”

You jumped when Harvey spoke, realizing he’s standing behind you. "Harvey!”

"Y/N, I wanted to-" Clint started

"What? Spit it out or don’t say anything at all," Harvey said, scolding Clint like he’s a child, his arms crossed over his chest. You took Harvey’s hand and twined your fingers together, trying to keep him calm. Harvey growled at Clint.

The world seemed to stand still. Clint and Harvey glared at each other. Their tense energy threatened to boil over into violence. Before Clint could continue speaking, Harvey slapped him across the face, leaving a red handprint in his wake.

“How dare you!?” Harvey yelled. You grabbed him and pulled him back.

“Harvey! You can’t just slap people!” You scolded

Clint touched his stinging cheek, where the mark of Harvey's hand remained. He looked into Harvey’s eyes; Clint’s gaze was filled with hate and contempt.

Harvey stepped closer to Clint, a murderous look in his eyes as he looked back at him. Harvey's rage turned into cold-blooded determination.

"Clint." He said, reaching down to pick up a rock. He walked up to Clint, who was still sweating from his earlier confession.

"Are you ready to answer for your sins, Clint?" Harvey asked coldly.

You rushed in between them, putting your hands on Harvey’s chest. “Easy there, love, easy.”

"Please, don't hurt me." Clint stammered. Harvey threw him a cold glare. "Stay out of this, Y/N. This has nothing to do with you."

Clint looked at you with eyes pleading for help.

“Harvey, you and I both know this has everything to do with me,” you said, standing your ground. “You don’t get like this for any other reason.”

Harvey ignored you, his gaze darkening. Harvey lunged, brandishing the rock in his hand. In an attempt to defend Clint, you got in the way. Harvey accidentally slammed the rock into your temple instead of Clint’s.

“Ow! Shit!” You exclaimed, stumbling back. You clutched your now-bleeding temple.

Clint rushed to catch you as you fell, wrapping his arms around you to try and get you to sit up.

"Y/N?" He said with desperate concern and fear. Blood trickled down your temple and dripped onto Clint’s shirt. He looked up at Harvey with fear and anger in his eyes. "You bastard"

You leaned onto Clint, unable to sit up on your own. Your eyes were clenched tight as tears flowed down your cheeks.

“Owww…Harvey…” You whimpered

This seemed to have a different effect on Harvey. The rage in his face softened.

“Oh god…I…Y/N?” He kneeled down, dropping the bloody stone. “Oh, Y/N…”

You leaned onto him, shifting yourself off of Clint and onto Harvey. "Mmmph..hurts."

Clint watched the scene with a mix of jealousy and worry.

"Y/N?" Clint asked

"Are you okay?" His voice shook with anger and helplessness.

"No, I’m not okay! Someone just fucking bashed me with a rock!” You yelled, but didn’t move away from Harvey. Instead, you leaned into him more, needing comfort despite your anger.

Harvey didn’t reply; he just sat there in shock. He held you tightly to him, refusing to let you go.

He took a breath, shaking his head to get rid of his panic. Harvey's grip on you relaxed, though he still held you tight.

“I'm so sorry..." he whispered, kissing your forehead.

You gave him a wobbly smile. “..Thanks, just..patch me up? Please, doctor?"

Tears were still streaming down your cheeks, and you squinted up at him, trying to stay awake. “..think I’ve got a concussion.”

Harvey seemed to remember his role as the town doctor. He guided you to a table in the clinic and started to check you for a concussion.

He gently stroked your temples, looking concerned. He checked your eyes to make sure they still dilate properly.

It was several more months after ‘the incident’ until Harvey let you go near Clint.

“Hey, Harvey…” You said, walking into the clinic, "So...you know what happened with Clint? Well, uhm, I’ve got to go get my tools repaired.”

You twined your fingers with Harvey’s, trying to keep him calm. “And to do that..I’ve got to see Clint…”

"Clint?" Harvey muttered, looking anxiously at you. "Y/N...what for? You don’t need to see him."

“I’ve got to get my tools repaired, love,” you squeezed his hand “and he’s the only one who can do that.”

“No, Y/N, I won’t let you be anywhere near that creep.” Harvey said firmly. You could tell he was serious because his grip on your hand tightened for a split second.

“There, there,” he said, rubbing your back with his other hand. He seemed nervous but tried to appear calm. “I’ll take care of your tools, I promise.”

You laughed and leaned into his chest. “Harvey, you’re not a blacksmith; you can’t repair my tools…”

You looked up at him and cupped his face in your hands. “What will convince you to let me go?”

"No way." Harvey's voice was more stern now. He wasn’t taking no for an answer. "I've told you, I don't want you to be near Clint."

He suddenly pulled his face away from you. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you go."

Harvey got close to your face, with a grim look on his. He leaned in slowly and whispered in your ear. "You're my boyfriend, so if I say you're not going anywhere, you're not going anywhere. Do you understand?"

You rolled your eyes. “Cmon, I think I have just the thing.”

You went up to Harvey’s bedroom and rummaged through the closet until you found the choker you wear for him on special occasions. It’s a black choker with a heart charm that says ‘Property of Harvey’.

You grabbed it and showed it to Harvey, knowing how much he loved it when you wore it. “Not even this?”

Harvey was trying his best to be firm, but the sight of you with that special choker was enough to weaken him. He slowly shook his head, his expression conflicted.

"Oh, Y/N." He sighed. "Alright, you win. But I'm coming with you, and if there's even a hint of trouble, I'm taking you straight back home. Understood?"

You gave him a playful grin. “understood. Are you this possessive over all your boyfriends? Or am I the only one?"

"Well..." Harvey said, his face grew warmer. He didn’t seem to want to say anything more.

Then, as if remembering that the situation called for seriousness, he took on a stern look and put his hands on your waist.

"Come on, we need to hurry. I'll be right beside you the whole time, and the whole time you'll be holding onto me. Do you understand?"

You blushed as he put his hands on your waist. "Oh! Uhm, okay, what’s the rush?”

"Clint," Harvey said, the firmness back in his voice. He seemed ready to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"We have to hurry so we don't spend too much time alone with him." He pulled you closer to him and held you by the waist.

"I need to prove to him that you don't want him and that you love me. So, let's go."

You kissed his cheek and handed him the choker. “You want to put this on me first?”

"Alright," Harvey said, taking the choker and hooking it around your neck. It felt... odd to have him put something around your neck when he's acting this way. Like he was claiming ownership of you.

He looked at you for a moment, making sure it was in the right place, and then finally started to lead you out of the room.

As the two of you walked to the town square, you noticed that he was leading you straight to Clint's workshop. You wondered if he'd chosen to confront Clint directly.

You took his hand as you walked. “Don’t do anything dumb, my love, please.”

Harvey took your hand and looked down at you. "I love you, Y-N. Just remember that, okay? I'm doing this for you."

Soon, you reached Clint's workshop. He was inside, smithing an iron sword. His back was turned away from you as he hammered away at the metal.

He seemed focused on his work to the point that he didn’t even notice that the two of you had approached.

You sighed and moved to hold onto Harvey’s arm. “Hey Clint”

With the sword just a few more seconds away from being done, Clint spun around to face you. His expression immediately turned to anger when he saw Harvey holding you tightly. Harvey's expression was equally furious as he looked back at Clint.

"Y/N, did Harvey put this thing on you?" Clint gestured to the heart choker around your neck.

You laughed and kissed Harvey’s cheek. “Well, it was my idea, but he did help me put it on.”

Clint narrowed his eyes as he made eye contact with Harvey. He took in Harvey's firm grasp on you. His eyes wandered down to the choker around your neck, noticing the "Property of Harvey" tag. He snorted, trying to hide his contempt.

"You think this means something?" he asked. "That necklace doesn't prove anything."

Harvey took great offense at Clint's words. He hugged you tightly to his chest and tried to shield you as much as possible from Clint's glare.

You rolled your eyes and wriggled a bit out of Harvey’s grasp, so you were standing next to him again, still holding onto his arm.

“I like it, and besides, I got it for Harvey’s birthday. So I would think that proves something.”

Clint's expression turned from anger to confusion; he seemed unsure how to respond to your words.

"You like that 'Property of Harvey' thing?" he asked with a mix of surprise and suspicion. "He seems to think of you as someone he can claim. A trophy or something."

"Well, I’m not literally his property." You laughed, “It’s not like I’m an object or something.”

"Then why are you still playing along with the 'Property of Harvey' thing?" Clint asked. His expression was still filled with doubt and suspicion.

"You must know he's acting like a jealous creep; I mean, just look at him!" He gestured at Harvey, who was watching this scene with a mixture of anger and protectiveness.

You looked up at Harvey, rolling your eyes affectionately. “It’s the only way he’d let me come here."

“He’s a bit overprotective,” you teased. “Besides, he likes it, and I don’t mind, so I don’t see a problem.”

"I don't think that's the whole story." Clint stared at you, trying to study your expression.

"Do you like him acting possessive?" Clint said. His expression didn’t seem angry anymore; it was more suspicious. "You like having a 'Property' tag around your neck?"

You laughed a bit. “What can I say? I’m a bit of a kinky bastard.”

"Uh, Y/N, that's not what I was trying to say..." Clint looked at you with a mix of confusion and suspicion.

"Wait, what do you mean by kinky?" He added with a raised eyebrow.

Meanwhile, Harvey was looking down at himself, suddenly feeling self-conscious about his possessiveness. “I'm not that possessive! Am I...?"

Clint went silent for a second. “So you like it rough, huh?”

Clint stepped closer and wrapped his hand around the choker, tugging on it hard.

“What about this?” He tugged on it again, determined to break it.

You flinched and stepped back, pushing Clint’s hand away. “Ow! What the hell, Clint?"

Harvey immediately wrapped you in his arms. Your neck felt hot and sensitive where Clint’s pulling was choking you a moment ago.

You could feel your lungs struggling to get back to normal. Harvey's touches your neck, gently feeling to make sure you’re okay.

"I've got you," he whispered, holding you close to him.

You wrapped your arms around him, beginning to cry. Harvey gently took the choker off and put it in his pocket. Bruises started to bloom across your neck where Clint yanked on the choker.

Harvey hugged you tightly, trying to comfort you. You cried into his embrace, burying your face in his chest.

"Don't cry, Y/N. I'm right here. I'll always keep you safe." He caressed your hair with one hand as the other embraced you from behind, making sure you knew he wasn't leaving you.

"Let's go home." He said, gently picking you up as if to remind you that you’re the most precious thing to him.

You would've normally protested him doing this in public, but instead you nuzzled your face into his shoulder and glared at Clint as Harvey carried you outside.

“Thank you,” you whispered to Harvey. You felt so safe in his arms, like all your worries had disappeared along with Clint's glare. Harvey smiled reassuringly.

"Come on," he said, "let me treat those bruises."

He carried you inside the clinic, where he immediately began to examine you with a mix of worry and tenderness.

"Oh dear, these look painful," he said as he started to clean the bruises on your neck.

You felt the cold of the antiseptic as he dabbed it gently on your neck. With his care and tenderness, he made it feel a little better.

He put the antiseptic away and began to wrap some bandages around the bruises on your neck.

"So...the choker...will you wear that often?" His tone was very casual, as if he were just making small talk. He looked down at you, sounding a little hopeful.

“You wish,” you kissed him gently. "... But after this..I think I might wear it more often…”

"You're...you're joking, right?" Harvey seemed shocked but somewhat pleased. He seemed to have a lot of questions but wasn’t sure how to phrase them without sounding weird.

"So, does that mean you'd be okay with wearing things like that all the time?" Harvey looked at you with a mix of curiosity and affection. You couldn’t help but notice the sudden intensity of the look he gave you.

“To be honest, as long as I’m not literally your property, I don’t mind…” You looked away, smiling shyly. “It makes me feel...wanted.”

Harvey chuckled softly. "You don't know how much you mean to me, Y/N; that's all I'll say." He touched your cheek affectionately.

"And don't worry," he added. "I would never actually treat you like property. I've just got a little bit of a...Well, let's say a jealousy problem. I'm working on it."

Harvey smiled at you and continued to wrap up bandages around your neck. After a moment, he stood up and stepped back to have a look at his work.

“Jealousy is an understatement,” you laughed, “but I don’t mind it as much as I probably should.”

"You really don't mind this... me acting all possessive?"

He leaned in closer to inspect the bandages he had wrapped around your neck. After a brief moment of silence, he stood up and brushed some hair out of your face.

You leaned into his touch. “Not terribly; besides, if you ever get too possessive, I’ll let you know.”

"You promise?" Harvey asked softly. He was still a little surprised at your lack of concern.

"I know I can be... intense sometimes, but...what if I go too far? Are you sure you'd let me know?" He looked straight into your eyes, seemingly waiting for you to assure him.

You cupped his face in your hands. “I promise. I’m not scared of you, love.”

Harvey looked into your eyes in surprise. He had never seen you be so forward or tender. The look you gave him was almost enough to make him forget about his anger with Clint.

"Y/N..." he breathed. "I...I..."

He trailed off for a moment, speechless. For a moment, you could see his mind spinning, trying to find the right words to say. Then, without warning, he pulled you into his arms and kissed you tenderly.

You kissed him back and grabbed the choker from his pocket. “Help me put it on?”

He looked down at the choker in your hand with a subtle smile on his lips.

"Oh... sure." He carefully took the choker from your fingers and put it around your neck. With its touch against your skin, you felt oddly safe.

"Better?" he asked, but his eyes lingered on the choker, as if he wasn’t so much checking on you as simply staring at this new adornment on your neck.

He didn’t take his eyes away, almost as if he were checking to make sure the choker was actually there, as if trying to confirm something.

"Much," you murmured as Harvey continued to stare at it with a little too much interest.

His gaze felt like it was examining every centimeter of the choker, trying to notice the smallest detail in its design.

His eyes flicked up to meet yours, and now they seemed to be examining every centimeter of you, making sure that he hadn’t missed any change in your demeanor.

You looked up at him, touching the ‘Property of Harvey’ charm. “I know how much you like it.”

"I mean…I would never really treat you like property," he repeated, still clearly worried that you might think of him as some kind of controlling freak.

"I just like being...possessive. Like, I don't want anyone else to have access to you or something. I guess it's just jealousy." He looked down, embarrassed, but there's no doubt in his words.

You leaned against his chest. “I don’t mind... It’s nice to feel wanted.”

"It doesn't bother you? The whole 'property' thing?" he asked softly. His eyes were still firmly set on the choker around your neck.

"Wearing something that belongs to me; a little reminder of it even when my arms are not around you?"

His fingers brushed the edges of the choker around your neck. You could tell he's enjoying the feeling of touching it.

"Are you sure you don't mind that? Are you not the least bit bothered at being reminded that you're mine?"

“I really don’t... I haven’t felt wanted like this for a long time,” you closed your eyes, “even if you can be a bit overprotective."

You laughed a bit. “You did try to kill Clint…”

You looked away and frowned, touching the bandages around your neck. “..After today, I kinda wish you had…”

Harvey looked down at the bandages around your neck and sighed softly.

"Yeah... that was a stupid thing I did," he said, a little guilt creeping into his words.

"But if I had killed him, would I still have been able to hold you like this? Would I still be able to remind you that you're mine with a touch?"

He paused, his expression turning serious. "You mean a lot to me, Y/N. I would never do anything that could push you away."

“..I think I could forgive you,” you looked up at Harvey, wincing as the bruises from Clint tugging on the choker started to ache. “Just don’t kill anyone without my permission, okay?”

Harvey's eyes went wide as he realized the bruises on your neck were hurting you.

"Oh my God, Y/N," he said, gently rubbing at your neck. "I had no idea they were causing you that much pain."

His whole manner changed as he tended to your wounds, shifting from someone determined to claim you as his to a tender, caring figure.

"I'll go buy some cream for those... I'm going to make sure you're comfortable, even if it means getting rid of the choker."

“Woah, woah, woah,” you said, grabbing him and pulling him back, “you can keep fixing me up tomorrow."

You yawned, “But now I’m tired and probably a bit traumatized.”

"Don't worry," he said gently, trying to calm you down. "We don't have to deal with this now. You just need to rest and focus on getting better."

He took a deep breath and nodded, his mind already racing with ideas about what to do next.

"I'll take care of you; that's all that matters right now." He leaned in and kissed your forehead gently. "We can deal with all the other stuff tomorrow. For now, just rest."

“Yeah, let’s go to bed." You followed him up to his bedroom and changed into some of Harvey’s pajamas before lying down in his bed.

Harvey climbed into bed next to you. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into him.

"Goodnight, Y/N." He kissed you gently and turned off the light, leaving the two of you alone in the darkness.

"Goodnight, Harvey,” you said as you closed your eyes and fell asleep.

"Goodnight, my love," he said softly. He stroked your hair gently and listened to the sound of your breathing as you slept.

"I'm glad you're safe and back home with me, Y/N." He closed his eyes, but his mind was too busy thinking about how close he came to losing you for good to really fall asleep.

A few hours later, you were woken up by the sound of Harvey walking back into the room. As you looked up at him and realized that he’s covered in blood, “You didn't.”

"Yeah," he said, his voice dripping with an odd mixture of guilt and pride. "I killed Clint. You're mine now. Forever."

He stood there for a moment, letting the whole idea sink in. "You're safe here, Y/N. No one will ever hurt you again."

He leaned down and kissed you gingerly, as if he were expecting a reprimand for hurting Clint.

Noticing the bandaged bruises on your neck, he frowned and stroked them tenderly. "You're mine, Y/N... All mine."

You sighed but smiled at his affection. “I guess he did deserve it; I’m all yours.”

"Good." He nodded, as if pleased with your quick acceptance. "As if I could ever doubt that."

It was weird to see him covered in blood like this, but in a way, it was kind of hot to see him willing to murder for you. You felt a little bad for Clint, but it was inevitable that someone would get hurt over this.

Harvey's eyes were filled with a fierce, primal satisfaction as he looked at you. "I'm going to get cleaned up now. Do me a favor and stay right here."

You laid back down “Will do.”

You listened to him shower off the blood and change into clean clothes.

Harvey emerged from the bathroom dressed in a fresh, clean shirt. He still smelled like soap as he leaned down to kiss your forehead.

"I'm glad you're not mad," he said softly. "I did it to protect you, my love."

He seemed genuinely unsure of how you would react to his actions. As if he was still expecting you to be angry, disappointed, or scared. "Are you okay with my... actions?"

“As much as I generally don’t condone murder,” you kissed his cheek. “I think I’ll make an exception, just this once.”

He smiled and nodded, seeming relieved by your answer.

"Good." His eyes lit up as you kissed his cheek. "So you're not scared, either?"

"Just to be clear, Y-N... you're okay with being with a murderer? The idea of me, a guy who just took a life, doesn't bother you?" He paused for a moment, looking down at his hands with a troubled expression.

"You... forgive me?"

"Yeah,” you cupped his face in your hands. “But ask me before you do it again, okay? There’s people in this town I’d like to keep alive.”

He looked down at your hands and smiled. "Of course, Y-N. I can't promise you that I won't kill anyone who tries to hurt you, though. You're too precious to me."

He took your hands and kissed their fingertips softly. "But I'll always ask you first. Okay? I need to know whether you fully support my actions or not. I love you too much to kill anyone who doesn't have your stamp of approval."

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