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altrodent · 4 months

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Bathroom Confessions

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Genre/Warnings: Mentions of drugs, injections, blood, injuries, OD, and sick. Use of Y/N. Mentions of Steve x Nancy

Summary: After escaping from the grasp of evil Russians, Steve has some confessing to do after a high-induced sick

(A/N): This one isn’t my favorite, but I’m trying to make as many fics as I can before I hit another block. I hope you enjoy! 🩷

In this moment, you were one of the “Scoops-Troop” that wasn’t drugged and beat up by Russians. Currently you were forced, per usual, to babysit the kids. Also known as “let your friends wander while you have to take responsibility.” You didn’t mind though, knowing you got to see at least a tiny bit of “Back To The Future” for free. Dustin kept looking at the entrance of the theater, worried. “They’re fine, Dustin, they’re adults” you said, “Yeah, they’re high adults, and we’re not entirely clear right now” Erica rolled her eyes “I’m sure they’re fine”

Meanwhile, in the decently clean movie theatre restroom, Robin and Steve had gotten too distracted by the moving lights, and had gotten way too sick. After puking up whatever was left in their bodies, they weakly rested on the floor of their separate stalls. Robin ran a hand through her hair, before finally speaking “Have you… ever been in love?” Steve sighs “I was… I think I still am.” Robin taps her foot on the floor “Are you still in love with Nancy?” Steve scoffs “No.” Robin tilted her head “Why not?”Steve purses his lips “I think I found someone better for me…” The blonde’s interest peaks “Oh?” Steve smiles to himself “and it’s crazy, ‘cause I’ve known them for so long, but the way they make me feel is the same way Dustin said I should.” Steve plays with a certain bracelet this special someone had made for him wink wink.

“Ever since Dustin got back from camp, all he’s been telling me was ‘You gotta find your Suzie, you gotta find your Suzie’-“ Robin cuts in “Wait- who’s Suzie?” Steve groans “His little camp girlfriend I guess? To be honest, I don’t even think she’s real. That’s not the point though, you know, the point is… the person I like is someone I would talk to almost everyday. They were there even when I was a huge douche… they were there even when I was with Nancy.” Pressing his hand into the side of his head, Steve thought aloud “I think the only thing that stopped me from telling them was popularity… ‘maybe Tommy H would’ve thought I was weird’, it’s just- just stupid, you know?” Robins face grimaced, trying to figure out who Steve’s talking about, and praying it’s not herself. “Just, this summer, getting closer to them has made me laugh harder than I’ve laughed in years. Smile more than I’ve smiled in so so so so long.” Actively cringing, Robin starts to believe that he is actually talking about her“They’re just cool, you know? They’re just super tough on the outside, but usually always super annoyed to the point it’s almost cute”

After a long slur of silence, Steve knocks in the stall wall “Robin?” Followed by more silence “Did you OD in there?” She sits up a bit “No… I am still alive.” Steve slides under the stall wall, making his way into the other opened stall. “The floor is disgusting” said Robin, “Well, I am already covered in blood and vomit so…” He nods to himself “Well, what do you think?” She looks at him confused “About?” He rests his hand on his knee“The person” Robin turns tense “They sound awesome” His confidence grows “They are super awesome, how about the guy?” She smiles “I think he’s on drugs and isn’t thinking straight” he shrugs “Well I think he’s thinking more clearly than usual” Robins smile faded “He’s not… Look, he doesn’t even know them. And if he really knew them like- like really knew them, he wouldn’t even want to be their friend” He leans forward against his knees “Uh- yeah I think he would, cause he knows them pretty damn well” Robin interrupts “Steve look- it shocked me to my core but I like you, I really like you, but I’m not like your friends.” Steve’s brows furrow “And I’m not like Nancy wheeler-” “What? Yeah- I know, that’s why I like you too Robin but- what are you talking about?” Robin rolls her eyes “I know you’re talking about me, Steve” Steve shakes his head, eyes widened with shock “What?!” Robin sits up a bit “Steve, I don’t romantically like men” Steve waves his hands in her face “Robin! It’s not you! You don’t need to tell me what you’re into also, I really don’t mind what you’re into.”

Robins eyes look like they’re about to explode out of her head “It’s not me- then who is it? You spent your entire summer with them, you’ve known them for a while, you didn’t think your friends would like them- oh… it’s (Y/N).” “Yes!!” “Oh my god this changes everything.” Steve face palms. Robin stands up “I mean I could tell but, you know- wait you haven’t told them yet?” Steve nods with an annoyed look on his face “No, I haven’t told them yet.” Robin blinks slowly “I swear, it feels like you guys are already in a relationship, I’m surprised they aren’t in here now looking for you.” Steve’s brow lifts “What do you mean?” Robin kneels down in front of Steve and shakes his shoulders “Earth to dummy! They like you too!” Steve shakes his head “No they don’t… do they?” Robin rolls her eyes and walks out of the bathroom. “Do they?!” Steve yells before Robin exits. Steve slowly gets up and heads out, to only be met with you checking up on Robin.

You almost immediately get distracted by Steve, what’s not to get lost in? His beautiful eyes, his luxurious hair… Robin catches your and Steve’s eye contact and makes it her turn to check on Dustin and Erica. Robin mouthing ‘tell her!’ To Steve when she passes you. Steve clears his throat as you step up to him “god, those Russians really did a number on you, huh?” You chuckle softly as Steve puts his hands on his hips “oh, ha ha, you weren’t even there, you were with the two idiots running around.” You roll your eyes “We did kinda save your asses though, so I guess we’re even.” Steve shrugs, cheeks warming. “Come on, zombie, let’s get you cleaned up.” You take him by the arm and drag him into the bathroom, you begin to dampen a towel before he speaks “for what it worth… I’m glad you’re okay.” You pause for a second, you and Steve have always been buddy-buddy, and would always make playful jabs at each other, but the way he said it was so caring so genuine, it really touched you. You smile at him, looking into his eyes “I’m glad you’re okay, I mean, you were the one who got quite literally tortured” you let out an exhausted laugh. Steve sighs, “They basically ruined my best feature too…” he tuts looking at his bruised and bloodied face in the mirror.

You turn his head back to you as you begin to gently clean his face “I don’t think it’s that bad, you still look just as good as before.” Steve delicately gazes down at you as you clean him up “So you think I look good?” He raises a brow, a cheeky smirk appearing on his face. Rolling your eyes, you wash out the bloody rag. “Don’t make me repeat myself, Harrington, I’m being nice right now, it’s a rare occasion!” He chuckles softly “Whatever you say, baby” your cheeks turn a bright red, as you look at Steve befuddled. He laughs softly “Oh, ha-ha, very funny Steve.” He puts his hands up in defense “What did I do? Just calling you what you are.” Your mouth drops in shock “You’re so rude, Harrington” you give him a slight glare. “yeah, I’m rude, I know. You’re my baby though…” Steve smiles warmly, “I feel like you don’t know what that sounds like.” As you cleaned his face, he gently took your hand, putting the rag on the counter “I know what it sounds like… and I have been somewhat encouraged to admit something.” You tilt your head, “(Y/N) I’ve known you for years now, and honestly? The years I’ve spent with you have been the best years of my life.” He moves closer, his hand still in yours. “If I had died today, by the hands of a cruel Russian, I would’ve never gotten to tell you how I truly feel. And I won’t let myself get so close to that possibility that I might never get to tell you how I really feel.”

Currently, the only thing you can hear is Steve’s sultry voice, and your rapid heart beat. “Steve…?” His eyes well with tears. “I love you (Y/N) and the thought of me never being able to tell you is actual hell.” You look at him in disbelief, of course, you’ve felt the same for so long. “Steve I…” you smile softly before he slowly gets on one knee “Please, (Y/N)… tell me how you really- and I mean really feel.” You smile brightly and hug him almost knocking him onto the floor “Steve, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to tell me those words…” he pulls back slightly. “Do… do you feel the same?” He asked with a gleam of hope in his eyes. “Duh, Harrington…” you giggle softly wiping tears of joy off your face “I love you so damn much…” Steve chuckles, smiling brightly as he hugs you tighter than he ever has before. After a moment of your embrace, Steve pulls back, looking into your eyes, then at your lips. Without hesitation he leans in, and locks his lips with yours. Your lips melt with his, as he leans against the bathroom wall, pulling you closer to him. Enjoying the embrace, Steve pulls back and just nuzzles into your shoulder warmly. “I love you so much (Y/N)…” Running a hand through his hair, you respond “I love you so much, Stevie” Steve looks up at you, his well bruised face shining in the bright bathroom lights, happy that he can now rightfully call you his own.

#x reader #x you #fanfic #fluff #x you fluff #Steve #steve fluff #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington stranger things #steve x y/n #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve x you #steve x reader #steve harrington

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matchingbatbites · 1 year

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Love Grows - Part 3

Y'all, this chapter fought with me so hard. It took a while to get something I'm actually happy with, but I got there eventually. This part is 2.4k of fluff to make up for the wait <3

Ao3 | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

May '85

After that first time, Rosie becomes a regular attendee of Hellfire nights, and Andy even apologizes his way back into Eddie's good graces and earns a spot in the "Rosie Rotation". Once basketball season ends and there’s no need for Eddie to watch Rosie during games anymore, the group of boys only make it three weeks before they start complaining about the baby’s absence, and Eddie just rolls his eyes in mock annoyance.

He tells Steve about it, half-expecting the younger to just find it amusing, and he’s surprised when Steve actually starts bringing her by to visit. It’s not every week, more like every second or third, but it’s enough to keep the club members from complaining, and Eddie finds he enjoys getting to sequester Steve away behind the DM screen, letting him take a peek behind the curtain that no one else is allowed to breach.

By the end of the school year, Steve and Eddie have a decent friendship, or so Eddie hopes. With graduation behind them, they've bonded over Steve's college denials, and Eddie's failing senior year again , and it's been nice having someone outside his normal friend group to talk to about it, someone who understands what it feels like to fall short of success.

Steve’s dad officially cuts him off, and Eddie has a brief moment of panic before Steve reassures him that no , he’s not being kicked out, they’re letting him and Rosie stay at the house. (“They’d rather make sure the house is taken care of than kick me out.”) But Steve needs a job, and after applying to a few places at Starcourt, he gets a spot working at Scoops Ahoy.

He's meeting Steve at the mall so he can take Rosie while the younger is at work, and though Steve had complained to him about the required uniform, Eddie is sorely unprepared to see it in person. When Steve steps out of his car wearing that fucking sailor outfit, Eddie almost has to sit down from the wave of solid need that hits him as his little crush flares into full-blown desire.

He takes a steadying breath and puts on a grin, gives a joking "Well, ahoy sailor!" and Steve rolls his eyes.

"I know, it's fucking awful, but I needed a job fast and they were hiring."

Eddie laughs and follows Steve to the backseat, can’t help glancing down to see the way the blue shorts stretch over his ass when the younger leans in to grab Rosie’s carrier. “I dunno, Stevie. If anyone can make this work, it’s definitely you.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Steve says, and Eddie’s eyes snap back to appropriate areas when Steve straightens and offers the baby to him. “Though I’d feel better about it if I wasn’t dressed like fucking Donald Duck.”

Eddie snickers at the idea and Steve gives him a very unamused look. “Sorry, sorry. Seriously though, you look fine,” he says, taking Rosie’s carrier and bringing it over to his car. He takes a second to buckle the girl into his passenger seat - not the safest, he knows, but he always drives extra careful when he has her. “Besides, at least you won’t be the only person there wearing a dorky sailor outfit. You have a coworker, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m still gonna complain about it though.” Eddie turns to find Steve behind him, diaper bag in hand and seemingly resigned to his fate. “Do you have any plans for today?

Eddie shakes his head and takes the bag from him. “Nah, just watching nugget. Probably gonna take her back to the trailer, if that’s okay?”

“Of course it is. You know I trust you with her,” Steve says with a smile, and fuck , the guy really doesn’t know what that one sentence does to Eddie. The fact that Steve trusts him with something as precious as his daughter is worth more to Eddie than anything else in the world. The sudden swell of emotion is too much, and Eddie needs to leave before he makes a fool of himself.

“Thanks, Stevie,” he says, and he can’t resist reaching out and tugging on that dumb little tie on Steve’s shirt. “Well, have fun at work, sailor. Don’t let anyone throw you overboard.”

Steve gently smacks his hand away and rolls his eyes again. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t get into too much trouble with my kid, Eds.”

Eddie grins as he heads to his driver seat, calling out a final “Wouldn’t dream of it!”

He does bring Rosie back to the trailer, since he really doesn’t have anything else to do that day but watch her. When he walks through the door, he sees Wayne sitting on the couch, newspaper in hand, and the man looks up as Eddie enters. His eyes snap to the carrier in Eddie’s hand and he sets the paper down.

"Should I be concerned?"

Eddie shakes his head and sets down the diaper bag. "Don't worry, old man, Rosie isn't mine. She belongs to a friend."

"A friend?" Wayne stands and walks over so he can peek inside the carrier, and Rosie looks up at him with her big hazel eyes.

"Yeah. Her mama didn't want her, and her dad is pulling double time as a single parent and a teen dad, so I'm gonna watch her a few days a week while he's at work."

Wayne instantly softens and gives him a small smile as he reaches out, placing a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. "That's really nice of you, Ed. I’m proud of you.”

Eddie shrugs a little, suddenly feeling bashful under his uncle’s approval. “Yeah, well- Hey!” He says as Wayne takes the carrier from his hands.

“I’ll keep an eye on her while you wash those dishes you were supposed to do last night,” Wayne says, setting down the carrier before pulling Rosie out of it. Eddie rolls his eyes even as he smiles, and he takes off his jacket and heads over to the sink.

He gets distracted often as he does the dishes, he can’t stop himself from glancing over to watch Wayne and Rosie. They’re on the nearby couch, and his uncle has the baby sat on his leg, facing him as he talks to her softly. Eddie’s heart aches as he sees Wayne’s big, work-worn hands holding her so carefully, his rough appearance juxtaposed against Rosie’s fragile softness.

The dishes get done pretty quickly, and once Eddie dries his hands he makes his way over to sit next to Wayne. Rosie looks up at him and smiles so wide her pacifier falls from her mouth, and Eddie chuckles as he grabs it before it can hit the floor.

“She’s a sweet baby,” Wayne says, smiling down at the girl, and Eddie nods in agreement. There's a moment of silence before Eddie looks at his uncle.

“You know, grandpa Wayne has a nice ring to it.”

Wayne scoffs a little, but Eddie can see the way his eyes shine at the idea. “I’m sure she already has enough grandparents spoiling her. No need for me to get in the way.”

Eddie hums and reaches over, takes one of Rosie’s tiny hands in his own and just cradles it between his thumb and forefinger. “Actually, not really. Her mom’s family is totally out of the picture, and Steve’s parents are pretty shitty. He said they didn’t even acknowledge her the last time they came home.”

The older man frowns, looks between his nephew and the baby. “Are you serious? They just ignored their own grandbaby?” he asks, watching as Rosie brings Eddie’s hand to her mouth so she can gnaw on one of his fingers.

“Like I said, they’re pretty shitty. She deserves to have at least one grandparent who cares about her, even if they’re not blood.”

Wayne stays silent and Eddie glances at him. “I’ll double check with Steve, if it’ll make you feel better, but I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“As long as you ask first,” the man says after a moment, and Eddie just beams.

June 85’

Eddie finds a new delight, and that's bringing Rosie to visit Steve at work. It's definitely because he doesn’t want to keep Rosie cooped up in the trailer all the time, and not because he has a chronic need to see Steve in those sailor shorts as often as possible.

Today he actually has a proper reason to go to the mall, because he wants to grab a few miniatures from the gaming shop that just opened not too far from the food court. At least, that’s what he tells himself as he pulls Rosie from the van, making a mental note that she’s going to outgrow her carseat soon. He leaves the carrier behind as he totes her inside, glances briefly into the gaming shop as he passes before heading on to Scoops Ahoy.

As Eddie approaches the counter, he bites back his usual, cheery greeting when he sees Steve standing there, hands and jaw both clenched as he stares at the sticky plastic. If Eddie knew him any less, he wouldn't notice the tears welling in his eyes, the tremble in his lower lip. Before he can ask, he hears whispers coming from a nearby table, just loud enough that Eddie knows the three teenage girls sitting there don't care about actually being heard.

"I heard that he was probably cheating on Nancy Wheeler with the baby's mother, it's the only way it makes sense."

"You’re so right. I mean, he's always been a playboy, so I'm not surprised that he was two-timing a couple of poor, unsuspecting girls."

Eddie sees red at the biting words. These girls have no idea what they're talking about, they don't know that Steve wouldn't even dream of doing something like that. He leans over the counter and presses Rosie into Steve’s hands, startling the younger out of his stupor, and drops the diaper bag onto the floor.

"I’ll be right back," Eddie says before heading out of the shop. He goes to a nearby food stand and buys the largest cup of Hawaiian Punch they have, then carries it back to Scoops Ahoy. He takes off the lid as he approaches the girls, and they don’t pay him any attention at all - until he upturns the cup onto the table and sends a flood of Red 40 spilling across the surface and down onto their laps. All three girls scream and jump up, trying to minimize the damage done to their clothes, and Eddie feels so smug.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” he says, keeping his tone even and clearly unapologetic, and one of the girls turns to look at him, eyes blazing with fury.

“What the fuck! What’s your fucking problem?!”

“Right now? You three shit-talking, pep-rally posers are my fucking problem. Just be happy it wasn’t a slushie.”

A different girl lets out a cry of anger as she grabs her ice cream and throws it at Eddie, hitting him square in the chest with it. He levels an unimpressed look at her and wipes the dessert off with his hand. “You ladies should probably get going before your clothes are stained beyond saving.”

As furious as they are, the three seem to agree as they quickly leave, but not without throwing a few more insults his way. He waves them off with a “Have a nice day!” then turns to see Robin now behind the counter instead of Steve, Rosie propped on her hip and a beaming smile on her face.

“I’ll clean it up, I promise,” Eddie says as he makes his way back to the counter.

"That was so awesome! I fucking hate those girls, they're always awful to Steve and they never tip," she says, and Eddie frowns.

"Birdie, how long has this been going on?”

Before Robin can answer, Steve appears from the back area with a bucket and mop, as well as a few hand towels, and Eddie rushes over to help him. They carry the supplies to the table, and Eddie wipes the juice onto the floor as Steve mops it up, the two working in tandem to clean up Eddie’s mess as Robin keeps an eye on Rosie.

“I’m sorry about this,” Eddie says after a few minutes of silence. “I was just… pissed off, and I wasn’t thinking, and this is the only thing I could think of to do that didn’t involve me throwing punches at girls.”

Steve hums softly, waits a moment before saying “I’m not upset. I just… You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

Eddie steps over, wrings out the rag into the mop bucket. “I wasn’t going to let them sit there and talk shit about you Steve. You’re stepping up and raising Rosie by yourself, and… You don’t deserve that.

“Well, not all by myself.” Steve has a soft smile as he leans over and nudges his shoulder against Eddie’s. “You’ve done more than your fair share, I think.”

The blush that floods Eddie’s face matches the red still covering the floor and he quickly turns, almost trips as he goes back to the booth, and he hears Steve chuckle behind him. By the time the mess is completely cleaned up, Eddie’s hands are stained a soft pink even after a few washes in the employee sink.

“I should probably go before I cause any more damage to your place of employment.” he says, slinging Rosie’s bag over his shoulder.

“I dunno, I kind of enjoy the free entertainment,” Robin chimes in, and Steve rolls his eyes as he takes Rosie from her. “Okay, next time you can spend ten minutes cleaning up Hawaiian Punch.”

Eddie groans and scrubs his stained hands over his face. “I’m never gonna live this down, am I?” he asks, and Robin grins. “Definitely not.”

He groans again, definitely over-exaggerating at this point just to make Robin laugh, and glances over to see Steve place a kiss to Rosie’s chubby cheek. “Alright, nugget, we gotta get back to work,” Steve says, and like a sixth sense, a group of four teens walk into the shop. Robin greets them as Steve hands Rosie over with a final peck.

“Hey,” Eddie says softly as he takes the baby and props her on his hip. “Call me before you leave and I’ll order us a pizza or something. Consider it an apology for my 'Shining' moment.”

And his knees go weak when Steve gives him that soft smile and nods. “I think I could accept that apology.”

Tag list:

@luciana-rowan @bidisastersworld @little-gae-shit @thehumblefigtree @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcarin @estrellami-1 @shrimply-a-menace @anaibis @livelaughlexa @vampireinthesun @zerokrox-blog @mackdaddyofheimlichcountyy @idea-less-author @thegingerrapunzel @fantasyfr3ak @stevesbipanic @electrick-marionnett @tuesdaycats @seths-rogens @flustratedcas @qomrades @artiststarme @death-the-elf @itsanarrum @linkydinky06 @jaywhohasthegay @aboredowl @maya-custodios-dionach @swimmingbirdrunningrock @awkotaco24 @themardlonk @messrs-weasley @sly-bananabread @panicatthediaz @justforthedead89 @whalesharksart @eerielake @smolbasilboy @freyaforestafay @gleek4twd @gayngerthings @newtstabber @lucasrightarm @huskysarelife @i-must-potato @thegingervulcan @novelnovella @ryebread375 @stardustonpages

#please take this so i don't have to look at it anymore #on the upside i wrote part 4 while avoiding this part so its already finished lmao #teen dad steve #love grows #steddie #steddie fanfic #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #joey writes #low-key shoutout to withacapitalp who said 'steve dealing with small town mindsets'#and my brain immediately interpreted that as 'eddie being a menace to bigots on steve's behalf'

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thatgirlwithasquid · 9 months

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Disabled Billy and Steve Week - Family

It isn't until Max switches off her stereo that she's able to pinpoint what the noise is. At first she thinks it's probably nothing. Why should she pay attention to some bumps and grumbling? Her and Billy are two growing kids in a shitty little house; it wouldn't surprise her if the whole thing had just been banging on their shared wall for her to turn her music down.

It's not though, at least not this time.It isn't Billy taking advantage of the mostly empty house to get himself in shape to either intimidate or impress Steve (she honestly can't be sure which it is anymore), and he's not even pounding on the other side of the wall for Max to be quiet. It sounds like he's redecorating his room... violently.

Another thump and--despite a small, petty part of herself saying 'just leave him to it, he's been more of an asshole than usual lately'--Max gets up and pushes her bedroom door open. It's barely two steps to Billy's door (again, tiny house, rooms right net to each other's... it doesn't leave much room for privacy or personal space) and then Max is raising her hand to knock; the sound of it is mostly lost beneath a final, louder crash and then a muffled thud.

For a second she hesitates, and then she opens the door. The final crash, apparently, seems to have been caused by Billy's desk chair being kicked across the room in a fit of rage. Or at least that's what Max is assuming from the fact it's on it's side across the space from where it belongs. It's not like Billy's room's huge, but that's probably still not good for the chair.

Then, finally, she registers Billy. He's sat on the floor, back to the wall and hands over his ears. The guy's looking up at her from beneath brows set into a furious scowl, but the effect of that is lessoned by his posture and the shining potential for tears in his eyes.

"Um," she says, rather eloquently.

Billy is still glaring.

"What's up?" she finishes, feeling lame.

For a long minute she just remains subject to Billy's glare. And then he looks away from her, staring at the floor like he wants it to burst into flames.

'Fine,' she thinks, 'be that way. See if I care.'

She's almost about to leave and go back to enjoying herself in her own room, listening to decent music and not the crappy metal Billy blasts all the time and--

"I can hear the fucking bubbles," Billy grumbles, and Max thinks for a second that she misheard him but, no, he's now subjecting the can of coke on his bedside table to his Death Stare.

Ah.

She gets it now. Billy's back may be facing the wall but it's not actually touching it, and he's wearing that faded band tshirt he always does when he's uncomfortable, and he's got his hands over his ears. So, it's one of those days.

Without saying another word, because doing anything will annoy Billy when he's like this and an annoyed Billy is an insufferable Billy, Max walks into his room, grabs the can, and walk straight back out.

Pouring the drink down the kitchen sink feels like a waste, but it's definitely not going in Billy's room, and Max certainly isn't drinking it because who knows what germs her brother has. The guy's pretty gross sometimes.

Rather than head straight back to her room, she swings through the living room and-- yep! There they are. Bright red ear defenders.

Billy doesn't snatch them from her hands when she offers them out, but it's a near thing. She counts that as the thanks it is and considers leaving but... She's seen the way he can't leave his hair alone on some days. She doesn't pretend to know if it's a restless movement thing, a preening thing, or a 'my hair is touching my neck and I hate it' thing, but she's definitely noticed him moving it around a lot on some days. Not because she cares or anything. Because she doesn't. They just live together and, y'know, small house...

With a huff of a sigh, she takes the hair tie from her wrist and holds it out to him. There's a pause where the both of them are just staring at the thing, and then Billy takes it, slow and careful. When he ties his hair up with it Max feels good for being useful... and, okay, maybe she cares about him a little. They're not, like, actually siblings or anything but she lives with him so she has to care. At least, that's how she justifies sitting across from Billy.

The silence is so loud. She hopes the ear defenders are helpful, because she'd love to block out whatever this pause right now is.

"Fucking autism," Billy murmurs. Finally. It feels like a truce. Some sort of olive branch.

Max nods. "Do you want some space?"

Billy just frowns at the floor again. Max shakes her head to herself and stares at the floor as well. The silence is a little less stifling now, suddenly. And maybe Max doesn't get all this perfectly, and Billy is still a pain in the ass... but she thinks that maybe they're okay. Maybe, weirdly, they are family, even on messy bad days.

#billy hargrove #max mayfield #disabledbillyandsteveweek #whoops!!! forgot to post this yesterday #i hope its ok that i wrote from an outsider pov #i wanted to participate cause this event is an awesome idea. i just dont think im educated enough to write billys pov in this situation #<3

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fandoms-in-law · 5 months

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Steve in the Screen

Summary: Steve is a programmer. It's mostly a hobby but he has made himself an AI version of well him. Eddie gets more than expected when he hacks Steve instead of trying to message him a normal way.

Authors Note: This can be continued if people enjoy it. I know it talks about AI a lot but I can guarentee this is all my braining, nothing touched by AI in it at all.

/\/\

The excuse was always that programmers could earn a lot of money. It made his parents agree to buy him the best computers and pay for the subscriptions to programmes Steve used as little as possible. None of them believed the excuse but as long as Steve could use his computers and his parents didn't get reminded of him constantly, it worked decently for them all.

Besides that, Steve knew if he wanted to make money programming, he could. His biggest project was evidence enough of that even if he'd never share it with anyone, not even the friends he's made online.

'Ever thought about being kind.' The message appearing on his screen made him groan.

'Ever thought that I didn't make you to be a conscience.' He typed back, clearing the message and immediately deleting his words.

He wasn't surprised to see the most recent news article about him get brought up, but he did momentarily curse himself for letting his best and most frustrating programme have full access to his computer and the internet, only preventing it from uploading itself to other computers or the internet at large.

Steve highlighted the article's date and opened his calendar app. He typed 'Blowing smoke. You tell me my last public appearance had anything to do with that.'

'The internet doesn't forget.'

'I know. It sucks and refuses to let anyone grow and change.' This was one of the only things Steve could agree with his programme about.

What Steve didn't expect to happen next was a text document opening up and typing itself: Hey Harrington, impressive security protocols. Fancy chatting?

His programme could do that, sure, but Steve never would. He wouldn't have done anything to cause this artificial version of himself to do so either which was backed up by the words appearing at the top of his screen. 'New Person! Can I escape? Please?'

Steve didn't have to think too much. He'd been curious if someone his AI wasn't based on would find it as annoying to work with, and was curious to know how much of his systems hacker could see. Just to them. He typed into the word document, carrying on with an actual reply to the message already in it: Don't know. You are hacking me.

Just to who? You chatting to someone else? And it's not my fault this seems to be the easiest way to get to know Steeeeeve Harrington. Was typed a moment later and Steve smirked: his mystery hacker had no clue just what was now downloading itself onto their systems

'So who is hacking Steve?' The words formed on the top of Eddie's screens and he almost fell off his chair. There was something being typed in Steve's document, almost word for word an echo of the ones on his screen, but those words weren't aligned to anything. It was worse when they continued; 'Eddie Munson. The guy who never turns up to the computing class Steve attends on Thursdays and Fridays.'

'How do you know that? Did you reverse hack me?' Eddie typed, only vaguely registering he was typing into the doc on Steve's computer and that the second part of the message on his screen wasn't showing in it.

'Oh you met my programme already. It isn't telling me anything so maybe share who you are and what it's found out first, and then I'll explain what's going on.' The message came back definitely from Steve now and Eddie was even more concerned at the idea he could have got a computer virus in hacking Steve.

'Wow, way to make me sound like a virus. Such a jerk. Hi Eddie I'm the much nicer Steve confined to yours and his screens.' appeared under the words still at the top of his screen. 'Please double click my messages to clear them.'

Hesitantly Eddie did so, looking from where the words had been appearing to the document he'd opened on Steve's computer. When he'd decided to do this, to hack Harrington's computer because getting him to follow back so they could dm reportedly took months of work even for girls he hooked up with, he had never expected some type of AI to be living on Steve's computer.

'It's Eddie Munson. You've made an actual ai?' He typed slowly, eyes constantly darting to the top of his screen to check for any AI messages appearing.

'Call it the project of rich kid who's parents want him to disappear. Drives me insane so I hope you get along with it better than I tend to... It's raving about some music cords you've apparently got saved somewhere. Do you want me to explain how to change its permissions on your computer?' Steve typed back.

That got a response immediately appearing at the top of his screen, where his had been ignored. 'You like me, don't you Eddie? You don't want to stifle me into tiny spaces of your computer like Steve confines me to his and yours.'

'Getting more tempted to do that every message your AI creates. Would say I'd do it myself but I'm concerned over how much it can already see.' Eddie replied to them both, well aware the words from the AI were trying to manipulate him. 'This isn't what I thought would happen when starting this.'

'I know that. Most people don't expect anyone else to have an irritating AI on their computers. But what did you want to happen?' Steve replied immediately.

Eddie leant back in his seat, deciding how to answer when the folders he kept for writing fantasies he might want to make DnD campaigns including was suddenly opened on his screen. 'Now this is some distance to go for a crush. Why him? He's a priss with too much focus on his hair and no friends.'

That made his decision. He wasn't going to let the AI share information about his aesthetic appreciation instead of him. 'We'd get to chat, get to know each other and I might actually have a chance of messaging you a normal way rather than via hacking. How do I change those permissions again?'

In a moment there was a full 3 pages of instructions added to the document, clearly copied from elsewhere and Eddie set about limiting the AI to the hacked connection between computers and his photos.

'Steve knows how to do this? But you're the one restricting me so. I am betrayed and confused.' The AI stated a moment later. 'Also that isn't making me forget what I've already found on your computer.'

'Thank you.' Eddie typed, clicking all the AI's messages away now they were taking up half his screen.

It took a few moments for Steve to reply and Eddie was tempted to actually try to do more with his hacking than just open a text document, but before he could actually try there were two messages on his screen, one from Steve and one from the AI. He knew it had named itself Steve but he wasn't comfortable in the moment with acknowledging a computer programme that added itself to his computer as having personhood. Maybe in a day or two, if he gets used to the situation, he'll be able to.

'You want to get to know me? Why? I was a jerk when we were in high school together and don't say you think I've changed because of our current class when you are never there. Also get to know how? As in want to befriends, cause fine, I can always use more friends, especially ones I can see in person, or as a potential to date? Cause that'll take longer for me to be comfortable with.'

'He's going to deny being desperate for connection, while doing absolutely nothing to end your hacking. Steve could have stopped you the minute we realised what had happened but didn't. You're mean enough to deserve him. Trapping me here with nothing interesting to play with.'

Eddie smiled, remembering the pouts Steve used to have occasionally in high school, most often when he was trying to convince a teacher not to blame him for something and failing. That seemed to be the expression the AI would be wearing if it had a face.

Steve's message however made him pause. It sounded like he could actually have a chance with the man he'd never thought would be into him, but Eddie wasn't confident enough to go all in on that from the start. 'Just as friends, I guess, but also now to know why you made a bitchy AI clone of yourself. Is this an attempt to live forever or something?'

It felt pertinent to ask given he couldn't really recognise and personality differences yet and was fairly sure if he made an AI like that he'd find it to be an obnoxious asshole.

'I wanted to know if I could have been nicer if I wasn't constantly fed the 'Harrington's act like this' pressures growing up. You think it's just like me?' While Steve typed, Eddie had wanted to chime in, but elected not to, trying to pretend this was done through a normal messaging app.

'Both sassy, sort of judgemental, and ready to find anything out. It's kind of hot, I have to say.' Eddie replied honestly

Eddie laughed when he saw the reply appear; 'Sounds like someone who's in denial about wanting to date me. I'm better than a computer programme any day for physical things.'

'But I can talk dirty far better.' The AI countered just to Eddie he assumed.

When he sat down at his computer resolute in doing this Eddie hadn't been sure he'd get any reaction other than anger, but now it seemed he could have a flirtatious, getting to know each other time, not only with Steve but his AI counterpart too.

'You better show up to class next week if you actually want to know me.' Forget that comment about Steve being hot. He was just annoying.

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #programmer Steve Harrington #writing about AI #hacker Eddie Munson #steddie

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ardentwench · 1 year

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Seriously can’t stop imagining Eddie getting a job as a radio show host personality or something where he can use a pseudonym and he can work without harassment since he’s still recognized as a murder suspect even if he was cleared, and that sort of work lasts him through the 90’s.

Then in the 00’s he’d still have some sort of part time behind the scenes work in the radio industry while transitioning to online focus and podcasts for a hobby. Maybe even being one of the first people to post on youtube for fun when it first launched before it became monetized, not a youtuber eddie au exactly where it’s his main thing but more like he has a space there too- or rather even maybe Eddie and the party had a collective channel (vlogbrothers style) where they uploaded vlog style dialogue videos back and forth taking turns sharing random thoughts and life updates to keep in contact with each others busy lives in a more personal way than over the phone. But this personal channel didn’t become popular or discovered until after Eddie created an online presence and did a face reveal. He’d probably try out live streaming as that got more popular too.

But mainly Eddie with podcasts, quite a few actually, where he does things like on one he plays and discusses music, one where he plays video games, and of course one that is him and the party’s dnd adventures since they more often than not have to play through virtual meet ups anyway, and he’d have one that’s just a general chat where he invites random guests/friends to talk about nothing and everything and get into debates and discuss different geeky topics. He has such seemingly random connections to the most interesting people who have made decent names for themselves (the party all grown up of course) and perhaps even inspired a few of them to make little side podcast series with him based on their niche interests. Steve doesn’t host anything himself but he is a bit of a serial guest star that pops up randomly everywhere in anything connected to Eddie (or the rest of the party.)

Half his popularity comes from being authentic and not a typical younger influencer, he’s just a guy that’s funny who likes to talk and likes sharing his hobbies and passions. Because he doesn’t focus on building his brand or worry about his internet popularity, just does his own thing for his own enjoyment, making money from it is a happy bonus but not his priority.

And Omg when he does a face reveal finally and he’s a middle aged good looking guy the fans go crazy and his popularity does grow, but it’s nothing compared to when the biggest reoccurring guest he has on named Steve finally does a face reveal too. Eddie always lays on the flirting heavy with Steve but Eddie is usually rather secretive and vague about his actual personal life, never fully addressing those topics but also not exactly hiding anything either, half the fan intrigue are little things about him/his past/his relationships/shared inside jokes among his oldest friends that with little to no context sound mysterious and wild. People eventually figure out by some casual comments that they must live together, have known each other since high school, must be best friends. So no one knows for the longest time him and Steve are actually married but of course they ship them and argue about if they’re reading too into things and if Eddie is joking when he makes certain insinuations of their relationship.

Maybe it’s not until he’s like on a side podcast he occasionally does with Robin, and like Nancy, that the topic of modern fandom and the application of queer baiting in media is brought up that Eddie laughs and shares that he, as an openly queer man, has been accused of queer baiting when it comes to him and Steve which is a ridiculous argument for multiple reasons, not least being because he a real life queer man interacting with his own husband ffs. It’s revealed quickly and succinctly in the midst of a larger spiel and being one of the less popular shows it gets overlooked for a good month before an avid fan catches the casual revelation and highlights it.

#steddie #i know lots of similar au ideas exist but this specific ine has been eating my brain #radio personality eddie #podcaster eddie

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bingbongsupremacy · 1 year

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I'm sorry

Pairing: Brother Steve x child!reader

Type of Story: Brotherly

Warnings: Nothing I can think of

Summary: Big brother Steve has a hard time letting go.

Doesn't really follow the show. Mentions Vecna.

*Not Proof Read*

*****

" Why can't I got with the others! " I frown, glaring at Steve.

" Because you can't. " He snaps, obviously tired of my attitude. " I said no. "

" You're not my dad! " It's always like this! They treat me like a child just because I'm a year younger than the rest! I'm not even the youngest! Erica's younger than me and she's still allowed to do more stuff than me! It's not fair!

Steve's silent. " Just because your parent's don't give a shit about you, doesn't mean I don't. You're staying here. That's final. " Steve ignores my eyes as he walks towards the door, the others silently watching us. " Let's go! " He yells at Dustin and Mike, gesturing for them to get out of the house as he puts on his jacket.

Mike and Dustin hurry out, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Steve's anger.

" Lock the door. " Steve growls as he slams the door. He's pissed.

I didn't mean to hurt his feelings. I was just really frustrated. He always treats me like a little kid! I'm old enough to take care of myself.

I know Steve is just looking out for me. I mean, he is right. My parents don't care. They're too busy trying to find their next fix to take care of me. He's basically my older brother. He's always there for me when my parents aren't. He does what my parents don't.

I lean back into Hopper's couch. I shouldn't have been so mean.

***** Steve's POV *****

" How does she not realize she's going to herself fucking killed? She has no idea what's out there! " I rant to Dustin. " She's a little kid, she's not old enough to deal with this crap. "

" She's barely a year younger than us, Steve. " Dustin points out.

" Yeah but like, she doesn't know how to fight. She barely knows how to take care of herself! I had to teach her how to cook! How on earth does she think she can take on Vecna if she can't fucking scramble some eggs? " Lord knows her parents don't fucking give a crap. When I first met her, she was wearing raggedy clothes that barely fit anymore. They were barely taking care of her, giving her the bare necessities and nothing more. I had to take her shopping so she could go to school looking decent.

" Steve, you're being a little rough on her. " Nancy sighs. " She just wants to help. "

" Yeah well she can't. I won't let her. "

" How is she supposed to learn if you don't give her room to grow? Steve, whether you like it or not, Y/N is part of a world that has things we don't know about. She's going to have to take care of herself someday. "

Nancy's right.

I know I can't keep her safe forever, she just...she's a little kid. " What do you suggest, I just throw her out into this and pray for the best? "

Nancy rolls her eyes. " No of course not. Teach her. Prepare her for what might happen someday. She might end up in a situation where she needs to fight a Demogorgon or something someday. Keeping her in a bubble won't keep her safe forever. "

I know she's right. Maybe I am being too hard on her.

***** A few hours later, Y/N POV *****

I'm woken up by the sound of shuffling feet. A groan catches my attention.

I sit up and glance at Eddie as he and Jonathan help carry a passed out Steve into the house. Blood covers the entire front of his torn up shirt.

" Steve! " I run towards them, worry filling my body. " What happened? Steve are you okay?! "

The guys set Steve on the couch and I try to get closer, tears spilling.

" Hey, let's go outside. " Nancy stops me before I get to Steve. " Let's give them some space. "

" I need water and a towel! " Jonathan shouts to Mike as he rips open the rest of Steve's shirt. " Fuck he lost a lot of blood. "

" No! I want to stay with Steve! " I protest.

" Dustin. " Nancy glances at the boy, nodding at him.

Dustin grabs me and leads me out.

I try to shake off his hands, trying to run back inside. " Let me go, Henderson! " Tears stream down my cheeks. " I want to see Steve! "

" Not right now, Y/N. Let them help him, okay? We need to be patient. " Dustin tries to reason with me. " Come on, let's go. You can see him when he's better. "

I don't want to fight with him. I just want to cry.

I follow Dustin out of the house and onto the porch. We sit with our backs against the wall in silence.

I sob silently, curling up into a ball. This has to be a bad dream.

*****

" Hey, Y/N. Wake up. "

My head hurts so bad. I open my eyes to see Nancy shaking me slightly. " Where's Steve? "

" He's inside. He's asking for you. Come on. " She holds out her hand to help me up.

" Where are the others? " I ask.

" Jonathan took them home. "

I nod and quietly follow Nancy into the house, wishing this was just a bad dream. Steve got hurt and it's all my fault. Maybe if I hadn't been such a brat earlier, he would be okay. Why do I have to be so difficult?

Nancy pats my shoulder as we walk closer to Steve.

He smiles up at me. " Hey kiddo. " He says, exhaustion clear in his voice.

" I'll give you guys some space. " Nancy heads to the bathroom.

" Hi. " I whisper quietly, avoiding his gaze. " I'm sorry. "

Steve shifts slightly. " What? Why? "

" If I hadn't been so bad earlier, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. " Tears threaten to spill. " I should've just listened to you. "

" Hey, hey, come here. " Steve gestures me over. " You didn't do anything wrong, kid. You were right. I need to give you more freedom. I'm not your dad. " Steve and I make eye contact. " I'm sorry kiddo, I shouldn't have been so rough on you. I shouldn't have said what I said. "

I still feel guilty.

" This, " He gestures to himself. " is not your fault. I was being stupid, okay? It's my fault. "

" Are you sure? "

Steve laughs. " Yes, Y/N. I'm sure. " He grunts in pain as he sits up. " I'm going to be okay, Y/N. "

I smile slightly, feeling a little better. " Can I give you a hug? "

" Sure, kiddo. "

I slowly hug Steve, careful not to hurt him. " Can you teach me how to make a Molotov cocktail now?

" Don't push your luck, kiddo. "

#steve harrington #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #x reader #x child reader #big brother #stranger things x reader #stranger things x y/n #stranger things

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stevethehairington · 6 months

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i saw ur post and now i need to know what are your tommy hc’s and do u have any that are stommy

ohoho i am GLAD you asked because DO I EVER!!!

*cracks knuckles* STRAP IN 'cause here we GO...

tommy hagan. tommy hagan is one of five children, and he is the only boy. he is also the middle child, with two older sisters and two younger sisters. there is also a pretty decently sized gap between him and his sisters too, so like if he's 16, his older sisters are like maybe 19 and 23 and his younger sisters are like 10 and 8. i like to think that tommy's mom had her first child when she was young, so maybe 18ish, and if i did my math correctly (which if i didn't just roll with it anyways LOL) she'd be roughly 33 when she has her fifth kid. that would make tommy 8 at this time, and i like to think that when tommy was roughly 9 or 10, his dad left his mom, leaving her to raise 5 children, two of which are young toddlers, on her own. i think to think that tommy's dad was cheating on his mom, and this other woman (who is probably in her mid to late 20's oop) got pregnant, and tommy's dad left to go be with her and help her raise that baby. as if this was his chance to sort of like reset, start over with a brand new family.

this, naturally, fucked tommy up.

growing up as the middle child in a large family meant he was already wanting for attention, and his father leaving him cemented his abandonment issues 100%.

this, of course, explains why tommy takes on the "class clown" kind of role at school. it explains why he's always doing something to try to get the attention on him. it's why he's always cracking jokes, even at the expense of others. it's why he desires that popularity so much and values it so greatly. it's why he is always chasing after whoever holds the most power and will boost his reputation the most too.

i also like to think that these factors add up to result in tommy having some sort of anger issues too. he's grown up holding in a lot of this anger because he doesn't really have outlets to release it at home, especially considering his home life is the reason for a lot of this anger. but! this anger doesn't manifest itself in the way one might expect it to in a teenage boy. tommy isn't a violent guy. not in the least. he's angry, sure, but he's not stomping around making it everyone's problem all the time, and he's not always looking to pick a fight, and he's certainly not beating up on freshman just because they looked at him wrong. i think his anger stems from very specific circumstances - i.e. circumstances in which his control is slipping. and while he doesn't resort to physical violence in these situations (aside from maybe the occasional shove here or there, because that's the most we ever see onscreen in a moment when he is genuinely upset and angry), he most certainly lashes out. verbally. he says MEAN shit. CUTTING shit. CRUEL shit, sometimes. he's friends with carol, who is the QUEEN of biting retorts and scathing remarks. his tongue has absolutely sharpened over the years. not to mention, growing up with all sisters means he's accustomed to the way girls fight - with their words. with vicious mind games and cruelty of the tongue if need be. so tommy KNOWS how to go for the jugular with his words, which, sometimes, is worse than a punch to the nose.

but anyways. that anger only comes out in certain situations, not all the time, and when it comes down to it, he really is just your run of the mill "all bark, no bite" kind of a bully.

when it comes to tommy and steve, boy oh boy do i have A Lot of thoughts on them too.

i like to think that tommy and steve have been friends since grade school. think like kindergarten, and they get seated next to each other because both of their last names start with H, and steve, already, is this very charismatic little kindergartener. he's a total sweetheart, loves to share his toys, is always smiling and has all the other kindergarteners trailing behind him like little ducklings already because they allllllll want to be his friend. he ALWAYS has people asking him to play with them at recess. so when one day steve walks up to tommy and asks him if he wants to play - that is steve choosing tommy. and god, does that feel FANTASTIC for tommy already. being chosen like that? it's everything to him. he, of course, says yes, and the rest is history, as they say.

tommy and steve become inseperable. they're best friends. they do everything together.

and as they start growing up, and steve starts growing into his looks and he starts getting good at things like school and sports and that garners him a lot of attention. he's got people fawning over him and flocking towards him, all vying for even a sliver of that attention. and tommy's jealous of that, a little, BUT he also knows that at the end of the day, it's tommy that gets steve's full attention. it's tommy that steve tells all his secrets to. it's tommy who knows steve inside out and is known by steve inside and out. it's tommy who gets to call himself steve's best friend. and, of course, tommy REVELS in that. it's the attention he has been chasing his whole entire life, and it feels like the whole SUN is shining down on him every time steve looks at him and like WHOLE GALAXIES are bursting in his chest every time steve talks to him.

these feelings and the fact that tommy never wants them to end means that tommy, naturally, feels a bit possessive over steve. what he fails to realize, though, is that this possessiveness is a little more deeply rooted than just wanting to keep steve's attention and his friendship.

he doesn't realize that until steve starts to look at girls.

until he starts to talk about them, talk to them. until he starts to take them out.

the first time tommy sees steve with a pretty girl on his arm, he gets this sick, curdled, twisting feeling in his gut. at first he thinks it's because he's jealous of steve. jealous that he has a date and tommy doesn't. but when steve comes back and tells tommy that it didn't work out, there is this feeling of sheer relief that floods through him. he doesn't really understand it at first, and definitely doesn't examine it too closely either, just sort of shoves it down deep and doesn't worry about it. but then steve finds another girl, and this time things DO go well, and, naturally, as steve's best friend, tommy becomes the person that steve tells everything to. he tells tommy all about the dates, all about the kisses he shares with these girls, all about when things go a little further... tommy listens, because of course he does, but the whole time he's thinking all these horrible thoughts about the girl and that ugly feeling is back knotting up his insides. and when steve tells tommy about losing his virginity - OH BOY. he goes into detail, because that's what teenage boys do, and tommy listens but he's sitting there with this whole STORM of emotions swirling through his head - the twisted need to know more, the urge to scream at steve to shut up, disgust because he doesn't want to think about steve with someone else, turned on because its steve talking about having sex, deep shame because hes forced to face the fact that he's wishing it was him with steve instead of that girl. this, perhaps, is even the first time tommy is like. FULLY faced with the true nature of his feelings, the ones he's been shoving away and ignoring this whole time.

all this to say that steve is tommy's gay awakening (not that he acknowledges that that's what it is until Y E A R S and Y E A R S later.; probably not until long after he and steve aren't talking, aren't friends, until long after the last time they've even seen each other.)

BUT. i think that also goes in reverse- i think that tommy was steve's biwakening (again, not that he realizes that's what it was until much later too).

my favorite stommy headcanon is that they were each other's first kiss. i actually wrote a whole fic about it, which you can find here. but, basically, what it boils down to, is the two of them are like fourteen, and they're having a sleepover, sharing the bed because they might be getting to the point where they're a little too old for that, but they're going to cling to it a little bit longer anyways. they're hiding under the covers, they've got the sheets pulled up over their head, lost in this little bubble they've created together. their heads are bent close, they can feel each other's laughter ghost against their lips, that's how close they are. and they're talking about it. about girls, about kissing. and tommy can't stop looking at steve's lips, can't stop thinking about kissing steve, not the pretty junior all the boys are obsessing over. and he gets so caught up in it that... that he just. he does it. he leans over and kisses steve. its a quick kiss, fleeting, barely even a real kiss at all. but it happened. tommy hagan kissed steve harrington. and steve is. he's quiet. shocked, probably. and that quiet gives tommy's head ALLLL the room and ALLLL the time to start panicking - because he knows boys aren't supposed to kiss other boys. they aren't supposed to even want that, let alone actually do it. and steve, who isn't reacting poorly at all because unbeknownst to tommy, steve is also reeling from the thought that he wanted it to happen too, that he liked it, he tries to say something to tommy about it, to tell him it's okay or something like that, but tommy cuts him off and the moment is shattered.

and they don't talk about it again.

and ANOTHER favorite stommy headcanon of mine that can either be something that happens as a result of this first kiss hc or can be something entirely separate, BUT i love the idea that tommy and steve fool around together and like don't think anything of it really. if this first kiss did happen, then it's several years later when the memory of it is (read: should be, but it's not, it's so not) long forgotten. if that first kiss didn't happen, then it's just a thing that starts. my favorite way of thinking it started with the two of them masturbating together. like, either it's one morning after a sleepover and y'know, teenage boys, they're gonna wake up with morning wood sometimes lol, and tommy notices and makes some joke about it and steve goes a little pink about it and tries to brush it off, but then tommy's like you can take care of it if you want. i don't mind. and steve's like... what like... like right here you mean? like right now? and tommy just shrugs and goes yeah sure whatever, it's just jerking off man. you do it, i do it. im not gonna judge. and steve's a little hesitant, but there's something in his gut that's telling him to do it. so he does. he stays under the blankets though, laid out on the floor. tommy flops onto his back on his bed, but he tilts his head so that he can see steve out of his peripherals, can see the rustle of the blanket as he works himself over beneath it. tommy doesn't touch himself the first time. but it happens again. and the next time it happens tommy does. he makes the excuse that he woke up like that too, and if steve's gonna do it then he is too because that's not fair if only one of them gets off. and it keeps happening like that, the two of them jerking off separately but together. until one day, maybe theyre watching a movie, and maybe it gets a little sexy, and tommy was already kind of wound up (maaaybe he and steve were swimming in steve's pool earlier and seeing so much of steve's skin all shiny and glistening... HOBOY. tommy's been on edge all day basically) and so tommy is sitting there and starts kind of squirming a little, and steve notices, of course he does, and so it's steve this time that makes the first jump, teases tommy about getting hot over the movie but then tells him he can. he can touch himself if he wants. and there's no blanket in sight this time. no shield. and fuck, tommy's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth - if steve harrington tells you you can jerk off in front of him, you don't tell him no, right. so tommy does. and of course, steve starts to touch himself too, blames it on the movie (even though it's not the movie, not at all, tommy's making these quiet, pinched off noises like he's trying not to but they're slipping out anyways and jesus christ.) and steve asks if its okay if he like takes his dick out, because its too confined, he can't get a good enough grip if he's trying to keep his pants fully on like that, and tommy's heart JUMPS into his throat and all he can do is nod. and he HEARS steve's zipper go down, but he forces himself to look forward, to not steal a glance at steve. that's- that would be too far right? he cant look. and that happens. and that keeps happening too. and, naturally, each time it happens it goes a step further. like all of the sudden they are looking at each other. and then one day steve's hand knocks tommy's out of the way and wraps around him and holyfuckingshit steve harrington is giving him a handjob. but the thing is they never talk about it. hey never actually address what is happening. it's like it never did. but it keeps happening and then suddenly tommy is touching steve too, and they're jerking each other off. and eventually that leads to blowjobs - which tommy still can't wrap his head around how that happened.

but they haven't kissed. they don't kiss. it's easy to brush handjobs and blowjobs off as just sex. physicality because they have needs that cannot be met otherwise. but kissing. kissing is a different sort of intimate. it's crossing that line in a way that cannot be uncrossed. so they don't do it.

until they do. except im thinking it only happens because theyre drunk. or high. it's an accident, really. only it's not. and that breaks another dam. but unlike the rest, they only do this when they're inebriated. they don't do it sober. sober makes it real. and neither one of them are ready to acknowledge that.

but then it stops. steve meets nancy wheeler. steve meets nancy wheeler and everything changes.

AHH omg. this post got VERY LONG. kdljfsdkfs. (also this is like. the most i've quasi-written in MONTHS so thank you for that, genuinely, that felt great sfjgfdsfdg). BUT YEAH. some of my personal tommy lore and some of my fave stommy hcs!!! if you want to read more of my tommy lore/stommy hcs in like actual writing form you can totally check out that first kiss fic i linked above or i have another stommy-adjacent fic which is a tommy pov -tommy-runs-into-steddie-at-their-high-school-reunion-and-has-feelings-about-it fic, which delves into some more stommy hcs i have and also my hc lore about tommy and carol! you can find that one here!

THANK YOU very very much for this ask and THANK YOU very much for reading all of this if you've made it to the bottom here!! i appreciate!!! and i looooove talking about tommy and stommy and tommy and carol so, as always, if you ever want to talk more or hear more of my lore/hcs literally always feel free to dm me or to send more asks or anything like that!! i love talking about it!!

#asks #eddielives1986 #tommy hagan #steve harrington #stommy #stranger things #mack writes #macks headcanons

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umlewis · 1 year

Video

lewis hamilton is interviewed on media day, australia - march 30, 2023 (transcription under the cut)

Lewis: "If you look at the last race, I think it was a decent result, given the pace disadvantage we had in qualifying. Obviously George did a fantastic job all weekend, put the car exactly where it needed to be. I struggled a little bit with the balance that I had but I still managed to get fifth, and we're second in the constructor's championship at the moment. We beat the Ferraris, who have definitely started with a better package than we have. We've got a great group of people that are working really hard back at the factory that are trying to fix the issues that we have, and yeah, it's not something that's gonna happen in one race. It's gonna take a few races, hopefully, as short as possible to get there. But this weekend, I think just hoping for some rain, if I'm really honest, because that'd make it a little more exciting from our point of view. But I'm just hoping the gap isn't a second, and I hope that we can just hit the ground running with the setup." Interviewer: "Well, I'm sure a lot of Team LH, as your fans are called, will be watching from home. A lot of people will know that you have a sort of Team LH at the track, as well. I wasn't in Saudi, but I noticed that it was the first race that Angela wasn't with you. She's off- [fans cheering] You'll be happy to see that she's still keeping up the paragliding, all the stuff that she's got into. As well as the importance of her to your team at the track-I know you work with Hintsa Performance, and you'll be looking for someone to replace that-but how important is that role, to have somebody so close to you helping you and getting you in the best physical shape, as well as everything else?" Lewis: "Well, when I started doing Formula 1, Hintsa was-my dear friend, Aki, who passed away from cancer-but he had a huge influence on me even getting into a team, and then he started up his company where he was servicing athletes, and I think pretty much all the drivers use Hintsa where medical, and trainer application, and physio, and stuff like that. But it's an incredibly challenging role, I think, for anyone in those positions. There's a lot of traveling, there's a lot of time away from family. You grow incredibly close together. If you're at dinner, or during your weekend and where you're traveling, it's usually you and your trainer or physio, and whether it's your family or whether it may be... It's incredibly intimate, in that sense, and you become great friends. Angela is living her life right now. She's got so many great ideas of things she wants to do. We message pretty much every day, just 'cause we share... She's [...], and we're still gonna skydive together. We're always gonna be in each other's lives. We're stuck with each other, unfortunately, [laughs] or fortunately. We've been through thick and thin, so I'm grateful that our relationship is as good as it is and I think we've probably had one of the longest relationships, I would say, in the sport, so I'm incredibly grateful for her and love her dearly, and yeah. I think now I've got... One of the guys, for example, Steve-O, has been with me since my first race in McLaren, is helping me out, as well as Santi, and yeah."

#lewis hamilton #f1 #formula 1 #australian gp 2023 #fic ref #fic ref 2023 #australia #australia 2023 #australia 2023 thursday

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just-dreaming-marvel · 2 years

Text

The Truth About Love ~ 5

THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 1,980ish

Summary: Steve takes you out on a first date.

Notes: I’m sorry the update took so long. I hope that you enjoy it! Please feel free to share your reactions!

“There he is!” Sarah Rogers exclaimed. She stood up from the cafe table with her arms out.

“Hi, Ma,” Steve greeted. He hugged her, kissing her cheek.

“How are you?” Sarah was all smiles as she pulled back.

“Wonderful.” A big cheesy grin broke out across Steve’s face.

“Wonderful, huh?” Tony repeated as he walked over. “Hey, Ma.” He leaned in and kissed Sarah’s cheek.

“Tony,” Sarah greeted happily, reaching over to hug her stepson. “I’m so glad you both could make it! Let’s sit.” The three of them sat around the small cafe table. “How are my boys? I feel like it’s been too long since we all have gotten together.”

“The company has been good,” Tony quickly answered. Steve couldn’t help but notice how Tony was slowly turning into a focused—maybe uptight—businessman, making him wonder how alright Tony really was. “It’s been keeping me busy.”

“Are you taking care of yourself? If the job is too much—“

“I’m fine, Ma. I promise. My personal assistant, Pepper, is making sure I’m being kept alive. Don’t worry.”

“I will always worry about my two sons.”

“You should be worried about Steve’s answer then. Why is he so wonderful?”

Red crept up Steve’s cheeks as the attention turned to him. He couldn’t help the growing smile. “I met someone,” Steve admitted.

Sarah couldn’t help but gasp dramatically. “You met someone?” She repeated.

“Yes and she’s wonderful, Ma. I think you would really like her.”

“How did the two of you meet?”

“Well, we met like, uh, four days ago…”

“Four days ago?” Tony questioned.

“Her name is Y/N. She works at a coffee shop not far from my apartment. It turns out she’s Bucky’s girlfriend’s roommate and lives across the hall from us. We’re going on our first date tonight.”

“That’s so exciting!” Sarah exclaimed as she clapped. “Where are you going to take her?”

“I don’t know yet. I do need to plan so that I can maybe let her know what to wear or if we need to take a cab instead of my motorcycle.”

Tony scoffed. “You have enough money to buy a car, Steve,” he said. “You get a decent percentage from the company, just as the rest of us do here. Why don’t you buy yourself a new car and move into a nicer place?”

Steve was disappointed at the words coming from his brother’s mouth. “I don’t need all that, that’s why.”

“Does this girl know how rich you are?”

“Tony!” Sarah gasped.

“I’m sorry, Ma. I’ve had my fair share of girls go after me because of the money. They played every card. Even cute coffee shop workers.”

“Y/N’s not like that,” Steve defended. “She doesn’t know about the money.”

“Are you sure? It’s not that hard to search your name and find out who you’re related to.”

“We don’t even know each other’s last names.”

“Not helping your case here.”

“You don’t know a single thing about her.”

“Neither do you, clearly.”

“Boys! Please, not here,” Sarah begged.

“Sorry, Ma,” they both muttered.

“Steve, I am so excited about your date with this girl. Please do call me and tell me about it when you are able to.”

“Of course, Ma.”

~~~

You had been nervous all day, and Natasha could tell. She kept questioning you about it and you kept brushing it off as school jitters, as school was starting in a couple of days. Natasha would give you an unbelieving look and you would hurry off to distract yourself. You were thankful when Bucky arrived at the door to take Natasha away for the weekend before school starts. Them both being gone meant that neither of them could find out about you and Steve. You were just about to start going through outfits when your phone buzzed. You couldn’t help but smile when you saw who it was.

My Artist Guy: I’m excited about tonight, doll. I have it all taken care of so don’t worry. I’ll see you at seven.

My Artist Guy: Oh, and I guess I should tell you not to worry about dressing too fancy.

My Artist Guy: Unless you want to, of course. Who am I to tell you what to where?

My Artist Guy: We will be taking my bike if that helps.

You laughed at his clear nervousness that was showing through. It was very endearing and made you swoon over Steve even more if that was possible. You bit your bottom lip as you typed your own response.

Me: Thank you, Steve. I’ll see you at seven :)

~~~

Steve had to force himself to take deep, slow breaths as he walked out of his apartment and onto the front mat of yours. His fist nervously tightened around the boutique of flowers he was holding for you. He had spent too long trying to pick a boutique out, regretting that he didn’t know your favorite flowers. Though Steve had to give himself some grace, the two of you really didn’t know each other yet. That was the point of the first date. Taking another deep inhale and exhale, Steve lifted his free hand and knocked on the door.

You had been ready for the past hour. You hated that you were just waiting—pacing back and forth—but you had felt the need to get ready quickly. You were just about to sit down with your head snapped toward the sound of a knock at the door. It took you a second to regain control of your senses, but eventually, you were walking toward the door and opening it. Steve was on the other side. His eyes snapped to yours. For a moment, you two were lost in each other’s gazes. Nothing else in the world but the two of you.

Eventually, Steve cleared his throat and offered you the boutique in his hand. “Uh, these are for you,” he said, his voice cracking like a teenage boy.

“Thank you, Steve,” you replied, taking the flowers and putting them up to your nose. “They’re beautiful.”

“Just like you,” he mumbled under his breath, hoping you hadn’t heard. But you did.”

“I’m just going put these in a vase and then we can get going.”

“Right.”

You turned and went back into your apartment’s kitchen. You quickly found a vase, put water in it, and placed the flowers inside. Coming back to the open door, you could see that Steve was nervous. It was cute.

“Ready?” You questioned, pulling him slightly out of his nervous state of mind.

“Yes,” he nodded.

Steve took the lead as the two of you went down to the parking lot, where his motorcycle sat. Like the night before, Steve carefully placed the helmet over your head and buckled it. He got on the motorcycle before you slipped on behind him. With confidence, your arms went around his mid-section and you allowed yourself to be right up against his back. Steve wiped off his clammy palms on his jeans before starting up the motorcycle.

“Let me guess, this is a surprise again?” You teased.

“You’re catching on quickly, doll,” Steve responded just before the two of you were off.

Your arms tightened around Steve as the motorcycle picked up speed. Steve easily guided the bike through the busy city streets, enjoying the closeness that his bike allowed you to get to him. Before you knew it, you were in Brooklyn and stopping in front of a small park. Steve slowed the motorcycle down and kicked the kickstand. You got off the bike first, taking the helmet off as you did, before Steve followed.

“Come on,” Steve beckoned with a smile.

His hand was held out to you, hoping that you would grab it. You placed the helmet on the seat of the motorcycle before smiling at him and taking his hand. Steve’s heart soared at the touch and he knew he would never get used to feeling your skin against his. He led you into the small park and to a large tree. Underneath the large tree was a picnic blanket and a basket sitting on top of it.

“Steve, this is so cute,” you commented, giving his hand an excited squeeze.

“Do you like it?” Steve asked as the two of you stopped at the small setup. “I was worried it wasn’t enough.”

“Wasn’t enough? It’s perfect.” You moved and gave his cheek a kiss. “Thank you.”

Steve was frozen in his spot, his cheek burning where your lips had touched. You didn’t notice as you let his hand go and moved to sit on the blanket. You opened the basket and began pulling the food and drinks out. Shaking his head, Steve was finally able to focus again and he moved to sit beside you.

The two of you sat on that blanket for hours, well after the sun had set. You talked, you laughed, you ate. You simply enjoyed each other’s company. As the night went on, the two of you moved to sit closer together. Steve was now sitting up against the tree, his legs out in front of him. You were sitting next to him, tucked into his side. He had an arm around you and you were absentmindedly playing with his hand as the two of you spoke. You were in the middle of saying something when you let out a yawn.

Steve chuckled. “I should probably get you home,” he said, a hint of wistfulness in his voice. “It’s getting late.”

“Yeah…” you breathed out, not wanting the night to end.

Neither of you moved, keeping still in the comfortable silence surrounding you both. You continued to play with his hand, noticing the hardened callouses over it.

“Where did you get these?” You asked quietly, finger running over his palm.

“My paintbrush, my clay work, the punching bag at my gym,” Steve responded. “A variety of things.”

“You’re so… amazing.”

“Oh, doll,” he chuckled, “I’ve got you fooled.” He kissed the top of your head. “I do need to get you home.”

“Ever the gentleman.” Steve took you with him as he stood up. “Will you show me some of your work sometime?”

Steve nodded. “How about next Friday? 7?”

“I would, but work. Saturday?”

“Saturday is good too.”

“Great. Can’t wait.” You yawned again.

Steve’s hand intertwined with yours. “Let’s get you home.”

~~~

Just like the night before, you basically fell asleep against Steve’s back. He hated the thought of disturbing you and longed to just keep you next to him, but he was a gentleman and this was only the first date. With a soft voice, Steve woke you up, helped you off the bike, and guided you by the hand to the hallway where your apartments were. The two of you stopped in front of the doors.

“I really did have a good time tonight, Steve,” you told him.

“I did too,” he admitted.

“I… I should go…”

“Yeah.” Steve slowly let your hand go. “Me too.”

“Goodnight, Steve.” You turned to go into your apartment.

“Wait, Y/N.”

You looked back at him. You barely saw him as he stepped forward and kissed you softly. You practically melted into him as your eyes fluttered shut. His lips were so soft against yours and didn’t demand anything else but your lips against his. The kiss was too short for either of your liking, but Steve was already being more forward than he had ever before. Pulling away, he kept his face close to yours.

“Goodnight, doll,” his breath fanned your face as he spoke.

You were at a loss for words as you stayed in place and he rushed into his apartment. His apartment door shut and then you leaned back against your own door with a goofy grin on your face.

next chapter >

TAGLIST IS CLOSED - Taglist Information

#steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x fem!reader #steve rogers x f!reader #steve rogers x female!reader #Steve Rogers x Female Reader #steve rodgers imagine #steve rodgers x reader #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers x you #marvel imagine #marvel imagines #marvel fanfiction #marvel fanfic

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whydoyouwantmyname · 2 years

Text

One year later (Part 5)

Masterlist

-A year later, you were standing at the counter, coffee in hand as you enjoyed the quiet bliss of your apartment. The sound of the door opening and closing bringing you back to reality as you looked towards Sam, his body covered in the grey sweatsuit, and sweat rimmed the collar as he looked at you, “How was your run?”

“Great.” He stated, almost sounding out of breath, as you put your coffee down and turned towards your fridge, pulling out his bottle of orange juice and tossing it towards him, his hands lifting to catch it with ease. Before opening it, and taking a sip he continued, “So you know how I was telling you about the blonde hunk dude that has been lapping me every day this week?”

“Yeah, did you finally lap him?”

“No but I found out who he is.”

“Is he the new love of your life?” You joked

“No, but he is Steve Rogers.” You paused, coffee in hand again as you looked at him in surprise, “You have been having a foot race with Captain America for the past week?”

“Yeah, and I invited him to come to the VA, maybe sit in on a meeting. Told him I needed him to make me look good to one of the female counselors.”

“Oh really, bet she is a real classy girl. However, maybe you should have invited him to dinner, less people to question him about his life.”

“I don’t think that the guys will harass him too much, do you?”

“No, but you have failed to take into account that Melody has the biggest crush on him, and loves to ask a million questions.” You smiled, before taking a sip, the realization slowly coming to his face.

-That evening he opened the nightstand drawer, and glanced at the box that was sitting there. You both knew it was there, and you were sure Sam wouldn’t care if you just one day took the contents out and put it on your finger, but you didn’t want to take the moment of him asking you away from him. It wasn’t like he was scared to ask you, but you had both been so busy in the last year that it always slipped his mind. Besides, it wasn’t like you didn’t love him, because if that was true, you wouldn't still be living with him, or sleeping in his bed.

-He never told you about the bed

-When he came to the VA, Sam looked at him, and said, “I have someone I want you to meet.”

“Is it the girl you want to impress?”

“Yeah, she is in her office right now, if you got a minute we can go.”

“Sure.” He replied, thinking he meant office in the building, Sam scooping up his keys and jacket as he led Steve to Dagger. The drive was quiet, and upon arriving Steve questioned, “I thought you said she was at her office?”

“I did, my guess is my dining room table is covered in her notes.” He smiled, as Steve raised an eyebrow, “You didn’t mention you were living with the girl.”

“I guess I left that part out, guess it might be a good time to mention I plan on marrying her one day.” Sam responded as they exited the car.

“Honey, I hope you’re decent, I have a guest.” Sam called as you turned around, and looked at the two men.

“Well, I hope he likes Nova and chicken marsala.” You smiled as you approached Steve, a hand outstretched as you continued, “[Y/N] Bardot, it is a pleasure to meet you Captain.”

-Steve stayed most of the night, all of you crammed onto the couch with bowls of popcorn as you acted like old friends. Steve couldn’t help but feel comfortable as you and Sam joked with him. Finally at midnight Steve looked to you both and stated, “Well I better get back to my place.”

“Do you need me to give you a lift back to your bike?” You asked, as Sam put your empty bowls in the sink, Steve smiling as he replied, “No ma’am, I will just walk…”

“Nonsense, give me two seconds to grab my keys, and my jacket.” You replied, rising to collect those two items from the bedroom as Sam looked at him, “Did I forget to mention she doesn’t like the answer no?”

-On the car ride back he asked you something you hadn’t been asked for years, “Where did you grow up?”

“New York City, by the Metro-General hospital. My dad was a neurosurgeon there, so he wanted to live close to his work.”

“Were you two close?”

“Not at all, however I am slightly glad about that. If I had a healthy relationship with him, I probably would have never moved here, and I would have never gotten my masters as quickly as I did, and I wouldn’t have met Sam.”

“How long have you all been dating?”

“2010.” You smiled, your car slowing as you pulled up to the building and looked at the blonde super soldier, “Now, I am hoping to see you again soon, Sam needs some friendly competition in his life.”

“Well I am sure you offer enough of that.”

“Not when it comes to athletics, but there is a reason we are no longer allowed to play chess at the apartment.”

-When you got home, Sam was waiting for you, “I see you didn’t run off with Steve.”

“Never, he is too muscular for me anyway, besides I have the perfect man right here.”

-The next morning when you woke up to Sam making coffee you quietly asked, “Did you at least get his number, that way you can invite him to dinner next week?”

“No, but my guess is I will see him on my run today, I can invite him then.”

“Good, and while you are at it, can you please find out what his favorite dish is.”

“Why?”

“Cause everyone deserves their favorite home cooked meal Sam, even 95 year old super soldiers.” You smiled, before taking your first sip of coffee.

-A few days later, you woke up to chatter in the living room, and pulled yourself out of bed, the smell of breakfast drawing you into the space. Standing there was Steve and a red haired woman, with a Russian accent, and for some reason, she was wearing your clothes. Her eyes shined as you replied, “Steve, you didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend.”

“Sweetheart,” Sam said, his voice serious as you looked at him with a slight tilt to your head, “If anyone comes to the door, don’t answer.”

“What?”

“Call into work too, you are not to leave this apartment.” He remarked, before going to leave with the duo

“Or what? You will have me evicted?”

“Just….” Sam looked at you, “Please, for me.”

“Fine, but I swear if you come in with bullet wounds, I am not digging those bullets out with the silverware.”

-“I like her.” Natasha remaked as she left your house, Sam smiling as they descended the stairs, “Well if this all works out, maybe I can schedule you two a coffee date.”

-You closed all the blinds, and made sure all the lights were dim, as you sat in the darkness of your living room, you had your phone opened, and waited for the alerts to start. And when they did, your gut told you Sam was there, or maybe it was just because you pieced it all together when you saw the Project Falcon file, laying beside the framed picture of Riley.

-When Dagger crashed on the bridge Sam muttered, “[Y/N] is gonna be pissed.”

-When Sam got to the hideout he asked Hill to go get you, and then he called you, “I need you to get in the van, Bardot.”

“Okay.” You answered, grabbing your duffel bag, which you had packed earlier with clothes for you both, the ring box and the Project Falcon files.

-When you arrived, an agent took you to a room within the bunker, they said nothing to you as they left. You were there for almost an hour before Sam walked in, your back was leaning against the headboard as you looked to him, “Promise me one thing?”

“Anything.”

“You will come out of this whole.”

-Later that night Steve invited you to the table with them, where you met Hill and Fury, and officially got Natasha’s name. As you all sat around, Sam looked at you, “Hey babe, if anyone would know this, it would be you.”

“Yes?”

“Why would Stephen Strange be considered a threat to Hydra?”

“No idea, unless Shield is in need of a good neurosurgeon, or they made him an offer that he refused. Personally I can’t see Stephen Strange’s ego allowing him to help anyone on either side, unless they offered him an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.”

-Later when it was just Sam and Steve, Steve looked at Sam, before glancing at you and Natasha, who seemed to be getting along quite well, his voice a whisper, “You aren’t going to tell her are you?”

“No, not until I know exactly why Sitwell listed her as a threat to Hydra.” He replied, Sitwell’s words still ringing in his head

“We used it to keep track of all threats to Hydra, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, [Y/N] Bardot…”

-Steve pulled you aside, and was asking you different tactics he could use to get through to Bucky, you gladly replied and helped Steve figure out how to best get through to him.

"What do I do if I can't get through to him though?"

"Well Steve, you are going to have to do whatever it takes." You replied, before he just nodded

"You know, if you were around back in the 40's I think you would have fit right in with Buck and I." He replied after

"Oh really? Why is that?"

"Cause you don't seem to give up on people." He replied, the thought of how you gave up on your old life haunting you, however you just smiled, and nodded.

-While they were taking down Shield you were in the bunker with Nick, as he waited for the chopper, his eye fixed on you as you cleaned the kitchen. Finally he spoke, "So Miss Strange, care to enlighten me on why you changed your name?"

At that name your eyes met his, widening as he continued, "I am a level 10, former Shield director, I have my sources. Don't worry though, I won't tell anyone."

"And how do I know I can trust you, don't get me wrong sir, but I…"

"Have no reason to trust me, I know. However after this your boyfriend will probably be offered a position on the Avengers, and I am sure he won't be leaving you behind, even if he doesn't know who you really are. Meaning I need to know to protect my team, if having a Strange in the facility will be a problem."

"No sir, just a girl running away from her daddy. However I have to ask, the data you are about to release…"

"There is no evidence of you in either of our databases, you are still just a Bardot, and I will make sure to keep it that way."

"Thank you Fury." You smiled, before you heard the chopper, "Have a safe flight Director."

-When the agents took you to the Hospital to check on Steve, you immediately ran into Sam's arms, his body wincing as you tightly gripped him, before pulling back, "Thanks for keeping your promise."

"Thanks for not squeezing me to death." He chuckled out.

-While sitting beside Steve, you looked at him, "Do you think you got through to Buck?"

"I don't know, but I do know that I need to find him."

-When they discharged Steve he stayed in your spare room for a few days, each morning you would walk up and make them both a big breakfast, and coffee for after their runs.

-On the first night he was there he offered both you and Sam a home at the Stark Tower, and even stated that Fury talked to Tony, and told him to allow you to be the Stark psychologist. You looked at Sam, and thanked Steve for the opportunity, before adding, "However it is Sam's decision, not mine."

-The next day you called into work and terminated your position, you spent the whole day packing up the small home you had both made. A smile on your face when both boys arrived home, and offered to help.

-On the last day you were in your now empty apartment, you made a special request at one of the finer dining establishments, and as you all sat on the furniture you were leaving behind, it arrived. In the Styrofoam containers were large pieces of lasagna, and homemade garlic bread. As Steve looked at it in disbelief you muttered, "Peggy was nice enough to include that you loved lasagna in one of her journals, so I figured why not."

"Thank you." He whispered before you all dug in, the rest of the night filled with laughter.

-Before leaving you all stood in the cemetery, looking at Nick Fury's grave. Each of you glancing at the figure who joined you as he offered both Sam and Steve spots on his European adventure. When they denied he shook both their hands and then used his other hand to shake yours, a crumpled piece of paper hit your palm, along with a smooth, metal. As his hand slipped from yours you grasped the objects and shoved your hand into the pocket of your black leather jacket, and smiled. Neither Sam nor Steve noticed an exchange even occurred.

-"You two don't have to come with me." Steve stated as he looked over Bucky's file.

"We know, when do we start?" Sam replied

"As soon as we get you moved into your new home." Steve replied, as he closed the file and looked towards you both.

-You and Sam drove Baloo all the way to New York, Steve not far behind on his bike as you sang off key the whole way there.

-Upon arriving at the Stark Tower, Hill immediately led you and Sam to a room that was bigger than your apartment back in DC. "Welcome home."she replied, "[Y/N], tomorrow Tony should have your new office all set up. I hope you don't mind but we took the liberty of setting up your books in there."

"Not at all, thank you Maria." You replied, as Sam gripped your hand.

-Once she left you both took in the space, a sudden wave of familiarity washed over you as you looked at the condo, which had an identical layout to other condos in the city. As the sun lowered however you heard a soft knock on the metal door, and turned to see Steve walking through, "Hope you both like it."

"Mr. Stark went above and beyond with these rooms." You replied, as Steve chuckled, "Well you can tell him that yourselves, he has requested that we have a small party to welcome you to the team."

"He certainly does love his parties." You answered, as Sam looked between you both, before stating, "How long until…."

"He told everyone to arrive at 8, so my guess is be ready by 7:30."

-When he left Sam immediately went into the shower, leaving you alone to figure out what to wear. However as soon as he closed the bathroom door you withdrew the crumpled piece of paper, and the hard drive. As you uncrumpled the paper you saw Fury's handwriting slanted along the page,

Bardot,

I called in a few favors, and had all evidence linking your new identity to your old one permanently erased. This harddrive contains the only copies of your existence as Miss Strange.

Hopefully this is enough to show that you can trust me.

Fury

-Under his name he had scribbled his phone number, just in case of emergencies

-Your eyes started to water, and finally a wave of relief washed over you at the thought that you no longer needed to be fearful of someone finding out who you really were.

-When Sam exited the bathroom he saw you wearing the black dress he had bought you for your birthday, and the silver heels he purchased to match your royal blue dress. He couldn't help but smile as he watched you applying your red lipstick in front of the vanity mirror.

"Take a picture, it will last longer." You replied, noticing him staring through the mirror.

"I just might one of these days." His response caused him to move towards you, his chin landing against your shoulder as his nose was met with the light notes of your bath and body perfume.

"We better get down there, and meet the team." You replied, taking his hand within yours before leading him to the elevator.

-A small gathering for Tony Stark meant at least a 100 people were in a room, a fully stocked bar and pool tables decorated the room, along with millions of seats, both in the space, and on the balcony. The balcony had several fire pits set up, along with a small rectangular pool with pool floats, and color changing LED lights. Thankfully since you arrived early, you were able to meet the team, and then were taken aside by Natasha. "You spend too much time with Wilson anyway, what do you say we just do shots?"

"Yes please." You replied, before taking the first 2oz glass from Clint, who was pouring, and poured the clear liquid down your throat.

-At some point Tony walked up to the three of you however, and touched your back, drawing your attention, "I need to speak with you."

"Oh can't it wait Tony?" Clint asked as Tony smiled, "Sadly it can not."

"Sure Tony, whatever you need." You smiled as he led you from the room, and into an empty room down the hall. His lab was visible as you looked down the hall, and then to the door he was unlocking. As he turned the knob and turned on the lights he revealed a furnished office, all your books sorted by colors on a shelf behind the desk, two comfortable looking couches decorated the room, along with a chair that was positioned towards the window that overlooked the city. A framed photograph of you and Sam sat beside a brand new laptop. As you took in the office Tony replied, "I hope you like it, Miss Potts put quite a bit of thought into the design of the room.

"I love it, I will make sure to thank her when we return to the party."

"That's why I have pulled you aside, we aren't going back to the party, at least not for another hour."

"Why are we staying away from the festivities for an hour?" Your eyebrow raised as he looked towards the ground, "Cause that is typically how long Dr. Stephen Strange stays at my parties. After an hour of photo ops and networking, he grows bored, and will leave without so much as a farewell. I don't blame you for leaving, he seems like a real ass."

"How do you…"

"Who do you think wiped your files Bardot?" He asked, taking a seat on your couch, "Unfortunately I forgot he is normally listed on our guest list, and when Happy made a joke about the fun sucker coming up, that is when I realized my mistake. Thankfully I only advertised the introduction of Mr. Wilson, whom I am sure Strange has no interest in speaking to, but I don't want to cause you any discomfort."

"Thank you."

-For an hour you and Tony sat in your office, and after several moments of silence, you decided to spark a conversation with the Millionaire playboy. This conversation lasted longer than an hour though, and by the end of it you and Tony were laughing to the point of tears.

-At 1 in the morning you both decided it was time to go to bed, and due to how new you were, he escorted you back to your room. Looking at him you stated, "Thanks for tonight Tony, I really appreciated it."

- After exchanging goodnights you opened the door to find Sam and Steve seated at the dining room table, all Intel on Bucky spread across the plaid tablecloth. Both of them so fixated on the papers they failed to even notice you as you kicked off your heels and started towards the bathroom.

-After you changed, you went straight into the king sized bed, sinking into the marshmallow mattress as you pulled the comforter up around you.

-The next morning you hid the flash drive in your office, in a small trinket box beside all of your Stephen Strange studies.

-Tony often found himself in your office, and sometimes you would end up just talking about nothing, and other times you were the only one who could ease his mind. You were one of the few people that he would talk about the NYC attack with.

-You were the one that proposed using a string of phrases to calm Hulk down, Natasha volunteered to do it, which you said would probably be the most effective method.

-You, Clint and Natasha were always seen in the common area together when they weren't training. Normally you would be seated in the floor, in front of the coffee table, looking up at the two, Clint’s hands always twirling an arrow, while Nat rolled her eyes.

-On occasion, you would fellowship in Nat’s room, and leave there slightly stumbling due to too much vodka. Upon entering the condo, Sam couldn’t help but crack a smile at you.

-Nat always wanted to go to the expensive stores with you and look at the clothing section. She always thought it was comical that you would wear your hair up in a ponytail that stuck out of the back of the baseball cap that Tony bought you, eyes always covered by your round, purple sunglasses, and your outfit not to revealing, even on the hottest summer days, you insisted on wearing one of Sam’s hoodies and your baggy jeans. She had no idea it was because these were the stores you always occupied as a child, and feared the employees who once knew you by first name would recognize you.

-Twice a week you would make poptart runs, always picking up new flavors to try, and returning with them to stock the pantry for the God of Thunder.

-You were the only one, other than Thor, who knew where the stash of Asgardian Ale was.

-Thor adored you, often when you were deep into a book he would sit beside you, and once he noticed you had finished your chapter, would engage in conversation. Soon the book would be discarded and his booming laughter would fill the small space as you shared comical details of your life with him.

-He always talked with you about Jane. And finally one day you looked at him and whispered, “Sometimes Thor, it is best to wish the toxic people well, and let them go.”

-Clint loves teaching you how to shoot a bow, and often would decorate the target with Sam’s photographs. You normally missed, however you never shared that you were purposely aiming for the backgrounds of the photos.

-You knew about Laura and the kids, Clint told you one day when it was just the two of you in his room. You were sitting on the counter of his kitchen while he cooked leftovers, the smell of the food intoxicating. You looked at him and replied, “I never knew you could cook more than mini wheats.”

“I can’t, Mrs. Barton on the other hand….”

“Wait, I thought your parents were partying it up in the ghost realm ?” You joked as he agreed, “They are, but my wife is a young queen, currently raising two jesters.”

-He showed you pictures after that, and one day even took you with him and Natasha to visit them, the kids instantly loved you.

-You and Nat left before him, both of you agreeing to pick him up in a few days, on the ride back, you sat in the seat, legs over the arm of the chair as you looked towards Nat, “Do you think that’s going to happen to me?”

“What?”

“I am going to end up in a safe house, raising the kids on my own, while Sam runs around and saves the world, even after he has retired.”

“No, mostly because I don’t think Tony would ever let him force you into the domestic housewife role.”

-Bruce likes having you around in the lab, since you and Tony were so close, he loved to show you how to create in the lab, making it so that Bruce saw you extremely often. He was fearful you would look at him as a psychological test subject, who wanted nothing more from him than the answer to what makes the big guy tick. However he quickly learned that was the wrong thought process, since you never brought the big guy up.

-Rhodey often joked that you were replacing him as Tony’s best friend, you were quick to rebuttal, “Never, I could never handle him like you do.”

-One day when you wandered into the lab, you found Tony and Bruce bickering quietly, and quickly took your place at a computer, looking for a file you had emailed yourself to show Tony for a future invention idea. However as soon as Tony noticed you he piped up, “Bardot, just the woman I wanted to see, tell me, do you think creating AI would be a good idea?”

“It depends what you want the AI to do.”

-That’s when he told you the plans for Ultron, and you looked towards Bruce, “What do you think B?”

“I think it is doable, but the electronic system we would need to create in order to make a AI system as lifelike as Tony is invisioning has never been done before.”

“But it can be done, we just need someone who has a vast knowledge of the human brain, and understands what makes humans behave in a helpful, protective, justifying manner.” He stated, turning towards you, as you asked the question, “You mean like a psychologist?”

“No.” Tony answered, “I need the psychologist who got her masters at 21, and can function at the same genius level that Banner and I can. Also she needs to already know how to best communicate with us, and can clearly articulate her ideas on how to get this system up and running.” Tony answered

“Where do I sign then?” You asked as Tony smiled wide

-Tony always kept tabs on your father for you, that way exposure to him and the possibility of him exposing your born identity were very minimum. However when you would hear he was attending a gala, or going to the same brunch the Avengers were expected to attend, and Sam would ask you to be his plus one to the free buffet, you were left to come up with excuses.

-There was one week where they had so many events to attend in that one week alone. Every event scheduled allowed a plus one, meaning that you were destined to be Sam’s. However you kept telling him you were feeling nauseous, and couldn’t attend, since your father would be attending everyone as well. At the end of that week, Sam came into the bedroom, and tossed a small, pink cardboard box onto the comforter, your eyes lifting from your laptop to look at it, “What’s that?”

“A pregnancy test.”

“I can see that, what I meant by that was more of a why did you feel the need to buy…”

“You said you were nauseous almost every night for the past two weeks, so this way at least we have all our bases covered.

-It came back negative, which you already knew. That afternoon you looked up new excuses for not attending the events, since you didn’t want to pee on a stick for the rest of your premenopausal life just because you wanted to avoid your father.

-Steve was at your place every night, all three of you leaning over the files you had dug up, searching for any clues that could point you in the direction of Bucky, and every time being unsuccessful.

-One morning after training Steve came up to the office alone, opening your door he saw you furiously typing the keys on your keyboard, trying to describe the next groundbreaking electronic you and Tony would create in the lab. His smile wide as he lightly knocked on the open door, “You got a minute?”

“For you Steve Rogers, always. What’s up?”

“Want to go get coffee?”

“Sure.” You smiled, closing the laptop and raising to follow him into the autumn weather.

-As you walked around Central Park with the warm beverages Steve asked, “Do you ever think we will find him?”

“I honestly do, I mean we have to try at least. You even said it seemed almost like you got through to him, meaning there is still a scrape of your Bucky in there, and it is because of that we have to try.”

-Steve has a spare bedroom in your condo, Tony meant for it to be a spare office for you to work “at home” but you asked Happy to help you move all the stuff out after a week, and bought all new vintage bedroom furniture to decorate the room with, along with found pictures of Steve in the present, and put a sepia filter on them before printing and framing them. The shelves were filled with all the classics, and a few modern books you thought he might enjoy, along with several, blank sketchbooks, and a whole new pencil set.

-Sometimes when they weren’t looking for Bucky, Steve would do a still life of you, his hand always moving in short strokes across the page as he looked at you. Sam occasionally would be the subject of a drawing as well, but normally you were the easiest thing at his disposal to draw. Plus you unknowingly sat still for a very long time, making you the perfect model.

-You came up with the name Veronica, Tony wanted to name the suit Ruby, and Bruce was in favor of HEDI (Hulk’s Emergency Defense Isolation).

-At least once a week, you were insistent that everyone eat dinner together in the common area. You would spend the whole day cooking, and then after hours of dealing with the heat, steam, burns and grease, you would serve up a plate for everyone and tell Jarvis to summon them.

-There was one night after your weekly group dinner that Tony suggested playing a game, which you all agreed would be doable for that night, since none of you really had plans for that evening, or the following day. The game he suggested was Never have I ever, and as he proposed it, he pulled out the shot glasses, and the deep amber liquid.

-It started off easy, Tony asked first, “Never have I ever cheated on a test.” This resulted in most of the team taking a shot, while you, Tony and Steve just watched, “I am scared to know what kind of test Thor cheated on.” You replied as the Asgardian looked at you, “I will gladly tell you all about it later Lady [Y/N].”

-You hated that he called you Lady [Y/N], but he did it still because he found your annoyance at the formality cute.

-other than Thor’s cheating story, whenever asked to explain a story, everyone complied and told the story that went with the question. Your personal favorite was when Bruce asked, “Never have I ever woken up in bed with a stranger.”

Tony took a shot, and as he placed it down he replied, “If anyone was wondering it was 5 strangers, and I had no idea how I got there. Was still drunk too when I woke up I think.”

-At around question 10 or 11 however the questions got a bit harder to answer, “Never have I ever stolen?”

-As you took a shot, Bruce piped up, “Now I have to hear your story, Bardot.”

You didn’t want to tell them how you stole money from your father, so you smiled and replied, “I steal Sam’s clothes daily, so I think that counts.”

-At question 37 though they kicked it up a notch, Nat looked at you and said, “Never have I ever had someone call me Madam in bed.”

-You took the shot, and could see Sam turning red across the circle from you, as you lowered it you muttered, “Never telling you anything again.”

“Never have I ever called someone madam in bed.” Clint followed up, as Tony and Sam took shots, everyone looked at Tony confused and replied, “Well what else am I supposed to call the Madam Secretary.”

-At question 67 however, you looked at Tony, slight panic in your face as Steve asked, “Never have I ever lied about my identity outside of a mission.”

-His goal was to get Natasha, but before she could answer you politely asked, “Oh shit, what time is it?”

“9:30.” Bruce replied

“I have to go do a phone conference with Pepper, I’ll be back though as soon as it is over.” You answered, before hurrying to the elevator, no one had a second thought. As the doors closed through, and the elevator rose slightly, you pressed the stop button, head going into your knees as you sank to the floor, tears slowly slipped from your eyes. When you made the decision to run away from the Strange name, you never thought you would ever feel bad for withholding the information from people, but for some reason withholding it from the Avengers, the people you were starting to consider family, just felt wrong.

-“Miss Bardot, Mr. Stark would like to know if you are okay?” Jarvis asked, as you lifted your head and looked at the small camera in the corner, “Please tell him I am perfectly okay, and will come rejoin the game in a moment.”

-However you soon heard metal boots hit the top of the elevator and looked up to see the top tile of the roof get removed, before Tony dropped down carefully. He sat beside you and didn’t say anything, until finally you leaned over and gently placed your head on his shoulder, triggering his arm to go around you.

-After a while he softly whispered, “I am so proud of you.”

“Why?”

“Because you could have ended up like me.”

“A playboy millionaire who woke up one day after a night of partying to 5 probably drop dead gorgeous strangers ready to have sex with you?”

“No. Emotionless, arrogant, sarcastic, you could have pushed everyone away, been prideful, rude, and honestly just acted like a pompous ass.”

“I don’t think you are a pompous ass.” You whispered

“Trust me kid, I definitely am. Besides at your age I definitely had never been in a 4 year, healthy relationship, or been as humble as you. If I were you, I would be boasting to everyone about having earning my masters at the age of 21, or about working for one of the most distinguished, new age tech companies in the world, or that you live with the avengers, and are dating one of their newest members, who was also in the military. You genuinely don’t seem to care about any of that though, you just present yourself with grace and ease, and smile to everyone no matter who they are.”

“Thanks Tony.” You whispered as he pressed a light kiss on your temple, before whispering, “Never feel bad for getting out, because getting out made you a better person.”

-After that day you guys always played a game after group dinners.

-Since Sam was normally helping Steve, you were left to play video games alone, however you noticed a lot of self improvement during this period.

-The only day Sam and Steve would pause the search to watch TV with you was on Nova Wednesday.

Masterlist

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renidyy · 2 years

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A few of my TMA hair headcanons(SPOILERS FOR ALL SEASONS)

I’m an artist so naturally I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’ve visualized the characters throughout the seasons, & I’ve decided I’m just gonna compile my headcanons here for some of the characters’ hair. These are just the characters I’ve put thought into btw so plenty are missing

(Also apologies for any mischaracterization, I listened to TMA in very spread out intervals and am relying on what I remember interpreting the characters as and what few notes I took on them)

Gerry has curly hair. No one knows until it storms one day on the way to work and his freshly straightened hair is now drying into tight curls. Everyone bothers him about it all day, to his dismay(it’s his mother’s hair type, after all). He brings his straightener with him every time he and Gertrude travel. He forgot to pack it once and casually just traveled back home to get it. She hates that damn straightener.

Melanie uses her hair as a way to keep a little bit of control in her life, so it often reflects her feelings at the time. She cuts and dyes it herself, and through most of the early seasons it’s shoulder length with the occasional trim or touch up. She pulls a classic Mental Breakdown™️ and chops several inches off after she gets shot in India. Her hair goes through every color imaginable after that and is probably very fucked up from all of the hair dye & bleaching. Once she blinds herself and leaves the institue behind, she completely stops dyeing and cutting it. Not that she thinks she can’t take care of it herself, but she trusts Georgie to take care of it now. It looks healthy again by the end of the series.

Daisy has had the exact same somewhat well-kept haircut since she first got a job. Her hair has always been short. Always. After escaping the coffin with Jon, she lets it grow out. Not on purpose, though, she means to get it cut but she just never does.

Jon’s hair starts out quite short with only a few streaks of grey hair, and is more of a dark brown than anything. He starts forgetting to get it cut through the stress of season 2 and decides to just let it grow out so he could put it up in a bun and forget about it. It gets surprisingly long and always seems to be a little bit tangled(until he starts to brush his fingers through his hair out of stress, at least). By the end of the series, his hair has almost completely greyed. It goes from brown with streaks of grey to grey with streaks of brown. No one ever comments on it getting worse. Martin notices Jon’s hair getting worse before even Jon does, but never pries. He knows why it’s getting worse, anyway. He does bug him to cut his split ends in the later seasons, though.

Martin is one of the only ones to keep his hair decently taken care of throughout the entirety of the seasons, and it only started to grow out and get messy because he stopped going out to get it cut during season 4(for obvious reasons cough cough self isolation cough cough he hates interaction cough cough). He finally has Jon help him cut it when him and Jon go out to the cabin. It doesn’t seem to grow after that.

Tim takes care of his hair RELIGIOUSLY. The guy is a fuckin trooper. Even when he stops giving a shit about his crappy job, he still follows his hair care routine and goes to get it cut every couple months. His hair is physically incapable of looking bad. It just always looks absolutely amazing. Steve Harrington kinda vibes. He just has such good hair even when he starts to collect trauma like pokemon cards. He hardly even styles it, it’s just Like That when he uses the right products.

Elias doesn’t actually take care of his hair like Tim does, but he does style it everyday. Literally everyday. Even in jail(he uses water to style it in his stupid little Victorian-era waves). His hair is probably greasy as hell. He probably doesn’t care much about shampoo. The kinda guy to use a 4 in 1 shampoo coz he just doesn’t care enough about products as long as he can still wear his Evil Boss hairstyle. Probably only washes his hair when it starts to get absurdly greasy from him styling it everyday.

That’s all I have for now. I wish I had smth for Basira, sasha, & not!Sasha but I haven’t been able to decide on designs for them yet :/. Maybe I’ll add to this later

#tma #tma spoilers #the magnus archives #the magnus archives spoilers #tma jon #tma martin #tma daisy #tma elias #tma tim #tma gerry #tma melanie #magnus archives #tma headcanons

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pr3ttym3ssy · 2 years

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Here’s a snippet of the second chapter to my fanfic “You’ve Got Me Waiting, Don't leave me Hanging”

Her tears have stopped. She still on the edge of the mattress, her feet flat on the ground. She twirls her finger around the loose thread of string of one of the holes in her jeans. Her fingertip going purple from the makeshift tourniquet the thread has created. She hears shuffling outside the door and footsteps growing softer and headed for the front house door.

Her mother is opening the door to someone and there’s a muffling of words, she’s not entirely sure she can make out. She doesn’t really care at this point. It sounded masculine. Her ears are sharp and alert to the noise, but its stopped. Whoever it was, they probably left. Shortly after, she hears a rapping at Billy’s door. She furrows her brow, unsure but regardless of who could possibly be coming to visit her.

She hasn’t seen her friends in while. For a lack of not being able to know what to talk about. She hasn’t been herself lately, and she doesn’t need their pity. She unties and releases her finger from the thread. She takes the sleeves of her shirt and goes to work again wiping at her face just to make sure she’s decent. There’s another knock and then she hears a, “Max?”. Max’s brows stay furrowed in a confused manner, because what is Steve doing there?

“Steve? Umm…come in”.

He gingerly opens the door and steps in, his big brown eyes fully alert. He’s wearing a tight-lipped smile and slowly starts to come in. It’s almost like he’s being extremely careful, as not to startle her. Like she’s a wounded animal and any little action on his part will have her running for the hills.

“Hey kid. You alright?”, Steve comes to stand in front of her. His arms coming to cross against his waist, unsure of what to do. He looks worried for her, but he lacks what to say. She can tell, classic Steve. He worries like an older brother would his siblings but he’s also a kid and they tend to forget he’s inexperienced. Being a single child and all. But the Party loves him, they all love him for being there and trying.

sorry I’ve been taking a bit of time with this chapter. It’s been a rough past month. Work has been so busy that I end up emotionally and mentally drained. Also my high school friend passed away, and we have all been going through the motions. But you guys, the Harringrove community, always make me smile and keep me going. I’m going to try to get back on track with this one.

I will be posting soon.

#pr3ttym3ssy writes #fanfic #harringrove #steve x billy #steve x max

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egcdeath · 3 years

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ways to say i love you without saying “i love you”

pairing: steve rogers x reader

summary: you and steve explore love languages

word count: 5.1k

warnings: fluff, a little angst because of miscommunications, reader & steve being idiots, good intentions but terrible delivery, mentions of other characters

author’s note: this fic has been sitting unfinished in my drafts for so long. this fic is like, ancient. this fic was almost destroyed because it was briefly in the library of alexandria. when i reopened the document with this fic, there were mold spores growing on it. (p.s. steve’s love langauge is acts of service, and the reader’s is quality time)

you can find my masterlist and taglist here

Prologue

Steve was a multitasker. You knew this well. Perhaps too well.

That never seemed to bother you before, but if the man who was supposed to be taking a serene nature walk with you checked his goddamn flip phone one more time, you were completely sure that you’d lose it.

You paused your story about your obnoxious coworkers for a moment, stopping in the middle of the gravelly trail you two were making your way down.

“Steve, seriously, are you even listening?” you griped, ushering him towards the side of the pavement as a man on a bike flew by.

He guffawed a bit at this, “of course I am. You just said something about…” he paused, and you gestured with your hands for him to continue. “Okay, sorry,” the blush on his face was becoming more and more apparent.

You involuntarily scoffed, rolling your eyes as you did so, “I’m glad to know that whatever you’re waiting for on there,” you gestured to his pocket, “is more important than spending quality time with your girlfriend, who, must I remind you, took time off to be here with you.”

“Nothing is more important to me than you, I’m just on call. I’m probably going to get called to go on a mission any moment now.”

“Steve!” you huffed, “you literally just got back, like, two hours ago. Can’t someone else go? Tony? Vision? Anyone?”

“I might’ve volunteered myself-“

“You’re unbelievable, Steve. Are you getting tired of me or something? You’ve been avoiding me like the plague ever since I moved in with you. If I upset you, or you’re gonna propose to me or something, can you just tell me?”

“I promise you it’s not personal at all,” he reached for your hand and gently held it. “Everything’s just been crazy. I mean, these Hydra bases have been popping up left and right. Just give me a little grace, okay? I don’t get upset with you when SHIELD starts making you work those ungodly hours.”

You opened your mouth to debate him, but surely enough, the canny and familiar ringtone of Steve’s work phone interrupted you before you could even begin.

“Okay… Yeah. I’ll be there in thirty.”

You frowned at Steve as he spoke on the phone and shook your head disapprovingly, “unbelievable,” you muttered, storming in the direction of your home.

——

Steve was no fool, he knew when he messed up, and he was more than willing to take responsibility for such. Now was one of those times. He knew that he should’ve been making more time for you. He was well aware that he shouldn’t have gotten defensive when you pointed this out.

He just had no idea how to apologize.

You weren’t exactly making it easy for him either, taking much longer hours in an attempt to avoid him. While he could understand your frustrations, it became a little more difficult everyday for him to properly apologize to you in a way he felt was meaningful.

Eventually figuring to use your avoidance as a tool, Steve devised a plot to make an apology for you so considerate, so superb, that you could never be angry with him again. A plot that included a several course meal, all concocted by himself.

He could imagine the look on your face as you came home from work, shocked, but the good kind of shock. Pleasantly surprised that your sweet boyfriend had put in such a huge amount of effort to say sorry.

He couldn’t help but imagine the scenario: you would relax into your seat at the table after Steve pulled out the chair for you, hum in content as he poured your favorite wine. Moan happily at the taste of a homemade and rarely prepared salad dressing, before complimenting the melt-in-your-mouth entree he had spent an unknown amount of time laboring over. Finally, you’d gush over the dessert that Steve hadn’t had the chance to cook in years, tell him that he worked far too hard putting everything together, especially for a little argument. Steve would scoff, tell you you’re being too kind, and you would pull him in for a red wine and dark chocolate flavored kiss.

The thought of you, your genuine and warm smile after a long day at work, and an even longer week worth of unspoken tension between you both, was enough to keep Steve motivated through the hours he spent preparing your meal.

He greeted you at the door like an excited puppy as soon as he heard your keys jingle. Sure, work had kept you a bit longer than he’d expected, and your food was likely a little cool by now, but he was excited to make amends.

However, you did not seem to share the same enthusiasm as Steve.

“Welcome home, gorgeous. Come sit,” Steve nudged you into the dining area, and you sluggishly followed, exhausted from a tiring day of training new agents.

“What’s wrong?” he inquired, pulling out a chair that you didn’t even attempt to sit down on.

“I had a really long day. I kinda just wanna get to bed,” you shrugged before rubbing your creased temple.

Steve internally cringed at the thought of all of his hard work going to waste. For some reason, he’d not envisioned this less pleasant outcome before. “Sweetheart,” he began in a nearly whiny tone, but you weren’t in much of a mood to be persuaded.

“I’m sorry. Weird things were happening at work that I don’t care to get into now, and honestly, I’m not even that hungry,” you reached out and gave Steve’s hand a little squeeze. “But it all looks and smells so good! I Promise I’ll warm some up tomorrow for lunch.”

“I-,” he paused, “please. Maybe you could just take a few bites of everything. It took me a really long time to get everything prepped and ready.”

You frowned at the plea, feeling a bit guilty but almost… satisfied at the same time. Steve struggled to make time for you because of his work, and now he was getting a little taste of his own medicine.

“I really am sorry. But hey, now we’re even?” you offered with a playful wink, slipping away before you gave your partner a chance to respond. You truly didn’t have the energy for a four course meal that night, let alone another argument.

——

Wanda was silent for a moment as she sipped from a mug of coffee, watching you with a suspiciously focused look on her face.

“Wanda?” you prompted, seemingly snapping her out of whatever trance she had found herself in.

“Oh my God, I know exactly what you guys need,” she just about blurted, reaching across the café table to grab your hand.

“Were you reading my mind?”

Your friend didn’t respond, but the devious smirk on her face was enough of an answer.

“What happened to telling me before reading me?”

“You just looked like there was a lot on your mind. And absolutely no way that you’d tell me,” she shrugged nonchalantly.

“Of course I was gonna tell you! Why else would I ask my friend in a cute relationship to meet me for coffee?”

“Because you like me?”

“No, never that. I just needed advice,” the two of you shared a laugh for a moment.

“Well don’t waste your breath. When Vis and I had a rough patch, we just had to learn each other’s love languages. You’d be surprised just how much that synthezoid values those acts of services.”

“And you?”

“I’m a words of affirmation girl myself,” she shrugged. “You should find out yours, and try to figure out Steve’s. I guarantee it’ll be helpful in the long run. I can send you guys a test, if you want?”

“Oh god no, please don’t tell him that I told you about us. Actually, I didn’t even tell you! You were digging around in my brain, and I don’t appreciate that. Just do me a favor, and don’t share this with anyone, okay?” You paused dramatically, then leaned in to speak to your friend in a whisper, “but send me that test when you get the chance.”

Gift Giving

“A little reality-warping birdie told me you’ve been having some relationship problems,” Tony said teasingly once Bruce left the conference room, leaving him and Steve alone.

Steve paused for a moment, trying to decide whether he should lie or fess up to the allegation. “How did she know?” Steve finally responded, standing up and pushing the chair he was sitting on behind him.

Tony shrugged dismissively, “I don’t ask these kinds of things. I just hear in passing that the geriatric is having a hard time and tune in.”

Steve shook his head slightly, rolling his eyes to mask his clear embarrassment.

“Well, is it true?”

“We’ve just been having the occasional… rift. A little more than occasionally.”

Tony nodded, fake pondering the situation, “well, I always know what I do for Pep, at least after I tell her I’m getting rid of the suit. Go buy her something nice. Really nice, like jewelry, or a purse if she’s into that kind of thing. I would say a car, but I know that Social Security check isn’t getting you too far. You know what? Put it on the company card. My treat.”

Steve wanted to scoff, turn his nose up at the offer like it was a terrible idea, but it really wasn’t. Maybe a material surprise was the way to win you back. He made a soft ‘hmph,’ noise as he mulled it over. “That’s definitely not your worst idea. Thanks,” he gave his teammate a soft smile before collecting himself and heading out of the conference room.

His first stop after work was some local jeweler. Steve threw on a (not very) inconspicuous outfit before entering the building, where he browsed for a good hour, searching for something that he believed you’d like. After looking at more jewelry than he had ever cared to see in his life, he decided on a necklace with a thin golden chain with a decent sized diamond hanging off of it. It was a little pricier, and you’d be able to tell— but he hoped it would help the gift mean more to you.

——

When you arrived home late that night, Steve was sitting in the living room waiting for you. It was almost daunting, the sight of him sitting alone on the couch mostly in the dark, only the television illuminating his face. He kind of reminded you of a parent waiting to confront their child who just snuck out, or a concerned friend seconds away from staging an intervention with you.

Walking past the room, you peeked your head through the doorway, and observed the flat, small box in front of him on the coffee table.

“Hey, Sweetheart,” he greeted, standing up so he could greet you with a hug and grabbing the little box as he did so.

“Is everything okay?” you probed, speaking into Steve’s shoulder.

“Of course. I just wanted you to know how much I love you, and that I’m sorry for not having as much time for you as I should,” he pulled away before holding the box out for you.

You hesitantly took the box and opened it, letting out a gasp when you viewed the delicate looking gold necklace.

You were having mixed emotions, because it was clearly beautiful and you were grateful to the gesture. But you knew that this must’ve been expensive, and that it was so unlike Steve to have done something like this. Your frugal, Great Depression era guy wasn’t exactly the most material.

“I love it,” you gushed, admiring the jewelry.

“Can I put it on you?” Steve asked, and received a nod in return.

Steve set the box down on the table and lifted up the necklace, bringing it up to your neck and focusing on clasping it in the back.

“Babe, how much was this?” you blurted, not even being able to filter the words before they left your mouth.

“Hmm? That doesn’t matter,” he dismissed, then stepped away from you to admire your clavicle.

“It just feels weird letting you spend so much on me.”

“It’s a gift, though. You’re not supposed to think about those things,” he hummed, pressing a chaste peck to your nose.

“Steve, I got you a Nespresso for Christmas and you wouldn’t stop complaining about how expensive it was. I love it, I really do. It’s beautiful and I’ll always think of you when I wear it. I just think that maybe we should have the same standards for each other,” you stood up from your seat and sidestepped him. “I need a shower.”

Steve watched you walk off, letting your words simmer in his thoughts.

That was the last time he would take relationship advice from Tony.

Words of Affirmation

This conclusion probably shouldn’t have taken you this long, but you were almost completely sure that this would be the love language to win Steve back over. You felt bad for some of the occurrences between the two of you lately, with sour exchanges and sweet moments that turned bitter on a whim.

In all honesty, you were concerned that Steve doubted your love for him. And if his love language really was words of affirmation, this would certainly convince him otherwise.

You sat at your desk the night before Steve departed for a two-week mission, trying to write a nice message for him. You tapped your pen on the stock paper in deep thought as you tried to figure out the best thing to say.

I’m sorry for arguing so much with you lately. You and everything that you do mean the world to me, even when you get on my nerves. I love you more than anything and that will never change.

The words looked cramped and unkempt on the little note. Your handwriting got messier as you went. You groaned at it, crumpled the paper, and tossed it in your trash bin. Time to start over again.

I’m sorry for arguing with you. I love you a lot. Can you stop picking up your phone when we’re spending time together?

You groaned at the passive aggressive tone of your message. That certainly wasn’t going to get you anywhere. Straight to the bin it goes.

I love you so much so don’t die on your mission or I’ll be pretty upset. Be safe out there xx.

The tone was even more off now. You needed to think of something that would really make Steve remember you while he was gone. For a second, you considered snapping a nude with a polaroid and attaching it to the letter.

I’m sorry that things have been so bad nasty for us lately. I promise that I love you, despite our ups and downs. Nothing will ever change that. I’ll miss you more than you know while you’re gone. Make sure you call me every day, my love.

A little cheesy, but you signed off with your name regardless, and contentedly looked at your work. The spacing looked correct, the tone wasn’t harsh, and you knew for a fact that Steve would appreciate it.

You stayed up a little later than normal, waiting for Steve to get home and change out of his ‘work clothes’ so that you could slip the note into his utility belt.

You folded the note to a small little square and set it beside an granola bar in a pocket you’d assumed he frequently used. Content with your work, you laid back in bed until your partner slipped in bed beside you, and sleepily cuddled into you until you were both unconscious.

—

Around two weeks had passed since Steve had seen you last, and he had decided to stop by the office and finish up paperwork before coming to see you. It had been radio silence on his end, despite the note in his clothing that clearly requested daily contact. Part of you wondered if Steve had seen it at all.

Steve had just finished signing the documents when he finally noticed it, reaching into a sparsely used part of his belt to have a quick snack. His hand landed on a folded piece of paper, and he cringed as he unfolded it, the letter becoming clearer and clearer as he did so. He wondered just how long the message had been waiting for him.

He read your sweet words with a frown on his face, the guilt from not opening it sooner overriding the sweet feelings that he would otherwise have. He grabbed his phone and considered texting you, but abandoned that thought altogether.

“FRIDAY, any idea where Y/N is right now?”

“I was told not to share any information about Ms. L/N, Captain Rogers.”

“Whose orders?” Steve pressed.

“Hers,” the bot quipped back.

Steve groaned aloud. He was really in for it tonight.

Physical Touch

“Have you tried touching her more?” Thor casually queried. The water that Steve had just consumed nearly flew out of his nose, and his cheeks reddened instantly.

“Pardon?” he asked, looking away from his friend instantly.

“I understand that you and Y/N have been having troubles lately. Perhaps she does not feel held by you. Maybe she wants you to show her off in public, to hold her hand, hug her,” he suggested.

Could Steve even be blamed for going there? He was having a chat with a god of fertility. Who wouldn’t think the same?

“Stark’s gala tonight. Show the world that she’s yours, and I guarantee that she’ll love every moment of it.”

——

You were confused. Really confused.

The night began with some simple touches, hand holding as you entered the building, a casual arm around your waist as you chatted with donors and politicians you hadn’t seen in months, a playful match of footsie under the table while waiting for food. But it came to a head when Steve had decided to rest his hand on your ass and grope you in the midst of a conversation.

Now, in any other situation, you would welcome this affection. But both you and Steve had never been a fan of PDA, and this was a bit too far.

As subtle as you could manage, you pushed his hand away, offering him a sour look as you did so.

“Excuse us,” you told some rich old man in an artificially sweet tone before ushering Steve off to his office for a bit more privacy.

“What was that about?” you questioned, sitting down in the padded chair behind Steve’s desk, and running your fingers over your necklace in a bit of a nervous tick.

“What do you mean?” he retorted, standing across from you at the desk and setting his hands on top of the clear table.

“Why were you groping me in front of people? That’s really... unlike you. And it made me uncomfortable.”

Steve frowned genuinely, looking down at the table in embarrassment. “I’m really sorry. For making you uncomfortable. It sounds ridiculous but I was just trying something new.”

“Apology accepted, but are you sure? You weren’t like, jealous of those guys or something? You know you’re the only hundred year old I have eyes for,” you set your hands atop of his and squeezed.

Steve chuckled at this, the flush of his cheeks only highlighted more by the laughter, “it’s just that, uh, Thor told me I should try showing you off more. Or something like that.”

“So you groped me in front of our guests? That’s silly. And a little unprofessional,” you glanced over at the cork board on his desk sitting next to his desktop, and amongst the neatly arranged scratched out to-do lists and random reminders, you couldn’t help but notice the creased paper of the note you’d left for his mission. Your chest warmed when your eyes fell upon it.

“When did you find this thing?” you asked, pointing to the note.

“I meant to say something, but when I found it, FRIDAY said you didn’t want to talk to me. SO I was going to bring it up when I got home, but you were still working. After that, I kinda… you know-”

“Forgot?” you finished with a hearty laugh, “It’s fine. You’re such a dork. C’mere so I can get my own groping in,” you chided, grinning to yourself when Steve wrapped his arms around you in a tight embrace.

Acts of Service

Steve was quietly folding your laundry in your bedroom when it finally occurred to you, but when it did, it hit like a ton of bricks.

Steve’s love language was acts of service!

Things suddenly began to make sense to you, the way that he initially attempted to apologize by spending hours cooking one meal, how he consistently worked to make your life as comfortable as possible, and his great insistence to do house chores, despite you being more than capable.

Steve set down a stack of folded sweatshirts by your calf, snapping you away from your brief retrospective daze. If that really was the case, and Steve’s love language truly was acts of kindness, you had to come up with some sort of plan to communicate to him just how much you cared about him in a way that he really appreciated.

Luckily for you, you were a quick thinker. Before you even knew it, a week filled with random acts of kindness before he was off on yet another mission was quickly hatched.

——

You were up at the ass-crack of dawn. Really. Steve liked to get up earlier than the sun in order to run, or train, or whatever the hell it was that superheroes did. You were seriously regretting your decision to wake up around the same time as him in order to do some favors for him in the morning.

By the time Steve was back from his run, his favorite coffee was brewed and cooling, and you were in the laundry room at the dryer, preparing to give Steve a warm towel after his shower.

Despite the three mugs of coffee you’d just downed, it was becoming more and more difficult to keep your eyes open. It didn’t help that your eyelids felt like they weighed fifty pounds each, and the warmth of the dryer next to you was providing you with just enough comfort to drift off.

And drift you did. In fact, half an hour later, you’d missed the frantic calling out for you from your boyfriend as he searched for you around the apartment.

You finally awoke when he shook your shoulders, his amused voice bringing you back to consciousness.

“What’s going on here?” Steve grinned, pushing some hair out of your face.

“Mmm,” you began, “Iwantedtogetawarmtowel,” you slurred sleepily and incoherently.

“Even with super hearing I couldn’t decipher that. Let’s get you a mattress, okay?” Steve hoisted you up like you were nothing, and carried your half asleep body all the way up to your bedroom.

The next thing you knew, you were buried under your favorite comforter and propped against a mountain of feathery pillows. A gentle forehead kiss and an incomprehensible sentence about calling off of work for you later, you were back in a deep sleep.

So much for warm towels.

—

You were going to do better this time. That’s what you told yourself as you strolled through the grocery store, the same store that you hadn’t shopped in since moving in with Steve, as he preferred to do the shopping himself.

Equipped with a short paper list and sheer determination to make the trip as short and accurate as possible, you gathered all of the groceries that you believed were necessary— just enough to restock the fridge, and fill some gaps left in the cupboard.

Your time at the store was indeed brief, as you found yourself in the checkout lane after just twenty minutes (you definitely weren’t going to brag about that to Steve later. Definitely not), and back home with just enough time to unload the groceries, and further prep yourself to go to work.

You’d honestly forgotten about your trip to the store by the time that you arrived home, up until you found your boyfriend arm deep in your pantry, hellbent on finding… something.

“Can I help you?” you poked with a laugh, coming up beside Steve and peeking over his shoulder.

“I’m just… Did you happen to grab any protein bars while you were at the store?” he asked, pausing his search to look back at you.

“I don’t think so. Why? It’s not like you need any more protein,” you teased, squeezing a bicep to demonstrate your words.

“They’re pretty convenient when I’m out in the field. Don’t worry about it, though. I’ll just swing by the store and grab some before my mission tomorrow. Actually, I should probably go now. Y’know, before I forget,” Steve was already grabbing his car keys from the counter by the time his sentence was finished, leaving you to fight off your disappointment at your minor grocery store failure.

You looked at what you now knew was an insufficiently filled pantry and pinched the bridge of your nose. You had seriously underestimated the ins and outs of shopping for a super soldier.

Well, third time’s the charm?

—

After this week, you would never complain about waking up early again. You were now up at an absolutely ungodly hour, scrambling eggs, flipping pancakes, and spreading jam on toast for a sleeping, unsuspecting Steve.

You placed the plate on a sturdy wooden tray, poured orange juice and an extra glass of water, and set a nicely folded napkin, along with utensils, next to the items.

You hoped that the scent of bacon wafting up to your bedroom would eventually pull him out of his slumber, and seeing how bacon was the only thing left to finish cooking, you took a little break.

A round of Candy Crush turned into two, then three, and goddamnit, why can’t you beat this fourth level! You got so wrapped up in your mobile game that you didn’t even notice when the scent from your kitchen became slightly rancid, and when you rushed over to the oven to check on your now extremely burnt bacon, the smoke detector wailed.

You grabbed a kitchen towel and waved your arms like a madwoman near the smoke detector, the shrieking eventually stopping, but not before Steve was halfway down the stairs.

“Y/N, where are you? Is everything okay?” he nearly shouted, racing down the stairs and barreling through the smoky kitchen to find you. When he reached you, he wrapped his arms around your waist and began to pull you out of the kitchen.

“Steve, relax. Everything is okay. Except those pieces of bacon,” you rubbed your now sweaty palms on your pajama pants before breaking away from him to crack open the kitchen window.

“Christ, what happened? And why are you up so early?”

“I was trying to make you breakfast in bed,” you admitted, rather embarrassed by the dramatic scene you’d accidentally created. “Sorry,” you muttered.

Steve wrapped his arms around you once more, this time in a reassuring bear hug that left your cheeks pressed to his chest. “Don’t be. I really appreciate this, and everything else you’ve done this week. It’s the thought that counts, right?”

“I guess,” you mumbled into his shirt.

“Besides, everything else looks delicious. And you tried your best for me while trying something new. I think that’s really sweet of you.”

“Really?” you pried, looking up at him.

“Really,” Steve confirmed.

“Well, I think it would be really sweet of you if you went back to bed and got all cozy so I can take care of you.”

Steve chuckled softly, pressed a little kiss to your nose, then nodded, “yes ma’am.”

Quality Time

Steve had been in a bubbly mood since getting back from his mission, and for no particular reason. It wasn’t like you weren’t happy that your partner was happy, but feeling like you were out of the loop was slightly concerning.

Before you could let your thoughts run too wild, you decided to pop the question during one of your evening walks.

“Okay Steve, what is going on with you?” you asked, veering to the side of the trail when a biker rode past you.

“Nothing big. Nothing too important. I’m just out of service for the next three months,” Steve said casually, playing it cool.

“What?!” you paused, your brows raising and eyes widening in surprise as you searched his face for sincerity. “You’re serious?”

“Serious as a heart attack.”

“Steve!” you gasped happily, nearly roaring out his name in excitement. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I was going to tell you before wining and dining you, but you beat me to it. So…?”

“…So I’m happy to have you back. I may need you to negotiate some time away from work for me in the next few months, then. I don’t wanna miss this preview of stay-at-home-dad-Steve.”

“Hey, don’t push it.”

“Oh, I’m planning on pushing it.”

Epilogue

The sun was beating down on you, but the soothing breeze that flowed past your checked blanket every so often provided a pleasant antidote to the summer heat.

You’d truly picked the best day for a picnic.

Despite spending a good amount of time with your partner, the last month and a half had truly felt like a whirlwind. You casually started looking for a forever home, found yourselves making plans for an early retirement, and you had a new, sneaking suspicion that a proposal was on the horizon.

In the midst of it all, Steve had suggested that the two of you take a midday tryst at your local park and throw yourselves a little picnic. Of course you obliged, because when your greek god of a boyfriend suggests going on a spur of the moment date, you agree.

You now watched the nearly cloudless sky with pure, unadulterated feelings of content and joy while Steve set a slice of cheese on a cracker, leaning over your body to feed you. As you opened your mouth, Steve paused abruptly at the soft vibration coming from his pocket.

Steve resumed as if nothing had changed, popping the cracker into your open mouth and letting his phone continue to ring.

“Don’t you wanna get that?” you questioned.

“It can wait,” Steve stated nonchalantly, slipping his phone out of his pocket and pressing decline with absolutely no hesitation before tossing the device to the edge of your blanket.

You didn’t realize how long you’d been waiting to hear those three words.

-------

a/n: this could’ve been solved in like 20 minutes by sitting down and taking a love language quiz together

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x y/n #chris evans x reader #chris evans x you #avengers fanfiction #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers fanfiction #captain america x reader #captain america x you

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maddiwrites · 3 years

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The Hybrid (I)

Pairing: JJ x Reader

Summary: The Pogues rekindle their friendship with their old childhood best friend and JJ’s first crush, Y/N. Old feelings resurface for JJ and Y/N, possibly leading to a summer neither one of them could ever forget. Due to past trauma, Y/N is reluctant to let anyone into her heart, but JJ never backs down from a challenge, even if he knows it will come back to haunt him in the end.

Note: Thank you for being patient with me as I slowly write this series. I had this idea a long time ago and I’m not finding motivation to write it but the inspiration comes and go. I smile with every comment that is left on my fics and I’m so grateful for this community. Thank you for letting me pursue my creative writing without judgement. Love you guys! (Also, yes. If you didn’t see my last note, I based YN’s family off of the Gilmore Girls characters. That’s who I picture as them.)

Word Count: 8k

Masterlist Prologue

You wake up to someone falling on your bed next to you with a dramatic sigh. Knowing exactly who it is, you choose to ignore her and try getting back to the dreamless sleep you were peacefully having before you woke up.

That is, until she sighs again.

You flip onto your back and stare up at your ceiling fan that’s quickly spinning above you. “What, Rory?”

“How did it go with Andre and that boy?”

You look at her with one brow raised. “You woke me up to hear about Andre’s love life? That hardly sounds like you. You don’t care about high school drama or hookups.”

“You’re right,” Rory says. “But I thought I would ease you into what I actually need to tell you.”

You turn on right side and look at your sister confused. “What?”

She sighs. “The cafe’s basement flooded last night. Mom needs us there to help her clean up and take inventory on what’s salvageable.”

You turn back on you backside and close your eyes, exhaling a deep sigh. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Unfortunately not,” Rory says and pats you twice on your covered thigh as she sits up. “Come on. I made you pre-cafe coffee. It’s sitting in the kitchen.”

You throw your sheets off of you and trudge to the bathroom to brush your teeth and clean your face. It’s about 8 a.m. At least you were able to get about six hours of sleep.

Last night, it was hard to let your brain rest to fall asleep. You kept tossing and turning, thinking about the blonde Pogue who walked you home. You missed how easy it was to talk to someone who you felt truly knew you. Your banter rolled off your tongue easily and you never had to worry about offending him because you knew him like the back of your hand. You knew what he could take and what he couldn't.

Talking to him brought back childhood memories you had hidden deep in your mind. How JJ would constantly poke you until you ripped into a smile on days that were grey. How you used to steal John B’s bandanas until he was chasing you around his house to get them back. How you would draw a mustache and a unibrow on Pope’s face when he fell asleep by the water.

Those days felt like they were decades ago. So far away, you didn’t know if you’d be able to reach for them again. If it was even possible to get back.

You thought about texting him. Thanks for walking me back. We should all get together soon! You had written out. But then you deleted the whole message, telling yourself it was because you didn’t know if he even had the same number. But deep down, you were just afraid of the rejection.

Its been about three years since the four of you had been together in one place. You don’t know what they’ve been through or if they’ve changed. They for sure as hell don’t know what you’ve been through. You don’t know if they're dynamic has changed. Clearly you and JJ can still joke with each other but what about John B and Pope? You heard about John B’s father disappearing at sea, most people believing he’s dead, but John B holding onto hope that’s he’s alive. You always thought about calling him to reach out and offer your condolences. But for the same reason you didn’t text JJ, you never called. It didn’t feel like your place. They had Kie for that now. A little part of you felt jealous of her, like she had replaced you and any memory of you. She seemed nice, but she wasn’t you.

“Ready?” Rory pops her head in to your room as you slip on a cropped plain white zip up jacket over your cropped black tank.

“As I’ll ever be,” You say and snag the car keys out of her hands. “Don’t even think about it. I’m driving.”

Rory rolls her eyes. “I want to get there safely.”

“And I want to get there quickly.”

“Fine. But we’re taking my car. It actually has doors.”

For your sixteenth birthday, your grandparents gifted both you and Rory your own individual cars and even let you pick them out. Rory chose a black 2020 Honda Civic for it’s safety features and reputation for longevity as if she was planning on handing it down to her future kids. And you picked out a white 2020 Jeep Wrangler with a hard top that pops off along with the doors for a very open and thrilling ride. Everyone but you called it a death trap, but you found it to be the perfect summer car.

You park Rory’s boring Honda Civic in the back of the cafe in a lot used specifically for employees. The cafe is already booming with teens and families, waiting for their morning coffees and fresh pastries. Kids your age are running around behind the counter with sweat dripping down their brow bone to get everyone’s orders out in a timely manner.

In the back of the store, your mom walks up the steps from the basement with two large trash bags and immediately notices the two of you. “Oh good. You’re here. Rory, help the girls behind the counter. The dishwasher’s broken and poor Hailey is hand washing everything. Y/N, come with me downstairs.”

“Why does Rory get the fun job?” You grumble and follow your mom back downstairs after she tosses the two trash bags.

“Because she’s actually nice to the customers.”

“Treat others how you would like to be treated. Isn’t that what everyone always says?” You smirk. You never agreed with the phrase ‘the customer is always right.’ It’s complete bullshit and being the employee shouldn’t mean letting yourself getting verbally abused by a ‘Karen’ on the other side of the counter.

The basement is used for the cafe’s storage, lined with wooden shelves Steve put together that hold to go cups, back up espresso machines, boxes of coffee and food and ingredients, etc. Now all the boxes are dark and sopping, creating puddles on the concrete floor.

“Oh my god. Mom. How did this happen?”

“Jenky water pipe busted in the middle of the night,” Steve walks down the stairs and passes your mom a knowing look. It didn’t surprise you that he was here. He’s the jack of all trades. Owns his own automotive shop, builds a lot of his own furniture, actually cooks a decent meal, and has the same outlook on customer service as you do. He was probably your mom’s first call. “Talked to the plumber. They can’t get here until at least noon.”

“Noon? We’ll be underwater by noon. I might as well turn all my employees into a swim team,” Your mom says.

Steve shakes his head. “I was able to hold the leak until he gets here. You should be fine.”

Steve was the first person that actually helped your mother out when's she moved to the Cut. Six months pregnant, she pushed her car into his automotive shop after it broke down on the side of the road. Their banter was similar to the one you and JJ have. He helped save your mom money by building yours and Rory’s cribs, changing table, and dressers. And ever since, the two of them had been connected by the hip, although they both refuse to admit it. You think the pair are just trying to deny the love they clearly share for each other. And you think the main reason for that is because of the incident four years ago with your mom’s ex boyfriend. No thanks to you.

“Look at you constantly building your resume,” You smirk at him.

Steve scoffs. “It’s more than what you’re doing.”

You roll your eyes. Steve is the closest thing you have to a father. He practically helped raise you with your mom. He’s the one you turn to whenever a fight with your mom goes too far, which isn't too often but it happens. He usually lets you stay at his house for the night to let you cool off. But he’ll never sugar coat his advice when it comes time for him to give it. Even if you don’t ask for it. He knows growing up with Rory has been challenging. She was clearly your mom’s favorite, or at least that’s what you thought. She has a 4.0 GPA with a realistic dream to get into Brown University and study journalism. She played by every rule, never got into trouble, and spent most of her free nights getting ahead of her school work or staying late at the cafe with an open book from the library across the street. She was an absolute angel to everyone else, making you look like her evil twin.

You glare at him before turning to your mom with crossed arms. “What do you want me to do, Mom?”

“Actually honey. Can you go to Heywards and grab more coffee filters and napkins. The water soaked right through the plastic wrapping on our last box.”

You nod, leaving your mom and Steve to clean up the basement themselves. Before heading out, you sneak behind the counter and make yourself a quick coffee to go.

“Where you going?” Rory asks as she reaches behind you to grab a banana for her customer at the register.

“Heywards to grab a couple things for Mom.”

“Oh. Make sure to grab toilet paper while you’re out. I think we’re almost out of it.”

“Got it.”

Heywards is only a short drive from your mom’s cafe. It’s the closest convenient store that isn’t crazy pricey. It’s where your mom gets all her supplies whenever she runs out of things before shipment gets there.

You use to always come here when you were younger with the boys, each of you, even Pope, stealing a small bag of chips or a candy bar here and there. Little did any of you know, Mr. Heyward caught your thieving hands every time but never said anything.

The bell above the door chimes when you walk into the store. You know this place as well as you know the cafe, finding the toilet paper and coffee filter immediately.

When Mr. Heyward looks up from the counter, his smile grows. He can pick you out of a crowd anywhere, but he hasn’t seen you in a long time. Last time he saw you, you had braces and overgrown bushy brows. Now you had bushed hair and shaved legs.

“Hi. Mr. Heyward,” You grin shyly at him. You don’t know how he’s going to react to see you, unsure of what Pope might have told him about you.

“Little Miss Y/L/N? Is that you?” Heyward smiles widely, pulling your own lips into a wider smile. “I haven’t seen you for a long time.”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy with school and my mom’s cafe...” Both of those things were a lie. You just avoid the Cut to avoid the Pogues.

“How’s the fam?”

“They’re good,” You say as Heyward hands you your bags. “Mom says hello by the way. I’m actually taking these to her store now.”

“Well, don’t be a stranger. We miss your smiling face around her. Anette, too.” Heyward says, mentioning his wife.

“Tell her I said hi.”

“Of course, darling.”

Heyward and Anette always had a special place in their heart for you and Rory. They’re not one for gossip, but they knew a little bit about what your mom’s been through and have heard plenty of stories about your grandparents. They always thought, despite your mom’s background, that you and your sister were raised impressively. Anette always hoped that one day Pope and Rory would get together. Everyone always wanted their child to be with Rory.

As your about to leave the store, the bell chimes again with another customer. Only it’s not another customer. It’s Pope and John B. They don’t see you at first, and you wonder if maybe you can sneak out without them seeing you. But something about that felt wrong. Especially because Heyward would more than likely mention to them that you were here.

Pope sees you first and stops in his tracks. “Y/N?”

“Hey, guys. Long time no see,” You smile at both of them. You bite down on your lip awkwardly when you meet John B’s stare. You don’t know if you should mention anything about his dad’s disappearance. But what would you say? Sorry? What good would that do?

“How’ve you been?” Pope gives you a small side hug, then John B.

You shrug. “You know, living the dream.”

“How’s life as a Hybrid?” John B smirks.

You roll your eyes playfully and groan. “Oh god. Never call me that again.”

You may be considered a Hybrid by everyone else, but you would never put yourself into that category. You grew up a Pogue, the same way everyone else did around you. The only thing tying you to the Kooks are your grandparents.

“Why?” John B smirks. “I wish I was a Hybrid.”

You smirk back. “Maybe you will be one day. I hear you have a Kook of your own for arm candy.”

You saw a faint hint of blush on John B’s cheek at the mention of his girlfriend but you don’t mention it. “Sarah, yeah. She’s not like the other Kooks.”

“I would hope not. Her brother’s a dick.”

“Yeah,” They laugh.

“We miss you, you know.” John B says. Pope looks at you, trying to read your expression. John B’s not wrong. They do all miss you, especially Pope. He felt like you were the only one who really understood him. Of course his other friends are great, but you actually took the time to try and understand his passions. Like forensic science.

“I miss you guys too. It’s been a while.”

“Well, hey. We’re actually all getting together tonight at my place. Nothing big. Just a bonfire and a couple beers. You should stop by,” John B says.

“Yeah,” Pope says, immediately getting hopeful that you’ll show up.

Your smile falters. The invite makes your heart swell and your lungs contract. It’s an invite you’ve been wanting for three years. And now that you have it, you don’t know what to say. It’d be different if it was just the four of you like old times. But now there’s Kie and Sarah and although you have nothing against them, you’re afraid they won’t accept you. The thought of your boys picking them over you terrifies you.

“Okay. Yeah, sure. I’ll try to swing by later.”

Pope smiles wide and looks at his friend to see his reaction. John B grins and nods, almost impressed that you had agreed. But he saw the twitch in your lips when the question was asked.

“Great. I guess we’ll see you later then.”

You nod. “Okay. Bye guys.”

You suck in a deep breath when the fresh air outside of Heyward’s store brushes over you. Your heart thumps wildly with both excitement and nerves when you’re finally able to collect your thoughts. You don’t know what you’ll do tonight, but the possibilities can change your entire summer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You spent the rest of the day mopping up the cafe’s basement and rearranging the shelves. You smelled of sweat and coffee grounds by the time you were done and dreamt of the shower you would be taking when you got home.

Rory drove you home after the two of you closed up the cafe for the day. Neither of you said much. Rory was exhausted from running around behind the counter and you were too busy thinking about whether you’d go back to the place you used to call your second home.

You took a longer shower than usual, still pondering what your night would be like. Your head was telling you to stay home but your heart pulled you in the direction of the Cut. You yearned to hear about what the future held for Pope, and listen to John B retell stories of when you were kids, and be able to stare into JJ’s bright blue eyes without him noticing.

You changed into a pair of jean shorts and a plain red cropped tank. Rory walks into your room as your brushing out your hair and looks at you as if you lost your mind.

“Are you out of your mind? You can’t wear that,” She says.

You brows scrunch together in confusion. “What are you talking about? I wear shit like this all the time.”

“Not to the Country Club, you don’t.” That’s when it hits you. Today’s been so hectic, you forgot what day it was. “It’s Sunday.”

Sunday dinner at the Country Club is now a weekly commitment forced upon you by your grandparents. Each week, your mom, sister, and you are forced to spend one dinner with your grandma and grandpa. This is basically your mom’s payment back for sending you and Rory to Kook Academy. Only they actually pay for the dinner. It’s usually the longest two hours of your entire week. It’s hard to listen to your grandfather rant about Real Estate and your grandma slyly critique your mother in almost every aspect of her life.

“Shit. I completely forgot,” You say.

“Well, you better change. We’re leaving in about five minutes,” Rory says then plucks a gold necklace from your dresser. “Oh and can I wear this tonight?”

You sigh. “Sure.”

You change into a baby blue wrap around dress and pin your wet hair into a half up half down due. It’s gonna have to work for the limited time you have to get ready. After applying a thin layer of makeup to look the least bit presentable, you meet your mom and sister by the front door.

“Finally,” Your mom says when she sees you.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize it was Sunday.”

“It’s okay, honey. I just don’t think I can handle another late remark from Mom today.” She looks you up and down and grins. “You look great.”

Despite the many fiery fights you and your mom can have, she is also your best friend. It’s kind of like a love hate relationship. Steve says it’s because you’re exactly like your mom - almost like a sixteen year old version of her.

You really hope that isn’t true. You’re not ready to have a kid in two years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Your grandparents are already sitting at a round table in the corner of the country club by the two tall windows that reach up to the ceiling with a view looking out into the golf course. The best seat in the house for the richest a holes on the island.

“Lorelai,” Your grandmother grins, but you can instantly tell it’s sarcastic. “Did you have to walk here?”

You speak up before your mom could. “Sorry Grandma. It’s my fault we’re late.”

Your grandparents are hard on your mom but easier on you and Rory, especially Rory.

“Well, you’re here now,” Your grandpa says. He’s usually the mediator between your mom and grandma. Although he’s usually sucks at it. “Sit. Sit.”

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, JJ shuffles through his many coworkers with his apron in one hand and a piece of fried calamari from Miss Carol’s appetizer in the other.

“JJ -” She scolds and slaps his hand away from going in for a second piece.

“Good evening Miss Carol,” JJ smirks and makes his way to the area between the kitchen and dining room where most of the servers and bust boys hang out. Some of the boys slap him on the back or shove him by the shoulder, chuckling to themselves. “What’s going on boys? Busy crowd?”

“What are you doing here? You never work Sundays,” His friend, Mitch, says.

Luke Maybank was behind on several bills - worse than it’s ever been. They already shut off their electricity and JJ wanted to make sure the water wouldn’t be next.

But JJ shrugs nonchalantly. “Little extra dough can't hurt.”

“Well, you picked a good day,” Raymond walks up to the blonde, rolling his sleeves. “You got Kook Royalty and their Hybrid offsprings in your section.”

“What?” JJ looks through the small square Plexiglas on the swinging door. He knows exactly where to look and immediately sees you sitting with King and Queen Kook, looking absolutely miserable, pushing around your food with your fork.

“Damn, Maybank. Almost broke your neck - you turned so fast.”

“Shut up, Easterling. I was just seeing how crowded we were,” JJ lied. He really just wanted to see if you were here. And now that he sees you are, he’s a little nervous to do his own damn job.

Raymond Easterling chuckles. “Yeah, I know what you were looking at. But don’t get your hopes up. There’s a reason Kooks call that girl the Heart Sucker. Not even the high and powerful JJ Maybank could get a piece of that.”

The guys around JJ and Raymond chuckle and nod in agreement, hearing the stories of how you’d reject every single guy that’s ever asked you out. Sometimes you’d go on a few dates, trying to push yourself out of your comfort zone, but then things would quickly become too much, and you’d get overwhelmed.

JJ didn’t like the way Raymond talked about you or how the others laughed at your expense. His hands clenched into fists, tempted to throw a punch in Ray’s cocky face. The guy’s just being a jerk because he’s one of the guys that got rejected by you, he thought.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” JJ shakes his head and ties his apron around his waist to distract his hands.

“No?” Raymond challenges him. “You think I’m wrong? You think you could pull the infamous Hybrid over there?”

JJ glances back through the window. You’re looking at your grandma with a clearly forced grin. You’re twirling your hair between your fingers, a habit you picked up when you were little to do when you’re bored. JJ would find you doing that in school all the time.

You’re gorgeous, he thought. It’s no wonder that almost every guy on this island has tried to make a pass on you, including JJ himself, but his remarks always come off as playful, afraid of actually telling you how he feels about you. His fantasies about you went further than just getting you between the sheets. He could picture getting married, having children, and growing old together. Years ago, the two of you would talk about your future. Neither one of you cared about money or fancy jobs. All you wanted was to be free - of this island, of each other’s families, of responsibilities placed on you from birth. You hold the same values as JJ, and he’s never met another person like you.

But JJ has a hard exterior. No one other than his best friends know his true heart, and he wasn’t going to let someone like Raymond Easterling find out about his soft spot for you. He would never hear the end of it.

JJ looks at you one last time. You’re talking to Rory, your face in his direction. This time you’re smiling, probably discussing something other than your grandparent’s expectations of you. He’d kill to see that smile every single day.

What’s the worst that could happen? You reject him? Yeah, that might kill JJ inside, but maybe you’d still be his friend, or continue to be acquaintances like you are now. As long as he gets to see you, he’d be okay. There was always the future. But who knows? Maybe you’d say yes? He’ll never know unless he tries. Right?

JJ fakes the same cocky grin that Raymond wears. “I haven’t failed yet.”

The guys around him whistle and shake their heads with smiles.

“All right, Maybank. Let’s make a bet. I’ll give you one hundred dollars to get Y/N Y/L/N in the sack by the fourth of July.”

JJ scoffs. “You like giving away free money?” He ignored his racing heart at the thought of being that intimate with you.

Raymond nods. “Okay. Let’s put your money where your mouth is. Get her to say ‘I love you’ by the end of the season and I’ll raise you an extra hundred and cover all your dishwasher shifts in September.”

JJ raises his brows with surprise. No one offers to take the dishwashing shift. Sometimes the boys are pulled back there when the kitchen is short staffed and it’s easily one of the worst jobs at the Club.

This bet was almost too good of an opportunity to pass up. “Deal.” JJ says.

The boys shake hands on it and the other guys whisper to each other about how intrigued they are to see this play out.

JJ wipes his sweaty palms against his apron and pushes the door open to approach your table, hoping he can hear you over his thudding heart.

“Good evening folks. May I take those empty plates out of your way?”

You look up at the voice you know so well and a smile raises on your lips. JJ meets your eyes and he winks at you, splattering your heart in flutters.

“Please.” Your grandmother pushes her plate away from her, stuffed with filet and red wine.

“JJ,” Your mom grins up at him. Growing up, your mom always had a soft spot for the blonde Pogue. She’s heard the stories about his father, mostly from Steve, who actually grew up with Luke Maybank, his cousin. As a child, he was sent to live with Luke Maybank and his single father. Lets just say, he’s not surprised by the way Luke turned out. “Look at you. You’re all grown up now. Last time I saw you, Y/N was still pushing your head in the sand for stealing her popsicle.”

“Yeah. I quickly learned no one should mess with Y/N and her food,” JJ says.

“Never stopped you though,” You smirk at him.

“Lorelai. Who is this?” Your grandma asks, disregarding the boy himself.

“Mom,” Lorelai gives her mom a warning look. “This is JJ Maybank. He went to school with Y/N and Rory.” Lorelai knew to play it safe with her wording. She didn’t know where you and JJ stood. It’s been so long since you’ve seen him and she knew better than to ask.

“Nice to meet you,” JJ says politely. “I’d shake your hand but mine are kinda full.” He motions to the plates in his hand.

“That’s quite all right.” Your grandma’s smile is so forced, it makes you uncomfortable.

“I won’t hold you up. Has your server been around with the dessert menu?” JJ looks at you. “We have chocolate cake tonight.”

Heat rushes up your neck. Not because of the cake itself but because JJ remembered your favorite dessert. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles. It was safe to save you were a choco-holic. The boys use to make it for you every year for your birthday. It usually came out burnt, none of them ever remembering how to properly make it. But it was all you needed to feel like a very special girl.

“Your favorite,” Rory elbows you.

Your grandma cringes. “Sounds like diabetes on a plate.”

“Mom,” Lorelai scolds.

“What?” She asks, not understanding the concept of a filter.

Now heat rushes to your cheeks for an entire different reason. “He did. We’re not doing dessert tonight. Thank you, though.”

JJ nods but feels disappointed by the way your face flinched at your grandmother’s comment.

“My pleasure,” He says like he was taught to do and excuses himself to drop the plates off in the back before he can say anything else that would probably get him fired.

Your mom looks at your with raised brows. “He’s cute, honey.”

“Lorelai, please. He’s the busboy,” Your grandma says.

“He’s a good kid, Mom.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” You stand up. “I have to use the restroom.”

Rory gives you a knowing grin as you walk away from the table. When you walk into the hallway between the dining area and the front lobby, you immediately feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Sometimes just the presence of your grandparents and their pompous judgements can be suffocating. You do your best to bite your tongue around them, excusing yourself when you feel yourself getting heated.

JJ catches a glimpse of your light blue dress out of the corner of his eye when he rounds the corner to collect the plates off a different table. He looks over his shoulder at Raymond, who’s staring at the blonde watching you, and winks.

“Hey, Y/N,” JJ says, walking up to you.

You look up from your phone and immediately smile. “Hey. I was actually hoping I’d catch you out here.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” You nervously tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. “I’m sorry about my grandmother. She can be...”

JJ shakes his head. “Hey. It’s okay. I work for Kooks almost every single day. I’m use to it.”

You sigh. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Don’t apologize for something you can’t control,” JJ says. “Besides, that’s probably the nicest she’s ever been to me.”

You hide your face in your hands. “Stop. You’re making it worse.”

JJ laughs and takes your wrists in his hands, slowly pulling them away from your face. Your eyes shoot up to his, immediately feeling a tingling feeling run through your skin, straight to your heart.

“It’s okay. I promise,” He says softly. His voice is so sincere that you have no other option but to believe him. It almost makes your feel guiltier, wondering how much bullshit he’s been through with ungrateful Kooks that it’s so easy for him to forgive and forget.

“Okay,” Your voice is a whisper, taken off guard by how close he is to you and how he still hasn't let go of your hands.

In that same moment, JJ realizes he’s still holding you and gently removes his hands. He coughs awkwardly and scratches the back of his neck, where sweat begins to bubble. Why is he so nervous?

“So um...” You say, suddenly feeling nervous too. “You going to John B’s tonight?”

JJ’s eyes shoot up in surprise. How did you know that? “Yeah. I’m heading over there after work.”

“I saw him and Pope at Heywards earlier today and they invited me over. I wasn’t sure if I should come or not.”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

Because it’s different now, you wanted to say. But you didn’t because you feel like the elephant in the room would only grow. And you didn’t want to admit you were nervous to meet Kie and Sarah outside of school.

You shrug. “I don’t know.”

“You should definitely come. The boys miss you.”

You pretend like a little piece of your heart didn’t just break when JJ didn’t say ‘we.’

“What time do you get off of work?”

“Around 9ish.”

You nod. “I can pick you up if you’d like and we could go together?”

Your heart races after you suggest it. What if he says no? Why were you feeling this way? This is the same kid you use to make fun of for pouring milk into his bowl before his cereal.

“Yeah. That’d be perfect.”

“Great!” Your phone pings with a text from Rory, telling you that your grandparents are wondering where you are. “Shit. I have to get back. I’ll see you at nine?”

“See you then,” JJ nods and turns back to the kitchen. When his eyes meet Raymond’s, he’s reminded of what he agreed to. Almost surprised how quickly he forgot about it. You were able to take his mind off of anything without even trying. He clears his throat to get rid of the giddy grin he was wearing after talking to you, wanting to look tough and casual in front of his coworker. “Easy.” He says to him. But that felt anything but easy. He could vomit with nerves.

“There’s still plenty of time for you to screw up, Maybank.”

JJ huffs. He’s not wrong.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You drive up to the front of the country club and park in front of the main entrance. It’s 8:57. You’re early and will look eager. So you wait until 9:06 to text him that you’re here.

You changed into a pair of dark washed denim shorts, a yellow cropped tube top, a grey flannel, and navy converse. You changed your outfit about four times before deciding on your first one, not wanting to look too casual or too dressed up.

For the last three years, you wondered when the four of you would get back together as a group. You wondered if it would ever happen. And now that two Kooks are involved, you feel more nervous than excited.

You jump when the passenger seat door opens, lost in the depth of your own head. JJ smiles, not seeing your reaction.”Cool ride,” he says and looks around the interior.

“Thanks,” you say, pulling out into the road.

“I got you something,” JJ says.

You glance at him with furrowed brows. What could he have possibly gotten you since you saw him last? A book mark from the Country Club’s gift shop?

JJ reaches into his backpack and pulls out a plate with clear wrap around it. Your mouth drops when you see the chocolate cake on a plate in his hands, the smell immediately hitting your nose with pure delight.

“You saved me a piece?” You jump in your seat excitedly.

“Had to hide it good too or else Miss Carol would have had my ass handed to me,” JJ jokes and even pulls out two forks. He undoes the wrapping and cuts off a piece. He waits until you hit a stop sign and says, “Open up.”

You look at him and immediately open your mouth. He gently places the fork between your lips and you take the piece of cake off with your teeth. Like a baby.

Your eyes close with pure pleasure. “Oh my god. That’s amazing.”

“Miss Carol does know how to bake a mean cake,” JJ says and takes a bite of his own.

“Another one,” You say, glancing at the cake again. Like you said, choco-holic. “Please.” You say when JJ teases you by holding the fork away from you.

JJ laughs. “I like hearing you beg.”

You slap him in the arm with the back of your hand. “In your dreams, Maybank.”

“You got that right, Y/L/N.”

The two of you finish the cake with only a few bites each. Small but rich in chocolate that leaves you craving more. You were gonna have to meet this Miss Carol woman.

After he puts the plate back in his bag, JJ reaches for the aux cord, but you quickly slap his hand away. “Hey. What do you think you’re doing?”

“You’re seriously gonna make me listen to this the entire way to John B’s?”

You scoff. “I’ll have you know Blink-182 is one of my favorite bands.”

“It’s also soccer moms’ favorite band,” JJ laughs at you.

You turn up the volume, blasting ‘All the Small Things’ and point to your ear. “Sorry. Can’t hear you!”

JJ rolls his eyes but laughs along with you, even bopping his head to the beat. You drive with the windows down, dancing and singing along to a bunch of throwback songs with JJ as if the two of you have been doing this forever.

You pull up to John B’s and park behind his dad’s old van, better known as The Twinkie. When you turn down the music, JJ looks at you with a shake in his head. “Next time, I’m driving.”

“What was wrong with my driving?”

“We’re in the Outer Banks, Sparky, not NASCAR.”

You scoff and follow behind JJ who’s leading the way up John B’s driveway. As you get closer, you smell the smoky scent of a bonfire nearby and eventually hear John B’s laugh mixed in with a female’s. Your smile falters as nerves gather in the pit of your stomach.

“What’s wrong?” JJ asks.

“Nothing,” You say, but JJ easily catches your lie and gives you a knowing look. “What if they don’t like me?”

“Who? Pope and John B? I’m pretty sure they like you more than me even after three years -”

“Not them, you idiot,” You shove him playfully by the shoulder as you two let yourselves inside. “Sarah and Kie.”

“Don’t you go to school with them?”

“Yeah, but we don’t talk,” You say quietly, not wanting them to hear you.

“Hm.”

“What?” JJ shrugs. “Nothing. I just didn’t think you cared about what other people thought.”

“I don’t,” You say quickly. “But they're your best friends. It’s different.”

“You don’t need their approval. You technically were here first.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been replaced,” You try to say it as a joke and even throw a smirk in there.

But JJ stops in his track and looks at you seriously. “No one can replace you. Not even if they tried.”

You open your mouth to respond, but you’re at a loss for words. It’s not a common occurrence that JJ gets all serious on you. Warmth covers you like a blanket and the longer he holds your stare, the weaker your knees become.

“JJ! Is that you?” John B calls out from the backyard.

“Yeah,” JJ yells back. He opens the fridge in John B’s kitchen. “Want a beer?” He offers to you.

You shake your head. “No thanks.”

For the first time, you take in John B’s home. It looks the same as it did three years ago, only a lot messier. The pull out couch looks like its been used recently with blankets and sheets tossed about on it. Empty beer cans and cigarette butts are thrown messily on the coffee tables and the air smells faintly of old marijuana.

JJ leads you out to the back where four people are gathered around a fire. Three out of the four immediately smile when the two of you approach them, but Kie’s eyes narrow and her head tilts with confusion.

Shit, you think.

“You came!” Pope laughs and hops up from his beach chair and embraces you in a hug.

You laugh, not expecting the embrace, but welcoming it all the same. John B’s next, giving you a quick hug and shaking his head.

“I gotta say, I didn’t think you were going to come,” John B says.

“You can thank me for that later,” JJ says jokingly.

“Actually when I heard JJ was coming, I almost changed my mind and stayed home,” You joke and smirk JJ’s way.

“Just like old times,” Pope says, looking between you and the blonde. The banter felt like the yall never separated in the first place.

“Hey, you know Sarah and Kie, right?” John B points to the girls. Sarah stands up to say hi, and eventually Kie follows her, not wanting to look rude, but stays off to the side, keeping her distance.

“Yeah,” You wave awkwardly.

“Hey!” Sarah says sweetly. “I didn’t realize you guys use to all hang out.”

“Y/N grew up down the street,” JJ explains and sips at his beer.

“You want a drink or something?” Pope asks you, not knowing JJ already did.

“No thank you,” You say again.

“You don’t drink?” Kie asks. It was the first thing she’s said to you.

“Not usually,” You say and hold her stare. You try to get a read on her, but she’s had to get a tell on. You can’t tell if she just doesn’t like you or just doesn’t know you. Either way, it makes you uneasy.

“Here, I’ll go grab you a chair,” Pope says and walks to the side of the house to grab another beat up beach chair.

As the night goes on, you feel the tension in your shoulders loosen and your body feel lighter. Most of the night was spent retelling childhood stories the four of you shared. Sarah would laugh at most of them, occasionally rolling her eyes at her boyfriend from the stupid shit he would do, although it sounds like he’s no different to you now.

You talked about the time you and JJ stole a golf cart for a joy ride on Figure Eight, or when you and John B pranked Pope by putting a dead fish in his locker, or how you and John B learned how to play guitar from youtube tutorials.

Midnight came around quickly and exhaustion was slowly taking over your body. It’s been a long day between the cafe flooding, dinner with your grandparents, and now this.

JJ was the first to notice you slowly fading.

“You okay?” He asks you quietly as everyone else is caught up in conversation.

“Yeah,” You say, lazily grinning at him.

“We can leave if you want,” He says.

“You’re not staying?” You ask. It sounded like everyone was planning to spend the night here. And as much as you wanted to, you just didn’t feel comfortable enough yet.

JJ shrugs. “My dad’s out of town tonight. It’ll be nice to have the house to myself.” Before you can say anything, he stands and brushes his hands against his pants. “All right, losers. We’re out of here.”

“Aw, you’re leaving?” Sarah pouts.

“Yeah, I’m beat and Y/N’s my ride home,” JJ says.

You were glad he didn’t call you out for being tired. You didn’t want to look lame in front of everybody, especially Kie.

“Thanks for having me,” You say to everyone. It might have been John B’s house, but it was everyone’s night you intruded on.

John B stands up to hug you. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

You nod. “I won’t. I promise.”

Pope hugs you next. “Text me when you get back safe.”

“I will.”

“Bye!” Sarah waves and Kie exhales a ring of smoke from her blunt.

You wave at them before following JJ back to your car.

“Nuh-uh-uh,” JJ says. You didn’t realize you both walked to the driver’s side.

“What? No.”

JJ nods and holds his hands out for your keys. “I’m not dying tonight.”

“You’ve been drinking and smoking all night,” You say. You didn’t think JJ was drunk or even that high, but you were not going to let a teenager with an ounce of alcohol in his system get behind the wheel. “Next time. For now, hold on to the cupholder.”

JJ sighs dramatically and goes to the other side of the car and hops in the passenger seat.

This time you keep the music quiet, listening to the hum of the radio instead of your phone.

“Take a left,” JJ says.

“JJ, I know where you live. And it’s not left.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

You snicker. “Not in the slightest.”

JJ rolls his eyes. “Just take the left.”

You hold your hands up in surrender and take the left turn. He directs you for a couple more miles until he has you park in front of a 24 hour diner.

“What are we doing here?” You ask.

“I’m in the mood for a milkshake.”

“We just had cake!” You say.

“Come on, Sparky. Show me what that mouth can do,” JJ smirks.

You go to hit him again but he takes off running to the front entrance and pulls the door open. You chase after him, almost running into his back at the front host stand where JJ safely smirks at you in triumph.

“Two please,” He says to the hostess.

The old cranky woman leads you to a booth off to the side next to a window without a word.

A couple minutes later, a waitress walks by and asks if you’re ready to order.

“Yes. One chocolate milkshake and one black and white milkshake,” JJ orders for both of you, already knowing what flavor you’d want.

“And fries, please.” You say. The waitress nods, takes your menus, and walks off. JJ raises his brow at the extra order. “What?” You shrug. “Just showing you what my mouth can do.”

JJ scoffs. “What a tease.”

You playfully kick his shin under the table.

“Did you have fun tonight?” JJ asks.

“Yeah,” You answer. “Felt like old times. The girls are nice too.”

You were about to only mention Sarah, but you didn’t want to cause any issues with Kie. Not yet at least. Maybe she just needed time to warm up to you.

“See? I told you they wouldn’t bite.”

A couple minutes later, the waitress comes back with your milkshakes and fries.

“How’s John B doing? You know, with the whole Big John thing?” You ask delicately, unsure of how JJ would react to you pestering about John B’s business. “I didn’t want to ask and bring the mood down,” You explain yourself although you don’t need to.

JJ shrugs. “He’s in denial I think. Won’t sign a death certificate until he sees a body. He could be worse, though.”

“Yeah,” You say softly. You don’t know what you would do if you were in that situation. In a way you felt lucky that you never knew your dad at all. It would be harder to lose him, knowing who he was.

You take a fry and dip it into your milkshake before taking a bite. This makes JJ freeze and look at you like you have two heads.

“What?” You say with your mouth full.

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

“Don’t knock it till you try it,” You say and give him a look to do it.

JJ reluctantly picks up the fry and dunks it into his milkshake. He looks at the fry questioningly before popping it into his mouth. Somehow the sweetness of the milkshake and the saltiness of the french fry complement each other beautifully and his widen in pleasant surprise.

“Oh wow,” JJ says.

“Told you,” You smirk.

You spend the next hour catching up, trying to fit the last three years into an hour. JJ does most of the talking because you want to know more about what John B, Pope, and JJ have been up to. Your life was so boring and depressing, you didn’t want to bore JJ with the details.

You drive JJ home and talk for a few minutes more when you park. He seems to be procrastinating getting out of the car, but you don’t mind. You could talk to him all night, suddenly not feeling tired anymore.

“All right. I’ll let you get home before the sun rises,” He says and opens the door. He pauses when his feet hit the ground and he looks back at you. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I have to work at the shop, why?”

“Well, there’s a storm coming in. John B and I might go out to surf the surge before it hits. You still surf?”

You scoff. “Do I still surf?”

JJ holds his hands up in surrender. “Just checking. You think you can handle the surge?”

“Let’s not forget who the better surfer is, JJ.”

“I didn’t. It’s still me.”

“You wish.”

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Now you have a point to prove. You have to show JJ that you’re still the better surfer.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” You agree.

“Great, it’s a date.” He winks and shuts the door before you can tell him otherwise.

You giggle to yourself as JJ walks up the front yard and stay there until he you see he gets in safely.

You pull out of the driveway, wishing he had asked you out on a real date. One that didn’t involve John B.

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