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#the ties that bind fic
raevenlywrites · 1 year
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Chapters: 26/? Fandom: Kiesha'ra Series - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Andreios (Hawksong)/Danica Shardae, Zane Cobriana/Danica Shardae, Zane Cobriana/Andreios (Hawksong), Adelina (Hawksong)/Zane Cobriana Characters: Danica Shardae, Zane Cobriana, Andreios (Hawksong), Adelina (Hawksong), Eleanor Lyssia, Nacola Shardae, Karashan (Hawksong) Summary:
This is all Ollie's fault (okay, all Ollie and Qara's fault)
Apparently I'm just re-writing Hawksong. All of it. I don't know what's possessed me. It starts off with good intentions but then there's this farmhouse and they just never seem to leave. If you like long, drawn out, characters just talking to each other without seemingly any plot, this is the WIP for you. I have no idea how long it will be, I didn't plan on it being this long.
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yall. Ties that Bind is almost two years old. How. Anyways there’s an update enjoy
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bettyfrommars · 3 months
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I'm on Fire
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chapter 18: the ties that bind
masterlist playlist
18+ MDNI
If you've come this far in the series, you know what to expect. No physical violence in this final chapter, but there might be some jealousy, protective/jealous Eddie, and threats. Steve with an OC character, parental Stobin, unprotected sex, oral, and meeting the extended family. Can't say goodby without a glimpse of Charlene. Reader is an artist and a vegetarian, but I try hard to keep away from any physical description.
word count: 15k
official author's note will be at the end of this chapter. I cherish you, my I'm on Fire fam, I'm so grateful for the ride, and I hope you enjoy this one.
"It's a long dark highway and a thin white line Connecting baby, your heart to mine."
-- the ties that bind, Bruce Springsteen
The next morning, a new Henderson opened her eyes to the world. 
Steve was the next one to hold her after her parents, and he hadn’t expected to cry, to have his throat close up around his emotions and choke him when he was told they named her Stevie.  He held her so close but so gentle and he barely noticed how wet his cheeks were until Robin came close and rubbed her palm in circles on his back.
“She kinda looks like me. That’s weird right?” Steve hushed, voice catching in a tearful hiccup. He was already thinking of the tattoo he would get with her name, inside his arm, close to his heart. 
“Yeah, that is weird and impossible, Dingus,” Robin smiled into his shoulder, stroking a loving arc over Stevie’s little infant forehead with her finger.  “But she kinda does.”
The labor had been long, the sun was up, and everyone was exhausted.  Astrid was at the house making breakfast while you and Eddie looked after Oliver.  He insisted on watching Pee-Wee Herman's Big Adventure again, and that was when you learned it was one of Eddie’s favorites as well; he knew every line by heart.  He mimicked Ollie with the chant, “I know you are but what am I, I know you are but what am I?”
And it was only then that you realized why Eddie had made a joke once about violently cutting off your mattress tag, the one that specifically said DO NOT REMOVE. Also, it explained why Steve so ardently wanted to start his own biker gang called Satan’s Helpers.
After breakfast, Eddie took you back to the Hammer to get your car, and even though you didn’t want to socialize, you were also in no mood to be stranded at your place without wheels.  Jackie reminded you that you looked like shit on your way through the smoky haze from the late morning drinkers.  You simply nodded in silent agreement, and it wasn’t so much a nod as your head lazily bobbing on a spring.  Your internal clock was out of whack, and you desperately needed a shower.  A shower and a soak in the healing waters of some type of magical pond that could heal you from the inside out. 
Maybe a month on a beach somewhere.
And then you pictured Eddie in a pair of loud, tropical swim trunks and giggled to yourself.
You were just about to leave the locker room with your paycheck and a few of your things, when tall, blonde Erika pushed in with a concerned look on her face, making you back up.  She shut the door behind her and leaned against it, covering the “Safety in the Workplace” poster. 
“Hey, so, that guy is here looking for you again,” her whisper was urgent.
Your heart sank for a second as the memory of Craig gripped you.  You had to remind yourself that he was long gone.  
But you wondered if a part of him would always be lurking somewhere near, haunting you from beyond the grave.
Your next guess was Chief Hopper, maybe he had more questions for you.  
“What guy?” You were hoping she had a clue, or asked a name, so that you could prepare yourself, doing your best to smooth out the front of your shirt.
She only shrugged.  “He’s older, Paul Newman type. Smells like he’s made of money. This is the third time he’s been here asking about you.”
It still didn’t ring any bells, but you’d only slept a half hour on the couch curled up next to Eddie while Pee-Wee stormed the Alamo looking for his bike.  
You took a slow peek around the corner of the bar from the hallway and saw John Gregson sitting there with a drink in his hand. Full head of salt n’ pepper hair slicked back off his face, wearing one of his signature gray suits. 
Was he by himself?  The way Charlene had been popping up like a bad rash lately, you almost expected to see her there, playing the dutiful wife.  
You hid yourself in the hallway again, wondering if you had it in you to have a conversation with anyone, let alone him.
To say his face “lit up” when he saw you would be an understatement; He looked as if you’d been pulled from the rubble of a burning building, and he thought he would never see you again.  
You found it hard to match the enthusiasm, even though he’d turned out to be a decent guy.  
He stood up from his stool and Shana gave you both a curious look from behind the bar as she poured a shaken martini into a glass. She was wearing one of her long, black wigs that day with Bettie Page bangs.  
“It’s good to see you,” he gestured to the seat next to him, his icy blue eyes shone like the Mediterranean Sea. “It’s been a while.”
You sank one hip onto the padded stool so that one foot was still on the ground.  You didn’t want him to think you were staying for too long.
“I’m sorry I’m so behind on your painting, life has been—”
He put his hand up, palm out to you.  It was his left hand and you noticed that he was not wearing his wedding ring.  
“Please, don’t worry about the painting.  Take all the time you need, that’s not why I’m here.  Can I buy you lunch?”
“I-I…” you fumbled.  “I was just on my way out.”
“A drink then?” He cleared his throat and shifted closer casually so that his knee was touching yours. He swirled his drink in his hand.  “There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about and I didn’t feel it was appropriate to do it over the phone.”
Your anxiety spiked a bit, and it wasn’t as if he was a serial killer or anything, but his sudden shift in proximity gave you pause.  You asked Shana for an iced tea and gestured for him to follow you to one of the more isolated tables against the dark red wall, underneath a framed Led Zeppelin poster.  He pulled your chair out for you before getting settled with his gin and tonic, making sure to use one of the black cocktail napkins as a coaster. 
“I know you’re busy,” he cleared his throat. “So, permit me to get right to the point.” He removed the two stir straws from his drink and put them on the napkin.
 “First of all, I’d like to apologize for my wife. I believe she’s caused you quite a bit of trouble.”
You had not expected that one
His stare was too intense, you had to shift your attention and take a gulp of your drink.
“You see,” he settled back, keeping his forearms on the table.  “I met Charlene when I was barely out of high school, we were together before I made my money, and I always felt like I owed her my blind devotion.  Lately it’s obvious that we only make each other miserable.”
He continued.  “I’m not a stupid man. I always knew about the other boyfriends, not that she made much of an effort to hide it,” he smiled wryly to himself.  “Not to bore you with the details of my failed marriage, but I know that Charlene’s the reason you lost your job at the gallery, and I’d like to rectify that, if I can.”
Realization dawned at his words.  Why hadn’t you put those pieces together earlier? Of course Charlene was the reason you lost your job, she probably threatened to remove her funding and ruin Judith.  
You could barely catch up to what he was saying before he started again.  “I’m opening a gallery in Chicago, and I’d like you to come out and run it.”
You choked and had to cover your mouth with the back of your hand.  “Excuse me?”
John smiled so genuinely at your reaction that the skin around his eyes crinkled.  He undid a button on his suit jacket to get more comfortable. “You’d have full creative license, you’d be able to hire your team, do with it what you wish.  I trust your vision.”
It was that opportunity you’d been dreaming about for years, the one you’d been working toward for almost a decade.  
So easy, just like that.
Here, take it, it’s everything you’ve ever wanted.
…but was it?
Your head swam, vision tunneling slightly as you glanced around the Velvet Hammer.  You imagined Steve on his stool at the door and Eddie pulling you aside in the hallway to kiss you.  The song Everlong by The Foo Fighters was on, and you thought about how Chicago was over three hours away.  You’d have to move; it was much too far for a commute.
“That’s such a generous offer, I…I don’t know what to say?” 
“You don’t have to say anything right now,” and before you knew what was happening, his hand slid across the table and was on top of your fingers. 
Your eyes flashed to his hand over yours and you sat there shocked while your need to be polite overrode your core instincts. 
“I know there’s a lot to think about,” he continued, removing his hand to cup it around his drink again.  “Of course, I’d pay for all of your moving expenses.  I own a building downtown with an artist loft I think you might be interested in.  You’d have plenty of room to live and paint, start fresh, if you wanted to.”
Start fresh.
You felt like Shana had slipped a psychedelic into your tea, like you were melting into your chair.  Your brain was having a hard time keeping up with the reality of what was being offered.  
He tossed back another sip and wiped the corners of his mouth, looking almost unsure if he should say the next part.  “Charlene and I—” he licked his perfectly straight teeth in contemplation. “---we’ve decided to go our separate ways.  We’re selling the lake house, a few other properties, and she’s planning to move to Hawaii to be near her sister.”
A thought zipped through your mind then. How long had Charlene known she was leaving? Why would she become a partner in The Velvet Hammer and then move to Hawaii?
“That means I’ll be at my condo in Chicago most of the time, unless I’m traveling for business,” he gave you a pointed look again.  “There are so many places I’d love to take you to in the city.  If you are interested, that is.”
“Well,” you laughed nervously. “I’d need to talk to my boyfriend about it. About the job, I mean.  Moving to Chicago. His whole life is here.”
“Certainly,” John nodded, not missing a beat. “You talk to him and when you’re ready, you have my number. The gallery space I’m buying needs work, so I’d like to fly you out there in a week to take a look at it, once you decide.”
You were still staring glassy eyed at the edge of the table after John stood and left the Hammer.  You hadn’t remembered to breathe in god knew how long, so you tried that, letting out a hard exhale that made a cocktail napkin go flying off the table.
Would Eddie move with you? Visit you on the weekends? The latter seemed more likely but also not, considering how demanding his work schedule was.  Katie told you that Robin had asked her to move in, and you were overjoyed for her.  She’d be paying her share of the rent and utilities for the next month, but after that you’d either need to find a smaller place or a new roommate because you couldn’t afford your duplex on a Velvet Hammer salary.  
One week was all you had.
Did you even need a week? Surely you knew your answer.
—-------
The tires on the tow truck screeched to a stuttering halt out on a Hawkins back road lined with cornfields.
Behind the wheel, Eddie idled there, right in front of that familiar white picket fence around the big yard and the farmhouse with a porch swing and a red barn in back.
Eddie knew the details of the old Ferguson place by heart, it had been his dream house ever since he was in high school and used to take long rides on his bike to clear his head.  The couple that had spent their life raising a family there were in their 80’s now, and he’d heard through the grapevine that they were relocating to a retirement community.  To a smaller place that was easier to care for.  All of their children were grown and lived far away.
The newest addition to the house was where his eyes fell.  
His attention fixed on the sign at the end of the driveway for a long while, heart thudding in his chest.
The old Ferguson Farmhouse was for sale.
—---
The next day was the Welcome Home Baby Stevie barbeque at Steve’s and he had a blue “Kiss the Cook” apron on and a spatula in his bandaged hand when you and Eddie arrived.  He wore an elastic bracelet made of colorful plastic beads around his wrist that you assumed was a new gift from Oliver.  The sky was bright blue, almost blinding, and the air was crisp. 
“You sure you’re okay?” Eddie asked on the way up the driveway to Robin and Steve’s backyard where the lawn had been neatly mowed and edged.  “Anything you want to talk about?”
You hated keeping things from him, but you had no idea how to bring up John’s offer, or if you even wanted to mention it.  Eddie had invited you over to his place the night before, but you’d told him you needed some time alone to get to bed early.  Turns out that being alone with your thoughts only made it worse.
“No, I’m fine my love, I promise,” you leaned into him.  “I’m just tired.”
He put his arm around your shoulders to scoop you closer and kiss your ear.  “I’m gonna take care of you tonight.  Make you a bath, pour you some wine, kiss you all over.  How does that sound?”
“It sounds—” you felt emotions water your eyes suddenly and you blinked it away as quickly as you could.  “That sounds perfect.”
You felt guilty that you were even considering John’s offer, but how could you not? A very hopeful part of you said that both were a possibility, that you could keep Eddie and have your dream job in the city. But how? You couldn’t take Eddie away from Wayne and Oliver and his business, you would never ask that of him.  
“Is Wayne coming?” You asked, noticing you did not see his truck.  Also, your thoughts were racing again and you needed a distraction.
“He’ll be here later,” Eddie assured you.  “Astrid is picking him up on her way over.  Max and Lucas stopped by the garage for a visit and I didn’t want to disrupt the reunion.”
You felt a bit embarrassed at the mention of his longtime friend Max, only because you’d been made to believe that she was a mysterious redhead that Eddie was having an affair with not too long ago.
Thanks to Charlene.
You imagined that Hawkins would be a much better place without her lurking around every corner.  Was there a chance that Judith would take you back on at Moon River Gallery?  No, you had no desire to go crawling back to that place. Unless a new gallery opened, or your art took off to celebrity status, you’d be waitressing at the Hammer and squirreling away your tips for the foreseeable future.
But, you’d have Eddie.
You’d been spacing out so hard, you barely realized that Robin was standing in front of you, offering to take the sack with a Tupperware full of homemade potato salad and hamburger buns. Eddie was carrying your veggie burger patties that he bought especially for the occasion, and the fixings to make tofu skewers.  You told him you were a vegetarian once, and you never had to remind him again.  
“You good?” Robin asked, noting the way you shook your head a few times to come back to reality. Katie came up behind Robin to place her hands on her girlfriend’s hips before she moved over to your side.
“Have a beer with me?” Katie asked softly, reading the weariness in your slightly hunched shoulders.  
It was officially fall, but the weather was warm for Indiana in late September.  Eddie had on his Iron Maiden concert tee under his jacket from their 1985 World Slavery tour and black converse with his worn jeans, and he took his leather off and threw it on a lawn chair as he walked over to the grill.
“You better leave the hard stuff to me,” he said to Steve, shifting his gaze accusatory to grill.  The last time he let Steve grill your veggie burger, he’d charred it within an inch of its life.  
“Have at it,” Steve dusted his hands together.  “I have to go check on my pie in the oven.”
“You baked a pie?” Eddie gawked at him like he had hornets crawling out of his ears.  
“Well, Astrid made it,” he pinched a few sunflower seeds out of the front pocket of his apron and popped them in his mouth, chewing as he spoke. “It’s cherry,” he bobbed his eyebrows up and down a few times suggestively, and Eddie scoffed, elbowing him out of the way so that he could put his skewers down on the folding table.
You were just about to take the first sip of your beer when a man’s voice that was not familiar called over from the driveway.  
“There’s that long-haired freak I’ve been looking for.”
The skin on your arms prickled with gooseflesh and you spun around, thinking there was about to be some sort of trouble. 
Slightly unrealistic to think the worst, but you were understandably alert.
There at the edge of the lawn stood a tall, handsome guy you’d never laid eyes on before, maybe in his late 20’s, and he had a Coffin Kings cut on that was very similar to the one’s Eddie and Steve wore.  At his side, holding his hand was an adorable redhead. Her long hair was pulled through the back of a baseball cap, but you noted that the bright candy color was deeply familiar.  
You turned to see Eddie’s reaction like you were watching a tennis match.  
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he beamed.  “Look what the cat dragged in, "and he stopped what he was doing to make his way over with his arms out and the two hugged, giving each other hearty pats on the back.
“Max!” Robin squealed, practically doing a cartwheel in that direction.  You and Katie fell back and stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the group reconnect in a way that was very familial.  
Lucas and Max had been together since high school, you learned, and Lucas was a member of the Coffin Kings Indianapolis chapter.  The song Love Spreads by The Stone Roses played from Robin's portable boombox on the steps as the new arrivals meandered in to be with the rest of the gang and assimilated with ease.  
Eddie rested his hand on your lower back to introduce you, and instead of a handshake, Max went in for a hearty hug, and in your ear, she said, “Eddie loves you so much, I’ve been dying to meet you.”
When she pulled back to meet your eyes, you nodded, swallowing hard.  “I’ve heard so much about you,” you told her, and then Max shot a look at Eddie and made a crack about how she hoped it was all good things that you’d heard.
They were even more interested to meet Katie, being that Robin had not been serious about anyone since before Oliver was born.  Just then, the Oliver in question came bursting out of the house flying his hot dog bun through the air like a plane, making engine noises.  
By the time Dustin and Suzie came by with their new baby, the smell of burgers charring on the grill filled the air and you helped Steve bring some more chairs out to the lawn.  Eddie was taking much care to keep your vegetarian stuff away from the meat, and you couldn’t help but notice with deep adoration.
Astrid had a lot on her mind.  So much so that she didn’t have it in her to make the usual banter with Wayne that she enjoyed when they were together.
“You okay, darlin’?” Wayne turned to her in the truck on the way over.
“Oh,” she tucked a thick swatch of dark hair behind her ear. “You know, just thinking about how excited Steve must be about the new baby.”
There was a distinct melancholy in her voice.  One of the reasons the relationship between her and Steve had never gone any further than besties who make love was her refusal to take away his chance at a big family.  She was barely 21 when a doctor told her she’d never be able to conceive. Well, technically he said there was a small chance—a hairline percentage—but that it “would take an actual miracle”---those were his words.  
She loved Steve too much to not let him be a dad.  He was made for that life.  Ever since he was a teenager, he’d known he wanted to be a father, and once he had Oliver, she knew she’d done the right thing.  She’d tried to keep their relationship platonic time and time again, but in the end, the chemistry between them always proved to be too strong.  
She’d decided that she would love him until he found someone else, and then she would continue to love him from the shadows.  She’d given her heart long ago, and with him it would stay.  
“Hell, look at the head of hair on that kid,” Wayne said when Suzie introduced him to her daughter.  He gave a crooked grin and stroked a finger along the back of her tiny, exposed hand.  
At that, Dustin took his cap off and swiped a hand through his unruly mane.  “Thank god the rest of her looks take after her mother.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Lucas grumbled, thumping his friend in the arm.  
Steve had his back to the crowd when they came in and Astrid spanked him on the bum on her way up the stairs to the kitchen.
He spun on his heel and was quick to cage his arms around her so she could only squirm.  His face was flushed and glowing.  “You meet the kid?”
“I did,” normally, she would’ve kissed him, but instead she pulled back a bit, tilting her chin away.  “She’s so beautiful, Steve.”
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I—” she knew she was a fool to think he wouldn’t be able to read her face, a fool to think he couldn’t read her like a book after all of those years.  
Steve frowned, examining her face for a clue to her distress.  
Astrid’s stomach felt like she’d swallowed a lead weight.  
She hadn’t decided if she should tell him or not.
About the secret she’d been carrying with her for a few days.  
15 years, that’s how long she’d been in love with him.
Back when he was 19 and she was 23.
They’d known each other since they were little kids.
“I need to talk to you later,” she told him.
Steve dropped his arms from around her but held her hand.  “You can’t tell me now?”
She’d be 38 in December.
“Later, okay?” She winked at him to ease his suffering, and then made her way into the house, knowing that he stood there the whole time and watched her go. 
But later that day never came.  
Wayne wanted to get back and rest before his chemo treatment, and Dustin and his family only stayed for about an hour as they were all understandably still exhausted and wanting to recover at home.  
Astrid waved goodbye to Steve on her way out, and Steve stood up from his chair thinking he’d get a kiss, or at least a hug—but then she was gone.  
He tried not to think too much of it.  If he’d done something to upset her, she was never shy about letting him know.  Maybe she was tired of socializing, maybe she needed a break from him.
Lord knows he wished he could take a break from himself.  
Eddie looked over at where you stood talking with Max and Robin, and he recalled the conversation he’d had with Wayne a few days earlier.
“I don’t have to tell you you found a good one,” Wayne said from the couch in his trailer while Eddie sat next to him.  “I think you know they don’t come around very often.”
“Oh believe me, I know,” Eddie raked a hand through his hair, brushing his bangs off his forehead one, two, three times.  “I keep thinking one day she’s going to wake up and realize she could do a lot better.”
“You’ve done better than you give yourself credit for,” his uncle returned in a low, steady voice. 
When the next words came, Eddie felt a tightness in his throat:
“I’m proud of you, son.”
Wayne had a hard time leaving the house the day after his treatments, so Eddie always came by to bring him lunch and make sure he had everything he needed.  One day he came by to check on Wayne and found that you were already there, doing his dishes for him.
He’d never been with anyone who cared about the people in his life like that.  
Back at the barbeque, you slipped up next to him and planted your lips on his bicep, breathing in the sandalwood and leather of his scent.  “Penny for your thoughts?”
“Since you asked,” he smirked.  “I was thinking how I wish I’d met you a lot sooner.”
“How much sooner?” You batted eyes at him once he turned to face you. “In high school?”
Eddie made a yuck face.  “No, you would not have given me a chance in high school.  I would’ve been a lovesick puppy, but you probably wouldn’t have even known I existed.”
“Are you kidding?” You stuck the tip of your tongue out between your teeth, examining him.  “I would’ve jumped your bones so fast.”
“So fast, huh?” He chuckled, taking you by the hips. “What about now?”
He pulled you in and you hummed against his lips, trying not to get too horny right there in front of the guests.  
Lucas and Max would be in town for a couple days, so you and Eddie made plans to meet up at the Velvet Hammer when you were off work on Tuesday.  By the time the sun went down, all of the visitors were gone, and you were happy to head home as well after helping with some cleanup.  
“Robin and I can take care of it,” Katie nudged you away from trying to wash out a casserole dish at the sink. “You get out of here and go rest.  Make Eddie rub your feet or something.”
You both stopped what you were doing to look at each other.  
The way you were searching your friend’s face made her turn to give you her full attention.  In the background, you could hear Steve trying to convince Oliver to get his pajamas on and brush his teeth in a sing-song voice.  
“I can’t believe how much has happened in these past few months,” you still had soap bubbles popping on your wet hands and you slid them absently along the thighs of your jeans. 
Katie gave a thoughtful sniff.  “I think about it a lot,” she mused. “About that night on the couch at our place when you first told me about the guy who picked you up in the tow truck, and then meeting the boys at The Hideout and then—”
She cringed and covered her face with a dish towel, remembering her “date” with Steve.  “---it feels so surreal that Steve and I actually…well…I don’t want to think about it.  It’s too weird.”
“But then you and Robin found each other again,” you offered, thinking back to that first barbecue at their house when Eddie had to take off suddenly for secretive Coffin Kings business.  
It was on the tip of your tongue to tell your friend about the offer from John Gregson.  Katie knew you better than most people and you could always trust her advice to be on the mark.  
For some reason, you wanted to cry, just drop to your knees and start bawling right there on the kitchen floor.  For no one reason just
Everything
Katie caught the way your jaw moved like you were just about to say something, but then Eddie’s hands were snaking around to hold your back flush to his chest.  Your hair caught on his beard stubble when he leaned in, warm breath at your ear.  “You ladies need any help in here?”
You closed your eyes; you were glad to have him there. Glad to be in his arms, glad to know, in your heart, that he would always try his best for you.
But you were the one keeping a secret.  
Robin joined Katie at the sink and told you both to take a hike, lovingly.  
Steve came into the kitchen after you were both gone and the engine of Eddie’s Chevelle could be heard thundering down the road.
The first thing he did was pick up the beige, wall-mounted phone and call Astrid.  He stood there for a while with the receiver pressed to his ear and his other arm folded over his chest before he held the mouthpiece out in front of him and stared at it.
“She’s not answering,” he mumbled loud enough that the girls could hear.  
“Maybe she’s at Wayne’s? Did you check there?” Robin offered; her hair worn up in a haphazard ponytail.
Steve checked the clock first to make sure he wasn’t bothering Uncle too late, but it was barely 8:30 and he was probably up in his recliner watching M*A*S*H reruns.  
Wayne answered and they exchanged a few words, but then when Steve hung up again, he was quiet, contemplatively so.
“What did he say?” Robin asked impatiently, drying some silverware with a checkered towel.
Steve frowned.  “He said she dropped him off almost two hours ago and told him she was going home.”
He tried her house one more time and, again, no answer.  He let it ring five times but disconnected once her answering machine clicked on.  
“Maybe she went to bed early,” Katie shrugged.  “And turned the ringer off.”
Steve knew better; Astrid barely slept.  Normally, not being able to get a hold of her would not phase him, but something about the way she’d been acting that night set an alarm off in his gut.  
Outside, there was the sound like a firecracker bomb going off that shook the house.  Robin yelped and Steve bolted to the window to yank the yellow curtain back to see where it had come from.  
He got there just in time to see a streak of lightning crack the dark sky and a drizzle of rain hit the glass.  “Oh shit, good thing Eddie came in the Chevelle,” the droplets turned into a downpour as he stood there.  
“Looks like a hell of a storm is brewing.”
—----
Earlier that day, Charlene Gregson marched out of Murray Bauman’s office with her lawyer in tow.  She wore her oversized sunglasses and no expression on her face as they went down in the elevator and exited into the austere lobby.  She looked like a million bucks, which was probably the cost of all of the gold and diamond jewelry she had on.  
Outside on the busy street, her personal chauffeur was waiting by the Towncar to open the door for her while her lawyer, a pit-bull of a man named Saul, got in on the other side to slide in next to her.  Billy was out there waiting on his bike, to make sure no one bothered her on their way out.  He flicked his cigarette to the ground and revved the engine, angling to fall in line behind the Towncar.
“You sure this is what you want?” Saul posed the question to her as he slammed his door shut. They’d just thrown a lot of money at Murray and had him sign official documents.
Charlene sounded annoyed.  “It’s a bit late for that, isn’t it? The deal is done.”
He continued. “I suppose I’m still trying to wrap my head around why you would—” 
“I don’t pay you to ask personal questions,” she sniffed. “Just make sure there’s a smooth transition.  I don’t want to be having a cocktail on the beach and find out that you fumbled something, and I’m forced to fly back out here.”
The town car sailed into traffic and the two sat in silence for a few minutes until Charlene stared out the window at the passing buildings on their way back to the lake house. 
 “Have you ever been in love, Saul?” 
He was confused by the question and tapped his foot a few times.  “I can’t really say I have.” 
After recent events, and everything that he’d been tasked to do in her name for the benefit of someone else made him wonder. “What about you?”
“Only once,” she pressed her red lips together, eyes unblinking behind her sunglasses.  “And once will have to be enough.”
Saul assumed she meant her soon to be ex husband John, and so he left it at that.  
—-------
In a matter of seconds, the rain was coming down in sheets and the windshield wipers on the Chevelle were flapping back and forth at supernova speed.
“We could go back to my apartment if you want,” Eddie turned the Faith No More song down on the radio so that he could be heard over the rain.  “But your place is cozier, and I know both are fairly small but I’ve been wanting to talk to you about—”
“I think I want to stay at my place tonight,” you blurted it out, keeping your attention fixed on the dash, staring at nothing. “Alone, if that’s alright.” 
You could see in your peripheral vision that he turned to look at you, and you offered a reflexive smile, shoulders hunched a bit as if you were trying to fold  in on yourself.  
He smoothed his palm around the steering wheel and tried not to let the sensitive side of him that had been abandoned his whole life jump to conclusions.  Not everyone needed to sleep next to the person they loved every night; you wanting space was totally reasonable and had nothing to do with your feelings for him.
Right?
Just in case, he decided to make sure.  “Was it something I said or? Cause if there’s an issue between us, you know you can talk to me.”
For some reason, his insistence to have healthy communication irritated you.  Possibly because you knew he was right and you should put it all out on the table and talk to him, but you didn’t know how.  Your brain had barely been able to process the offer from John, let alone put the whole thing into words.
“It’s nothing you did,” you said softly.  “I just need time to think.”
Something about your tone and choice of words made his heart rate increase.  “Think about what?”
“Just stuff Eddie, okay? I don’t want to talk about it right now!” You snapped at him, for the first time ever.  
After everything with Erika and Charlene and Melanie and thinking he’d been cheating on you, you’d never lost your temper with him, and the two of you had never had a fight.  As much as you knew that arguments and disagreements were a very normal part of intimate relationships, you still felt like shit the second the words came out with such vitriol.
There it was, Eddie’s biggest fear: you were pulling away from him.  
He’d suffocated you just like he was prone to do.  He was “too much”, and now you were getting sick of him.  
For the next few minutes of the drive to your place, neither of you said a word.  
You because you didn’t want to take your confusion and anxiety out on Eddie, and Eddie because he didn’t want to sound like a whiny, needy bitch and make things worse.    
He parked up in your driveway to get you close to the door, but he kept the engine running to let you know he was honoring your wish to drop you off and let you be.  
You took a deep breath and flipped the manual lock up with two fingers.
“Wait, let me—” he was about to get out and come around to hold his coat out for you so that you wouldn’t get wet, but you were too quick for him.
“I’ll be fine, goodnight.” you were soaked the second you stepped out, fumbling in the pocket of your bag to find your keys.
“I love you,” Eddie’s voice was barely loud enough to be heard over the weather.
“Love you too,” you said quickly, and then you were bolting for the house, wishing you’d left the porch light on.  
Once you were inside, you clicked the deadbolt shut and watched the beam of Eddie’s headlights retreat.
This was ridiculous.  You were being ridiculous.  
There’s a beautiful man out there who treats you better than you’ve ever been treated in your whole life.  
You threw your bag on the floor and undid the lock to jerk open the door again.
You stumbled out into the rain.  “Eddie wait!”
But all you could see were his taillights as he pulled onto the main street and drifted away.  
—------
Back at her house, Astrid let the phone ring.
At one point, she had her hand on it, ready to pick up, but then decided against it.  
It was impossible for her to be fake with Steve, but she also wasn’t ready to be as forthcoming as she needed to be.  
She stood at the table and looked at the paperwork from the doctor's office one more time before she made her way over to the couch and hugged a pillow to her chest to let the tears fall hot and heavy.  
She had her eyes closed, so she didn’t notice the lights approaching in the driveway or hear Steve shouting her name from the sidewalk as he stood out in the rain.
He’d borrowed Robin’s car to ease his mind and make sure Astrid was okay.  What if she had slipped and hit her head or something? What if she was there with another dude? Also, a possibility under their “don’t ask, don’t tell” relationship agreement.    
The white t-shirt he had on was soaked through, making the tattoos underneath look like they were a design imprinted on the material that hugged his muscles.  
He banged on the door with the side of his fist and shouted her name again. 
By then, Astrid could hear him, but she stayed curled on the couch and waited in vain for him to give up and leave.  
—--
Eddie scowled to himself as he parked the Chevelle in one of the garages and made his way across the parking lot and up the steps to his apartment, shaking his wet hair like a dog.  He could hear a few of the guys partying in the clubhouse, and he thought about joining them, but realized his spirits were too low to be social. There was a punching bag in the back office where he normally did his workouts to burn off steam, but he wasn’t in the mood for that either.  
He told himself he would check on you first thing in the morning, but then it occurred to him that you might not want to hear from him right away.  He wanted to respect your wishes, your boundaries.  
He didn’t want to smother you.
On the nightstand next to his phone was the card for the real estate agent he’d visited the day before.  There was a room on the second floor of the Ferguson farmhouse with a view of the big backyard and he imagined setting some easels up to make it a place for you to paint.  It had a big living room with a fireplace and a workshed in the barn.  He wanted to talk to you about it, to ask if maybe you could see yourself living there.  With him.  
But now he wondered if things were moving too fast.  
He crossed his arms over his body and took his shirt off in the bathroom mirror.  He rubbed a hand down his stomach, noting the areas of skin that were not covered in inked designs.  The fanged bat with wings spread wide on his chest, the dragon design on his bicep, the grim reaper on his forearm.  A crude dagger made to look like it pierced his skin just under his rib cage that said, “true friends stab you in the front”.  There were other bits of traditional biker flash scattered around that Steve had doodled on him over the past decade.  On his other forearm was a memorial tattoo for his mother with her name, the year she died, and an angel statue with eyes that dripped blood, surrounded in roses and thorns, and the thorns came down over the back of his hand.  It was done in a way so that the bats that had been inked there earlier were still visible.  
He was barely 15 when another friend inked HELLFIRE on his knuckles.  It was done with a homemade tattooing gun like the ones used in prison, and the letters had to be redone later because they were basically chicken scratches.  One of the other earliest ones was the skull with a snake through it on his opposite bicep with his nickname “War Machine” underneath.  
Some days, he wanted to get them all removed and start over.
Other days, he wanted to go balls to the wall like Steve and be inked from ear to foot.  
He threw his soaked shirt in the hamper and was just about to grab a beer out of the small fridge near his desk to take into the shower with him—
but then there was a knock at the door.  
At first, he thought it was one of the other Coffin Kings, trying to drag him down to get plastered with them, but then he noticed that the rapping of knuckles was soft, cautious even.  
“Eddie?”
His head snapped around at the sound of the voice.
It was you. 
—------
Steve held his finger on the doorbell, relentlessly.  “Astrid, if you don’t answer the goddamn door, I’m gonna break it down!  You know I will!”
Astrid wiped her face, flapping her hand to dry her eyes and cheeks to the best of her ability.  She still had on the flowy, floral, maxi dress with an empire waist that she’d worn at the barbeque, and she wrapped a black shawl around her shoulders as she stomped begrudgingly to the door. 
Just as she was about to reach up to unlock the safety chain, there was a loud thud from Steve’s foot slamming into the wood, vibrating the hinges.
“Steve stop!” She yelled, fussing with the second lock on the doorknob.  
She yanked the door back and there he was: soaked to the bone. 
There was only a short awning over her front steps, and so he was standing as close to the frame as possible while more thunder rumbled in the distance. His wet hair had flopped into his eyes, and he swiped it back with a twist of his head, spitting to the sidewalk as he did so.  
His expression was one of anger at first, but then it melted into confusion when he could tell right away that she had been crying.  “Why aren’t you answering your phone?”
“This is a bad time,” she stayed blocking the entrance, although the yearning in his eyes was actively testing her resolve.
“The hell it is?” He pushed. He shifted to see behind her, as if there was someone or something she was hiding.  “You’re upset, I can tell.  Let me in.”
“No.” That was her answer, but Steve wasn’t having it.
He stomped up onto the threshold, wet hair dripping onto her face as he closed in, bracing his hand on the door so that she couldn’t shut it.  “Why don’t you want to see me?”
She tried to look everywhere but his face, but then his hand caught her chin and guided her eyes up to meet his. 
 “Talk to me,” he whispered from lips dotted in water droplets.  
There was a tug of war going on in her heart, and in the end, Steve won.  He always did.  
She didn’t invite him in properly, she just turned on her heel and left the door open, knowing he would follow her into the living room.  
His boots squeaked from all the moisture on her hardwood floors.  He always liked to take his shoes off when he came to see her, but it was too late for that.  He found her sitting on the couch in the dark, but he could only see the outline of her curly hair.
“Why are you sitting here without any lights on?” He reached down and flicked on a tiny wicker lamp that was on the nearby bookshelf.  
“You ask a lot of questions,” she mumbled.
He pinched the front of his shirt to peel it from his body and flapped it a few times as if that would dry it out. “What did you want to talk to me about at the barbeque?”
“You’re soaking wet,” she got a good look at him in the light and suddenly felt bad that she’d made him wait out there.
“No kidding?” He snorted sarcastically. 
“You left some of your clothes here last time. I folded them in the third drawer,” she hugged the pillow.  “Get into something dry and then we can talk.”
He stripped down to his underwear right there in front of her, staring at her the entire time, as if he was worried she would bolt and try to hide from him. His patchwork of colorful tattoos was a jumble of loud expressions of his aggression and passion.  In honor of his nickname Taz, he had several Tasmanian devils doing various things including riding a motorcycle and one on the back of his arm giving onlookers the middle finger.  The ones on the front of his thighs were all self-done when he was just a kid, practicing his craft.  When he was a teenager, he used to tease her and call her “Asteroid” and just above his knee was an asteroid with a fire tail crashing toward a heart-shaped earth.  Besides the Seek and Destroy tattoo on the side of his throat, his skin was full of phrases, including the big “FTW” letters in an arc under his ribcage that stood for “Fuck the World”.   
He went into her bedroom and brought out a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt with “Gary’s Plumbing” advertised on the front pocket.  He dressed in front of her as well, keeping a relentless eye.
“You really are ridiculous, you know that?” She put her chin in her palm and waited patiently for the show to be over.  
He flapped his arms out to his sides like a little kid waiting for approval on his outfit. “Okay, beautiful. I’m dry.  Time to spill the beans.”
“Can you sit down, please?” Her heart flopped in her chest as she considered the words that were about to come out of her mouth and the effect, they would have on him.
In Steve’s experience, when someone asked you to sit down before they told you something, it was always their attempt to soften the blow of bad news.  “Why can’t you just tell me now? You’re freaking me out, babe.”
“Steve,” She pleaded sternly.  “Trust me, I need you to sit down for this.”
—------
Eddie barely had time to greet you before you were pushing by him to get into the studio apartment.  You were hugging yourself, and anxiety had your stomach in knots.  
“I need to talk to you about something,” you gushed.  
Eddie stood at the door, keeping his back to you while he locked it.  He was shirtless, dark hair dripping down the pale muscles that flexed under his flesh.  
You looked around, trying to decide if you should sit or stand when your gaze landed on the painting you’d done for him after that first time you met.  He had it displayed front and center, right above his desk on the main navy-blue wall, as if it were the most important piece in the room.
You were pacing when he turned toward you, the wheels in your mind spinning.
When he got closer, you stepped further away, but he caught your wrist.  “Hey, why can’t you look at me? What’s going on?”  His voice was sterner than he’d intended it to be.  
“I can look at you,” you made yourself meet his stare to prove his point, but it was difficult. You felt like he could see right through you; all of your doubts, all of your fears and insecurities. 
“Sit,” he directed you over to the end of the bed, facing the small sitting area with where there was a couch and a coffee table in front of an old Zenith tv.
Next to you, the mattress sank under his weight, but in your mind, you were somewhere else.  
“So, is this it?” He released a heavy breath and started to play with one of the rings on his hand, pulling it up the finger and then pushing it back down to the knuckle.
“What do you mean?”
It was he who couldn’t look at you now.  “Are you breaking up with me?”
“No!” You blurted it, eyebrows pinching together in frustration with the way you couldn’t get the words out.  “That’s not…I didn’t mean…I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all.”
A rush of endorphins filled him with temporary relief while he waited for your next words.
You stretched your neck from side to side, swallowed hard, and then you told him.
You told him about John’s offer to run your own gallery in Chicago, the opportunity to have the artists loft you’d always dreamed of.  You picked at a piece of skin on the side of your thumb as you talked.
“But I said I needed to talk to you about it first,” you added.
Eddie got to his feet and went over to look out the window over the garage parking lot. “Sounds like a pretty sweet deal,” he mumbled.  
You weren’t breaking up with him, but you were, in fact, leaving him, which was much the same thing.
“Well, it’s complicated,” you said, watching as he went over to snatch his pack of smokes and lighter off of the coffee table.  
“Doesn’t sound complicated to me,” the cigarette bobbed between his pinched lips as he talked, cupping his hand to light the end.  “Sounds like you already know what your answer is.”
“I wouldn’t be talking to you about it if I’d already made my decision,” you countered.  “I want to know what you think.”
“Well,” he scoffed, exhaling a sharp plume of smoke down his chin. His eyes were much darker now, almost black.  “No one in their right mind would choose to stay in Hawkins, not with an opportunity like that on the table.” 
He almost added, “no loser biker boyfriend is worth it,” but decided it was not the right time to be self-deprecating. 
“But I like it here,” you mused. “More than I ever thought I would.”
“We’ll always be here, trust me,” he was trying to remain cool, but his exterior was cracking.  “So, this John guy has been stalking you or something? Getting you to do this painting for him was one thing, but now he’s waiting for you at your job to get you to what? ----Move to Chicago to be closer to him?”.
The smoke came out his nose that time and the muscles in his throat tensed.  He had a bad feeling about that guy before, but he wanted to respect your business ventures and give you space.
The change in Eddie’s demeanor made you wonder if that was the time for full transparency.  In the end, you’d made a promise not to have any secrets from each other and you wanted to keep your word.
“There was mention of that, yes,” you said cautiously, nibbling at your lip.  
“Mention of what, exactly?” Eddie scowled, cocking his head to the side.
“He said there were lots of places he wanted to take me to in the city,” you recited the words cautiously.
Eddie laughed and threw his head back; it was much more of a crazy, maniacal cackle.  “Oh shit, maybe I should pay him a little visit?  See if pretty boy wants to show me the city too.”
“Eddie.”
“What did you tell him?” He was fuming now, grinding his jaw as he stabbed the half-smoked cig into the ashtray.  
“I didn’t tell him anything,” you repeated, but in a much louder voice.  “I said I needed to talk to you, my boyfriend.”
“He knows you have a boyfriend, and he still pulled that shit?”  Eddie bit the tip of his tongue between his teeth with a grimace.  “That fucker needs to get rolled.”
“Eddie!” 
“No, I’m serious,” he was yelling now, but more about the situation than at you.  “I gave him a chance to be cool, to be a gentleman, and he fucked it up. I told you babe, dudes like that, with money, think they can take whatever they want.  Well, he can’t have you, unless it’s over my dead fucking body.”
“Well, it’s my fucking choice, and I don’t want to be with him, I want to be with you, asshole,” You shot to your feet.  
You’d realized something on your way over to his place and it was that you really did not want to leave Hawkins.  
Every rational bone in your body told you to take the offer and run, but the other bones in your body, the not so rational ones, told you that you’d finally found your family and a place you belonged.  
“Listen to me,” you grabbed him by the arm and made him turn, his hair flying over his shoulder.  “I don’t want to take the job, okay? I want to stay here.  With you.”
Eddie nostrils flared.  It was taking all of his strength not to go out looking for that pencil pushing dweeb Gregson.  But if he actually got his hands on him in the heat of the moment, he was afraid of what he would do.  
“I’ll move with you,” Eddie wet his lips, a new idea flashing behind his eyes.
“With me? To Chicago?”
“Yeah, no, I could make it work. Hire another manager here, another tow truck driver. Come back and check in a couple times a month,” he walked by you as he talked, plucking at his lower lip with thumb and forefinger. “I could get a job at a garage in Chicago, easy. There’s even a King’s chapter there. I could get Bones to patch me in.”
“What about Wayne? And Oliver?” 
“We’ll come back to visit,” Eddie nodded at the plan that was forming in his head.  “Steve and Robin and the kid love Chicago.  Maybe we can get a place with a spare bedroom for when they come up.”
“But what about—”
“I know this means a lot to you, this opportunity,” he cut you off.  “I know I’m a dirty, biker asshole, but I’m not going to be the reason you give up on a dream.” He went over to the dresser drawers and pulled out a Pabst Blue Ribbon shirt to pull on over his head.  The armholes were cut wide, and the collar was frayed.  
“But what if I don’t want to live in Chicago?”
Eddie squinted like he hadn’t heard you correctly.  “What now?”
You bit the inside of your cheek in contemplation.  “I’ve been thinking that I don’t really care about that world anymore, the art world I mean.”
“You don’t want to paint anymore?” He appeared hurt by this notion.  
“No, I do, I will always paint,” you corrected with a wave of your hand.  “But the retail side of it, the snobby clientele, the stress, I’m not sure it makes me happy anymore.  Not sure if it ever did.”
It was Eddie who took a seat that time, perching on the back of the sofa. You could tell he was trying to understand, but the information was coming at him a bit too fast.
“I don’t want to work at the Hammer for the rest of my life, either, but it’s okay for now,” you were working through the revelations as you spoke them aloud.  “I have a friend who is starting her own greeting card company, and she wants me to do some artwork for her.  Little by little, I can make a living while still doing what I love.”
Eddie’s thoughts drifted back to the farmhouse, and how much he felt like it fit the both of you.  
“Are you telling me you chose Hawkins? Really?”
You went over to situate your hips between his knees and brushed his bangs off his forehead.  “No, I’m saying I choose you, asshole,” a smile tugged the side of your mouth up.  “Hawkins is a bonus, yes, but I will always choose you.”
Foreheads met then, and Eddie forced out a long-held breath from between tight lips.  “I don’t want you to wake up one day and realize you made a mistake.”
“The only thing I regret is that I didn’t get to jump your bones in high school.”
He chuckled, repeating what he’d asked at the barbeque earlier.  “Well, what about now?”
In the back of his mind he was thinking, “that John Gregson is still a dead man,” but he kept it to himself.
—----
Steve flopped down next to Astrid on the fluffy, tan sofa so violently it was as if he’d been thrown there by a force of nature.  He scooted closer and pawed at her hand so that she would intertwine her fingers with his.  He was reminded of all of those times as a teenager when he would get hurt on purpose just so she would patch him up.  She was a couple years older and wanted nothing to do with him back then, but nevertheless he melted under the tender touch of her attention every time.  
“I’m all ears,” he prodded eagerly when she did not speak right away.  
Keeping Steve’s hand with hers, Astrid turned to face him and tucked her bare feet underneath her, adjusting the stretch length of her dress.  
Steve watched the way her long hair fell across her neck and ample cleavage. 
“Okay,” she cleared her throat. “What I need to tell you is—”
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, perpetually distracted.
“Steve?”
“Sorry, go ahead.”
Another big inhale and then: “These past few weeks, I could tell something was…off.  I thought it was early menopause because I missed my period.”
Steve stared blankly, trying not to get turned on watching her lips move.  
She let her gaze fall to their hands clasped on Steve’s knee, wondering if any of it was real, or if she was still dreaming. 
“Is it cancer?”  He dared to ask, squeezing her hand.  “Because I’m not going to let anything happen to you.  I’ll find the best doctor at gunpoint if I have to.”   
“Steve!” 
“What? You’re making me crazy! Tell me everything's okay?”
“I’m not dying, Steve.”
“Well then what is it? I’ve been going out of my mind and here you are—”
“I’m pregnant.”
His body had been moving, vibrating even, but it all came to a complete halt at that.  
As if he’d been flash-frozen on the spot.
A mannequin of himself; mouth open, one eyebrow up. 
He shook his head, confused.  “Hold on, what? But I thought you said that you—”
She played with the hem of her shawl.  “I was told it was impossible.  I was told it would take a miracle.”
“Wait a minute, so—” he gulped and then leaned forward to search her face, one arm scooping behind her.  Her eyes were glossy again, on the verge of another wellspring.  
“Is it m-my…is it my baby?” He stammered.
She could only nod, chin quivering as more tears gathered at her lash line only to race down her cheeks once she blinked.  
Steve lost it then too, sucking in air before he choked on his own emotions.  He brought her hand to his chest and held it there.  “My baby,” he gasped, eyes flooding.  “You’re having my baby.  We’re having a baby.”
“Yeah,” she hiccuped and sniffed. “You’re not upset?”
“Upset? Why would I be upset? How could you even think that?” He was deeply offended that she would question his reaction to something he’d wanted his whole life with her, specifically.
He was wiping her tears away with his thumbs as she spoke.  “This is far from convenient, Steve. The way we both live our lives, we never planned for this. We barely have two pennies to rub together between us and—”
“Shhhh,” he kissed her nose and her eyelids and her mouth. “Money comes and goes, sweetheart.  It doesn’t matter, nothing matters, but you and this baby.  Our baby.”
Our baby.  He couldn’t stop saying it.  
He hadn’t known about Oliver until a few days before he was born, and he always felt robbed of all that time in the womb when he could’ve bonded with his son.  Tina had been a three-day fling at a music festival, and he never had any intention of seeing her again.  He’d been prepared to do the right thing though, to be a family even if it killed him, but then Tina just handed him a baby boy a week old and drove away, as if he knew what the fuck he was doing.  
Robin had been in the car waiting for him when it happened.  She saw him standing there in the street holding that screaming baby in a blanket and right then and there, a mother was born.  
He put his hand on Astrid’s stomach, gently.  “Can I feel it move yet? The baby?”
She laughed into her hand as she wiped her nose.  “I’m barely seven weeks along, silly.” 
He curled down like he always did when he put his head in her lap, but instead he placed his ear on her stomach, massaging her thigh with his hand. “I don’t think you can hear me, little one, but daddy has loved your mother his whole life and I love you very much.”
His next words were to Astrid; a murmur into the meat of her. “Will you let me love you now? The way I’ve always wanted to? Will you stay with me?”
She scratched her fingers through his hair, and then held his head there when his arms went around her waist. They stayed like that for a long while.
A bit later, in bed with her head on his chest, he was half asleep when she whispered: “You know that twins run in my family, right?”
—------
“A geriatric pregnancy,” Steve told you from across the bar when you were both back at work the next evening to the tune of Connection by Elastica. 
You made a face while you put some limes and shots of tequila on your tray.  
“That’s what they call it, I guess, when a woman is over 35,” he shrugged.  “A geriatric pregnancy.  So, I’m forcing her to take it easy.”
He was letting you and Shana in on the good news, and he’d been grinning from ear to ear for so long, his cheeks hurt.  His gold incisor caught the red lights like it had a ruby in it.  He’d even been smiling in his sleep, somehow, as Astrid noticed when she got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. 
“I’m so happy for you,” you mirrored his enthusiasm.  “Does Eddie know? Wayne?”
“Not yet,” he made a loose fist and cracked his knuckles. “We wanted to tell Uncle together.  I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but I couldn’t wait,” he added sheepishly. “She knows I can’t keep a secret like that.”
“I’ll wait and let you give Eddie the news,” you told him.  “I think he’d rather hear it from you.”
“Where is that War Machine?” Steve looked around, adjusting his sunglasses on his head.  “I owe him a drink.”
“That’s a good question,” you glanced at the clock that was up by the wall-mounted tv.  “He said he was going to stop by, but that was almost two hours ago.”  It didn’t concern you too much because your boyfriend was a busy guy, and last-minute things were always popping up at the shop.  
It was on your to-do list to call John on your break and let him know you were turning down his offer.  The more you thought about it, the more you wondered if he’d planned to hire you on merit, or if he just wanted to get into your pants.  When you thought about the possibility of the latter, it made your blood pressure spike.  
You delivered a round of drinks to a table, and on your way back to the bar, there was a man in a suit coming through the door, holding a briefcase.  
Steve gave him a nod when they made eye contact, but he didn’t ask to check his ID because the man had a graying hairline and was possibly mid-fifties at the least.  He was fit though, and had a very confident demeanor about him.  He looked like he was there to do business.  
“My name is Saul,” he introduced himself to Steve with a handshake and Steve stood up from his stool to be eye level with him.  “I’m looking for Steve Harrington.”
“You found him,” Steve rolled his neck, wondering what he could possibly want from him.  
Saul gave a stiff smile that did not reach his eyes. 
By then you were at the bar, acting like you were busy so that you could eavesdrop.
“What’s this about?” Steve pushed the sleeves of his flannel up to his elbows, exposing his tattoos.  
“Well, it would behoove you to give me a moment of your time,” he moved one side of his suit jacket back to shove his hand in his pocket, rocking back on his heels.  
“I have some business to discuss with you on behalf of Charlene Gregson.”
—------
John Gregson had no idea he was being followed.
He vaguely registered the sound of the loud pipes from the motorcycles rolling up to Margie’s diner, but he was having a late lunch with a business associate and didn’t pay much attention to it.  He preferred white tablecloth lunch meetings, but in Hawkins there weren’t many choices.  Their BLT was unbeatable though, as was the chocolate cream pie.  He’d have to calculate them both into his low-carb diet and spend extra time at the gym in the morning.  
He had his back to the door, making notes in his date book as the man across from him spoke over the sound of clattering dishes and silverware.  
He felt the shadows pass over the table, but he figured it was a group on the way to sit at a booth further down.  
But they came to a halt and loomed there, smelling of leather and tobacco.
John glanced over the top of his reading glasses at his companion first and saw that the color had drained from his face.  
There were four members of the Coffin Kings glaring down at them.  
Eddie frowned at the man with John and jerked his thumb to the side.  “Get up,” he said.  “Find somewhere else to be, I need to talk to your friend here.”
Devlin sank into the booth behind John while Van stood across the aisle flipping his butterfly knife, and Lucas stayed next to Eddie.
“Now, hold on just a—” John began to protest, about to get to his feet, but Lucas clapped a hand onto his shoulder and pushed him back down with calm, steady force.
His companion’s eyes darted from Eddie to John a few times before he gathered his things in a rush, tucking all of his papers under his arm, and shimmied past Van while holding his breath.  It was clear he had no intention of going to wait at another table, he was down the row of booths and out the front door in a flash.
With a heavy sigh, Eddie sank into the seat across from John, wallet chain dragging on the vinyl as he settled in, stretching his arms wide along the back of the bench.  
Lucas turned his back on the two but stood in the same spot, feet planted wide, hands in his pockets, blocking John from leaving.
With a resolute nod, John put his pen down.  “Have we met? I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure—”
“Cut the crap, man,” Eddie huffed with a lazy grin and hooded eyes.  “You know exactly who I am.”
John took his glasses off and tucked them inside his jacket pocket.  “Fair enough. How can I help you?”
Eddie plucked a pack of smokes out of the front pocket of his cut and motioned for Devlin to toss him a lighter.
“This is a no smoking section,” John reminded him, pointing to the sign on the wall with a red line through a cigarette.
Eddie stared at him as he lit the end and sucked in his cheeks until the cherry glowed orange. 
He waited until after a generous exhale to speak, directing the smoke into John’s leftover pie.  
“You see, John—can I call you John? I’ve been really…patient when it comes to this infatuation you have with my girl.  More patient than you deserve, I think.”
John clicked his tongue.  “Now, you misunderstand me, I—”
“I haven’t misunderstood shit,” Eddie scoffed a laugh. 
The waitress came over, and John was sure she was going to tell him to put his cigarette out, but instead she just gave him the most flirtatious smile.  “You want some coffee, hun? You hungry?”
Eddie finished taking another drag and winked at her.  “Just coffee for me, darlin’,” and then he gestured to the other Coffin Kings. “Get these boys whatever they want and wrap it up to go.  It’s on John’s tab.”
Once she was gone, Eddie continued.  “Here’s what’s gonna happen, slick,” he reached over to tap the ash out on John’s plate.  “Once she finishes this painting, you’re gonna to pay her more than what you initially offered, and then you’re never going to see her or talk to her ever again.  Comprendo?”
John used the back of his fingers to push the plate a few inches away, dabbing the sides of his mouth with his napkin.  “My offer for her to run my gallery in Chicago had no devious intentions, I assure you.  I genuinely believe she is that talented.”
Eddie ground his teeth, jaw muscles bulging.  “She’s beyond talented, you got that right, but she doesn’t want to work for you.  You’re a creep.  Throwing money and big promises around to get what you want.  I know your type.”
“My type?” 
“Has your wife ever mentioned me?” Eddie inquired, exhaling into John’s face.
He watched John visibly go rigid.  
Rhonda set Eddie’s coffee cup on a saucer down in front of him with extra creamer and poured him a steaming cup.
John cleared his throat.  “I think it would be in her best interest—”
“You don’t know what’s best for her,” Eddie bit.  “Who are you, her fucking dad?”
He’d said it a bit too loud and a few people from other tables craned their necks to follow the sound.  
Eddie leaned forward, whispering tensely.  “I don’t think I have to tell you that I have friends in low places. People who will do what I say at the drop of a hat.  You think you can hide behind your money?  You’re wrong.  The people who pump your gas and make your food and clean your bathroom?  They’re all with me. You’ll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.  If you fuck with me on this, if you seek my girl out after I’ve told you not to?  Well, then, I hope you like dentures sweetheart because I’m gonna pull your perfect, pearly teeth out one by one.”
By the time he was done, his hand had curled into a fist on the table.  He spread the ringed fingers out wide and then made the fist again, making John look at it.
Eddie snubbed out his smoke in John’s pie with a sizzle and then settled back in his seat, relaxing his shoulders.  He cocked an eyebrow up.  “Are we good?”
John sat back as well.  “We’re good,” he acknowledged stiffly, adjusting his suit jacket.
Eddie slapped the table and gave John a wink.  “Well, this was fun,” he chuckled.  “We should catch up more often.”
He took a quick gulp of his coffee and slid out of the booth.  
He stopped to bend over and whisper, “don’t forget to tip well, slick,” in John’s ear on his way out.  
—-------
By the time Eddie showed up at the Velvet Hammer, swatting away plumes of second-hand smoke as he went, everyone knew that Steve was going to be a dad again.  Even the new customers who’d barely just walked in the door that evening.  
Astrid had prepared for this.
One of the many complicated reasons she’d waited more than a week to tell him was because she’d known that, if he knew, he’d be announcing it to everyone he passed by on the street.
Steve jumped from his stool and hugged Eddie.  “I’ve got great news, man,” he clapped Eddie a few times on the arm, over the thick leather jacket he had on.  
Eddie had been on his way across the room to you when his friend stopped him, so the sudden affection took him off guard.  “I like good news,” he caught your eye over Steve’s shoulder and smirked.  
Steve let him know that he was going to be a dad again, which Eddie assumed would happen sooner than later, but he was surprised and delighted to know that Astrid was the mom.  They both knew that she’d been told it would be nearly impossible for her to conceive.  
Steve leaned in.  “This proves it, man, I have a magic dick.”
“Sure you do,” Eddie scoffed, patting Steve on the cheek a few times.  “Only took you 15 years.”
Before you could greet him, Eddie was already in front of you, pulling you flush to his body.  He started to walk and you took backwards steps to stay with him.  “Can you take your break right now?”
“I wasn’t going to for another hour but—”
“I need to talk to you,” he hushed.  
“Um, okay, well,” you glanced over at Shana and she waved you off.  
His mouth found yours the second you were obscured in the dark hallway.  You figured he’d be escorting you out to the alley where you usually took your breaks with him so he could smoke, but this time, he pulled you into one of the two unisex bathrooms and locked it behind him. The bulbs inside were red, and it set an eerie, bloodwashed glow.
“This place sees a lot of action,” you mumbled into his kiss as he worked your skirt up so that he could take a handful of the meat of your ass.  “I like to call it Steve’s Office.”
Before you knew what was happening, he was hoisting you up onto the sink counter with a grunt.  Your thighs and bum were fully exposed now, covered in fishnet stockings, and one of his hands held your face while the other rubbed a knuckle over the heat between your legs.  Your panties and stockings were preventing him from going further, but not for long.  
You were about to protest, to say you had to get back to work, or to remind him how many women Steve had probably railed in that very spot, but
Fuck
And just when you softened with a shaky moan, he kissed a trail down your jaw and throat, with a few nibbles in between.
You whimpered, spreading your legs further apart, Doc Marten booted feet locking onto his thighs to keep him close.
“I have something..” smooch “...that I need…” smooch “...to ask you…” smooch
“Right now?” You palmed his hard length over his denim and then went to work at undoing his belt buckle. “We only have 10 minutes.”
He leaned back, letting his cherry bitten lips hover there at eye level.  His bangs were getting too long, he needed a trim, and you brushed them to the side, off of his eyebrows. 
“Do you want to move in with me?”
You blinked a few times. “Into your apartment?”
“No, no,” eager lips found your mouth again and his thumb rubbed circles over the taut nub of your nipple through your shirt.  “The big farmhouse down on Marigold Road.  I pointed it out once when we drove by.”
You stopped.  “The old Ferguson place? Aren’t there people already living there?”
“Not anymore,” he could feel your arousal soaking through your underwear and he hissed, grinding his erection against your thigh. “I want to buy it. For us.”
In your desperation, you reached down and clawed at the section of black fishnet that was keeping him from you, ripping a little further down your thigh than you’d intended to.
Eddie kissed down the front of you on the way to his knees, and then your underwear was pulled to one side and his tongue was on your swollen clit, rolling in circles there.  
You dug your fingers into his hair with one hand and supported yourself on the ledge with the other.  He sucked a few times, and then his tongue went inside of you, and you bit your lip, squirming to try and repress a scream.  
“That is a big step,” you gasped. “Moving in together.”
For the longest time, you couldn’t see yourself living with anyone other than a roommate ever again.
He hummed on your now soaked cunt and then kitten licked it a few times.  “I’m ready. Are you?”
You didn’t respond at first because your eyes were rolling back in your head, so he popped off to get to his feet, his chin glistening.  He spread your thighs further apart to make room for his hips and undid his zipper.
His pupils bloomed wide as he searched your lustful eyes, insecurities making his heart rate quicken.  “Are you not ready? I mean, do you not want that? Is it too soo—”
But then you silenced him with your mouth, lapping up your juices from his chin, moving away a strand of his hair that had stuck there. “I want to see the inside. Could we go look at it together?”
“Yeah we can,” he pushed his boxers down and rubbed the tip of his leaking cock along your slit. “I’ll call the real estate dude in the morning.”
You clung to his neck, jaw going slack as he sank in. “I’ll have to check with Charlie.”
He chucked into the kiss at you mentioning your cat, and then he was stretching you out, easing his way in, aching to be one with you.
“Deeper…more,” you whimpered, and then you each let out a muffled cry when he filled you to the hilt, flush inside of your pulsing heat.
He rested his forehead on yours and began to work his hips, thrusting deep and retreating with a curl of his hips so that you could feel every vein, every ridge, but then you were clenching around him, and he sped up with a curse, a thumb working at your clit.
“This…fuck, I’m going to cum so hard inside of you,” he admitted with a huff.  His belt buckle clinked against his zipper with every thrust.  “You want that? You want all of me?”
“Fuck, Eddie, yes,” You whined, clinging to him as stars exploded behind your eyes. 
His strong fingers dug into your flesh to hold your legs in place, and after a few more shaking pumps, he was spilling inside of you, each of you a moaning mess of “I love yous”, clawing at the other to be closer.  
Someone banged on the door just as the two of you were catching your breath and Eddie was still inside of you.
“Get lost!” Eddie yelled, not caring if it was a customer.
“Are you two having a tea party in there? Cabbage Patch meeting perhaps?” 
It was Steve, and then you could hear his ruckus laughter as he banged another few times just to be cheeky.
You adjusted your underwear back into place, and Eddie fastened his jeans before he helped you down off the counter.  You pulled your skirt down and checked yourself in the mirror.
Yikes.
The rip down your inner thigh was painfully obvious.  You wondered if shredding them in a few more places would make it more of “a look”, but then realized that the lighting in the Hammer was not great, and it wasn’t unheard of for someone to accidentally rip their stockings at work.  
But what about when Eddie’s seed started to drip down your leg?
“You go,” you shooed him away as he stood there adjusting the collar of his jacket, waiting for you. “I need to pee.”
He was looking at himself in the mirror, rubbing lipstick off his cheek, but then he turned just before grabbing for the door.  “If you don’t want to, you know, live together right away, I get it.  But with Katie moving in with Robin and all, I figured—”
“You figured we could be roommates?” 
He smirked, giving a bashful shrug.  “A little more than that, maybe.  Roommates with benefits.”
“Yeah?” You sank against his chest, forever helpless to his gravitational pull.  “What kind of benefits?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he rubbed the sides of your arms with his calloused hands. “I’ll make you pancakes.”
“You think you can make pancakes?” 
“Baby, I've told you before, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
—-------
“WAYNE!”
Uncle entered the Hammer and everyone screamed his name like he was Norm in an episode of Cheers.
It had been a while since he dropped by unannounced, and he looked better than ever.
Still much thinner than he had been the year before, and it was hard for him to catch his breath sometimes, but his eyes were bright, and he wore a soft smile more often than not.  
Maybe the chemo was working? Maybe there was hope?
Devlin had been sitting on the stool at the bar next to Eddie, but Eddie was quick to tell him to take a hike when Wayne showed up.
“What did the doctor say?” He asked as his uncle straddled the stool and got comfortable.  He was in a green and white plaid work shirt and had decided to leave his Coffin Kings leather at home.  
Wayne gave a single nod and patted around for his smokes out of habit, even though he’d given it up when he started treatment.  “Just heard Steve's gonna be a dad again. He better treat her right, that's all I can say." It was obvious he was damn near giddy at the thought, Eddie could see it in the way a smile kept tugging at the sides of his mouth. "I’m sick of talking about doctors and my goddamn condition. Want to forget about it for a night.”
Eddie respected that, and tapped the bar to order him one of those non-alcoholic beers that they kept cold specifically for Wayne and one other regular patron.  
You barely had a chance to give Wayne a shoulder squeeze when Robin burst in through the door, frantically scanning the crowd.  There was a dancer on the backstage, working her way down the poll, and Steve had gone over to remind a few rowdy customers to behave themselves.  Robin rushed over and met him halfway, in front of the glowing jukebox.
He found no comfort in the way she looked like she’d been crying.
“What’s going on?” Felt like his heart literally stopped beating in his chest. “Are you okay?”
“The spare key,” she held her palm out.  “You used it last time and now I’m locked out of the house.”
He felt around in his back pocket.  “Where are your regular keys?”
She rolled her eyes, bouncing in frustration. “I lost them somewhere, okay? At work maybe, I’m not sure, but Oliver just threw a fit, I’m on my period, and we’re all just in a really bad mood and want to go home.”
“Alright, alright, here take my key,” he wrestled it off the metal ring to hand it to her.  “Just remember to leave the back door unlocked for me.  Is Oliver in the car?”
“No, he’s at Katie’s place with her, I needed to take a drive alone so that I could scream,” she snatched the key from him.
“Shit, you had me worried for a second.”
“Sorry,” admittedly, she felt like she was overreacting to something so small and fixable, but more likely her tears were from an accumulation of things.  Once the panic spike subsided, her eyes landed on half of a white envelope peeking out of the pocket of his Coffin Kings leather, right above his TAZ insignia.  She always teased him and said his official nickname should’ve been Dingus.
“What’s this?” It looked like it had some official lettering in the corner, and she plucked it out to look closer.
They made their way back to the front so he could keep an eye on the door, and she frowned at the name of a law office in the corner. 
“I don’t know, I haven’t opened it yet,” he shrugged.  “Some douchey lawyer brought it by, said it was from Charlene.  It was busy when he came in, so he gave me that to read and told me to call him in the morning.”
“Fucking Charlene?” She balked.  “What, is she suing you for not wanting to be her boyfriend?”  
“I haven’t had time to open in, but it wouldn’t surprise me.”
A group of people came in, and two looked like they were 16, so Steve carded them.  
Robin ripped the top of the envelope open. You stepped in front of her on your way to a table, and the two of you collided.
You said a quick apology and were about to ask if she wanted a drink, when Shana shouted across the bar to tell Robin the phone was for her.
“It’s your boss from the motel,” Shana continued, holding her hand over the bottom half of the receiver.
Robin gave a heavy, exasperated sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.  “She’s going to ask me to work a double shift tomorrow, I just know it.”
She shoved the paperwork at you that she’d just unfolded, but not yet read.  “Hold this for me? Be right back.”
“Oh—okay,” you had the paperwork pressed flat to your chest as you made your way over to stand at Eddie’s shoulder.  He was talking to Wayne, but he reached back and squeezed your thigh in greeting.  
You hadn’t meant to look, to eavesdrop on their private business.
But once glance was all it took
For you to be fully invested
Charlene’s name was the first thing to catch your eye
And then, The Velvet Hammer
You took a few long blinks, unsure if what you were looking at was real.
You mouthed a few of the words quietly just to make sure you were reading them correctly.
The way you froze made Eddie curious, and he turned his head to see what you were doing.
“What’s up babe? What is that?”
“It’s, uh—” you stammered.  “It’s Steve’s.  You’re never going to believe this, but um—”
“Can I see it?” 
He tried to meet your eyes as he took it from you, but you couldn’t seem to look away from the words on the paper.  Your mind was reeling.
Robin returned just as Eddie held the papers out in front of him, and she steadied herself with a hand on his back to read over his shoulder.
Steve meandered over; his curiosity officially piqued at what you were all huddled together about.  
“What’s it say?”  He had a smoke bobbing between his lips and his hands in his pockets.  “Did I win the lottery or somethin’?”
He chuckled, but then you all turned to him in unison, unblinking, mouths agape.
“Yeah man,” a smile curled on Eddie’s lips.  “Actually, you kinda did.”
—------
Charlene was on the plane to Hawaii when she read the newspaper article.
A glass of first-class champagne and a window to her right, an empty aisle seat to her left.  
There he was, right on the front page of The Hawkins Post: 
Steve.
In a bigger city, a business changing hands could fly under the radar, but in a small town, it was newsworthy when a local biker and bouncer becomes a business owner overnight.
A Cinderella story, the reporter called it.
The cover photo was of him out on the sidewalk, standing next to the red door entrance to the Velvet Hammer.  Shana was in the photo with him, as were Robin, Jackie, Erika, and you.  
Not pictured was Eddie Munson, whom the article mentioned Steve had chosen to take on as a partner.
The article talked about their plans for the Hammer, including bringing in a tattoo studio to the vacant storage space next door.  
She ran her finger over his face on the newsprint.
It wasn’t until the end of the article that she got the wind knocked out of her:
“Steve and his longtime partner, Astrid Bautista, are expecting their first child together in the spring.”
She hadn’t expected that.
She had to look away and take a generous gulp of champagne.  
Her eyes got a little wet and her vision blurred, but she read it again.
“Did you miss me?” Billy sank into the seat next to her with his sunglasses on and a white shirt unbuttoned almost to the waist of his jeans. He smiled around the pink gum he was chewing and craned his neck to see what she was reading, but she folded the paper hastily and turned it over.
She didn’t answer him, she just stared out the window over the clouds and tried to forget she ever felt a thing.  
------
authors note: wow, we did it. This is my first fic series to finish ever 😭 If you've made it this far, you know how much this story and the characters have evolved since those first couple chapters. If this were an actual novel, I'd go back and make it all sync up, give it more continuity, and reveal nicknames like War Machine and Taz earlier in the game. But the cool thing about posting this way for a fandom is that you, the reader, are able to see in real time how the characters develop a mind of their own and take over the story in a way not even the writer can predict. In this case specifically, you can also see how I went from having no idea how to write a reader insert fic to becoming more and more comfortable with it.
I never had any intention of making Charlene a villain. She was literally based off of the wealthy woman in the Bruce Springsteen video for his song I'm on Fire. Just a gal who had a crush on her mechanic. Some of you voiced that you wished Charlene could get killed, or hurt somehow, and for those of you, you can trust that she is hurting. Knowing that Steve will be having a family with someone else is a deep wound.
I've had several requests for a separate biker Steve story with a new reader, and until two chapters ago, I fully intended to follow through on that. But the more I wrote him with Astrid, the more I felt it was wrong to keep them apart. If you are a fan of their love story, I highly recommend visiting THIS masterlist from @texasblues who created Astrid's character. But I do plan to bring a slightly different biker Steve back in a new au, stay tuned 🥰
This of course, is not the end. I plan to drop an epilogue on you all when you least expect it, and it will take place a year or two after the events here. If you are a friend of mine, you will laugh at this because whenever I say I'm going to write an epilogue, I never do. But this time I mean it.
I can't express in words how much your comments, asks, and messages about this story have meant, and will always mean to me. I was living through one of the darkest years of my life when I joined tumblr back in April and started writing this fic, and you all have held me together, whether you realize it or not. I love you and am deeply grateful for you all.
Taglist: @notsobubblybaby @unfocused81 @aysheashea @etherealglimmer@manicmagicmayhem @dream-a-little-nightmare@chaoticgood-munson @emxcast @rhirojo @bexreadstoomuch @micheledawn1975 @falling-solar-system@secretdryrose
@whatwedontdointheshadows @miarosso @seventhlevelofhell @corrodedcoffincumslut @lofaewrites @goldyghoul @chloe-6123 @kelsiegrin @chelebelletx @stylesxmunson @kurdtbean@dandelionnfluff @clincallyonline17 @tlclick73 @eddiemunson95 @sidthedollface2 @hideoutside @truffleshuffle12 @tenthmoon @texasblues@emilyslutface@mmunson86@onegirlmanytales@laylaloves-ed@dashingdeb16@eddiiiieeee @ick90 @dashingdeb16 @polyestermonster @trixyvixx @atomickaratel8dy @kiyastrf94 @allthingsjoeq @eddiesxangel @razzieth @corrodeddeadlydoll @erinekc @angietherose @sllooney @writinginthetwilight @moonbeamsandmayhem @brianamunson92 @joannamuns9n @bellalillyrose @alba8688 @chevelle724
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wolfie-bee · 2 years
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Ties that bind
read it here as a twitter fic
"You know, when you showed up at my door this morning I didn't wanna let you in." Kara's words are a soft vulnerable truth, but the weight of them lodges deep in Lena's chest.
She knows, had seen the inky lines of mistrust etched across Kara's face that morning when offering the beginnings of an apology and a plea to help stop Lex.
There's tension in the lines of Kara's shoulders and Lena's eyes get stuck there as she looks down at her feet and stacks her hands on her hips. Then they dissolve into silence.
Well why are you still here? Lena wants to ask. Why am I here? But the words feel heavy, hurt springing like blood on her tongue.
Guilt immediately rushes in, you stole from me, you convinced me to steal for you and you used kryptonite on me!! an echoing ring in her ears that instantly liquefies her resolve. Her jaw tenses and ticks, and she dips her head, shifting her eyes away from the otherworldly gravity that Kara's holds.
Kara lifts her head and her eyes fixate on Lena's as the silence stretches, a stormy sea of emotions churning in their blue depths. The intensity in them tenses Lena's spine and she folds her arms tightly across her chest like a physical shield from their direct assault. She doesn't recognize this look, hates the uncertainty as bitter indignation crowds her stomach and the words you betrayed me, you broke my heart lock with startling force behind her ribcage.
"Alex was right," Kara chuckles humorlessly, "I'm not rational when it comes to you. I think with my heart and not with my head."
"Funny, Lex said the same to me."
Kara's expression turns inscrutable, and Lena doesn't know if it's because of the mention of her brother or their similarities when it comes to dealing with each other. She figures it's a little of both.
"But…" Lena continues, swallowing her pride and the lump forming in her throat, "is that such a bad thing?"
Kara doesn't answer. Instead, she lets out a shallow breath, forehead crinkling like this conversation had already become too much. She had shut this conversation down one too many times when Lena had tried to broach it earlier. But damn if it doesn't make Lena want to crawl out of her own skin.
She'd thought they were making some progress, had felt the tentative stirrings of reconciliation as they'd worked together to stop Leviathan. 
It's disconcerting that she can't get a read on Kara's eyes as she takes a step back, red boots scuffing against the floor. And Lena's heart aches at the physical distance like an ever widening chasm between them.
"On Krypton, trust was something sacred." Kara starts softly, inhaling a large gulp of air that draws Lena's eyes to the glyph on her chest. "We broke that in each other, we caused each other so much pain and -"
"Pain is a necessary part of life," Lena says hoarsely, the words quivering on her tongue. "I learned that the hard way when Non Nocere failed."
Another bout of silence falls over them and Lena uses it to turn away from Kara, gathering strength for what she's about to say next. 
"So I get it. You don't have to trust me in order for us to keep working together."
"But I want to…" Kara answers immediately, and there's earnestness in the soft tremor of her voice. "you came through today at every opportunity and I - I'm not saying that you have to keep doing that but, I want to trust you, Lena. I want to let you in again."
Lena releases the breath she didn't realize she was holding, relief spreading like fissures across her heart, a warm hopeful balm in her veins as she squeezes her eyes shut.
"Kara," she breathes out, lips trembling as she forces out the word. A host of reasons why they shouldn't do this flashes through her mind, the biggest of them being that Lena didn't think that she deserved to hold on to the tentative reins of trust being offered.
She hears her take a step.
Then another. 
And another. 
Until Kara's pressed right against her, a comforting warmth at Lena's back that makes her heart tremble as those warm familiar hands land on her shoulders. The touch nearly makes Lena flinch. She doesn't know why it surprises her since Kara has always been the more tactile one between them. And her brain stalls in trying to furiously calculate exactly how long they've been apart.
Kara notices, of course she does. She breathes out shakily, hands drifting along the curve of Lena's shoulders and the small of her back. 
Lena trembles at the feel of it, her touch starved body aching to be held in Kara's arms again. Because Kara is warmth and light and Lena still loves her with the inevitability of a new day and the gravity that binds them to each other.
Kara's touch is an irresistible force and Lena can't even find it within her to be angry that her defenses were practically nonexistent as the tension melts from her in seconds.
That warmth reaches all the way to her toes as those hands slide in a comforting press down the arch of her spine to settle lightly at her hips. Before Lena can think herself out of it, she turns, just to see her face as the desire to reach out, to touch, loosens the threaded beat of her anxious heart. 
The hands on her hips bunches in Lena's blouse almost to the point of contention and she freezes, lifting her eyes to Kara's. This is the closest they've been in a while but the uncertainty in Kara's eyes is almost Lena's undoing. She allows herself a small conciliation, grasping onto the hands already clinging to her, as if that could somehow convey the mix of emotions thrumming inside her chest.
The wall between them all but falls away as Kara loosens one of her hands to reach out and cup her face. Lena leans readily into the contact and Kara's eyes soften, allowing her a glimpse of the woman she'd fallen in love with.
"How do I let you in again?" Kara asks, a shaky plea that loosens tears from her devastatingly attractive eyes. Lena wants to reach up and kiss them away, but her insecurities leave her rooted to the spot.
"Maybe you shouldn't," She answers truthfully, her doubts manifesting as those small broken words.
Kara's palm trembles against her cheek and Lena closes her eyes, moving to shift away. But Kara's other hand presses more insistently against her side, warming her through her clothes and Lena nearly chokes on her name, can't find her voice which gets lost somewhere in the trembling cry struggling to break free. 
"I know I hurt you by not telling you my truth." Kara says, drawing Lena's eyes to hers. "And I'm sorry. I haven't had a lot of practice doing this. Growing up I was forced to hide my abilities because the people around me could get hurt and I - I know that's no excuse, but I hope -" Kara stops abruptly, lips trembling too much to continue.
And Lena doesn't want to talk about this anymore, can't talk about it without breaking down again. Her heart aches for Kara, for this woman born of different stars and the hardships she faced. So she closes the rest of the distance, folding herself into Kara's embrace.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that." She whispers, tucking her face against Kara's neck as those warm arms go around her. 
"Lena," the way that Kara says her name has never failed to make Lena's breath hitch. "I hope that one day you can forgive me."
Her trembling arms lock around Kara's shoulders, and Kara nuzzles against her hair, chest expanding as she breathes Lena in. Lena closes her eyes and oh, Kara's touch is grounding and these arms feel more like home than any place on earth ever could.
She doesn't expect the soft lingering kiss that Kara leans in and presses to her temple and the intimacy and affection of it shatters Lena's careful composure. Tears fills her eyes, tears that spill down her face as her breathing shortens and they don't have time for this, they have to stop Lex from whatever he's plotting, they have to -
But patient, gentle Kara frames her face between warm palms, tenderly brushing the tears away with the pad of her thumbs and the anchoring force of another kiss pressed sweetly against her skin. 
Her kiss is light dawning in the darkness, darkness that rushes out from Lena's heart and flees from the crevices of her soul as Kara's kisses move across her temple and down to her eyebrows. She doesn't stop, pressing them in reverence across her eyelids, sweeping along the bridge of Lena's nose down to the apple of her cheeks, a sweet calming force that quiets Lena's mind.
It's new, this level of intimacy, the fact that they've never really used kisses for comforting each other in all of their years of friendship. Lena finds that she can't get enough of it, craves the press of Kara's warm mouth on her skin and can't believe that they've never done this before.
She flushes brightly when Kara tilts her chin with a hand covering her jaw to drop a kiss just below Lena's ear and stills long enough for Lena to reopen her eyes.
Kara's cheeks are a lovely red and Lena's eyes get stuck there, admiring their rosy hue. She doesn't know what expression her face forms as Kara moves back a little but they stare at each other, all heavy lidded eyes and soft breaths mingling in the short space between. The staring lengthens to the point where Lena feels like she's about to combust beneath the allure of those magnetic blue eyes.
So she moves in, drawn to Kara, softly touching their noses together. The action elicits a wobbly smile from Kara's pretty pink lips and Lena closes her eyes again, hands falling to grasp onto Kara’s suit clad biceps. Her nose skims across the rise of Kara's cheek, and down to her calming fluttering pulse, overwhelmed by the scent of peaches clinging to her skin.
One of Kara's hands finds her hip again, the other mindlessly tangling in Lena's hair and Lena can't think of a safer place than these arms as she absentmindedly noses along the slope of Kara's neck till the point where the supersuit starts. Her lips tingle where they accidentally meet warm skin and she draws back a little to intentionally press them lightly against the hollow of Kara's throat. 
It's a bit concerning that she doesn't have the wherewithal to be mortified by her actions, but Kara's only reaction is a quiet breath against her ear.
So she does it again, soft, tentative.
This time Kara makes a tiny noise of encouragement that fills Lena with ardor and she wants to hear it again, has to hear it again. So she opens her mouth a little and scrapes her teeth along the corded muscles of Kara’s neck, feeling them flutter beneath the soft roll of her tongue. Kara's breathing turns heavy.
Lena delights at the response and the feeling of Kara's fingers tightening in her hair. She grows bolder with her kisses, moving back up Kara's neck and across the line of her jaw like a woman possessed.
This isn't something that best friends do. But right now they weren't even friends. And Lena's always been a little too in love with Kara to truly make her an enemy. 
"Lena," Kara says, the name a soft aching sigh as Lena presses a litany of sweet kisses along Kara's soft reddened cheek, unable to stop or draw herself away as those fingers clench tighter in her hair.
Kara's breathing is a mess, and she closes her eyes as Lena carefully tucks a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, lips still pressed to soft warm skin.
"I'm sorry too." She whispers, soft, penitent. The tears come again, the shame at what she'd done a suffocating force as her lips tremble against Kara's skin, dangerously close to the corner of her mouth. "I hurt you and I know I can't make up for what I did but I promise, I'm going to try."
Kara's hand slips beneath the blouse that had loosened from where it had been tucked in her jeans and Lena's breath hitches as her warm hand lands on equally warm skin. She kisses Kara's cheek again, pressing closer, feels like they aren't truly close enough as she kisses her again and again.
Kara's lips catch the last kiss aimed for the corner of her mouth and her hand slides around to Lena's lower back, making Lena's heart flutter.
She doesn't lose stride, if anything, she's embolden, her silken mouth parting Lena's lips with a soft tremor. The kiss immediately deepens, no prelude, no hesitancy, only a soothing whisper of Lena's hands moving to tenderly frame Kara’s face and kisses as inevitable as freefall.
Kara's kisses are transcendental and Lena's mouth parts below hers as her thumbs sweep against the apple of Kara's cheeks, lips aching with apologies and promises.
The crest of the House of El presses tight against her chest and Lena presses a palm directly over it, a silent promise, a deep shuddering breath escaping her lips as Kara's second hand moves to join the other as they frame the dips on her lower back.
Lena's hands shift to tangle in the red cape on Kara's back as she kisses her with salt on her lips and forgiveness on her tongue. Kara's mouth trembles against hers, a reminder of the more difficult parts of the conversation still to come and a sweet tentative taste of the reconciliation awaiting them.
Happy Supercorp Sunday everyone!! Once again this fic was written on Twitter today in response to the gif tweeted above by @CSIRJen who's awesome and just provides inspiring tweets that make me write these weird little stories 😅 thank you to everyone who's gotten this far, I'm always amazed when people read all of my rambling words.
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babybinxxx · 2 months
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Chapter 46 of Words that Ties, Ties that Bind is out! It's war time, so get ready!
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ninadove · 2 days
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“They’re running through the halls of their grandparents' estate. It’s like a castle from a fairy tale. There’s a library full of books, and they hide in there for hours and the adults don’t even notice they’re gone. Felix has a bruise on his arm, but he won’t tell Adrien where it’s from.”
— The Ties That Bind by @thevioletthread
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eurhythmix · 4 months
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The Green Man
These Ties That Bind, Christmas Eve 2004.
No CW apply | Words: 9k | Ao3 login required.
Before he could convince himself it was stupid, reckless, irrevocably idiotic, he found himself dropping to his knees in front of her. A crazed creature of willful want kicked angrily against the inside of his ribs.
“I really miss you,” he found himself confessing. It tumbled out like rocks to a cliff when a landslide shook the earth. “I miss you so much.”
How mortified the old him would’ve been. To speak so plainly. To crack open, eggshell splitting in jagged bursts and sweetened yolk yellowing the air. To wear the truth upon his brow, let her see how little of his heart remained that didn’t belong to her.
“Please come back.”
———————————————————————
In which the leftovers find themselves sharing a very strange and unexpected Christmas Eve in a place that’s… well. Not any place they’ve ever been before. Nothing goes as expected, they have a delightful time either way.
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charmsandtealeaves · 1 year
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Ties That Bind
21k Complete, Read it on AO3
Summary:
Lily Evans grew up with old wives tales about soul mates, but she'd never put much stock in the idea. Not until after she learned about the world of magic and the fact that soul bonds were a thing that actually existed. Which makes these strange new feelings and experiences that much more difficult to manage.
@jilychallenge | partner: @zephyrcove | March: Soul Mates | Prompt: They both know they’re one another’s soulmate- but hate each other too much to go through with it and actively try to sabotage the relationship.
Author’s Note:
I’d never read or attempted to write a soul mates AU so this was going to be a true challenge for me. I was apprehensive when I started but either way it’s here so enjoy? 
Tags: Soul Mates AU, Canon Elements, Slow burn with a happy ending, not every soul mate is romantic, soul marks, Sirius keep your pants on.
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Guys that bind
1500 words
Summary: Johnny fixes Danny’s binder.
There hadn’t been any ghost attacks in a couple days, and usually that would be amazing. A chance to hang out with his friends, or get some extra sleep, or even work on schoolwork. But it was winter break. There was no schoolwork to do, he already had plenty of time to sleep, his parents were constantly fighting, and with Tucker visiting his grandparents for a couple days and Sam spending the break in Portugal of all places, there was absolutely nothing to do except aimlessly float around town. 
So of course when Danny’s ghost sense went off, he was happy, excited even, to have to find out what caused it. Luckily, he didn’t have to search long. 
“Yo kid!” A snowball hit him square in the face. He wiped it off and looked around for the source before Johnny appeared from thin air right in front of him. “Up for a spar?”
“Sure.” He chirped before taking a closer look at Johnny. The guy looked like crap, his glow was dimmed a bit and there were slight bags under his eyes. “Dude, you don’t look too good. Whappened? Kitty break up with you again?”
Johnny charged up an ectoblast and started throwing it back and forth between his hands like a bouncy ball. “Naw, I think I forgot something important. Maybe an anniversary?” He tossed the blast at Danny who dodged and turned invisible before flying forward and throwing a punch at Johnny’s face. “Not the first date, or the first kiss, or our deathday.” He dodged the punch and kicked upwards, hitting Danny in the stomach, shocking him into turning visible. 
“Birthday?” Danny asked, clutching his stomach and dropping a bit to shoot an ecto blast at Johnny from underneath. 
“Last month.” He answered, shooting a blast from a finger gun at the blast Danny had made, knocking it off course, then dropping to try to bodyslam Danny. 
Danny zoomed out of the way, and threw a blast at Johnny that he wasn’t quick enough to avoid. “Didn’t people used to do this whole big thing with a ring when they asked someone to be their partner? Could it be that?”
Johnny flew up and tried to punch the kid, but Danny turned intangible just in time for the fist to sail right through his head. “Fuck, that’s probably it. Date?”
Danny grabbed the fist and flung Johnny towards the ground. “It’s the seventeenth.”
Johnny shot up, barely catching himself before he hit the ground, then accelerated before twisting around to slam into Danny with his back. “Of what?”
Danny turned intangible, letting Johnny sail right through him. “Seriously?”
Johnny stopped his ascent and turned around to throw a couple ecto blasts at Danny, who lazily floated around them to avoid getting hit. “Kid, just tell me.”
Danny tapped his chin in mock thought. “Hmmmm, judging by the weather, the decorations all around us and the literal Christmas songs being played loud enough for us to hear from all the way over here, gosh I don’t know. Maybe it’s December?”
“Fuck, I’m an idiot.” Johnny facepalmed. 
“I’ll say.” Danny moved to hover on his stomach in front of Johnny and flicked him in the forehead. “Who the heck forgets what month it is?”
“Oh shut up.” Johnny grabbed him by the back of his suit, and flung him down to the ground. Danny, not expecting It, didn’t have time to stop his fall. “Oh shit, what was that?”
“What was what?” Danny asked, picking himself up off the ground and brushing dirt off of himself. 
“I felt a rip.” Johnny lowered himself to the ground to look Danny over for injuries. “I didn’t seriously hurt ya there, did…” He trailed off looking shocked. “Kid? Why do you have tits?”
“I have, uh, oh.” Danny quickly crossed his arms over his chest and hunched his back to try to hide them, but it didn’t really work that well with how form fitting his jumpsuit was. “Um, costume party?”
Johnny didn’t look too convinced. “Oh yeah? What’s the costume?”
“Me? No. My clone?”
“Wait a second.” Johnny held out his hands, cutting Danny off. “Are you one of those gender swappers?”
“What?”
Johnny sighed and put his hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Now kid, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Even I sometimes want to be a chick. The fancy dresses, the makeup, I haven’t quite figured out how to manifest boobs yet. Props to you for figuring that out in your first year though?”
“Huh?”
“I’m sure we could find some girl stuff for you, and if you ever want to change your name-“
Danny frantically waved his hands in front of himself. “Hold on, there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding here. I don’t want to be a girl.”
Johnny paused, confused. “You don’t?”
“No.”
“Then what’s with that?” He pointed towards Danny’s chest, Danny immediately crossed his arms again to try and hide it. 
“I think you ripped my binder.”
“Your what?”
Danny paused for a second to think. “A binder. It’s, uh, an article of clothing, it flattens them so it looks like I don’t have them.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
They trailed off into an awkward silence before a look of realization washed over Johnny’s face. “I can fix it.”
“What?”
He sat down on the floor and grabbed a little box out of one of his coat pockets, reaching his other hand out towards Danny. “Here, hand it over.”
Danny turned his hand intangible and grabbed the binder through his jumpsuit and inspected it for a few seconds, looking over the damage, before hesitantly tossing it over to Johnny. Johnny opened the box and pulled out a needle and a spool of white thread. He fed the thread through the needle and pulled, measuring the length with his arm and cutting the thread from the spool with his teeth before separating the two ends to let them untwist themselves, and tying them together. “You’re really fucking lucky it only ripped at the seam.”
“What’s that mean?” Danny lowered himself down to hover in a sitting position just above ground. 
“It means I’m just replacing stitches instead of adding new ones. There’s already a seam allowance here. There wouldn’t be a seam allowance if the fabric itself had ripped.”
“I have no clue what any of that means.”
“I’m gonna have to teach you how to sew then, or have someone else teach ya. It’s a valuable life skill, like cooking or cleaning or first aid.”
“I already know how to sew. Just, not fabric.”
“Sewing fabric and flesh are two different skills. Just because you know one doesn’t mean you know both.” Johnny reached the end of the rip and started to go back over the stitches he had already made. 
They waited in silence for a bit while Johnny continued sewing the binder and Danny flicked rocks on the ground before Danny thought of another conversation starter. “So what did you mean back there?”
“About what?”
“Manifesting boobs?”
Johnny paused in his sewing for a bit to think. “Oh yeah, it’s a type of body manipulation, like how you can make your limbs and shit go all stretch armstrong. You can do that, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Alright, so with a bit of practice, you’ll be able to like, change your appearance for long periods of time. Like, you’re tricking your body into believing that that’s its natural state. I’m not that good at it, I’m still figuring out how to stretch myself, but if you ask around I’m sure someone would be able to help you out.” Johnny tied off the end of the string with the beginning before biting off the excess thread with the needle attached. 
“That should probably hold pretty well, I mean, I did use close stitches and go around twice, so it shouldn’t break again anytime soon. But are you sure you should be fighting in this thing kid? Most of this fabric doesn’t seem too stretchy.” He held out the binder in front of him, making a show of trying, and failing to stretch it before tossing it over to Danny, hitting him in the face with it. 
“Gee, thanks. Suddenly worried for my safety huh?” Danny snarked as he grabbed the binder from his face. 
“Yeah, I mean, you are part human right? Or have I been misunderstanding this whole-” He gestured towards Danny. “Situation?”
“Yeah, but I’m still a ghost, so I don’t need to breathe and whatever damage it causes will just fix itself in like, an hour. You really don’t have to worry about it, I’ll be fine.”
Johnny looked at him skeptically before relenting. “If you say so. Shit, anniversary! Gotta get kitty something. You wouldn’t happen to know-” 
Danny pointed down the street. “Three blocks that way, on your left, candy store. Turn right and two more blocks, toystore. They sell plushies.”
“Thanks, kid. And be careful!”Johnny yelled as he ran off. 
“I’ll try.”
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wangxianficrecs · 1 year
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the ties that bind (are tearing us apart) by KouriArashi
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the ties that bind (are tearing us apart)
by KouriArashi
M, 109k, Wangxian, Xiyao, Chengqing
Summary: Seven extraordinary children + one man miscast in role as father + the apocalypse + time traveling assassins + the cast of the Untamed = this fic! Lan Wangji sat down on the edge of one of the twin beds, and Wei Wuxian sat across from him. “When I jumped forward into the future, do you know what I found?” “What?” Wei Wuxian asked. “Nothing. Nothing but destruction and debris, and dead bodies. So many dead bodies. I never found out what caused the world to end in the way it did. But I know the date it happens. A newspaper dispenser, mostly undamaged, had one paper left in it.” Lan Wangji lifted his gaze to Wei Wuxian’s. “The world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it.” No need to have seen The Umbrella Academy to read the fic. ^_^
Mojo's comments: Oh, I've never seen The Umbrella Academy, but the plot is wonderful (and easy to follow) and the MDZS characters fit into it so beautifully. Author did a great job, and I was riveted from beginning to end.
graphic depictions of violence, the umbrella academy (tv) fusion, superpowers, action, mystery, time travel, families of choice, hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, child abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, addiction, drug use, dysfunctional family, ptsd, trauma, happy ending, @gingersnapwolves
~*~
(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)
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kase1248 · 3 months
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“You can come out at any point, y’know.” Stiles wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead. It’s taken him about an hour to find his way back to the clearing where Scott had been grabbed by the hunters. Behind him, Derek steps out from behind a tree, distinctly unimpressed. “What are you doing?” He’s been following Stiles the entire way: Stiles didn’t even need to be a witch to know that, Derek is not as subtle as he likes to think. “Hiking,” Stiles responds distantly. At Derek’s annoyed growl, he sighs and turns to face him. “I’m looking for Scott, what did you think I’m doing?” “How exactly do you plan on doing that?” Derek asks in lieu of answering. “There’s no scent trails, no tracks to follow, no clues.” “A good thing too, because I can’t follow those anyway,” Stiles paces slowly around the clearing. “I told you, you rely too much on your noses.” He reaches out in a wide motion with his right hand and Derek watches with a reluctant fascination as his eyes begin to glow silver. His wolf can sense the magic in the air, tingling against his skin. “What are you doing?” he repeats, awe-struck despite himself. “I didn’t see where they took Scott, you obviously didn’t see where they took Scott; but the trees did.” “And you talk to trees now?” Stiles turns to look at him with those eerie glowing eyes. “I’m an Earth mage, Derek. Yes, I talk to trees.”
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devon-usher · 6 months
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What's your favorite Mechs album? Song? Band member?
Album: either The Bifrost Incident (something something fate) or Ulysses Dies At Dawn
Song: Ties that Bind
Band member: Ashes!
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raevenlywrites · 1 year
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Chapters: 28/? Fandom: Kiesha'ra Series - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Andreios (Hawksong)/Danica Shardae, Zane Cobriana/Danica Shardae, Zane Cobriana/Andreios (Hawksong), Adelina (Hawksong)/Zane Cobriana Characters: Danica Shardae, Zane Cobriana, Andreios (Hawksong), Adelina (Hawksong), Eleanor Lyssia, Nacola Shardae, Karashan (Hawksong) Summary:
MOAR Ties That Bind! this one is a doozy and i’m sorry I sat on it so long XD
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bokettochild · 1 year
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*gets off of work*
Me: Okay, write time!
Fics: Read us
Me: Ok, just while I'm on the bus and don't have internet
Fics: Zvezda
Me: *crying* Why do I love it?
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wolfie-bee · 5 months
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happy supercorp sunday and happy diwali to those who celebrate! ❤️💙
here's another of my twitter fics from a year ago finally posted to ao3 for posterity ✨️
ties that bind
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babybinxxx · 6 months
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the living cage
by babybinxxx ↳ Written for GaaSaku FanFest 2023: Day 21: soulmate/soul bond, “what will this cost me?” Day 25: sex pollen, scent/senses, “you smell so good”. Day 26: ptsd/mental illness, bad guy wins, “save me”.
Summary:
Konoha falls to Suna during the Chunin exam invasion, and in the aftermath, Sakura discovers who her soulmate is.
Now a prisoner, Sakura laments the day the universe gifted her the idyllic nightmare she calls her soul mate, who is more a labyrinth and beast than he is a man.
But he is hers, all the same. The universe gave him to her for a reason…right?
AU of "Words that Tie, Ties that Bind", or a "What if Gaara had successfully kidnapped Sakura after destroying Konoha during the Chunin exams?"
Warnings: Bad guy wins, Mental Health Issues, Sex Pollen, Mildly Dubious Consent, Evil Kazekage Gaara (Naruto), Gaara is Bad at Feelings , Gaara is not a good guy, Rough Sex, Captivity, Haruno Sakura-centric, BAMF Haruno Sakuram Sakura is going through it, Prisoner Sakura, Aged-Up Character(s)POV, Dark Romance, Unhealthy Relationships, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Emotional/Psychological Abuse.
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Chapter 9 of the Ties that bind sequel is now available to read on my AO3 account ^-^
[Read it HERE]
This chapter is inspired by @whumptober #27 - PUSHED TO THE LIMIT: Muffled Screams | Stumbling | Magical Exhaustion
@whumpteam
Remember to leave a comment! I do need feedback ^-^
When he reached the bathroom, Akihiro knew he’d made the right decision. He shut the door and approached the tall mirror to better survey the damage. It was no wonder they’d all been so apologetic; he looked exactly how he felt. His healing factor was still struggling against the smaller wounds, and the portions of skin that weren’t covered in blood showed that he was bruised all over. Slowly he peeled off his clothes, wincing when they caught still living flesh, and he realized that some bits of fabric and splinters might be stuck inside him.
Chapters: 9/? Fandom: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, X-Men (Comicverse) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Daken Akihiro/Johnny Storm Characters: Daken Akihiro, Johnny Storm, Laura Kinney, Gabrielle Kinney, Logan (X-Men), Bellona Kinney, Itsu (X-Men), Romulus (Marvel), Remus (Marvel), Lorna Dane, Carl Valentino, Susan Storm (Fantastic Four) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Abuse, Asexual Character, Grief/Mourning, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Additional Warnings at the Beginning of Each Chapter Series: Part 2 of Ties that bind
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