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tooearlyforthis · 2 years

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Hold Me Tight | Steve Harrington

I'm on a Stranger Things kick right now so here you go haha

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!reader

Word Count: 6.3k

Synopsis: Sometimes the nightmares get too bad and you just need someone there to hold you tight; for Steve Harrington, Y/n is that person.

Warnings: nightmares, little bit of fluff

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Sometimes all you need is a person to hold, someone that makes for feel better just by being in their presence.

Y/n didn’t have that person, someone to talk to that wasn’t her little brother. She ran as fast as she could, the sky blood red above her. Demobats swooped down, swarming around her as her feet splashed in the damp mud below her. The gate was right there at the center of the lake. Just a few more yards and they were back in Hawkins, back to safety.

As the gate approached suddenly, she halted to a stop, ready to throw whoever was first into the gate to swim up through Lovers Lake.

She felt her stomach drop before she even turned around. The sound of panting was gone from the air replaced by whimpering and gurgling. As Y/n looked back for her friends, she was met with the worst fate imaginable.

“Dustin no!” She screamed, dropping to her knees.

She watched as her brother lay motionless on the floor a few feet away, bats tearing into his skin. She wept, harder than she thought possible as she willed herself to crawl back towards him. That’s when she noticed another body next to him.

Steve Harrington lay close by, his arm still reaching out towards her. Y/n flinched when she saw his eyes, frozen open in his last moments of life. Laying there, on the cold floor of the Upside Down, she let the tears stream harder. There was no saving her brother, there was no saving Steve or anyone that waiting for them on the other side of the gate.

All there was left to do was give in. Y/n laid back on the ground, closing her eyes as she watched a swarm of bats swoop down to give her the same fate as the rest…

Y/n shot up from her bed with a gasp, letting the air fill her lungs once more. Panting, she tried to control her breathing. She tried to focus on the rain pouring from outside, how there was a little bit of light seeping in through the hallway, anything to make her forget.

It was only a dream, it was only a dream, it was only - not a dream - a nightmare.

Brushing her hair away from her eyes, she got up, making a b-line for the bathroom. She took the running water in her hands, splashing across her face in an attempt to refresh herself, to get rid of the nightmare she just woke up from.

She returned to her bedroom, knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. Ready to just get into bed again, she was surprised to hear a knocking on her window. Turning on her lamp for a better view, she saw the last person she would expect to be outside her room.

Steve Harrington was crouched outside her window sill, drenched head to toe in the pouring rain. Quickly, she opened the window to let him in, running to get a spare towel for him.

“Steve,” Y/n exclaimed, running her hands up and down his shoulders in an attempt to help him wake up. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He stood there silent, eyes frozen on her. In some sort of shock, he opened his mouth trying to speak. Nothing came out, not even a stutter. Slowly, he closed it again and wrapped the towel closer to his body with a shiver.

“Here, let me get you some clothes.”

She grabbed a spare pair of sweatpants and a hoodie that were too big for her and gave them to him, ushering him into her bathroom to change.

Shutting the door behind him, she slumped down to the floor. What could Steve Harrington be doing outside her window this late? They were friends, had been ever since Will went missing back in ’83, but they were never really close. Sure they would visit each other on their work breaks but that was only because their jobs were right next to each other. Even after years of their friendship, they had never gotten to “showing up at her house unannounced” close. So why would he come to her for whatever problem he was facing?

She felt movement from behind the door of the bathroom, standing up again to greet him as he exited the bathroom. He stood in her clothes which fit him just right, with his arms crossed against his chest. He looked up at her from his gaze on the floor.

“What’s wrong?” She asked him. “Why did you come here?”

This time when he spoke, he managed to stumble out a sentence. “I-I needed to see you,” he said.

“Is everything okay?” She said, taking a step closer to him.

“Is it okay if I spend the night?” He asked abruptly. “I just… I can't be alone right now.“

“Yeah…” she answered, not expecting him to say that. “It’s okay, yeah…. Uh, we don’t really have a spare bed… are you okay with sleeping with me? Well, not with me but- you get what I mean.”

He nodded, trying to avoid her gaze as he played with the sleeves of the hoodie she gave him. Hesitantly, she climbed back into bed, feeling it sink next to her as Steve followed. This was weird, like, really weird. Steve Harrington was sleeping in her bed right next to her. She felt stiff, trying not to move too much, not being used to having a person next to her while she slept, that is, if she could even fall back asleep.

Y/n still felt on edge from her dream, the image of her brother still stuck in her brain. She tried to stay silent, wanting Steve to get the sleep that she could tell he needed. She didn’t know what had happened, what had caused him to come to her house in the middle of the night. But she knew she couldn’t turn him away.

Minutes passed, maybe hours? Y/n wasn’t too sure. Staring up at her ceiling, she tried to control her breathing, trying not to wake Steve behind her as-

“Are you okay?” She turned her head to see that Steve had turned his as well, looking at her.

“Y-yeah,” she said. “I guess you’re still awake then huh?”

“I’ve been finding it harder to sleep nowadays…”

“I get what you mean. Right before you showed up I had another-“

“Nightmare?” He asked, interrupting her.

She turned back to look at him, curling up against her blankets. “Yeah… how did you know?”

He looked away for a moment. “Because I’ve been having them too.”

“Is that why you came over?” She asked, leaning on her side to face him.

He nodded, staring up at her ceiling, his chest rising and falling at a quicker rate. “Every time I close my eyes, I’m back there, in the Upside Down. Those bats swarming around me and… tonight was different. Usually, I’m alone, fighting off all the stuff by myself but this time..”

His breath began to get heavier as he took deeper breaths, trying to prevent a panic attack from forming. He turned back to look at her. “Y-you were there,” he said softly. “Y-you were running with me but a bat got you and… I-I watched you die in my arms.”

“Steve-“ she said, reaching a hand out to touch his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

“I-It felt so real I just… I had to come over, reassure myself that it was just a nightmare.” His breath continued to quicken despite her effort to calm him.

“Steve, it’s all okay…” she said, moving closer to him, she took his arm that was clutching her blanket for dear life, and put it against her chest. “Match my breathing okay? Deep breath in.”

She took a deep breath, holding his hand over her heart. She watched as he tried to focus on her breath. She took a deep breath out, watching him attempt to do the same.

“Just focus on the breathing,” she reminded him, breathing deeply over and over again.

It took some time, but she watched as he shut his eyes, slowly steadying his breath. With one final breath out, he opened his eyes, looking up at Y/n across from him. Their gazes lingered on each other, taking in their faces as they laid side by side.

“Thanks…” he said softly.

“No problem,” she responded. “I used to get panic attacks a lot as a kid.”

They fell back into silence and Y/n felt no awkwardness between them. When had that happened? When had the awkward silence turned into sharing their deepest secrets? After a minute he asked, “… could I hold you while we sleep?” Her eyes widened at his words. “J-just for tonight I… I just need to make sure you’re okay and I don’t think I could leave without knowing that you were safe.”

She was silent, taking in his words. Hold her? He wanted to hold her? Y/n didn’t know what to make of that. He was scared out of his mind that’s for sure, that dream must have felt really real. If cuddling with Steve the hair Harrington is what it took to calm him down then she would do it. She knew what it was like to be alone, to be left with your thoughts… she didn’t want him to experience that.

“Never mind,” he said starting to roll back to the other side. “I shouldn’t have asked-“

“Okay,” she said.

He turned back to look at her. “Okay?”

She nodded, looking back into his eyes. He looked shocked, even though he was the one who asked the question.

Without saying another word, she moved closer to him. His arms spread open as she nuzzled herself into his chest. She felt his hand come back down over her, gently laying on her back, pulling her closer to him. His head dipped down so it was resting on top of hers.

They didn’t say another word, they didn’t have to. Both of them needed this. Needed to not feel alone after all the traumatic life-changing things they went through.

And it was a dreamless night, the best they both have had in a while.

Y/n woke up the next morning more refreshed than she had been in a while. She rolled over, expecting to feel another body next to her but was met with a cold empty bed.

She sighed, sitting up in her bed. That was the best and weirdest night she had ever had. Never would she think Steve would go to her for comfort but she was damn happy he did. There were no more nightmares, no more going back to that awful place.

Suddenly the door swung open. Y/n jumped back slightly before relaxing, seeing it was only her brother on the other side.

“What do you want Dustin?” She asked slightly annoyed.

“Can you take me to the arcade?” He asked hurriedly.

Y/n was lucky her brother didn’t need to be driven anywhere else or she would have been late for work. As she walked into the arcade, she waved goodbye at her brother as he ran off to meet his friends. She walked behind the counter, put on her name tag, and started her shift.

The day went on as usual, the arcade not being too busy for a Wednesday. Nothing was off until lunchtime hit. She saw Robin walk through the doors; alone. That was odd, usually, Steve was with her, trailing after like a lost puppy. From the outside, anyone would think that the two were hiding a secret relationship but Y/n knew that their relationship would never be anything but platonic. Robin walked up to the prize counter, leaning her elbows over the glass counter case.

“No Harrington today?” Y/n asked.

Robin shook her head. “I don’t what’s up with him he’s acting really strange,” she said. “He said he was gonna take his lunch in the alley out back.”

Y/n nodded, not knowing what to make of the situation. Did he really wanna eat lunch alone or was this because of last night? He left so abruptly they didn’t really have time to talk about anything. Everything happened so fast she wondered if he regret coming over, if it had ruined their friendship.

“Oh,” Y/n said, “Then I guess that means we can talk about whatever we want now, without The Hair watching over us.”

Robin snorted. “Oh god, do you remember when I brought up my period in front of him? He practically fainted.”

The two girls laugh as Robin enjoyed the rest of her lunch at the arcade. They talked, caught up, made plans to see a movie soon but in the back of her mind, Y/n couldn’t stop thinking about last night. A dreamless sleep entangled in a warm body; it was something she hadn’t experienced in a long time. It felt…nice, to be held like that. I made her feel like there was still good left in people, especially after so much bad had happened to them.

Even after Robin after lunch, even after her shift was finished, she kept thinking about it; that warm feeling… She had to speak with him, to let him know that he did nothing wrong. After her shift was over, she passed in front of Family Video. Y/n knew that Steve and Robin would be working for another hour or two and that they probably would have no more customers for the rest of the night.

She walked up to the door, peering through the glass windows into the dimly lit video palace. She saw Robin, stacking vhs tapes while Steve leaned on the counter, resting his elbows up to support his head. He scanned the store, obviously bored out of his mind. As he looked over the entrance, he made eye contact with Y/n. His eyes went wide when he saw her, standing up straight.

Y/n went to move forward, to raise a hand and wave but she watched as Steve called something out to Robin before walking away, towards the employee only door. She felt her steps falter on the curb as Robin took over at the counter. So that’s how it was going to be. He was going to confess he had a nightmare about her, show up to her house, sleep in her bed, and then ignore her entirely. Fine, if that’s how he wanted to be, then so be it.

🎬🎬🎬

It had been over a week since Steve had knocked on Y/n's window, and it had only gone downhill from there. Not only had he avoided her for the entire week, but her nightmares had returned. Dustin tried to talk to her about it, even finding her screaming in her bed in the middle of the night, but she wouldn’t budge. As far as everyone else was concerned, she was fine.

What everyone else didn’t know, besides her blatant lie about being alright, was that she almost never slept this week. The nightmares were so strong, so visceral, the only remedy seemed to be staying awake. Well, it was the only option available to her, the other one refused to talk to her and actively went out of his was to avoid her. So there she sat, one in the morning reading at her desk. It was a romance novel, something very different from what she usually read; murder mysteries didn’t feel like the best option at the moment.

She continued to read, feeling fatigue take over her. Forcing her eyes to stay open, she turned the page. She tried to focus on the words on the page, taking them in slowly. Her eyes closed again, wanting, needing her to rest, but she wouldn’t allow it. She propped her elbow up on the table, trying to keep her head up straight. Maybe closing her eyes for one moment-

Clink clink clink!

Y/n shot up straight, rubbing her eyes at the sudden noise. That wasn’t her door, no, she recognized that sound anywhere. Turning around, she saw what she both feared and hoped would be behind her. Steve Harrington was crouched outside her bedroom window and she could already tell from behind the glass what this was going to be about.

Slowly, she stood up, made her way over to the window, and opened it. She backed away, sitting on her bed as he climbed through, shutting it behind him. He turned back to her, playing with the hem of his shirt as he looked down at the ground. Y/n glared up at him. He was clearly distraught, standing in front of her as he wore the old sweatshirt and sweatpants she had given him before. It looked like he had just crawled out of bed.

Y/n continued to look at him, knowing that she was going to have to be the one to talk first. “Why are you here, Steve?” She asked, done with his games.

He looked up at her, the bags under his eyes very prominent. “I…” He hesitated to speak, trying to find the right words. “I’m sorry for leaving last week so… abruptly. I…”

“It’s fine, Steve really, I get it,” she told him.

“You do?”

She nodded. “What I don’t understand is why you’ve been avoiding me all week. We sleep in the same bed once and now you can’t even look at me?”

“I… I didn’t know what to do. Do we talk about it, do we not?”

“You never would know if you didn’t come talk to me.”

His hands dropped back to his sides, not knowing what to say. Finally, he spoke, “My nightmares came back… they never really left but the only night they went away. The only night I actually slept somewhat peacefully, was when I was here with you.”

Y/n crossed her arms across her chest, taking in his words. She didn’t want to admit it but the words were leaving her mouth before she could stop herself.

“My nightmares came back too,” she said softly. “It’s the same one, over and over again. I’m running for Lover’s Lake, I turn back and, Dustin is dead on the ground.”

He was there too, he always was. But now didn’t feel like the time to tell him. She was scared it might turn him away, make him more anxious, and she wanted so desperately for him to stay. She watched as he gazed at her, his eyes never leaving hers as he slowly walked across the room so he was standing above her at the foot of her bed.

“I’m sorry I left that night,” he apologized again. “If you wanna talk about it, sure, we can but right now I am really exhausted and all I want is a good nights sleep.”

“Then stay,” she said with no hesitation.

It took both of them no time at all to find their ways under the covers, Steve hugging her from behind as he nestled his head in the crook of her neck. It felt right, to be like this with him. The comfort of knowing she wouldn’t have to face the Upside Down tonight helping her drift off into sleep.

This time, when she woke up, Steve was still there, cradling her from behind. She turned her head slowly, trying to see if he was awake. The sudden movement made his eyes drift open, pulling his head back slightly as he rubbed his eyes with the hand that wasn’t wrapped around her waist. As he slowly woke up, Y/n adjusted herself to face him, still wrapped in his arms.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hey,” he responded groggily. “What time is it?”

“I’m not sure. It’s Tuesday though, I don’t have work.”

“Neither do I.” They stared at each other for a moment, both fully away from how close they were but making no effort to back away. “That was the best night of sleep I had in a while.”

“Same.”

“You said that you’ve been having nightly nightmares too?” He asked, wondering if she would share her story like he did with her last week.

She nodded. “Yeah…ever since everything happened… I don’t think I’ve had a normal night of sleep since-well, except for last night.”

“Then you would say this…” he paused for a moment, trying to find the right word for what they were doing. “This arrangement is beneficial for both of us.”

“It would appear so.”

“I-I know we don’t know each other very well. I mean, I know we’re friends but we never got super close…I don’t know I just feel… I feel very protective over you. Like if you die, and not just in my nightmares, it would be my fault.”

Y/n turned her body more, trying to get closer to him than she already was. She placed a hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her. “Well, I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with my Harrington.”

🎬🎬🎬

Y/n had been getting the best sleep of her life and it was all thanks to Steve Harrington. It had been three weeks since their talk about what had happened and for three weeks he had snuck into her window and out the next morning. It was getting harder to hide the fact that there was a boy in her room. Dustin had almost caught them a handful of times. But it was all worth it, to never have to see the Upside Down, to never see him die ever again.

It had become almost like a ritual for Steve and Y/n over those following weeks. So much so that he started leaving a toothbrush and pajamas at her house. If he was there so often it only made sense. But today felt different. Steve walked into the arcade like he always did on his break and asked a question that had never occurred to her before that day.

“Would you wanna sleep at my house tonight?” He asked. Y/n felt taken aback, stopping whatever task she was currently doing to focus on the boy in front of her. “My parents are out of town again, and I think I’m developing a hunch from climbing through your window ever night.”

Y/n could help but chuckle. His house. Nothing seemed wrong with it so she said “Sure.”

And that was that. He smiled at her, walking out of the arcade back towards Family Video for the rest of his shift. There was no need for sneaking around if his parents weren’t home. So when her shift had finally ended, she raced back home to get a set of pajamas, making up some lousy excuse that she was staying at Robins for the night before deriving over to Steves. She walked right up to the front door and knocked three times.

It took less than a minute for him to answer, swinging the door open with the biggest grin on his face. “Hey,” he greeted her.

“Hey,” she said back, taking a step through the door. “Nice place, Harrington. Very big.”

“Well, you know what that means,” he joked, causing her to roll her eyes. “Movie?”

It didn’t take long for both of them to decide of Back to the Future. It was a classic, one they had actually seen together when Steve was hopped up on Russian drugs a little over a year prior. They sat awkwardly across from each other on his couch as the movie began, both of them stealing glances at the other from time to time.

Eventually, Steve let out a big sigh, not wanting to deal with it anymore. “We literally sleep in the same bed it shouldn’t be hard for us to sit together.”

That broke the tension. Y/n giggled at his statement, standing up and plopping down a seat right next to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to lean against his chest. She like the way he smelled, whatever cologne he was wearing making him feel warm and welcoming. During the movie, he rubbed her shoulder absentmindedly with his thumb. It felt nice, the way he let his thumb graze over her shoulder. It made her feel like she had a place in life, there with him.

Once the movie came to a close, she watched as Steve shut off the television, and offered a hand out to her. Skeptically, she took it and watched as he led her upstairs to his room. It felt weird, being in his room. She had gotten so used to the same thing every night, the familiarity of being in her childhood home. But Steve’s room wasn’t like what she was expecting at all. He had band posters over this tacky plaid wallpaper. He had records splayed out over his desk from The Smiths, U2, The Police. It wasn’t a bachelor pad in a big home but a room where he expressed his passions.

Steve left to change in the bathroom, leaving her the room to get in her pajamas. She did so, taking a seat down on his bed. It was bigger than hers, at least a king-size mattress, and much more room for the two of them.

Soon, Steve came back from the bathroom and he smiled when he saw her waiting for him. “Admiring my bed?” he asked, sitting down on the opposite side.

“I might have to steal it from you,” she responded.

He laughed, pulling back the covers. Awkwardly, she climbed in with him, snuggling against his chest. It felt weird being in a new place, but as soon as she took of whiff of that cologne, she was out like a light.

🎬🎬🎬

For the first time in weeks, Y/n woke up gasping in the middle of the night. She let her eyes adjust to the setting around her, realizing that she was still in Steve’s room. She looked down at him, still asleep as one of his arms was still wrapped around her waist. Slowly, she laid back down, Steve turning into her more as he slept.

She was scared of what she had seen in her nightmare. No, it wasn’t a nightmare, a dream, a great one in fact. She had dreamt that she was on a porch of a big, white picket fence house. Y/n watched as her children played on a tire swing in the front yard, laughing together in harmony. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looking up to see her lovely husband, Steve Harrington next to her. Smiling back, she watched as he kissed her cheek before settling in the chair next to her.

That’s when she woke up, gasping for breath. It wasn’t a bad dream, very far from it in fact. But she was worried about what it meant. Could she see a future with him? Could she see him as more than a friend? More than a person she slept in her bed with to rid both of them of nightmares? She couldn’t stay, she had too many thoughts racing through her head. Needing to leave, Y/n untangled herself from Steve, grabbing her bag and racing out of the room in the middle of the night.

The next morning, Y/n had the opening shift at work. It was fine, she had never fallen back to sleep anyway. The day was slow, barely any kids in the arcade as she restocked the candy in the prize case. A bell rang out, indicating someone had walked through the front door. She looked up meeting eyes with Steve. He stood in the doorway, looking shaken up as he looked at her for answers, anything that would explain why she left last night. She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t explain why she had left when she still needed to figure it out herself.

“Hey Sam,” Y/n called out to her coworker. "Can you take over for me here?”

She watched Sam nod, coming over to take the candy from her. Without looking back at the door, she walked away towards the employee only room. She needed to breath, seeing him felt like too much. Why was it too much? It wasn’t like they had done anything, nothing to consider them more than sleeping buddies.

As Y/n paced in the back room, she tried control her thoughts and what this dream had really meant. She had to admit, the more time she spent with Steve, the more they joked around tangled in each others beds, the more she felt drawn to him. Sure they were close before but now? It was hard to do anything without thinking about how Steve might react, how he might respond in the situation.

She loved the way he smiled, the way he tossed his hair back, the way he laughed at all of her jokes… no. She needed to stop. This would all pass it just needed some time. They had been with each other every day for the past few weeks, she just needed to get away for a little bit and everything would go back to normal.

It was hard, to resist the urge to call him. The nightmares had returned, watching Dustin die every night was starting to take a toll on her. Y/n went back to not sleeping, staying up all night, and reading which is why she almost fell asleep on the job.

“Y/n!” Robin shouted, jolting her up from dazing off.

“What? What happened,” she said, trying to ground herself in reality.

“You dozed off again are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine…just not getting much sleep.”

“Damn, you too?”

Y/n looked up at her puzzled. “Me too?” She asked.

“Steve fell asleep restocking this morning… I thought he would have told you by now he’s like not sleeping at all.”

Y/n felt her heart ache when she said that. He wasn’t sleeping? Was that because of her or some other totally unrelated incident. “I-I haven’t talked to him in a few days actually…”

“Oh, so that’s why he looks so sad too.”

“What?”

“It’s like he’s a wounded puppy! Sleeping on the job any chance he gets and sulking around for the rest of it. It’s starting to get annoying.”

Robin finished up her meal at the counter while Y/n did her job. She said something about a new movie that came out but Y/n wasn’t paying attention. Her mind drifted to what Robin had said about Steve. A wounded puppy she called him, getting no sleep. Were his nightmares back too?

After going so long before without a solid night’s rest, the picket house family didn’t seem so bad. In fact, she could see herself sharing that big house with Steve, maybe even having a dog as well. That’s when she caught herself. The worst thing was happening, she was falling for Steve Harrington. She wanted to be near him, for him to wrap his arms around her as they slept but she knew that would never be possible again.

Y/n had experience heartbreak too much to know that sleeping in the same bed as your crush, one that probably doesn’t return your affection, is a bad idea. She decided right then and there that she would never sleep in the same bed as Steve Harrington, for both their sakes.

🎬🎬🎬

Tonight's nightmare was especially bad. Ever since Y/n admitted to herself that she liked Steve, he had become a constant in her dream. Every night, she watched her brother perish and every night, Steve was the next to go.

She was running from the demo bats, trying so hard to make it to Lover’s Lake when there was a banging. A boom, boom, boom erupted throughout the entire of the Upside Down. The ground shook as she fell to the ground, reaching out her hand to the portal. The banging grew louder and louder before gasp!

Y/n woke up gasping for breath, however, the banging noise didn’t stop. Turning to the window she saw was she hoped wouldn’t be there. Steve stood outside her window, his eyes bloodshot as he tried to get her attention.

Quickly, she got out of bed and let him in, still trying to catch her breath. The first thing she noticed when he climbed through was that he was barefoot. He stood before her in his pajamas, sweat dripping down his face. Before she could say anything, he started pacing the length of her room.

“Steve what are you-“ she tried to start but he interrupted her.

“Listen,” he started, willing himself to stop moving in front of her. “I-I don’t know why you left that night or why we aren’t talking but my nightmares are getting worse. Like, worse than they were before and I can’t stay away from you I…please let me stay the night.”

She looked up at him, his eyes strained with bags. He looked awful, like really awful. She needed to help him, to put her own morals aside for the night and make sure he was okay. Seeing tears forming in his eyes, Y/n stepped forward and engulfed him in a hug. He started to cry as she held him, gripping her tighter.

“I’m sorry I kept away,” she whispered into his shirt. “You can stay, okay?”

They pulled apart, Steve nodding as he wiped away the tears. Slowly, she moved towards the bed, pulling back the covers so he could join. He snuggled right in, knowing his place behind her as he gripped her waist.

It felt nice to be back in his arms. To feel his warm embrace and know it was someone she cared for. As the tears slowed down and the breathing returned to normal, it wasn’t long before sleep finally took over them.

When Y/n woke up the next morning, she had almost forgotten the events of the night before. If it weren’t for Steve’s hand still wrapped around her waist, she would have been surprised how well she ended up sleeping. Slowly, she turned to face him, seeing he was already awake and staring at the ceiling.

“Hey,” she whispered.

He turned his head and smiled. “Hey,” he said back. “I missed this.”

“I missed this too,” she responded.

“Then why did you leave that day at my house?”

“It’s…” she struggled for a moment. Did she tell him? No, now wasn’t the time. “It’s complicated… So, your nightmares came back?”

“Yeah…I couldn’t sleep it was just too much to handle.”

She nodded to his words. “Mine came back too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

It was silent in the room for a moment after they had both confessed to each other. Y/n began to think about what would happen if she did tell him what she had dreamt. Would he push her away? Invite her with open arms? There was only one way to find out.

When she went to speak, so did Steve. They chuckled and Y/n said, “You go first.”

“Well, I was just going to say that even if the nightmares left, I prefer the dreams I was having when I was with you.”

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows. “Dreams?”

She could see the blush forming on his cheeks. “Don’t freak out okay? But ever since maybe the third night we slept together, I’ve been having this dream. I’m on a camping trip with my six kids. We do it every year, just me, them, and well… you.” He looked up to meet her gaze. “In my dreams, you’re always their mom. And it always ends with you kissing me on the cheek and I tell you how happy I am to have married you.”

Y/n started at him for a moment. Did this mean what she thought it meant? “Do those dreams hold any weight?” she asked hesitantly.

“What?”

“Like, is that a something you want or is just a dream? Because… well I’ve been having dreams too. That we got married with kids like you said, living in this white picket fence house with a dog and…I’ve realized over the past few weeks that this is a dream that I would want to be true.”

She waited for a rejection, knowing she went to far, but watched as a shocked Steve leaned over to her so his face hovered over hers.

“Are you saying you imagine a future with me where we are more than friends?”

Softly, she said. “Yeah….” she could see the shock on his face, the wow that she had even dared to dream about it. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said anything. I just assumed that-

Y/n was caught off with Steve’s mouth on hers. She was shocked at first, her friend's lips crashing over hers like a tidal wave crashing to the shore. She reached up and wrapped her fingers in his hair as he gripped her waist tighter. Pulling him down to deepen the kiss, she felt him moan into her mouth, causing her to do the same. They separated for a moment, both trying to catch their breath as they stared into each other's eyes.

“The six kids, the camping trip, marrying you,” Steve began. “I want it all. I want all of it.”

“Well, I don’t know about the six kids part.”

He chuckled, brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes. “That’s up for debate.”

Both of them smiling, he leaned back down to continue their kiss, knowing that the nightmares would never return.

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nsewell · 15 days

Text

tw: brief discussion of religion

North America, 1935. They’ve done a twenty-four kilometer dead sprint circumference of the farmland that borders a desolate inkspot on Nat’s map of the Texas Panhandle, and it’s all rows of cultivated fields and nothing, nothing, nothing. At a copse of cedar elms there’d been a cage lodged into a flaky patch of mud, but that was all that remained of the Trapper caravan that had passed through this area. They’d since moved on, taking their captives with them, and from the tarnishing metal, it seems they’d done so a while ago. Somewhere vaguely westward is all they can gauge.

Ava kicks the cage in frustration, hard enough to crack a bone that mends before the pain can topple her, and then says with mustered control, “We need to be quicker. We need to get back on the trail.”

“We need to rest,” Nat returns patiently and it only takes that for Ava to concede, exhausted with sun and hunger and loathe to deny her.

They slouch in the weeds and the sun burnished grass together and sip from their canteens of blood, replenishing energy expelled in the chase. Nat’s half ration reserve beads down her chin as she drinks with always just a tinge of desperation, and tells Ava about a drought to the north. She talks like this sometimes, just to talk. Relays to Ava current affairs that she’s read in a paper, and does not expect her to answer.

The sky is a yawning chasm above, the heat a brutalizing line on their necks. They’ve kicked up enough muck and dust to coat their bodies entirely, and warrant a thorough washing before reconvening at the inn with the other half of their team for the next leg of their journey. They end up tracing their steps back to a lake that they’d passed, and when they get there Nat says, “Oh,” with a wary eye on the wide waterline and her arms tucked against her sides and Ava understands. As if in a desire to be clean and cool she had forgotten the manner to achieve it.

“I miss the Turkish bathhouses,” Nat sighs. “We’ve traded mint leaves for river reeds.” Ava thinks it a rather meager attempt to cover her trepidation when she can see the way the curve of her wrists are shaking against the fabric of her blouse. Instead, reaches over to grip her shoulder in a reassuring squeeze and lending of strength.

“You philistine. Come to the shore, and I’ll help you.”

Ava wades calf deep to fill her empty canteen with water and returns to Nat who is watching her from the pebbled bank, all willowy grace like a river nymph, or else a specter at the water’s edge. Who will go no further. She directs Nat to kneel low enough so she can douse her face clean, and the younger vampire emits a soft chuckle when Ava presses her thumb into the divot of tender skin behind her ear and hold her gaze to the sky.

“What’s so funny?” Ava asks.

“Just a thought I had. This feels baptismal.” Nat crosses her arms across her chest in an affected, reverent gesture.

Ava lifts a brow. “Were you baptized?” It means nothing to her and she isn't sure why she has a notion to ask. In the swathe of wide topics that have carried them debating through the centuries, religion has never come up.

“Yes, of course. I was born into a self respecting Anglican family of the gentry. Or half of one at least,” Nat recalls, and her accent slips a touch to the cadence of palatial drawing rooms and garden soirees. The one she'd had when they'd first met. “My mother and step-father didn’t want to illegitimize me further, for all the good it did my soul.”

Ava takes a half-step back and carefully watches Nat's face. “You don’t believe that.” They’ve dealt with hauntings, yes. Banshees, ghouls and the like. Things that have slipped through the perilously thin cracks of the Echo World. Never something that was an inclination of the human soul, evidence of a life beyond this one. “After all you’ve learned and seen.”

“In the soul? I’m not sure. I’ve thought a lot about it. Sometimes. Aren’t we as vampires spirits by definition? Left behind imprints of a human that once walked the Earth. If we die do we leave a trace, or has the trace already been left?”

“If you’re going to philosophize you can do this yourself,” Ava tells her wholly fond.

A thread of warm laughter always underscores any teasing that Nat does and this one melts into the dry breath of wind sweeping the north Texas plains. Genial and tender. “There's a very old adage I'm sure you're familiar with, even with all your reclusion, my friend-you started it.”

#my writing #UM idk what this is or where it came from such a random premise. just a dumping ground of prose bc i've been in screenplay format all week #i might take it and turn it into something larger and cleaner at some point we shall see....this feels very abridged

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happyandticklish · 6 months

Text

You Make It Hard to Breathe

Notes: The fandom has collectively decided that Izaya can't swim, and I've decided to run with it~

Summary: Izaya can't swim and Shizuo takes it upon himself to teach him how.

The sun beat down on him, a never-ending heat that was slowly but surely chipping away at Izaya’s psyche. He drew an arm over his face to try to block out the harshness of its rays, but light flickered in regardless making him squint. He was sweating. Sweating. Izaya Orihara did many things, but he did not sweat.

He flinched as a splash of water landed on his feet, drawing them back on his chair with disdain. “Do you mind?”

“That’s a lame move, you know,” the other man informed him at the edge of the lake. He had his arms propped up on the deck, kicking idly to keep himself afloat as he fixed Izaya with a grumbling stare. “You were the one who wanted to come here in the first place.”

“I enjoy the scenic view,” Izaya said idly. He had given up on fully blocking out the sun and chose to sit up instead, adjusting his towel underneath him. He should have brought sunglasses but it had been dark out when they left for the trip and he hadn’t thought to plan accordingly. It was unlike him, but the comfortability of packing in the morning with a sleepy Shizuo at his side had distracted him. The thought stirred a sense of prickling unease in him. It was only sunglasses, but it felt far too much like being off his guard. “Why would I want to splash around in disgusting mud water? It figures a beast such as yourself would enjoy these grotesque pleasures, of course.”

He flashed Shizuo a simpering smile, delighting in the glare it was received with. He turned back to his book, a collection of Russian poetry he had nabbed off of one of his rarer clients while they had been visiting the city. The page he had marked detailed out a short piece about the futility of life and the dread that came along with it. Cliché. Basic. Overdone. But the language was beautiful and there was nothing to say that Izaya couldn’t enjoy a more rudimentary read.

He was on vacation after all. The point was to relax.

Izaya wasn’t sure what had prompted the idea. Maybe it had been Shizuo’s insistence on clinging to him like a leech while he was trying to work, clearly bored out of his mind. Maybe it had been the overcast skies that sent a sense of gloom reigning over the massive apartment. Maybe he had simply wanted a change.

Shizuo hadn’t protested when he suggested the idea of a holiday vacation, merely raised a brow and scoffed in typical Shizuo fashion—that was his version of enthusiastic support. He hadn’t missed the glimmer in Shizuo’s eyes when they’d arrived at their outrageously small cabin, though. Izaya had to bite back a smile himself at how easily entertained he was. He didn’t allow himself to think that it was because the childlike fascination was cute, but Shizuo had figured it out if the sudden flush and averted gaze then had been any indication.

Now, he was finding that fascination annoying as several droplets of water landed on the top margins of his page. He sighed, tilting his chin down to meet Shizuo’s stare.

“Can I help you?”

“Get in with me.”

“And obtain the hundreds of diseases contained within that filth? I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”

Shizuo frowned. For a moment, it seemed as though Izaya had dissuaded him, but in the next, Shizuo was gripping the edges of the boardwalk and pulling himself up in one fluid, wet motion. The water lurched at the displacement and Izaya drew back in his chair as it ran up against the wooden platform.

He yelped when Shizuo approached him, scrambling out of his chair to escape the dripping mess before him. “No, absolutely not, you are soaking wet. At least dry off first.” He snatched up the towel on the chair and shoved it into Shizuo’s chest, but the other ignored it, instead reaching out to wrestle his book away. Izaya put up a valiant defense but Shizuo was stronger than him and far less concerned about potentially ripping the pages than the former.

Finally, Shizuo emerged victor, clutching the book victoriously over Izaya’s head. “Who comes to a lake house to read, anyway? You can do that back home anytime.”

He tossed the book over on the remaining towels in the grass and Izaya winced. It did look mostly unharmed. Maybe a little wet, which he held every intention of complaining about later. Now, however, he was focused on survival as Shizuo—with zero warning he might add—scooped an arm under his legs, catching him off guard as he swept him into his arms.

He convinced himself that the racing of his heart was due to panic and nothing else.

“Shizuo,” Izaya said firmly as the other led him towards the lake. He tried to keep the edging panic out of his voice but the ebbing waves below them was making it hard to focus. “Shizuo, if you don’t put me down right now—”

“Than you might risk actually having fun for once?”

Shizuo was smirking, clearly not understanding the dire stakes they were facing. They were at the edge of the boardwalk now and Izaya yelped when Shizuo started to drop him, desperately clinging onto his neck.

Shizuo paused at that. “Everything alright, flea? You seem…” he struggled for the right word. “Unusually uncomposed.”

“If you had bothered to ask that earlier you might have realized that sooner,” Izaya hissed, hating how the combination of sweat and water on Shizuo’s back was making it difficult to get a firm grip. “I’m fine, I just don’t like the water, so if you could just—don’t!”

Shizuo’s hold had slackened once more experimentally. They both waited in the aftermath of the noise that could only be described as a shriek of terror.

“Izaya…” Shizuo started slowly. “Do you not know how to swim?”

Heat flashed across Izaya’s face. “Of course I know how to swim.”

“So, if I dropped you in right now—”

“Shizuo—”

“I will if you don’t tell me the truth.”

Izaya was silent for a long while. He wasn’t used to being on the other side of blackmail and he was not finding it to his liking. Shizuo’s stare was relentless, however, and the water rose in his vision in terrifying swells as it rode waves along the lake. He averted his gaze in what he hoped was nonchalance. “I just didn’t find it to be a necessary skill, is all. The whole concept of swimming is a ridiculous death wish anyway. Wading around in something that can kill you isn’t high up on my bucket list.”

Shizuo scoffed, rolling his eyes at the dramatics. Of course he wouldn’t be worried about something like this. Izaya had never met someone so unconcerned with their own safety. It would have been worrying if he hadn’t seen him survive all that he had—most of it inflicted by Izaya himself.

He ignored that particular twinge of guilt in favor of panic as Shizuo took a few steps back and then jumped into the shimmering water, Izaya still clutched in his arms.

The first thing he noticed was how cold it was. A freezing cold too, that shocked Izaya’s system as it tried to process the sudden temperature change. The second thing he noticed was how he was not able to breathe. He quickly slammed his mouth shut, trying to ignore the burning feeling at the back of his throat from all the water he had accidentally inhaled while shrieking. He kept his arms latched in a death grip around Shizuo’s throat as the latter’s worked to push their collective way to surface.

When they finally breached air all of five seconds later, Izaya gasped for much-needed breath, spluttering over the water clogging his throat. He was vaguely aware of Shizuo laughing in the background and he made a mental note to be offended by that once he was out of this freezing, over glorified bath.

“What was that for?” Izaya demanded indignantly once he could safely speak without coughing up saltwater.

“To show you that a simple thing like swimming isn’t going to kill you.” Shizuo raised a brow. “We’re not drowning, are we?”

They weren’t drowning, oddly enough. Through the reflections in the water, Izaya could see Shizuo’s legs idly kicking and keeping them afloat. One of his arms was preforming the same, lazy strokes as well, while the other curved protectively around Izaya’s waist. In theory, they were safe. This did not stop Izaya’s nails digging into Shizuo’s back from how tightly he was holding on, however. Shizuo barely seemed to notice.

“Shizuo,” Izaya said, forcing a casual, but firm tone of voice. “Put me back on the docks.”

“Not yet.”

“Not—?!”

“I want to show you that it’s fine. You’re going to have to learn to swim eventually, now is as good a time as any.”

Even as he said it, he kicked them a little closer to the shore, allowing Izaya to quickly reach out and grab onto one of the dock’s legs for safety. Evidently, he still had some humanity left in him.

“There, now you see—Izaya!”

It was a risky move and ultimately not worth it as Shizuo’s hand squeezed where it held on his waist, forcing an uncharacteristically panicked squawk out of Izaya.

The two froze for a moment, wading literally and figuratively in the aftermath of the unexpected sound. Then, Shizuo squeezed again. To his credit, Izaya merely let out a grunt this time, but it was too late—the damage had already been done.

“Swimming is an important skill,” Shizuo said, his voice coming out in a slow drawl that set Izaya’s nerves on edge. “You have enemies everywhere, flea, you really want them finding out that all it takes to take you down is a swimming pool and a lack of floaties?”

“I’ve survived this long.” Izaya hadn’t let go of the dock yet, torn between two insistent voices of instinct, one telling him to hold on for dear life and the other screaming at him that Shizuo’s hand was still wrapped around his waist—his stupidly sensitive waist.

“Luck. Luck that could fade.” Shizuo pressed his face into the crook of Izaya’s neck and the informant tensed, trying not to think about hot breath and teeth grazing his skin. “Let me teach you to swim or I’m going to tickle you until you’re suffocating from much worse methods than drowning.”

Izaya’s throat was dry. It was an impossible scenario. Being a pupil to someone like Shizuo in a scenario where failing could mean his imminent death was not his idea of a good time. On the other hand, the softness of Shizuo’s lips on his neck combined with the drumming fingers at his waist was frazzling his nerves with a giddy anticipation. The water seemed to make everything more sensitive too, his body already shivery and tense from the cold. Plus, tickling meant squirming, squirming meant Shizuo losing his grip, which meant Izaya sinking to the bottom of the lake and having his corpse nibbled on by some long-lost beast looking for a nice dinner.

He should never have suggested a lake house.

“Shizuo—”

Fingers, wiggling, scratching, spidering over his waist. His hand snapped back like a slingshot from the deck, moving to wrap around Shizuo’s neck instead. Fluttery giggles were escaping, and shit, he was breaking too fast, he normally had more resistance than this, the helplessness of this situation was not helping matters—

“Have you made a decision? You seem a bit antsy there, ‘Zaya.”

Izaya merely shook his head, burying his own face in Shizuo’s neck. He wanted to rip his hand away, but he didn’t want to disrupt Shizuo’s concentration on keeping them afloat.

On the other hand, it really, really tickled.

A kiss, then a bite into the crook of his neck, soft little grazes of teeth that made Izaya practically whimper as he attempted to scrunch up his shoulders. Shizuo’s fingers squeezed once more before crawling up and circling around his ribs, so close to the undersides of his arms that Izaya was going more than a little mad. He cursed himself for not wearing a shirt today even though he had held no ideations towards swimming when they had arrived. Still, the shirt he had brought had been stifling in the heat, and he had figured it couldn’t hurt. Now, he would have much preferred the heat.

Shizuo’s thumb dug into the divot of skin right above his top rib. Izaya yelped, unable to help the sudden burst of frantic thrashing the action caused. “We’re going to d-drown you ohoaf! Shit!”

“We’re fine, I’ve got you. Of course, if you knew how to swim, I would never be able to pull this move on you again.”

Izaya whacked a hand into his back at the comment, hard enough that anyone else might have released him. Shizuo barely seemed to notice, responding only with quick, scrambling fingers under his arms. Izaya’s face was a bright shade of red that spread quickly and obviously down his neck and onto his shoulders. He needed to stop the stream of breathless giggles that he couldn’t seem to get control over, but it was hard when each twitch of Shizuo’s fingers sent prickles of goosebumps sprawling over his skin (something he would later blame on the cold of the water when Shizuo pointed it out).

For a while, they stayed like that. Shizuo’s fingers, mouth, teeth, and tongue all working to send Izaya into a flustered, gasping, whining mess of laughter as he struggled to stay afloat. And yes, perhaps there was some part of Izaya that was enjoying how securely Shizuo was holding him, his strong arm tensed and confident around Izaya’s back, or how the thrill of laughter almost made him forget about swimming and water and all the diseases he had most likely accidentally swallowed when they first jumped into the water. Maybe. Maybe he could admit that, privately, to himself, later on when he was safe in bed and thinking back on the day. But for right now, his only goal was survival, which meant Shizuo stopping as soon as possible.

Eventually, it was Izaya’s own sensitivity that saved him. Shizuo’s arm had shifted so that his arm served as a seat (a much safer position with how much Izaya was moving around), and his fingers had experimentally found their way to his lower thigh where, fastening on in a tight grip, they squeezed and Izaya nearly jumped out of his skin with a screech of laughter. Instinct kicked in faster than strategy did, and Izaya’s knee jerked up into Shizuo’s chin, temporarily forcing him to let go.

Izaya had only a second to rejoice that Shizuo’s hands were no longer tickling him before realizing that this meant that Shizuo’s hands were no longer holding him either. Luckily, he was only underwater for a couple seconds. In a desperate flail, he managed to slam his foot into Shizuo’s chest, propelling him towards the docks—a move that only worked as Shizuo had mercifully remained within reach. He quickly grabbed onto the dock, pulling himself back to safety as he spluttered and coughed, trying to hack up the water he had accidentally inhaled in his momentary plunge.

Shizuo was laughing. Izaya had almost died and Shizuo was laughing. He rubbed the spot Izaya’s foot had landed with a hum of approval. “Nice reflexes.”

Izaya had thankfully managed to pull himself back on shore, where he retreated back to the safety of his chair, fumbling for his towel. “You almost killed me,” he hissed. There wasn’t any real venom in his voice though. It was more embarrassment than anything else.

Shizuo raised a brow at the claim. He remained in the water, perfectly content to tread the watery death trap. “I’ve done far worse without you so much as flinching. Besides, it’s not like you mind the tickling. Or have you forgotten that I know about that?”

Izaya pointedly did not look at him as he retrieved his towel, wrapping it around his shoulders. “I did not enjoy almost drowning because of it.” Not a confirmation or a denial, if the court played the sentence back.

He did not so much see as felt the eye roll from behind him. “Dramatic.”

“Brute.”

“Princess.”

Izaya sent him a withering stare. That particular insult (perhaps compliment, but Izaya refused to take it as such) was a new one, and one that Izaya was quickly finding not to his liking. He snatched his book up, settling back into his chair. Still in an okay condition, and the cool air had dried any bits of the pages that had gotten wet. He held the book up like a shield for his face as he noticeably did not respond.

Shizuo held up his arms in an expression of surrender, though the grin of amusement was still present on his face before he dove back under the water. As Izaya flipped a page in the novel, he hid his own smile, though his had a more affectionate value to it, despite the irritation.

Next summer, he decided, he would teach himself how to swim.

Shizuo would not be invited.

#tickle fic #durarara #izaya orihara #shizaya #shizuo heiwajima #durarara!!#tickling #fanfiction

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nuclearwastetoday · 4 months

Text

hear me out. Alan Wake serial, but it's not about Wake. Its about Bright Falls and Watery, and people out there in like 90x sitcom style. There's some crappy romantic plotline with random people, bad jokes, background laugh track etc. BUT Alan ACTUALLY is there. He just appears at the end of every episode, covered in blood, mud and dirt and like: Yes, finally, i got out from this hell!!! (always somewhere by cauldron lake) AND something or someone just ACCIDENTALLY knocks him back. EVERY episode, new plots characters people life going on and Wake is there getting out and going back there. Every Single Time.

One episode he's crawling at shore, standing up all exited and stuff AND some random dude tosses a dog toy or something, casually playing with pet, Alan makes step, trip's over and here he go back into water.

Another episode, some lovely dovey scene romantic moment, a couple in a boat, drifting in lake. Suddenly, Alan spawns near, trying to got in like: ohmygod guys u won't believe me but help i need to get out here right now. Couple helps him, but oops, lost their balance and Wake again back in dark place.

Some fisher man kicks him in a face, someone bumps into him, someone slaps him with a beach umbrella (kinda???), someone asks him to hold something for a sec and he looses his balance. literally, EVERYONE knows him like yeah this guy, eh weirdo snooping near lake all the time.

and after credits scene Zane and Scratch doing regular insane things, minding theyre own business. suddenly Alan pops up, and they like: Oh, u back again. How's the day, writer boy?

That's IT. Maybe FBC agents in a background not understanding a damn thing, doing tests monitoring lake and shit, but they're always a second late to catch poor Wake. Or, otherwise, leaving at exact time when he escapes.

#alan wake 2 #alan wake ii #shitpost #i may be mentally ill #poor alan #but it's all for comedic purposes

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w0wiie · 10 months

Photo

Day 6: Lake for SatBK week by @satbkpromptweek

I know it’s late, but hey, this piece was kicking my ass. I am never doing a piece like this again. My hand hurts... (more under the tab)

“I will spare your life for but a second. State your business, Terrorist.”

The dark knight leered with vicious red eyes while catching his breath; his dark sword pointed directly at his opponent’s neck. The fight was close, and he was covered in mud, drenched in water, sweat and maybe blood, but he managed to knock the other’s weapon out of his hand and far enough away from grabbing distance. The fighting style seemed familiar as he had waltzed across the lake with this masked person, but his main priority was figuring the reason why the vigilante was wandering so deep into the woods. There was no gold nor treasure to be found here, so it must be something magical. He was already risking his position by showing himself here as one of the knights of the King’s court; he wouldn’t allow himself to let this other person leave alive.

“I don’t think someone as important as you would bother being all the way out here. Did you follow me? Or are you trying to protect something?”

The masked vigilante was trying his best to not let his eyes betray his feelings. He had just fought his mentor, and he couldn’t beat him--just like all other times. The knight had truly been going easy on him whenever they sparred. His mind was a mess; having to grapple with his feelings of disbelief seeing his mentor so deep within the woods. The knight must be protecting something hidden within this lake. It must be the fae that was alleged to be here, but why would Lancelot be the one stopping him? The ultimate knight, known for enforcing the law down the T, couldn’t possibly be protecting magic. Ugh, that shouldn’t matter. He can’t afford to be stopped here. He’s come so far. He needed time to think of his next move quickly...

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #shadow #shadow the hedgehog #arthur #lancelot #deep woods #lady of the lake #knight of the wind #sega #sonic team #satbk2023 #wowie art #ToBeKingAU

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best-of-basslines · 2 months

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Round 1 - Part 1

Hysteria - Silly Love Songs

Dear Prudence - Disorder

Kick in the Eye - Good Times

Dancing Shoes - Double Dare

Everybody Dance - My Girl

Aces High - Better Strangers

Tank! - Killing in the Name

Transmissions - Achilles Come Down

King of Sex - Walk on the Wild Side

Koufukuron (Etsuraku-hen) - Orion

Never Say Never - The Chain

For Your Love - The Distance

A Certain Romance - I Will

Fake Tales of San Francisco - Plug in Baby

Superstition - The Hollow Men

Ain’t it Fun - Caught in a Mosh

I Will Survive - Ramble On

The Lovecats - Got the Life

Lovesong - Dazed and Confused

Bulls on Parade - Neat Neat Neat

Barbarism Begins at Home - Sober Up

Dragon Attack - Baba O’Riley

Under Pressure - I Want You (She’s so Heavy)

Seven Nation Army - Rio

Peace Sells - Don’t Tell Dave

Another One Bites the Dust - I Feel Voxish

Swan Lake (Death Disco) - Psycho Killer

Feel Good Inc. - Cowboys from Hell

Don’t Leave Me This Way - Bitches Brew

It’s My Life - Age of Consent

Lady Madonna - Getting in Tune

Roundabout - Hey Bulldog

Round 1 - Part 2

Too Shy - Nothing to Say

Message in a Bottle - Lovely Day

Lacquer Head - Space Truckin’

Dead Man’s Party - Give Up the Funk

I Want You Back - What Becomes of the Brokenhearted

Go it Alone - I’m Coming Out

Money - La Grase de las Capitales

That’s the Bag I’m In - Deantown

Motorbike - Low Rider

Secret Message - Midnight Lady

Girls and Boys - Spoonful

College Girls - Cavern

Express Yourself - Good Vibrations

Ando Meio Desligado - Material Girl

Paranoid Android - Rock On

Chameleon - Dirty Little Girl

Billie Jean - (I’m a) Road Runner

Have You Ever Seen the Rain? - Town Called Malice

Meltdown - Snow (Hey Oh)

My Name is Mud - Give it Away {Tie}

I Got The… - Thank You (Falettinme be Mice Elf Again)

Hair - Daughter

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough - New World Man

Noudouteki - Walk the Dinosaur

You Can’t Hurry Love - Jaws

Thriller - Cannonball

I Heard it through the Grapevine - White Lines (Don’t Do It)

The Joker - Cupid’s Victim

Rooster - Nookie

Higher Ground - Blister in the Sun

Let’s Groove - Black Sunshine

15 Step - Is it Luck?

#not a bassline poll #round 1 matchups

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silkscream · 2 years

Note

💌 here me out here me out… arvin finding out that you’ve never been kissed. he thinks ur the most beautiful person in the entire town so when he’s leaning in and u tell him he’s all like. “ur joking” and u have to giggle cuz hahaha no

maybe this was a bad idea. not because arvin russell was any variation of sour, but because you felt naive and stupid and didn’t know what to do with yourself, let alone with a beautiful boy in his old pickup truck in the middle of nowhere.

you didn’t distrust him — arvin had taken you out plenty of times. it’s just that none of those times were particularly romantic, and this was the first outing when he fully asked your father for permission, which confirmed what you were hoping for (and terrified of) this whole time: he liked you.

you’d had your eyes on him ever since you were a child. he never you knew your name, not until you started going to church more often after your daddy nagged you about how you’d go to hell if you didn’t. you didn’t believe in all that christian dogma — you’d always been a tomboy, terrible at taking orders and being ladylike, always scraping your knees and tearing up your blue jeans. your parents had enough contempt for you during your early teen years to snap at you until your only focus in life was to finish high school and look as presentable as you could in front of your family and the rest of the town.

you used to be bullied for your wildness, your tomboy nature, but now that you were eighteen, no one noticed you very much. except arvin. he noticed how you’d taken a liking to lenora, how if he wasn’t around, it was you who would ward off the high school bullies. mostly because you were considered one of the prettiest in your school despite being considered one of the quietest. it was probably because your daddy ended up as mayor in recent years.

and even when all those boys tried to pick you up, it was arvin who you said yes to. the only boy. and it wasn’t even romantic at first — he was holding off going to college just so he could stick around until lenora graduated, and he’s taken a liking to doing farm work and some carpentry. the two of you were friends. until you weren’t.

which leads you to where you are now, sitting in his stupid big pickup truck and staring at a flock of geese instead of the wide-eyed boy next to you, swaying just slightly along to the joan baez song on the radio.

“you wanna go sit by the lake?” arvin drawls slowly as he puts out his cigarette. you nod obediently.

you follow him as he gets out of the car, settles down on the grass while he kicks his shoes off so he can dip his feet into the lake. his blue jeans are cuffed and so are the short sleeves of his plain white tee. you find solace in the silence and the beating afternoon sun.

“you ever been down here before?” he asks you.

“yeah. back when i was a kid, i used to come here and swim. bathe. play in the mud all the time, my mother hated it,” you chuckle.

“well, you sound like quite the rascal.”

“i used to be,” you nod.

“what about now?” he grins. you blush under his gaze, unable to look him in the face. instead, you stare at your feet as you nestle your toes in the soft dirt of the lake floor.

“i’m not. i gotta be responsible now, i reckon. for my family.”

“you can take care of your family and still be wild like that. i can see it in you. you always… look like you’re glowin’. like you oughta be somewhere else, far away from here,” he murmurs quietly.

“what does that mean, arvin?”

“means you’re too good for this piece of shit town.” his voice is low. you don’t realize how close he’s gotten, how he’s only a few inches from your face. he’s close enough for you to count each of his dusty brown eyelashes, each framing his chocolate brown pupils that flicker at your eyes. then your mouth.

you notice his eyes droop slightly in an almost drowsy manner as he leans in toward you, and you reciprocate, all up until you stop him with your finger to his bottom lip.

“‘m sorry, darlin’.”

“no— no, don’t.. apologize. i just— i’ve never kissed anyone before.”

arvin raises an eyebrow.

“you serious?”

“why would i lie?” you furrow your brows.

he chuckles, turns his head towards the lake. you admire the way the afternoon sunlight hits his cheekbones on the highest points. is he making fun of you?

“i absolutely can’t believe that.”

“why not?”

“you? you gorgeous little thing? you’ve never been kissed? i mean, i know your daddy’s big and important as the mayor but he’s no preacher…”

“i’ve never been with a boy,” you disclaim. you mumble it, tucking your knees into your chest out of self-consciousness.

arvin’s eyes soften. “well, i want you to be with me. what do you think of that?”

“i like that,” you whisper.

slowly, he leans into you, and even though your heart is beating out of your chest, you decide to close your eyes. when he locks his lips with yours, it’s softer than you imagine. the softest exchange you could’ve asked for. it’s so gentle and feather-like that you’re the one who gives in and wants more, leaning in to taking his mouth again while your hands rest on his shoulders. he takes the opportunity to hold your face, palms to your jaw gently as you move your mouths together in harmony.

he tastes like the coffee you gave him this morning, and cigarettes. and you know he likes to drink, maybe not as much as your father, but you reckon that maybe you taste the slightest tang of honey whiskey. if not that, then you decide that you’re drunk on him. you don’t think you could ever forget this feeling again.

#arvin russell x you #arvin russell x reader #arvin russell smut #tom holland x you #2k celebration #blurb

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beuatifulbuttercup · 8 months

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PJO rarepair week day one: crush/love language

@them-awesome-rarepairs

sorry for being a bit late life kicked me and left me in the mud

anyaways

Austin Lake x Valentina Diaz

Austin's love language is gift giving and Valentina's is physical touch! Personally, I like to head cannon Austin fell first but Valentina fell harder. Austin always buys Valentina little stuffed animals or makes her playlists. Valentina is always in the mood to cuddle or hold hands and she is not a stranger to PDA.

Idk if they even have a ship name bc this ship was first introduced by me liking both these characters and my bestie making a head cannon

#pjorarepairs2023 #austin lake #valentina diaz #valentina diaz x austin lake #vastin?#austina?#valtin?#idk you chose #pls note everything in yellow is austin #and pink is valentina #valstin

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coffincanary · 10 months

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Happy WW Dove!!! I'm on a music kick so:

This week I wanna know what your favorite Sam/Dean song is and maybe a lil drabble if you're feeling very inspired

Happy WW, thank you for the ask Rae <3

My favorite Sam/Dean song is absolutely Twin Size Mattress by The Front Bottoms

I am such a sucker for Stanford-era Wincest (and those times around it) especially for that sweet spot where things got worse shortly before and after Sam left and this song perfectly encapsulates Dean's feelings from that era <3

This is gonna be long but I'm gonna go through this song and just relate it to the feelings Dean's gonna feel :) (Sorry for any formatting weirness I had to copy this from my PC because webbrowser Tumblr does not like sending my asks)

This is for the lions living in the wiry broke down frames of my friends bodies When the flood water comes, it ain't gonna be clear It's gonna look like mud But I will help you swim I will help you swim I'm gonna help you swim

Dean's sense of having lost so much yet how he and everyone around him still keeps on fighting. He knows Sam's gonna experience the same things because it's the hunting life and it's gonna be horrible and Sam is going to feel like he's gonna loose everything but he's not alone because Dean is there to help him (swim).

This is for the snakes and the people they bite For the friends I've made; for the sleepless nights For the warning signs I've completely ignored There's an amount to take, reasons to take more

Dean's life, the bad (monsters/snakes), the good (the people he's saved), what he's gained and what he's lost. He doesn't want to loose anymore, but he's going to loose Sammy. He wonders if there's anything he could have done to prevent it, how Sam only had so much to give but how Dean, John and the hunting life demanded more.

When they close their eyes and prayed you would change And they cut your hair, and sent you away You stopped by my house the night you escaped With tears in my eyes, I begged you to stay You said, hey man, I love you but no fucking way

Sam not living up to what John wants him to be, so John pushes him harder and harder (cutting hair as a form of punishment? Something John would probably do). Dean does nothing against this, nothing to defend his brother. Sam leaves, and Dean begs him to stay, but Sam obviously won't. From Dean's perspective, Sam is abandoning the family, is abandoning him. Dean loves Sam more than Sam loves him, hence why it's "I love you BUT"

I'm sure that we could find something for you to do on stage Maybe shake a tambourine or when I sing, you sing harmonies

Sam's been upset with being left out of the family business on several occasion. Dean wonders if including Sam more would have stopped him from leaving BUT his thinking is still caught up in the need to protect Sam. His part of the family is to be protected, hence why he isn't supposed to be proactive but either do things that are generally superfluous or follow Dean and John in some way.

This is for the lake that me and my friends swim in Naked and dumb on a drunken night And it should've felt good But I can hear the Jaws theme song on repeat in the back of my mind

Dean is entirely unable to relax, even when he gets the chance. There is always some danger, something horrible lurking, someone who needs to protected from a monster in the dark. I think that probably got worse when Sam was gone, because his baby brother, alone at college? No one is there to protect him.

There are lessons to be learned, consequences for all the stupid things I say And it is no big surprise you turned out this way The spark in her eyes The look on your face I will not be late

Dean blaming himself for Sam leaving, thinking it's no wonder that his brother left. Also, him taking the blame for Jessica dying (the spark in her eyes) and Sam watching her, but once again, he saves his brother, it is the one thing he can do.

I'm sure that we could find something for you to do on stage Maybe shake a tambourine or when I sing you sing harmonies

Dean and Sam kind of having to find their place in a new life. Dean still wants Sam to follow him, because he is still worried about his baby brother. It's more tentative than before, because this time it's Dean alone who is in charge of his brother, of protecting him, and there is no John to help him.

I wanna contribute to the chaos I don't wanna watch and then complain 'Cause I am through finding blame That is the decision that I have made

In some ways, Dean was never happy with Sam being back in the hunting life. His brother was happy with Jess, and Dean wanted that for him, in some way. But, the chaos allows him to be with Sam, and so Dean wishes it never ends, he wants to keep hunting and keep Sam there with him. There is chaos, but they will go through it together. I think this is Dean finding himself to be frustrated with his guilt and feelings regarding Sam, wants to stop finding blame in himself and just complain when he could accept what has happened.

She hopes I'm cursed forever to Sleep on a twin-sized mattress In somebody's attic or basement my whole life Never graduating up in size to add another And my nightmares will have nightmares every night Oh, every night, every night

But he always returns to his self-loathing and guilt. He imagines that Jess, his brother's chance at escaping hunting, loathes him for dragging Sam back. Sam's chance at a new, ordered life thwarted by his brother. Jess' curses regarding Dean is what Dean thinks he deserves - to be alone, never to "graduate up in size to add another". He will forever be haunted by his nightmares, he will never sleep peacefully again.

This whole song is (well wasn't intended but can be read as) about Dean regretting parts of his life, wondering if he could have done differently, and hating himself for the things and mistakes he thinks he's made. It's about him literally being stuck in his childhood (twin size mattresses). He wants to stay there with Sam, on that mattress, like when they were kids, but Sam has outgrown that part of himself. Dean drags him back, but he is still stuck in the past, alone, and while Sam is there and part of Dean wants to stop hating himself for that, he can't. He can't forgive himself, he can't move on, he will be perpetually stuck on that twin size mattress with his brother, dragging his brother down with him. And he will never stop regretting that.

#this is a mess #but it is my mess <3 #thank you so much for the ask!!#wincest wednesdays #Wincest #Samdean

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blog-of-a-multitude-of-fandoms · 3 months

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Courage- Owen Sharma

Pairing: Owen Sharma x Reader

Characters: Owen Sharma

Warnings: N/A

Request:

"The Haunting Of Bly Manor" request: I'm so sorry if this isn't where I am supposed to write a request, but I've never written one. If it's possible I would like an Owen imagine. I am the housekeeper in bly manor instead of Hannah and me abd Owen would flirt at times, but we haven't kissed or anything. In the end, The lady in the lake was dragging me towards the lake and Owen saved me. Now you can either make it so we kiss after he saved me or when we meet a few years later in his restaurant because I can't make up my mind. If you don't like the request, you can ignore it haha.

Word Count: 534

Author: Charlotte

Sometimes you wished you had chosen differently. Maybe you should have wished to not have come to Bly Manor, to not be amongst the dead that haunted the halls, but you didn’t regret that. It wasn’t how you anticipated your job at the manor going, but you loved the family you worked for, and you were certainly grateful for those who you worked with. Your biggest regret involved him. Owen had been the chef for nearly as long as you had been the housekeeper for the Wingrave family, and you instantly hit it off. You liked each other and it was obvious to everyone that saw you but neither of you wanted to make the first move, scared to ruin your professional and platonic relationship. Now, you wished you had let the nerves and worry dissolve and allow you to be happy but maybe you would never get a chance.

Rumours of hauntings had been around long before you started working at the manor, but you had always been sceptical, even if there were things that had made you question it. Part of you never believed in the lady in the lake, no matter what you hear of it, but when you felt an uncontrollable force grab hold of you and drag you towards the lake, there was no denying it anymore. Your only saving grace was Owen had stayed late and happened to see the attack.

Everything happened in a blur of fear and panic as you attempted to kick and hit at your invisible assailant. You were too busy focusing on your own mortality to see how he stopped you from being pulled under the water of the lake, leaving you only aware when you finally felt him tug you back onto the bank, successfully removing you from the grasp.

You clutched onto the man in front of you, not caring that you were covered in dirty lake water and a sludge of mud that coated you both as your bodyweight forced him into the bank.

“Are you okay?” He asked, pushing your wet hair from your face.

You panted, trying to get your breath back to normal but adrenaline still pumped through you, forcing the uneven breathing pattern.

“You saved me,” you croaked. “You saved my life.”

You peered up at your saviour, part of you questioning if it was true or some weird dream, but when you saw his smeared glasses and panicked smile, you knew it was him. With a mixture of panic and confidence from being in the face of death, you realised there wasn’t anything to fear between you and let your instincts take hold. You leant up, pressing your lips firmly to his, taking you both by surprise.

When you pulled away, you couldn’t help the smile that took hold of your lips.

“Was that for saving you or because you actually wanted to?” He questioned.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long but almost dying gave me the courage to actually do it.”

His smile mirrored yours, dopey, slightly confused but joyous. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time too.”

You didn’t take a second thought before you kissed him once again.

#Courage #Owen Sharma #Request #Owen Sharma One Shot #Owen Sharma Imagine #THOBM #THOBM Imagine #THOBM One Shot #The Haunting of Bly Manor #The Haunting of Bly Manor Imagine #The Haunting of Bly Manor One Shot #Charlotte

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project-v175 · 3 months

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Out on a Limb

Brutal fighting. That's what the wizarding world had succumbed to. Violence. All her life, she had only known the peace of magic. That changed when she became an apprentice at the ministry. She wanted to be an auror. She wanted to restore peace. He who shall not be named had ruined everything for her, and it needed to be set right. Nothing felt normal for her.. not until him.

Chapter 14: Soaking Wet

Venus squealed in triumph. Her entire body seemed to shake from her joy. With feet stamping in the mud, she pumped her fist and laughed, "You're soaked! You didn't even expect it! Granted, I had no clue I could do that, but you're soaked! Haha! Look at you- AHH!" Alastor stumbled forth and swiped Venus off her feet. The water pushed through her clothes and into her skin. Soft-scale formations began to cut through her skin. Through her giggling, she felt none of it. She kicked her legs in the air and pounded her fists across Alastor's back. He began going on about triumph, catching Venus, but tripped on his prosthetic and fell over. The two landed on the ground, Alastor protecting the back of Venus's head, and wheezed more laughter.

Venus sat up and began pulling the leaves from her hair. Alastor sat up as well, staring down at his soaked clothing. Creech would be busy tonight. “Girl, you got me. Im soaked! And muddy."

Venus stood up. Alastor had left his staff behind and needed it. She took it in her hands, carefully lifting it from the ground and bringing it to him. The entire staff was nearly taller than her. She had to hold it in both hands to keep from dropping it at Alastor’s feet. He took the staff from her and laughed internally at her relief. The two stared at each other and then began laughing. They were both covered in mud and water, Alastor more so than Venus. Her hand fell on his shoulder for support. His hands found her hips in response and the two leaned closer together. Their foreheads bumped. Venus’s laughter faded to a soft giggle and she whispered, “Hey.. we’re uhm.. We’re kinda close.”

Alastor only responded with a soft grunt. A smile crossed his lips. With one arm securing his staff and the other holding Venus, his free hand lifted her chin. Their lips met slowly. A soft press deepened into something sloppier and almost primal. Venus gripped onto Alastor’s jacket. She knew she wasn’t good at this. She had seen the Prewetts and the Weaslys give affection like this, but never thought to ask. There was no need. She had no desire to do it with someone. Until now. Her hands moved from Alastor’s chest to the nape of his neck. Her nails scraped his skin, pulling a groan from Alastor’s throat. Alastor dropped his hand from her neck to her shoulder. A soft push separated the two.

Venus raised her brows. “Alastor? What’s the matter?”

“Sorry… I shouldn’t have done that.” Alastor released Venus and stepped back to gather himself. “That was too much… We’re too vulnerable here. We should get back to Grimauld Place before someone sees us.” Alastor began to smooth out his ruffled coat, only for Venus to place her hand on his chest. “Or you can follow me,” She muttered. Her hand slipped in his, and she began pulling them both away from the muddy grounds.”Come on! I want to show you something!” Alastor began to protest, “We're too exposed! Venus, slow down! 'oody ‘ell..” Venus giggled to herself. Alastor found himself smiling at her excitement.

She dragged Alastor out of the woods. Her blood screamed directions at her. The mud was caked to her skin and beneath exposed scales. It made the sensitive skin itch and burn. That burning would cease almost instantly as she laid eyes upon the water. The Black Lake stared back at them. Alastor raised his eyebrows as Venus stepped up to the water's edge. She began removing her clothes, piece by piece. His eyes darted to the ground, and Venus caught him in embarrassment.

She laughed to herself. “Alastor? Really? Shy? You've already seen me practically naked. Besides, I'm nothing special. I look just like any other woman you've been with.” A playful and taunting voice teased Alastor's eyes.

She stripped off all her clothing. The pile sat shamelessly in the open while Venus stepped into the water. Her legs began to be covered with scales. She had barely any time to run knee-deep and dive lower. Her body disappeared and Alastor sprinted over. The water was dark even in the daylight. Finding her above the water was impossible. “Venus! Girl! You better come out of there! Are you mad? Do you know what you're risking?” Alastor shouted out protests. Venus's tail flicked in and out of view just before her hand reached up to grab Alastor's collar. He yelped when the cold water hit his face. Panic flooded his mind. His first instinct was to hit and kick at whatever was pulling him below the surface. Was she going to kill him? Was this a trap? He should have known better! Of course, she would!

Venus slipped her body around Alastor's. Her hands unfastened the prosthetic. The water carried it to shore at her command. She wrapped her scaled arms beneath Alastor's and pulled him into the water. They were just deep enough for her to float comfortably. His head was just above the water, level with hers. When he finished coughing out the water, Alastor's eyes locked onto Venus's. Her awkward smile and shy gaze returned beneath the mermaid mask. They floated in circles for a moment. Her body was much bigger out here. The tail flipped well beneath Alastor's feet, keeping them both afloat.

“They won't hurt you. Not with me here.” Alastor's eyes widened at the statement and began searching around them. His arms tightened around Venus's waist. Dozens of mermaid heads peeked over the water. Venus let out a hiss at one who had gotten particularly close. The creature backed away instantly, letting out a hiss of its own.

“Why are we here?” Alastor grumbled. Her smile faltered. Did he not trust her? Of course not. He couldn't even look at her right now. “You said it yourself. You deserve to know. So here I am, as my true self. Just not to make any sudden moves. The locals might not remember me.”

“Remember you?” Alastor's eyes couldn't focus on just one thing. His grasp on Venus became desperate. She was the only thing keeping him afloat.

“I went to Hogwarts. I got special permission to come down here and free my scales every once in a while. I became quite familiar with the locals. But it's been a few years. They might have forgotten me.” Venus and Alastor went silent. Their foreheads touched again, and the two shared another kiss. This one was slow. Alastor could feel Venus's sharp fangs hiding just behind her lips. If he wasn't careful, she could scratch him.

A soft wind chill pushed Alastor to get out of the water. Venus stayed in for as long as she could. Alastor wondered if she would take this time to disappear as mermaids do. Each time she came back to check on him, his heart skipped a beat. The sun was already down by the time the couple had left the lake, and Venus still had scales falling from her skin.

As they were walking back through the Forbidden Forest, Venus paused. Her hair stood on its ends. “Alastor.” Venus didn't have to say much. Her look said it all. Alastor nodded and pulled her closer.

The walk went from peaceful to tense almost immediately. Twigs cracked behind the two. Alastor took Venus’s hand. She drifted away from him in a few steps, and a hand grabbed her mouth. She was dragged away with a cloth over her mouth. Alastor’s figure and enraged voice faded in and out of reality. It was just so hard to stay awake. She couldn’t even fight. Where her hands had originally grabbed onto her attacker, she was barely clinging on. Her body fell limp just as she hit the ground. There was barely a pain. She didn’t mind the way her head knocked against a tree root even when the blood began tainting what little vision she had left. A warmth enveloped her. She was so tired. So tired. All Venus wanted was to sleep in the warmth. Alastor’s panicked face was the last thing she saw. His hands cupping her cheeks and jolting her shoulders couldn’t stir her drugged slumber. Only her soft breaths reassured Alastor. She wasn’t dead yet.

Author Note

AHHH SORRY SORRY (Im not actually) THIS IS AWFUL (I find enjoyment in your suffering) I PROMISE I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU (I absolutely will not) IT WONT HAPPEN AGAIN (Its only just began, sweetheart)

#alastor moody #alastor my beloved #harry potter #alastor moody x oc #novel #fanfic #oc insert #angst with a happy ending #angst #tension #pining #mutual pining #strangers to lovers #slow burn

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