#this is the 'I'm projecting my working from home feelings' onto Crowley part

[jamiesoneandonly]

~you belong with me~

part two!!!

a/n: italics = y/n's thoughts , bold = eddie's thoughts. ALSO can we just pretend that the 80's had cellphones, cause why not

enjoy!!!!!!

The final bell rung through Hawkins High, and everyone rushed out of their class, eager to finally go home. As you walk up to your locker, you see Eddie is already standing there awaiting your arrival. "Hey y/n!" he screams across the hall without any regard of who's around. You timidly walk up to him. "Hey Eddie, are you ready to study?" "As ready as I'll ever be," he states with a cheshire cat like smirk. We walk off to his van with people staring in confusion and disgust. I never really understood why people were so judgmental of Eddie. He's such a kindhearted person if you get to know him. Even then just seeing him interact with Hellfire club should be enough to tell that he really is an amazing person. "Did we want to go to my place or yours?" you ask. "Are you sure we should go to your place? I'm not sure your parents would appreciate someone like me coming home with their daughter." "No, they wouldn't mind at all, I promise!" "Whatever you say love, show me the way." he exclaims. Your heart thumps at the new term of affection. "Why does he keep doing that?" You turn on the radio and Mr. Crowley by Ozzy is playing. "Oh, we can change it to something else if you'd li-" You cut him off, not listening to what he is saying, and start to sing along. Surprising Eddie with your knowledge of Ozzy, he smiles to himself. "She's definitely not what I thought she was going to be like." "You know Ozzy?" He asks. "Of course, I do! Why wouldn't I?" "Just, not that many people are so open with the fact that they know Ozzy, they're ashamed I guess." he shrugs. "Oh. Well, I don't see why they would be ashamed. His music is insanely good." As Eddie was about to reply, y/n cuts him off telling him that they have arrived at her house. It's nothing big or fancy, but Eddie thought it definitely was a step up from his trailer. "Welcome to my humble abode," y/n exclaims. "Honey is that you? Did you bring a guest over?" You hear your mom say from the kitchen. "Come on, follow me." you say with Eddie following close behind. "Hey mom, hey dad. This is Eddie. He's in Ms. O'Donnell's with me, I'm helping him with his final project." "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. l/n." Eddie greets with his hand stuck out. Your dad takes his hand to shake it while saying, "It's nice to meet you to son." Eddie feels shocked at the nickname and that your parents weren't even questioning his appearance. "Would you two like any snacks or anything to drink?" You mom asks. "No, I'm good, thank you for the offer though." Eddie replies. "Thanks mom, but Eddie and I are going to head up to my room to get started!" "Ok dear, I'll let you know when dinner is ready! Eddie, would you like to stay for dinner? We're having lasagna." "I don't want to overstay my welcome, but that would be very nice." "Of course Hun, it's really no problem. Stay as long as you need to." Eddie shocked from the whole scene that has just played out in front of him, he feels you lightly tug on his sleeve. "Let's go get started before you try and convince me that we don't need to finish your project." You get to your room, Eddie is surprised by the metal band posters, D&D characters, and the overall darker aesthetic to your room. "Wow, you are full of surprises l/n." He says while picking up a dark elf figure. "What do you mean by that?" "I dunno, I just figured your room would be more bright, I guess? And definitely didn't think you listened to metal and liked D&D." "I mean yeah, I just don't ever really talk about it at school. I'm mainly more focused on the school work. Something we should be focusing on now." Eddie sighs and plops onto your bed. "Lets get started I guess." Eddie exasperates.

And so the studying begins.

a/n: hi everyone! sorry it took so long to get a new chapter out. to be honest i would try and write but procrastinate instead. i'm trying to be better at putting chapters out and having a schedule for them. let me know what you think! and maybe let me know what you might want to see in the story! oh and let me know if i should change y/n's pronouns to something gender neutral!!

#eddie munson #eddie x reader #x reader #fanfic #stranger things

[wordsintimeandspace]

Better With You (2/6)

Due to a petty feud between their respective department heads, Crowley and Aziraphale have been hiding their friendship for months. When they’re suddenly stuck in lockdown amidst a pandemic, Crowley is not coping well. Thankfully, Aziraphale is there for him - but their changing relationship means that keeping secrets from their bosses only becomes more of a challenge.

Crowley/Aziraphale, rated M (for chapter 4). Read on tumblr or AO3.

When Crowley’s alarm rang, he didn’t even bother to open his eyes. He blindly fumbled for his phone to turn it off and rolled over, pressing his face into the pillow as if that could prevent him from facing just another day in self isolation. It was day 45… or was it 46? Crowley let out a sigh as he realized he’d already lost count. Not that it was surprising - all days just blurred together lately.

Crowley thought about getting up, but his body refused to move. Buried under his blankets, he could at least pretend for a little while longer that everything was okay, soaking in the little comfort the warmth and softness gave him. For a while, he drifted off again, until his alarm rang again, abruptly pulling him back into consciousness.

This time, Crowley actually cracked one eye open to glance at the screen. He swore as he took in the time and leaped out of bed so quickly it left him dizzy. In a rush, he put on the next best shirt he could find, pulled his unkempt hair into a bun and made a cup of coffee before slumping in front of his laptop. He was five minutes late to the daily meeting with Beelzebub and the rest of the team, but thankfully, they only glared at him for a second and didn’t bother to point it out. It was hardly the first time in the last few weeks.

He’d been doing quite well for a little while, Crowley thought as he half listened to Beelzebub going into the details of a new project. He’d gotten out of bed on time, managed to get his work done, cooked dinner in the evening and continued his Golden Girls rewatch until it was time for bed all over again. It had been fine. A bit boring, but nothing he couldn’t deal with. At some point though things had gotten off the rails, and from there it had gone downhill so quickly as if he’d been doing a freestyle dive into a pool of boiling sulphur.

“Crowley,” Beelzebub growled at some point, pulling Crowley out of his thoughts. He sat up a little straighter. That he could only see Beelzebub’s face on a tiny computer screen didn’t make his supervisor any less intimidating.

“Yeah?” Crowley asked, hoping he hadn’t missed anything crucial.

“I expect you to join the meeting with Gabriel later today. Don’t be late this time.”

Crowley’s heart made a pathetic leap in his chest. He hadn’t really caught what the meeting was about, but there was always a good chance that someone else from client relations was there as well. Nevertheless, Crowley desperately tried not to get his hopes up. He hadn’t worked with Aziraphale since their last project was wrapped up. Instead, he’d been dealing with Sandalphon of all people, as if he hadn’t been suffering enough already. He wasn’t quite sure if he could take that today, but it was not like he had a choice when there was a job to do.

“Sure,” he finally managed to get out just before everyone logged off.

Crowley let out a weary sigh, running a hand down his face. He downed his coffee, and tried to get to work.

~~~

He managed to get through his emails in just under an hour, but as soon as he pulled up the code he as working on, his exhaustion caught up on him. His brain felt like it was filled with cotton, all his thoughts slow and sluggish. Crowley stared at his screen, unable to focus, as the minutes ticked by. Finally, while letting out a theatrical groan, Crowley gave up. He slammed his laptop shut and got up, only to collapse face down onto the couch in his living room.

He’d worked from home before, but it had never felt like this. There was a difference between doing it willingly and relishing the extra half hour of sleep he got without his morning commute, and not having a choice in the matter. The walls of his flat suddenly felt so close it was almost suffocating. The whole place felt emptier, quieter. Lonelier.

Crowley rolled on his back, staring at the ceiling. That was the whole point, he thought. He actually missed people. Even Hastur and Ligur, he had to admit with a cringe, and if that thought wasn’t the best sign of his deteriorating sanity he didn’t know what else was. Hastur and Ligur weren’t good company, usually, but they were still company, and in that moment Crowley would’ve preferred that over the emptiness of his flat.

But most of all, he missed Aziraphale. All the little things: the hidden smiles when they passed each other on the corridor and no one was looking. The sneaky glances when Beelzebub and Gabriel were too busy bickering in just another useless meeting. And all the big things as well: spending their lunch breaks together, laughing and chatting, just enjoying each other’s company. The occasional brush of hands, or knees touching under the table, all the small contacts that always seemed to fuel Crowley for weeks. Without Aziraphale, it felt like a piece of himself was missing, and there was nothing but emptiness where his presence used to be.

Crowley let out a groan, pressing his palms against his eyes to will back the tears burning in them. He knew he was being dramatic, but that knowledge didn’t exactly help him to feel better. He hadn’t heard from Aziraphale in weeks. There’d been a couple of email exchanges, in the first two weeks, but that had been work and Aziraphale’s words had always felt too stiff and formal to provide any comfort. He could call him, Crowley mused, but so far their meetings had always resolved around work and he wasn’t sure if crossing that barrier between a work friendship and something more than that was actually welcome. He didn’t dare to try find out, sure that a rejection would only shatter him completely.

Crowley took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. It didn’t help to think about these things. With a sigh, he dragged himself off the couch, forced himself to eat some toast as an early lunch, and got back to work.

~~~

Things were going smoother this time around. By mid afternoon Crowley was exhausted, but he had finished his tasks for the day. Sighing in relief, he pushed his code to the repository and stretched in his chair. Only one more meeting to get through, and then he’d have the whole weekend ahead of him. Finally time to yell at his plants and maybe go for a drive and wallow in self-pity in peace instead of forcing his uncooperative brain to be productive.

He didn’t feel like testing Beelzebub’s patience any more today, so he logged into the video conference five minutes early. Drumming his fingers on the table, he waited for the others to join, but he wasn’t prepared for Aziraphale’s face suddenly appearing on his screen.

Crowley felt it like a blow, the air knocked out of his lungs in an instant. The video flickered, just for a second as the connection was established, and then he was there. Pudgy cheeks and soft cloud of hair and eyes sparkling as he saw Crowley. Aziraphale smiled brightly and Crowley couldn’t help but smile back. The movement of his muscles felt stiff and foreign after the last few weeks.

“Crowley!” Aziraphale beamed. “My dear, it’s so good to see you.”

“Hi,” Crowley croaked, suddenly at a loss of words.

“I’ve been hoping Beelzebub would get you involved in this,” Aziraphale happily continued, oblivious that Crowley felt close to a heart attack. “I cannot tell you what an utter nuisance it was to deal with Dagon. I’ve-”

Aziraphale abruptly stopped himself as the screen flickered and Beelzebub’s face popped up in the conference. Crowley cringed, his heart clenching painfully in his chest as Aziraphale schooled his bright smile into a more neutral expression.

“Err. Hi.”

“Hello, Crowley. Aziraphale,” Beelzebub buzzed, dark eyes darting over the screen. “Now, where izz Gabriel? Can’t he be on time for once in his life?”

Crowley bit back a sigh, his good mood gone as suddenly as it came. He slouched in his chair, forgetting for a moment that the camera tracked every one of his emotions fluttering over his face. Beelzebub probably didn’t notice, but Aziraphale had always been good at reading him like one of his precious books.

Aziraphale frowned in response. “Are you doing all right in lockdown so far?” he asked, concern creeping into his voice.

“We’re not here to exchange pleasantries,” Beelzebub interrupted before Crowley could even open his mouth. He sat up a little straighter anyway, hoping to soothe Aziraphale worries, but he doubted it would do anything to hide his weariness.

His mood only went downhill, once Gabriel appeared. He half listened to their discussion that quickly turned into bickering, throwing in a sentence here and there about their current project. Otherwise, he was too distracted by the sight of Aziraphale’s face and the aching longing spreading in his gut. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Aziraphale, soaking in all the little expressions on his face. It felt like he’d been drowning and the sight of Aziraphale’s pale blue eyes was the first gasp of air, the relief of finally being able to breathe again.

“Crowley, focus,” Beelzebub hissed at some point, making Crowley jump. Aziraphale frowned again, a deep crease appearing between his eyebrows, and Crowley cursed himself for making him worry. Beelzebub and Gabriel, on the other hand, simply looked annoyed.

“Err, sorry,” Crowley managed to get out. He had no idea what Beelzebub had just said before calling him out. “Can you repeat that?”

Beelzebub repeated their question and Crowley answered dutifully, forcing his scattered thoughts on the actual conversation until eventually everything on the agenda had been discussed. They set up another meeting, and finally, to Crowley’s utter relief, both Gabriel and Beelzebub logged off and he was alone with Aziraphale at last.

For a moment, no one spoke. Crowley took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves and stop squirming under Aziraphale’s attentive eyes.

“How are you doing in lockdown, my dear?” Aziraphale finally asked once again, clearly concerned. “Are you all right?”

Crowley closed his eyes for a moment, contemplating the question. There were so many things he could say. I miss you, he could admit. I don’t think I’m holding it together very well. I’m so lonely it aches, sometimes. If you don’t touch me very soon I might shatter into a thousand little pieces and it’s gonna be a bloody mess. But the words felt too big to be let out just like that, in a blasted video conference, even though it felt like they were tearing Crowley apart on the inside. He opened his eyes to see Aziraphale’s frown deepen.

“I’m bored,” he finally said, after the silence went on for too long, because it was the only thing coming to his mind that wouldn’t leave him with his soul exposed. “So bored. Trenscedentally bored.”

“Oh.” Aziraphale sounded a little taken aback, as if he had expected something entirely else from Crowley. Something more like the truth perhaps, but Crowley was too much of a coward. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I - yeah. Well.” Crowley grimaced at his stuttering. “Nothing to be done about it. At least we’re all in the same boat, with everyone being miserable.”

Aziraphale hesitated for a moment. “I’m not miserable,” he finally said.

“Oh?”

“To be completely honest, I’ve been enjoying the extra time at home. I’ve been catching up on my reading. So many books I’ve wanted to read for years. Oh, and I’ve been making cake!”

Crowley stared at Aziraphale’s face on the screen, struggling to follow the conversation. “... cake?” he finally managed to get out.

“Quite a lot of cake, actually.”

“I’m gonna regret asking, but, uh…”

“Well, all the restaurants and cafés are closed, but I did find a cookbook when I was reshelving some of my collection the other day,” Aziraphale said with gleaming eyes. “And I got peckish. I’ve now made bundt cake, sponge cake, angel’s food cake, and I’m just starting with a sourdough loaf.”

It felt like something cracked inside of Crowley’s chest. The joy in Aziraphale’s voice, the excitement, it was all too much. It stung like boiling water on his skin, that Aziraphale was so happy without Crowley, while Crowley himself was an utter mess. But maybe it would help if he could be near him, just for a short while. Just long enough to soak up some of that joy radiating off Aziraphale, just enough to numb the aching emptiness in his chest. Maybe then Crowley would be able to make it through all this. He took a deep breath and gathered all his courage, even though it felt like his fear would choke him.

“You know, maybe I could, um, slither over sometime,” he started hesitantly, his voice hoarse. “Help you eat all that cake? I mean, we have both been in isolation for weeks now, should be safe, yeah?”

Aziraphale looked utterly taken aback for a moment. His silence was enough to shatter Crowley’s fragile hope. “I- I- I’m afraid that would be breaking all the rules,” Aziraphale finally stammered. “We’re all meant to stay at home.”

“Right,” Crowley muttered. He was so tired, all of a sudden. All he wanted was to lie down and sleep for at least a couple of months, if not a whole century. “Yeah, sure. Listen, I’ve got to go. Bye, angel,” he said in a rush, slamming his laptop shut before Aziraphale had the chance to reply.

Crowley let out a groan before dragging himself to the bedroom and collapsing face down onto the mattress. He fished his phone out of his pocket, turning it on silent and throwing it away from him with enough force that it bounced off the mattress and clattered to the floor. He didn’t bother to pick it up. Instead he just closed his eyes, waiting for sleep that didn’t come.

Slowly, the room grew dark around him. Crowley was drifting between sleep and wakefulness for a long while, not able to escape into unconsciousness properly, but enough to slow down his scattered thoughts and numb his hurt feelings. Night was already approaching by the time Crowley opened his eyes again. His bedroom was nothing but dark silhouettes, only illuminated by an annoyingly bright and insistent flashing coming from somewhere on his floor. With a sigh, Crowley lifted his head enough to see that it was his mobile. He stared at it until the screen turned dark again. For a moment Crowley contemplated just ignoring it to roll over and try falling asleep once more, but eventually he dragged himself out of bed and picked up his phone.

His heart clenched in his chest. Three missed calls from Aziraphale. For a moment, Crowley just dumbly stared at the screen. Maybe he did actually manage to fall asleep, and this was nothing but a torturous dream. But then his screen lit up another time. Crowley took a deep breath and finally picked up.

“Angel,” he said in greeting, not bothering to hide the weariness in his voice.

“Crowley,” Aziraphale breathed out, voice so full of relief that it made something ache in Crowley’s chest. “I’m so glad I finally got through.”

“Sorry. Was taking a nap,” Crowley mumbled. “What do you want?”

The following silence seemed to stretch on for millenia. “You know,” Aziraphale finally started, slowly, carefully, as if every word was so fragile it might break on his lips. “I was thinking. People are still allowed to, ah, spend the lockdown with their… significant other.”

Crowley’s breath caught in his throat. “We’re not… significant others though,” he croaked, because it was true, even though the words felt like acid on his tongue.

“Yes, but… oh, Crowley, I thought I had been quite obvious with my affection for you, and I apologize if that was not the case. I was going to ask you on a date properly first, but given the circumstances… would you still come over? Please? I hate the thought of you all alone in your apartment, my dear.”

There was so much hope, so much affection in Aziraphale’s voice that Crowley had to close his eyes for a moment to will back the tears. “Hunker down together until this is over?” he finally managed to get out.

“Yes. If that’s what you want.”

“Yes,” Crowley breathed out. “Yes, angel, of course. I’m on my way.”

#good omens #good omens fic #ineffable hubands #ineffable husbands fic #crowley x aziraphale #my fic #my fic: better with you #this is the 'I'm projecting my working from home feelings' onto Crowley part #so he's having a bit of a hard time #but I promise it gets better at the end of this chapter