#miraculous max x reader

[sidesplashofsainz]

dad!charles x reader where their it is their baby daughter’s 1st time attending a race and her reaction when charles wins !!

ooo I love this!! thank you anon for asking I hope you like it!! 🎀

3.1K words a little angsty mostly fluff

Odette was only 1 when her parents decided to reveal her to the world. The smiling baby was the center of attention wherever she went. A perfect mix between her mother and father, Odette was stunning to say the least. 

 Ever since Odette was conceived, Charles had refused to let anything hurt y/n or his baby girl. Both parents agreed that y/n should take a break from the busy paddock. 

It was the Monaco Grand Prix, Charles' home race. There was no way y/n and Odette were going to miss that. The paddock was bustling with a hue of burnt rubber in the air. Oh now y/n had missed this. Apparently, her daughter had missed it too, cooing at anything and everyone who gave her a glimpse. It was safe to say Odette loved the paddock and the Ferrari motor home where she currently lay with little earmuffs on her head close to her mother giggling loudly as the cameras panned on her father.

 Charles was on pole, followed by Carlos and then Max, the top ten separated by 8 one hundred of a second safe to say it was tight. With his family watching on, Charles wanted to win this race more than ever, but with Ferrari's recent technical problems, it was easy to say the task in hand wasn’t easy at all. 

 Odette knew nothing about what was going on, all she knew was that her daddy was no longer in the car that was near her. A small quiver left her lips which was quickly followed by y/n picking her up. 

The race was halfway through when Charles reported a sudden brake issue. The sigh from the crowd was instant. Y/n never wanted her husband to win as badly as she did today. Waking into the paddock, she had overheard Fred talking about how her and Odette were no good for Charles and that they were the biggest distraction for him currently, Y/n had kept that to herself. It wasn’t wrong for her to want her husband to win so that he would shut Fred up. 

Miraculously, the Monégasque had won, for the first time ever a Monégasque had won the Monaco Grand Prix. It was almost as if Odette knew what had happened. Her little hands were fiercely clapping alongside everyone in the garage. Tears of joy leaked out of y/n’s eyes because her husband had done it. 

“Tu vois odette ton papa l'a fait petit” Charles rushed out of the car once he had reached his designated P1 spot. He could hear the coos of his little girl and wasted no time in getting towards his wife and daughter. 

Odette wiggled harder in her mother's tight grip as she saw her father come close. In an instant, father's arms were cuddled around her side, while her mother and father shared a kiss. It was at this moment when little Odette Leclerc decided to utter her first word “dada”. It was almost a little murmur that could go unnoticed but not by her father. No way did Charles hear what she said and the smile on his face grew twice as much. It almost looked like it hurt from how much he was smiling. 

Looking down at his family from the podium was one of the best feelings for him. He wouldn’t change that moment for the world. 

That day, the little family celebrated two milestones; Charles' first Monaco Grand Prix win and Odette Leclerc's first words. 

#charles leclerc x wife reader #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #f1 scenario #dad!charles leclerc #charles leclerc

[myosotisa]

i'm starvin, darlin - e.m.

Eddie Munson x Reader

ǁ summary: Since coming back from the Upside Down, Eddie has slowly been changing. Each week seems to bring something different and he finds himself doing things he never thought he would.

ǁ tags: gender neutral reader, no pronouns, no y/n. nickname used (sweetheart). mentions of season 4 final episode and what occurred. canon divergent (every one lived). it's not smut, but smut adjacent. it's sexy

ǁ word count: 2k

ǁ notes: i sat down and wrote an entire one shot in one sitting again. and i am also not going to edit this one. and i do not feel bad for lowercase hozier title, so don't even try me like that. if y'all really like it, i can add a part 2 with smut, but this is it for now

-

There are still a lot of things Eddie is having to come to terms with since the night his heart stopped.

That night in the Upside Down, laying in Dustin’s arms, he had died. Without a doubt. Dustin had felt his pulse and there was nothing there. And though he didn’t know CPR, had no idea what he was doing, Dustin had laid him down on the ground and started to beat against his chest. Like maybe if he hit hard enough and in the right place, his friend would come back to life.

Somehow it worked. No one bothered to ask why.

But they all knew something was wrong two days later. Eddie, barely breathing and with a weak heartbeat, had been dragged back to the surface and hidden away in the RV they had stolen. Someone watched him round the clock as they debated what to do. If they should try to get him to a hospital, how they’d be able to explain it. But then something miraculous began to happen:

Eddie started healing. All on his own. Way faster than any person should have been able to.

His skin stitched itself back together faster than should be possible, leaving less scar tissue than it should have behind. His chest began to rise and fall in more steady breaths, his heart beat getting stronger, bones resetting themselves with slow and quiet creaks as he laid in that RV bed and slept. He’d been asleep since they brought him back.

The day he woke up, his body had almost entirely healed itself. From the brink of death, having even stepped over to the other side, and now he was almost back to before it ever happened. It had only been a week.

Everyone rejoiced, refusing to question anything weird that may have happened in the Upside Down and just thinking they finally won for once. Max had casts on both her arms but was otherwise unharmed, Steve had recovered from his own injuries at the rate of a normal human and now sported a scar around his throat that he sometimes felt self conscious about. Dustin was on crutches with his broken leg for another month at least. Eddie was alive and whole and back to himself. They’d made it, everyone had made it.

He began to notice more and more things that were different as the days went on.

The first thing he caught on to was that he had the capability to be strong. Way stronger than someone who had recently been bed ridden should be. It was like in the comic books with the Hulk – if he wasn’t paying attention or if he got too emotional, he could easily break anything. A walkman destroyed, a ceramic bowl reduced to shards, a metal pipe bent beyond fixing, the wooden handle of a hammer shattered in his grip. The boys were all present for the hammer incident and sighted it as one of the coolest things they had ever seen. They swarmed him, asking him how he did it, what else he could do, how strong he really was.

Only the other teens, Steve, Nancy, Robin, you, started to look a little bit closer.

When the next few changes became apparent, it was clear something unnatural had happened to Eddie that night in the Upside Down. He could feel other people's feelings. They brushed against his consciousness like ghosts whenever he looked at someone. Happiness like warm rays of sunshine, fear like a shuddering gust of wind, anger like hot coals pressed to his skin. It wasn’t a conscious effort – in fact, there were a lot of times he wished he could turn it off. Whenever he looked too hard at someone, it’s like his brain adjusted to a different frequency and their emotions reached out to him, no matter what they were. And he didn’t struggle to make sense of the sensations like he thought he might, his brain completed the dots easily at first, but then he began to recognize them consciously. It was certainly useful sometimes, especially when it came to you, but it still felt a bit invasive. When he’d explained it to a few people, he assured he tried to ignore it whenever he could, but sometimes he couldn’t help but react. The icey spike of terror he felt when you woke up next to him from a nightmare. The velvet comfort that enveloped you and him when he held you after.

The first time he spoke into someone’s mind it was an accident. Steve had whipped toward him, breath catching in his chest, eyes wide and mouth open in a gasp. Eddie felt it like ice down his spine. “Did you… You did that?” He’d asked breathlessly. It had been so shocking, Eddie wasn’t even sure what’d he said, or projected, or whatever it was.

“I - I don’t know.”

Steve stepped closer, suddenly looking determined. “Try to do it again.”

It was a slithering feeling when he dipped back into Steve’s mind. Like sliding his way in between cracks to a place he didn’t belong, seeping into the forefront of his thoughts to plant one of his own. It made him feel dirty, uncomfortable, and wrong. But it worked. Steve explained it as having a thought like his own but it came out in Eddie’s voice instead. An intrusive thought but not an uncomfortable one.

As with all of the other discoveries, a meeting was called. Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Max, Will, El, Robin, Jonathan, Nancy, Steve, and you. Steve did most of the talking while Eddie sat and looked at his hands. These meetings, while he acknowledged were important for everyone to keep track of his progression into… something, it still made him feel a bit like a zoo animal in a cage. A magician with a magic trick. All the boys immediately begged him to do it to them, they wanted to see what it felt like, wanted to see how easy it was for him to do it. 

Nancy and Jonathan had shooed them, catching on to how overwhelmed Eddie was, their excitement and curiosity battering against him like a whipping wind of too much. Once it was just the older people in the room, you crossed over to where he was, kneeled down in front of him, reached out to hold his hand.

Pity felt like someone was pissing in his pants.

“Are you okay?”

How could he say no? How could he admit that he was scared, confused, and feeling more and more like a monster with the passing days? “It’s just a lot. To deal with.”

Your smile was pained as you pushed yourself up onto your calves and wrapped your arms around his shoulders. His came around your waist on instinct, the breath feeling like a wheeze in his lungs as he held tight. Face pressed into your hair with his eyes squeezed shut, he inhaled deep in relief.

That was when the next thing changed.

It was a desire. A need. One he couldn’t place a name to. Like he was desperately missing something, desperately craving something and he didn’t know it was. It crawled under his skin like ants and sent him scratching for a feeling that couldn’t be satiated. No matter what he tried: eating, drinking, masturbating, exercising. The feeling wouldn’t go away. It got stronger day after day, his mind focusing more and more on the void it left behind until it was all he could think about.

Steve threw a little get together at his house once a month or so. Just time for everyone to get together, eat some food, listen to music, play board games, maybe watch a movie. This was the first get together since his hunger began.

He was sitting on the couch on his own, decompressing. While normally he was right in the middle of everything, today it was a lot to handle when he was hyperfocused on the crawling beneath his skin. He had his legs spread wide, hands resting on them, leaning deep into the cushions of the couch in Steve’s basement. While he had initially tried to close his eyes, hang his head back, maybe stare at the ceiling – he couldn’t stop his attention from drifting back to you.

You and Eddie had been friends for a long time. Understandably, you’d gotten much closer after the events in March. The two of you had helped each other through hard nights of nightmares, panic attacks in parking lots, flashbacks in public. You’d been a great comfort to him since he came back. But today your laugh sounded like music. The smell of your perfume hit him even across the room. Each emotion crashed over him in waves, pushing and receding like the tide as he tried to get off your frequency, unentangle himself from you before he did something he didn’t mean to do.

I’m starving.

Your back stiffened, the grip on your plastic cup getting just a bit tighter. A moment of fear quickly shifted to mellowed surprise, curiosity. He’d never spoken into your mind before, hadn’t meant to do so now. But you still shifted, your eyes slowly coasting across the room until you caught sight of him on the couch.

A shock of electricity shot down his spine as you made eye contact, his hands tightening over his thighs in reaction. Unsure exactly what to do, he settled for projecting again. Slithered his way into your ears and settled a respectful distance from the area he’d never been brave enough to venture. Sorry, he offered with a wince, didn’t mean to.

What he didn’t expect was the utter flood of feeling that hit him next. Like a drip of warm honey settling into the space between his hips, pooling there in a subtle swirl as the warmth from it started to diffuse outward. You realized you’d been staring and your eyes flit away, but the feeling didn’t cease. In fact, it only got stronger. Your lower lip caught on your teeth as you shifted between your feet. Things that would be completely normal to see, wouldn’t have anyone looking twice, but Eddie could. Your desire. The want that poured from you like water when your eyes first met his.

Was this the first time? Had something changed between you and him? Or had he just never caught on before?

The ants beneath his skin began to vibrate as he narrowed in on the feeling, on you. Like the part of him that had slithered into your thoughts was now bearing down, digging in for purchase, wanting to stay awhile and feed on this new feeling, what you were offering. It didn’t even occur to him what he was doing, how invasive it might be, how wrong he normally would have felt. All he knew is that it felt like licking at the thing he’d been craving for so long and he was helpless to chase after it.

Sweetheart. It came easy as breathing now, teeth sunk into your consciousness from where you stood across the room. You whirled on him again, another flood of warmth hitting him deep as you leaned your hip against the counter you were standing next to and focused on him. What’s got you so worked up?

He couldn’t even consider how bold he was suddenly being, the fear that he might ruin this friendship well out of his grasp. Especially when your embarrassment spiked along with the want, the pool of warmth now suddenly coming to life to have a heartbeat of its own. Your eyes widened, shifting on your feet again as you broke eye contact. It only took a few moments before you couldn’t help but look back at him again. The buzzing settled further, now like a purr beneath his skin. It was bearable as long as you kept your eyes on him.

You wanna do something about it?

-

-

-

-

-

thanks for reading, please reblog and leave a comment if you liked it!

#eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson hurt/comfort #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson blurbs #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #myos ideas #vampire!Eddie munson #kas!eddie munson #myo4munson

[dilemmaontwolegs]

The Best Kept Secret on the Grid || Part Two

GR, CL, MV, LH x fem!reader Warnings: angsty drivers, more filth (masturbation, smut) WC: 3k F1 Masterlist || Part One || Part Two || Part Three

“Oh my word, what is going on?” David Croft, the official F1 commentator, was aghast at what he was seeing on the track in front of him and his voice echoed across the paddock from the loudspeakers. “This is looking like a repeat of Australia and nobody wants to see that again.”

You slunk down in your seat and pulled your hat further down your head. Maybe sending those nudes hadn’t been the best idea. It had been four weeks since the last race and to say you were feeling needy was a massive understatement. You hadn’t been able to stop yourself from sending your men some enticing pictures before the race.

“And there goes Gasly, into the gravel. We’ll have to see the replay on that but I think it was his own teammate that made contact with him. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it was Alpine on Alpine going into the corner and now Gasly will have a lot of time to make up for it. Ocon will be lucky if he doesn’t get a penalty for that aggressive move.”

You looked at the place board and saw the seven drivers who had already retired from the turbulent race. Max was one of them, and he was pissed.

You shoved the phone back in your purse and cheered with the rest of the grandstand as Lewis passed by, holding first position with 12 laps to go. Right on his tail was Charles but the real battle was taking place behind him for the third step on the podium. 

It was a dog fight between Fernando, Esteban and Lando with less than a second separating each car. You screamed louder than anyone else as they shot past the lap line and a few heads turned your way but you ignored them. You weren’t even in bed and these guys were making you scream. 

Another lap passed without incident but then the fight for third took a dangerous turn when Lando pushed Fernando wide and Esteban tried to take advantage by slipping past on the inside. Fernando ended up grazing his car along the wall while Lando thought he was in the clear only to clip the front wing of Esteban’s car and the two of them careened off the track. 

Shock rippled through the crowd as another three cars were retired and their drivers were pulled apart by the marshalls that were trying to clear the track under a red flag. It was messy and you could almost taste the testosterone in the charged atmosphere.

“I don’t even have words to describe this race,” David commented. “That will be the third restart and what a change that makes to the standings. We have Hamilton in P1, Leclerc P2, Stroll P3, followed by Sainz, Russell, Gasly, then miraculously both Williams’ and AlphaTauri’s drivers are almost guaranteed those much needed but elusive points - if they can just stay on the track and cross the finish line in one piece.”

You couldn’t sit and listen to the spectators around you any longer. They all asked variations of the same question - what the hell had happened to the drivers? Blue balls was the answer. That’s what had happened after four weeks with no racing: all those explosive male hormones were building and building, and your nudes had struck the match.

You had been messaging most of the guys over the mid-season break, exchanging scandalous messages and promises of what they could do the next time they were on the podium, but you had stopped short of meeting up with any of them - no matter how much they begged. Your pussy hated you for denying it the pleasure but the waiting only increased the anticipation and made the climax all the better. 

Plus the teasing was fun.

You slipped out of the grandstand and made your way to the motorhomes behind another fence for security. Ever since that first wild night you had received a Paddock Pass for every race and become a familiar face to the teams, though they never knew the extent of your ‘friendships’ with the drivers. 

“Max isn’t here,” Tommy said just as you reached the door to the luxurious motorhome. 

You winked at the Red Bull assistant and pressed a finger to your lips. “I’m just leaving him a commiseration gift. It’s a surprise, so no blabbering.”

The busy man left with a shake of his head and you closed the door behind you, sliding the bolt into place so no unexpected visitors could interrupt you. 

Max’s bed was made with the precision you would expect from someone trained in the military, not a racer, and there wasn’t a single crease in the duvet cover. 

“You’re such a perfectionist,” you muttered before jumping onto the bed and messing it up. His scent still clung to the pillow and you grabbed it as you rolled onto your knees, shoving it between your legs before hiking your dress up to your waist. 

You grabbed your phone and set it up against the headboard as you hit record. “I’m going to miss you tonight, Maxy.” You sucked on your fingers before trailing them down your body and pushing your panties aside. “It could’ve been you I was riding.” 

You moaned as you ground yourself shamelessly over your fingers and his pillow. Your head fell back and you grabbed your throat, gently squeezing it as your eyes fluttered shut. 

“Oh, Max,” you cried out, rolling your hips faster until the wet sounds of your pussy filled the air and were definitely picked up by the microphone. “You’re going to dream of me tonight when you lay your head on this pillow. It’s going to make you so hard, you’re going to fuck your hand and imagine it’s my cunt squeezing you tight until you explode.”

Your words ignited the orgasm that had been building and you cried out as you came all over his pillow. Your body shuddered from the aftershocks and you tasted the release on your fingers, knowing it would drive him wild when he saw it. “Sweet dreams, Maxy.”

You made it back to the grandstand in time to see the final lap and you were on your feet screaming with the rest of the crowd as Lewis crossed the finish line first, soon followed by Charles and Carlos. You were giddy at the thought of sharing the three of them later and joined the mass of people as they began to make their way down to the track that was opening to the public.

You were well versed at having to push your way through the crowd and you knew you had time to get to the front since the winners were still on the big screen having their post-race interviews. You were only half listening to them as you inched your way closer to the stage. 

“There was a very competitive atmosphere out there today, why do you think that was?”

Carlos and Charles looked at each other before looking down to hide the knowing grin they shared but it was Lewis that answered the interviewer.

“I mean first and foremost it is a race, so it will always be competitive. But, I think, for me at least, it’s been a long four weeks off the track and we were all eager to get back behind the wheel and more importantly back on the podium.” 

“Speaking of podiums, it looks like our time is up.” He shook hands with Lewis, then Charles and Carlos. “Congratulations once again. Well deserved.”

You reached the front barricade as the guys climbed the stairs to the stage up above and their eyes scanned the crowd knowing you were somewhere among the throngs. Carlos spotted you first and slapped Charles’ chest before pointing your way. You blew them a kiss and gave them a wink, their smiles growing as they stepped closer to the glass balustrade. You crossed your arms and to anyone else it would have been an innocent gesture but from their vantage point it pushed your breasts to the very edge of your low cut dress. 

Your phone vibrated in your purse and since you weren’t all that interested in the national anthems playing you pulled it out. Your scoff was swallowed by the sound of the crowd and you searched the shadows around the cordoned off areas to find Max staring back. Even with the distance you could see the harsh cut of his jaw as he clenched his teeth and his arms were crossed defensively over his chest. 

You didn’t even bother to address the message he had sent, instead you replied with the video you had taken in his bed. You watched with a keen interest as he reached into his jeans and pulled out his phone. 

Blue eyes turned to black as his pupils dilated and he ran a hand through his hair, tugging the dirty blond strands while he fisted his phone on the other. His thumbs flew across the keyboard as he typed his response before turning his back and leaving the celebration while you started at the reply.

You're going to pay for that.

Mummy don't know daddy's getting hot At the body shop, doing something unholy

The heat on the dance floor was quickly soaring as hands roamed your body. Charles’ entire front was pressed against your back and controlled the sway of your hips to the music as his lips grazed your neck and he whispered filthy words for only you to hear. 

He wasn’t alone.

Lewis and Carlos’ bodies encircled you, obscuring your obscene display of affection from the dense crowd dancing to the music too. They were taking advantage of the disorienting strobe lights and the fact everyone else was in a drunken world of their own, it was daring even for them.

Charles pinned your hands behind your back, trapping them between your bodies, as Lewis stepped closer and used his thigh to push your legs apart. Cool air rushed in and kissed the heat of your pussy as your skirt rode up higher the more Lewis nudged your thighs apart.

“Hermosa,” Carlos groaned as he noticed the lack of lace panties beneath. “You forgot something when you were getting ready.”

You licked your lips and leaned back against Charles so your dress pulled up even higher and Lewis cursed lowly. 

“I didn’t forget anything.”

And when you want it, baby, I know I got you covered And when you need it, baby, just jump under the covers

Your cry was swallowed by the chorus as they descended on you. 

Carlos’ fingers were at your entrance, gathering the evidence of your need and using it to glide over your clit while Lewis and Charles left burn marks on your neck from the short beards they sported. Their hands cupped and squeezed and probed until you were lost to the overwhelming sensations and ready to float away like the clouds of dry ice around the room. 

“Unless you’re planning to fuck me on the dance floor, we need to go.”

“The idea has crossed my mind,” Charles admitted between sucking at the sensitive skin below your ear. 

“Time to go,” Lewis ordered before you could reach for his belt buckle, the only one out of the three men capable of using his head to think with and not his dick.

Carlos pouted as he pulled your dress back into place but he knew it would be coming off in a matter of minutes when he got you upstairs. 

The music drifted away as the elevator doors closed in the lobby and Charles pushed you back into Lewis’ arms. “Don’t let her move,” he warned as he dropped to his knees.

Carlos’ hand slapped over your mouth in time to smother the moan that was ready to fill the small elevator when Charles’ tongue teased over your clit. You squirmed as you tried to roll your hips, silently begging for more, but Lewis curled a strong arm around your waist and pinned you to his body. 

The floor levels ticked by and the higher they rose the closer you got to heaven. 

Everywhere you looked you were blessed with the sight of the men around you and their infinite reflections in the mirrored walls. Even when your head fell back in ecstasy you swayed under the image on the ceiling, spying Charles’ eyes that rolled up to look at you coming undone over his tongue.

Ding!

Charles rose swiftly to his feet, pulling your dress back into place before the doors opened and a body filled the doorway. He already knew what had happened from the dazed look in your eyes and the way Lewis had to support your unsteady legs by holding you against him.

“What the fuck, Max?” Carlos asked as he stepped in front of you, Charles too busy wiping his lips to speak.

You wouldn’t say you were shocked to see him somehow get your room number from the receptionist - he was a world champion - no one would say no to him, even if it was a breach of privacy. You actually found his tenacity extremely hot, that and the way he stood blocking the exit with fire in his eyes. 

“Mate, move out of the way,” Lewis said as he shifted you into Charles’ arms, though your legs were no longer trembling.

Max ignored them all and held your stare. “What’s my number, babygirl?”

You shook your head to try and clear the haze that your orgasm and the champagne had brought upon you but it didn’t work and you asked him confused, “What?”

“What. Is. My. Race. Number?” he asked, taking a step closer with each enunciation.

“One?”

“Good girl, that’s correct.” Max smirked as he came to a stop in front of Lewis and looked at you over his shoulder. “I think that means I won.”

“That’s bullshit, you DNF’d get over it,” Charles stated, knowing well enough the pain of missing out on a night with you because he crashed out earlier in the season. 

“Wait,” you said, stepping between the four of them. “What if he’s right? What if the reigning champ can have me whenever they choose, off-track too?” You circled around the group seeing them contemplating it. “After today's race standings you all have a shot at winning the championship.”

“Hang on,” Max interrupted but you held up a finger to your lips to silence him.

“My body, my rules. So, what d’ya say boys?”

Lewis, Carlos and Charles looked at each other for a moment before Lewis’ lips parted in a grin. “I’m up for the challenge.”

“Did you not see how fucking messy it was out there today?” Max asked, stunned by the turn of events.

“Fuck it, I’m in,” Carlos chuckled before looking at his team mate. 

“Max is right, it’s going to be an expensive season for repairs,” Charles said with a shake of his head before locking eyes with you and starting to smile, “but it’s not my money. I’m in.”

You walked out of the elevator, patting Max’s hard chest as you passed by. “This is what you wanted, big guy. Now, are you coming, or do you want to brood in the hallway all night?”

It was no surprise that he came, and came, and came again. 

All of the men were athletes and the stamina showed when they were ready to go round after round. You were an overstimulated mess when you collapsed on the sofa, a sheen of sweat coating your skin. You could barely think with your head on cloud nine and their cum leaking down your legs.

“Our little cum slut is cock drunk,” Max teased as he took a seat beside you and pulled your head onto his lap. “You have another round in you, don’t you, babygirl?”

The sofa shifted as Carlos sat down at the other end, his strong hands starting to massage your feet. “Let her rest for a minute.”

“Just because you have nothing left,” Max scoffed and turned your head to him. His thumb traced your swollen lips with a smirk before parting your mouth. “Some of us can go all night. Right, Hamilton?”

Lewis barely lifted his head up from where he lay sprawled across the carpet, his chest rising and falling fast as he caught his breath. He had absolutely ruined you with the fast pace he had set while he knelt behind you and fucked you until you couldn’t hold yourself up any longer. Charles had been there to keep you up on your hands and knees with a fist full of your hair, right before he filled your mouth with his cock to silence the screams of pleasure.

All Lewis could do was raise his thumb in response as Charles returned to the living room with an armful of water bottles from the minibar. He tossed one to each of the guys before kneeling beside your head and cracking the lid of another and raising it to your lips. The cool liquid quickly soothed your dry throat and chased away some of the exhaustion that had settled into your relaxed muscles. 

“Better, hermosa?” Carlos asked as his massage crept higher up your legs.

“Mhmm,” you sighed contentedly, letting your knees part for him. The temperature in the room rose rapidly and even Lewis found the strength to rise from the ground to drink in the sight. You might as well have just hung an open for business sign out and you chuckled at the hungry looks they shared. “Much better.”

Click here for part three.

Tagging: @slytherheign @alwaysclassyeagle

#f1 smut #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #lewis hamilton x you #max verstappen x you #charles leclerc x reader #carlos sainz x reader #lewis hamilton smut #max verstappen smut #charles leclerc smut #carlos sainz smut

[paddockbunny]

Don’t Blame Me - Part 1

Summary : You had it bad. You had it so damn bad for a man that was not your boyfriend. And when you arrive in Brazil and find out all the drivers were staying in the same hotel…what happens when it’s suddenly all out there to you, on a plate? Rating : 18+ Pairing : Daniel Ricciardo x Reader Word Count : Multi-part imagine Trigger Warnings : 18+, NSFW, adult language, no strong warnings but it’s not intended for minors. And I know Max isn’t everyone’s thing so Max Verstappen warning too Images : curated from Pintrest

Brazil ‘23

“This is a bit…odd.” Your boyfriend grumbled beside you as he pressed the button for floor 9 upon entering the elevator. “What is?” You replied sheepishly. You hadn’t really been paying much attention for the last ten minutes. Your brain switched off the moment you checked you had everything from the back of the chauffeur driven car. Truth be told you were still feeling the effects of the sleeping tablet you had taken the night prior. All you wanted to do was delve straight into the big hotel bed and nap, not listen to your boyfriend drone on and on about something he found out of sorts. “We’re all in the same hotel. All of us. All the drivers.” His bottom lip jutted out a little as you glanced at him. It was odd, Max was right. You had accompanied him on several weekends (at his heartfelt insistence) and you had never known the teams to put their drivers in the same hotels - well, ok, maybe one or two teams did but not the whole grid.

After the initial thought of it being a bit strange wore off the first thing you couldn’t help but think of was how this meant Daniel was staying here too, in the same hotel. He would be sleeping somewhere in one of the many rooms of the same hotel as you were. Sleeping, Daniel, hotel plus you.

Christ, calm yourself! You thought. This whole crush you had developed on Daniel was getting ridiculous and completely out of hand. You didn’t even know the man existed at the start of the year and now suddenly you were borderline obsessed with him. This was the type of thing a shrink would have a field day with. There was probably something weirdly wrong with your psyche at fancying your boyfriends best friend and ex-teammate. But then again, look at him?! Ugh! You scolded yourself again when you thought about how fucking hot he was. And right then, right as you were thinking of Daniel’s full perfect pouty lips crashing down on yours your boyfriend nudged into you and broke you out of your daydream. “Sorry, I’m still tired.” You pouted in an attempt to cover up what you were thinking about. There wasn’t a time when you didn’t make a miraculous goal saving recovery when thinking (or fantasising) about Daniel. You had become a master at it. An expert. Max smiled sympathetically. “We can have a nap when we get in.” He ran his hand down the back of your head, his fingers momentarily getting lost in your tresses. You smiled genuinely because Max was so sweet and gentle with you. He had a loving, nurturing side that not many people got to experience. He was a gentleman at heart.

As soon as you got into the hotel room you were spending the next six nights you practically ran toward the bed. Hotel rooms all began to look the same when you were in them as often as you had started being. Max wanted you at as many races as possible. He claimed he drove better with you there and he got a better nights sleep with you in his arms. But there was a small little part of you that thought he simply enjoyed showing you off. He liked gloating that you were his girlfriend and making other men jealous. As you sat down on the big fluffy duvet covered bed you moaned in satisfaction. Hotel beds and bedding were always a hit or a miss and this one, well, it was perfection. You felt Max’s intense stare as you kicked off your shoes and arose from your position to take off your jeans. As the dark material pooled at your feet you swore you heard Max try to hide a groan. He was a lingerie man and just the sight of you in a thin scrap of black lace fabric got him going. But sex with your boyfriend was the last thing on your mind. You just needed to nap, rest and try forget that somewhere in the hotel Daniel was probably doing the same (or showering….stop thinking about him naked! Your inner monologue scolded you). With the thought of him swirling around your head you held your hand out toward your boyfriend as you peeled back the covers of the bed. “Join me.” Max’s face lit up “Not like that” you let out a short, amused laugh “come snuggle.” Max pouted, his bottom lip jutting out momentarily before shrugging and ridding himself of his zip up and his own jeans.

Max’s arms engulfed you as you lay with your back to his front, hard up against him. With the faint whisper of a smirk you pretended not to feel his semi graze against your butt several times. Max was possibly the most libidinous man you had ever met. He was always ready to go, anytime, anywhere. He was like a horny teenager. It rather amused you how hot for you he was. But as you nodded off you weren’t dreaming of all of the ways Max could make you moan. You weren’t dreaming of him above you or between your thighs. No. As your eyes closed and breathing laboured your regular scheduled fantasy showed up right on time. The feeling of his big, veiny hands slowly winding around your little waist made your breath catch in your throat. You could practically feel the stubble burn of his beard against your soft thigh as he inched closer and closer to where you needed him the most. A small, stifled huff fled passed your parted lips as the desire to be left with a stinging reminder of him upon your flesh gripped hold of you. Even asleep you could feel the twisting, grappling, burning way down deep in the pit of your stomach for him. Daniel. You could envision him staring up as you, taunting you from between the apex of your thighs. Smugness written all over his face. Blood rushed between your legs at the thought of it and even in slumber you couldn’t hold back your soft moan. The thought of his perfect dreamy lips, his silky wet tongue, his hot breath against the most intimate part of you sent a shudder all across your body. Another moan followed and you felt a pair of lips caress your naked shoulder. You so desperately wanted your dream to have turned into reality that you were startled by the voice that came from the lips still attached to your skin.

“Having a dirty dream about me?” Max (sounding delighted in the possibility) purred lowly. He ripped you from your own imagination. Pulled you back from having hallucinations of Daniel’s tongue against your slick folds. You didn’t want to expose yourself that you were thinking carnal thoughts about another man - one that he was such close friends with - and you sure as hell didn’t want to have sex with him after you were pulled out of a sleep induced, orgasm hunt. So when you felt his hand run across the skinny elastic of your panties you grabbed hold of it and flipped on to your back to look at him. “Chris Evans, actually.” And Max laughed. “That’s not fair. I can’t compete with him.” You smirked knowing how well you had played it and that you had covered your filthy little fantasy about Daniel well enough your boyfriend bought your rouse.

But the incredible image of Daniel looking up at you with hungry, devilish eyes - and an even hungrier, waiting mouth - never left your mind.

Find Part 2 Here

#Daniel Ricciardo #daniel ricciardo fanfiction #Daniel Ricciardo fanfic #Daniel Ricciardo fic #Daniel Ricciardo imagine #Daniel Ricciardo imagines #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo x y/n #f1 fanfiction #f1 fanfic #f1 fic #f1 imagine #f1 imagines #f1 x reader #f1 x you #f1 x y/n #f1 smut #don’t blame me paddock bunny

[allinestarr]

Relentless 3/?

Max Verstappen x Fem driver Reader!

(Long time no see but heres the next Chapter as promised!. Also, I love the idea of adding a song that relates to the chapter and what mind frame I was in when I was writing it, so I will be including a song with every chapter I write from now on. Without further ado, Happy reading!...or not😈)

“Max?…”

“Hey..”

“What are you doing here?.”

“I want to talk.”

“I think you said all you needed to say last time.”

As you walked passed him to open the door, he grabbed your wrist lightly as he pleaded,

“Please, I’ll be quick. I promise.”

You wanted nothing more then to see him dragged out of your building by security, but the more you thought the more curious you were. What was so important that he would be at your front door this late at night?.

“Fine. But let’s speak inside. I don’t want to wake my neighbors.”

Unlocking the door he followed you inside. The whole time you put away your things he just stood and watched. Finally finding the silence unbearable you turned and as you were about to speak a bolt of thunder shot through the sky so loud it echoed in your apartment. Flinching slightly you closed your eyes as your heart beat as fast as the formula 1 car you drove. Nothing scared you more then storms.

Flashback

It happened when you were 10. You had just won your first Karting race and spent the whole day celebrating with your parents when on your way back home it started to rain. Soon the rain got harder and the winds faster. There was no visibility so your father didn't see the truck in front spinning towards you and before he could react it was to late. The car flipped a couple times and miraculously you weren't to hurt other then a broken arm and a few bumps and scratches. Your parents however…didn’t make it. After that your uncle took custody of you and raised you. Ever since, anytime theres a storm you always panic and think back to the time of the accident.

End of flashback

When you opened your eyes Max was staring at you. He almost looked concerned but never would you admit you were scared. People always take advantage of weakness.

"Are you going to say what you have to say?."

“Yea… first of all I wanted to apologize. I know what I said was out of line. I regretted it the moment it came out of my mouth…”

"Then why did you?"

"I was mad and.."

Another bolt of lightning interrupted him and this time, shut the power off.

"Great, no power.. Hold on let me get some light in here."

Max watched as you disappeared into your room and came back with a handful of candles setting them down throughout the kitchen and living room. Your stomach was rumbling and the food was just about cold so you decided to eat first and talk after. You set the food down on the table and looked over at Max.

“You hungry?. I always buy to much food and never eat it all.”

Max was genuinely confused. How could you offer him food and the chance to hear him out after he treated you so terribly?.

"Yea..thank you."

Once the table was set and you began eating, you finally spoke.

“So you were saying you were mad and what?”

Max wasn’t going to admit he was jealous nor that he fought with Kelly about how he talks about you all the time, so he gave you short version that it was indeed Kelly who lied and confirmed the rumors.

“Wow… I didn’t know she hated me that much. I just don’t understand why she would do it..”

“I guess she thought you were getting to much support and good media over me.” He lied.

“So what now?.”

“Kelly and I are on a break. I need time to think about our relationship. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a liar.”

“I’m sorry to hear.. i won’t tell anyone if you’re worried I will.”

“Why?. You have every right to expose her.”

“I know, but I won’t. You’ll get dragged down along with her and that’s not fair. I will keep this to myself and I won’t tell Charles either.”

“Thank you. How’s Charles by the way?.”

“He’s really good actually!.”

“Really?” He smiled.

“Yea. Alex and Charles are back together!. I went to Italy to speak to her and clear things up. I was honest and she believed me and I convinced her to come back with me to Monaco to surprise Charles. To say he was surprised was an understatement. He literally was to stunned to speak and though he was imagining her at the door!. Im just glad they are back together.”

“You’re a really good friend, you know that?.”

You smiled but just when you were about speak a gust of wind blew the windows open. Quickly running over to the living room you locked them shut. After eating and more talking you cleared up the table throwing out the empty food containers and bringing the dirty dishes to the sink. Just as you rolled up your sleeves to wash the dishes Max put his hand on your shoulder stopping you. He was so close you could feel his breath and smell his cologne. Goosebumps spread across your body and it suddenly became hot. This was wrong on so many levels. First being he has a girlfriend and second, you’re suppose to hate him. His voice brought you back to reality as he spoke.

“Wait, I’ll wash it. It’s the least I can do.”

Turning your head to the side you studied his face for a second and it wasn’t his usual cold emotionless face, instead he smiled and it felt warm. You nodded and walked back to the living room.

Max POV

The windows burst open and he watched you stride across the room to shut them. You grabbed the plates and garbage and was about to start washing them when he stopped you. He felt you tense when he touched your shoulder and it felt like there was sparks running through his body. When you turned he felt his breath catch and a blush crept on his face. He was in deep. After washing the dishes he walked to the living room catching you staring out the window. The moon illuminated your face making you look angelic and peaceful. He wished he could be stuck in this moment forever but he knew he couldn’t so he approached you and put his hand on your shoulder making you aware he was there.

Back to Present

The sounds of waves crashing put you in a trance as you stared out the window. A hand on your shoulder broke it.

“I finished up.. I’m going to head out before it gets worse out there.. I’m staying at a hotel nearby so it’s not a long walk.”

“Why don’t you stay here for the night?… It’s dark and dangerous out there. I have a guest room.”

“No I couldn’t impose…”

“You wouldn’t be. I insist. And also, I don’t want be responsible for something happening to you and have the wrath of Christian Horner and Redbull on my hands!.” You laughed.

“Yea, probably best to avoid that.” He laughed.

You smiled and walked him over to the guest room.

“There’s a bathroom over there and I might have a spare set of clothes Lewis left over here..”, you say as you rummaged through the drawers handing him a pair of shorts and t-shirt.

He looked at you curiously before you realize why.

“Oh, he sleeps here sometimes. Not in that way though. We have sleepovers and watch movies and eat junk food.” You laughed.

He smiled and shook his head.

“Don’t tell anyone I’m wearing this, especially Christian. He would have my balls for it.” He laughed holding up the Mercedes T-shirt.

“Our secret.” You smiled.

“So.. theres a portable charger in the bedside table in case you need it for your phone. I’m down the hall if you need anything. Goodnight..”

Max watched you walk away and as you shut the door he released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. You made him feel things he hasn’t felt in a long time. He doesn’t remember the last time he genuinely laughed like he did with you. It made his decision harder. If he became friends with you, Kelly would be miserable and it wouldn’t work out. It would break P’s heart if he left and he loved her so much like as if she was his own daughter. Instead of overthinking, he decided to just change and try to fall asleep. But it sounded easier then it was when you were a couple feet away. Little did he know the same thoughts ran through your head in the other room. Max had to decide soon cause he couldn’t avoid Kelly forever and the start of the season was just around the corner.

Morning came sooner then you’d liked and the events of last night made you think questions like, “Would it be awkward?, Are you technically friends?, What should I say when I see him?…”. One things for sure, you’re not going to find out by laying down in bed all day. Getting up you quickly brushed your teeth and hair before opening the door. The guest room door was still closed so you went to the kitchen and started a fresh pot of coffee and whipped up a quick breakfast for the both of you. After setting the table you started bringing over the food and coffee when Max came out of the bedroom already changed back into his clothe.

“Good morning.” You smiled.

“Morning.”

“I made some breakfast and coffee. Help yourself.”

He smiled and sat across you filling his plate with eggs and turkey bacon before digging in. There wasn’t much conversation while you ate and when you both finished, it was time to have the talk.

“So.. I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty confused where we go from here. Are we friends or just colleagues?. I know you’ve been dealing with a lot with Kelly and I don’t want to be the reason you guys break up or cause tension in your relationship. I’ll support whatever you decide.”

At the mention of Kelly a feeling of dread overtook Max but he shook it off to worry about later.

“Um.. I don’t want to go back to how it used to be. We’ve had this rivalry going on since our karting days and to be honest I don’t even know how it started, but I do know it’s done. I don’t know what I want to do about Kelly right now but I think we can try to be friends just… in secret till I figure it out.”

You were bit disappointed but accepted his answer.

“Ok.”

Just then Max’s phone rang and the screen revealed Kelly’s contact with a picture of Max, P and Kelly. You looked at him and nodded with a small smile. He got up and walked back to the guest room to take the call.

“Hello.”

“Hey, I haven’t heard from you in a few days. P’s asking about you and said she misses you… Also, I really want to apologize for what I did. I was just so tired of hearing about Y/n and I thought maybe you didn’t love me anymore and felt feelings for her. I know what I did was unforgivable but I promise I’ll never do it again. We’ve been together for so many years and I don’t want to just throw away this relationship. We are a family. Please just think about it. However long it takes you, I’ll wait...”

Max was as conflicted as ever. Kelly was right that they had been together for a long time and were a family but what about y/n. He couldn’t deny he had an attraction to you but was it worth losing Kelly and P to explore this new possibility?. The consequences for him wouldn’t be as bad as it would for you. You’d already been through so much with the rumors and just being a woman in formula 1 he couldn’t cause you any more pain. As much as it hurt him to not just admit his feelings to you, he had to bury his love for you. He had to protect you even if it cost his happiness.

“I guess we could try to move past this but I won’t give you another chance if this happens again. I’m in Monaco at a hotel so I’ll be home today. We’ll talk more later.”

“Ok. I love you…”

“Love you too.”

It sounded forced even in his head as he said it. When he hung up he regretted taking the call. In truth, Max had been falling out of love with Kelly for some time. He didn’t know when it happened but it did. She started showing up less to his races, decided to go to shoots and work instead of spending winter break on vacation as a family and got extremely jealous when Y/n joined the grid. The only reason he didn’t leave Kelly was because of P. He made his way back to the kitchen where you still sat at the table.

“So.. everything ok?.”

Max hesitated as his pulse quickened.

“Um.. yea. I guess so.”

You couldn’t explain why you heart dropped to your stomach and why it hurt. It made you feel guilty for hoping he would chose you over them. He was never yours to have. You mustered up a smile as you spoke.

“I’m happy for you. We’ll always be secret friends.”

Max felt sick at the word friends. He wanted to scream and say, “No I don’t want to be your friend!. I want more!. You make me feel things I haven’t felt in a long time!.”. But the words were stuck in his throat. So he just smiled. He smiled and accepted his fate.

“Yea. Secret friends…Thank you for everything. Letting me stay here and keeping the secret about Kelly. I really appreciate it. I would stay longer but I have to get back to my hotel and pack up, Kelly will be expecting me. Ill see you Bahrain in a few weeks.”

He walked to the door and you followed. He looked like he was going to say something but looked down and walked to the elevator. Before the doors closed he looked up and said your name. You said his back as the doors finally closed.

Y/n: I'm fucked 😳

Rae: what happened to, "Hi, how are you?". What's wrong???...

Y/n: Hi how are you?. Hope this message finds you well. Also, im fucked 😫

Rae: Ok, Ok. I get it, sorry. but seriously what's wrong??

Y/n: I may be in love with Max Verstappen.....🫢

—————Incoming FaceTime call Rae——————

"Whattttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!" Rae screamed.

"Yea"

"What do you mean yea. You can't throw this bomb at me and not elaborate. You know im a sucker for a good enemies to lovers trope but this is messed up even for me. If im not mistaken, you're like arch rivals. Y'all have hated each other since karting. He literally just crashed into you on purpose in Spain. And when I was there a few weeks ago, you looked like you wanted to kill him. Please I have to know. How????."

"Well when you put it like that I should really hate is guts.. But things have changed. He slept over last night. He actually just left."

"Girl you're about to give me a heart attack. You fucked him to!!!!!!!"

'No!!!!!"

"Then what the hell was he doing at your place!."

"After I dropped off Alex I stoped and got food and when I got home he was sitting outside my door. He wanted to talk and I told him to leave but my curiosity got the best of me and I let him come inside. He just stood there and I told him to talk or leave and it started to thunder and the lights went out. I was hungry and I didn't want to be an asshole even though I had every right to, so I offered him food."

"You broke bread with the enemy?. You have truly lost your mind."

"Rae, let me finish."

"Sorry, go on."

"Well he said it was Kelly who confirmed the rumors. She was jealous I was getting more press over him."

"That bitch!."

"Yea. But I told him I wouldn't tell anyone including Charles."

"Why?. You could finally get him back for what he's done to you through the years. He wouldn't recover from this."

"I know and that's why I won't. And that goes to you too. Don't say a peep to anyone. Including Lando. Bless him, he a great friend but he has a big mouth."

" I know.." Rae giggled.

"Am I missing something?."

"Well.. That day you went out and I got bored I went to Landos and we were flirting and one thing led to another and we fucked. And boy does he eat..."

"EWWWWWW, please stop. I don't want to hear you talk about you sex adventures with Lando."

"Sorry and I hope you're not mad at me. He's your friend and colleague."

"Im not mad and to be honest he's been nagging me about asking you out for a while now. So go for it. You guys are like made for each other. Everyone sees it. We actually had a poll going around for how long it would take for one of you to make a move and I just won $800.", you laughed.

"First, thanks. Second, you should have told me before!. I would been sleeping with him sooner and third, that's mean!. You're splitting that money with me. Its only fair for your betrayal. And stop changing the subject, get on with it."

"Ok, that's fair. When I went to wash the dishes he stoped me and put his hand on my shoulder and I could feel his breath on me and he smelled so good. I felt like my body was on fire and I looked at him and I just wanted him to kiss me so bad. Maybe even fuck me right on the counter but then I stopped myself and walked away. When he was done he came to the living room and said he was leaving but I told him to stay."

"Why?."

"Well there was a storm and it looked dangerous and I didn't want him to get hurt and be responsible for it."

"Yea, sure.."

"What do you mean sure?"

"Be honest Y/n, you wanted him there."

"Uhhhhh, ok. I wanted him to stay. I just wanted to be around him longer."

"And?."

"I took him to the guest room and gave him some of Lewis's clothe to sleep in and told him if he needed me id be across the hall and then I left."

"And then??."

"And then nothing. He stayed there all night. But I swear at some point in the middle of the night I woke up and I heard the door knob jiggle but then nothing happened. Maybe I was hallucinating. I woke up made us breakfast, he came out and we spoke. He said he didn't know what he was going to do with Kelly, break up or try to work it out but for now we would be "Secret friends"."

"What a load of bullshit. Like that's not going to blow up on you guys."

"I know Rae. But if it means we could be friends, then I would take that risk. Then Kelly called and he walked away to speak to her and I couldn't overhear anything except him saying I love you. He looked conflicted when he came out of the bedroom and I asked if everything was ok and he said it was going to be. I don't know why but my heart dropped to my stomach. I walked him out and he looked like he wanted to say something but didn't. When he got in the elevator he looked up and said my name and I said his and the doors closed. Now I can't stop thinking about him. What am I going to do!!!."

"Girl, you're fucked."

"State the obvious Rae."

"Sorry I can't help it. I don't think you're in love with him. Maybe attracted, but not love. Perhaps the solution is getting rid of that pent up sexual frustration."

"What the hell are you talking about?."

"Lets be honest here. You haven't gotten some in a while. You know how the say you have to get under guy to get over one?. That's what you got to do!."

"Gosh Rae, you're insane. I just pour my heart out and you tell me to go find someone to fuck?."

"Well..yea. Trust me, this will fix your problem."

"I mean, I guess that could be a solution."

"No, not a guess. It will!."

"Ok, ok. No need to peer pressure me further, I get it. Ill try your way. But if it doesn't work, you owe me a lifetime supply of ice cream."

"Hey, not all of us are rich Formula 1 drivers. Just give it a try. If you ever need to talk, im here."

"I know, thanks. So I guess ill be seeing you at Bahrain with Lando?."

"Well I've been texting him and he asked me to come but I just wanted to talk to you before i pursued any further with him. Now that I know you're ok with it, I suppose I will see you!."

"Great. Im glad you'll be there with me. I honesty don't know what's going to happen when I see him but I hope he won't be like the old Max."

"We will just have to wait and see. If he tries anything ill tell Lando to crash into him." Rae laughed.

"Oh and you think he would do that for you?. Lando is super loyal to Mclaren."

"Im very persuasive if you know what I mean. He loves when I do this thing when I sit on his.."

"Rae I'm literally going to hang up!!"

"Sorry!! Sorry!!. I got your back is all I meant."

"I know. But I really got to get going. Im meeting up with Mick for lunch."

"Mick Schumacher?."

"Yea."

"Oh hes cute. I spoke to him one time at the Mercedes hospitality. He's sweet and funny."

"I see where you're going and im not going there. I've know him for a while and he's like a brother and he literally works for Mercedes too. Its not going to happen."

"Keep convincing yourself but I wouldn't be surprised if he had a thing for you. He's always posting you on IG congratulating you and just random pictures of you."

"Rae, you're looking to much into it."

"Ok, whatever you say. Now go get dressed for your date."

"Its not a date. Its lunch."

"Ok, go get ready for "lunch". Call me later, I want to hear all about it."

"I don't know what's to hear about but sure. Talk to you later, Love you."

"Love you more. Byeeeee."

————————————Call ended——————————————

Getting ready you couldn't stop thinking about how things have changed. That, you couldn't deny. Was it really love or lust. One way or another you would find out soon enough. Lets just hope it won't end in tragedy.

Previously

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos @sadg3 @d3kstar @runs-with-sciss0rs

#max verstappen x reader #max verstappen #formula 1 #formula one #fanfic #f1 fanfic #f1 grid x reader #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc #mick schumacher #lando norris

[harringtown]

get the darkness to dance

requested by anonymous

pairing: eddie munson x reader

summary: eddie has a nightmare & reader comforts him (aka some angst, some fluff, and a touch starved eddie getting the affection he Deserves)

word count: 2.4k

-

Eddie hasn’t slept through the night in two months. Technically, since he crawled back through the hole in his old trailer’s roof, covered in bite marks and on death’s door.

A transfusion or two, more stitches than he can count and a hefty rabies vaccine later, he was discharged from the hospital and taken straight to the police station in cuffs. If it weren’t for Jim Hopper, making his miraculous return from the dead, Eddie would be rotting in a cell by now.

He could have it worse. Max is still comatose at the hospital. Dozens upon dozens of Hawkins residents—who hated him, sure, and only partially for fake reasons—didn’t survive what was now being called the biggest earthquake of the century. Even if all those people hated him, no one deserved to die like that.

A little, or a lot, of insomnia and some healing wounds are nothing he can’t handle. He’s survived worse.

So, when he gets a call from you in the middle of the night during a vicious storm, and you tell him your power is out, your parents are in Indianapolis for the weekend, and ask to come over, he says yes. Because maybe another body in the house when he tries to sleep will trick his mind into it. Because, if he’s being honest, there are very few things in this world that make him feel better, and you’re one of them.

Because he’s tired, and in the months since he met you, he hasn’t been able to say no to you.

He’d never admit it, but in some ways, the end of the world is the best thing that’s ever happened to him. It brought you crashing into his life, literally—when he put a gun to Steve Harrington’s chin in the boathouse, you tackled him into a wobbly kayak. That was that. Eddie Munson became every lovestruck stereotype he spent his life making fun of.

And sure, the Upside Down and all its chaos put him squarely at the top of Hawkins most wanted list and almost put him in a grave, but not everything can be perfect. Eddie knows that better than most.

This, though—you, stretched out on the pullout couch in the living room, head on a pillow from his bed—is pretty damn close to perfect. Eddie is trying very hard not to ruin it.

“Need any more blankets? The trailer may be new, but the heater is not—”

“For the fourth time,” you say, but you’re smiling, “I’m warm enough.”

Eddie holds up his hands in surrender. “If you’re bullshitting, it’s your frostbite.” He waggles his brows once. “However. It’d be a damn shame to come out and find you a pile of fingers and toes on my couch.”

“Plus, you’ve already got a record,” you say, and if it were anyone else, it would make him angry, but because it’s you, he just laughs. Because with most people, the jokes are jibes, and with you, they’re genuinely that. Jokes.

“Like they need any more excuses to drag my sorry ass back into that police station.”

You roll your eyes and drag your blanket bundle up over your chest, settling back into the couch.

Eddie opens his mouth to speak, but before he gets the chance, you interrupt him.

“And also for the fourth time, no, I’m not taking your bed, so don’t even ask.”

Eddie huffs and waves a hand.

“Screw me for being a gentleman, eh?”

“You wish,” you say, and Eddie snorts.

“Next time you call me in the middle of the night, begging for my company, I’m going to remember this.”

“I don’t know about begging—”

“Oh, it was begging,” he says.

“Ridiculous,” you say with a smile, and Eddie grins, too. He flips off the overhead light, and the small yellow lamp from the old trailer casts a warm yellow glow over the room.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he says, and turns for the hall.

“Eddie,” you say, and Eddie swears his heart does one of those cartoon flip-flops right inside his chest. He stops, turns to face you.

You gnaw on the inside of your cheek for a beat before saying, gently, “Thank you.”

Eddie swallows the lump in his throat. He nods a few too many times.

“‘Course,” he says. “Anytime.” And he surprises himself by meaning it.

-

The dreams come in varying shades and flavors, some of which are so creative that Eddie is impressed by his own twisted subconscious. Most of them, he’s learned to see through. Nightmares, dreams altogether, have tells. Find a clock, and if he can’t read the numbers, he’s asleep. Look at his hands, and if he has too few or too many fingers, he’s dreaming. If his mother makes an appearance, it’s either a dream or he’s managed to squeeze his way to heaven. Which, unlikely, so: dream.

The one he still can’t see through is the one that’s still too close to reality. Eddie, bleeding out through more puncture wounds than he can count, watching his measly life roll behind his eyes, trying in vain to claw his way back to the world.

He can feel the broken earth beneath him and the claws dragging him back, and when he tries to scream, his throat is raw. He can’t make a noise, can’t save himself, can’t do anything but lie here as they tear him apart—

“Wake up, Munson.”

Hands on his shoulders, but not rough, not sharp. Steady.

“It’s a dream. It’s just a dream. It’s not real.”

His eyes snap open and he jerks up, finding himself in his dark bedroom. You kneel on the edge of the mattress, hands still on his arms, though now your fingers are curled in the fabric of his sleeves. Your knuckles graze his biceps each time he heaves a breath.

An image flickers behind his eyelids; bright red lightning flashes and spindly wings and—

“Look at me, Eddie.” That sound, his name off your lips, winds the last thread of consciousness into place, he realizes where he is, what’s happening.

Eddie pushes back until he hits the wall, as far out of your grasp as possible. Like each inch will keep you safer from him and the powder keg that is his life. That is him.

He has heard it all, a thousand times, from a hundred different people.

Too loud. Too opinionated. Too distractable. Too distracting. Too much.

His father. Teachers. His grandparents. Everyone except his uncle, and after these last months, he’s sure even that is bound to break.

“Eddie—"

“Sorry,” he says. “I wake you up?” He cards a hand through his hair, and when his fingers get caught in the tangles, he wrenches for a moment before just giving up.

Your brows furrow. “Are you, like, going to pretend that didn’t just happen?”

Abso-fucking-lutely, and he’d appreciate it if you went along with that plan. He knows you won’t.

“And what happened, exactly?”

“You were screaming.”

Eddie’s stomach lurches.

“Fear isn’t the only thing that makes people scream, you know,” he says. “Surely someone’s taught you that by now.”

Even the darkness of the room can’t hide the dark flush on your neck, at the tops of your cheeks and ears. But to his frustration, you don’t take the bait and steer the conversation into safer waters.

You frown for a long moment. So long Eddie is sure you’re cooking up some kind of lecture. And then you climb all the way onto the bed, dropping down beside him and effectively trapping him. He hasn't decided if he minds, yet. Most of his actual mind is still stuck in a nightmare.

“Eddie,” you say.

Eddie doesn’t think anyone has ever said his name like that before—like it’s not a bullet.

“Look at me,” you say, and he does. And no one has ever looked at him like this, either.

“Do you want to talk about it?” you ask.

“Not really,” he says.

You nod. Your brow twitches, and you lift a hand to settle on his face. Your thumb traces along his cheekbone, and something cracks open inside of him.

He doesn’t say anything—maybe you see it in his face. You wrap your arms around him and pull him close as he shakes. Breaks. He slips his arms around your waist and buries his face in your neck, and he doesn’t realize he’s crying until it’s too late to stop it.

But all he can think about is being small, in a little brick house, curled up on the couch with his mom. These days, he can’t remember the exact shade of her eyes, or the sound of her laugh, but he remembers her dark curls tickling his cheeks as she peppered kisses across his face. He remembers laughing until his stomach ached. The first time someone loved him—not the way his uncle loves him, or the way his friends do, but really, truly, loved him.

Until now, he wondered if it would be the last.

Something like a sob worms its way up Eddie’s throat, and he swallows it down, hard. He pulls back suddenly, swiping his hands over his eyes and inhaling sharply. He clears his throat.

“Christ, sorry,” he says.

“Sorry? For what?”

“For starters, waking you up in the middle of the night,” he says. “And for weeping like some baby in your arms.”

You smile softly, inclining your head. You flick a strand of hair out of Eddie’s eyes.

“For starters,” you mimic, “I woke you up first.”

Eddie inhales, and when it comes out as more of a sniffle, he wants to dissolve into floor.

“Yeah, well,” he says. “For the second thing, then. If you could forget that ever happened, actually, that’d be fantastic.”

You inspect him for a moment, eyes narrowed.

“Most girls find it attractive when a man cries, you know,” you say, just teasing enough that Eddie allows it. “Or hasn’t someone taught you that yet.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and extricates himself from your arms, but when he tries to pull back, you catch his face in your hands. He could pull away. He doesn’t.

“You can talk to me, you know,” you say. “You’re not going to scare me off.”

Eddie almost lies, but maybe he’s tired of pretending, or just plain tired. So he doesn’t lie.

“It’s this dream. I’m back in that hell-pit, but I can’t move. Can’t scream. I’m gonna die, and I know it.” Eddie shakes his head. “The first time I got arrested, I remember thinking, this is it, Munson, this is the end of the road. You really did it now, man.” He snorts. “I was fifteen, and an idiot, and I got off with some bullshit community service. Like I wasn’t already providing a community service.”

“The friendly, misunderstood, neighborhood drug dealer,” you say.

Eddie smiles. “Basically.”

You lift a brow, urging him to continue.

Eddie swallows and says, “And then, when I was seventeen, I flipped this dirt bike I took way too far out onto the interstate. Got stranded in the middle of nowhere. I thought I was a goner, then, too, but some poor tourist from Bloomington found me, dragged my ass to the closest hospital. And it felt like… I don’t know, like I’d just scraped through.” Eddie clears his throat. “But when we were all down there—when I was—” He stops.

Something bumps his hand, and he glances down just in time to see you threading your fingers through his.

“I was just laying there, dying, and all I could think was, okay, so this is it. The actual end of the goddamn road.” He closes his eyes. “Sometimes, I still feel like I’m there. Like I’ll always be there. Bleeding out in the dirt.”

“But you’re not.”

“You sure about that?” he asks. “Cuz, honestly, some days, I’m not.”

You’re quiet for a long time before you finally speak.

“I’ve been at the end of the road more times than I can count,” you say softly. “But it kept going. It always keeps going.”

“And if it doesn’t?” he asks, cocking a brow.

A tiny, sad smile plays on your lips. “Then you find another one.”

And if Eddie hadn’t already considered that this entire thing was some twisted fantasy conjured by his overtired brain, you lean toward him, and press your lips to his.

He’s so shocked he forgets to move, forgets to breathe, and doesn’t manage to figure it out until a beat after your hands fall from his cheeks and you start to pull back. He takes your chin in his hand, guiding you back to him.

He kisses you like he’s wanted to for two months. Until his lips are numb and you’re both breathing heavy, and all of his nightmares have been lured back into their hiding places. Not forever, but for now, and now is enough.

You end up a pile of tangled limbs and blankets, Eddie’s arms around you and your head pillowed on his chest. He trails a slow finger up and down your forearm.

At some point, he asks, without meaning to, “Is this real?”

You twist in his arms, rolling onto your stomach and propping yourself up on his chest. Your lips curl up in a smile.

“If you want it to be,” you say.

Eddie grins. “No complaints here.”

You laugh, and take one of his curls between your fingers, wrapping it once, twice, three times around your knuckle. You lift your eyes to his, suddenly serious.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

Eddie’s stomach flips, though he isn’t sure why. He nods.

You hesitate. Swallow. Say, quickly, “I think I might be in love with you.”

Eddie feels like his chest cracks wide open. He rolls through a dozen things to say, before settling for the copout.

“You think?”

You huff a laugh. “Fine. I definitely am, but I’m trying not to—”

“Scare me off?”

You shrug.

Eddie’s smile widens, and he finally understand the sentiment of smiling so hard it hurts. Of happiness being so big that it’s painful.

“In case you were curious,” Eddie says. “I’m definitely in love with you.” Love. It’s been so long since he said the word, it tastes unfamiliar, but he doesn’t mind it. Might even like it.

“You better be,” you say. “Or this was about to get really awkward.”

Eddie laughs, and kisses you once, twice, three times, until you’re laughing, too. And even though the lights are off, Eddie swears his room has never been brighter.

-

taglist: @milkiane​

#Brooke writes fic #Eddie munson #Eddie munson x reader #x reader #Eddie munson x you #Eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x gn!reader #Eddie munson fic #eddie munson fluff #Eddie munson angst

[dreamauri]

‧˚⊹ 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 ଓ :: 𝗠𝗩𝟭 ‧₊˚⤾

you are reading :: part six !!

╭╯ pairing . . . max verstappen x fem! driver! reader ) ┊ summary . . . lets do this one more time ) ┊ genre . . . angst) ╰╮ warning . . . X )

☆★ eheheheheehe, dont mind me just dancing in the background ━━━━

( fic masterlist | general masterlist ) ( requests ) ( taglist )

R0, PRE-SEASON TESTING 2024 — Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain

As shameful as it felt, you zipped up your dark blue and white Alpha Tauri suit. "Radio check." You heard your new engineer through the radio as your team pushed you out for pre-season testing.

You could only hum a reply as you waited for the go, driving the car out into the track around the Arabian circuit. "Gearbox." You simply said in the radio to report the area the team needs to fix. "Steering is too loose." "Copy."

You pulled into the pitlane, hopping out if the car once your team rolled the car into the garage. You sat on the floor, watching to team quietly fix the problems you pointed out. "You okay, nunu?" "Yallah, Come on." You broke out of your trance, looking at your brothers at the entrance, waving for you to come over.

You shook your head, leaning in head on your knees, closing your eyes to catch some rest even though you knew you were probably not going to sleep.

You heard girls laugh among themselves as you walked by. You felt jealous. Oh what you'd give to have friends like so, making fun of and gossiping about stupid female figures like yourself.

You forced a smile and a laugh as Daniel popped up from behind you, giving you quick hug. You watched him walk away in his red bull gear with a face if regret and despair. You'd switched seats with him under the orders of the CEO, claiming you had performance issues, forgetting your miraculous P1 from P20 and six win streak with your first full seat, and eleven f1 wins in 15 races.

Your world felt dark after you were sent home with Visa expiration. You spent the rest of the year in the El-Gamazi compound, helping out on the farm and in the Mechanics shop. You still felt embarrassed and ashamed, no matter how many times your family tried to lift your feelings up.

You'd switched flags, driving under the German flag instead of the short lived Egyptian one. You didn't want a stupid girl like you to misrepresent such a country.

You honestly didn't care about misrepresenting Germany because those assholes already had 20+ world championships in their pockets thanks to your family, Vettel and Schumacher.

Your family of course was furious to hear with the switch, not believing your shit excuse to switching which made your world fe like it was falling apart even more. "—You hungry." Yuki held a plate of fruits his performance coach had cut up, snapping you out of your daze.

"Oh I'm sorry. We're you sleeping?" "No, your good." You gave him a weak smile, leaning back in you chair. "I'm full thank you." You shook your head, denying his offer politely. "You should eat." He insisted, putting the plate on the table and pushing it towards you.

You know your stomach needed it but you just couldn't bring yourself to swallow it. "Our cars are definitely faster than last season so you don't have to worry." You chuckled, nodding. That wasn't what was bothering you though. You didn't depend on speed alone, you had enough skill to pull the Alpha Tauri in the top five if it could only qualify in the top ten.

But you knew your limits. That car can never win a race. Not with Max nor RedBull on the grid anyways.

This was surly going to be a hell of a season for you. You could feel it creeping on your back with sharp claws and a wide pointy-tooth smile, awfully reminding you of the 'other mother' from Caroline.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

R3 - QUALLIFYING Sunday, March 31 2024 — Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Australia

"That is P7. P7 for tomorrow's race." You could feel your breath hitched in your throat. You've never been so low in the grid when pushing so hard. "Mhm." You hummed in acknowledgment.

"You alright, kid?" "Sure." You sighed as pulled yourself out of your car. You kept the helmet on as you walked away, putting your hands in your pockets. You could hear the faint shouting and booing from the stadiums directed towards you, trying your hardest to act unfazed.

'What am I doing here.' You couldn't help but ask yourself as your back slouched, leaning against a random wall as the day took its course. "Y/N!" You heard Yuki running towards you practically jumping in his spot. "P8!" You heard him cheer. You could only chuckle, starting pull your helmet and balaclava off, giving the Japanese a high five. At least someone was happy.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

R3 - RACE DAY Sunday, April 1 2024 — Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Australia

You felt someone pat your helmet once you settled in your car. "Good luck, Y/N." "Thanks, Christian." You gave him a polite smile to show through the visor peak. You sat in silence, leaning your head on the steering wheel, blurring out the noise around you.

"Hey!" Looking to see the the source of disturbance, your eyes softened seeing Max pat your back. "You got this." He shouted over the music, holding his fist up for you to bump. You gave him a small smile, returning the gesture.

"Its light out and away we go!"

Lap 16 :: "Make some space." You grumbled pushing Norris thin, giving Yuki the opportunity to over take which he did.

You were working your way up the grid, slowly but surly. P7 and P8 to P5 and P6. "Just a few more." You encouraged yourself trying to pressure your younger brother. "Out of the way." you called going wheel to wheel with him.

"Girl, get off." You faintly heard him chuckle as you made space for Yuki to overtake 'round the outside.

"That is incredible performance from both Alpha Tauries. Great team work. From P7 and P8 to P4 and P5.

Lap 22 :: "Holy! Get- Hey! Out of my way." You scoffed as you batteled it out with Daniel. One more overtake and it would be a podium for Yuki. "Dan- DANIEL." You steered clear from him, momentarily losing your control and spinning out, costing you a few positions as you quickly got back on the track few cars behind Yuki.

Lap 35 :: "Mother fuckin- GASLY!" All the drivers were being so defensive, to the point you couldn't go through their walls. Especially this one. "MOTHER FUCKER!" "Y/N, calm down." "YOU DONT GIVE ME ORDERS."

This was a shit box. A SHIT BOX.

You were stuck in P6 again with drivers from different teams working together to block you, it frustrated you to the point that Arabic cuss words started to flow through your mouth to the point they had to censor it over the big speakers from how bad they were ( don't underestimate Arabic cuss words).

Lap 49 :: "Killian? What the— MAX?! ARE THEY LAPPING ME?" "Yes." "IM FLOORING IT— HEY!" You slammed your fist in the steering wheel as you watched them over take with DRS and there was nothing you could do.

Final Lap :: "That's P6, P6!" You engineer cheered as you crossed the line. "—There is nothing to be happy about." You scolded frustrated. Even though you understood that this particular team didn't regularly get so high up in the points and had, of course, felt a surge of dopamine, you didn't. You let your anger and frustration blind you.

"We're not P1, we're not even on the podium. There is NOTHING to be happy about." You raged, slamming the steering wheel on the floor once you got out of the car. "Shit box." You insulted the car, kicking its side even though you know it didn't have feelings for you to hurt.

They took your weight before you stomped off to your driver's room, throwing your gear off in a hurry as you felt your vision start to blur. It felt so hamulating.

There's never been a Kraus so low in the points, they must all be either laughing at you for being such a clown or cussing at you for weighing their precious name down.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"I thought you didn't drink?" You sat between your brothers in a bar, downing your third beer. "I lost my dignity. Might as well lose my liver." You slurred, leaning your head back as you let the liquid trickle down your throat.

Everyone around the booth felt the dark aura coming from you. This wasn't Seventeen, the mysterious girl. Neither was this the Y/N, the girl they'd briefly met with last year.

Your eyes didn't shine like they used to, and there was this permanent scowl on your face. "Sorry I'm lat—She's—" Max dropped his jaw, pointing at you finishing the bottle and slamming it on the table.

"Drinking, yeah." Killian mumbled as he kept his eyes on you. "I think it's kind of funny." Daniel chuckled, sliding a tequila shot on the table towards you.

"Yuki should have this. For his highest ever Points finiiiish!! P FOUUUUR!" You cheered along with the rest of the table, sliding the glass towards your teammate.

"I shouldn't—" He tried to decline only for you and everyone else to start chanting` his name. You pat his back once he downed it. The Japanese couldn't help but smile as you gave him a toast, a beginning to a nice friendship.

Max couldn't help but feel left out. Weren't you friends with him first?

Wasn't he the one that was by your side when your uncle got a heart attack? Took care of Leila? Stayed by your side when people found out your name? Comforted you when the news of your now late uncle came out?

"That's enough drinking for you." Max commented, pulling the bottle out of your hands. He had found you standing in a random corner, nodding your head to the music Heyy, no fair!" You pouted trying to reach for it, only to end up finding yourself leaning on his chest for balance. "Yah Allahhhh. Enta dafi awiii." [oh wow, you're so warm] You giggled quietly, wrapping your arms around his neck.

Max felt his stomach do flips, his free hand gently finding its way to the small of your back for extra support. This was going to be a long night.

player.17

liked by alphataurif1 and yukitsunoda0511 and 49k others player.17 the only time i'll wear makeup and pose

user did she just cut her hair ↳ player.17 no, i made a rocket and invaded mars

user why tf would you chop it off like that ↳ user exactly! the only thing she has is her looks and now shes ruining that too ↳ user id still fuck her idc

user ok but like- we miss your smile y/n ↳ user who the fuck is we ↳ user WE? WHAT?? who the fuck is we??? ↳ user we? who's we? where we? WHEN WE?? HOW WE ↳ user there is no we ↳ user speak for yourself ↳ user no, we dont, we dont miss your smile y/n

user wtf is yuki doing in the likes, like we dont see him ↳ user they're teammates?

user is she smoking? ↳ user its fake, she's an athlete, she doesnt smoke

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

R4, MEDIA DAY Thursday, April 4 2024 — Suzuka International Racing Course, Japan

"Noo!!" Your turned looking back to see your teammate on his knees a few feet away from you. "The world is going to fall apart." He mumbled faking his death, falling face down.

You could only chuckle to yourself watching him, putting your hands on your hips as you watched Max stop by looking at the sprawled out Yuki confused. "Whats up with him?" He questioned, nudging the short man with his foot.

"Don't kick me Max, I will bite you." Yuki warned sitting up and pushing Max's leg away. "What are you fussing about anyway—HOLY MOTHER OF CHEESE CRACKERS." Max regretted leaving you alone that week between Australia and Japan. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!" He was the one fussing now, taking your short locks in his hair, mouth wide with shock.

"IS THIS A JOKE TO YOU? YOU HAVE HAIR LIKE RUPUNZEL!! WHY— WHY?!" You could only laugh to yourself as Max argued with himself, putting his hands on his head, wide eyed and in shock. "You've lost your traveling alone privileges, I don't care. I'm not letting you do stupid shit ever again."

( taglist ↳ @lorarri @benedikwonn @mycenterfold @ironmaiden1313 @hockeyboysarehot @tsnataly @iloveyou3000morgan @lpab @jetless @inas-thing @iamahallucinationnn @folklorelvrr @fdl305 @lifesuckslife @loveofmylife12 @chasing-liberosis @peachiicherries @ferrariloverr @love4lando @lizzieolseniskinda @chelseyyouraverageluigi @michellekstyles

#‧˚⊹🪴 ଓ :: 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 ‧₊˚⤾ #f1 #formula 1 #formula racing #f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #f1 x you #max #max verstappen #mv1 #mv33 #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen x reader #max x reader #max x you #max verstappen f1 #max verstappen x you #max verstappen fluff #max verstappen fanfic #mv1 x reader #mv33 x reader #mv1 fic #mv33 fic #f1 fic #f1 imagine #f1 fluff #f1 fics #formula one x you #formula one x reader #formula one x y/n

[aloneinthehellfire]

Chapter Fifteen: Sattler's Quarry

Gates Of Hell [Masterlist]

Word Count: 3.9k

Warnings: mentions of death, virus, mentions of past trauma, thalassophobia (deep fear of water)

[A/N: this chapter is dedicated to the one and only @sattlersquarry who has literally been supporting this series since day one!!! I honestly don't know where this fic would be without your constant support so, in honour, here's a chapter filled with the steve x reader moments we deserve (and maybe a little angst, but I can't help myself)

I would also like to take the moment to thank everyone for their patience, I've been through two rounds of sickness and it really took a lot out of me but I'm okay, I'm back, and I'm really excited to share this chapter with you all! I hope everyone enjoys!]

Sattler's Quarry

You were living on borrowed time.

It wasn’t news to you, in fact it’s all you’ve been thinking about since the day the gate exploded, leaving you and Steve stranded in a foreign world shaped like your home. The thought of it creeps in whenever you’re still, imagining how horrible it would be if it happened without warning.

And then those terrifying images play out like a slide-show. You turning, attacking, regretting. You hate that you’re imagining all the ways you could possible turn on the boy you cared about, but you can’t help it. This virus did everything it could to make you feel like a monster.

Steve can tell your symptoms are getting worse. You’re trying your best to hide them, force them away, but every so often you’ll slip up and expose the intensity of it, snapping at him or stumbling to a stop to blink away the black spots in your vision. He could just go on, find the gate himself and escape before it was too late. But he wasn’t leaving you down here.

After Max’s radio message this morning, you had both immediately set off, determined for this to be the last trip across the Upside Down forever. You just hoped you had decrypted the pattern correctly and weren’t just leading you both out here for nothing. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Once your soft footsteps turn to crunches above the gravel, you know you’ve arrived.

Sattler’s Quarry was located on the edge of town, buried behind a thick expanse of woods behind the lab. It wasn’t a particularly unpopular place, but since it was owned land people generally tried to stay away from it. That was until Will Byers’ body was found just before he miraculously showed up alive a week later, making it a honeypot for insensitive teens. Since so many kids were visiting, the owner, Frank, decided it best to just drain the quarry to avoid anymore mishaps with government cover-ups and reckless teens alike.

While it didn’t make the cut for the ‘bodies of water’ criteria, you figured it should count for its past.

“Um, so where is this gate meant to be if there’s no water?” Steve questions, squinting towards his surroundings. Somehow everything was darker around the quarry, making it near impossible to spot anything dangerous. And there was always something dangerous.

“They said it always appears at the heart.” You reply, keeping your focus on the ground so you don’t accidentally walk off a cliff in an anti-climactic end to your life.

“What kind of cryptic bullshit is that?”

“I think they just mean the middle.” You gently nudge his arm, spotting the edge of the quarry and he nods, sighing.

“Okay… let’s find the middle.”

You lead him to the edge, focused on your footing to ensure it was solid ground. Everything seemed normal until a crackle of lightning above you shed a spotlight, glinting below. You both freeze, staring down.

“Holy shit.” Steve breathes, and you can only nod in agreement.

You had never seen the quarry so full with water even before they drained it, but there it was, rising up to what would be half full. You can just spot the smaller rock ledge you and Robin would sit at during the summer, imagining the quarry could have been a swimming spot if it weren’t so small. Now you didn’t really have to imagine.

“I didn’t even know the Upside Down had natural water.” You say, feeling a sudden pang of fear. “Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“When was the last time you drank water?”

“Uh…” He frowns at first, thinking it through. And then he widens his eyes, staring back at you.

Neither of you have had food or water for three weeks. And worse yet, neither of you had noticed.

“How is that possible?” Steve questions and you shake your head. “I don’t even… are you hungry?”

“No.” You let out a breath, looking around you. “How could we have forgotten something like that?”

“Been too busy fighting and running.” Steve shrugs and you tighten your lips. “Come on, we’ll freak out about this later, let’s get a closer look at this water.”

You point out the ledge you had spotted earlier and soon enough, you had both quickly descended down until you were both peering over the edge, close enough to the water to see your reflections shining back at you.

“The water seems pretty clear.” Steve nods, hands on his hips as he looks across the massive body of water.

You frown. “How can you tell? Everything’s so dark down here.”

“Yeah I can’t see shit, I was lying.” Steve peers back down at it, crouching and running his hand through the water. It was strange, knowing now that he hadn’t touched water in weeks and yet, he still remained completely satisfied. “Dustin said the gate should glow red when it opens… do you think we’ll be able to see it from up here?”

“I don’t know.” You say, shifting on your feet. Steve looks up at you, noting your uneasy nature.

“Hey, they’ll let us know when the gate opens on their radar thingy.” He assures, standing back up.

“That’s not…” You glance back at the water before turning around, opting to face anywhere but there. “I don’t like water.”

“You don’t like water?” Steve repeats and you nod, thinning your lips. “Wait, like, you’re scared of it?”

“Not the water specifically. Just like...” You explain, wafting your hand through the air. “The stuff in the water.”

“Like what?” He asks, raising an eyebrow and you look shocked. “What? I’ve been swimming all my life, I have no idea what you’re on about.”

Your mouth gapes, feeling exasperated as you look between him and the water. “There’s- it could… Scary fish.”

“Scary fish?” He tries to hide his smirk and you bat his arm.“It’s the quarry, okay? Nothing was even in here before it got drained or some shit, nothing is gonna be here now, okay? Can you swim?”

“Yeah, I can swim.” You nod, looking down with a shudder. “But it’s much nicer in a pool with ceramic tiles staring back at me. Not whatever endless void of death I’m looking at right now.”

“That’s the positive spirit.” He chuckles and you grimace. “Okay, okay, look, I’m not asking you to jump in there alone, okay? We’ll do it together.”

When silence washes over, you turn to see him holding out his pinkie. You smirk, looping your own around it.

“Thought you said this was childish.”

“It grew on me.” He shrugs, smiling down at you. When he realises he’s just staring, he clears his throat, stepping back. “So, uh… what now?”

“We wait, I guess.” You say, lowering yourself onto a smaller ledge etched into the rocky surface, digging your elbows into your knees as you lean forward with your head in your hands, trying not to think about what could be lurking in the deep.

Steve joins you after a moment, his knee brushing against yours as he stretches out. He thinks how strange it was you were both so comfortable with contact that it was simply second-nature, your arm pressed against his to the point he could feel your warmth even through the thick fabric of your jackets. When the apocalypse started, neither of you could sit so close, the space between you speaking volumes.

“Do you think the military have it sorted?”

Steve’s question was a surprise, making you straighten up to meet his eyes inquisitively.

“I mean, it’s been three weeks. They must have done something.” He theorises and you shrug, not giving it much thought.

“Maybe.” You say, pursing your lips. “They didn’t have much luck before but, like you said, it’s been three weeks. The worst of it would probably mean they move us out of Hawkins, maybe to California or something.”

Something sparked hope then in Steve’s chest. Us. Not ‘them’, or ‘you’, us. Steve was always afraid to speculate about the future after the Upside Down, fully aware of the inevitable possibility you won’t have one. But there you were, including yourself in the narrative like it was meant to be.

You twist your face when you noticing him smiling, making you laugh. “You’re making that face again.”

“I can’t help it.” He chuckles and you smile back at him, nudging his shoulder playfully. “You wanna hear something funny?”

“I can’t deal with another one of your ‘knock, knock’ jokes right now.” You groan and he laughs, shaking his head.

“No, it’s not that.” He scrunches his face in thought, letting his eyes drift to the water then back to you, studying you like it was his last moment he ever could. “I, uh… do you remember anything about middle school?”

You raise your eyebrow, smirking. “Uh… a little, I guess. Why, do you?”

“It’s probably the only thing I can remember.” He sighs, leaning back until the rock edge dug into shoulder. “It was the last time I felt like a kid.”

“What’s so funny about it?” You remind him and he clicks his tongue, nodding.

“I, um…” Steve looks nervous, staring at his shoes. It made your stomach flutter, feel giddy. “I actually had the biggest crush on this girl back then. I… I don’t think I hid it that well either.”

You slowly nod, looking at your hands. “Nancy?”

“No.” He says and you back to him, frowning. “It… it was you.”

Your eyes widen. “What?”

“I- I thought you knew.” He laughs and you shake your head, looking bewildered. “Literally everyone else did. Even Robin was teasing me about it.”

“You throw so many parties that the school practically lives at your house, you’re always ranting about getting a basketball scholarship, and weirdly enough I am fully aware of the crush you had in middle school that you completely ruined but it’s so mind-blowing I can’t even repeat it.”

His mind is taken back to his very first official meeting with Robin, the way she had rambled at him the entire car ride as he drove around searching for you. She knew so much about him and, since you were close, he figured you would have known all about his middle school crush too. How wrong he was.

“I didn’t know.” You say, smiling in disbelief. “Seriously? Me?”

“Yeah.” He laughs nervously, running a hand through his hair. “I know we didn’t really hang out that much, but whenever you were around… I don’t know, you just seemed so… cool. And fun. You would always make the best jokes, you never let anyone tell you what to do. You were so different from my other friends, I just… I just had a massive crush on you.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” You ask, your wide eyes staring up at him, waiting for an answer.

“I…” He lets out a breath, shrugging. “I don’t know. Maybe I figured you wouldn’t want to be with a guy like me. I mean, the people you were friends with were nothing like me. And we never really saw eachother that much… I just ran out of time.”

“Ran out of time?”

“Well, you know.” He says, smirking. “The whole sworn enemies thing we had going on for some reason.”

Steve meant it as a joke, but your breath hitches and you shift in your spot, eyes darting away from him in a flash of hurt.

“Wait, no, I didn’t mean-” He tries, but you shake your head.

“It’s okay.” You dismiss, leaning forward. It wasn’t okay, though. It was a subject you’ve been avoiding ever since you found out Steve lost a lot of his childhood memories to deliberate punches and infuriating concussions.

But maybe you needed to stop avoiding the truth. The secret was only keeping a barrier between you, one you had cherished a long time ago but… everything was different now. It was time.

“I know you don’t remember.” You say quietly, watching how the red sky reflects against the water, making it crimson in its wake. “And that’s okay. I mean, it was a long time ago, but… but part of me wishes you did.”

Because I hate to be the one to remind you, you thought, knowing that once Steve caught a glimpse of the person he was in the past, it would eat him up inside.

“Do you remember Dan Shelter?” You ask, looking up at him. He frowns in confusion, unsure where this was heading, but he nods regardless. “The summer before freshman year, he asked me out on a date, wanted to take me to a movie or something. And I said yes.”

Steve watches how you keep your fingers busy, mindlessly twisting around a loose thread at the bottom of the jacket you were wearing, avoiding his eyes completely. He couldn’t remember a single detail of what you were talking about and yet he knows he and Dan would hang out almost all the time in the beginning years of high school.

“What happened?” He asks, feeling like he was holding his breath for far too long, afraid of the ending.

“Nothing.” You shrug, finally looking at him. “He stood me up. Part of me figured he would. He didn’t really seem that into it when he asked, I was just… I was so happy for a minute knowing someone had picked me, you know? The weird police girl. But I waited outside the theatre for an hour that day until my dad eventually picked me up and took me home.”

“I don’t…”

“I know.” You nod, sending him a reassuring smile. “But, I, um… I did see him again. At the arcade. I was there with Robin, actually. Yeah, we, uh, we managed to escape our parents for the day and just spent all our money playing stupid games. It was fun. And then I spot Dan trying to beat some high score and I felt so embarrassed at first. But then I thought, why the hell am I the one embarrassed? He was the jerk, not me.”

“So I went over.” You continue, returning to fiddle with the hem of your jacket. “I asked him up front, why didn’t he show up for our date? But, as it turns out, he wasn’t alone. Tommy and some others showed up, teasing, asking him if I was telling the truth. And he just… he laughed. Told me I was ‘freaky’, that I had been stalking him.”

“Why would he do that?” Steve shakes his head and you tighten your lips.

“Because that’s how guys like that became likeable.” You say bitterly, “It only got worse after that. They all started calling me names, laughing in my face. Robin told me to leave, and I should’ve, but I wasn’t going to stand there and take it. I told Dan he was a liar, that he wishes a girl would care enough to stalk him. And then someone else stepped forward.”

You take a deep breath, meeting Steve’s eyes. “He said it was all true. And that I… I had done it to him. That I was some crazy stalker obsessed with boys to the point where I had tried to throw myself at him. And even though they were false accusations, obviously everybody believed him over me.”

“Who…” He asks before he notices how your face twists, turning away from him once again. His stomach churns.

“You said that.” You say quietly, and his heart sinks. He ruined your life, and it wasn’t even an interaction he bothered to remember. “I didn’t even know why, either. I just remember after that, Tommy and Carol starting spreading the rumours, even attaching a whole story to it about us at Lover’s Lake and me going all crazy because you didn’t like me back or some shit. Everyone started calling it-”

“The date.” Steve finishes and you whip your head toward him, eyebrows furrowed. Nancy had told him all he needed to know, and he had chosen not to believe it could be true. But it was, and he hated himself for it.

“Yeah.” You nod, biting your lip. “I… I didn’t really make many friends after that. ‘The date’. They all assumed I was trying to use them to get to boys, that I was some kind of freak. After a while I just gave up trying to convince anyone any different. I already had enough to deal with, I just…. I stopped caring.”

“I can’t believe I forgot about that.” Steve says and you start to shake your head.

“No, you’ve- you’ve been through a lot, I don’t-”

“It doesn’t change what I did.” He interrupts, looking at you with determination. “Back then, I- I was so obsessed with everyone liking me, with fitting in with, god, Tommy and Dan… I would say literally anything to make me their friend. I did say literally anything.”

You watch as Steve’s face scrunches in disgust, burying it in his hands and mumbling into them. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“It was a long time ago, now.” You try and he runs his hands through his hair, straightening back up.

“I am so so sorry, Y/n.” He says with such conviction you knew it was true. You just never thought you’d hear those words ever leave King Steve’s lips. And you were partially right. Because the boy sat beside you, holding your hand and begging for your forgiveness, wasn’t King Steve anymore.

“I forgive you.” You give him a small smile, squeezing his hand.

“Really?” He frowns. Something heavy in his chest was lifting. Three small words that held heavy significance were giving him a peace he was unfamiliar with. After last year, he had assumed he was on the path to forgiveness for his old self, knowing he would have years to redeem. He figured as long as he proved himself, he wouldn’t need to hear those little words. But he did. He really did.

“Steve.” You raise your eyebrow, a smirk playing on your lips. “I literally just made out with you in a cheap motel bathroom yesterday.”

A smile stretches onto his face, a rouge tint hitting his cheeks. “You mean you don’t do that with all the boys you’re stuck in the Upside Down with?”

“Only the ones I’ve forgiven.” You shrug and he dramatically holds his hand to his heart, making you laugh.

After a moment, he wraps his arm around you and pulls you closer, resting his head against yours as you smile against his touch.

“Thank you. For forgiving me.” He mumbles into your hair and you pull away, looking up at him with such adoration, he felt the tips of his ears turn pink under your gaze.

Your hand reaches up to brush your fingers against his cheek, holding your breath. He brings himself closer and your eyes flutter shut, feeling his lips brush against yours until you commit fully, your hands slipping around his neck like he would slip away.

The kiss wasn’t the same as it was the first time. There wasn’t any hesitation or urgency. It was just simply sweet, all of your senses consumed by Steve and Steve only. His heart found its rhythm with yours, everything else washing away into a stream of his happiness.

And, when you pull away, he’s still chasing your lips, eyes closed and cheeks red. It was the second time he has ever kissed you, and he already craved a million more.

“Steve?”

“Yeah.”

“Look.”

He opens his eyes to find your worried ones staring back, tilting your head to the water. He turns his gaze over to the quarry, his eyebrows furrowing.

A red glow was starting to blare through, casting the quarry in a scarlet hue. It was beaming from the middle, just as you said it would, like a living, breathing heart.

You both slowly stand, moving closer to the edge with heavy chests. This was finally it. This was the escape.

“Guys, the gate just showed.” Lucas’ voice blares out into the dark from the ground beside you. You reach down to grab the radio and hold it to your lips.

“We see it.”

“You have around 5 minutes to get through before it shuts off for good.”

“It’s all we need.” Steve nods, looking at you. “I’m gonna dive down a little, just enough to get a look and see if it’s big enough.”

He pulls off his jacket, knowing it would only weigh him down in the long run. Letting it fall beside him, he moves to the edge until he feels your hand on his arm, making him turn back to your worried gaze.

“Be careful.” You say and he smiles at you, giving you a smile salute before finally diving down in perfect form.

The water engulfs him like a warm blanket, shocking his senses as he prepared for the cold. But it didn’t feel any different from his swimming pool at home, his legs kicking out and driving him further down the quarry. He followed the red light, his eyes adjusting to the gate that lay at the bottom. It looked like some sort of thick membrane was blocking his view to the other side, but he took that as a positive. It meant nothing was bleeding out into the other side.

After about twenty seconds of you shifting on your feet, Steve resurfaced just a few metres away, presumably directly above the gate. Once he spotted where he had left you, he grins.

“We’re good.” He calls out, shaking water droplets from his hair and extending his arm as an invitation. “No pressure, but… it’s now or never.”

You nod, taking a deep breath. No pressure. You were just going to dive into this suspicious body of water in hopes of breaking through a gate that lay at the very bottom of the quarry. And you had limited time to do it. No pressure at all.

You dump your bag and your jacket, neither of which you would need on the surface. Hopper would surely be heading to Sattler’s Quarry now to take you both far away from here. Home.

As you ready yourself to jump, you look up to ensure you’d be swimming in the right direction when your eye catches something on the other side of the quarry, making you squint into the darkness. Your heart jumps.

The red glow from the gate was making the water a little clearer, making everything look scarily like blood. But that wasn’t really the terrifying part.

A dark shape was moving in the water.

And it was heading directly for Steve.

“Get out of the water.” You say, completely numb. He frowns at you, and finally your voice rises. “Steve, get out right now!”

Swivelling his head around, he’s confused at your outburst and trying to find what you were staring at. And then he sees it, something big. He wasn’t alone in the water.

“Shit.” He breathes out, immediately starting to swim towards you.

There is a big distance between you and where he started in the middle, your voice almost alien to yourself as you continuously cried out.

“Steve! Come on, just a little more!” You keep shouting, hoping your words would somehow bring him to you faster. It’s gaining on him, but he’s so close.

You’re reaching over the edge, arms held out ready to pull him out. You can almost brush your fingertips against his. Just a few more arm strokes towards you until the water would splash your face and he’d be in your arms-

The water shifts directly behind him.

And then he’s gone.

You’re just left alone, screaming into the darkness.

“STEVE!”

Chapter Sixteen: The Pattern ->

taglist: @toomanyfandomsimfanvergent . @sheisjoeschateau . @kthomps914 . @curled-hair-red-lips . @nix-rose . @palmtreesx3 . @kryztalglear . @sattlersquarry . @hey-barnes-stole-a-jeep . @sadslasher13 . @iliveonteaandbooks . @innercreationflower . @newyorkangelbaby .

#stranger things #stranger things x reader #fanfic #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #stranger things reader insert #steve x reader #steve x y/n #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfiction #apocalypse au

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

POWER POLYCULE MASTERPOST

people asked and i shall deliver!! here are our brackets - i plan to update each one with the link after they're posted, but do keep an eye on the #powerpolyculeshowdown tag in case im unavailable to do so until later, please!

Also reminder they're programmed to be posted 1min apart from each other, so from 1:00pm to 1:10pm (EST)

Round 1

part 1 (finished)

Tulio/Miguel/Chel (Road to El Dorado) x Yoo/Han/Kim (Omniscient Reader) Winners: Tulio/Miguel/Chel

Mane 6 (My Little Pony) x Sasha/Anne/Marcy (Amphibia) Winners: Sasha/Anne/Marcy

Rey/Finn/Poe (Star Wars) x The Doctor/Rose/Jack Harkness (Doctor Who) Winners: The Doctor/Rose/Jack

Cosmo/Kathy/Don (Singing in the Rain) x Ferris/Sloane/Cameron (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) Winners: Cosmo/Kathy/Don

Dave/Jade/Karkat (Homestuck) x Sora/Riku/Kairi (Kingdom Hearts) Winners: Sora/Riku/Kairi

Amaryllis/Sir Damien/Lord Arum (Penumbra Podcast) x Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot (High Noon Over Camelot - The Mechanisms) Winners: Amaryllis/Sir Damien/Lord Arum

Wu Zetian/Li Shimin/Gao Yizhi (Iron Widow) x Sadie Kane/Walt Stone/Anubis (The Kane Chronicles) Winners: Wu Zetian/Li Shimin/Gao Yizhi

Star Allies (Kirby Star Allies) x All 1008 Pokémon (Pokémon) Winners: All 1008 Pokémon

Hardison/Parker/Elliot (Leverage) x Geralt/Jaskier/Yennefer (The Witcher) Winners: Hardison/Parker/Eliot

Suki/Sokka/Zuko (ATLA) x Sonic/Knuckles/Shadow (Sonic) Winners: Suki/Sokka/Zuko

Sweet/Cap’n/K_K (Deltarune) x Shiver/Frye/Big Man (Splatoon 3) Winners: Sweet/Cap'n/K_K

part 2 (finished)

Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy (Scooby Doo) x Luka/Adrien/Kagami/Marinette (Miraculous Ladybug) Winners: Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy

Wonder Woman/Superman/Batman (DC Comics) x Megaera/Zagreus/Thanatos (Hades) Winners: Megaera/Zagreus/Thanatos

Dekubowl (My Hero Academia) x Jolyne/Ermes/Foo Fighters (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure) Winners: Jolyne/Ermes/Foo Fighters

Bocchi/Nijika/Ryo/Kita (Bocchi the Rock) x Tsukasa/Emu/Nene/Rui (Project Sekai) Winners: Tsukasa/Emu/Nene/Rui

Trevor/Sypha/Alucard/Greta (Castlevania) x Heizou/Kazuha/Scaramouche (Genshin Impact) Winners: Trevor/Sypha/Alucard/Greta

Rachel/Chloe/Max (Life is Strange) x Quanxi/Tsugihagi/Pingtsi/Long/Cosmo (Chainsaw Man) Winners: Rachel/Chloe/Max

McCoy/Spock/Kirk (Star Trek) x Frodo/Sam/Rosie (Lord of the Rings) Winners: McCoy/Spock/Kirk

Cassandra/Rapunzel/Flynn (Tangled Series) x Vivi/Lewis/Arthur (Mystery Skulls Animated) Winners: Cassandra/Rapunzel/Flynn

Aizo/Yujiro/Hiyori (HoneyWorks) x Panchito/Donald/José (The Three Caballeros) Winners: Panchito/Donald/José

Catra/Adora/Glimmer/Bow (She-Ra and The Princesses of Power) x Amethyst/Peridot/Lapis (Steven Universe) Winners: Catra/Adora/Glimmer/Bow

Bucky/Steve/Peggy/Angie (Marvel) x Hunter/Willow/Luz/Amity (The Owl House) Winners: Hunter/Willow/Luz/Amity

Round 2 (finished)

Tulio/Miguel/Chel (Road to El Dorado) x Cosmo/Kathy/Don (Singing in the Rain) Winners: Tulio/Miguel/Chel

Sasha/Anne/Marcy (Amphibia) x Hardison/Parker/Eliot (Leverage) Winners: Hardison/Parker/Eliot

The Doctor/Rose/Jack Harkness (Doctor Who) x McCoy/Spock/Kirk (Star Trek) Winners: The Doctor/Rose/Jack Harkness

Sora/Riku/Kairi (Kingdom Hearts) x Amaryllis/Sir Damien/Lord Arum (Penumbra Podcast) Winners: Amaryllis/Sir Damien/Lord Arum

Wu Zetian/Li Shimin/Gao Yizhi (Iron Widow) x Sweet/Cap’n/K_K (Deltarune) Tie!! Both move on!

Suki/Sokka/Zuko (Avatar: TLA) x Megaera/Zagreus/Thanatos (Hades) Winners: Suki/Sokka/Zuko

Fred/Dephne/Velma/Shaggy (Scooby Doo) x All 1008 Pokémon (Pokémon) Winners: Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy

Jolyne/Ermes/Foo Fighters (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure) x Tsukasa/Emu/Nene/Rui (Project Sekai) Winners: Jolyne/Ermes/Foo Fighters

Trevor/Sypha/Alucard/Greta (Castlevania) x Panchito/Donald/José (The Three Caballeros) Winners: Panchito/Donald/José

Cassandra/Rapunzel/Flynn (Tangled Series) x Rachel/Chloe/Max (Life is Strange) Winners: Cassandra/Rapunzel/Flynn

Catra/Adora/Glimmer/Bow (She-Ra and The Princesses of Power) x Hunter/Willow/Luz/Amity (The Owl House) Winners: Catra/Adora/Glimmer/Bow

Round 3 (finished)

Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy (Scooby Doo) x Cassandra/Rapunzel/Flynn (Tangled the Series) Winners: Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy

The Doctor/Rose/Jack (Doctor Who) x Hardison/Parker/Eliot (Leverage) Winners: Hardison/Parker/Eliot

Catra/Adora/Glimmer/Bow (She Ra) x Suki/Sokka/Zuko (Avatar: TLA) Winners: Suki/Sokka/Zuko

Panchito/Donald/José (The Three Caballeros) x Wu Zetian/Li Shimin/Gao Yizhi (Iron Widow) Winners: Panchito/Donald/José

Sweet/Cap’n/K_K (Deltarune) x Sora/Riku/Kairi (Kingdom Hearts) Winners: Sweet/Cap'n/K_K

Jolyne/Ermes/Foo Fighters (Jojo) x Tulio/Miguel/Cher (Road to El Dorado) Winners: Tulio/Miguel/Cher

Revival

Round 1 (finished)

Poll 1 Winners: The Doctor/Jack/Rose

Poll 2 Winners: Sasha/Anne/Marcy

Poll 3 Winners: Geralt/Yennefer/Jaskier

Poll 4 Winners: Yoo/Han/Kim

Round 2 (finshed)

Yoo Joonghyuk/Han Sooyoung/Kim Dokja (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint) x The Doctor/Rose Tyler/Jack Harkness (Doctor Who) x Sasha/Anne/Marcy (Amphibia) x Geralt/Yennefer/Jaskier (The Witcher) Winners: Yoo/Han/Kim (ORV) and Doctor/Jack/Rose (DW)

Round 4 - Quarterfinals (finished)

Tulio/Miguel/Cher (Road to El Dorado) x Yoo Jonghyuk/Han Sooyoung/Kim Dokja (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint)  Winners: Yoo Jonghyuk/Han Sooyoung/Kim Dokja

Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy (Scooby Doo) x The Doctor/Rose Tyler/Jack Harkness (Doctor Who) Winners: Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy

Sweet/Cap'n/Cakes (Deltarune) x Panchito/Donald/José (Three Caballeros) Winners: Sweet/Cap'n/K_K

Hardison/Parker/Eliot (Leverage) x Suki/Sokka/Zuko (Avatar) Winners: Hardison/Parker/Eliot

Round 5 - Semifinals (finished)

Sweet/Cap'n/K_K (Deltarune) x Yoo Jonghyuk/Han Sooyoung/Kim Dokja (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint) Winners: Yoo/Han/Kim

Hardison/Parker/Eliot (Leverage) x Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy (Scooby Doo) Winners: Hardison/Parker/Eliot

Round 6 (March 8th 2pm EST)

Finals!

Hardison/Parker/Eliot (Leverage) x Yoo Jonghyuk/Han Sooyoung/Kim Dokja (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint) Winners: Hardison/Parker/Eliot

Third place!

Sweet/Cap'n/K_K (Deltarune) x Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy (Scooby Doo) Winners: Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy

Congratulations Hardison/Parker/Eliot for the win!!!!

#powerpolyculeshowdown #masterpost #polls #brackets

[hawkinscommunitypool]

the road back to you — billy hargrove

summary: as you find salvation from your grief in the form of a beat-up car, you may find what you’re looking for in the most unlikely of places. aka, when billy’s girlfriend falls under attack by vecna, he’ll fight through death itself to save her. pairing: billy hargrove x fem!reader category: angst with happy ending content warnings: temporary canon character death (billy), language, descriptions of grieving word count: 6k a/n: hi y'all !! i'm really proud of my work on this one, it was fun to do. just a note, any blocks of italics is a memory/flashback.

masterlist want to join my taglist?

It goes like this—the moment you realize you love him is also the moment you realize you’re going to lose him.

It’s simple, really. You saw the moment El was able to reach him from wherever he was locked away, you saw the moment he stood and set his shoulders back, determined to carry out whatever plan he had come up with in the narrow seconds he had to himself. You saw the moment he stepped forward, never once looking back at you—does he know you couldn’t handle a goodbye even if he offered one? 

You saw the moment he stared down the thing that had taken away his choices for so long, and you knew he never intended to step foot outside of Starcourt again.

People often say the worst moments of your life happen in slow motion, but this time it all happened in one terrifying instant, too quick for you to do anything but watch.

“Billy!” You were sure the word wasn’t yours, that some other voice had screamed with enough force to scratch their throat to shreds. It wasn’t your feet launching you down the broken escalators, taking as many steps at a time as you could manage without tripping. The Mind Flayer was gone, but the damage it had inflicted hadn’t vanished miraculously with it. Even from across the room you could see what it left behind on the man you loved—too much blood, every limb far too still, red everywhere, why was it everywhere?

Max made it there first, dropping to the ground beside him with enough force against her knees that it makes you wince. You practically slide across the tile to reach him too, hands grabbing one of his. His are dirty, mixed with the dirt and blood of too many of your friends, from him. They’re still his though, with the same rough callouses you used to spend so much time trailing your fingers across. You cradle his hand between both of yours, pressing a kiss to the back of his fingers as though that might take the pain away. Because there wasn’t anything you could do for him now but this, you’d try to bring him as much peace as you could, knowing he deserved so much more.

“—’m sorry,” he choked out, and you wished you’d never had to see the way blood slipped from those lips with his words. Already you could feel the sight imprinting on your mind, scarring over the once cheerful memories the two of you had made in this mall.

“Billy,” Max repeated, voice barely there through the tears that threatened to silence her, “please.”

“It’s okay,” you reassured the two of them, lower lip quivering around the words. Salt and iron mixed at your own lips as tears trail down your bloodied face, and a sob threatened to tear through your already scratchy throat. “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay.”

It looked like he wanted to say more. You watched helplessly as his lips parted and closed a few times, gasps coming out instead of the words he wanted. You leaned forward, hand resting against his cheek and trying to ignore the blood that stained it. There was so much you wanted to tell him, so many hopes and dreams you’d never quite shared with him in search of the right moment. There never would be a right moment now, and that thought alone was enough to constrict your heart.

But this moment wasn’t about you, it was about the fear in his blue eyes as he looked between you and Max, as his lips still struggled to voice the final words he wanted to tell each of you.

Billy needed peace, so you would give it to him in the only way you knew how. 

“We’ll be okay,” you told him, blinking away the tears in a desperate attempt to keep looking at him for as long as you could. Because up until this moment, you’d assumed you had forever, you took the ability to see Billy for granted. And now forever was reduced down to seconds, and you had too many words to say.

“I’ll take care of her, I promise,” you continued, not missing the way his shoulders relaxed just a fraction at the promise. You brushed away the stray curls that fell into his face even now, trying to memorize every inch of his face before he left you. For just a moment, through all the blood and signs of battle, you could almost imagine this was any other night. The two of you were laying in your bed, whispers falling between you as you fought to hide from your family. He would grin and hold onto you, saying he didn’t care if they found the two of you like this, and you’d laugh and say he might, your family could be scary when they were protective. They don’t need to protect you from me, Sweetheart, I’d never hurt you. What a fucking lie that was.  “I promise, we’ll be okay. All because of you, you saved us.”

When his breath stuttered and his chest grew gravely still, you felt your world grow colder. It was an immediate change, a crack in the dream you’d once had for how your life would end up. Because how could you ever have your happy ending when the person you wanted to share it with was laying here, in your arms, cold?

And when the paramedics finally pulled him from your hands, you were still whispering the same words.

I love you, I love you so much.

“Max! If you make me late to work again, we’re gonna have real problems!” you shouted through the rolled-down window of his—your—car.

“No, we won’t,” Max shouted back from the front door of her mom’s trailer, messing around with slipping a tape into her Walkman at the step instead of doing it in the car. “I know better.”

“Well, this time we will have problems,” you retorted, rolling your eyes at the level of sass the girl had. Though even now, you knew she had a point. No matter what she did, no matter how many words she tossed at you when she was frustrated, you would be there for her. You’d made a promise, nearly a year ago now. “Can we go, please? Harv is forgiving, but I don’t want to test his patience.”

Though she didn’t acknowledge you, at least Max sped up a little and climbed into the passenger seat as quickly as possible. You sighed when immediately headphones were placed over the girl’s ears and her head turned to face out the side window. After everything that had happened, you’d never expected her to be the same Max she’d been before but you’d hoped that she wouldn’t be this pulled back from the world. It seemed all she did anymore was drown everyone out in the music, only slipping off those headphones to convince everyone else that she was, in fact, fine.

You’d heard it from just about everyone now, that they were worried about Max but she’d stopped talking to them. Friends, teachers, and even Joyce Byers had called you once to say that Mike had mentioned what was going on to El. They all looked to you for help, expecting you to save her from the grief that threatened to drown her. But you weren’t a lifeguard like her brother, and all you could do was desperately reach for her hand and hope she’ll hold on someday. Until then, there was nothing you could do. Just like her brother, you couldn’t save her.

So you drove her to school every morning and took a few minutes off of work in the afternoon to drive her back home on the days her mother was working late. When she needed to go somewhere else, she knew to call you no matter the time. Sometimes she did, asking you to drive her to places just on the edge of town. You’d sit in the car and wait while she sat out there, watching the stars. You never knew what she did there, but if it helped then you’d take endless sleepless nights. All you could hope for was that, in time, she might open up to someone again even if that someone wasn’t you.

“Have a good day at school, kiddo,” you told her as you approached the school, and she must’ve barely heard you through whatever she was playing because Max graced you with a smile and nod before she slipped out the car. You stayed there for only a moment, making sure she got safely inside the building before you headed off toward work.

Harv’s mechanic shop was on the edge of town, giving you a long drive to destress. Every morning was the same anymore—you’d turn on music from a band you hardly liked but you’d found the tape on the floorboard the first time you’d worked up the nerve to slide into the driver’s seat. It had been sitting on the bottom of the backseat right where you remembered hiding it, when Billy spent an entire week listening to nothing but that song. Where before you only rolled your eyes at his off-key singalong, now you drove down country roads humming the tune with tearful eyes. ‘I’ve been waiting for a girl like you to walk into my life.’ 

And though you knew the car could handle faster speeds—Billy, slow down! Are you trying to get us in a wreck?—you’d take it barely over the speed limit, taking your time with the feel of the wheel under your fingers and the sound of the engine you’d come to adore. You’d never expected to see it again, much less spend so much time inside it. You often wondered what he would have thought if he could see you driving it around town. Would he smile fondly or would he sigh, reminding you there were better ways to take care of a car as beautiful as that one. Maybe you would roll your eyes back, proclaiming that if only he were still here, he could tell you what to do with it. But he wasn’t, so all you could do was use your best judgment.

When Max came to you in July in near tears, you didn’t know what else could have gone wrong. You were ready to fight anyone who dared to hurt her while she was already down, grieving someone she didn’t know she could grieve.

“He’s getting rid of the car,” Max hiccupped out after you’d brought her into your house, sliding a cup of coffee her way you knew her mother would have scolded you for. “I shouldn’t care, but, he’s just going to junk it and—”

“Who?” you asked, “Why?”

“Neil,” Max practically spit out, and though you knew she didn’t have a good relationship with him either you’d never heard such vitriol in her voice before. “He’s leaving town, and he wants to make as much money as possible selling his son’s stuff before he does, apparently.”

“Well, I promise you that car’s not getting scrapped,” you told her, already standing up from your seat at the kitchen bar. You grabbed your keys and hurried to find your wallet, a fierceness in your gait that hadn’t been there since the Fourth.

“How do you know that?” Max asked, following you out of the house and into your car. Any other time, you might’ve felt a warmness in your heart at the knowledge that she trusted you so much she’d follow you anymore without any explanation.

You shrugged, eyes on the road as you were speeding faster than you ever normally would. There was no way you’d be too late to talk to Neil, though, that was for sure. When you got there, you’d insist on buying the car off of him, taking whatever price he demanded because, to you, it was a priceless win. There were too many memories built into that car, too many smiles and laughs. You’d do what it took to make sure Billy’s pride and joy was saved. You weren’t an expert with cars, but you’d become one if that’s what it took. “I needed a new car anyway.”

The Camaro had sat untouched in your garage for a month before you were able to even look at it without crying, much less try to drive it. But eventually, you were able to sit in the driver’s seat without blurry vision and you set to work determined to restore its beauty after the damage it sustained at Starcourt. So you slipped Billy’s necklace over the rearview mirror and set out to find a way to bring the car back to life.

That was how you’d ended up with your current job at the local mechanic’s shop. You needed guidance in fixing the thing up and Harv was more than willing to impart his knowledge to someone else. After years of focusing on only the job, you were the closest thing to family he would ever get. He’d become something of a mentor to you over time, trading repair tips for well-cooked lunches. It wasn’t too much of a surprise when the older man offered you a job at the shop, making up some excuse that he’d rather focus on the cars instead of the business side of the shop. He let you work on the cars too, in between balancing the books and taking the occasional phone call. It was hard work, but you appreciated the chance to keep your hands busy before your mind filled in the blanks with memories you wished you could forget. 

“Forget the morning coffee?” Harv asked when you finally stepped through the shop. “You’re looking more tired than usual, tell me you’ve been sleepin’.”

“I can tell you if you want,” you hedged, slipping two brown paper bags into the fridge before grabbing a hand towel to throw over your shoulder. There were some days you needed more distractions than normal, and on those, he’d usually let you do more work on the cars than in the office. 

“Havin’ more dreams?” he asked, and the non-answer was enough for Harv to get the picture. For the past several months, you’d been plagued with nightmares of that night, of the immediate days after, of having to plan a funeral because his family couldn’t be bothered, of d—

“Please, please, no!” you screamed, the blankets becoming your new prison as you fought to escape them. Your voice was hoarse as you tumbled out of bed, landing on the same hip that was already bruised from previous impacts.

It was only two weeks after the ‘tragic fire’ at Starcourt, your wounds beginning their slow fade away. The nightmares seemed to get worse when you realized, that, soon you would lose any evidence of that night, of the sauna, of Billy fighting to stay with you all. Because he’d fought, no matter what the party seemed to think of him. You hated that you mourned the loss of the deep bruise around your wrist from where he’d grabbed it at the Mind Flayer, when you’d gotten roped into trapping him in the pool sauna.

“Y/N?” 

Fuck.

Max had been sleeping in the guest room of your parents’ house since the incident, admitting that it was too hard to be in the house where Billy had been. She’d told you it was confusing, seeing the rooms where he’d yelled at her so badly she’d cried but wishing he could be there to do it again. She hated the way Neil and her mom seemed to ignore what happened, carrying on as though nothing had ever gone wrong.

And you’d promised Billy that she would be okay, so you’d told her she could stay as long as she needed while she worked through her grief. You just never expected her to see yours, too.

“I’m okay,” you gasped, pulling yourself to your feet and trying to fix your rumpled pajamas and hoping she could hear through your closed door. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“You didn’t, I was awake,” Max answered, slowly opening the bedroom door. Even in the dim moonlight, you could see the tear tracks shining on her face.

“Oh, Max, come here,” you called, and the second you held out your arms she was rushing into them. Her body hit yours harshly but all you could do was hold onto her for dear life, your own tears forming as she let out her sobs into your shirt.

“I don’t want to miss him,” she cried, “he hated me, I shouldn’t miss him so much.”

“Hey, hey, listen, okay?” you tried to tell her, moving back just enough that you could see her face. “Billy did not hate you. Do you know how often he talked to me about you? About how worried he was about you sneaking out so much, about how he was trying to keep you safe from N—your stepdad.”

“I want to hate him. He was so awful to my friends, I should hate him, and I hate that I—”

“What, Max?”

“Nothing,” she sighed, and you knew there was more to it but for the time being, she was already wiping away her tears with rough hands. “It’s nothing. I don’t think I’ve slept right since the Fourth of July.”

“Me either, kiddo,” you sighed, running your hand over her hair once before stepping back fully. “How about I make us some hot cocoa and we can watch a movie, something happy.”

“Still about that Hargrove boy of yours?”

“Always,” you sighed. It would always be him, no matter how many times you fought to move on. There was no easy way to erase the memories you’d made together, all the hard work it had taken to make your relationship set up to last.

“You know, there’s no harm in finding someone else to make you happy.”

“I know that I just,” you fought to find the right words, looking up to the sky as if Billy himself might help you conjure them up. “I’ve never loved anyone like I loved him. I don’t really know if I can again.”

“Why don’t you take the day off today?”

“I’d rather be here,” you told Harv. Because what else was there to do but sit and think about where you could have been? If you were alone, then you’d start thinking of the nights you’d lay with Billy, dreaming up a future for after the summer. In those dreams, you’d pack up his car with as few items as you could manage, and the two of you would drive. There wouldn’t be a particular destination in mind, as long as it was far past the Indiana border.

Instead, you stayed in the one place you knew he hated. Where else was there to go? You told yourself you could leave Hawkins when Max was out of school, when you knew she’d be okay on her own. 

“You can’t work yourself to death either,” Harv argued, grabbing the towel off your shoulder and tossing it over his instead. “Go, find some trouble to get into. You’re off for the rest of the week.”

At first, you were furious at the idea of a week off. It turned out, though, that Harv’s generosity came at a perfect time. Because suddenly, the Upside Down wasn’t as shut away as you once thought it was. Suddenly, Billy’s sacrifice wasn’t enough to completely spare the kids from the horrors that lurked under the city.

And as it turned out, you were frighteningly close to breaking your promise to him.

Because Vecna was coming after Max, and the only thing that was keeping her from a horrifying death was that damned Walkman you’d once cursed for existing. Now, all you could do was hope that the machine kept up, that you’d never need to read the contents of the letter tucked into your back pocket.

You’d do anything to keep your promise now, even cross into the Upside Down yourself.

The decision became even easier when Steve was pulled down into the lake, through the barrier he’d been investigating. Nancy had jumped in after him, Robin following soon after. It was an obvious choice, then, for you to jump from the boat.

The Upside Down was a living nightmare. You were sure this new scene would take the place of Starcourt each time you closed your eyes, between the bats determined to kill and the vines that connected all the way back to Vecna himself. You had to agree with Eddie in all of the panic over it, even though you’d been exposed to its horrors before. 

You thought the group made it out safe, though. Everyone was climbing up the curtains to get back to the safety of Eddie’s trailer, and you were up next but instead of falling through to hit the mattress set up on the trailer floor, you hit hard tile. It was white tile though was now marred with an eerily familiar red hue. Broken glass dug into your palms as you landed, though you hardly noticed it at all.

Because the moment you recognized those neon lights surrounding each store of the building, you knew you were doomed. Because Starcourt had been torn down months ago, yet now it looked the same way it had on the worst night of your life. You knew what was going to happen, you knew what memories Vecna would use against you. There was only one that continuously haunted you, kept you awake at night wondering if there was something else you could have done.

Immediately you took off toward one of the escalators, hoping to put as much distance between you and the mirage you knew Vecna would send to you. You didn’t want to see him, not after all this time, not like this.

“You always did run from your problems.” That voice, even as harsh and cold as it was now, was enough to make your heart race. It seemed to echo through the large courtyard, filling the space and making it impossible to ignore the form Vecna had taken on just for you. “What, too scared to face me, Sweetheart?”

The venom-laced nickname was sure to break you, if the sound of familiar boots on blood-stained tile wasn’t enough. You could hear Billy saying it a thousand times, each with more care in his voice than you’d ever heard before. It was some of the few times you could see his walls really melt, if only for a second. Now that love was being used against you, hurled at you with enough hate to make you wonder if this wasn’t how Billy had intended it after all.

“This isn’t real,” you shouted back in hopes of convincing yourself, never daring to look over your shoulder as you rushed up to the upper level of the mall. It felt real though, felt like you’d never been able to escape the nightmare of that mall.

“It’s as real as the day you let me die,” Not-Billy called back, letting out a near-hysteric laugh that you’d only heard post-sauna experiment. “I haunt you, don’t I?”

“No,” you gasped around the word as though the running at made you lose all breath stored in your chest. “No, you don’t.”

“Liar!” Not-Billy laughed, his pace quickening as the mall turned loops around you in an unbeatable maze. All you had to do was outlast him and hope that Eddie had a tape that you liked enough to snap you out of this. “You traded your entire life in for some promise you could never keep, didn’t you? You kept my car, my clothes, my music. You got a job somewhere you knew I’d like.”

He was gaining ground fast. Where were they with that music? How much longer could you last like this?

“It wasn’t for you,” you tried, keeping your eyes forward as you fought to find an escape. But the mall just extended, trapping you in the horror of the day you’d lost Billy. “It was for me.”

“Is that what you tell yourself when you lay alone at night, Y/N?” Not-Billy teased, not seeming in a rush to catch up to you and instead preferring to break down your resolve inch by terrifying inch. “Admit it, you know you’re nothing without me. You know it’s your fault I’m not there for Max, so you’re taking my place.”

“No,” you denied, hating the rush of guilt that crashed over your shoulders like a rogue wave. “No, that’s not it.”

“You feel guilty. You know you could’ve noticed something was wrong sooner. You should’ve known. Did you really think I would hurt you like that?” 

Billy, what are you doing? This isn’t like you. Fine, if you want to act like that then you can do it alone, we’re through.

“I didn’t know!” you screamed back, the tears hitting your eyes at the memory of what you’d deem your greatest failure. Because you hadn’t noticed, you truly thought that he might’ve simply wanted to be so cruel that day. How were you meant to know he was taken over by a mythical creature from a kids' game?

You were just kids when it all went wrong. Fuck, you were just kids.

You finally chanced a glance at him, and the sight was enough to make you trip over your feet. You hit the ground harshly, wrist bending painfully as it caught your weight. But there was Billy, standing in his blue jeans and white tank, covered in blood the same way he’d been the last time you’d laid eyes on him. This time though, instead of blue eyes flashing in recognition they burned with a hatred you’d never seen before. He hated you.

No, this was Vecna. Right? Right?

“It’s okay, Y/N,” Billy’s voice overlapped with a deeper one, a haunting voice that settled deep in your bones. “You can admit you feel responsible for my death.”

“I don’t,” you shot back, ignoring the stirring of heavy emotions you’d long-since locked away deep in your ribcage. “We did the best we could, I tried to save you, Billy, I tried everything.” 

How many times had you tried to break him free from the hold the Mind Flayer had on him? How many times did you call his name, beg for him to return to you? And even when that failed, you launched yourself into danger just to keep him safe. Nancy, what the fuck are you doing? That’s still Billy, put down the gun, put down th—

“It wasn’t enough though, was it?” Billy stepped even closer, head tilted to the side as he regarded your prone form. He bent down closer to you, a familiar rough hand reaching out to tuck under your chin. “And the worst part of it all, you let him die without ever telling him how you felt. You let him die thinking you didn’t love him.”

 You knew this was it, the moment Vecna could take you. Yet still, all you could do was stare at the face you’d never thought you could see again. You took the time to study his face, searching for any sign that this was the Billy you knew and loved. It may not have been him, but he still had his blue eyes, gorgeous freckles peppering his cheeks, and blonde hair with a stray curl still draped across his face. 

And if this was the end, at least the view was wondrous.

“You don’t have to hurt anymore, Y/N. I can make it stop,” Billy spoke in Vecna’s voice, and it was then you began to rise from the floor against your will. You didn’t fight it, not when you knew there was nothing else you could do. 

As you stared down the Not-Billy, all you could hope for was that Max wasn’t watching.

Miraculously, though, the final blow never came. Instead, that damned song played loudly through the air. It was the tape you’d found in Billy’s car, the one you remembered tossing into the backseat on a long drive a year before, just so you wouldn’t have to hear it again. The tape you played on your drive to work every day, just wanting to feel closer to the man you’d lost.

“I need to know if you feel it too, maybe I'm wrong!”

“C’mon, Billy, can’t you play anything else?”

“What’s wrong with Foreigner, Sweetheart?”

“For starters, your singing.”

You’d never been so thankful to hear that song. It was enough to release Vecna’s hold on you, dropping you to the ground. The second your feet touched tile, you were sprinting without another spare thought.

And there the scene was, right in front of you.

If you hadn’t already been under Vecna’s illusions, you’d have thought this was another one. Because you could see your own body dressed in what you’d worn to the lake, laying on the floor of the Upside Down trailer with familiar hands holding onto you. He was shaking you, hair falling into his face as his expression grew more panicked.

“It’s not working!” that voice shouted, “She’s not waking up! You said it would work, Harrington, why isn—”

“Billy!” you shouted, not understanding how you could see him there but running for him anyway. Maybe you were running toward the end, maybe this was your mind’s vision of an okay ending. Maybe there really was no escaping from Vecna, but all you could do was follow the sound of the music, follow his voice yelling for you to come back to him.

‘I’ve been waiting for someone new to make me feel alive’

“I’m here!” you shouted though you knew no one could hear it, feet moving faster than they ever had before as you chased the vision. The second your hand brushed your own, you were tossed back into your body with a gasp.

Instinctively, you fought the hold on your arms. It was Vecna, the Not-Billy, he was coming back to get you, he made you think that you’d escaped when really i—

“Y/N, hey, Y/N, calm down it’s okay,” that familiar rough voice called. It was a voice you’d thought you’d only ever hear in a dream. “You’re okay.”

Yet there he was, Billy fucking Hargrove, alive and well. He looked a mess—months of Upside Down survival coated on his face, hands, clothes. He was still wearing what he had been at Starcourt, still with the same teary eyes that he’d had at your final goodbye. Though this time there was a distinct relieved smile painting across his face, proving that this wasn’t some harsh illusion created by Vecna but rather the real Billy, your Billy.

“How are you...?” you trailed off, hand reaching up to press on his cheek. You half-expected him to disappear the moment you reached for him, but instead, his face tilted into your touch, eyes fluttering closed for only a moment. You tried not to think about how long it had been since Billy had known any kind of touch that wasn’t that of something dangerous trying to hurt him.

“I don’t know,” Billy admitted, and later you’d come to the realization that he’d fought through it all without any prior knowledge of the Upside Down, of the gates, of Vecna. All he did was try to survive, try to get back. “I woke up here after Starcourt. I thought I was alone here but Harrington and Munson started yelling and—

“I love you,” you blurted out, leaning forward to wrap him up in a hug. Your hands dug into his shirt, and clung to him like any moment he could disappear. And maybe he still could. You couldn’t quite understand how he was still here, how any of you would take down the creature coming after all of you. All you knew was that by some act of grace, you’d gotten another chance with the man you loved. And this time, you wouldn’t dare wait for the right moment to come before you told him everything.  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, there was so much I wanted to say that night, I just cou—”

“I know,” he answered, “I knew then, too. I love you, Sweetheart.”

“This is sweet and all, but I suggested getting out of the freaky nightmare portal,” Robin called down to the two of you, reminding you of where you were and what you’d just gone through.

You weren’t sure you’d ever let go of him. Even as you climbed back up and out of the Upside Down, as you watched Steve bend down to help Billy out of his prison world, your hands itched to hold onto him again. It was like after so long thinking you’d lost your forever, you were scared—terrified—to let it slip through your fingers again.

“How’d you know that song would work?” you finally asked, looking at the group who all seemed to regard you with, well, it wasn’t quite fear but maybe apprehension. After all, you were just one of the latest to nearly succumb to the terrifying death that fell upon Vecna’s victims.

“I heard you, every day in my car,” Billy admitted. You’d learned today that people in the Upside Down could hear parts of the normal world if they tried, could be strangely connected to the people they needed to hear. “You’d get in and play that song. Every morning.”

You fought not to imagine what else he’d heard in his months there. Did he hear you when you’d gotten home from the scene that night, not bothering to shower away the grime before you tucked into bed and cried? Had he heard the way you’d locked your door against your parents, screaming to them that they’d never been supportive of you and him before, so why the hell should they get to help you mourn now? Had he heard you apologize every single damn day since it happened, knowing Max was suffering and not being able to reach her in the way she needed?

“I hated that song,” you whispered, looking out the wide-open front door to see the leftovers of the scramble to save you. The driver’s side door of the Camaro was tossed open, a few tapes scattered around the grass beside it. Though you hadn’t been there, you could easily imagine the scene as it unfolded. Billy and Steve, still in the Upside Down and fighting to hold onto you as you lifted in the air. Robin and Eddie, fighting as they looked over his music to find something near your taste. Someone screaming, asking Billy what your favorite song was and him growing angry because why the fuck does that matter right now?

Him knowing, even now, that of course your favorite song would be the one that reminded you of him.

“I’m glad I kept that fucking tape,” you laughed, a little hysterically as you untangled yourself from him.

“I knew you liked Foreigner,” he grinned cheekily, and you weren’t sure you’d ever get tired of that look on his face. It didn’t happen often, especially not there at the end when he’d not been in control of himself. But you’d spend the rest of your days trying to recreate that smile as much as possible.

“Only because of you.”

#billy hargrove #stranger things #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove x reader #stranger things fanfiction #billy hargrove angst #billy hargrove self insert #billy hargrove x fem!reader #billy hargrove x you #stranger things fanfic #stranger things x reader #stranger things fic #hawkins post special

[bubblesreplies]

The Middle

Max Brinly X Female Reader

Oneshot

APPARENTLY IF YOU’RE READING THIS IN ANY DARK COLORED FORMAT ON TUMBLR (LIKE NIGHT MODE) IT LOOKS FUCKING WEIRD AND IDK HOW TO FIX IT I’M SO SORRY.

A/N: No, I'm not neglecting my other fics to write a random oneshot? Why would you even suggest---fuck it here it is besties. Anyways, this product of procrastination is dedicated and written for my bestie @house-of-kolchek, who loves Max as much as I do.

WARNINGS AND TAGS: NSFW 18+ ONLY, this is unedited and might be awful, Reader is Jacob's cousin, manipulative!Emma but like in a good way, BFF!Emma, Emma/Jacob, Abi/Nick, making Emma cooler than she is, sweetheart!Max, unrequited love (assumably), forced proximity, sex jokes, unsafe seating situations while driving DO NOT DO THIS PLEASE, lap-sitting, erections, staring down your shirt, teasing, love confessions, very very cheesy and idc anymore

Word Count: 8k

Main Masterlist

“EMMA, that is the stupidest idea in seriously the entire world.”

You meant it, too; you already thought that this little impromptu camping trip was an awful idea; the last time that the group of you were out in the woods, it ended with werewolves, so, could anybody really be blamed for not wanting to tempt fate? And now hearing Emma’s latest plan, you couldn’t help but say fuck this whole entire trip and its mom, too. 

“Oh—come on!” Emma insisted with a pout across her face, leaning across her oversized suitcase—who in the world needed all of that space for a weekend camping trip? “Babes, you are my wing-woman here—my ultimate girl. Come on, please—Jacob won’t even look at me when we hang out. I really need your help with this!”

You sighed; a year ago, when the ten of you—eight, if you considered the fact that you hadn’t actually met two of the camp counselors until the end of the summer—worked at Hackett’s Quarry and endured that shitshow of a summer, you hadn’t even liked Emma. You didn’t like how she had your cousin, Jacob, mooning all over her like she owned the whole fucking Earth. You didn’t like the way that the nicest girl you’d ever met seemed to think she walked on water, too, and you did not appreciate the fact that she thought she was entitled to tell you all the ways that you were doing your makeup all wrong. 

But then, that night happened. The night of the full moon, when your idiot cousin sabotaged the van just to get another night with the woman he’d fallen in love with who couldn’t give a rat’s ass about him. The night where the ten of you had miraculously survived werewolves, and a crazy-ass family trying to kill you all night. That night was what changed everything. 

You’d gotten stranded with Emma running through the woods, and somehow landed yourself in a heated battle with Jacob—who had apparently been bitten by one of those things because he was now one of those things. He, obviously, tried to kill the two of you and Emma thought fast, using a piece of silver jewelry to save both of your lives and buy you enough time to get the hell out of there. 

And then, you’d been locked in a room with her and Abi, the three of you not knowing if you would survive the night, and something just…changed. You began to see her differently, and from that point on, throughout this entire past year, the three of you had been best friends. 

More you and Emma, if you were being honest, because Abi and Nick had just gotten engaged three months ago and most of her free time went to him.

Not that it hurt your feelings. If you somehow managed to bag the man of your dreams, you’d be spending every free moment with him, too. 

“Jacob just…needs time,” you informed her with a groan, throwing your tennis shoes across the room as you frantically looked for your favorite pair of leggings. “He’s still hurt, you know? You can’t just tell him you didn’t mean any of it and then expect him to forgive you and jump back into your arms, Emma.”

“Which is why I need you to get me into his cabin this weekend,” Emma pleaded, getting up from her place on your bed and digging through your drawers as she pulled out the very clothes you were looking for. You swore that sometimes, it was literally like she could read your mind. “All we have to do is fake a fight; I will refuse to sleep in the same cabin as you, and then the boys will offer to switch with us. I’ll get a whole night—and a whole, isolated cabin—with Jacob; and you? Well, let’s not pretend that you aren’t benefitting from my little plan.”

You snorted, shimmying out of your jeans and pulling your leggings up over your legs, smiling as Emma nodded towards your ass in approval. If she thought that you looked good, you could rest assured that you damn well did.

“And how will I benefit from getting into a fake fight with you and causing a scene?” You questioned, your head cocked as Emma passed you your shoes and you eagerly slipped them on. The rest of your group would be here at any minute, and you didn’t want to keep them waiting. 

“Because if I end up in Jacob’s cabin, you know who ends up in yours? Max.”

You whipped around and shot Emma a glare, shaking your head like you couldn’t believe that she would just mention his name all casually like that. You’d made her swear to never bring up your pathetic, unrequited crush on Max Brinly ever again, since the day she’d first found out that it even existed in the first place. 

You first met Max when the sun came up after that hellish night at Hackett’s Quarry. You and Emma had run back to the island to see if Jacob was there and if he was alive, and you ended up running into Max instead. After lots of screaming and confusion, the two of you finally allowed him to explain just how in the fuck he had gotten there and who he was, which is when you learned that your one night of hell had lasted two months for him and his girlfriend. 

Emma had found Jacob and ran after him, but you stayed behind with Max, talking and laughing at his jokes, attempting not to swoon at the adorableness that was his laugh. You had hoped, at the beginning of the summer, to find somebody just like him and have a summer romance. Somebody who was cute, who could make you laugh, and seemed to understand you instantly.

It didn’t work out that way, obviously—seeing as the summer had been over and Max Brinly had a girlfriend. 

Laura eventually came back for him and you parted ways, assuming that this would be the last time that you would ever see Max Brinly, attributing your budding feelings for him as some sort of trauma response to the night that you had just been through. 

Imagine your surprise when, a month after Hackett’s Quarry, the new co-worker that you were assigned to train at the coffee shop was none other than Max Brinly. You assumed right away that he wouldn’t even remember you—why would he?---but you were wrong. He knew exactly and immediately who you were, and the two of you hit it off just as well as you did the first time you had ever spoken to him. It wasn’t long before you were hanging out with him every single day, and he had slowly become your best friend. 

You went to movies together, you got dinner, he came to all of the track and field competitions you ran in at your local university, you helped him study hard enough to get into a new graduate school—literally, anything that you could think of, the two of you did it together.  You even stayed the night at each other’s apartments on occasion, both of you knowing what the other’s couch felt like pretty intimately. 

In fact, the only time the two of you weren’t together was when Laura came to town to visit her boyfriend. Before she dumped him, at least.

It was nearly a month and a half ago now, that you had sat on this very bed with Max as he sobbed, asking you just to hold him and not ask any questions when he told you that he and Laura had broken up. 

“Max isn’t into me, so that really doesn’t help your case,” you grumbled, your pissy mood only continuing to sour the more that you thought about it. After Max and Laura, you thought that you might actually stand a chance with him. After all, he spent all of his free time with you, and you knew that nobody in this world knew him as well as you did—and vice versa. But after the night that he’d sobbed with you, fallen asleep in your bed, and told you how he felt like years of his life were wasted with Laura, nothing ever happened. 

He just went right on back to being the same old Max, your friend.

“Do you seriously still think that that boy has no feelings for you whatsoever?” Emma shrieked, watching as Jacob’s car pulled up from the window, hurriedly throwing her hair up into a sexily-tossed messy bun. “‘Cause, if you do, you’re so wrong that it isn’t even funny anymore.”

“Em, if he had feelings for me, then why didn’t anything change after he and Laura broke up?!” You interjected, a frown pulling at your lips as you grabbed your tiny duffel bag and hiked it up over your shoulder. “And also, why would he date Laura for so long if he actually, secretly liked me instead? Your logic isn’t logic-ing,” you insisted, and Emma smirked.

“You are so naive that it’s actually kind of cute,” she responded, rolling her eyes as Jacob opted to honk instead of being a gentleman and coming to the door. Emma sauntered over to you, playing with the ends of your hoodie and eyeing it suspiciously. “Look, just—help me with this plan, and you’ll see, okay? And change into that sexy little top I bought you last month for the car ride.”

“Emma!”

“Just trust me!” Emma insisted, pulling the hoodie up and over your head for you and tossing you the lacey black crop top she’d bought you last month. “Put it on—good, yes, I would so bang you—oh, and just in case you find out that Max also wants to bang you, I snuck condoms into your bag.”

“You have got to be kidding me, Emma!” You shrieked, although it was with a large smile on your face as you were, once again, blown away by the antics of your friend. 

Emma only laughed as the two of you rushed down to the car, you having to help Emma with one half of her bag since she’d brought such a gigantic one. You’d barely made it to the door before there was a knock on it—apparently Jacob had decided to be a gentleman after all. Or he’d simply gotten impatient, which was the better bet of the two options.

“Keep your pants on cuz, we’re coming,” you hissed out, lowering your end of Emma’s bag to the ground as you ripped open the door to your apartment. Your annoyed glare dropped and your mouth fell open as you saw Max standing there, his cheeks red and running a hand through his freshly-cut red hair. “Max! I, uh, thought you were Jacob?”

Fuck, why did you sound so fucking awkward?! Your conversation with Emma had you paranoid and upset, and if you kept acting this way, Max would definitely notice. The two of you had crossed the awkward barrier a long time ago.

“Ah, nah,” Max answered, his signature smile flashing across his face and warming you up from the inside out. “Jake’s too possessive over that steering wheel to get his ass over to the door honestly.”

“That and he doesn’t want to have to speak to me,” Emma sighed, lugging her bag forward and hitting Max in the chest with it. You suppressed a giggle as he let out an “Oomph!”, but he caught your smile and playfully sneered at you. “Oh, what a gentleman! And damn, Max, I’ve never noticed how strong you are. Have you, Y/n?! Have you ever noticed those biceps?” 

“Cut it out, Emma,” you hissed under your breath, grateful that Max had already turned around and was heaving her oversized bag to the trunk of the car. “I know what you’re doing, and it isn’t going to work on me.”

“What am I doing?” Emma asked with faux innocence, batting her eyelashes heavily down at you before she winked. “Just use it as fuel for our fake fire, if you want, babes. Besides—would it really kill you to admit in front of him that he looks good?! Give the boy a win, Y/n!”

“He does not think of me that way—”

“Hey, um, Emma?” Max called out as you were locking your front door behind you, and you turned and ran over to where he was pursing his lips behind the trunk. “Maybe we should’ve brought a bigger car, but, your bag is not going to fit back here.”

Emma turned to look and her lips, too, were pursed. 

“Well, where’s everyone sitting?” She asked, peering her head into the car to check out the situation. 

“Well, uh, Jacob’s driving—obviously—Abi and Nick are in the row of two seats behind him, and then he wants you to sit back in the last row with me while Y/n takes the passenger seat,” Max explained, using his hands to gesture to each person. Abi turned around to look at you from her place in the car, Nick’s head in her lap as he slept, and she waved. You waved back, grimacing at the large bag that was seated at your feet. 

“Hmm, no, that won’t do,” Emma insisted with a wave of her hand, using all of her strength to heave her bag up and over the full trunk of the car and into the last row of seats. “It’s going to have to go here—and oh, I really didn’t sleep well last night, so if I don’t sit in the passenger seat, I’ll get sick.” 

Max’s jaw dropped and he scoffed lightly, looking between the two of you as you held in a large groan. 

“I don’t really see how that makes any sense?” He questioned.

“So Y/n will have to sit in the back, with you!” Emma finished with a gleeful squeal, hurrying to shut the trunk and turning to make her way to the passenger seat of the car. 

“Um—hold on a minute, just where the fuck in the back will I sit?!” You barked out, gesturing incredulously to the monstrosity that was her luggage all over the back seat of the car. “Your bag is taking up the entire row—all but one seat, Em! And it’s way too fucking big to go down at our feet!” 

Emma put a daintly little finger to her chin, and you could tell that she was only pretending to think about the predicament.

“Well, it’s only about a forty-five minute drive,” she informed you, a wicked smile pushing its way onto her lips. “It’s not that long, so, just sit on Max’s lap?”

Your eyes widened and you felt sweat beading on the back of your neck, your heart beating at an intensely quick pace just at the mere thought of having to sit on Max. One look at Max’s face showed he heard her suggestion, too, because it was unnaturally blank and pale. 

You walked closer to Emma, pulling her into you as you said, “You better be fucking for real with your next suggestion, or we will get in an actual fight, Emma,” you warned her, your voice low enough that Max couldn’t hear it. You noticed that he was already ushering Nick and Abi out of the car, hurrying to his seat in the back, and the three of them were just waiting on you. 

“Oh my g—will you just trust me, for once in your life?!” Emma begged dramatically, clinging onto your arm and giving you a little push towards Max. “Thank me later, hoe.”

Oh no, I will not be thanking you later, you sneaky little she-devil, you thought to yourself, climbing over Abi’s seat and landing ungracefully into Max’s lap. He caught you much more elegantly than you fell, luckily, and he helped you right yourself so that your back was facing his chest. 

You turned your face towards him despite the fact that it was burning, and you brushed a strand of hair back behind your ear. 

“You know, I could always just sit on her bag instead of on you,” you offered, geturing weakly over to the big problem that Emma had handed over to the two of you with a private sneer at her back. “That way I won’t crush your legs into tiny pieces of ash.”

Max actually laughed out loud at that and your heart swelled with a feeling of accomplishment; Max was funny, he had probably always been funny, and anytime that you had gotten him to laugh, you took it as a personal achievement. 

“Please sweetheart, as if you could,” Max retorted, winding an arm around your waist as he pulled your back flush against his chest, leaving his arm to rest across your stomach and his fingers splayed across your hipbone. You closed your eyes, holding in a sigh as you prayed that he couldn’t see the way that your face had reddened from this angle. “Besides, this is probably the…safer option of the two.”

You heartily disagreed with that. 

Still, you positioned yourself against him, awkwardly playing with your fingers on your lap as you had no idea where to rest your hands. You and Max were close, yes, but you had never physically been close, aside from a few silly moments of teasing tickles, accidentally falling asleep on his shoulder, or him resting his legs on your lap as the two of you watched a movie together. This was entirely new territory, and you had no idea what to do with it, and you knew that if Emma hadn’t forced this to happen, that Max wouldn’t have chosen to even be in this situation with you. Probably. 

“Jacob, the drive is forty-five minutes?” You called up to him, wincing as you watched your cousin’s teeth grit in the rearview mirror as he attempted to ignore Emma completely.

“An hour, if traffic’s bad,” Jacob called back and you groaned, your leg shaking furiously in your nervousness. As if Max could sense that you were on edge—fuck, with the way that you were bouncing around he probably could feel it—his other hand landed on your thigh, rubbing calming circles around as he successfully got it to stop shaking.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m so anxious today,” you sighed, rubbing a hand down your face and leaning back into Max. You could hear his groan and you winced, assuming you had hurt him, as you instantly tried to reposition yourself to take some of the weight off of him.

After a few minutes of frantic wiggling, Max’s hands harshly gripped onto your waist, his fingernails digging into you as he held you tightly into place and you froze, your eyes wide and breath held. 

“Y/n, please—stop.” Max’s voice was incredibly hoarse, coming out in a groan and you winced again, mortified that you had hurt him enough to elicit this sort of response. 

“Oh shit, Max! I am so sorry—I was trying not to hurt you and then I did hurt you and—”

“Y/n!” Max interrupted, clearing his throat so that his voice sounded a lot more normal and less husky. “Honey, you’re not hurting me, just—don’t wiggle around right—there.”

Your eyebrows raised in confusion at his words and your brain couldn’t process what the hell he was saying, so you just opted to nod, leaning forward as far as you could and beginning a conversation with Abi as you tried with every ounce of your being to not put much weight on Max. It took every ounce of concentration that you had to not think about the fact that you were touching the love of your life and focus on Abi’s words about wedding planning, but somehow, you did it. 

“Hey, uh, Jake?” Max suddenly called out, and you noticed that his voice had gone hoarse again and that his tone was tight and clipped. Higher than normal. You frowned; in your conversation with Abi, you had slipped a little further backwards than you’d realized, back into his lap. “How much longer?”

“Thirty minutes,” Jacob growled, and you noticed Emma looking a little offput herself. “It’s looking closer to an hour total at this point.”

“Alright then, we need to stop,” Max insisted and you stifled a pathetic whine, embarrassed that you were this hard to bear just sitting on his lap. It probably didn’t help that you were still actively avoiding any and all contact with him, practically leaving him here in the backseat to talk to himself as you ignored him, anxious and letting Emma’s words get to your head.

You needed to stop. You and Max were friends. Good friends, and you were being absolutely ridiculous about this whole thing. 

Three minutes later, Jacob pulled off at a reststop and you lifted off of Max instantly, watching him scamper out of the car after Abi and Nick and hurrying into the men’s restroom. With everyone out of the car but you and Emma, you climbed over the seats and sat between her seat and the driver’s seat, staring at her with wide eyes.

“So,” you started out, pointedly ignoring the tears in her eyes, knowing she wouldn’t want to talk about it right now. “Your plan to make me sit on Max is not working; I can barely say two words to the guy, and his poor legs are getting crushed by me. He probably can’t think of anything but leg cramps!” 

“Oh, please,” Emma scoffed, dabbing at her eyes with a tissued and waving your worries away with a flick of her hand. “Look at him, and look at you; there must be some other reason he needs a break.”

“Oh yeah?” You fought back, crossing your arms over your chest as you frowned at your friend. “Like what, exactly? It’s not working Emma, you’re miserable up here, and I am back there; we should just switch places. You’re smaller than me.”

“I am not,” Emma sighed.

“All I know is one minute, I can’t sit still, and the next minute, he’s grabbing my hips and telling me to stop wiggling around,” you continued on, as if Emma hadn’t even interjected. “What else could it be if not that I was—”

You instantly stopped talking as Emma looked over to you, mouth opened and eyes glinting with excitement. 

“You poor naive little thing!” She giggled, pulling your arms so that you were practically sitting on her lap. “Y/n, you aren’t hurting him—you’re turning him on and he doesn’t want you to feel it!” 

You felt pinpricks across your face as the entire thing turned white, and you were suddenly feeling a little nauseous. 

“What?” You questioned, shaking your head lutching nervously at your hair. “What? I—no, Max isn’t—he wasn’t—”

“Oh, yes, yes he was,” Emma argued, and there was a light in her eyes that replaced whatever sadness she had been feeling before you came up there to talk to her. “Okay, do exactly as I say; when Max comes back out to the car, sit back on him just like you were that first time. Wiggle around a bit again—”

“What? No!”

“Just trust me—wiggle around a little bit again, then ask him if he wants to watch something with you on your phone. When you turn it on, lean back against him so that your back is arched and he gets a good, full view down your—”

“Okay, and this is where I officially stop you, you are crazy,” you intoned, shaking your head and leaning away from your friend. “Max is not into me—in case you managed to forget about that, babes—and besides, I can’t just show him my boobs, Emma! They’re my—boobs. They’re, like, private.”

“Holy fuck, how are you not a virgin,” Emma groaned, shoving you back towards your seat as she pointed eagerly out of the car. “Okay, babes, here he comes—just trust me, okay?! Do it!” 

You opened your mouth to argue again, but the words fell from your lips as the car door opened and Max poked his head inside, grinning over at you as his eyes darted back and forth between you and Emma. 

“What, uh, what’s going on here?” He asked, and you shot a glare at Emma as she giggled, hiding her face in her shirt and sending an ominous wink your way. You tried as well as you could to tell her to shut up with your eyes, but she ignored you in typical Emma fashion. 

“Nothing,” you replied, shaking your head and sending him a smile. “I was just feeling nervous about getting away this weekend and Emma was talking me down. That’s it.”

“Ah,” Max yawned, heading back to his seat and patting his lap for you to join him. You blushed. “Is that why you’re acting so weird? You haven’t spoken to me for the last, like twenty-five minutes.”

“Yeah, sorry, just nervous,” you insisted, climbing back over Abi’s seat and settling yourself on top of Max’s lap. As you looked up after readjusting, your eyes met Emma’s in the rearview mirror and she nodded, looking from you to Max’s…well…yeah. 

You cleared your throat, feeling the burn of your phone in your pocket as you stared widely back at her, conveying that she was being way too obvious, here. Regardless, a part of you was…curious, now, and with Laura out of the picture and Max completely single, it’s not like a little testing of the waters was inappropriate anymore. What could it hurt, really? Max was too nice to reject you, so if he wasn’t into it, he just wouldn’t say anything and you’d let it go forever. But, if he really was into it—

Well that was the best-case scenario, wasn’t it?

So, you shifted; nothing crazy and nowhere close to grinding—just a small, flick of the hips that brushed right up against his crotch. Max’s breath hitched and you froze, wondering if you’d truly heard that right, completely distracted from the fact that Abi and Nick were re-entering the car and that Jacob was starting it again, getting ready to head on the road once more. 

A hitch of a breath wasn’t enough of a confirmation for you, so you shifted once again, and then again and then again, and this time Max’s hands lifted back up to your hips, grasping for dear life as you settled your ass back down to his crotch, turning your head to watch as his eyes shut tight and he bit his lip.

“Y/n—”

“Do you want to watch part of a movie with me?” You interrupted, watching as Max’s eyes flashed open, a glint of pain underneath them that had you second-guessing what had just happened. Max smiled down at you, though—that brilliant smile that God had blessed him with—and nodded.

You had no idea what you were going to watch, but your fingers worked anyway, hurriedly typing some stupid TikTok compilation that you hoped he wouldn’t get too distracted by. Max laid his chin on your shoulder, his hands that were gripping your waist winding around your front and interlocking as he held you, his face snuggling slightly into your neck.

Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, your mind reiterated as you slowly breathed out, your heart pounding wildly in your chest as you silently prayed that Max couldn’t hear it, and that he couldn’t feel the way that your skin had suddenly heated up and become sweaty. It wasn’t even that cuddling with Max was anything new—as a person, he was a fucking lapdog—but it was the fact that you had never sat on his fucking lap before while cuddling. Never had intentions to turn him on, never gave him this much of a glance down your lowcut shirt—

Y/n, don’t be a pussy, your inner Emma chastised and you shut your eyes tight and sucked in a breath, desperately trying to convince yourself not to go through with this. But damn it—you sort of wanted to and, so far, Max hadn’t shown a single sign that he’d wanted you to sit anywhere else. 

It was halfway through the video that you forgot the rest of the people in the car and arched backward without a minute to second guess yourself, pretending to stretch your arms above your head as you knew you were, successfully, letting Max have a perfect show of your black lacy bra underneath your shirt, and under that, the perfectly rounded mounds of breasts that it pushed up.

You heard a sharp inhale and dared a look at his face; he was as white as a ghost, and even his perfectly placed freckles had gone impossibly paler—and yet his eyes, those gorgeously sea-colored orbs, were still staring down your shirt, transfixed, as he studied your figure. 

“Alright, everybody out!” Jacob suddenly called out, and the two of you jumped, Max’s eyes meeting yours as he was brought back to reality. His eyes, no longer clouded over with lust, widened and a blush spread unevenly across his face as he realized that he’d been caught watching you. “We’re here!”

“Y/n,” Max breathed out, whipping his arms away from you and running nervous hands through his newly cut hair. “Shit, Y/n, I’m so sorry, I—I wasn’t—I mean I was but…” You smiled as he stuttered along, a giggle framing your mouth and escaping out of your lip, causing Max’s gaze to whip back onto you. You couldn’t help it; he was always so damn cute when he was flustered.

“Does it make it any less creepy if I’m aware that staring down your shirt is creepy?” Max asked, equal parts timid and teasing. You laughed aloud at that, the two of you lingering in the backseat of the car while the rest of the party headed out. 

“It’s fine, Max,” you insisted with a shrug and a wink, conveying in every way possible that you weren’t completely innocent here either. “No one wears a bra like this for it not to be seen, sweetheart.” 

The words coming out of your mouth shocked even you, and Max’s entire jaw fell open as he stared at you in complete and utter disbelief. 

“Whoa, Y/n,” he reared away from you, just to get a better look at your face, testing to see if you were saying what he thought that you were saying. His hands found their way to your waist again and he touched you softly, his thumbs running up and down the curves of your hipbones as he stared in wonder down at you. “Are you saying that you wanted me to—”

“Are you two gonna get out of the car, or do you plan on freezing your little asses off all night?!” Jacob called out as he forced open the trunk of the car, staring in disbelief at the two of you still sitting there. You both jumped, eyes turning to Jacob with guilty blushes, and you didn’t waste another second climbing off of Max and over the seats, pushing your way past Jacob and onto the dirt-clodded driveway. 

Taking your bag from your cousin and asking a hurried, “Where’s our cabin again?” You received directions and hurried off in the direction of the cabin that you and Emma were supposed to share, attempting to outrun Max so that he couldn’t question you any further.

What the hell had you been thinking?! You hadn’t, obviously, and you’d let Emma’s skewed opinion get to you. Now, you had to come up with a solution for some serious damage control before Max got to you with his, What’s gotten into you today? And his, Look, I know you must have been kidding, or his I’m sorry Y/n, I’m just not attracted to you that way—

“Fuck,” you muttered to yourself, throwing open the door to the cabin and chucking your suitcase onto the empty bed. Emma was standing on the other side of the room, facing the bathrooms, but she jumped and turned around when she heard the slam of the front door. “Fuck this whole plan, Emma, and fuck my stupid self too. I can’t believe that I actually let myself believe that Max was really into me and I—holy shit, are you crying?!?”

Emma’s pretty hazel eyes were red-rimmed, but the telltale giveaway that she’d been sobbing was the tear tracks of black mascara spreading down her cheeks and clumping up near her pointy chin.

Once her mind had registered your question, she began sobbing once again, her hands coming up to cover her eyes and you ran to her, throwing your arms around her neck and feeling her own arms go around your waist as she sobbed into your neck heartily. 

“Honey, what happened?” You asked, but your voice was muffled by your much taller friend’s collarbone. You pulled away from her and sat her down on her bed, sitting down next to her and taking her hand in yours. “Emma, what did my idiot cousin say to you? You know that big dummy acts completely on emotions, so whatever he said, I’m sure it was just in the heat of the—”

“He meant it,” Emma interrupted you, pulling her hand out of yours and using it to wipe her eyes. “But I don’t even want to talk about it right now, so—tell me what happened with Max.” You opened your mouth to protest but she shot you her “Emma” look—the look that told you that arguing would quite literally be pointless. So, you sighed, letting yourself fall backward onto the bed and groaning as your head hit the awfully lumpy mattress she’d been provided tonight.

“I don’t know what happened, Emma,” you admitted with a whine, feeling her lay down beside you and cuddle her head into yours comfortingly. “It was like I had this sudden, insane boost of confidence and I was like…grinding on him and giving him a full show of my boobs—”

“You do have great boobs—”

“And then when he noticed that I caught him staring at my breasts, I kindofsortofmaybe insinuated that I wanted him to look down my shirt and then he was about to ask me if I really meant that I wanted him to see me naked and then Jacob interrupted us and I freaked out and ran away.”

Emma just stared back at you, blinking occasionally, as if she were really confused.

“Why?” She finally asked, staring down at you in confusion. You blinked back at her, shaking your head bewilderedly. 

“Wait, why what?”

“Why did you run away, you fucking dumbass!” Emma insulted, but it was loving and the two of you laughed as she pushed you off the bed and you squealed. “Seriously, Y/n, what the fuck? You ran away? After doing all of that you just ran?”

“I was scared!” You defend your actions with a hiss, pulling yourself up off of the floor and planting down next to her again. “Fuck, Emma, Max is my best friend. I cannot risk freaking him out and losing him, okay? I just…can’t, okay, he means…he means everything to me, Emma, he’s the most important person in the whole world. He’s my best friend.”

“Ouch,” Emma responded, but there was a fond smile on her face and a happy gleam in her eyes as she gazed down at you. “Babes, you know that you’re the most important thing in the world to him too, right? Even if he didn’t feel the same way about you, he wouldn’t let this ruin your friendship. You know that, right?” 

You shrugged and looked away from her, playing with your hands as you avoided the question. Did you know that? No, not really. Yeah, the two of you were really close, and yeah, he spent most of his free time with you, but that didn’t mean that this wasn’t something that would freak him out enough to ghost you.

“Shit, if I was going to do something as fucking ridiculous as this, I should have just bit the and told him how I felt,” you finally responded with a sigh, pushing yourself off of the bed and shuffling your feet over the cold, hardwood floor. “But you know, maybe this way, there’s some way that I can play it off?”

“Okay babes, I’m just going to say this once and I’m going to say it outright,” Emma cut you off, standing in front of you and forcing your chin up to look your much taller friend in the eyes. “I know why they broke up, Y/n. The real reason, and if you just fucking ask me I will tell you right here, right now.”

The offer was, obviously, tempting; and two or three years ago you’d probably be a lesser person and taken that offer. As it was, though, you valued Max and his privacy, and if he’d wanted you to know, he would have told you himself. 

“No, I don’t want to know,” you insisted, pursing your lips and pulling away from Emma. “It isn’t any of my business, and Max made that abundantly clear by not telling me inthe first place.”

“Of fucking course,” Emma groaned with a shake of her head, rolling her eyes at you and then fixing you with a glare. “The two of you are both so stupid.”

“Gee, thanks Em.” Your words fell flat as you shot her your own sharp look and she gulped, having the common decency to at least look like she felt bad for saying what she did. “Besides, why do you even know the reason Laura dumped him?”

“Laura didn’t dump Max—Max dumped Laura,” Emma clarified and your heart dropped into your stomach. The piece of news, realistically, probably should have made you feel better, but it didn’t. It only made you feel worse, like your heart had been stomped on and used up. Because—if that was true—if Max had dumped Laura—then why had he been so upset that night when he came over to your house? And why the fuck had he lied to you about it?

“What?” You asked, your voice tiny and fragile, and Emma looked back at you, confused. 

“Max broke up with Laura,” Emma repeated, and was somehow completely missing the broken, wounded look that was written all over your face. “He dumped her, because he wasn’t in love with her, Y/n, he realized that he was—”

“Emma.” 

Jacob’s voice pierced through the air, and the two of you jumped towards the sound, to where your cousin was currently glaring daggers towards your best friend. Emma immediately shut up, shooting you a guilty look as she moved farther away from you and towards Jacob. 

“Y/n, can you please give us a moment?” Jacob asked, his throat froggy and having to clear it as he continued staring at Emma. When you saw the raw, heated look pass between them you excused yourself quickly, knowing that whatever feud they were having was about to be made up in tenfold. You forgot to bring your suitcase with you—not even thinking that you’d effectively be kicked out of your cabin for the night—as you ran outside, outside to the nothingness that awaited you.

No, seriously.

There was not a soul out here, Abi and Nick notably missing and Max even nowhere to be seen—not that you even wanted to see him right now anyways. Your heart was barely beating in your chest at the revelation that he’d lied to you—you, supposedly his closest friend—about something that was so huge. Then again, maybe he had no idea how huge it was to you. He didn’t at all, actually, because he had no idea that you were so annoyingly and stupidly in love with him. 

“Fuck this day, and fuck everyone else,” you groaned to yourself as you plopped down on a metal bench under a canopy, covering your eyes with your hands as you whined. 

“That an invitation?” 

Max’s voice sent your blood running cold and you jumped, shocked, turning yourself towards him as he stood slightly behind you, watching you warily. His face was red, but he was smiling at you, and he made his way over and sat at the bench opposite you slowly. 

The two of you stared at each other for a while—one of you, optimistically nervous, and the other of you having had your heart shattered into a million little pieces just ten minutes ago. Neither of you said anything, unsure of what exactly you should say, for a long time until finally, Max broke the silence.

“Y/n,” Max spoke, clearing his throat from the nervousness that threatened to choke and overtake him. “About what you said in the car—”

“You lied to me.” 

You hadn’t intended for it to come out like that, but there it was, and there was no taking it back now. 

Max reared back, astonishment registering across his perfect features. 

“I—what?” He shook his head back and forth, as if he couldn’t quite comprehend what you were saying. “I lied about—about the car?”

“No Max, not about the fucking car!” You swore, rising from your seat in your anger. Max followed quickly, a gentle hand on your elbow that you quickly ripped out of his grasp. “You lied to me about—about Laura! You told me that she—that she broke up with you, Max! You were heartbroken, you were crying, you lied!” 

You thought that there were tears streaming down your face but you couldn’t really tell at the moment. All you could feel was the adrenaline that was being fueled by your anger, and all you could see was the shock that hadn’t left Max’s face since you’d first spoken. 

“Who told you that?” Max questioned, and the fact that he wasn’t denying it made you even more upset and you huffed, turning around on one heel and heading towards—fuck, you had absolutely nowhere to go.

“Does it matter?” You answered, turning back around and accepting the fact that the only way you were going to get to be alone was if Max went back to his cabin and left you here and, knowing him, that wasn’t likely to happen. “You lied, Max. And I’m pissed about it. That’s the only thing that you should care about.”

You still hadn’t turned around to face him, so he made his way in front of you instead, placing tentative hands on both of your arms and levelling his face with yours. 

“Sweetheart, please look at me.” Fuck; you were weak anytime that Max called you sweetheart and you knew that he knew it, too. Hating yourself just a little bit more for it, you looked up at him, unaware of how your big, sad eyes caused every cell in his body to melt. 

“Why did you lie to me?” The question slipped through your lips without your consent and Max sighed, releasing your arms and pressing a hand into your hip so that you couldn’t get away again. 

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” Max answered simply and you reared back, out of his touch, away from his hold, as you scoffed in response.

“You didn’t want to hurt me?” You shrieked, pulling farther away from him and pushing your hands out in front of you to stop him when he tried to reach out for you again. “What the fuck—how the fuck would that have hurt me, Max?”

Max winced, running a nervous hand through his hair, and inspected his surroundings, as if he wished somebody else would come out any minute now. 

“Y/n, you are my best friend,” Max pleaded, and you could see the desperation in his eyes but you had no idea why he was so upset. “You know me better than anybody else in this entire world, honey, please—can you give me the benefit of the doubt on this one? Can you let me tell you when I’m ready?”

“No, Max, obviously I cannot do that because obviously it has something to do with me!” You retorted sharply, angry tears burning hot at the corners of your eyes, hotter than normal, devastated tears. “Like—what is going on, Max? I hae this feeling that everybody’s in on this secret, everybody but me—and I should know it, I should know what’s going on with you—”

“Y/n, sweetheart!” Max interrupted again, and this time, he successfully gathered your hands into his. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry that I lied—really I am, but—why is it so important to you?” You glared back at him, pulling your hands out of his grasp and beginning to walk away from him. “Why is it such a big deal that I didn’t tell you the whole truth?”

“Because I’m in love with you, you idiot!” You screamed back at him, your body turning back around on its own accord as the screech left your mouth. You both heard the words echo against a canyon somewhere, and you blanched, unaware of what you’d actually said and the weight of them until they hit you in the chest on the reverb.

Max’s mouth had dropped open and he stepped away from you in shock, his hands coming up to frame his cheeks, never making actual physical contact with his face. He stared back at you, his eyes wide and full of wonder, as if he were seeing you for the first time, all over again. 

“You’re—” Max gulped, but he took a step closer to you, a smile adorning his freckled cheeks. “You’re in love with me? Really?”

Your heart sunk again when he spoke and you shook your head, backing away from him and pressing two fingers to the bridge of your nose as you suddenly felt an oncoming migraine. 

“I’m sorry Max,” you apologized, feeling a bout of nausea spring up in your stomach as you realized that you’d just past the point of no return. “Shit, I’m so sorry, I should have never even said anything—I should have let it go—”

“I broke up with Laura because I’m in love with you.”

The words came out quickly, like Max was afraid that if he hadn’t said them as quickly as he did that he wouldn’t say them at all. You reaction was surprisingly slow compared to everything else you’d done in haste tonight, and you dropped your hands from your face and gazed up at the man in front of you, who was staring back at you with awe. 

“W—what?”

“I love you,” Max repeated, taking another step towards you with his light, airy chuckle that you loved so damn much. “And I didn’t tell you that night I broke up with Laura because I thought that you’d think I was lying, or that you were a rebound, and you’re not, Y/n. You’re absolutely not—I’ve loved you for a long enough time that I’m a total asshole for letting it go on with Laura for as long as I did.”

“Then why—why did you—”

“I lied because I didn’t want you to think that any of this was your fault,” Max continued, and he was so close now that his arms were winding around your waist and his forehead was pressed to yours. “I just—I knew, the second I saw you again in that coffee shop, that it was fate. And I lied to myself, hoping that my relationship would just fizzle out on its own and that I wouldn’t have to hurt anyone but—fuck, I would break Laura’s heart a thousand times over if it meant that I might get to be with you in the end,” Max finished, and you were stunned silent, unaware of how to speak anymore. 

“Do I—” Max took a sharp inhale of breath and a step back to assess your face. “Do I get you in the end?”

You smiled back at him before pressing your lips so tightly to his, wrapping your body so hard around his own, that the two of you could barely breathe in anything that wasn’t lingering on each other’s bodies. 

“You had me,” you answered in between breathless kisses, in between promises, in between hopeful smiles. “You had me at the beginning.”

if you liked this cheesy shit, check out my multichapters!

if you'd like to join any of my taglists, dm me!

FOREVER TAGLIST:

@house-of-kolchek @lorebite @yeslieutenant @kassiekolchek22 @buttermykolchek @kawaiiwitch224 @ageofbajabule

#max brinly x reader #the quarry x reader #the quarry #max brinly #max the quarry

[mooncakesofpan]

A MILF

Teen dad!Billy Hargrove x Teen mom!hopper!Reader

Summary: Over hearing  some of the moms in Hawkins can cause you to have your doubts.

A/n: sorry it took so long to put out another part to this. Also i think ive mentioned this before Reader is Adopted. 

Warnings: teen parenting , fluff, non sexual nudity(reader is breat feeding), mentions Neil's terrible and abusive parenting, established relationship, strong language, Billy threatens to beat Mikes ass,  She/her pronouns

Word Count: 1.3k

Stranger things Masterlist | Main Masterlist

DO NOT STEAL MY WORK

Something about the middle-aged women and their own vendetta with you because of Billy and your’s child Victor, always rubbed you the wrong way. You had told El. you would pick Miked up on your way to Billy’s cause the group was gonna go biking to the arcade from there.

You got to the Wheelers and saw the group of moms huddled around the lemonade stand on the warm day of Holly. they all recognized your truck. you had tried to keep it down low but secrets are hard to keep in a small town. No one had seen you for a good few months you trying to avoid being seen on the way to doctor appointments, but when you had Vicky you looked different. It was hard to miss you around town with a stroller and a baby or the fact that sometimes you would have to drop Vicky with your dad to go do things. It didn't take long for theories to come to the surface and the truth to come out once Vicky was seen with Billy and the noticeable similarities were mainly Billy’s pretty eyes and, his widow's peak. You pulled up and Vicky was asleep so you opened the door and stepped out to ask Ms.Wheeler to get MIke while the ac ran in your car. You could feel the eyes of the neighborhood moms as they spoke about you. “Hi Ms. wheeler can you let Mike know I'm here to pick him up,” you say with a smile. “Yes of course hun,” “Of course” you could hear the other moms behind you "To think getting pregnant so you thank goodness my daughter would never be so irresponsible,” one mom said. “She must have slept around a lot and it finally caught up to her,” another whispered. “She's not a very good mother I hear, Marcy told me she sees her all the time alone around town and doesn't spend nearly enough time with the baby,” one of the moms says. You rolled your eyes getting back in the truck, it stuck to you. Were you a bad mom? Sure you were new to everything but you thought you were doing well considering your situation. The times you were seen without Vicky he was either with billy or with joy so you could shop for you El., and your father. You were drawn out of your head by the sound of a door slamming, seeing Mike go out his front the door and walk to your truck “Hey Mike,’” you say smiling “Hi Y/n” he gets in and looks at Vicky. sees the baby is miraculously still asleep. You take your guy's ride to the Mayfield-Hargrove household in somewhat silence Vicky wakes up about halfway there not too fussy more or crying cause he was hungry. “Sorry he must be hungry but we're almost There," you say feeling slightly embarrassed about the fact that Vicky was hungry and you still had about 10 mins left in your drive. your insecurity setting in. Sure it was just a 14-year-old who probably didn't care but in your head, the fact you didn't stop and weren't immediately feeding the baby was eating you a bit. Even tho you were less than 10 minutes away from Billy's. “Oh it's fine,” Mike says shrugging. You finally get into the driveway and Mike says thanks while hopping out while you grab the backpack with Vicky's stuff and pick the fussy baby up. “I know I'm sorry Vicky I know I know mama's gonna get you some food,” you saw Max walking out the door billy in tow his shirt slightly unbuttoned “Hey hot stuff, woah someone upset,” Billy says chuckling a little as he walks up to the two of you. Leaning in to hug you careful of Vicky.   “Yeah uh let's get inside he's hungry,” you say as Billy kisses your forehead. He grabs the bag as you head inside you hear the sound of your door slamming close. You get into his room and he closes the door. you laid the crying baby down on the bed trying to slip some of your top off to try and feed Vic. Billy could tell something was upsetting you probably from the way looked like you were gonna cry outside in front of your car or the fact you still looked like you were gonna cry while trying to get Vicky to latch on which seemed to not be going so well. Vic not latching on was frustrating you more Tears filling your eyes. This entire day was hard on you, and the more the day went on the worse felt. Billy could see the tears welling up in your eyes and decided that he should probably do something other than stare at the situation in front of him. "Okay doll let's try something else huh?” Billy said lifting Vic out of your arms carefully. “Lean on the pillows,” he says. The few pillows on his bed propped up you lean up more against the pillows on the wall the pillows are nice and soft surprising, and defiantly new in the teen boy's room. He closed the blinds a little more allowing a little light threw and turned off the lights so that the room was a bit darker and put a cassette in the player but kept it on a low volume. The room became calmer allowing you to relax a bit. “Now while Vic Feeds your gonna tell me What got you all fussed up,” you nod there was more success the second time trying to feed Vic. “So I was getting Mike and-” “That little Dip-Shit didn't say anything I have no problem beating a 14-year-old as-” Billy says leaning up from the spot he was laid back on, on his bed. “No! no, he didn't say anything, I was gonna say I was asking Ms.Wheeler to call mike out and some of the other neighborhood moms were there and they started talking about me, and it's just-, Billy am I a bad mom?” the words were followed by tears running down your face. Billy looked at you with confusion written all over his face. “You a bad mom? Doll, your probably one of the best moms to ever grace this earth, one of the hottest fucking moms too,” Billy swears ”Language,” you say looking up from Vic's little face “an absolute MILF doll” you felt warm by Billy’s words. The smirk on his face on top of his flattery was enough, to create butterflies. “Your so attentive to Vic, you juggle taking care of you, Vic, your sister, and pretty much your dad while you're at it too, it would be a damn shame to call you a bad mom when you take such good care of our kid. I don't want you believing that crap okay, you're a good mom, you understand?” Billy says seriousness laces in his voice. “And you still find time to do stuff with those kids bad mom my ass” he mumbles the last part. The reason for your falling tears changed with Billy’s words. “Thanks, Billy” “Only statin’ truths Imma go grab you a snack” Vic in true baby fashion had fallen write back to sleep with some milk in his system. You had swaddled Vicky up and placed him in the crib in Billy's room and you had laid down your head in Billy's lap when he got back. "I'm sorry I try to block that stuff out but sometimes it just gets to me," you say softly as you feel Billy's hand rubbing soft circles on your cheek. It was moments like this you wouldn't have it any other way your boyfriend could be a little rough around the edges but he cared a lot for you and Vicky. He was determined to be a better man than his father. "Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault," he said plainly. A toothpick sticking out of his mouth that he had been chewing on. You leaned into his Touch. "Thanks, Billy,"

dad!Billy taglist:

@and-claudia​  @daringvixen​  @justarandomflowerchildofthenight

Let me know if you would like to be added or taken off the taglist

#billy hargrove #billy hargove x reader #billy hargove fanfic #billy hargove imagine #billy hargrove fluff #stranger things x reader #stranger things #stranger things fluff #stranger things fanfiction #x fem!reader #x female reader #x reader #xreader #fluff #fanfic

[delopsia]

Eyes On Me | Max Brinly X Reader

Word Count: 11,00 Warnings: Swearing, a bit of angst, unprotected sex, oral (reader receiving), mild size kink, overuse of "honey" (sorry), occasional blood that involves a bear trap and your foot (not sorry), not beta read.  Cross Posted Here On AO3

There's something so menacing about Hackett's Quarry. You can't quite put your finger on what, but something haunts the forests once the sun has fallen, lurking, watching. A stark contrast to the charming, rustic nature of the camp during the day. If parents had to spend one night before sending their children for the summer, the camp would be closed and defunct within a year. 

It's in the unnervingly chilly breeze that finds you on the warmest of nights, in the way the wind whispers your name in your ear and tries to draw you further into the unknown. 

"Y/N."

A horrified yelp leaves your lips, your body recoiling from the noise so fast that you stumble. 

"Hey, hey!" Hands grasp your shoulders — firm, grounding you. "It's just me. You're okay." 

You're too shocked to speak, staring blankly at the man before you. Max. It was just Max. Not something lurking in the woods. Frowning, Max draws you in, and you're powerless to do anything but fall into his embrace. He's nothing but warm, warding off the breeze nipping at your exposed skin like he's your knight in shining armor. 

"I've got you," he murmurs, directly into your ear. "Why're you so freaked out? Did something happen?"

"No," you breathe, "this place is just spooky at night." 

Max chuckles— it's the sweetest sound you've ever heard. "Is this why you always wait for me, hm?" That's partially the reason, but it's not like you're going to outright admit it. Unfortunately, your silence must speak louder than words, because Max laughs again, hugging you a little tighter. "Well, you're safe with me, honey."

Heat blossoms in your chest, wrapping around your heart with an unfamiliar gentleness that makes it ache. You can't see his face, but you know he's grinning. Your thoughts are proven true when he draws away, big hands lingering on your waist as he gazes into your eyes, searching for any hint of fear or worry. 

"Let's just get this over with," you'd much rather stay here and hug Max for the rest of the morning, but duty calls. You've been tasked with getting all of the take-home goodies put together for the campers. Leave it to Mr. H to miraculously forget to mention it until the night before the campers leave. 

The walk to the main building isn't very long, but the poorly lit trail makes it feel like you have to walk for hours. Next to you, Max doesn't even appear bothered, eyes trained on the path ahead. Whether it's dumb confidence or he's just not awake enough to care about what lurks in the dark, you're not sure. 

"You'd think Mr. Dont-Call-Me-Hackett would at least leave the light on for us," he gripes, pointing up to the lamppost. Strange, it had been on last night when you walked the kids back to the cabins. 

It's not just dark on the path, you learn. The entire camp is dark, even the main building doesn't have a singular light coming from it. Hackett's Quarry looks absolutely deserted. If you weren't an employee, you would almost think the place was abandoned. 

"You don't find this spooky at all?" You whisper, afraid to raise your voice any higher. 

Max's shoulder is bumping into yours, accidental but comforting, in a way. "No, this place is creepy as shit."

Powered by five and a half hours of sleep and fear itself, you forge ahead. Every step towards the building feels heavier. If it weren't for Max ambling along next to you, you would have turned back and not returned until the sun was up. Even now, as your foot meets the first step, you're considering it.

The door to the cafeteria is unlocked, much to your dismay. The idea of going back to bed really sounds good right now. Opening the door reveals...nothing but more darkness. You can't see a damn thing.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the light switch is, would you?" Max sighs, with a frown. You've got nothing. Feeling up the wall until you find a switch it is. 

Max goes left and you go right, hands running up and down the wall in search of the magic switch that will illuminate the cafeteria. You think you find it, once, but it ends up being the switch that controls the fans instead. 

"Found it!" By the time you've processed Max's announcement, blinding white light is burning straight into your retinas. 

At least Mr. H was decent enough to leave the supplies out on a table. Candy, ink stamps, bubblegum, animal-shaped erasers, and pencils. All things the kids couldn't be trusted with over the course of the past two months. Exciting. 

"That poor bus driver," Max is already settling down, popping a lemon-flavored candy into his mouth. 

"This is what we got up so early for?" You're not sure what you were expecting, but it wasn't...this. 

Max hums, "Mr. H made it sound a lot more important than bags of candy." 

Understatement of the century. 

As much as you want to sit down while you work, the boxes are tall, and you cant see what's inside of them unless you stand. Your hand continuously bumps into Max's as you reach for supplies, and you swear you're not doing it on purpose. It doesn't help that Max laughs every time, doesn't make it any easier when he playfully nudges you with the sweetest grin on his face. 

"Hold on," rather unceremoniously, Max takes it upon himself to dump the boxes out on the table, rearranging them into easily reachable piles. 

Why hadn't you thought of that?

"Better?"

"Better." 

An unforeseen side effect of sitting down — it's much easier to get tired. It doesn't help that the cafeteria is so chilly and that Max is practically a furnace next to you. Your movements are gradually slowing, a shadow of the pace you used to be working at. How is one supposed to focus on goodie bags when it's this early?

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Max's voice is enough to temporarily shatter the sleepy silence you've been wallowing in. 

"Not much," you say through a yawn, "Emma snores." 

"I don't know how you put up with it," he plucks the finished bag from your hands, tying it shut in a neat little bow. 

You're yawning again, just the thought of it is triggering them. "She's not that bad." Lie. She is that bad.

"Are you kidding?" Max scoffs. "Emma could guide ships through the fog."

Nobody believed you when you said Emma snored, until the night of the slumber party in the lodge. The memory of a half-awake Jacob carrying her into an empty room and shutting the door is something that you will never forget.

Max's shoulder bumps against yours as he works. Vaguely, you wonder if he would be a good cuddle buddy or not. If his hugs are anything to go by, he definitely is.

The back of his hand settles against your forehead, testing your temperature. "Are you sure you're okay? You look a little..." you're not sure what to think of the look he gives you, "pale."

You can't help but frown when his hand draws away from you, leaving your skin even colder than it was before he touched you. "Just tired, is all." Working on their own, your hands reach for another bag and a handful of candy. 

"You can go back to bed if you're that sleepy," he offers, tossing another complete bag into the box, "we only have a few left." 

The offer is tempting, but the thought of leaving him to finish this by himself makes you feel guilty. It's not like you'd get much sleep with your sleep paralysis demon Emma above you. With another yawn, you fold your arms on the table and rest your head on them, blearily watching Max work. He's quick, even though he doesn't look all that awake himself. 

"Can't take your eyes off me, huh?"

"Nope."

The chuckle is expected, but you definitely don't expect him to reach over and wipe a mark from your cheek. The little voice in your head tells you to mess it up a second time just so he'll touch you again. Your eyes close, just for a second, you tell yourself. Yet when they reopen, Max isn't working anymore.

No, he's mirroring your position, head nestled in his arms, blue eyes gazing over at you—like you're the prettiest thing he's ever seen. He smiles when he realizes that you're looking at him, nudging you with his elbow. You feel like a giddy little kid, shyly flirting with their crush in the cafeteria. 

"It might be more comfortable if we took a nap on the library bean bags and not the table," he suggests, winking. You know he probably means nothing by it, but you wish he did. 

"I don't want to move," you grumble, to which he rolls his eyes. 

"Do you want me to carry you?" You can't tell if he's being serious or not. Like always, though, your silence must speak louder than words, because he's already standing up, cracking his neck as he does so. You have to raise your legs a little bit, but he scoops you up with unsurprising ease.

It would have been more surprising had you not caught multiple glimpses of him shirtless, working out with Jacob over the summer. 

"Gosh dang you are cold," he whispers, eyes meeting with yours for a fleeting second. His lip quivers, fighting back what appears to be a smile. You have to look away to hide your own sheepish grin. 

The problem with the bean bags is that despite their comically large size, they're always moving around. Kaitlyn and Abigail are always thwarting attempts to smuggle the bags into other rooms, but the kids are sneaky. 

"They really couldn't leave two?" Max groans at the sight of the singular beanbag. At least the campers were decent enough to leave you the largest one out of the five. Max isn't that big of a guy, both of you could fit there just fine.

"We could share?" It shoots directly from your mouth, your sleep-clouded mind unable to register what you're saying until you've already said it.  He hums like he's thinking about it, and it's too late to take back your words. 

A painstaking moment crawls by. Then, you realize he's moving again. One, two, three, four strides until he reaches the beanbag, and then he's settling down into it with you cradled in his lap. Your head finds home against his chest, the pitter-patter of his heartbeat loud in your ear. 

"This okay?" He asks; his head is so close to yours that you can smell the peppermint of his toothpaste lingering on his breath.

"Yeah," it's more than okay.

Your words must serve as encouragement because his arms secure themselves around you, his head coming down to rest against yours. He's so warm — the frigid air rippling through the lodge feels like just a memory now. You tilt your head up, bleary eyes landing on his freckled face. 

He's looking back at you. "Hi."

"Hi."

He smiles at that; his thumb begins to rub back and forth across your spine. You're not sure if he's even aware that he's doing it. His head draws forward to lean against your own, the tip of his nose brushing against yours. 

This. The simplicity of it all, being cradled in his lap whilst his pretty blue eyes gaze into yours. The scent of his woodsy body wash and minty toothpaste intertwining in such a way that it makes your head spin. You could get lost in this forever. 

"You have such pretty eyes," he says it so quietly that you almost don't hear it. 

But you do, and God, your cheeks are so hot they could start a forest fire. You're too shy to speak. Words? Don't know her. All you can do is duck your head down and hide your face in his chest. 

He doesn't say anything more, but you can feel his eyes lingering on your frame. It's strangely comforting — like nothing can harm you as long as he's around to protect you. Listening to his heartbeat is like listening to a lullaby. Every blink is becoming a challenge. Another yawn wracks through your body, and then you're gone. 

"Rise and shine, love bugs!"

You're yelping, all but jumping out of Max's arms and quite nearly cracking your head on the wooden bookshelf. Laura stands before you, smiling, but the expression worn in her eyes makes you want to shrink into nothingness. Hot breath fans out against your neck, and suddenly you're very aware of the fact that you're still sitting in Max's lap. 

"Laura, wait, this isn't," Max pleads, "this isn't what you think it is."

That statement shouldn't sting as much as it does. Technically, you and Max are just friends — all you've done this summer is flirt and get a little cuddly. Yet, you can't help but feel like a home wrecker that just got caught with the husband.

Your feet hit the ground with a small thud, carrying your half-awake body past Laura and out of the library in a wordless hurry. You don't know why you're leaving or where you're going, but you'll take anywhere but here. 

The sun is up now, painting the sky in rich hues of red and orange, and you can hear the kids chattering outside. Nick is already whirring away in the kitchen, flipping pancakes in a comically large skillet that you've never noticed before.

"Goodmorning!" He smiles, waving with his spatula. If he notices that you're here much earlier than you should be, he doesn't mention it. "Pancakes are ready if you want to grab one." 

He's made three types today — banana, blueberry, and plain. Chocolate chip pancakes used to be the main attraction until deliveries suddenly stopped two weeks ago. You make your choice and stand outside on the balcony to eat, as far away from the library as you can possibly get. The kids are already beginning to funnel into the cafeteria, but you never see Max and Laura come out. 

Whatever, it's hard to think about Max when you've got Nick's pancakes in front of you. Biting into them is like biting into a big, fluffy cloud. You'd volunteer to work at Hacketts Quarry next summer if it meant Nick was head chef again. 

If only you'd caught feelings for him and not Max, the guy who probably has feelings for Laura. 

The buses show up in the blink of an eye. 

One minute you and Ryan are helping the kids shove their belongings into their suitcases; the next, you're herding them down the beaten path to the lodge for the final time. Max is among the counselors that are helping you, and for every step he makes towards you, you take two back. 

"Kids, Counselors Max, and Y/N made Goodbye Goodie Bags!" Mr. H's voice echoes throughout the camp as he holds up the completed box of goodies. Max looks at you; you avoid his eye.

The kids are absolutely thrilled. One thank-you hug becomes two, then three, and the next thing you know, you're swarmed. You don't know where one kid ends, and another begins, and all you can see are their smiling faces and brightly colored camp shirts. 

An arm sneaks over your shoulders, much bigger than the children's — woodsy body wash kisses your nose. Somehow, Max has gotten wrapped up in this little group hug too, and he's mostly hugging you. 

"Hackett's Quarry forever!" You can distantly hear Emma cheering, joining in on the hug more enthusiastically than all of the children combined. It's hard to focus on her when Max pulls you closer, drawing you in until you're safely tucked under his arm and snuggled up to his side. You melt into it like butter in the hot sun, powerless to fight his affections. 

The kids are all cheering and chanting with their counselors, an incredible noise that has your ears ringing and yet the world is impossibly quiet. Nothing compares to the sweet laughter that falls from Max's plush lips; you can't hear anything except him. 

"Hackett's Quarry forever!"

And then they're gone. Tumbling towards the buses with their bags stuffed to the brim with goodies, crafts, and camp gear. A few bags had to be duct taped shut, other kids are improvising with plastic bags and anything else they could concoct. One boy is wearing three shirts on top of each other because they wouldn't fit. 

You're still cheering, even as the buses leave, waving goodbye until the final bus has crawled out of sight. 

Only then do you realize that a toned arm has fallen from your shoulders and instead curled around your waist. Only now are you aware of how close Max is holding you and the look Laura is giving you from the corner of your eye. 

As much as you don't want to, you step away. The fiery look in Laura's eye and the hot sun combined cannot even begin to melt the iciness that's settling into your now empty side. 

"Y/N?" It's hard to ignore Max's voice. The sound alone has your gears slowing. 

Jacob, your lord, and savior, comes bumbling over to you, effectively ending any of Max's advances. "He isn't bothering you, is he?" His tone makes him sound like a protective older brother. 

You shake your head, frowning. "No, I'm just a little upset, is all." 

When he cocks his head to the side, you explain the morning's events. There's an unintentional emphasis on how you woke up, on the looks Laura has been giving you since the end of July, and the singular comment that set you off. You feel lighter, being able to talk about it with someone. 

"So he's made you feel like a side piece," he observes, and suddenly the pieces click into place. A reason for why you feel this way. 

"That's exactly it." 

Jacob hums in thought, rubbing his chin. An idea must strike him because his face lights up so brightly that you swear you see a lightbulb appear above his head. "I have an idea." 

"Oh boy."

You don't even have a chance to ask what he could possibly be up to. He's already bounding off towards Kaitlyn with a wicked grin sprawled across his face. 

Whatever he's up to, it can't be too much, considering you leave for home in an hour. Your heart pangs in your chest — this is probably the last time you'll ever see Max. You begin the long haul to the cabins to fetch your bag with your feet filled with lead. So much for a summer fling.

The van is on fire. 

You leave for twenty damn minutes and return to heavy smoke and the van ablaze. Mr. H raises his voice with a tone you've never heard before. He's walking in your direction, wrapped in such a rage that he's shaking. You're scrambling to get out of his way, but his shoulder still slams into yours. Your ass hits the ground with a thump. 

In the corner of your eye, you can see your bag roll away after Mr. H's foot connects with it. 

Max is there. Kneeling by your side, hand curling around your cheek so gently that you can barely even feel him do it. "Are you okay?" You hate how concerned he sounds. You hate hearing such an endearing tone come from someone that doesn't share your feelings. Your eyes are watering, but not a single tear is related to your fall. 

"I'm okay," blinking the tears back. 

There's a calloused thumb swiping under your eye, catching a singular tear. If he doesn't quit looking at you like you're the most precious thing he's ever seen — if he doesn't stop touching you like you're made of glass, your tears will turn into a waterfall. 

"You don't look okay," he whispers. 

Getting up is the only way to stop the waterworks from turning on full blast. Max makes room for you, hands hovering around you as if you may fall again. Jacob hands over your bag once you're on your feet.

Mr. H leaves. Stranding your rag-tag crew at Hackett's Quarry for one more night. 

"P.A.R.T... Why the fuck not?" You tune into Dylan saying, a mischievous tone in his voice. "Alright, it seems the stars have aligned for us. No?" There's no getting out of a party, and you're really not surprised that it's already being suggested as soon as Mr. H has left. What really surprises you is when Jacob decides that you and Max should find supplies. It's not like you can walk off and avoid Max now. Not without ditching him with all of the work. At least Jacob reunites you with your phone after delivering that order. "So a lighter, a bucket, and blankets," Max recites, raising a finger for every item he lists. "Where the hell are we going to find a bucket?" "That's what you're worried about?" This is a camp; there have to be buckets somewhere. "How do you plan to find blankets that don't belong on a bed?" Max is quiet, eyebrows furrowing. "I have no idea."

Your phones both kick on at the same time, buzzing to life for the first time in months. It feels strange to look at the screen again; you haven't seen one all summer. 

"We have the same phone," he's sidling up next to you, holding his phone next to yours. Identical models. The only difference is the cases. 

"What a coincidence," his lock screen flashes on, and your cheeks warm in an instant. It's a picture of Max, shirtless and on a hiking trail. God, does he have—

"Don't mind that," he's shoving his phone into his pocket, looking anywhere but at you. "So about those supplies."

Right. You need to be focusing on supplies. Not Max and his abs. 

Supplies.

Not Max.

Supplies.

You're so focused on not focusing on Max that you don't realize your feet are moving. Carrying you right back down the path to the lodges. Max strolls along next to you, his hand bumping against yours with every few strides. Each time, your heart practically leaps up your throat. 

"I know I should have asked this before," he says, breaking the silence. Oh god, what is he about to ask? "But where are we going?"

Oh.

Right.

"Art Lodge," you croak, nearly jumping out of your skin when his fingers brush with yours again. "Abi always lights a candle during her classes; there should be a lighter in there." 

Max hums, and for a brief second, you meet eyes. He's smiling down at you, the corners of his eyes wrinkling with it. Jokingly, you bump your shoulder into his, just a little tap that has the both of you laughing. 

Then you feel it.

Timid fingers slip between your own, slotting together at an agonizingly slow pace. You have to remind yourself to keep walking, have to fight the urge to immediately take his hand and squeeze it as tightly as you can. It's so, so slow like he's afraid you'll bolt if he moves too quickly.

Just like that, he's holding your hand. Curling your fingers around his feels as natural as breathing. 

The lodges come into view, standing proud as ever in front of the cliffs. Even as you cross the miniature bridge, Max holds your hand, thumb swiping back and forth against your skin. You hope he never let's go.

"Any luck?"

"No, but I found fruit snacks that expired in 2015."

You have a feeling that the fruit snacks may be the cause of Max's prior hacking fit. 

You've found everything but blankets. There were none left behind; not a singular beach towel could be located in the pool storage bins, and the laundry had everything except blankets. Now it's beginning to seem that you're going to be coming up short on your end of the deal. 

"You would think that Mr. H would have at least one decent blanket," Max's voice echoes across the dark attic. 

"I'm beginning to think that he doesn't believe in them," you deadpan. The boxes up here are just filled with old craft supplies and a few family photobooks. Nothing less, nothing more.

Something heavy falls over where Max is.

"What was that?" 

"I fell." 

One peek over your shoulder reveals that he has indeed fallen, and he doesn't look like he's about to get up anytime soon. Toeing through the various boxes, you make your way over to him. 

"Seems we're sticking it out without blankets tonight," you step over him, careful not to trip yourself. 

Max reaches up, his hand circling around your ankle, holding it there. "What's worse is, I have blankets in my car," his other hand comes up to brush away some dust that's gathered on your sock. 

"If only your car weren't a mile away," you hold a hand out for him to grab, intending to pull him up. You don't expect him just to reach up and hold it. "Are you getting up, or are you staying on the floor?"

"Oh." He blinks dumbly. Now he gets up, back cracking as he does so. 

Climbing back down the ladder is the worst part. Max goes down first, seemingly insistent that he catch you if the rickety old thing miraculously breaks on your way down. It doesn't, but that doesn't stop him from placing his hands on your waist when you're within reach. 

"This place needs a serious overhaul," he observes aloud, once you're on solid ground. 

To his credit, he's not wrong. The chimney is crumbling on the inside, and more than half of the buildings on the property are beginning to come apart. Lodge 5 lost a whole stair last month, and a few weeks before that, Lodge 2 woke up without a balcony railing after a particularly windy night. 

The stairs creak under your feet as you head out of the lodge, testing your anxiety with every step. You're just waiting for the day someone's foot goes through one of these thin old boards. 

Two lighters and a bucket await you at the bottom of the stairs, your proud, hard-earned treasures. With one hand, you pick up the bucket; with the other, you tentatively reach for Max's hand. 

"What are you doing?" Laura's voice has you jolting, hand slipping back from Max's. You blink, bewildered by her sudden appearance. Words aren't coming to you. 

"Heading down to the campfire?" Max sounds just as confused as you feel. Wasn't she paired up with Kaitlyn? 

"I was talking to Y/N, but that works too," she clarifies with such a pleasant tone that barely feels genuine. You choose not to reply, remaining quiet to avoid raising any conflict. It's no secret that you two don't exactly get along; you'd rather not add to the list of reasons why. 

To your dismay, she walks to the campfire with you, walking right between you and Max the entire way. She and Max are chattering about some movie you've never heard of; you can't bring yourself to listen. That feeling from earlier nags at your heart, Jacob's words echoing in your head. Does he like you, or did Jacob have a point back there?

At the campfire, the rest of the group has already gathered around the campfire; they're just waiting on you three. 

"We couldn't find blankets," you supply, handing the bucket off to Kaitlyn's awaiting hands. 

"Don't sweat it," she winks, "at least you found the lighter. Dylan has been hitting two rocks together for ten minutes, and it's getting old." 

Max sits on the log next to Nick, blue eyes meeting yours as he pats the space next to him. At least, you thought he was looking at you. But before you can even comprehend what's happening, Laura is trotting over and plants herself in the space next to him, recharging their conversation from before. 

"Y/N, over here!" Jacob waves, garnering your attention. Guess you're sitting next to Jacob, then. 

With heavy feet, you wander up and sit next to him, trying not to look too dejected. It's really not that big of a deal. Who cares if Laura sits next to Max? Who cares if Max completely forgets your presence when she's around?

Not like you care at all.

"I'm sorry," Jacob says, handing you a wine cooler, "we tried but we couldn't talk her out of going to find you guys." 

You've forgotten how hard it is to get these damn caps off. The skin on your fingers burn as you try and fail to twist it open. 

"Need help?" Jacob cuts Max off, from whatever he was about to say. Nodding, you hand it back over. 

It's unfair how easily he pops it off, adding it to his already decently sized collection of bottle caps. The alcohol is overwhelmingly sweet on your tongue, artificial strawberry overpowering the alcohol until it's just barely there. If only there were enough of these to go around; you reckon you could drink the memories of today away.

On your left, Dylan makes a face at his own drink, something bright orange. "Is strawberry any good? This one's not liking me too much." 

You're not one to drink after people, but right now you'll take all the distractions you can get. "Only one way to find out," holding out your drink for an exchange. 

Dylan's drink is much more tropical, a pleasant mixture of orange and pineapple that hits your taste buds much easier than the strawberry. This is the kind of thing you could drink all day and not get tired of. 

"You're telling me that you don't like this?" You can't wrap your head around it, this is so much better than strawberry.

Dylan shrugs, seemingly much happier with your drink. "I hate pineapple." 

That settles your trade quite nicely. 

Like a broken record, your thoughts jump back to Max. All too coincidentally, he's looking at you, with this unreadable expression that you've never seen on him before. You wonder what that's about.

The campfire finally awakens and roars to life, flickers of red and orange lick the air, spitting up tiny particles of ash in its wake. You hate how the burning timber reminds you of Max's body wash. Why does everything have to remind you of him and his stupidly pretty face?

Truth or dare kicks up when you're just beginning to finish your second drink, some grape flavored thing, when your body has loosened and your head is spinning ever so slightly. Lack of drinking over the summer has obliterated your alcohol tolerance, and you're glad that nobody offers you a third, because any more may lead you to losing your filter and some questionable decisions.

"Y/N!" Oh god, why is Dylan saying your name. 

"Huh?"

"Since you so graciously traded drinks with me, twice, might I add. You get to go first," he grins, eyes shimmering from the fire, "truth, or dare?"

What do you have to lose? "Truth."

He grins, a big toothy smile, and you're suddenly concerned about what you've gotten yourself into. "Who has the nicest body at this camp?" 

God, you should have picked dare. 

"Max," you croak, voice suddenly too heavy for your tongue, "sorry Jacob."

Jacob pouts like a kicked puppy, Max just turns red in the cheeks.

Everything devolves into a blur, thanks to the alcohol that's coursing through your veins like a wildfire. You dare Emma to exchange clothing with Kaitlyn, Ryan kisses Dylan, Nick's shoes wind up on the wrong feet, Jacob nearly jumps through the fire naked, Abi's hair is tied up in six different places. A storm is beginning to roll in, you can hear the thunder rolling in the distance, but you've still got time before the game has to wrap up.

Even without the storm distracting you and the alcohol clouding your thoughts, its hard to focus on the game. Not when Max keeps flicker his eyes between the fire and you, expression as unreadable as ever. Laura's saying something to him, but his eyes remain locked on your frame.

"Laura," Emma's voice shakes you from your trance. How long have you and Max had your eyes locked? "Truth or dare?"

Laura fiddles with the brim of her hat, thinking about her reply. "Dare."

"I dare you to kiss," she pauses, analyzing her audience like you're a bunch of adoring fans, "Nick, or...Max."

Your heart drops.

"Seriously, Em?" For the first time all night, Jacob sounds irritated, his formerly drunken, goofy tone long forgotten. 

"I choose..." Laura stands, and for a split second, you wonder if she's going to kiss Nick instead. But then she's turning, planting her palms on Max's shoulders. "Max."

God, you can't sit here and watch this. 

Your feet are hitting the ground before Laura can make her move. No amount of alcohol will make you sit through this. Someone's calling your name, but it falls upon deaf ears. Your body is moving much faster than your intoxicated brain can keep up with, but all you care about is getting as far away from the campfire as you can.

Footsteps follow after you, that voice is still calling your name. 

"I'm not dealing with this," you mutter. 

Against better judgement, you step off the beaten path and run into the forest as fast as your legs will carry you. Concern of what lurks in the forest is long forgotten, all you can think about is disappearing off the face of this Earth. 

Max will never have feelings for you. Not when Laura, pretty, bold, hardheaded Laura, stands there in the spotlight. Fuck Laura, fuck Max, and fuck truth or dare.

You stumble upon a clearing, with a conveniently placed ranger box that you've never seen before. Surely you've gone far enough.

"What the fuck," you say to yourself, sitting on the metal box, "what the fuck?"

It's cold out here, and now you wish you'd worn a jacket. The fire was warm, yes, but has it always been this cold at night? You don't recall it being cold this morning, but then again...

Max's stupid face manifests at the forefront of your thoughts. Him and his stupid freckles and his stupid brown hair that has no right to be as soft as it is. You can't believe you thought you had a chance with that cute, airheaded bastard. So what if he was so excited to introduce himself to you at orientation that he spilled his juice on your white shoes. 

There are plenty of fish in the sea, you're sure there's another guy out there who gives the sweetest hugs and calls you 'Honey' like it's going out of style. Who are you kidding? 

The only fish you want is named Max.

Water hits your cheek. Are you crying?

It happens again, cold, running down the side of your face, then again, and again. Great. You're not crying, its raining. 

"Wonderful," suddenly, you feel very, very sober as you take in your surroundings. It's so dark, who knows what's out here with you? 

You're walking, but you have no memory of which direction you came in from. Where even are you? You've never seen this area before, never the less walked through it. Nothing looks familiar, and to make matters worse, a downpour starts. 

"Can anybody here me?" You cry out, but you can barely hear your own voice over the rain. 

The ground is slick under your feet, no doubt your shoes are going to be caked with mud by the time you find your way back to the lodge. Something crashes behind you, scratching the back of your neck. Yelping, you bolt, mind jumping to a million places. What was that? A tree? A bear? 

Blood runs down your neck, hot and sticky, not at all like the frigid rain that's pelting your body. Water splashes under your feet, you're sure that it hasn't been raining very long but massive puddles have already formed; mud tugs at your shoes like a giant suction cup.

Pain blossoms in your right ankle. 

You hit the ground with a heavy thud, crying out as excruciating pain bites its way down your foot. 

"Fuck!" Your voice echoes the forest as you twist and turn in a frenzied horror, crying once more when the pain worsens. There's something tight latched around your ankle, teeth dug deep into your flesh. You're trying to pull your injured ankle away, but something holds tight; it feels like you're on a leash.

In the darkness, you catch a glimpse of shimmering silver. A bear trap.

Your foot is in a fucking bear trap. 

"What the fuck?" Your voice cracks. There's a chain on the end of the trap, wrapped around a thin tree. Your trembling hands pry at the jaws of the trap, but your efforts are futile. Prying the trap open feels like the equivalent of prying open the jaws of a bear, you're far too weak to even make it budge. 

The sharp, jagged teeth only dig into your flesh even more, boiling hot blood gushes from your wound like a waterfall, pooling in your shoe. Tears prick at your eyes, God this fucking hurts.

Light passes over you, impossibly bright, forces you to close your eyes in order to save your retinas from burning right out of your skull. A voice calls out. The light passes again, darts back to your pitiful frame in an instant. The voice raises again. 

Dear Lord, why did you have to send Max?

One minute the world is cold and lonely, the next, Max is there, warm arms wrapping around you, drawing you into an even warmer chest. No amount of trying can hide your sniffling, the pained wail that escapes your lips is almost pathetic. 

"Fuck, what the fuck?" His voice is high and pitchy, hands are cradling your cheeks. "Hold on, hold on."

He's letting you go, maneuvering down to get his fingers in between the jaws of the bear trap. Just his touch alone makes it all worse. 

You don't want to let go of him, but you're powerless to stop him as he maneuvers around you. His foot catches the chain, disturbing the trap, and somehow it clamps down even harder.

"Ow!" You yank your foot away from him, yelping when the trap bites yet again. Fuck the man who designed this, and fuck whoever decided to put this damn trap out here.

Max is saying something, but you're not registering it. How are you supposed to listen when a bear trap is trying its damn best to tear your foot right off your body. 

"Hey," he says again, "just keep your eyes on me, okay? I'm going to get you out of here." His hands slide down your leg as he speaks; you're too distracted by his voice to realize that he's placing your foot in his lap. "Just keep your eyes on me, honey."

You don't know why you comply. Maybe it's the pet name; maybe it's because your foot is in a bear trap. But you do, whining, you force your eyes to meet his. For the first time in your life, you struggle to lose yourself in his eyes, in him, his presence. He's stroking the sensitive skin at the bend of your knee, gently, slowly, coaxing your leg out from under you. You don't even remember when you'd yanked it away again. 

Slow, his fingers hook into the gaps of the teeth, biceps bulging under his jacket as he pries the trap open. The teeth slowly ease from your injured flesh, agonizingly slow, blood gushing from the wound. Finally, finally, it's open just enough for you to pull your foot out, and then it's snapping shut again with a noise that has your heart-stopping.

With your foot free from its confines, you stumble up to your feet, using a tree as leverage. What you don't expect is for your ankle to hurt even worse than it did when it was in the bear trap. It catches you so off guard that by the time you bite your tongue, you've already made a noise, and Max is reacting to it. 

"Hey, hey, hey, hold on," he's crowding you, wrapping an arm around you when you stumble. 

"I can walk on my own," you lie through your teeth; had he not sidled up next to you when he did, you would be on the ground again. 

"No, you can't," his voice gets that pitchiness again, "do you know how far away from camp we are? I've been looking for you for a half hour!"

It's only now that you realize how hard he's breathing. There's mud caked to his boots and the legs of his jeans, his hair so wet that he looks like he's walked right out of a shower, cheeks red. 

"Why even come after me?" You grumble under your breath. "Shouldn't you be making out with Laura by the campfire right about now?"

Max stiffens. "That's not...no, that's-"

"-that's not, what? Max?" The words drip from your lips like venom. Your injured foot its the ground again; trying your hardest to walk away, but it only throws your balance off even more. All it does for you is push you closer to Max, your shoulder bumping against his ridiculously firm chest. 

"I didn't kiss her." His words are so quiet, yet your ears burn as if he'd yelled them through a megaphone. 

Oh.

"I didn't spend an entire summer trying to work up the courage to ask you out, just to watch you walk away because of some stupid campfire game," whispered so quietly into your ear that it tickles, nose bumping against your cold cheek. 

Oh.

A wrongly placed step leads you to crash into him, minimizing the gap between you until there's almost nothing left. His nose bumps into yours, arms wrapping around your waist as he gathers you up against him. 

"Fuck you," you're wrapping your arms around his neck, "you couldn't have told me this sooner?"

And then you're kissing him. Lips clashing together, wet and messy. His lips are so soft against yours, moving slowly, molding against your own so easily, so naturally. Your head spins; if his large hands weren't gripping your waist, you fear you may float up into the clouds and never come back down.

Lightning flashes and thunder cracks, reminding you of your surroundings, of where you are. You've almost forgotten about the throbbing in your ankle, just a dull pain that can't even begin to take your mind off of Max. 

Then you're putting weight on it, and okay, maybe the pain is enough to take your mind off of him. "Ow, — shit."

Max is bending down, and in one motion, he scoops you off the ground. It's unfair how easily he does it. "Let's get you taken care of, honey," the goofy grin on his face is so big that it can be heard in his tone. 

He makes it look easy, carrying you out of the forest like it's the simplest thing he's ever done. You rest your head on his shoulder, shivering from the cold rain that doesn't want to let up. Thunder cackles and lightning crashes, lighting up the forest around you. You jump every time, clinging to Max just a little bit more. 

Forever passes before Max steps out into a clearing, the lodge standing tall before you, not a light on in sight. It's hard to tell if it's just abandoned or the power has gone out. Usually, the lamp post would be able to tell you, but the bulb burnt out weeks ago. Mr. H never wants to replace the damn lights. 

"Did you find them?" Abi's head pops out the door; breathes a sigh of relief when she catches glimpse of Max carrying you up the steps. 

It's much warmer inside; everyone's gathered by the fireplace, curled up in bean bags and whatever else they could have found. Dylan's even drug in Mr. H's spinning chair.

With the campfire's light, you can finally see just how messed up you really are. You're absolutely caked with mud, so much so that you can't even tell how badly your ankle has been injured. 

"Is there any reason why Mr. H would have bear traps in the woods?" This is the most serious tone you've ever come out of Max. 

"I'm sorry, bear traps?" Ryan's head pops up from behind Dylan. Weakly, you raise your bloody foot. It seems to be enough of an answer because everyone's face changes. 

Kaitlyn practically tears your shoe off, revealing your formerly white, now crimson red, sock. "This needs to be cleaned before it gets infected," she observes, gingerly touching the swollen skin around your injury, "you should go upstairs and get properly washed up."

Max doesn't need much convincing, already making for the single stairwell that's been cleared. There's a nice bathroom hidden upstairs; you've never seen the inside of it because Mr. H won't let anyone use it unless it's an emergency. 

It's worth the wait, though. The bathroom is ridiculously nice compared to the ones scattered around camp. Complete with a marble countertop, two sinks, and miniature stairs that lead to a comically large bathtub. It looks right out of a magazine. 

"So this must be where Mr. H takes his hot dates," Max comments, sitting you down on the edge of the counter. It feels strange to see the lights flick on, illuminating the room in a gentle, golden glow.

"You're a mess," you giggle, reaching out to pluck a leaf from Max's hair. He looks worse than you do, somehow. 

"It's been a hell of a night," he rolls his eyes when you tussle his wet hair, batting your offending hand away. He presses a chaste kiss to your lips, soft and sweet. "I'm gonna go see if I can find you some clean clothes, 'kay?" 

You nod, stealing a second kiss just because you can now. When he's gone, you slide off the counter, balancing your weight on your good foot. Might as well start a bath. 

To your surprise, Mr. H has several bottles of bath bubbles stored in a cabinet, right next to some big, fluffy white towels. You hope he doesn't mind too much that you borrow some of the vanilla-scented bubbles and help yourself to more towels than you actually need. Surely he'll understand when he sees your injury. 

The hot water kicks on immediately, a stark contrast to the barely functioning showers downstairs. It takes at least forty-five seconds for the water to be tolerably warm and even longer for it to get hot. With the bubbles added, you begin to peel off your clothes, grimacing at how they stick to your skin. 

It all becomes worth it when you slide down into the tub, aching muscles relaxing the moment you've settled. Even the dull stinging in your ankle cannot take away from how nice the water feels around you. 

"Sorry, I couldn't find your bag, so I'm giving you some of my clothes instead — holy shit!" Max yelps, turning his back to you. "I am so sorry; oh my God, I should have knocked."

You can't help but laugh, unbothered by the intrusion. "If I cared about you walking in, I would have locked the door," you giggle, "you can turn around, silly."

Truthfully, you hadn't even thought about locking the door. As long as it's him and not someone else, you can't bring yourself to care about the intrusion. He's pretty much seen you at your worst already. 

His movements are slow, cheeks flaming red as he sets his bag of clothes on the counter. He doesn't look at you, refuses to tear his eyes from his feet. 

"You have so much mud on you," you remark, tracing your eyes up his frozen frame. 

Blue eyes dart to you, then back to the floor. "I'll wash it off once you're taken care of."

Hm. 

"I mean," you can't believe you're suggesting this, "this bath is big enough for the two of us."

You swear he jumps. 

"I-" he rubs the back of his neck, gaze fixated on the bottom of the tub, "are you serious?"

Shrug. "Serious as a bear trap." 

Leaning your head back, you close your eyes. Only after a night of drinking and bear traps would you ever consider suggesting sharing a bath with Max. He's shuffling around, shoes hitting the floor with a small thump. You peek an eye open. Immediately you're met with an eye full as Max lifts his shirt from his body, back muscles rippling with the motion. He must see you in the mirror because he freezes, shirt still above his head. 

"Don't mind me," closing your eyes again. 

It's another minute or two before you feel the bath water disturb. You want to open your eyes, but you save it for when you feel him settling in across from you, legs bumping into your own. He looks like a deer in headlights, but he's there, toned chest, messy hair, and all. 

Teasing, you bump your knee against his. "You look terrified." 

"You're just really pretty," he says like he's in a trance, only breaking from it when your eyes widen. "I mean, I...did I say that out loud? I'm sorry, that probably sounded really weird. I didn't-"

You don't know what possesses you to do it, but you find yourself turning and scooting over to his side of the tub, water sloshing as you curl yourself into his side. His jaw snaps shut the moment your head comes to rest against his shoulder. 

"Oh." It's clear in his tone that he's more than surprised, but he raises no objections, even relaxes against you. His head leans on top of yours, arm shifting to wrap around your shoulders and draw you even closer. 

His heart is beating away in his chest; you can hear it from where your ear rests against his collarbone. "I'm sorry that I made you feel like I didn't have feelings for you," he presses his lips to your temple, "I really should have confessed weeks ago." 

"Weeks ago?" 

He hums; the vibration tickles. "I was going to, back when we had that slumber party."

Ah, the slumber party. Simultaneously one of the best and longest nights of your stay at Hacketts Quarry. If only Emma didn't have a foghorn in her family lineage. 

"What stopped you?" 

"Emma's snoring kept interrupting me."

You can't help the giggle that falls from your lips. It certainly explains his strange behavior from that night, from the endless stuttering to the way he would stare off into space. 

"What are you laughing at, hm?" His arm around you tightens, breath tickling your skin. "Are you laughing at me?" 

It only makes you laugh more, trying and failing to push his head away. "No, I'm not!" You squeal, squirming away from the fingers tickling your waist. Your legs kick, unintentionally sloshing water out of the tub and onto the flooring below; the tickles stop immediately after, but they're replaced by something more. 

Kisses.

Tiny ones, all up and down the side of your face, neck, and any open skin Max can reach. Laughter erupts after every peck; this night genuinely doesn't feel real. He works his way over to your lips once he's covered every inch of you in kisses. It turns out he's saved the best for last. 

The angle is awkward; you have to crane your neck to the side to meet his lips properly, but it's worth the struggle. Just a simple caress at first, feather-light and barely there, then it deepens, head spinning, lips interlocked in the sloppiest of ways. His free hand is finding yours, guiding it up until your fingers intertwine in his hair; he sighs as that, smiling into the kiss. 

Your neck is starting to hurt, but the idea of breaking your kiss for even a second hurts more. In one swift motion, you turn, throwing your leg over and straddling his hips, properly settled into his lap. 

"Fuck," he gasps against your lips, "honey." 

You can feel him pressed up against you between your legs; a shiver wracks down your spine. You'd almost forgotten that you were naked, but God, you could really get used to this. Large hands settle on your thighs, fingertips tracing from the back of your knees to the base of your neck; one settles there, the other finds its way around your waist, gathering you into his chest. 

Teeth nip at your bottom lip, hot tongue soothing over the area, and who are you to deny him? You meet him halfway, heat blossoms in your belly, tongues sloppily tangling before retreating. This time, you don't mean to move, but your knee slides under you, unintentionally grinding down into his lap. That heat rages into a fire, thighs twitching around his hips. Shit, that shouldn't have felt as nice as it did. 

Max is breaking away from you, toned chest panting, pupils blown wide. Not a word falls from his lips, but his eyes, the hand resting on the swell of your ass, say it all. All you can do is nod. Whatever this is, you want it. 

His lips find your exposed neck in an instant, kissing at a spot below your ear that has a noise falling from your kiss-swollen lips. The hand you had tangled in his hair comes up to cover your mouth, muffling the next sound that ripples out of your throat when Max's tongue traces down the side of your neck. 

He pauses, reaching up to remove the hand from your mouth, "wanna hear you." His voice is husky, a far cry from his usual tone. 

Arms wrap tightly around you, and then he's moving, lifting you up and out of the water. The room is surprisingly cold compared to the lukewarm water, and you barely have time to hook your legs around his hips before he's stepping out of the bath. He sets you up on the counter, pecking your lips as he does so.

All you see is white. 

The towel on your head moves back, settling around your wet shoulders instead, "sorry," Max chuckles, and then he's kissing you again.

It's chaotic, torn between teasing tongues and lingering lips, teeth clacking together as you try to dry yourselves the best that you can. The bathroom counter is low enough for Max's hips to comfortably slot between your legs, and you can feel the head of his cock nudging between your legs, but it's still too high. Not if you want him in you.  

Squirming to the edge of the counter isn't enough, but Max is smart, catches on to what you're trying to do so quickly that you're suspicious as to whether or not he can read minds. 

"Do you want this, honey?" He whispers against your lips, tone sickly sweet. 

"Do you really need an answer to that?" This man is going to give you cavities. 

Fingers brush up the inside of your thighs, wandering up, up, up; sparks fire their way up your spine. His lips find yours again, briefly, because you can't help the gasp that escapes you when his thumb teases your entrance. 

"Fuck, Max." He has no right to smile that cutely at a time like this. 

Especially not when he sinks to his knees guides your legs over his shoulders and begins kissing and licking the sensitive skin of your inner thighs, leaving behind patches of red that will surely bruise in the morning. His breath is hot, fanning out against your most sensitive areas. Pause. Then, his tongue is on you, with slow, languid strokes that have your head falling back against the mirror with a loud gasp.

You're bringing your hand up, trying to catch the whine that leaves you, but Max is prying it away before it can even get there. Blue eyes shimmer up at you, guiding your hand to the back of his head. 

"Fu-fuck, Max!" You mewl, tangling your hand in his hair. 

 He draws away from you, just long enough to wet two of his fingers with his tongue, and then he's back. Fingertips teasing at your entrance, tongue flicking against you. You squirm, panting, hand tugging at his hair, God, why is he so fucking good at this?

There's a pressure, a long, calloused finger sliding into you, in and out, moving in perfect tune with his tongue. Sucking harshly, chuckling when you jolt, then there's a second finger, stretching you so, so nicely. His tongue wanders between his fingers, momentarily dips inside of you, travels back up, down, back in again. 

"Max~!" You cant help the profanities that fall from your lips when his fingers curl, rubbing against a sensitive spot that you didn't know was there. You're tightening around his fingers, squirming; you don't know if you want more or if you want to get away from it. 

A third finger eases into your trembling body, then a fourth, working into a rhythm that's driving you towards the edge. No, no, no, it's too early for you to cum already. 

Words fail you; you don't even know what you're trying to say. All you can do is tug at his hair, kicking your good foot against his back. 

"Is something wrong?" His lips and chin are shiny, wet with saliva, and you.

"Close," is all you can say. What in the world did he expect? 

Max chuckles at that, pressing one last kiss to your thigh before coming back up. He's reaching into the cabinet behind you, and your eyes don't miss how wet his hand has become. "You don't reckon Mr. H has any condoms lying around here, do you?" 

The eye roll that leaves you is almost instantaneous. "Don't need one."

That's enough for him. He's gathering you up again, guiding your legs over his hips, and then he's lifting you, and your back is hitting the wall. 

Oh.

Oh.

That's why he used four fingers.

"Good lord," is all you can say, eyes fixated on his cock, resting between your legs. It's not the length that you're worried about; it's how absolutely thick he is. How the hell does he plan to fit that in you? 

He has no right to turn so red, bashfully avoiding your eye, but he spits into his hand and works his saliva over himself so confidently that your head spins. You'd always known there were two sides to Max, but come to find out, there are actually three.

"Tell me if it hurts, honey," he murmurs, leaning in to peck your lips, "'kay?" 

"What, think I can't take it?" You tease, but you don't even know if you can take that. Only one way to find out. 

Now it's his turn to roll his eyes, shifting to line himself up with your entrance. There's a pressure bigger than the one his fingers brought, and then he's pushing inside. Your body flutters open, slow; your legs twitch at the stretch. There's a strange popping sensation as the head finally eases all the way in. 

"There you go," Max's eyes are fixated between your legs, mesmerized by how his cock stretches you open, disappearing inside inch by agonizingly slow inch. 

Your head is spinning; you have to remind yourself to breathe, mewling at just how deliciously wide he spreads you. You don't know where your body is finding the space, but your insides are clenching around him greedily, taking it and taking it until finally, finally, his hips are flush against yours.

"Fuck," Max breathes, "how are you feeling?"

"Full." More than full. Full to the point that it's hard to breathe. Your legs are trembling; if it wasn't for him pressing you into the wall, you're sure you would have fallen by now. 

His hips rock, drawing out just a little bit, then sinking back in, once, twice, driving the breath from your lungs with every shallow thrust. Quicker now, he draws out, drives his hips back up; the whimper that leaves you is loud, echoes throughout the bathroom. 

“You like that, honey?” And when you clench down around him, he groans, repeats that motion again. Your head knocks back against the wall. 

With his lips settling on your neck, Max sets his pace, long, slow thrusts, twitching his hips in different angles as he fucks you open until he hits a spot that has you jolting in his arms. One of your hands are tangled in his brown hair; the other is around his neck, nails biting into and raking down his pale shoulder with every dizzying thrust. 

"Max!" His name falls from your lips like a mantra, like it's the only word you know. "T-there!"

"Yeah?" He breathes, picking up his pace but the head of his cock never once loses that spot. Hits it over and over until you feel tears burning behind your eyelids. 

"Eyes on me, honey," his lips ghost the shell of your ear, cock driving into you harder now, sudden, shattering the agonizing pace he'd built up. You don't even know when you closed your eyes, but when you pry them open, the sight you find is enough to make your eyes roll back again. 

Max, sweet, sweet Max, pink-cheeked, irises blown wide, muscles rippling every time he drives himself back into you. Even as he's panting for breath, he has the audacity to grin at you, chuckles when you whimper. 

He's shuffling, pushing you higher up the wall just by his hips, driving out the space between you. This angle is so, so different; he's hitting that sweet spot inside you with every thrust, harder, just a little bit faster than before. Lips lock with yours, tongues tangling with such ease that you feel yourself become lightheaded. 

There's a heat roaring in your belly, grows hotter every time his hips meet yours, body squirming, powerless to do anything but take it. You're whining, both hands on his shoulders now, gasping for breath against his plush lips. 

"Honey," he groans, punctuates it with a particularly hard thrust that has you seeing stars, "are you close?"

All you can do is nod, whimpering his name. Max is losing his rhythm, torn between long and short strokes into your aching hole, and God, you're so fucking close that your whole body is shaking. You can't even clench around him anymore; body so worked open by his dick that you've lost all control over it.  

"Inside," you choke out, burying your head in his neck, "cum in me." 

He doesn't need to be told twice, picking up the pace. You can't think, can't even contain your noises, and thank God the bathroom is on the farthest side of the lodge, where nobody can hear you cry out his name one last time. 

Your vision goes white; nails dig into Max’s back as you cum around him. His hips stutter to a halt, cums in your trembling body with a strangled noise that sounds like your name. For a few moments, you're weightless, floating up into the clouds as your body spasms with what energy it has left. 

There's a wetness on your shoulder.

All of a sudden, you're back on Earth, lungs working double time. One of your legs have fallen, only held up by Max's hips and the hand that's rubbing circles into your lower back. You clench around him; he jumps. 

"Are you crying?" 

Red, puffy eyes meet yours. "Happy tears," he promises, rubbing your noses together. 

It takes a minute for him to pull out of you, cum spilling out and running down your thighs. Your legs are shaking so badly that you can't stand, and you're very aware of your injury again. Max wastes no time in scooping you up again and placing you on the counter, takes his time cleaning you up. 

The bathroom is much warmer than it was when you first walked in, but it's still considerably cold. While Max busies himself with a warm cloth between your thighs, you reach into his bag in search of warm, dry clothes, and by God do you find them.

"Well, that's just not fair," he pouts, "why do you look better in my clothes than I do?" You blush at that, fiddling with the end of his sweater. 

With a properly cleaned and wrapped ankle, you climb onto Max's back, comfortably resting there as he carries you downstairs. Much to your relief, they've put a movie on the projector, barely even noticing your arrival.

"Took you long enough," Emma sing-songs. "We figured you'd drowned up there."

"Sorry, got caught up in a battle with the house ghosts," you struggle to hide your wince when you sit down. Something tells you that you'll not be able to walk in the morning, or the next day, for that matter. 

You thought you'd hid it pretty well until Max winks at you. 

Smug bastard.

And if anybody notices the way you waddle to the truck the next morning, they don't say anything. Not even when Mr. H drops you off where the cars are parked and you clamber into Max's passenger seat rather than hopping on the bus with Emma. 

"So," Max grins, tapping the steering wheel, "what adventure are we going on next?" 

This world isn't ready for the hell the two of you are about to raise.

After you can walk again, of course. 

#the quarry #the quarry x reader #the quarry x you #max brinly #max brinly x reader #x reader #self insert #reader self insert #max the quarry #quarry game #hacketts quarry #the quarry smut #max brinly smut #oneshot #the quarry max #updated 09/20/23 to remove mentions of hair

[tea-plantz]

Hello Could i request some Yandere Marcy headcanons? Maybe add a head canon where the reader escapes her?

Yess my first Marcy request! And better yet, a yandere one! Thank you so much for sending in a request, love<3

She/them for Marcy

They/them for the reader

!Tw! spoilers, dark themes

~Yandere!Marcy Wu x reader hcs~

Everything started when Marcy first met you at Saint James middle school. You were the new exchange student that had recently started in the middle of the schoolyear, and was placed in Marcy’s class. Moreover, you miraculously ended up being placed right next to her, giving the black haired girl a chance to look at you up close.

Wow, you were absolutely gorgeous! The teen could quickly feel a wave of nervousness washing over her, as you turned to the girl with a smile.

Marcy ended up being the first friend you made at your new school, after she invited you to eat with her and her friends, while looking a bit flustered.

When you said “yes” to her little proposal, she was so happy! A new friend! Or at least so she thought…

——————————————————————————

In the beginning, Marcy noticed that she would sense a slight feeling of butterflies in her stomach, when you smiled at her, but even though she may be the smartest kid in her class, the brown eyed girl could not wrap her head around just what she was feeling.

She would constantly talk to Anne and Sasha about you, invite you to all of their hangouts, and nervously look away whenever you made eye contact.

Over time, their silly little crush started to grow. You were just so nice to them, sweet, pretty/handsome, and you even talked with them about their interests! Poor Marcy Wu was completely in awe just by your very presence alone, and couldn’t stop herself from falling for you. Hard.

Some nights, she would stay up, either texting with you, drawing/writing about you in her journal, or simply lay awake thinking about you. This of course, making them extremely sleep deprived in the morning.

This might only seem like a sweet, childish little crush, but believe me, it was far from it.

Marcy’s behavior quickly became more… obsessive towards you. She would constantly crave to be by your side, and she could always be seen staring at you. All with a red blush painted onto their features as they fiddled with the hem of their clothing.

The noirette often found her thoughts drifting over to you whenever she were in class, having a conversation, or those times she couldn’t sleep at night.

Marcy herself, despite being a genius, isn’t really realizing that what she has towards you, is an issue at all (She’s really oblivious). She truly believes that what you guys have is pure, innocent, love.

——————————————————————————

For the most part, the brown eyed girl was mostly observing you. Following you around, writing down small details about you. Watching you interact with others or simply just enjoying some alone time. Sometimes she observed you while hanging out with you herself, other times more… discreet. She was quietly following your every move, stalking, learning…. Now, most would assume that Marcy would be terrible at the whole “stalker” thing, considering her clumsiness, however that’s where your wrong. When this girl is in her zone, her concentration level is at max (y’know like in the 1st temple, or when she’s playing her video games). All her senses and focus would be on you and you alone, as if you where one of her hyper-fictions, making her incredibly aware of every little detail.

After simply observing from the sideline for a long, long time, Marcy would finally build up the courage to ask you out, all while internally panicking. She finally decided that she had to ask you to be hers in fear of losing you to another, since you guys were simply meant to be.

She didn’t really think she was worthy of having you honestly, but she couldn’t hold back. She needed you. Craved you. You made her feel accepted. You showed her affection. You made her feel loved.

——————————————————————————

Now onto the hcs! (Considering you said “yes” of course, since well… your reading this? If not, think of it as kidnapping:D)

I feel like Marcy is the type to be like “insecure jealous”. Let me explain: when Marcy gets jealous because somebody’s getting too close to you, your smiling an awful lot at another person, or someone else is for example flirting with you, Marcy gets extremely insecure. She feels like she isn’t good enough for you, and starts to question herself a lot. However, since her obsession with you and her unhealthy mindset has gotten to grow so much, she would probably push those thoughts away, telling herself delusional lies. Either that, or she would become completely obsessed with trying to get you to like her more, making irrational decisions to gain your approval and attention. Remember when she tried to get all of Wartwood to like her? Yeah, it’s something along the lines of that.

Marcy is also incredibly smart and observant. Therefore she would probably know everything about you, maybe even stuff you didn’t even know yourself! She probably has a ton of pages about you in her journal-

In this brown eyed girls case, I think a delusional yandere is the most likely outcome. Marcy can get so caught up in her own little world and fantasies, that she sometimes creates her own truth in her head. For example, she would probably convince herself that the way she was acting and feeling towards you is completely normal, that she only does what she has to do, that you absolutely feel the same way about her (even if you really doesn’t) and so on.

I also imagine Marcy as the worshipping type. She just absolutely adore you and everything you do. She looks up to you so much and admire everything about you!

Even though this black haired girl obviously has some issues, she’s still sweet little Mar-mar! Honestly, despite her obsessiveness and her creepy tendencies, she’s still extremely sweet and caring. Marcy knows it’s wrong (even though she’s delulu), but she feels like she has to go to these extreme measures to keep you with her and make sure that you stay with her, only her.

I know punishments and all are a popular trait when it comes to yanderes, but I personally don’t think Marcy would really “punish” you. She would be far to soft for that. She would most likely try to manipulate you instead.

Gaslighting would probably be what you would experience the most with Marcy when it comes to toxic behavior. This girl can be extremely good at subtle manipulation and making you feel bad or sorry for her. Sometimes, she even does it by accident.

Even though this is yandere Marcy (which acts kinda different from regular Marcy), I still think she would be just as shy in social situations, especially with you. If you show her even the tiniest bit of affection, she goes completely red and starts shaking in your touch from nerves and excitement.

I personally think that Marcy would be extremely affectionate! She’s probably touch starved as well Girl will probably have an arm wrapped around you at all time, holding your hand, or simply starring at you (she just admires you so much!…. Also, she’s kinda the type to stare at you while you sleep-). Cuddles are also a huge yes for her, it’s a great way to feel love and connection!

This noirette is also clingy as hell! And not just with physical affection, no, she probably always forces herself onto you. For example, if your reading a book, she would ask you a ton of questions about it, then recommend some of her own favorite books. Same goes for stuff like music, games, movies, ect. Marcy would probably always try to stay close to you as well in every thinkable scenario. Especially in situations where she feels left out and forgotten, being overly affectionate and clingy. And with yandere Marcy, it’s even more intense-

The main reason for Marcy to be a yandere in the first place would most likely be trauma. This poor thing has been through a lot and it’s clear to see that she’s dealing with some type of abandonment issues. In addition, even though Marcy takes great pride in the fact that she’s a nerd an all, I feel like she probably has really low self esteem as well, causing her to be more sensitive and extreme at times.

Since I was asked about it, I’m also going to add in some hcs about escaping Marcy (Ik kidnapping and all is a bit unrealistic, but these are yandere hcs so yeah)

To escape from Marcy would honestly be extremely hard. This is due to the fact that she is terribly smart and knows an awful lot about you. Like I mentioned, she knows everything about you, and has thought of everything single possible scenario of you escaping. Plus, like mentioned, Marcy’s also super clingy, and is probably attached to your hip at all times, giving you very little time to yourself.

One thing you could do though would be to play on her emotions. Marcy is quite sensitive and emotional, plus she cares so much about you! If you know how to play your cards right, you could just might manage to work your way around her emotionally, but be aware, because she’s still incredibly smart and could possibly detect if something fishy was up.

Also, I’m not really sure about Marcy’s physical strength, (like in the show, she’s able to fight monsters and such, but she mentioned that she wasn’t very good in gym and all. Plus if you look at her build and how she acted in the 3rd temple, I would say that she’s not that athletic) but you might be able to sneak attack her and overpower her, but I feel like she would have a backup plan for that.

If you did manage to escape though, Marcy would be absolutely devastated. A lot of her trauma would return and it would probably be the last thing to completely push her of the deep end.

Homegirl would definitely go insane and just totally lose it. Crying while laughing and all.

Marcy would never stop searching for you though, and she would put all her strength into trying to find you. As an attempt to comfort and distract herself from the pain, she probably thought of it as one of those adventure games that she adore so much (like Zelda), where the main goal is to find and rescue you. Marcy is also an extremely passionate person, so if she has set her goal (aka to find you and love you forever), she’s definitely gonna follow through.

In conclusion, I think that Marcy would be one of the worst and best yanderes to have at the same time. All Marcy wants is just for you to love her, show her that you care and stay with her, but trust me when I say that if this clingy Taiwanese girl is set on keeping you, your going to be with her forever… I mean, we saw what lengths she was willing to go just to avoid moving away from her besties, but it’s all with good intentions, right…?

Omgomgomg I’m so sorry for taking an ETERNITY with this one!! I’ve just been such a perfectionist about these hcs since I love Marcy so much! Plus, my family’s visiting Australia so it has been kinda busy. Thank you for being so patient, though! I really appreciate it!<3

#amphibia x reader #amphibia #yandere amphibia #marcy regina wu #marcy wu x reader #amphibia marcy #yandere Marcy Wu x reader #yandere Marcy wu #yandere #fanfic #amphibia fic #amphibia x y/n #marcy wu x yn #marcy x y/n #calamity trio #calamity trio x reader #yandere headcanons #yandere hcs

[erin-bo-berin]

Trying

Part 1: Exiled

Steve Harrington x Female Reader

Warnings: Smut (Sex, Oral Sex--female receiving), Possible Season 4 spoilers (episodes 6 & 7)  mentioned from part 1

Word Count: 5.4k

I couldn’t end this story on such a sad note, so here’s an additional part that definitely gets smutty. Hope you enjoy!

You’d kept your promise to yourself.

It’d been two weeks since the spontaneous journey to the Upside Down. 

Through some miraculous discoveries from Dustin, including being able to communicate through Holly Wheeler’s Lite Brite, the five of you managed to escape through another gate. This one was located at the site of Chrissy Cunningham’s murder, in Eddie’s trailer. In the Upside Down, the group managed to venture there. On the other side was Dustin, Max, Lucas and Erica, a bed sheet rope and mattress waiting for your landing.

After all five had made it through to the correct world safely, you had walked away. You’d mumbled some excuses to the group that you couldn’t be a part of this anymore, much to their dismay. You were part of their family, they insisted. 

Of course, Steve was the one to catch up to you and beg you not to go. If only he’d done that weeks earlier, but now it was too little too late. 

He was still in that Dio jean vest Eddie had lent him and damn him if he didn’t look amazing in it. He was dirty, sweaty, and bloody, but he was beautiful. 

“Just please, leave me alone,” you’d begged.

He had.

Now, even as you regretted walking away from your friends, you found yourself eager to pick up your phone to see if you could call and catch Steve. Was he okay? Did he get his wounds checked out? You realized you didn’t even know if the gang had defeated Vecna or not.

Your mind kept wandering back to the Upside Down. Besides the painful interaction while you bandaged Steve up, there was one other memory that had found a home in your mind.

It had been mere minutes after you’d walked away from him—your simple statement saying that you weren’t okay speaking volumes more than those two words did—that the earth began to violently shake.

You heard the others shriek as you felt yourself being pulled back, held tight against Steve’s chest as he tried to support you both with a hand against the side of the large rock. Maybe the Upside Down earthquake had scrambled your brains as well because as inappropriate timing as it was, all you could focus on was the sensation of being pressed against his warm chest, his arm protectively holding on to you across your own chest.

Who knew you’d been so touch starved in just a month away from him that your senses immediately heightened from just being held by him again. Of course, to him, it wasn’t anything other than just making sure you were safe; an instinct that came naturally to him. But to you, it felt like home.

When he’d awkwardly let you go after the tremors had subsided, you’d nodded an equally awkward thanks and went on your way, trailing after the others. Just like the incident in the graveyard between you two, after Max’s terrifying experience, it wasn’t spoken about. It was like your whole relationship had never existed to him, as if it was taboo. 

But even weeks later, you couldn’t help but remember that small moment in a series of much more eventful ones. How you’d longed to have held on to him, knowing that even though you were in a scary, unfamiliar world, you and he were in this together. You’d longed to joke around with him easily as you’d walked through the woods with the others, something he’d usually do because he knew it kept you calm and thinking straight.

It was a Saturday night when a knock came from your front door. You’d been lounging around, eating ice cream out of the carton while watching whatever you could find on television. You hadn’t dared to attempt to rent a movie, knowing good and well that if you stepped into Family Video—regardless if Steve was working at that time or not—he would eventually find out you’d been there. 

You rose with a grumble, figuring it was one of the kids finally coming around to bug you—albeit you wouldn’t have minded as you did love them to death. The last person you would’ve thought to expect was your ex-boyfriend.

Your shock was evident as you stared at Steve, standing just outside your doorway.

“Hey.” His voice came out a bit raspy, maybe from the nerves that clearly showed on his face. 

His hands were stuffed in his jeans pockets as he stood, trying to appear casual. He was in his usual Steve-like apparel, jeans, sneakers and a polo. 

Damn those polos. They always looked so good on him, the sleeves just slightly loose on him, as if he didn’t want to fully show off his biceps, but you always noticed them—you knew they were there. This polo happened to be a light gray with thin, alternating blue and black stripes. It was open at the collar just enough for you to glimpse a peek at his chest hair. As it usually was, it was tucked into his jeans. You weren’t sure how he managed, but he made a simple shirt look like it was made for him.

There were no signs of the dirty, battered and bloodied man that you’d left behind weeks ago and you found yourself wondering if his injuries were healing alright. You noticed there seemed to be no sign of the strangulation marks from around his neck, although there appeared to be a slight bruise that was in its final stages of healing, but you couldn’t be sure if it was that, or just the light.

“Steve,” you managed to force out, realizing you’d likely been gaping too long, “Uh, hi?”

“Hey,” he repeated, hand rubbing his jaw, “I- I wanted to swing by and see how you were doing.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” you gestured towards his abdomen, where there had been a bandage tied tightly around him from a scrap of your shirt.

“I mean I’m still standing,” he chuckled lowly, “Nice shirt by the way.”

You glanced down, flushing slightly, realizing what you had on.

“I wondered where that had gotten to.”

It was one of Steve’s shirts that had somehow been left at your place after the countless nights he’d slept over. You hadn’t had the heart to return it and now you were embarrassed that he’d seen you wearing it. How pathetic were you? You’d been broken up for nearly six weeks yet here you were, still in his clothes.

It was identical to the yellow, lightweight sweater he’d worn the day of the Skull Rock and Lover’s Lake venture. The same one he’d pulled over his head effortlessly, moments before diving into the lake to locate the gate. This one, albeit being the same, soft material, was royal blue and looked just as good on him as its brighter companion. You’d manage to steal it though because it was just so comfortable.

The sleeves were longer on you, enough to cover chilled hands and it was long enough to land mid-thigh, thus being a perfect lounging outfit. Of course, you didn’t expect to find its owner staring at you in your doorway when you’d slipped it on earlier. Lately, it’d been a comfort to you, even if it did make you ache from loneliness.

“I don’t remember it looking that good on me,” he mumbled.

You stammered, not able to form any complete sentences, let alone words before he thankfully interrupted you.

“Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”

“Oh.” That you hadn’t expected. “Sure.”

You opened the door wider, stepping to the side as he walked across the threshold before you closed the door behind him.

“So,” you began awkwardly.

“Y/N,” he said at the exact same moment, your name coming out a bit roughly.

“Oh, go ahead,” you motioned towards him to continue what he was saying.

“I just wanted to apologize.”

Your brows furrowed, thinking he meant the Upside Down, monster hunting situations you’ve been involved in. You shook your head in response.

“Steve, you have no reason to. I chose to be a part of the group and help—”

But he cuts you off before you can continue.

“Not for that. For ruining everything. For breaking up with you. For hurting you.”

You inhaled sharply, already feeling the beginnings of tears pricking your eyes. When would you ever stop crying over him?

“You had your reasons Steve, I understand.”

You folded your arms around yourself, as if you could protect yourself from any more hurt. You had no idea what he could possibly say next.

“But I made a mistake, Y/N.”

You peered at him, waiting for him to continue.

“I made the biggest fucking mistake in letting you go. I think I knew that right away, but I tried to convince myself that it was the right thing to do. The safe thing to do, for you. Ironic huh?” he laughed flatly, “All I wanted to do was keep you safe, to make sure you wouldn’t ever get hurt and that’s exactly what I did to you.”

You’d thought the same thing.

“It’s just,” he goes on, raking a hand through his hair, clearly distressed, “I hadn’t stopped to think just how much danger I put you in back at Starcourt. I kept having nightmares. All I could think about was I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. I mean I had no idea about all this Vecna stuff about to happen, but I knew I didn’t want anything to happen to you. That thought scared the shit out of me.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but he wasn’t done.

“Then suddenly you were around again. You have no idea how much I just wanted to take you aside and tell you how sorry I was for being such a dick. That I deserved your hatred even as I wanted to hold you in my arms and never let go. It hit me like a ton of bricks how much I fucked up. You were—you are the best thing to ever happen to me, Y/N. Then I saw your face as you were taking care of me in the Upside Down and it took all of my willpower to not drop to my knees and beg for your forgiveness. I just might have if the others hadn’t been around. I knew it then. I knew I had done exactly the opposite of sparing you from pain, I had been the cause of it and I hated myself for it. You looked so broken Y/N, so utterly broken. The light that had always been in your eyes had dimmed so much, it looked like the darkness that surrounded us down there. I’m so, so sorry. I will never be able to say it enough. I will regret my choice for the rest of my life. I don’t expect you to forgive me or even want me back, but I had to tell you. To let you know that I’m still so utterly in love with you. That I love you so much, it hurts. But in the best way possible. You’ve always brought out the best of me. I’m a stronger, better version of myself with you by my side and I would give you the world if I could. Even if you can’t find it in your heart to forgive me, if you don’t want to be with me, I’ll understand. I just wanted you to know that I never stopped loving you. I’m pretty damn sure I will never stop.”

You weren’t sure at what point in his monologue that you’d started crying, but the flow of tears was so steady you hadn’t even bothered to try and wipe them away. You knew if you tried, they'd quickly be replaced by another wet track. They dripped down onto the shirt of his you were in, slid down your neck as you listened to the man you loved pour his heart out to you. If you were able to speak, you’d tell him you loved him too, but you were at a loss for words. 

“Baby,” he whispered, the pet name slipping so easily from his lips, “Please don’t cry, I’m sorry.”

He didn’t hesitate a minute to move closer to you than where he’d just been. He hated seeing you cry, but at this point you couldn’t hold it back. You weren’t sure if it was from relief, love, sheer exhaustion from everything you’d been through or what, but the tears came steadily.

His hand came up to your cheek, palm flat against it as his thumb captured the next tear to fall, wiping it away. He was beating himself up, you could see his own self-imposed torture playing out behind his eyes. 

There was silence between the both of you as his other hand came up to your opposite cheek to do the same thing. He wiped gently and tenderly at the tear tracks, trying to dry your tears as they started coming to a stop. His eyes searched your face, dipping low enough that you knew he was gazing at your lips. Even if he desperately wanted to, you knew he wouldn’t kiss you unless you wanted him to. Only once you gave your approval would he give in to the yearning to feel his lips against yours.

Not surprisingly, that’s all you wanted right in this moment too. You tilted your head up, just enough to meet his gaze. The space between you and him was so close, you could feel his warm breath against your skin. The electricity between the both of you seemed to crackle with energy, the feeling like the air right before a thunderstorm. 

He didn’t even have to verbalize his question, it was written all over his face. With a slight nod of your head, your lips met his in what was likely the sweetest, most breathtaking kiss he’d ever given you. All your yearning, misery, love and joy went into this one kiss as your lips moved against his, as perfect as they always were. 

He held your face in his hands like it was the most delicate piece of china he’d ever touched as he kissed you so meaningfully. At some point, your arms had unfurled from around yourself and reached out to him. One hand rested on his chest while the other slid into his hair at the base of his neck. It felt so good to be able to kiss him again, to feel like you were where you belonged. 

When you’d parted, you were breathless from both the kiss and Steve in general. 

“I’m yours,” you whispered, taking his hand, leading him backwards towards your room.

You bit your bottom lip nervously as you peered up at him, hoping he wouldn’t reject the idea. There would be time for more conversation later, but now you wanted this.

His eyes that were filled with softness earlier turned lust filled.

“Fuck, don’t look at me like that,” he partially whined, bringing his lips back toward yours as you crossed into your bedroom, his foot kicking the door shut behind him.

“Like what?” you asked, when you broke the kiss long enough to question him.

There was another series of short, breathless kisses before he answered you, as if he was afraid he was dreaming and wasn’t really here becoming intoxicated by you.

“With those doe eyes. So eager and full of love. I don’t deserve it.”

“Steve,” you stopped him before he could capture your lips again, your hand on his chest to hold him back long enough to say what you had to say, “I need you to stop beating yourself up, okay?”

His tongue peeked out over his lips as his wet them, before answering with a nod. You knew it wouldn’t be the easiest thing for him, but that was just the type of man he was. 

“Even if it was a mistake, you did what you thought was best at the time. You’re here now and so am I. That’s all that matters right now.”

Your fingers traced the line of his jaw and he moved his face towards your hand, kissing your fingers.

“At least let me show you how sorry I am?” 

His eyebrow arched at you and your lips curled into a smile.

“Be my guest.”

You sat back on the bed, scooting up towards the headboard as he crawled over you, kissing you once again. As you laid back, he came down with you, his fingers gently gliding along your hair, where his hand rested on it.

That’s how you spent the majority of the next few minutes, just kissing, exploring one another’s mouths as if it’d been months not weeks since you’d last been in this scenario. 

His hands were light as feathers as they skimmed down your body, giving your hips a gentle squeeze, his lips nipping at your jaw.

“I missed you so much, Y/N,” he murmured into your neck, leaving kisses there as well.

“You’re in luck Harrington,” you teased lightly, your bare foot rubbing his jeans clad leg in an affectionate gesture, “I missed you too.”

His thumb brushed over your lips, now red and swollen from the amount of intense kisses shared. With a soft laugh, he shook his head smiling to himself.

“What?” you grinned.

His happiness was contagious. You couldn’t help but feel just a tad bit light and floaty, seeing how his smile brightened his face drastically, the corners of his eyes crinkling, something they did anytime he smiled or laughed.

“If it hadn’t been the fact that I was in pain with the others right nearby or that we’d been in the damn Upside Down, I would’ve kissed you senseless last time I saw you.”

“I don’t know, nothing better to ruin evil creatures’ plans than with a steamy make out,” you laughed, “That’s definitely something they wouldn’t see coming.”

His laughter echoed deep in his chest, his hair falling into his eyes. You reached up to push the strand out of his eyes, inadvertently sobering the moment.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Hey yourself.”

“You sure you’re okay with this?”

His thumbs rubbed circles against your hip bones where his hands had stayed and hadn’t moved further down yet. 

“Positive,” you answered, fingers attempting to grip the polo, to pull it out of its tucked in place and off his body.

He leaned back on his heels, pulling it off for you, knowing what you were prepared to see. He’d been with you many times, but he’d never felt quite as vulnerable as he did right now. 

“Steve,” you gasped, sitting up, looking at where the injuries on either side of his abdomen had been.

They weren’t nearly as bad as when you’d last seen them, but they were also still in the process of healing. They were jagged and rough to the touch as you ran your fingers over them gently, his breath hitching. 

“Do they still hurt?” your brows furrowed in concern, pulling your fingers away quickly.

“No, no,” he shook his head, “Thankfully they stopped hurting about a week ago. It’s just—” he paused, gulping, as your fingers brushed the healing skin again.

You knew what he meant. It was the intimacy of it. It wasn’t something that was unusual for you and he, it’d just been quite a while since you’d been this close. The intimacy and sexual relationship had been suffering within the last weeks of your relationship, but never because of lost attraction.

“They were the worst of the wounds so they’re taking longer than my neck and back did to heal. They’re awful to look at, I know, I’m sor—”

“Steve,” you quieted his rambling, his eyes flickering up towards yours, “You know I don’t care about that shit.”

You saw relief evident on his face. You knew he was apprehensive about your reaction to the twin injuries, as if it might change your attraction to him, make him less perfect to you. But nothing could do that. He was perfect just the way he was, no matter if he had battle scars or not.

Your arms looped around his neck, pulling him in for another kiss as his palms slid under your shirt, up your stomach. They stopped just under your breasts, cupping them in his hands, thumbs flicking over your hardening nipples. 

Your surprised gasp had him smirking into the kiss, glad some things were still the same. You’re nothing if not even more reactive to him now.

He moves back to push his shirt up your body, kissing the exposed skin as he goes. Chills erupt over your body, more at the contact of his kisses than the cool air.

“It’s honestly insulting how much better this looks on you,” he mock huffs.

“Stop,” you grin, feeling yourself blush, “It’s just cozy to wear okay?”

“Yeah and it also tests my willpower to keep from bending you over and fucking you in it.”

Your jaw slackens a bit, your flaming cheeks now more from the heat beginning to stir in you, something only he can bring out within you. While you’re momentarily speechless, he lifts the garment over your head, gently pushing you to lay back against the cool sheets once again.

A low groan sounds deep in his throat as his eyes take you in, naked but for your casual everyday underwear.

“God, you’re beautiful,” Steve mutters reverently.

He could swear you were even more beautiful than you’d been the last time he’d seen you like this. He had no doubts that you were.

“Steve, I’m in laundry day underwear,” you cover your face, wishing you’d known to wear at least something a tad sexier.

“You know I don’t care about that shit,” he repeats your words from earlier, gently prying your hands from your face and you see his serious expression, knowing he meant it with all his heart.

He meets your lips in a short kiss before bringing his lips down your chin, neck and chest, kissing any inch of skin he possibly can. He wants to enjoy this moment with you for as long as possible because he never wants to lose you again.

His mouth stops at your sternum, just between your breasts before fanning his kisses over one, his hand coming over the other, squeezing it firmly enough to make you inhale sharply. His lips close around your nipple, sucking on it just enough to make your back arch and a tiny moan to erupt.

Having a short attention span when it comes to your body, he kisses sporadically down your stomach, fingers just barely dipping into the waistband of your underwear.

“Steve, please,” you groan, not being able to withstand the anticipation.

“Sweetheart, I haven’t gotten to do this in way too long. You better fucking believe I’m taking my time and enjoying this.”

Your teeth scrape over your bottom lip as his fingers just barely flutter over the fabric of your underwear. He lifts an amused brow at the arousal already there, soaking the fabric, as he looks up with a smirk.

“Still got my charm, don’t I?”

The cocky son of a bitch. But, you didn’t disagree. Steve was always a great lover whether he was hot, heavy and desperate for you or he took his time with you, like now, where he was appreciating every kiss, every inch of your skin, every moment he could be close to you in this way. The sensuality of it was just as arousing.

In the split second your mind took to veer off track, he’d removed the last item of clothing left on your body. One finger ran a path over you from your hole up to your clit before he leaned down and kissed your inner thigh.

“Fucking hell I missed you,” he groaned, as you squirm in his touch, just wanting his mouth on you.

His teasing kisses continue as his lips travel from the top of one thigh towards the inside of it. He doesn’t just stop at one, he does it on both, finally sliding one of his long fingers in you, moving it at a languid pace. 

“Steve, please,” you moan, desperate.

It had been way too long for you to handle too much teasing at this point and he knew it. He knew you and your body better than you did, just like he knew that now was the perfect time to oblige you.

His mouth finds your throbbing clit and his tongue flicks against it, eliciting a sharp moan from you.

“Oh, fuck,” you moan, straining against the hold he had on your thighs, keeping you held firmly in place, “I forgot how good you are at that.”

He takes a moment to glance up at you mischievously. 

“Baby, I’m gonna make sure you’re never forgetting that again.”

Before you can even think of words to respond, his mouth is back in place, licking and sucking, making sure to keep you on your toes as you never know what his next move is. At some point, his one, slow and torturous moving finger has become two and they’re just a working part of this symphony—bending and curling, moving in and out of you as you clutch at the sheets. You’ve been reduced to nothing but a moaning mess as you start clenching around his digits, the familiar bundle of pleasure building at the bottom of your stomach.

You don’t even have to tell him how close you are, your whimpers of his name and your body giving him all the clues he needs. He works you until you’re crying out, an expletive falling repeatedly from your lips.

He may just be in love, but he thinks it’s the cutest thing ever.

You’re breathing heavily, when he crawls over you once again, pushing a stray piece of hair off your forehead as he looks down at you tenderly.

“How we doing, sweetheart?”

“Pretty damn good,” you respond, still winded.

Your hands work at his belt as he kisses you deeply, the taste of you mingling in the kiss. When you’ve gotten the button popped on his jeans, he helps you the rest of the way, finally pushing them down and off his hips, ridding of his underwear as well.

When you move in an attempt to have his way with him, he stops you gently.

“Another time, okay? After all, I’m supposed to be the one apologizing to you,” he grinned.

Still, you reached down between the both of you, wrapping your hand around him firmly. The smile slipped from his face as his mouth fell open in a low moan.

“I want this,” you say boldly, gazing up at him, your voice nor your gaze wavering, “Inside me. So deep inside me that I will feel it tomorrow. Remind me I’m yours. Make me remember what I’ve missed.”

With one heated kiss, he moves your hand, lacing his fingers with yours and laying them next to your head while simultaneously nudging your legs just a tad further apart so he can settle between them comfortably.

He gives you what you ask for and pushes into you, moans coming from both of you. It’s been long enough the stretch of him inside you is such a deliriously amazing feeling and you tell him so. The hand that isn’t in his clutches at his bicep, fingertips digging into it. You fit together so perfectly, it’s like he’s a missing puzzle piece. 

His hips move slowly at first, praises for you just tumbling from his mouth.

“You feel so good, Y/N,” he practically whines, “You always feel so fucking good.”

You’re as close as two can get, but at this moment all you want is to be closer to him. You didn’t realize how the time apart made you hungry for him, not only sexually, but just in a pure intimate state. He was all yours and you were all his.

“I need more,” you murmur, wanting to feel him as much as humanly possible.

You pull him closer against you and you feel him squeeze your hand as he thrusts harder and deeper into you.

With an additional squeeze of your hand, he lets go, hands sliding around and under your back, pressing your torso against his own. His piercing gaze meets your own as your hand slides over his shoulder, into his hair tangling itself in it. You’ve both given up on kisses at this point, much too breathless and focused on other things at this point.

Your hips move at the same rhythm as his, your nails scratching at his back, which thankfully is fully healed—although at this rate he’ll have new scratches by morning. 

You could’ve possibly yelped when his realignment hits such a deliciously deep spot, you can’t hold back. He loves it, he always has. He doesn’t fail to remind you of this again.

“Make those pretty noises for me baby,” he grunts, his fingertips nearly bruising your skin from his vise-like grip on your body, “Fuck, I love you so much. I love you.”

His moans are so needy, he sounds so needy and it drives you wild. Even if he’s in charge, something about seeing him so utterly wrecked and whining with need because of you, sends you into a spiral. 

Your eyes have been screwed shut from the sheer ecstasy and you open them enough to see Steve moving above you. Strands of hair stuck to his forehead where a sheen of sweat glistened, his eyes dark and filled with euphoria, his slackened jaw emitting the sexiest moans and groans from above you. You’re his complete undoing and he’s lost in you as much as you are in him. It’s only then when you feel the true depth of your love for him. There would be no way you couldn’t take him back because you were utterly and completely in love with him.

Your moans and whines are coming more frequently, more desperate as the pit of fire gets closer to erupting and flooding your veins.

“Steve,” you pant, small moans lacing your words, “I’m yours.”

He’s so close to his own finish and he drops his head into the crook of your neck, leaving a sloppy kiss there.

“Again. Say it again,” he half pleads, almost needing to hear it. 

He refuses to let himself go until he knows you’re right there with him. He reaches down, rubbing circles on your clit and you’re a moaning mess in his ear.

“I’m yours.”

Like a flash of lightning, your orgasm rips through you and you’re flying, seeing stars like you belong in a damn spaceship. Someone has lit a match to your entire body as it burns inside and out, waves of pleasure starting at your core and rippling outwards. But you’re here, entwined with Steve, who you know is holding on as long as he can, trying to savor every bit of this intimate, special reunion of you two.

Your hand is somehow entangled back in his hair again—a gesture you can’t seem to steer away from.

“C’mon Steve, let me hear you,” you coo, your toes still curling from the high you’re still not yet recovered from, “You know I love to hear you.”

“Fuck, Y/N,” his grip on your hips tightens as his broken moans fill the room, “You can have anything you want baby.”

“I love you,” the whispered moan falls from your lips.

Your name is like a mantra as he tenses above you, finally letting go after staying in control so long. You feel warmth flooding your thighs and you know he’s filled you entirely, something you absolutely love. 

Your heart flutters in your chest as he presses his lips against yours in a fervent kiss though it quickly softens as your bodies start to still. He pulls away leaning his forehead against yours, smiling at you before nudging your cheek with his nose.

“I love you so much,” comes his reply to your earlier statement.

You expect to feel a loss when he slips out of you, laying at your side, but you don’t. You still feel warm and fuzzy, the tingles and post sex haze still clouding your mind. You mumble about not worrying about the mess between your legs for the moment as all you want to do is just lay with him.

He grabs the sheet, pulling it over your bodies before pulling you close. You find your head on his chest, just like you always love to do and his arm drapes around your waist. 

“You know how I said earlier I was going to make it up to you?” Steve asked.

You nodded sleepily.

“That was me trying.”

#steve harrington #steve harrington smut #steve harrington fic #steve harrington angst #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #stranger things #stranger things angst #stranger things fic #stranger things smut

[sattlersquarry]

Steve Harrington x Reader Fics

🍊 orange juice - (Post Season 4 AU) Steve's world changes in the worst way when he loses you. He struggles to move on...but he learns he might not have to when he miraculously gets a second chance with you.

🫀 the great divide - (Sequel to Orange Juice; Post Season 4 AU) After your miraculous return to the land of the living, you aren't doing well. [READ THE WARNINGS!!!]

🔪SuperFreaky - [AU inspired by Freaky (2020); modern body-swap-with-a-slasher AU] The Hawkins Hacker has been terrorizing your town for years now. What happens when he digs his hooks into you is surprising. It's shocking. It's downright superfreaky.

🌸🪻🥀 bloom - (Series; Completed; Post Season 4 AU) In the summer of 1987, you and your mother travel to Hawkins, Indiana to plan the event of the season: the Byers-Hopper wedding. (garden center!steve x wedding planner!reader)

🔥 the view between villages, part one: good bones - (Season 3) Armed with nothing but a GED and a small sum of inheritance money, you move to Hawkins, Indiana in March 1985 for a fresh start. ... It seems that the town has a strange history with science experiments and government cover-ups, but that’s all in the past...right? (this is a choose-your-own adventure fic with about 10 possible storylines.)

💀 the view between villages, part two: haunted - (Season 4) Things in Hawkins are much calmer than they were over the Fourth of July week. ... Wait a minute ... have you been experiencing any strange symptoms? Nightmares, headaches, nosebleeds? (this is a choose-your-own adventure fic.)

🍓 forget-me-not - (Post Season 4) Steve Harrington broke your heart almost a year ago. You think it's only right to still hold a grudge, despite how good he seems.

📼 the video store frame-up of '86 - (Post Season 3, lightly inspired by Romeo & Juliet) You and Steve fall in love, despite working at rival video stores. Things get complicated when the two of you are prime suspects in a Blockbuster video vandalism.

🖤 the end is here - DIRECT FOLLOW-UP OF VIDEO STORE FRAME-UP OF '86 - (Season 4 adjacent) Your boyfriend Steve Harrington is keeping secrets from you, and you aren't sure how much longer you can take it.

🍃 & now i’m covered in you - (Post Season 3, inspired by Taylor Swift's "ivy") Despite having a boyfriend, you find your feelings for your best friend Steve Harrington growing tenfold over Christmas break, 1985.

👻 Worse Than Ghosts (Series; Completed) - Y/N is a producer on YouTube's most popular ghost-hunting show. When she and the Spirit Search team travel to Hawkins, Indiana to film their second season premiere at the Creel House, they discover that some things are worse than ghosts. [Modern Buzzfeed Unsolved AU]

🎶 Elegia (Series; Completed) - (Season 4 AU) You get a call at 6 in the morning from your coworker Steve Harrington, demanding to know your favorite song. 

🎲 Remedial Chaos Theory 2.0 (from July 2019) (Series; Completed) -  Steve Harrington’s life takes a turn for the weird when Dustin tries to set him up with his babysitter, Y/N.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Epilogue

RCT 2.0 Moodboard

🏀 A Study in Self-Sufficiency (Series; Kind of Completed; Sequel to RCT 2.0) - Steve is tired of his parents deciding everything for him; he and Y/N bond over controlling parents and Y/N shares a secret about her past.

Part 1 / Part 2

Non-x Reader Stories

🍕 Remedial Chaos Theory 1.0 (from 2018) (Completed) - A normal night of D&D turns topsy-turvy when the party has to choose one person to go upstairs and get the pizza. Based on the “Remedial Chaos Theory” episode of NBC’s Community.

Prologue / Lucas / Will / Max / Mike / Dustin / Eleven / Epilogue: Steve and Roxanne

#navigation #masterlist #steve harrington x reader