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#when the car was upside down in a ditch
dirt-mccracken · 1 year
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It's been too long since I've been in a car crash when will that change
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loveinhawkins · 8 days
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thinking of the week before Spring Break ‘85, and Eddie’s bored out of his mind, on his second attempt at an essay. The classroom window is open, enough for him to hear a voice floating up from the parking lot, an enthused, “Are you ditching? Oh my god, you’re totally ditching.”
Eddie glances outside, sees Steve Harrington walking toward his car, a kid with a mop of curls by his side.
They must’ve come from the middle school, Eddie thinks; it finishes a half hour earlier.
“Would you shut up?” Steve says, dry but still playing it up, like he’s actually worried Higgins is gonna burst out from nowhere and catch him red-handed. “You’re gonna blow my cover, dude.”
Steve isn’t ditching: he has a free period. Eddie knows this. Steve, obviously, must know this.
But Steve never lets the act drop, just shepherds the starry-eyed kid into his car, “You want ice-cream or not?”
Eddie catches himself smiling.
What the fuck, he thinks, betrayed by his own… nope, he’s not finishing that thought. Get back to work, Munson.
In the fall, when he meets Dustin Henderson in the cafeteria, he can’t work out why his face is so familiar.
It clicks when Dustin brings up Steve off-handedly at Hellfire, and Eddie has to fight to stop his knee-jerk smile from ruining the campaign’s atmosphere.
Kid worships you, dude, Eddie tells Steve much later, halfway to love in The Upside Down.
He doesn’t admit it yet, but that fleeting memory, that one overheard conversation is one he’d run to, if Vecna ever came knocking for him.
It was nothing, in the grand scheme of things. It was everything.
It told Eddie everything he needed to know about Steve Harrington.
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total-dxmure · 3 months
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ೃ࿔ “INVISIBLE STRING THEORY” MASTERLIST
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the marines didn’t ruin ellie. ellie ruined ellie. after being medically discharged she feels lost. being sent to live with joel is more of a last ditch effort to save her and less of a fun reunion for the father-daughter duo. jackson is worlds different than chicago, but the fresh air and sprawling countrysides are a welcome reprieve. ellie finds herself finding comfort in more than just the change in scenery though. after losing your girlfriend due to an accident you feel as though you’ll never find love again- but that was before meeting ellie williams. the two of you figure out that you have more in common than just the fact that she and your girlfriend were both marines though. tethered by some invisible string, the two of you meeting has to be fate. who would have known that you were the golden ticket to ellie’s recovery?
total word count: 13.8k
𖦹 chapter one- grief is a difficult thing for anyone to navigate, but ellie finds it impossible to tread through her bottomless depression. all roads seem to lead to nowhere and everyday is a struggle. after a run in with the law after a ptsd episode, her close friends decide that it's do or die. a quick phone call to joel is all it takes to turn her world upside down. moving back to wyoming is a last ditch effort to save the scarred marine. the woman has no idea what's waiting for her back home. . . or who.
𖦹 chapter two- it's easy to pretend that things are normal when she's with joel. she can put on a brave face. grin and bear it, as they say. your sudden appearance in ellie's life hits her like a battering ram, and she finds it impossible not to be drawn to you. joel lets her know that you are no stranger to loss. the two of you seem to have a lot in common. a lost engagement ring, a smitten ellie and a minor mental breakdown.
𖦹 chapter three- you're tired of waking up in bed cold and alone. abby would have wanted you to find joy again. . . so why can't you? ellie shows up bright and early to help you with your duties on the farm, which is when you realize just how irresistible she is. for the first time in a while you feel comfortable to be yourself around someone, and she feels the exact same way. she shares some hard truths about herself and discovers what was once lost to you.
𖦹 chapter four- to be continued . . .
ೃ࿔ fic "soundtrack"
i fall to pieces - patsy cline
i walk the line - johnny cash
big black car - gregory ivan isakov
blue eyes crying in the rain - willie nelson
streets of laredo - marty robbins
plastic jesus - tia blake
almost gone - my terrible friend
death don’t have no mercy - rev. gary davis
i’m so lonesome i could cry - hank williams
god’s gonna cut you down - johnny cash
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joshlmbrt · 5 months
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hi angel, im so excited to read your stories :)
would love to make an angsty Steve x reader request. im forever such a Steve Harrington girl 🥹
an angsty enemies (more like rivals) to lovers. they get roped into the upside down things together, and their mutual love for the kids really brings them together. over the seasons they get closer and closer, silently falling in love. then towards the end, something happens and they all get separated.. and they all think she’s dead? until they’re somehow reunited and realize she’s okay? and Steve’s just a wreck, completely inconsolable thinking that she’s gone. and even more of a mess when he finds out she’s alive?
…or is that stupid… 🥲🥲
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Angsty Teens. ( s. harrington x reader )
【𝜗𝜚 warnings; enemies to lovers!!!!, canon compliant, r is dustin’s sibling, r makes a joke about a father leaving during the middle of the night, dustin & erica gets TIRED ( robin enjoys the banter ), they think r is dead, blood, long over-due kissy kiss, sort of changed it a bit - i hope that’s okay! NO ONE DIES! i don’t think there is any use of pronouns, but if there is, let me know!
【𝜗𝜚 an; oh, oh, this is NOT stupid AT ALL!!!! ( no request is ever stupid! ) i was just gonna do 1-3 but then …. i rethought and decided to do all four. i hope you enjoy and this is what you had in mind!!
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1983
There’s something about Steve Harrington - Steve ‘King’ Harrington as many people loved to call him - that you hated.
You weren’t for sure what caused this deep hatred. Maybe it was the many girls who he kept wrapped around his finger and he just messed with them, loved to parade it around.
‘Look at me! I have someone, and you don’t!’
Or maybe it was the fact that he used to be your friend and completely ditched you for Thomas Hagan and Carol Michaels.
“Your face is going to get stuck like that.” Eddie notes out loud, a small smirk on his face as he watches your face scrunch up in disgusted as the boy walks past with his goons and the girl of the month.
Nancy Wheeler.
Pretty. Pristine. Good grades. Never in trouble.
Her poor friend Barbra Holland - also known as Barb - was following behind quietly, books tucked close to her chest.
“Shut up,” You grumble to Eddie, slamming the locker door shut. “Hey, Barb!” You wave, giving her a kind smile.
Her head towards yours, waving with a small smile. She continues to follow behind Nancy.
You sigh. “I don’t get why he goes from girl to girl.”
“Well, he seems pretty serious about her.” Eddie shrugs, walking out with you.
“He seemed serious with Vanessa, Tiffany, Erica, Monica, and-”
Eddie clasps a hand over your mouth. You stare at him with wide eyes. “Okay. Okay,” He breathes, removing his hand. “I think I know why you feel this way.”
“What way?” You open the passenger door to Eddie’s van and slips in. He shuts the door for you, jogging to the other side.
He opens the door. “Jealous.”
You sputter on words. “What?! Me? Jealous? You cannot be serious!”
He slips into the car, shutting his door. “You had a small crush on Stevie boy and then - boom - he suddenly gets popular overnight with his big hair and nice polos.”
“Okay, first,” You hold up an index finger. “Gag me with a spoon. Secondly, I am not jealous. I could care less who Steve Harrington dates. He’s just. . . a boy.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
You narrow your eyes at him. “You know what I mean. I just hate that he leads everyone one, making them think he cares for them, then - bam - he’s gone like a father who leaves in the middle of the night.”
He purses his lips and squints his eyes at you. “I feel like you just related Steve to your father.”
“I did.”
He hums, nodding and turning in his seat. “Alrighty, then.”
NOVEMBER 24TH 1983
There’s a knocking on the door that causes you to flinch and Nancy turn quickly, high on alert.
You’d never guess you’d be fighting faceless monsters with your brother and his small friends, plus Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers.
“You don’t think they knock, do you?” You breathe out, a bead of sweat dripping down your temple.
“Jonathan! It’s me, Steve! I just- I’m not looking to cause any trouble, I just wanted-” Nancy is marching towards the door, opening it only a crack. His bruised face is confused when he sees the girl. “Nance? What-what are you doing here?”
“You need to leave.” Is all she says.
His eyes dart over her face, shaking his head. “What are you doing here? What happened to your hand?” His eyes peek over her head and you gulp once they land on your face. “What’s she doing here? What’s going on?”
He pushes his way in, stumbling a bit. He stands straighter, eyes moving over all the lights in the home.
“What is all this? What’s-”
“Steve,” Nancy says, catching his attention. He looks over at her, holding his hands up quickly.
You quickly step in front of Steve without thinking. “Nancy, what are you-” She cuts you off.
“You need to leave. And now.”
“Nancy.”
“I don’t understand what is going on! You all are acting craz-"
“Nancy!” Jonathan finally catches the attention of you all, he places his finger on his lips. “Listen.” He whispers.
Everyone goes silent, eyes lifting towards the roof.
“This is crazy. . .” Steve whispers to himself. “This is crazy! This is crazy!”
He rushes towards phone, picking it up. Nancy yanks it from his hold, slamming it back down. “Leave. Now. While you have the chance.”
And of course, Steve leaves, the door slamming behind him.
You roll your eyes, shaking your head.
The lights cut off, before flickering. You freeze, eyes darting around.
“Nancy!” You call out. “I can’t see anything! What’s-” A scream leaves your lips, your legs getting lifting from the ground, the blood flowing down to your head quickly.
“Oh, my god! Oh, no! Please! I don’t want to die!” You didn’t feel like you were going to die, but. . . with these things? You never know.
Your dropped onto your back, your breath being knocked from your lungs. A hand grips your shoulder pulling you up.
“Come on!” A voice eerily similar to Steve yells out. You check over your shoulder, before heat suddenly licks up your body.
You flinch back from the fire, staring down at the flames.
“Do you think it’s dead?” Nancy whispers. Jonathan steps forward, her hand shooting out quickly to grab at his arm.
“I’m just checking.” He says. She nods hesitantly, dropping her hand. He kneels down in front of the trap, watching it bubble.
“I think it’s dead.”
Dustin’s head was laid over on left your shoulder, Lucas’ head occupied your right shoulder. Your arms were fuzzy but you weren’t going to complain.
Happy Will was alright and all the kids were fine. . . besides the poor girl who had grown on you.
Jonathan steps into the room, a small smile on his face. “Guys,” Mike was the only one away, slapping at Dustin’s arm. “Will’s awake.”
Mike stands from the seat, slapping both their shoulders now. You laugh softly, shaking your head as both of them startle awake.
“Come on! Will’s awake!” Mike cheers. Dustin grins, shooting up from his seat, Lucas following behind him down the hall to his room.
You’d go visit him later, allowing the boys to have their own time.
You stand from the seat, yawning as you walk towards the water machine, grabbing a small paper cup and filling it.
“Uh,” There’s a throat clearing behind you and you turn around. Steve Harrington. “Thanks for. . . not letting Nancy shoot me.”
“That’s only because I want to,” You shrug. “Not to help you.”
Lies. It’s still in your nature to care for your old friends and it’s tiring. Especially when they wouldn’t do the same for you.
Except, Steve had taken care of you. Made sure you weren’t eaten.
His lip quirks at the corner and he nods. “Right.”
You nod, lifting the cup to your lips, chugging it all. He nods a bit again, turning and making his way towards the door.
“Uh,” You wipe the corner of your lip off. You watch as he stops and turns towards you. “Thanks, too. I guess. For, uh, saving me?”
He nods and smiles a bit. “Anytime.”
1984
You curse yourself for feeling bad for Steve as he watches Nancy stand next to Jonathan, her hand placed on his head.
He steps towards the back door, sitting down on the small step. You sigh a bit, looking out the window above the sink.
“Go talk to him,” There’s a nudge at your side. You turn and look at Dustin. “You know you want too.” He grins.
“Oh, shut up. I don’t want too,” You grumble, turning away and resting your back on the counter. “Why did you even get Steve in the first place?”
He squints his eyes at you. “You were on a date.”
“So? Couldn’t you have called someone else?”
“He was just there,” He says. “Literally.”
You let out a sigh, looking at your chipped polish. “I come home to you and Steve chopping up cubes of steak. It was weird.”
He rolls his eyes. “Go. He’s. . . he needs a friend.”
“You both are friends now,” You lift a brow at him. “Why can’t you go talk to him?”
“Because you know him better than me,” He shrugs. “Than anyone really. Weren’t you both best friends?”
“Key word: were. We aren’t anymore.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that you know him better than anyone.”
You frown - because Dustin is right. The little brother who you had taught to be nice to everyone, kill them wiyh kindness even, was giving you the same talk you’d give to him if it was between him and one of his friends.
You sigh and push yourself off the counter. “Fine. But don’t think I’m going to listen to you all the time just because I do this one time.”
He grins cheekily at you, despite all that has happened tonight, and makes his way towards the table and sits down.
You inhale deeply before exhaling, stepping outside now. You shut the door, stepping next to Steve and placing yourself next to him.
You stay quiet, eyes staring at the small building in the back.
“You didn’t have to come out here, you know?”
Your head reels back at the bite in his tone, a frown on your face as you turn to look at him.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
You rub your lips together, wanting to keep everything in.
“Just because your girlfriend doesn’t care about you anymore, doesn’t mean you can just snap at other people. It’s not an excuse,” You snap back. It was a low blow, really. Especially after learning what actually happened at the Halloween party. You stand from your seat.
“You are not going to speak to me that way. I won’t allow it. I came out here to see if you were okay, but. . . I can see that was clearly a mistake. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t love you anymore.”
Your cheeks are flushed red with anger and you walk past him, your dress hitting your thighs as you make your way towards the back door. He calls out your name, but you don’t stop and listen to him.
You shut the door.
1985
Your head slams into the metal wall, a groan leaving your lips. “Booby trap.” You whisper to yourself.
“What?” Dustin murmured.
You stand slowly from the floor. Dustin stands next to you. “The canisters that Steve pulled out was a booby trap,” You narrow your eyes on him. “Why would you do that?!” You throw your arms up.
“Do you think I meant for us to get stuck down here?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” You shake your head, crossing your arms over your chest. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Because you never think!”
“Like I wanted to get stuck on an elevator with you!”
“Oh yeah?” Your brows furrow. “I had a date after this and now I won’t be able to go! Because of you pulling out that stupid canister! I mean, really?! Who pulls something out of a box that comes from Russians?!”
Erica leans towards Dustin. “Oh, they hate each other.” She whispers.
Dustin shakes his head, Robin does as well. “No, they don’t.”
“It’s the angsty teen, enemies to lovers plot.” Robin whispers, fingers giddily fiddling together. Erica furrows her brows. Robin cuts her eyes over to the confused girl. She then quickly looks back. “You’ll understand when you read Pride and Prejudice.”
“Pride and what?”
“Prejudice. It’s a-" Robin looks at Erica who has a brow lifted. She stops, lips rubbing together. “I don’t have time to describe it.”
Erica hums, turning towards you and Steve once again. “You know what,” You grumble. “I’m through with arguing with you! You never change!” You throw your arms up, stepping towards the center of the room.
“Dustin,” You say his name. He’s standing next to you in an instant. “Help me up there. I’m going to see if we can climb our way out of this. . . this literal hell. Especially if it has him in it.” He nods and pulls a chair over. You step on top of it, reaching up and pushing the tile up and over. You grip the sides, grunting as you pull yourself up.
You slide back before standing up, pushing your hair back as you stare up, hands on your hips.
You sigh and close your eyes.
You’re all stuck there.
Your forehead is resting on your knees, eyes closed as you rest on top of the elevator.
It had been quiet the whole time, Dustin trying to get ahold of anyone. But of course, no one was answering.
You almost cry at the feeling of being stuck.
You feel someone’s knee bump into yours, and you know who it is before they even speak.
“Are you, uh, okay?”
You huff out a small laugh. “Oh, yeah,” You nod, lifting up your head. “Perfect. I love being stuck in an elevator with no way out.”
He looks down, fingers intertwining together. “It is my fault. I’m sorry.”
You sigh a bit, shaking your head. “It’s not your fault,” It pains you to say it, but it’s right. It’s not his fault that he pulled out a canister filled with mystery green goop. “We just know now that Russians can’t build elevators now.”
He snorts. “That’s exactly what I said.” You smile a bit.
“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean what I said,” You let out a sigh. “I was just. . . angry.”
He nods a bit. “I understand,” He pushes a hand through his hair. “I promise to listen to you next time.”
You lift a brow. “Oh, that’s going to be so hard for you, Harrington.”
He nods and scoffs. “Definitely.” You give him a small smile.
Your heart feels a bit warm at the interaction.
1986.
“Steve!” Dustin cries out, his knees digging into the unnatural ground. “She’s. . . She’s not waking up!”
Steve drops the bags, Nancy almost stumbling over the thing before coming to a stop. He jogs over, dropping to his knees.
The color had drained slightly causing Steve to worry. “Okay, move.” He pushes at Dustin’s hands. Dustin looks up at him with a worried express, tears falling down his cheeks and onto your shirt.
“What are you going to do?”
“CPR.” He nods, his hands moving onto your chest.
“You-you know how to do CPR?” Dustin’s voice wavers. Steve nods, huffing as he mutters numbers. He leans down over your mouth.
He lifts back up, pumping once again. After four times, tilts your head back, unhinging your jaw more. His lips press to yours, blowing into your mouth.
Dustin’s eyes dart between you both, eyes wide with worry. Robin, Nancy, and Eddie stand behind him watching.
There’s a deep greedy inhale that has Steve pulling back, allowing you to breath in the air. He pulls you up, hand pushing back your hair.
“Hey, hey. . . God,” He mutters to himself. His hand trails down your back. “Thank God you’re okay.”
Dustin throws his arms around your neck. You wrap an arm around his side, patting his back. “Steve saved you.”
“What?” You pull back.
“I didn’t.” Steve quickly denies, shaking his head.
“What are you talking about?” Eddie shakes his head. “You absolutely did.”
“No, I-”
“Could everyone give Steve and I a minute please?”
Everyone’s eyes dart to you. “You’re not gonna kill him are you? We just literally survived this whole thing.” Eddie shakes his head.
“No, I’m not. Now please, give me a minute alone with Steve.” They nod, making their way towards the trailer.
“Look, I’m sorry about mouth to mouth. I had too, you were-"
“Steve,” You cut him off. “It’s fine. I’m not mad.”
“You’re not?”
“Why would I be mad about you saving me?”
“Because you. . . hate me?”
You let out a small sigh, shaking your head. “I don’t hate you.”
“You don’t?”
“I did,” You say. “But not anymore.”
He smiles a bit, pushing some of the strands of hair that had fallen back to your face. “I’m glad.”
You stare up at him quietly, moving to your knees in front of him. He gulps slightly.
You press a small kiss to the corner of his mouth, hands moving up to cup his face. “Thanks for saving me.”
His own hands press to yours on his cheeks. “Anytime.”
You grin and lean in again, pressing your lips fully to his this time. He gladly allows you.
Robin grins as she peeks through the window with Dustin.
She leans closer. “Told you.” She whispers.
Dustin makes a face and looks over at her. “Told me what?”
“Pride and Prejudice, my tiny friend.”
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【𝜗𝜚 thank you for reading! comments, feedback, likes, & reblogs are encouraged, welcomed, & deeply appreciated!ও
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stevie-petey · 7 months
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we don't talk about it (we don't have the time)
﹂ season one of “come home”
being dustin henderson's older sister and jonathan byers' best friend is usually an uneventful affair, but when will byers goes missing and a girl with a shaved head claims she has super powers, your duties as a sister and a best friend become a lot more complicated. (it also makes your feelings suddenly complicated, which you're choosing to ignore). (and steve harrington definitely isn't helping). (as usual).
episode one: the vanishing of will byers - jonathan smuggles you free food in exchange for friendship, will goes missing the one time you listen to jonathan, hopper doesn't really like you, and steve harrington almost hits you with his car as you're sobbing like a damn baby (in a cool way).
episode two: the weirdo on maple street - you use your limited psych knowledge to help a bald girl, you force jonathan to accept $20 and he's later an ass to you, steve doesn't know what a "missing" poster looks like, and it's really hard being a single mother to now four kids.
episode three: holly, jolly - you and jonathan talk it out and things are better (spoiler alert: they aren't), you somehow end up agreeing with steve harrington ?? then you have a minor breakdown in front of the kids and once again fail to prevent them from experiencing more trauma.
episode four: the body - you basically have a "no babe don't cry over ur dead brother ur so sexy" moment with jonathan, hopper plays mr love doctor (cute date idea: coffin shopping), and somehow nancy wheeler makes you realize that you're a horrible babysitter and an even bigger idiot. meanwhile: steve harrington is frustratingly charming.
episode five: the flea and the acrobat - you and dustin have a long overdue Sibling Moment, at will's funeral you and jonathan exchange information and surprise ! it's all horrible news ! nancy has awful timing and when you leave her alone with jonathan one damn time you and steve end up trauma bonded on her front porch #bffs.
episode six: the monster - so nancy and jonathan are a Thing now and you really just need a good nap, the three of you go shopping for monster hunting supplies (which honestly isn't the weirdest thing you've done this week), an old man sells you a sentimental knife, and steve kind of accidentally kidnaps you with a sexy black eye.
episode seven: the bathtub - your brother basically places himself on the fbi's most wanted list and el flips a van with her mind, now you have to create a giant salt tub because of course you do, nancy tries Talking About It but hasn't she read the title ? you don't have the time. sidenote: you've somehow become a steve defender during these trying times. typical. meanwhile: steve's inner thoughts are pathetic.
episode eight: the upside down - drinking game time ! take a shot every time jonathan tries ditching you or every time you almost die at the byers house, you find out that steve really is an athlete and tbh it's hot, but you know what's even hotter ? saving hawkins and reaching a tentative compromise with steve after he loans you $5 for snacks. after, jonathan makes a promise you really hope he can keep.
⌑ set between seasons 1 and 2
﹂ episode nine: the beginning - BONUS EPISODE TIME ! steve becomes bookstrorindary's favorite loyal costumer, jonathan buys you a bug for christmas, you freak out your poor coworker alex, and suddenly steve is really hot and you're feeling so many feelings (bad ! it's all bad !).
⌑ status: FINISHED
⌑ season one title based on this song x
⌑ blurbs set within "come home" can be found here x
⌑ “come home” season masterlist
*note: this is a part of my stranger things rewrite, “come home”, and other seasons can be found linked above :)
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steveseddie · 3 months
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with a cold breeze
rating: t | cw: none apply | word count: 4,281
tags: eddie munson lives, didn't know they were dating, getting together, first kiss, fluff and hurt/comfort
for the @steddielovemonth prompt: “love is giving him your sweater even if it makes you cold” by @stevesbipanic
a/n: this is my first time writing a prompt for this event and it was so much fun! also this ended up longer than i thought but. enjoy 🩷
click here to read on ao3
***
In Eddie’s defense, he shouldn’t have been expected to bring a jacket. Not when Steve didn’t tell him where they were going or when he sent Eddie spiraling into a pit of pining by showing up at his doorstep with a white shirt tucked into a pair of tight blue jeans and a black jacket thrown on top, looking like he stepped out of Eddie’s dreams.
Now that he thinks about it, Steve might’ve told him to grab a jacket, but Eddie was too busy picking his jaw off the floor to listen to him.
When he stepped out of the trailer and followed Steve to his car, Eddie felt a light chill in the air, but since he assumed Steve was taking them to the movies or for dinner at that diner he likes, he figured the flannel he was wearing over his Metallica singlet would be enough to withstand it. 
Eddie doesn’t know exactly when this became a thing they did- Steve picking him up and taking him to dinner or a movie or ice cream or roller skating. 
(That last one was Eddie’s least favorite one because he spent half the time they were there falling on his ass. Or maybe it wasn’t, because the other half was spent holding on to Steve’s hand as he guided Eddie around the rink and helped him keep his balance.)
Eddie still can’t help but feel surprised whenever Steve turns up at his door, even if it happens multiple times a week these days. He knows this is what friends do, but maybe it’s still just a little hard to believe that he’s friends with Steve Harrington. 
(“You make it sound like I’m some kind of celebrity, man,” Steve said the first time Eddie voiced his shock about him wanting to spend time with Eddie. 
“Dude, you are the king of Hawkins! You are a celebrity!” Eddie said, dramatically shaking Steve’s shoulders which earned him a mighty eye roll and a playful shove. “And celebrities don’t want to spend time with freaks like me.”
Steve’s face softened at that, he bumped Eddie’s shoulder with his. “Well, this one does.”)
Eddie knows Steve is being genuine every time he says he wants to hang out, but a part of him always expects Steve to get tired of him and ditch Eddie, and start taking a nice pretty girl on these outings instead. 
(“Dates, they’re dates,” Max deadpanned after hearing Eddie ramble about Steve for roughly ten minutes straight. She’d clocked Eddie’s feelings for Steve right away when he came back from the roller rink with his backside bruised, but still with a dopey smile on his face to Max waiting for him at the steps of his trailer. “Steve Harrington is taking you out on dates!” 
“He’s not, they’re not dates,” Eddie said with a firm shake of his head. 
“Dude, Lucas literally took me to the roller rink last week.” 
“Aw, cute. Did he hold your hand?” 
“I held his, I skate, remember? And for a jock, he’s got terrible balance,” she says, lips twitching into a little smile. “Not as bad as yours though.” 
“Hey!”)
Even if Max insists on calling them dates, Eddie won’t. He can’t. He knows Steve doesn’t see them that way so he can’t do it either, not if he wants to protect his heart. 
So he ignores that Steve opens the door to his car for him like he would if this was a real date and he ignores that he lets Eddie pick the music or that he keeps a few of Eddie’s tapes in his car for him to choose from, even if they’re not at all what he likes, and he ignores the way he keeps glancing at Eddie at stop signs or red lights with a sweet little smile that makes his stomach swoop like when he went through the gate to the Upside Down did, only better. 
Or he tries to ignore it, at least.
“Soooo where are we going?” Eddie asks, contorting himself so he can sit cross-legged in Steve’s passenger seat after picking the music for the ride. 
Steve bops his head to the beginning of a Dio song and Eddie can’t help but feel proud. 
“It’s a surprise,” he says. 
Eddie groans. “Is this surprise also going to end up with me not being able to sit properly for a week?” He only realizes how that sounds when Steve’s head snaps to him, eyebrows high on his forehead. God. “You know cause I kept falling on my ass at the roller rink, not because- uh.” 
He doesn’t know how to finish the sentence, but luckily Steve spares him. With a soft laugh, he says, “Don’t worry, you won’t have trouble sitting after tonight.” Then Steve smirks, the little shit. “From falling on your ass- or some other reason.” 
Eddie flushes bright red.
He lowers the window and shivers when the cold air hits his face, but the wind helps cool down his flushed cheeks so he leaves it open. He notices that instead of driving them downtown, Steve is driving them further out. 
“I’m not gonna have trouble sitting ‘cause you’re luring me into the woods to murder me? Is that it?”
“And why would I want to murder you?” Steve asks, pinching the bridge of his nose like entertaining Eddie’s nonsense causes him physical pain. 
The wind blows Eddie’s hair away from his face. “Maybe you’re jealous of my luscious hair.” He hopes the wind makes him look like one of those cover shoots on the magazines that he sees at the store, but realistically, he knows he probably looks like a dog sticking his head out the window. “My naturally beautiful hair that doesn’t need any Farrah Fawcett spray.” 
Steve narrows his eyes at Eddie. “That little shit told you!” 
Eddie grins. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. Dustin told you, didn’t he?” 
“I won’t reveal my sources,” he says, pretending to zip up his lips. 
“You don’t have to, you dork. Dustin is the only one I told.” He pauses, thinking. “Maybe I am committing murder tonight.”
“Mine?”
“Henderson’s. And then yours so the secret dies with you.” He glances at Eddie with a smile. “And maybe because I am a little jealous of your beautiful hair.” His voice is a little too soft to sound like a joke.
Eddie gives him a shy smile and then flicks his hair over his shoulder with a dramatic flare. Steve laughs, head thrown back, as they drive past the Leaving Hawkins sign. 
***
Steve drives them to the top of a hill just outside of Hawkins. 
Eddie’s first thought when Steve parks his car next to a little forest is that maybe he’s actually planning to murder him tonight. 
His second thought comes when Steve opens Eddie’s door and a gust of wind hits Eddie, making him realize that no, his flannel won’t be enough. He’s going to freeze his ass off so even if Steve doesn’t murder him, Eddie will die anyway. 
His third thought comes when Steve takes hold of his wrist and drags him out of the car and towards a cliff overlooking most of Hawkins.
Eddie voices that thought with an appreciative whistle.
“Holy shit, that’s a killer view.”
“Right?” Steve asks with a grin. His fingers are still wrapped around Eddie’s wrist and he can feel the way he’s bouncing excitedly from one foot to the other. 
“Yeah, wow. You wouldn’t think that Hawkins is a shit town from up here,” Eddie says, taking in not only the night lights, but the stars above them too, shining brighter than Eddie has ever seen them.
“Yeah, it almost looks normal, no monsters or alternate dimensions.”
“No hordes of angry town people who want to burn you at the stake.” 
Steve gives Eddie’s wrist a comforting squeeze. He glances at the ground. “No shitty parents calling you a disappointment and an embarrassment,” he says, voice barely above a whisper. 
Eddie frowns. He shakes his hand until Steve loosens his hold, but before he can retreat it into his pocket because he thinks Eddie is trying to get him to let go, he tangles his fingers loosely with Steve’s. “They came back tonight?” 
Steve stares down at their hands, his thumb rubs over one of Eddie’s rings. “Yeah, and they managed to pick a fight within five minutes of walking through the door. Must be some kind of record.”
Eddie squeezes his hand. “I’m sorry, Steve.” 
With a sigh, Steve finally looks up. “It’s not your fault, and besides-” He smiles at Eddie. “I didn’t bring you here to talk about them.” 
Eddie narrows his eyes at him. “What did you bring me here for?” 
Steve’s smile turns into a grin, he drops Eddie’s hand and starts walking backward toward the car. “Wait here.” 
“You better not be abandoning me to die here!” 
He gets no reply. Eddie squints at him as he rummages through the trunk of his car but it’s a little hard to see clearly in the dark. He wraps his arms around himself while he waits, feeling colder by the second, and resists the urge to ask Steve if he has an extra jacket lying around. It’ll send him into Mother Hen mode and he’ll start fussing about Eddie catching something and probably scold him for not bringing his own jacket. 
So he acts as nonchalant as possible about the cold when Steve comes back, hiding something behind his back that Eddie can’t see. 
“I didn’t bring you here to murder you or abandon you. I brought you here to have a picnic with me.” As he says this, he shows Eddie what he was holding behind his back- a checkered blanket and a goddamn picnic basket. 
Eddie blinks dumbly at the two items and then at Steve, mouth gaping like a fish. “A picnic?” 
Steve nods a little shyly. “Um yeah, is that okay?” 
Eddie lets out a disbelieving laugh. A fucking picnic under the stars- oh, Max is going to have a field trip teasing Eddie about this one!
He realizes that Steve might be taking his reaction the wrong way when he starts to fidget so Eddie wipes the surprise from his face and grins at Steve. “Depends on what you packed in there, big boy.” 
A high-pitched laughter tumbles out of Steve’s lips and even with just the moonlight he can see his cheeks tint pink. “Well, do you like grilled cheese?”
***
Eddie makes grabby hands at the basket. Once Steve spreads the blanket on the ground, he flops down and starts digging through the contents.
There’s grilled cheese wrapped in tin foil paper, two bags of chips, two sodas, and a big serving of pie. Eddie’s mouth waters. 
“So,” Steve asks, wrapping his arms around his knees. “What do you think?” 
“I think,” Eddie pauses, thinking. “That I don’t care if you murder me as long as you let me eat this first.” 
“You’re so annoying,” Steve snorts, rolling his eyes.
“If I’m so annoying,” Eddie says, neatly arranging the food between them on the blanket, or as best as he can on the uneven ground. “Then why did you go through all this trouble for little ol’ me?”
Steve bites the inside of his cheek. He looks like he wants to say something, but then changes his mind, only to part his lips again. The look in his eyes betrays nothing, no matter how much Eddie tries to read it. Despite the cold, Eddie’s hands start to sweat a little. 
But then Steve shakes his head and looks down, picking up his grilled cheese. When he looks back at Eddie again, his eyes are soft, crinkling at the corners, but whatever he saw in them before is now gone. “Let’s eat before it gets cold, okay?”
After the first bite, Eddie discovers that Steve must be some kind of grilled cheese genius. When he tells Steve this, he waves it off with a shy smile, but he seems pleased. 
They talk in between bites of food, or in Eddie’s case, through mouthfuls of melted cheese. The whole time, Eddie tries to ignore the chill in the air, but every gust of wind reminds him he’s only wearing a singlet under a very thin flannel and neither does much to protect him from the cold. Still, he does his best to hide his shivering from Steve, but it’s a little hard to do when Steve won’t take his eyes off of him for some reason.
Right now, he’s staring almost unblinkingly at Eddie with his legs crossed at the ankles and his arms wrapped around his knees, a soft smile painted on his lips as Eddie tells him how excited he and the kids are about the next Hellfire meeting. 
“You’re always excited about your nerdy game,” Steve smirks. 
“Fair, but this time it’s different because the kids finally convinced Max to play!” 
Steve’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead. “How did they manage that?”
“Well, they didn’t convince her so much as they tricked her into it.” 
“Yeah, that makes more sense.” 
“But! It doesn’t matter cause she’s going to love it so much she’ll beg to join again! I’ve been working on her character sheet to make it perfect for her and I got her this cool set of dice- red dice, of course, cause her character will be called Ruby. Ruby the Rebel.”
Steve’s smile turns impossibly softer at Eddie’s excited rambling. “That sounds just as cool as her. What kind of- uh like, what’s her-”
“Class?” Eddie asks, stomach swooping a little at Steve trying to remember things about their nerdy game so he can ask Eddie. Steve nods. “Oh, she’s a-” He cuts himself off when a cool breeze stirs beneath his flannel and he shivers with a curse. “Jesus H. Christ!” 
Steve startles and his head whips in different directions, looking out for danger. “What?” 
“Sorry, nothing! It’s just really cold! Sorry!” 
Steve relaxes, then frowns. Narrowed eyes travel over Eddie’s body. “Wait, where’s your jacket?” 
“Uh.”
“Did you leave it in the car?” 
“More like, left it at home?” Steve’s face turns pinched. “You didn’t tell me where we were going, I didn’t know I would need a jacket!” 
“Yes, you did, I told you to bring one!” Steve says, exasperated. 
Oh. So Steve did tell him to bring a jacket. Huh. 
“Here,” Steve says and then starts shrugging off his jacket. 
“What are you doing?” 
“I’m giving you my jacket, obviously.” He removes it completely and Eddie gives himself a second to commit to memory just how tight Steve’s white shirt is. It’s also thin. Eddie shakes his head. 
“But you’ll be cold.” 
“I won’t.” He shrugs. “I run hot.”
“You’re hot,” Eddie says and realizes too late that his brain-to-mouth filter must’ve been damaged by the cold. “I mean you look hot, like you don’t look cold.”
Steve bites down on a grin. “Take the jacket before you catch something, Eds.” 
“O-kay, mom Steve.” He accepts the jacket, and when he puts it on, he can’t help but sigh happily. It’s warm from Steve’s body heat. It also smells just like him. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Steve smiles. “Now, what were you saying?” He asks and it takes Eddie a minute to remember what they were talking about, distracted as he is by Steve’s warmth and smell surrounding him.
***
“Do you ever think about leaving Hawkins?” 
Eddie jerks his head back, out of the basket where he was looking for the forks that Steve packed for the pie. “Uh, like, every day of my life, man.” 
“Because of Vecna?”
“No, long before that.” Eddie finds the fork. Singular. “You only packed one, Stevie, but I can just use my fingers.” He wiggles them and Steve shakes his head. 
“We can share,” he says. Alarms go off in Eddie’s head at the thought of passing the fork back and forth between them, sharing the slice of pie. He hasn’t been to that many dates in his life, but sharing dessert sounds a lot like a date thing.
“Sure,” he says, shrugging casually. Steve takes the first bite and hands it to Eddie. “Anyway, yeah. I always knew I wanted to leave. Knowing that there’s an alternate dimension at our feet that could pop up the next monster at any second only made the urge stronger, but. Gotta graduate first.”
“Where will you go? When you graduate?” 
“I don’t know. Some big city with a cool music scene, maybe. I can join a band that’s actually going somewhere.” He snorts. “No offense to Corroded Coffin.” 
Steve chuckles. “I’ve always thought you belong in some big city.”
“Yeah?” Eddie asks with an arched eyebrow.
“Yeah, dude, you’ve always seemed- I don’t know, too big for Hawkins,” he says with an awed tone. Eddie’s throat feels dry, he skips the next bite of pie, giving it back to Steve. “Like you should be somewhere with people as loud and talented and great as you.”
Eddie swallows thickly. His eyes haven’t left Steve’s face, but Steve isn’t looking at him, instead he’s staring ahead at Hawkins or maybe like he’s trying to see even further than that. Eddie’s glad he’s not looking at him, he doesn’t even know what his face is doing right now, listening to Steve talk about him like that, there’s probably hearts in his eyes or something.
“I- I’ve always wanted to go to New York,” Eddie says to break the silence. Steve hums like he thinks it’s a good idea. “What about you, Steve? Do you think about leaving?”
“Sometimes. I- I’ve actually been saving up money to go to college. Nothing prestigious like Nance or Robin, just community college maybe.”
“That’s great, Steve,” Eddie says.
“But I don’t think I can leave until I know it’s over, you know? The Upside Down, especially if the kids are still going to be here.”
“Yeah, I’ve thought about that. Kinda makes you want to steal another RV, pack them all up and leave Hawkins for good.”
Steve meets his eyes finally. He smiles. “Yeah, exactly.”
“I think we could do it,” Eddie says, entertaining the thought for a moment. 
“You don’t think we’d end up in jail? For grand theft auto and kidnapping children?”
“Shh, let a guy dream, Harrington.”
“Okay, okay,” Steve says, holding up his hands in defense. “You know I haven’t told anyone about saving up for college. Just you.”
“Not even Buckley?”
Steve shakes his head. “I already failed once trying to get in. I don’t want anyone to know that I’ve failed again. I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”
Eddie thinks about what Steve said when they got here, about the fight with his parents, about them calling Steve a disappointment. “You could never disappoint me. Or Buckley or the kids. We all worship the ground you walk on, King Steve.”
“Shut up,” Steve says with a lighthearted shove to Eddie’s shoulder. “You don’t.”
“We do! Because we know just how good and badass you are, and whoever can’t see that is a butthead.”
“Are you calling my parents buttheads?” Steve asks with a barely concealed snort. 
“That’s exactly what I’m doing!” He puts his hands around his mouth and yells. “The Harringtons are buttheads!”
Steve breaks into giggles, falling back against the blanket, squirming with laughter. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Yeah, but you love it,” Eddie says without thinking, and watches as something flashes across Steve’s face.
Before he can backtrack or brush it off as a joke, Steve sits up again, his jaw set with determination. 
“The fight with my parents was because of you,” he says. And okay, that’s not what Eddie was expecting. 
“Me?”
“They came home just as I was packing this up.” He gestures at the picnic basket. “I didn’t hear them come in until they came into the kitchen. They thought I was doing all of this for a girl so they started going off about me wasting my life and everything that they worked so hard to give me just to go on dates and work at a goddamn video store. They told me that it didn’t matter how much I tried, this girl was going to realize I was a failure and leave me. I don’t know what made me more angry- what they were saying about me or that they were talking about you like they knew you.” Steve pauses and takes a deep breath. “So I snapped and I told them I wasn’t packing all of that for a girl, that I was doing it for you. A guy. And that you would never leave me because I work at a video store or because our dates consist of grilled cheese sandwiches and roller skating and babysitting kids. And I guess that was a little presumptuous of me since we never really agreed that these were dates and I don’t even know if you-”
“Yes,” Eddie says when he finally finds his voice. He lost it somewhere around Steve calling this, and all the things they’ve been doing together for weeks, dates.
Steve blinks, his lips press together like he’s trying to stop himself from smiling, from getting ahead of himself. “You don’t know what I was going to say.”
Eddie rolls his eyes. “What were you going to say?”
“That I don’t even know if you feel the same way I feel for you.”
“Yes.” Eddie repeats. “Holy fuck, Steve, yes I do.”
Steve stops trying to hide his smile. He beams at Eddie. “Yeah? You’re crazy about me too?”
Eddie whines low in his throat. “Steve.”
Steve pushes himself to his knees and then he closes the distance between them by crawling towards Eddie. “Are you?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t stop thinking about me and you want to listen to me talk all day about nerdy shit too?” Steve asks, crowding against Eddie until he has no choice but to lean back until he’s lying down on the blanket and Steve is hovering over him. 
“Sports shit but yeah, yes.”
Steve leans down until his lips are right next to Eddie’s ear. “You want to kiss me too?” Eddie shivers, and this time, it’s not because of the cold. He’s never felt warmer in his entire life. 
“Yes,” he says. “Please, Steve.”
Steve closes the distance between them and crashes his lips against Eddie’s, kissing him hard and desperately, drawing a whimper out of him. Eddie kisses back with just as much enthusiasm, his hands coming up to grip Steve’s waist, his shoulders, his arms. 
His freezing arms. 
“Christ, Steve!”
“What? What?” Steve asks, pulling back just enough so that Eddie can see his face- flushed with parted, swollen lips and blown pupils. 
And oh. Yeah. Eddie needs to see Steve looking like this again soon. Preferably when he’s not freezing to death. 
“You’re freezing, man. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I was a little busy,” Steve smirks. 
Eddie shakes his head. “I’m giving you your jacket back,” he says, squirming as he tries to shrug off the jacket with Steve still on top of him. 
“No, Eds-” 
“Then we’re going to the car.”
“But I can’t kiss you like this in the car,” Steve pouts and the sight of a pouty Steve because he wants to straddle Eddie and kiss him stupid shouldn’t make him consider staying out here in the cold, but it does. Just for a moment. 
“You can, if we climb in the backseat, baby,” Eddie says with a sly grin. 
Steve’s eyes widen, his eyes flick to the car and then to Eddie’s lips and Eddie sees the moment he makes a decision. “Yeah, okay. Maybe I am a little cold. Let’s go.”
They pick up the trash and the blanket in record time, even while stealing short, giggly kisses. 
“I can’t believe we’ve been on so many dates and you haven’t even asked me out once!” Eddie says, balling up the tin foil paper and throwing it at Steve’s face. He throws his head back with a groan. “I can’t believe Max was right!” 
Steve raises an eyebrow. “You talk to Max about me? Your fifteen-year-old neighbor?” 
Eddie arches an eyebrow right back. “Oh, so you don’t talk to Dustin, your fifteen-year-old best friend about me?” 
“Of course I do,” Steve sniggers. “He’s the one who told me you can’t roller skate to save your life.”
“Then why did you take me to the roller rink?” Eddie asks with an undignified squeak, feeling the phantom pain of his many falls.
“So I could do this-” Steve takes hold of Eddie’s hands, tangling their fingers together, “-all night.” 
Eddie flushes, looking down at their hands with a smile. “That was a good plan, I’ll give you that.” 
He rubs his thumb over Eddie’s knuckles. “I have more where that came from.” 
The touch makes Eddie’s insides flutter, he pulls a strand of hair across his face with his free hand, but Steve can probably still see his red cheeks. “Yeah?” 
“Mhm,” Steve hums. He crowds against Eddie until his back hits the car, pinning him against it. “And I can show you. If you agree to go on a date with me.” Steve’s free hand plays with the lapel of his jacket on Eddie. “Officially, I mean.” 
Eddie grins. “I thought you’d never ask,” he says, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of Steve’s mouth. 
Then he’s dragging him into the backseat, and for the rest of the night, neither of them feels cold again.
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katyawriteswhump · 2 months
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Pin-up boy (steddie microfic)
For @steddiemicrofic March prompt, ‘pin.’ Thank you <3
WC: 388. Rating: T. CW: None. Tags: Steve and Eddie return to High School (because I say so!) post S4 healing, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, friends to lovers.
In the library, Eddie found Steve slumped at a table, face pillowed in his arms. Robin sat beside Steve, rubbing his back.
“He okay?” asked Eddie.
“Bad headache,” mumbled Steve. “M’not deaf, Munson. Yet.”
“Came on sudden.” Robin’s obvious worry mirrored Eddie’s. They’d persuaded Steve to re-take senior year, and these ‘study meets’ rocked Eddie’s days. Though Robin tried, no ‘studying’ happened; they’d be idiots till the librarian booted them. It was really an excuse to check each other was okay, post-Upside Down everything. Plus, Eddie dug hanging with Robin… Aaaand with his secret crush.
“Got your meds?” asked Eddie.
“In my locker.” Steve threw his keys at Eddie.
“You trust me with your car-key too?”
“Like you need those to boost my wheels.” Steve blinked blearily. “The pink pills, ’kay?”
Steve’s locker contained a ton of meds. Some—for PTSD, anxiety—Eddie took also. The ‘pink pills,’ however, were hardcore painkillers that Eddie had been able to ditch. He’d snatched them up, when a grainy pic—pinned discreetly at the back—caught his eye.
IT’S ME! Ax-wielding at a Corroded Coffin gig. 
The love-hearts pencilled in the margins set Eddie’s world on fire.
When Eddie returned, Steve wouldn’t raise his burning face. He couldn’t handle Eddie knowing, even after the painkillers kicked in. The old Steve Harrington would’ve powered through, but… Ouch! Not today.
Eddie cornered him near the lockers. Steve glared.
“Feeling better?” asked Eddie.
Steve shrugged.
Eddie slung an arm around Steve’s shoulders. “Wanna show you something.”
Steve tensed, nearly bolted, but… Christ, it was better said: “Yeeeah, my locker. I got all brain-foggy and forgot that pic was there. It’s a dumb joke—”
“Sure hope it’s not.” Eddie flung his locker open. A shirtless picture of Steve by the pool was pinned, very visibly, to the door. My Little Pony stickers formed a love-heart around it.
“For once, skulls and crossbones didn’t nail it,” said Eddie. “I owe Lady Applejack a billion dollars for those babies.”
“Is this some twisted joke?”
“My Little Ponies aside, I’m deadly serious, Stevie.”
Steve fixated on Eddie’s gorgeous eyes. Jesus, this was real! The guy who’d shared his healing, who got who he was now, felt the same.
“Screw it, me too.” They couldn’t be alone quick enough. Steve let Eddie pin him to the wall, and they made out forever.
...
All my Steddie fic can also be found here on AO3 :)
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wheatnoodle · 1 year
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part 2!!
read part 1 here
it takes four days before somebody notices anything is wrong.
it’s keith of all people. steve had called him at the beginning of the week to tell him he was sick and wouldn’t be in for a few days. keith told him three days. it’s day four and he’s stomping up from the back room. he looks behind the line, whips his head around and scans the parking lot. with a hefty sigh, he snatches up one of the landlines, punching in numbers with much more force than necessary.
it rings a few times before being sent to the voice message machine. robin watches him from the counter.
“harrington. it’s…” he checks his watch, “11:30. you were supposed to be here at 9:00. i’ve called like a million times. get here or find a new job,” keith says before slamming the phone down.
“who shoved a stick up your ass this morning?” robin asks, her arms crossing over her chest.
“harrington. you seen him lately?” keith said with a huff.
“no. why?” she furrows her brows, standing up straighter at the mention of her best friend. now that she thinks about it, when did she see him last? the bonfire? did he make it home okay? what if he crashed his car and he’s dead in a ditch? is he sick? and she’s not taking care of him? oh god, what if his parents are home?
“he was out the past couple days, was supposed to be back in today. clearly he’s not, and i can’t get in touch with him,” keith shook his head, annoyance dripping off his very being.
“maybe i can call some of our friends to go check on him,” robin says, mainly to herself, and grabs the phone keith was just using. there’s a notecard taped under the counter with all the party’s house phone numbers, even the byers’ home all the way across the country. she pulls it off, reading through it and typing in dustin’s phone number. “c’mon c’mon c’mon…”
“henderson’s, this is claudia,” dustin’s mother answers, her voice as bright and cheery as always.
“hi, ms.h. it’s robin. um…is dustin around?” she tries to keep her voice even, even puts a smile on her face in hopes it makes everything sound okay.
“of course, honey! let me go get him for you.” the sound muffles for a few seconds as claudia calls for her son, pressing the phone to her chest. robin can hear the smallest bits of their conversation before the phone is handed off.
“robin? what’s up?” dustin’s voice filters through the receiver. he sounds happy to hear from her, but of course he doesn’t know what to expect. robin’s calling? in the middle of a work day? that doesn’t happen.
“hey, dustin! quick question, have you talked to steve recently?” robin asks and brings a hand up to chew on her nails, a bad habit she gets from her dad. her mom always tries to pull her hands from her mouth.
“no, last time was at the fire. why, what’s going on?” he doesn’t seem happy anymore. his voice drops quiet while he talks, like he’s waiting for robin to drop an upside down related bombshell on his morning.
“oh. well he was supposed to be in today but hasn’t showed. not picking up the phone either. i was just wondering if he’d said anything to you.”
“no, he hasn’t said anything. i’ll go check on him, i got nothing else going on today. i’ll radio when i see him,” dustin says. robin’s nodding along before she remembers he can’t see her. “robin. he’ll be okay.”
“i know. i know, i do. i just worry about him,” robin says truthfully and her shoulders deflate with a sigh. she runs her fingers through her hair, closing her eyes and tugging on the strands.
“i do too. i’ll get back to you.” and with that, the dial tone sounds. robin’s chewing her lip as she puts the phone back and gets ready to handle the incoming customers
dustin knows the route to steve’s house like the back of his hand and it takes him less than fifteen minutes to bike over there. he hops off once he reaches the end of the harrington’s long, unpaved driveway, walking his bike up the rest of the dirt trail. he always hated this part, especially at night. giant trees would loom over and every single one seemed to hold some kind of animal making some kind of weird noise. also way too close to where will went missing all those years ago for his liking.
the first thing dustin notices when he approaches the house is the lack of a car in the driveway. the familiar maroon bmw is nowhere in sight. odd. steve wouldn’t lie about being sick to get out of work and then go get caught driving around instead. maybe it was just in the shop.
he walks up to the red door and starts pounding on it.
“steeeeeve! steve, it’s dustin!” the kid yells, his fist continuing to slam against the wood. he waits a few seconds, gets no response, and repeats. he’s out there for ten minutes before accepting that he was, in fact, not going to answer the door. he takes his walkie from the side pocket of his backpack and switches to the main scoops troop channel.
“robin, it’s dustin. he’s not answering the door, so i’m going in. over,” he says and tucks it back in his pocket.
“keep me posted. over.”
he pulls his key ring from his shorts, flipping through to the gold key to the harrington house. dustin sticks the key in, twists and opens. it creaks on its hinges.
the second dustin steps inside, he’s hit with how warm it is in the house. how has he not turned on the ac?! it’s like a million degrees in here! he must be like dying if he’s actually sick and it’s this warm here.
“steve?! steve! are you here, man? it’s dustin,” he calls out as he starts his ascent up the stairs. “steeeeeve!”
no response. just echoes of his own voice bouncing back in his ears. what is going on? it’s eerily quiet, the silence making the blood rush in his ears. dustin approaches steve’s door. it’s cracked an inch or so.
“steve?” dustin says quietly. he places his palm on the door, gives it a gentle push so it swings open.
the room is empty. everything is spotless.
pictures of the kids are gone from the mirror on the wall.
the closet devoid of brightly colored sweaters and well-loved sneakers.
dustin’s eyes are wide as saucers, jaw dropped wide enough to catch flies. his hands fall to his sides and he doesn’t even try to stop them from trembling.
“st-eve?” his voice cracks. blue eyes are flooded with tears that won’t quite fall but certainly make it hard to see. “STEVE?”
the walkie is back in his hand.
“robin. this is dustin. i think i might have a code red. over,” he whimpers into the walkie. his free hand pushes under his hat, tangling in sweaty curls. “robin, i have a code red! over!”
“dustin? it’s robin, what’s going on? is steve okay? over.”
“he’s- he’s gone? n-nothing is here? i’m- robin, his room is empty.” he doesn’t care that he’s now openly crying into the receiver, fat tears rolling down his flushed cheeks.
“i’m on my way.”
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persage · 2 years
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As long as you want- S. Harrington
Summary: After you pass out, your ex boyfriend now dear friend Steve Harrington is there to take care of you. And it leads to confessions
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Words count 2k
Tags: Protective Steve and stubborn reader. Fluff, confessions and so much comfort.
Masterlist. Credits to: @valvlry
"Harrington, could you please stop?" You ask him, desperate, as he tries to grab your arms in an attempt to pick you up and drag you out of his car. You push him away, gently.
"No way Y/L/N, you need to rest" He is deadly serious, looking at you like you are bleeding out right in front of him, overprotective as always.
"Steve" You smile, reaching out to stroke his arm. "I just woke up!"  He catches you off guard, puts an arm under your legs and pulls you up ignoring your protests and starts walking towards his house bringing you bridal style.
"Oh Yeah Y/N, sure you just woke up. Cause you've fainted. Fainted, you know that means?"
"Steve"
He continues rumbling, while opening  the door. "Limp body. Eyes closed."
"Steve."
"Scaring me to death."
You don't reply this time and drop your head on his shoulder, feeling his chest rise and fall rapidly with each breath as he carries you up the stairs to his room. His parents are not home, as always. As he climbs the stairs,  you feel guilty, you want him to let you walk because you are fine, really, but you know it would be a useless argument and that there is no point in contradicting Steve when he enters in his babysitter-mode.
"Y/n, I'm being serious I don't want you to pass out on me again. Ever. " He makes you sit on his bed, gently letting you fall between the pillows. "Don't worry big boy, I don't feel like that anymore" He looks at you with an indecipherable expression for moments,  so long that you end up wondering if you don't have something on your face.
"Harrington are you okay?"
He shakes his head. "Anymore? What do you mean with I don't feel like that anymore?
Oh. Suddenly you realize your mistake. You look away as he sist beside you. "Stubborn little girl. Why didn't you tell anyone?" You laugh lightly and then you sight as he grabs your hand and squeezes it in both of his.
"You know Steve we have bigger problems..  Demogorgons to fight, Mind Flayer chasing us and God only know what else. "
"Bigger problems? Y/n, What if it happens to you while we are solving some upside-down, evil monsters kind of situation?"
You know what would happend because you know Steve and the others. They would follow you. They would try to save you. Someone would get hurt, or worse, and it'd be your fault. You had never thought about it that, in short, you always thought it was your problem only. 
You lay down on his bed,  staring  at the ceiling.  He follows your actions, turning his head toward you.  "Y/n, look at me" His scent is everywhere around you, it comes from his body next to you, so close that your arms are touching, and from the sheets beneath you.  "We take care of each other. Don't you ever forget that." 
“No, I wont.” You can’t forget, it's like your mission in life for now. Your ultimate goal: protect the people you love from ugly  supid monsters coming from another dimension, not exactly what your 14-years-old-self would have thought. 
Steve's worried expression hasn't faded away yet.  "What?"
"I feel like you should stay away from all this shit for a while. It's killing you."
"That's  the dumbest  things I've ever heard Steve." You reply,  hiding the shock that comes from discovering  that Steve Harrington - first your asshole ex boyfriend, the one who ditched you in freshman year, then (and you still can't explain how) one of your dearest friends- That Steve is now the person who knows better how to read you.
Cause it's true, It's killing you. You don't sleep cause of nightmares,  you don't even eat and sometimes  you forget about food until your stomach cries for it, you are tense, on alert, your mind always ready to look for plans to resolve the situation, seized by the constant fear that something will happen to the kids and that you won't know what to do. You need to feel control over the situation,  and that's making you sick.  Like, actually not metaphorically sick.
“It’s killing you, you have to stop” You roll your eyes even though he sounds worried, you're ready to deny till the end.
“Steve I'm not gonna die of tiredness it -” He cuts you off. “But you could die from fatigue... I heard that's a thing. Robin told me, she's worried too. ”
You smile to him. "Sweet of you two,  but i swear I was...I was just tired cause I'm not sleeping well.. I have.. Nightmares and I forget to eat sometimes, that’s why I passed out” His expression softens, his dark eyes color with something new beyond worry. Tenderness.
“Y/n, you can’t protect everyone" He says, soft voice and you see sideways that he's still looking at you intensely. "You should  take care of yourself you foolish girl" He lets his fingers run trought your hair as you get closer to him. His touch is warm and makes you feel safe. "You are my people, the least I can do is try to protect everyone".
"And what about you? Mmh? " He presses his lips on your head  "How can we..." He takes a deep breath, seraching  for the courage to tell you what his heart  is screaming.  "How can I protect you if keep acting like everything is alright when it clearly  isn't?" You don't answer. "Can you please take sometime for yourself?"
"I could" You put some space between  you bodies just to see how his face lights up.  "But I won't"
"Why do you have to make things so difficult?" He sits up, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Let's reverse the roles: in my place, would you do it?" You ask and you sit up too, next to him. He stays silent,  cause no he would never do it but... That's you we are talking  about, your life matters, too many people would  be devastated if you die on a stupid mission just cause you didn't take good care of yourself.  "It's not like you have to protect me" He sates,  low voice, looking at you with the most sincer, desperate, hear breaking  look ever. It kills you more than everything else, seeing him so helpless, caring and worried.
"Steve, you're the first... The first one I ever protected it's not like I'm gonna stop very soon" You look at the shelf in front of you as your cheeks turn red.
"Really?"
"Is it so hard to believe? I've known you since we were twelve Steve!"
"And I've been nothing  but a douchebag." Sometimes you wish Harrington could see himself for who he really is, instead of continuing to punish himself for past mistakes. "Steve Harrington, you are the most selfless, generous, courageous and caring person I have ever known. And if being an idiot for a short time in your life has led you to become who you are today, then that's okay." Steve gasps, amazed. He is not used to compliments, he is not used to having someone around who reminds him what he is worth and that he has nothing to be forgiven for. People, even unwittingly, keep reminding him how much of an asshole he was before.
" Thank you, Y/n." Sometimes you get the feeling that he would be willing to get himself killed in order to redeem himself
"Why didn't you tell me?" He continues. "Why didn't you tell me about the nightmares and that  you weren't  feeling well?"
"Again Harrington, we were busy keeping a group of kids out of troubles, It's not like my nightmares were important." He stands up running a hand through his hair in frustration. "You're the most important thing I worry about" There is almost anger in his voice, a tremor, a pain that silences you. He cares, he really does.
You don't talk for minutes as he moves back and forth across the small room giving you indecipherable glances. And you know it's not the right time, maybe it never will be, but you're in Steve Harrington's room, the same room where you kissed for hours in middle school, the same where you threw up for the first time after an hangover, where you consoled Steve and listened to the vinyls you gave him. You are safe, you feel like there is no other place in the world to say what you have to say except here and now.
"Steve. Can I ask you a question?"  He simply nods. "Are you still in love with  Nancy? Or maybe you still like Robin?" You don't know where you find the strength, your face seems to be on fire but you still decide to look at Steve, his big dark eyes, his nose, his parted lips.  Everything.  You've been in love with this boy for ages and now everyone is in danger again and you feel like you should just tell him.
"No I'm not in love with  Nance anymore  and no,  I don't  like Robin that way." He frowns, he turns around pretending to look for something to hide his embarrassment. "Why?"
"Curiosity"
He takes a deep breath.  "Do you still like Tommy?" You burst out laughing and he looks at you in shock, not understanding what's so funny. "Tommy? Stupid Tommy H? Christ Steve, I never liked Tommy I made it up like years ago? I wanted to make you jealous when you dumped me."
"He liked you, very  much actually. " He points out, smiling. "It's obvious Harrington. I'm amazing how could someone not like me?" You joke, moving your hair from one side to the other in a playful way. But he doesn't laugh, he looks at you seriously.
He opens his mouth, doesn't say anything and closes it again, he does that at least four times until you decide it's time to say it.
"Steve" He lowers himself facing you, face to face.
"No" The words come out of his lips slowly, and you are confused but you feel something moving in your chest, you are certain that you know what will happen and yet you are scared. It is a new sensation, a pleasant pain, like a pang in the stomach. "I've gotta tell you something before you speak.  Cause I feel like if I don't  tell you now I'm never gonna" He sights. You notice him looking at your lips, and you can't take it anymore, you sit down and try to take the embarrassment away from your face. "Promise me a thing" You nod. "Promise me you will not die, until we are gray and old and you will have to scream  to talk to me cause I will lose my hearing with fights and..."
"I won't die until then, I promise" You grab his hands and lean your forehead against his, your heart beating fast in your chest. "I wanna see you hair fall out and I wanna..."
"I want to spend my entire life taking care of you,  Y/n." He cuts you off. 
"Steve I need to tell you... I don't... Maybe it will ruin  our friendship and maybe  you will hate me but.. I can't  take it anymore  and..." Suddenly he cuts you off again, this time by kissing you. It feels so different  from the last time it happened,  it's like you are overwhelmed  by Steve  Harrington. His hands on your waist, your hands on his hair, and his lips on yours while he lets his tounge slip into your angry mouth.  You could do this forever, giving  him all you've got, 'cause  you've always liked him even when he wasn't  likable at all,  even when things when difficult. He's part of you, like your own blood,  like your own heart and you feel home in his arms.  But you start to feel dizzy again so you gently pull apart from him, with your hand around his neck and with a smile.
"I love you too" He says, also smiling. "But now you really need to rest." He pushes you onto the bed and walks away to the closet to look for something clean to put on you.
"Steve,  are you gonna stay here with  me?" You ask. "As long as you want me to y/n"
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sidekick-hero · 2 months
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caught in the careless arms of lust again
metaldeputy | explicit | 5.6k | tags: crossover Fargo/Stranger Things, No Upside Down, Modern AU, pwp | AO3
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Dickinson, North Dakota was as much a shithole in Eddie's eyes as Hawkins, Indiana. The only real difference, as far as he can tell, is the cold, which is more biting than even the worst winter he ever experienced back home, and his balls are trying as hard as they can to crawl back into his body.
It's not like he wants to be here. There was no way in hell he was going to spend more time than it took to take a piss and pump some gas into his van in a state that was mostly God-fearing northern rednecks and a whole lot of nothing.
But of course, nothing ever goes according to plan in Eddie Munson's life, and his van broke down just as he was passing through Dickinson on Interstate 94. He'd seen the sign and giggled like a high school kid at the silly name, momentarily distracted and not looking at the road. That's why he didn't notice the damn deer until it was too late, and like the idiot he was, he swerved to avoid it, skidded on the slick icy road, and ended up in the ditch.
Luckily he wasn't going that fast, so after a few feet the car came to a stop in the snow, the engine dead and refusing to start no matter what he tried.
And now his van is in the hands of a guy named Ray at Ray's Auto Electric, while Eddie has to rent a room in a dubious looking hotel called the Badland Inn. It’s fifty bucks a night, which he certainly doesn’t have, but beggars can’t be choosers, and it’s too damn cold to even consider sleeping outside. Ray, who had taken one look at Eddie's long hair and tattoos before seeming to decide he wanted Eddie gone almost as much as Eddie wanted to be gone, said it would be at least three days, maybe more, depending on how fast he could get the part he needed to get his van running again.
And that's why Eddie is sitting in some dive bar, drinking a cheap watered-down beer, wallowing in self-pity, when Deputy Gator Tillman walks into his life.
At first he doesn't even turn his head to look at the man who just sat down next to him, just nods politely while staring into the smudged glass in his hands. It's only when the guy next to him orders a Bud Light, of all things, that Eddie can't help but snort. From what he's seen so far, the men here are manly men, drinking only the bitterest beer and the strongest whiskey while thumping their chests like apes.
"Something funny, shitbird?" The guy snarls at him.
And here we go again, Eddie thinks, already tired of what's sure to come.
"Listen, man," Eddie starts as he turns around to face whoever's ego he just bruised, only to be stopped by the sight in front of him.
The guy's hot, is the first thing that strikes him, square jaw, full lips, droopy eyes, and a slanted nose. His chestnut hair is slicked back and shaved with racetrack lines, as much a part of his machismo as the combat pants and bulletproof vest he's wearing. Too bad his face is just too pretty for any of it to work.
He must have been staring, because the hazel eyes looking back at him narrow even more, his whole face turning into a sneer that's still far more attractive than it has any right to be.
"What are you staring at, asshole?"
A ghost from my past, Eddie thinks. Because he once knew a boy who looked just like the guy before him, a boy who tried so hard to be the epitome of everything a wealthy white businessman's son in Bumfuck Indiana could want. He played all kinds of sports, was captain of the basketball and swim teams, had a new pretty girl on his arm every week, and sneered down at everyone below him as he looked on from his perch at the top of the high school food chain.
King Steve, a man who had been so goddamn pretty that Eddie could still remember all the times he had jerked off to fantasies of those lips and hands, and that juicy ass in Harrington's tiny gym shorts.
The man before him looked different, of course, but much of him was the same. Maybe that was the reason why Eddie didn't stop his mouth from running off on him.
"You. It's a nice view, that's for sure."
Even as he braces himself for a punch, Eddie can't tear his eyes away from the hauntingly familiar face in front of him as he sees the words land. They're mostly harmless. Not even a pretty boy or a sweetheart thrown in there. At least not yet.
The man's eyes widen, just a fraction, just enough for Eddie to notice. Just as Eddie notices the color rising up his neck and the way his tongue darts out to wet his lips. Gotcha, big boy.
"What did you just say to me?" The guy demands, taking a step forward, invading Eddie's personal space, bringing with him the smell of cologne and old sweat, tinged with something fruity Eddie can't quite put his finger on.
There’s enough of a height difference between them that Eddie can look up at him through his lashes from his seat. He curls his lips into a smile that has just enough edge to draw the guy’s eyes to it and keep them there.
"Paid you a compliment. Don't tell me a handsome guy like you doesn't get those all the time, huh?"
The brazenness makes the other man stumble, Eddie can tell by the way his mouth opens and closes without a sound coming out of it. He catches himself soon enough and leans back, pulling himself up to his full height and bringing his hands to his hips, drawing Eddie's eyes to where the tips of his fingers graze the gun strapped to his thigh.
Okay, this is how they're going to play this, apparently.
"Listen, you fucking pansy, I ain't got no idea why you think you can just come in here and talk to a man of the law like that, but I'm gonna show you where you and your kind can stick your disgusting tendencies."
This makes Eddie smile even wider. His mantra has always been 'fuck the law', so that's exactly what he's going to do. And he's pretty sure this particular lawman wouldn't mind. Just as Eddie is sure now that Harrington wouldn't have been opposed to Eddie's tendencies, but back then Eddie hadn't been the kind of guy to take such a risk. No experience, just a gut feeling, and that wasn't enough to risk getting his nose broken. Or worse.
Now, with more than a decade of hookups with supposedly straight guys under his belt, he knew the signs. And the guy right in front of him? A big fucking neon sign.
"I dunno, Sheriff. Maybe you’d rather I show you where I could stick my tendencies instead. I'm sure you can take it like a man, big boy."
Eddie makes sure to lean in again as he says this, letting his eyes roam over the guy's body in a blatant invitation that he really hopes will be taken. It's not like he has any trouble picking up guys, even in the backwoods he's been traveling through lately, though he does have to be a little more careful. But he wants this one, badly. He's sure he'll look like sin on his knees for Eddie, eyes as round and wet as his mouth wrapped around his dick, begging for anything Eddie is willing to give him.
The guy in front of him doesn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he doesn't have to be, Eddie thinks. Not with that face. It takes him more than a few moments to work through Eddie's words, and the first thing he responds to is not what Eddie would think it would be.
"That's my dad." At Eddie's confused look, he adds, "Sheriff. My dad is Sheriff Roy Tillman. I'm his right-hand man, Deputy Sheriff Gator Tillman." He says, standing even straighter, voice dripping with pomposity.
"I figured you'd be a mouthful, Deputy Sheriff Gator Tillman."
Eddie gives him a wolfish grin and licks his lips, eyes focused on what he can make out of the bulge in the deputy's pants, which are frankly a little too loose. Guys like him should wear tight jeans or those gray sweatpants that show off the goods a lot better than fucking combat pants.
"The fuck you talkin' about, numbnuts?"
Yeah, not the sharpest tool in the shed. But maybe this is his chance to defuse the situation, turn it into a joke, and get the hell out before he finds himself behind bars or with his face bashed in. The Eddie of a few years ago would have run, just like he had run when Harrington had him pinned down at Skull Rock after Eddie had taken his flirting a little too far during a weed sale. He'd had the same look in his eyes that he sees on the Deputy's face now.
Hunger masked as anger.
So instead of running, Eddie decides to show his hand. Make his offer clear and see if the Deputy takes him up on it. And if not, he will hole up in the inn and hope that Ray gets his parts as soon as possible.
"I'm talking about your cock, Deputy." Eddie mutters.
He rises and positions himself to cover his hand as it reaches out to squeeze the bulge, feeling it swell under his touch. Big Boy, indeed. He takes a stumbling step forward to have an excuse to press himself against Deputy Tillman's hard body and leans in to whisper in his ear.
"Too bad we don't get to play with it. I'm sure you'd be so good." Eddie clicks his tongue against his teeth with a soft tzk. "But what can you do, right? Have a good evening, Deputy Sheriff Gator Tillman."
Counting on dear Deputy Tillman needing another moment to process what Eddie just said, he steps away from the other man and saunters out, heading toward the inn.
He hasn't even made it out of the parking lot before he hears the sound of heavy footsteps following him outside.
Bingo.
He keeps walking and doesn't turn around, but there's a pleased smile on his face. If the Deputy was going to bash his head in, Eddie hopes he would have done it by now. The footsteps behind him are faster than the saunter Eddie was taking, but they don’t charge at him, just follow a few steps behind.
Eddie makes sure to sway his hips as he walks, feeling the other man's eyes on him the whole way. He can't be sure, but he thinks they're fixed on his ass, and he's glad he put on his skinny jeans that hug his thighs and ass just right. Not that it will see much action tonight. Eddie knows what Deputy Tillman needs, and soon he’ll know it too when he’s on his knees and begging for it.
For now, Eddie lets him think that it's his tight ass that’ll be getting hit tonight.
The walk to the inn is silent and the cold air around them feels heavy, charged. Anticipation crackles under his skin like a summer storm brewing in the sky and he can't remember the last time he felt so alive.
After passing through the entrance, he waits at the bottom of the stairs until he hears the front door close again, and only then does he begin his ascent to his room on the fourth floor, climbing the stairs with the steady sound of steps creaking under two sets of feet.
When he finally reaches the door to his room, his chest is heaving from more than just the physical exertion. Something about the whole night feels so goddamn surreal, and he still half expects to wake up in a ditch after being beaten half to death for flirting with a fucking cop in a part of the country where that could very well get him arrested. Or worse. So much worse.
And yet here he is, inviting danger into his room, into his bed, into his arms.
Something about Deputy Tillman makes him forget everything he's learned about staying out of trouble.
In fact, he's walking right into it, with a devilish smile and a raging hard-on.
Eddie hears the heavy steps behind him coming to a halt as well and he can feel the presence of another body close to his. For just a second, he contemplates calling it off, taking the safe route, just like he promised his uncle to do. But then he remembers the hot, thick girth under his hand and the way Tillman reminds him of a ghost from the past that has come back to haunt him and thinks fuck the safe route.
Slipping the key into the lock and turning it to the right, he opens the door and walks into his room, turning on the light and waiting for trouble to follow him inside.
They still haven't said anything, not since Eddie so boldly proposed the Deputy Sheriff, but he thinks they both know why they're here.
"I take it you're here to play a little, Deputy?" He doesn't even turn around when he asks this, the question being mostly rhetorical anyway. Just him playing with his food, making Tillman admit why he followed Eddie here.
More silence answers him.
"Cat got your tongue? Don't tell me you're getting shy now." Eddie coaxes, finally turning to look at the young man he never expected to meet tonight. He's met with a defiant look on that awfully pretty face, eyebrows drawn together and lips almost pouting at him. Adorable, really.
"Fuck you," the Deputy spits, clearly at a loss for words, inferior in their duel of wits.
Eddie taps his chin mockingly, as if he has to think about it. "Nah," he finally concludes, "I think I'd rather fuck you."
His words don't immediately hit the Deputy, an almost cute look of confusion on his face before his eyes widen, first in shock, then in anger. Too bad the admittedly impressive bulge in his pants gives away just how much Tillman is not against the idea.
"But...you said...in the bar..." he stutters, more indignation in his words than in his voice. Oh, he's precious, Eddie thinks, just the kind of guy he loves to corrupt. He knows he lured the Deputy in with the vague promise of a blow job, and knowing what he packs in those hideous combat pants, Eddie thinks he might still do it. After all, he thinks the man will be much more pliable after a nice orgasm. He doesn't want to hurt his prey, he just wants to play with it, and if his prey enjoys it, that's all the better in Eddie's book.
Taking a step toward the other man, Eddie catches his eyes and raises an eyebrow. "Look, if you can't use your words, Deputy, then I can't use my mouth or my hands on you. Simple as that. Speak up or get out."
Delighted, Eddie notices Tillman's spine straighten at his tone.
Bingo.
It's clear the Deputy needs a firm hand.
With his chin sticking out, Tillman tries again, still stumbling over his words here and there, but doing a much better job than before. "You said I was a mouthful. That my," he pauses before venturing on, "that my cock was a mouthful and that you wanted to play with it."
"I did, didn't I?" Eddie wonders aloud, his eyes deliberately dropping to where the Deputy is still hard in his pants and licking his lips. "And you've been a good boy so far, haven't you, Deputy?"
Tillman nods eagerly, making Eddie grin. He just loves his men easy.
"Good boys get a reward, but I'm not sure you deserve my mouth on you just yet, Deputy. I think you need to show me how good you really can be." Another step forward brings Eddie close enough to the other man to see how his pupils have dilated, swallowing up the beautiful hazel of his eyes. He puts a hand on Tillman's shoulder, fingers spread wide so that his thumb presses into the hollow of his throat, and gently pushes him down to his knees without any real force.
The Deputy sinks to his knees in a fluid and graceful arc that sends the blood rushing to his cock so fast he feels dizzy for a second.
Fuck, who would have thought that a random cop he picked up in a bar in the middle of nowhere North Dakota would turn out to be the sweetest of temptations?
Certainly not Eddie.
"Gorgeous," he praises the man on his knees in front of him, because he is. He looks up at Eddie with wide eyes, dazed, as if he doesn't even know what he's doing here, but likes it anyway. Thumbing his full lower lip until it opens for him, Eddie can't help but want to see how far the man will let him go. When the Deputy sucks Eddie's thumb into his mouth without a second thought, Eddie doesn't even try to stop the moan that falls from his lips. It's obvious that the man kneeling before him is starved for praise, so giving it to him will only make him more eager.
He pulls his thumb out of Tillman's mouth, already missing the warmth, and unbuttons his jeans. He pushes them down just enough to free his cock, the cool air of the room making him shiver. "Now, let's see what you can do, Deputy," he murmurs, anticipation coiling in his belly.
Deputy Tillman doesn't answer with words, but with action, leaning in and enveloping Eddie's hard length in the wet heat of his mouth. It's a clumsy start, but Eddie is more than willing to show him the ropes. If he's honest, it only fuels the flame of lust burning brightly in his stomach to know that it's him the Deputy is on his knees for, sucking his cock when it's clearly something he wouldn't normally do.
It's only fair that Eddie teach him how to be a good boy for him.
Eddie guides the Deputy's movements with a hand tangled in his hair, enjoying the feeling of complete control. He expects Tillman to bitch at him for ruining his hair, but the only reaction he gets when he tangles it between his fingers and pulls is a broken moan. The night might've started with a broken-down van and ended up in a dive bar, but now, it's shaping into something Eddie never could've anticipated.
Tillman may have been clumsy at first, but with Eddie's guiding hand slowing his movements, the Deputy seems to get used to the feel of Eddie's girth in his mouth, growing more confident with every lick of his tongue and bob of his head.
Eddie continues to murmur encouragements into the quiet room, each one swallowed hungrily by the man on his knees before him. As the night stretches on, he finds himself lost in the pleasure, the cold North Dakota winter forgotten in the warmth of Deputy Tillman's mouth.
"God, you're good at this," he praises, voice hoarse and strained. The Deputy looks up at him then, surprise in his eyes, but Eddie recognizes a flicker of something else there, too. Pride. Satisfaction. It makes him smirk.
He allows himself to sink further into the sensation, guiding the Deputy's movements with a firm hand in his hair. When he hits that sweet spot at the back of his throat, Eddie can't help the groan that escapes his lips.
"That's it, Deputy," he encourages, "Just like that."
As Tillman's moans vibrate around him, Eddie can feel the tension building in the pit of his stomach, an all too familiar pressure that signals his impending release. He tries to hold back, to prolong the pleasure, but it's a losing battle. With one last thrust into the warm cavern of the Deputy's mouth, he succumbs to the pleasure. His hips buck and he spurts down the Deputy's throat, a guttural moan tearing from his lips.
Tillman swallows around him, his throat working around Eddie's length, milking him for all he's worth. When he's spent, Eddie pulls back, sliding out of the warmth of the Deputy's mouth with a sigh.
"Well," he pants, "I think that's enough for tonight, Deputy." Leaning back against the wall to catch his breath, he pulls up his pants and buttons them, ignoring the Deputy's whine at his words. It's been a long time since a simple blowjob left him feeling like that. Completely worn out, but deeply satisfied.
When he finally regains his composure, he looks down to see Deputy Tillman still on his knees, looking up at him with wide, dazed eyes. Eddie grins down at him, reaching out to ruffle his hair.
"Good boy," he purrs, watching as the Deputy's eyes flash with a mix of indignation and satisfaction.
Maybe tonight doesn't have to be over right now.
Smiling, Eddie steps over him and heads for the bed, leaving the Deputy on his knees in the middle of the room. He sinks down on the edge of the bed, his legs slightly apart, and takes in the sight before him.
It takes his breath away.
He can't get over how the hard lines of the man's strong body look unexpectedly soft in his vulnerable position, less coiled serpent and more obedient puppy. The Deputy has surpassed all of Eddie's expectations tonight and he wants to reward him. Wants to encourage this unsuspected side of him, maybe even dig a little deeper to find more of it.
Deputy Sheriff Gator Tillman is more than meets the eye and Eddie is itching to know how much more.
“Look at me,” he tells the kneeling man and after a moment’s hesitation, still slightly unfocused eyes find his. Eddie knows that this must have been pretty intense for someone who hasn’t done anything like that before and the Deputy looks like he’s still far away, only slowly coming back to the here and now. His eyes roam over where Eddie’s body is perched on the edge of the bed with a questioning look on his face.
"Very good," Eddie purrs and smiles down at him. "I promised you a reward, and after how well you did on your knees for me, I think you deserve my mouth on you now."
Hazel's eyes widen in pleasant surprise at the promise, but when the Deputy starts to get up, Eddie stops him. "Who said you could get up again, pretty boy?"
The look of confusion on the man's face is adorable, Eddie thinks before he can stop himself. This is neither the time nor the place to get attached. He can't deny that the Deputy has gotten under his skin, but he'll deal with that when he's back on the road and their night is a distant memory. Just another pretty boy haunting his dreams.
"If you want your reward, you have to come here to get it." He waits for his words to sink in, but the confused puppy dog look doesn't leave the Deputy's face, so he clarifies, "On your knees, Deputy."
He can tell the exact moment the words finally sink in when Tillman closes his eyes as his hips twitch eagerly. If he didn't just come his brains out of his dick and into the Deputy's mouth, Eddie would get hard again at the sight. The man keeps surprising him. No matter what Eddie throws at him, he takes to it like a fish to water, so eager to please, so easily led.
With an eager tilt of his pretty mouth, the Deputy crawls over to Eddie, staying on his knees as he moves between Eddie's spread legs, a look of hungry anticipation in his eyes. Eddie can't wait to show him what a real reward feels like.
He cups the man's face with his hand and pulls him closer so he can lean in and whisper in his ear. "Strip for me, pretty boy. Show me how beautiful you are."
For the first time since they started this whole thing, Deputy Tillman is using his mouth for something other than sucking on Eddie's thumb and cock. "Can I stand up for this?" He asks and Eddie hears some of the petulance creep back into his voice even though his words remain perfectly polite. Like a puppy, the man is eager to be good, but he also loves to test Eddie's limits.
"You may. But do it slowly, I want to enjoy the show."
"I thought this was my reward, not yours?"
Ah, there is the fire he was met with earlier, Eddie thinks. Despite what some people might think about him, he likes a challenge, and if the Deputy wants to make Eddie work for it, then he can. It's part of the game, and he enjoys it just as much as he did when the man was on his knees gagging for it.
Eddie leans back leisurely, spreading his legs a little wider, deliberately giving Tillman an unobstructed view of his slender body. He wears a smirk on his face, a confidence born from countless encounters of this kind. "Well, Deputy," he begins, his voice smooth like aged whiskey. The corners of his mouth twitch up into a devilish grin. "It's your reward, of course. But don't think for a second that I won't get my share of enjoyment out of this too." He leans in a little closer, his eyes twinkling with a mischievous glint. "Now, show me what you've got."
Rising to his feet, the Deputy does as he's told and with every inch of tantalizing skin he reveals, Eddie's hands twitch with the desire to touch. His skin is smooth, the fine hair on it almost golden, with the exception of his chest hair, which is dark and thick. There are beauty marks of all sizes and shapes all over his body, little beacons that call out to him to put his mouth all over them. His body is athletic, arms and legs defined but not bulky like Eddie has seen a lot of cops. Those muscles come from physical work, not pumping at the gym.
Eddie's favorite part, though, are the Deputy's legs. They seem to go on for miles, the golden hair and thick thighs make his mouth water. He wants them wrapped around his waist as he pounds into the tight heat of what must be a virgin ass, eliciting broken moans and high-pitched whimpers. For now, though, he'll take those thighs wrapped around his head.
"Come here, Deputy," Eddie says, patting the bed next to him. "Let's see how good you can be for me." He can't wait to feel those strong thighs tremble around his head as he shows Deputy Tillman exactly how good his tendencies can feel.
With a slight hesitation, the Deputy crawls onto the bed, his movements a little awkward without his clothes on. But Eddie doesn't mind. It's just another sign of how new this is for him, how far out of his comfort zone he is. And Eddie likes that about him. The way he's willing to put himself out there, to try something new and scary. It's unexpected, but endearing. It makes Eddie want to reward him all the more.
He guides Tillman until he's straddling Eddie's chest, his knees resting on either side of his shoulders. His cock is hard and leaking against his belly and Eddie can't resist reaching up to wrap a hand around it, giving it a light squeeze. Tillman hisses at the touch, his hips jerking forward into Eddie's hand.
"Easy, Deputy," Eddie says, his voice low and soothing. "I told you, this is your reward. Just relax and let me take care of you."
Then he begins to stroke Tillman in earnest, his hand moving up and down his length in a slow, steady rhythm. He watches Tillman's face as he does so, watching as his eyes flutter closed and his lips part with a soft moan. The sight sends a rush of satisfaction through him, knowing he's the one making the Deputy feel this way.
But it's not enough. He wants to taste him as well. He wants to feel the way Tillman tastes on his tongue, the way he squirms and moans as Eddie takes him in his mouth. He wants to hear the way Tillman curses under his breath, the way he begs for more.
So he leans up, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of Tillman's cock before taking him in his mouth. The taste of him, salty and a little sweet, is intoxicating and Eddie moans around him, the vibration causing Tillman to gasp and buck his hips forward. But Eddie holds him steady, one hand on his hip as he continues to suck him off.
The sounds Tillman makes as Eddie works him with his mouth and hands are music to Eddie's ears. He can feel the way Tillman's body tenses under his touch, the way his breath hitches every time Eddie does something he particularly likes. And Eddie uses all of this to his advantage, learning what makes Tillman tick, what makes him moan and gasp and beg for more.
It's not long before Tillman is coming undone under Eddie's touch. His moans grow louder, his hips start to move in time with Eddie's strokes, and his fingers clutch at the sheets beneath them. And when he comes, Eddie swallows him down, his own cock throbbing in response to the sight of Tillman losing himself to pleasure.
But even after Tillman's body goes slack, Eddie doesn't stop. He licks him clean, pressing soft kisses to his sensitive skin until Tillman is squirming and whimpering beneath him. Only then does he pull back, his eyes meeting Tillman's as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
"That was your reward, Deputy," he says, his voice low and satisfied. "I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did."
The look in Tillman's eyes tells him he did, even if the Deputy can't find the words to say it. And that's more than enough for Eddie. Part of him thinks he'd actually like the Deputy to stay the night, to get comfortable under the blankets with a warm body in his arms for the first time in a long time. It's been a while since he felt connected enough to someone to let them stay close after they both got what they wanted out of their hookup.
Even longer since the last time Eddie considered a next time. And then another. It's a slippery slope, he knows, so he does the only logical thing.
He taps the thighs that are still clutching his shoulders until Tillman falls to the side and lies down beside him. Without looking at the other man, Eddie says, "I'm going to take a shower. I think it's best if you're gone when I get back."
Stripping off his clothes as he makes his way to the tiny bathroom, he continues to look everywhere but at the naked, beautiful man on his bed. They've both had their fun and now it's time to move on. Easy as that, right? Right.
Or not, because just as he opens the door to step out of the room that smells of sweat and sex, a deep, gravelly voice stops him.
"What's your name?"
Shit.
"Why? So you can look me up? Arrest me as soon as the sun comes up on some trumped up charge of sucking your dick?"
Maybe that's unfair, but in his experience you can't trust a cop, and it's on him that he forgot that, even for a second. That's what he gets for thinking with his dick.
"No," Deputy Tillman replies, his voice surprisingly soft. "I just want to know the name of the guy who just blew my fucking mind, is all."
And that's...huh. Eddie doesn't even know what to do with that.
"It's Eddie."
"Just Eddie?"
"That's all you need to know so you can moan it the next time you jack off, sweetheart." He turns around with a smirk as he says it, but he'd be lying if he said the thought of Tillman moaning his name didn't do it for him. If a next time wasn't such an epically bad idea, he'd like to hear it himself as he takes the man apart.
"Maybe I will," the Deputy replies, and Eddie wants to believe him. "Next time you should call me Gator, ya know? Only fair."
Next time?
"There won't be a next time, Deputy. This was a one-time thing."
And damn it, he shouldn't have turned around, because the look in Gator's-no, Tillman's-eyes is hurt.
It's not that Eddie enjoys hurting the guy, but it's better this way. Safer.
"Goodbye, Gator." He says as he steps into the bathroom and closes the door behind him.
The hot shower feels good, relieving some of the tension that had crept into his shoulders and neck after their conversation. He loses himself in the task of getting clean, scrubbing away the remnants of the night, and when he steps back out into the empty bedroom, he almost feels like himself again. The last few hours hadn't been how he expected to spend his first night in this shithole of a town, but he can't say he regrets a single thing.
As he settles into the soft mattress, he can't help but think that despite all the trouble, Dickinson, North Dakota might not be so bad after all.
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Happy very belated birthday @baronsamediswife 💜💜💜Thank you for indulging me and watching Fargo and Marmalade with me and letting me ramble about how pretty Joe Keery is.
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axelsagewrites · 4 months
Text
Jan Maas*Buttercup
Pairing: Jan x pregnant!reader
Word count: 2479
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Warnings: accidental pregnancy, morning sickness, petty arguments, mentions of childbirth but nothing detailed, Jan being the biggest girl dad ever
Requested by @hypocritic-trash-baby (sorry it took sooo long)
Masterlist Here
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There were many, and you meant many, downsides to working in a pub but one of the upsides just walked in. the Richmond coach Ted lasso and beard came in pretty regularly already but recently Dani, Sam, and Jan had also become regulars with the latter being the only thing you can think about. Jan mass was tall, handsome, and his jersey number was 13 which was basically fate since it was your lucky number.
“Hello,” his adorable Dutch accent greeted you as Sam and Danni claimed a table. “Three pints please,”
“Hiya and no problem,” you grinned, already holding the first pint in your hand since you knew their order by heart not that it was hard to remember, “How are you?”
“Better now,” he smiled, sipping on the first pint you slid him. “I was wondering if I may ask you something?” he asked, his smile dropping for a second as he glanced to his friends.
You tilted your head but smiled anyway, “Course you can. What’s up buttercup?”
Jan chuckled at this, always finding your expressions funny for some unknown reason to you. however, everyone on the team knew why. The boy was absolutely smittened by you. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”
You almost choked on the pint you weren’t even drinking and for a second his smile faltered before you quickly began to splutter, “Well yes that sounds I mean yes I think I mean fuck-“ you paused, sitting the final pint down before smiling, “I’d like that yes,”
“Okay great,” he said but it came out as a laugh, “Could I pick you up tomorrow? Say seven o’clock?”  he asked as he handed you the money for the drinks.
“Seven. Perfect. I can meet you here if you’d like?”
“Okay,” he said, picking up the tray of drinks before adding, “Buttercup,” with a large grin.
You watched him walk to the table for a moment before turning to Mae, “Could you- “
“Yes, I’ll cover your shift you little pest,” she rolled her eyes before finally grinning, “Told you he bloody fancied you,” As she said this however cheers came from the Richmond players who were now patting a very happy look Jan mass on the back.
-
The first date had gone so well you woke up in his apartment the next morning before he whisked you out for breakfast and a second date. You didn’t actually sleep in your own apartment for the first four days after the date you were that wrapped up. Thank god for the off season.
Jan mass was everything you could hope for. He was sweet, kind, honest, and downright gorgeous which helped. You had been dating for 8 months now before the first problem arose. Sure, you had had petty arguments, but this was far more serious. Two pink lines stared back at you in the bathroom.
“Honey, I need to leave now or ill be late!” Jan Mass called through the flat you had now moved into with him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah!” you called back, wrapping the stick up in a ton of toilet paper before stashing it in the back of the bathroom cabinet behind the spare toilet rolls. You’d deal with it later you told yourself as you quickly washed your hands and pressed the cold backs of them to your eyes to try depuff them.
You ran out the bathroom with a forced smile, but Jan mass was angrily pacing the room, “I cannot be late,”
“We won’t be late,”
“We will,” you began to bicker as you both ran out the building to the car. The whole way there he complained as you drove, but you saw the way his leg was bouncing. After all each of these games were important if they wanted to make it back to the premier league but his constant petty jabs were not helping the delicate situation.
When you arrived at Richmond he basically ran out of the car, ditching you to find a parking space. Technically he’d been right but by the time you parked he was only 3 minutes late but only to the recommended early start time Ted recommended to get them ready.
After another quick cry in your car, you headed up to Rebecca’s office to meet her and Keeley. “You alright babes?” Keeley asked, her head tilting like a puppies when she saw your eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine just allergies,” you smiled. Somehow you managed to dodge the rest of their questions as you headed to the stands.
“Look at your man,” Keeley grinned, nudging you as Jan Mass ran onto the field. You smiled lightly and just nodded making her sigh. “What happened babes?”
“Nothing- its just he was being annoying today that’s all,” you tried to assure her, but she gave you that look like Rebecca screamed her team on. “He was just getting all bitchy cause he thought we were gonna be late,”
“Maybe he’s on his period,” she joked, and you felt your stomach drop as you tried to laugh along.
Richmond tied, again, which even though was technically a good thing was just starting to get everybody down. You’d decided to head home before Jan and when he arrived you were in no mood to talk to him. Especially not since morning sickness decided to hit your mid game instead of the expected 8am.
By the time you made it home you honestly just felt like crap and collapsed onto the bed. At some point you must’ve fallen asleep because when you woke up Jan was sat beside you on the bed stroking your back. “Hey,” you muttered, your head falling back onto the pillow.
“I’m sorry. For earlier. I shouldn’t have snapped,” Jan said as he moved to lay in front of you, wrapping his arms around you, “Everything has just been so stressful you know? especially with another tie,” he half laughed but you knew it had been weighing on him, “You disappeared half way thought though. I thought you’d already left but I saw you just before we finished,”
You tried your best to smile but you could tell he didn’t believe you, “Just didn’t feel very well but id never miss a game. You know me,”
“I do,” he smiled, wrapping his arms tight around you and bringing you into his chest, “My little trooper,”
-
You knew you should’ve told him, but you didn’t know how. As you searched online for ways to tell him you fell down a rabbit hole of unhappy reactions. He was already so stressed with football a baby wasn’t exactly going to help with that or fit into his busy schedule. What happens if he has an away match when you’re in labour? Or if he wasn’t ready to settle down? Or if it throws him off his game?
Eventually you snapped under the weight of it all and broke down and told Keeley. She came over in a heartbeat to help you hug it out and try get you excited. “We should go baby shopping!” she said suddenly grabbing your arm, “Cmon it’d be so cute! We can pick up a baby Richmond jersey or something,”
“Okay alright,” you laughed as you tried to pick yourself off the couch to get ready, “And thanks for coming over, babes. It’s just been so hard wrapping my mind around it,”
“I know babes,” Keeley said as you both got ready to leave. You sent Jan a quick text saying you would be back around 5 since he was still at practise, “But hey once you tell him it’ll be a thousand times easier,”
“I hope so,”
“I know so,”
-
Shopping defiantly helped lift your spirit and Keeley even agreed to stash the baby things at her place, but you did take the baby Richmond jersey with you and stuffed it in the bottom of your handbag. You came home all smiles as you opened the front door. “Honey I’m home,” you jokingly called as you tossed your keys in the bowl by the door. “You home yet?”
“In here,” Jan called from the bathroom. You sat your bag down and wandered to the open door, seeing Jan standing in front of the sink looking at something. “I was looking for bandages,” he said softly as you walked in and went to wrap your arms around him, pressing your cheek into his back.
“Oh no are you okay?”
“Yeah um. I hurt my ankle a bit but its fine. What is this?” he asked, his voice coloured in shock however when you looked past him the colour drained from your face.
You started to stutter, all the joy vanishing when you saw his blank expression. “It’s a pregnancy test,” you eventually managed to say, swallowing the lump in your throat.
You unwrapped your arms around him as he turned to face you. “And its positive?” he asked as if he wasn’t holding the literal evidence in his hands.
“Yes,” you said, your eyes falling to the floor as you felt them start to well up.
Jan sat the test down and you have expected him to push past you and straight out the door. but instead, his hands moved to cup your face, his thumbs rubbed over the tops of your cheeks, “I love you. so much. I cannot wait to meet them,” he whispered as you noticed his own teary eyes.
You couldn’t help but laugh a little as you lent up to kiss him, “I was scared to tell you,”
“Why?”
“Encase you hated me,” you confessed, seeing his face fill with guilt, “I didn’t want to ruin you career or throw you off- “
“Football is a job,” he interrupted, “one that yes, I love and yes has become my life. But you are my family. never for a second think you don’t come first,” he said before he tightened his arms around you and you allowed yourself to cry into his chest while he stroked your hair, “We’ll make it work baby. We always will,”
After a few moments you pulled away, “You wanna see what I bought?” you asked while leading him into the living room to get the tiny jersey out the bag.
You turned and showed it to Jan who’s smile somehow got even wider, “See,” he said as he took the jersey, “How could you possibly ruin anything? We’re going to have another player on the team,” he said, and you both laughed this time.
-
You did however make him promise not to tell anyone about the baby however keeping it a secret was hard. Jan’s birthday was coming up however and with the whole team really needing a chance to blow off some steam you both decided to invite them over and tell them at the same time.
The players had completely taken over your flat, every seat was taken and half of them were sat on the floor. Jan however made sure you had a seat. As everyone was sat around the room Ted stood up to give a birthday toast to Jan. “So, a very happy birthday to you my friend,” Ted finished his speech, all the boys giving a small cheer or a clap.
Jan stood up from where he’d been sitting next to you on the couch to take Teds place at the front of the room, “I would also like to thank you all for coming however I have a confession,” he said, looking at you with a wide smile, “I have an announcement to make,”
“Now you better not be quitting on us,” Ted joked making you and Jan both chuckle.
Keeley sent you an excited grin when she realised what was happening, “I’m not going anywhere,” he laughed, “No actually there is someone coming to meet the team. And they are very special to me, so I hope you love them just as much as I do,”
“Is it Zava?” someone asked causing a flurry of conversations and a very loud ‘shut it’ from Roy.
“Someone even better,” Jan said once he finally had their attention again. He pulled the tiny jersey out of his back pocket and held it up, “We’re having a baby,”
To say the team erupted in cheers was an understatement. You were suddenly being hugged by about 20 different footballers all at once who were all congratulating you both. Even Roy gave you a hug it was wild.
-
However, it was not easy being pregnant. Especially not when your stomach suddenly became the size of a large watermelon that weighed what felt like 100lbs. between the stress of Jan’s job and the constant pressure on your bladder and joints there was defiantly some struggles but some how some way you managed and now you were holding a baby girl in your arms.
“She’s so beautiful,” Jan whispered as he sat beside you on the bed. “Just like her mother,”
As you leaned in for a brief soft kiss a nurse knocked on the door, “Hi you have um some visitors?” she said making you look at Jan.
“Who did you tell?” you sighed but he just gave you a sorry smile. “How many are out there?” you asked.
The nurse popped her head out and did a brief count before giving you a sorry look, “20ish people?”
You groaned but internally smiled since you knew your daughter would be surrounded by love. You turned to Jan, “Two at a time. two minutes each. No one gets to hold her, but they get to see her,” he nodded and instantly got up to fulfil your wishes.
The first in were Roy and Keeley. Keeley instantly rushed to give you a hug on the side that you weren’t holding your daughter while Roy slowly wandered over to look down at the small bundle in your arms. “She’s fucking beautiful she is,” he said, voice choked with tears making you and Keeley chuckle.
Jan however was less than impressed, “Hey! Language,” he said rolling his eyes.
“Sorry, sorry. Effing beautiful,” you let that one slide, however. Half an hour later the whole team had finally met her and were content enough to finally leave though they all left some kind of gift for her ranging from baby cleats she wouldn’t be able to wear for months to a massive panda bear from Isaac.
Finally, though it was just you, Jan and your baby again. “Can I take her?” he asked and you of coursed passed her over, “Hi baby,” he cooed as he held her to his chest. “I love you so much. Both of you,” he added, kissing the top of your head.
You smiled up at him, watching how he awed over your daughter. “I love you too,”
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daceydeath · 2 years
Text
Hierarchy
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Heirachy: a system, especially in a society or organization, in which people are organized into different levels of importance from highest to lowest.
Parings: Mafia Changbin x Female Reader, Mafia Felix x Female Reader Word Count: 6.5k (give or take) Genre: Mafia au, friends to lovers, angst Warnings: So much swearing, violence, blood, mentions of kidnapping, drinking
You have always been utterly uninteresting, safely boring as close . You had a normal job, normal friends and the sweetest bestie on the planet but now everything is upside down and that best friend of yours is far more dangerous than you could have ever imagined.
Everyone knew that your city was held by the SKZ Syndicate, a street gang turned successful crime family, they were widely feared but the criminal underworld all over the country but in everyday life you barely every gave them a second thought. Working as a secretary at a corporate design firm was hardly a hub for criminal activity, you lived a normal life by just about anyone's standards.
You had your family who still lived in the home you grew up in a few hours outside of the city, you had your friends that you went to school with and the ones you had met through work and you had Changbin your best friend. He had been in your life as a friend for so long you almost couldn't remember your life without him in it, he was sweet and gentle with you and was always a shoulder for you to cry on if thing had gotten hard at work or if your boyfriend of the time had caused you hurt due to a painful breakup. You had never taken that step across the line of friendship you treasured him too much for that, and besides he seemed to have a pretty constant flow of girlfriends, even though you had more than a few romantic thoughts about him over the years you had been friends.
Living in the neighborhood you did had always been a slight concern for Changbin though he was constantly worried about gang activity or crime in your area but you had never had any problems, most people were quite happy to just mind their own business, you knew that the area was part of the half of the city that was connected to the SKZ Syndicate, but you never really ever gave that a second thought. Criminals dealt with criminals you were a secretary you were stratospheres apart as far as you were concerned.
You had agreed to meet Changbin and a few other mutual friends at a club a fifteen minutes from your place, you had told him you were going to take an Uber but you were actually going to walk it wasn't even that late when you were leaving home so it would be fine. No one ever took any notice of you, this time was different though as you walked between people you could feel someone watching you following you but every time you checked in a store window you couldn't tell who it was. Feeling a little more nervous you changed you route making sure to not go down any empty streets, you tried to stand close to groups of people any time you had to stop to cross roads or wait for cars. The feeling continued until you reached the street the club was located on, walking quickly to the door you entered the club to find Changbin.
"Hey doll, you made it" Changbin grinned drink already in hand.
"Yeah, here I am" you smiled in return but you could tell Changbin was already suspicious as he raised his eyebrows at you in an unasked question. Shaking you head to signal him you would tell him later, you took a seat at the booth and began chatting to your other friends. The club was packed, bodies squeezed together on the dance floor and at least five deep at the bar below you on the first floor but somehow, once again, Changbin had managed to secure you a private booth on the upper floor which meant table service and much less having your toes stepped on. It hadn't taken long for you to get ditched by the three girls you were chatting with in favor of dancing and finding a hook up but you didn't mind really, casual hook ups weren't really your thing and Changbin's friends were still there.
Tonight you could feel that it was different to usual more staff were on the upper floor and more of Changbin's friends who you knew as acquaintances joined you, not that it mattered some of them were incredibly handsome and all of them were friendly smiling easily as they spoke to you and always maintaining a respectful eye level and distance from all the girls in the group, which you had to admit was an attractive trait you had always hated being leered at like you were some kind of prize. Felix then came to sit with you, you had known him for quite sometime meeting him through Changbin a year or so earlier and you had quickly formed a fairly strong friendship, after all he was sweet and adorable it was hard to not get attached to him.
"You need another drink bubs?" Felix grinned gesturing to your now empty glass
"Just water thanks Lixie I need to not have a hangover tomorrow" You smiled sweetly noticing Changbin seemed to be in a deep conversation with Chan.
"Water it is then. Do you want something to eat I think Binnie will be busy for a while" Felix chuckled following you line of sight.
"Oh..um no I'm good, I'm just wondering why he still invited us all out if he's so stressed we would've understood" you met Felix's eyes and shrugged. "I never really thought that the music industry would be as stressful as it is"
"Well you know how it is, every job is stressful at points" Felix nodded as though he agreed with you before waving down a staff member to bring you water and him a beer. You sat with Felix chatting and laughing for another hour until all your other friends had quickly come back to tell you they were either going home or to someone else's and it was just you and Changbin's friends who all seemed to be more relaxed than he was.
Sliding out of the booth to go to the bathroom you found yourself almost the center of attention as each of the guys turned to follow you movements, Changbin opened his mouth and you knew he was about to ask where you were going.
"Bathroom" you called back waving to him before walking towards the restrooms that were on the other side of the upper floor noticing them all go back to their conversations and drinks as you weaved your way between the tables. The thump of the bass was much softer once you made your way through the two doors that separated you from the club making you take a deep breath as you washed your hands and placed your now cool fingers on your face. Changbin had been acting strange all night and it was starting to trouble you, maybe if he was free on Sunday night you would ask him over for a movie and feed him so comfort food to see if he would open up about his problems, you hated seeing him stressed it always made his sweet face seem harder more menacing even though he was the exact opposite. You sighed walking back out into the entrance hall of the bathrooms but before you opened the door you could hear someone talking loudly on the phone, knowing you shouldn't eavesdrop you went to push open the door until you heard Changbin's name being used.
"Boss, I'm sure Changbin suspects something" "Yeah I know that but he wont leave the girl alone she has been with one of them the whole time" "Yeah him or the kid Felix" "Should have grabbed her before she got here but she was around too many people" "Gotta go and get back on the floor"
You stood totally still not wanting even your breathing to give away that you were there and could here everything that was said. You heard the bass get louder again as the door opened to the club again and you waited another two minutes before you scurried back down the hallway quickly and straight back into the club. Changbin must have been watching the door leading to the restrooms because he stood as soon as he noticed your wide eyes and pale face. You rushed through the tables almost tripping and you tried to reach him as fast as possible.
"Doll, did you see a ghost or something?" he grinned squeezing you hand as you almost threw yourself into his arms. Him, Felix and Chan were all sitting in the booth you had been occupying with Minho and Han sitting on chairs they had pulled up all of them looking at you in amusement.
"There was a guy in the hallway, he was on the phone he said you suspected something, that that you weren't leaving me alone, that they were supposed to grab me, he knew your names" You babbled quickly looking at him as he almost snarled and pulled you into his lap and over him to slide you between him and Felix keeping you sandwiched between them.
"So am I still being paranoid Chan" He almost spat as he put his large arm around your shoulders to stop you from shaking as Chan looked genuinely angry as he waved Seungmin over to the booth.
"Minnie, quietly look at the CCTV to find out who came out of that door before she came back into the room" Chan's voice sounded so much colder than you had ever heard making you shrink back into the chair to make yourself smaller "Now sweetheart, tell me everything that happened and everything you heard, you don't have to rush and no one is going to be mad about anything are they Changbin?" You looked to Changbin who nodded once before taking his arm from around your shoulders and instead held your hand, while Felix took your other hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly.
"I was leaving the bathroom and I heard a guy on the phone in the hallway, he was talking really loud and normally I would just walk past but when I went to pull the door open he said Binnie's name in a really nasty tone so I just stayed where I was. I couldn't see him but I heard him say that Binnie suspected something, that he won't leave the girl alone, that she is with him or Felix and that they should have grabbed her earlier but there were too many people around. Then he hung up and I waited until I heard him leave the hallway, waited two minutes then came back out here" You took a deep breathe to steady your voice as you finished causing Binnie to smirk at you.
"How did you know he left the hallway?" Minho asked watching you closely.
"When the hallway door opens to the club the music is much louder when it shuts is get quieter again" you explained watching him now smirk at Changbin.
"How do you know it was about you?" Chan asked softly his eyes remained gentle as he spoke to you.
"I felt someone watching me most of the way here tonight, Changbin made me promise to take an Uber but I wanted to walk, I took a longer route with more people I thought maybe I was imagining it but it felt like I lost them once I got near here" your voice shook a little as you told Chan what you hadn't yet had the chance to Changbin.
"So you stayed still and kept out of sight and also went somewhere where there were more people when you thought you were being followed?" Minho asked again this time looking vaguely surprised as Seungmin returned to Chan and Hyunjin joined the table "that's clever I'll give you that"
"Binnie has told me to do that if I don't feel safe" you nodded "He is a bit overprotective at times" the guys all burst out into laughter as you added the last sentence except Changbin who just squeezed your hand and rubbed his thumb across your knuckles to calm you. Minho smiled at you genuinely after your explanation seeming pleased that you had followed Changbin's instructions.
"You still feeling scared?" Felix whispered as Seungmin leaned into Chan's ear to tell him what he found and to keep your attention away from it.
"Yes but I'm safe with Binnie, I'm safe with you" you whispered back causing Felix to grin his dazzling smile at you and Binnie to grumble pulling you away from his pretty friend.
"Lix isn't going to steal her away man" Han chuckled punching Changbin in the shoulder and confusing you slightly since both men were dear friends to you. But you didn't say anything instead you picked up your bag and looked through your notifications to make sure your friends had all got home safely.
"I told you to stop walking everywhere" Changbin almost growled at you causing Chan to raise his eyebrows and Felix to pull you slightly away from him even though you remained un-phased by his tone.
"I know Binnie, but I just never thought I actually needed to worry about all the stuff you worry about" You explained softly placing you hand on his bicep and giving it a gentle squeeze making him soften instantly.
"Normally I would say lets not talk work in front of friends but maybe we should head back to the company and go from there?" Chan announced flicking his eyes to you momentarily.
"Can you guys not go until I had got a cab home though? I don't want to wait by myself" you muttered shyly not wanting to be alone until you were home again.
"Doll, Chan means you are coming too. You can't be on your own until we find out who that guy was, I need you to be safe is that ok?" Changbin's voice was apologetic but urgent as he explained what Chan meant.
"Oh… sure" you nodded obviously unsure as they all began getting up to leave. Changbin pulled you close to his side with one large arm around your waist, Felix stayed close behind you with Minho in front of you and the others forming a loose ring around you. You found yourself being helped into one of three black cars with blacked out windows that were waiting curbside by Felix while Changbin stood at you back.
"Doll, you are going to have to keep your head lower than the seat line just to be safe. Chan is going to ride with you and so will Minho, I'll be in one of the other cars" He explained quickly and softly so as not to frighten you "So you will need to lean into one of them so no one can tell your are in the car, it's just to keep you safe so don't worry ok?" You nodded mutely and fearfully as Minho took Changbin's place in the door opening and gracefully slid in next to you as Chan did the same on the other side.
Watching through the windshield you watched Felix getting in the first car and you assumed Changbin must have been getting in the third since you lost sight of him. Chan was texting someone so you decided it was best to just bow you head and look at your hands clasped tightly in your lap trying to zone out as best you could so as to not panic as to what on Earth was happening. Not paying attention to much else, except the thoughts and fear swimming in your head, you gasped as the car started moving causing Minho's arm to shoot out behind you and pull you under his arm into his chest, keeping you lower than the seat level.
"Is this alright or would you prefer Chan?" Minho murmured gently prizing your white knuckled grip on your fingers apart as you again nodded in response "Bin won't let anything happen to you, we won't either, your safe with us I promise" His voice was soft and gentle which soothed you and confused you since you had only had a handful of conversations with him since you had met him.
"Why is this even happening?" you whispered not looking up at Minho but desperately wanting to.
"Bin will explain everything when we get to the company" Chan smiled taking one of you hands and rubbing circles into the back of it with his thumb. "Just breathe we will be there soon and it will be over" you sighed softly the stress in your body making in hard for you to do much else, everyone in the car stayed silent for the longest time until it pulled into a tree lined street that looked out of place for a business.
"Was anyone tailing?" Chan asked eyes looking towards the driver
"No Sir" he answered quickly "If someone was tailing it was on one of the other cars"
"Good" Chan sighed as the car pulled up to a large gated wall pausing only as the gate opened before quickly driving on until it reached an underground parking garage.
"See everything is fine now" Minho smiled "We're home now no one can hurt you here" you blinked several times before Chan softly pulled you step out of the car.
You stepped into the chilly air of the garage letting go of Chan's hand to pull your bag out behind you as you looked around for anything recognizable. Only finding the other two black cars parked with the 6 other guys standing by the cars talking. Hearing the doors of the final car they all made their way towards you Changbin looking furious and the others in various states of annoyance which triggered something visceral inside you to flip from scared witless to fuming, dropping your bag to the ground suddenly caused all of them to turn their eyes onto you as you stalked forward to Changbin and hit him as hard as you could across the face.
"What the actual fuck Seo Changbin!" you practically screamed at him as his eyes widened almost comically making you hit him again but this time across his chest "come out for the night you said, it would be fucking fun you said. What the fucking hell going on?" Your breathing was ragged from yelling at him and now your hand hurt but he at least had the respect to look sheepish. It was silent for all of two seconds before Felix snorted and all of them devolved into barks of laughter and Changbin looked from you to your now reddening hand that you had tried to bitch slap him with suspicion while rubbing his cheek. Felix was almost on the floor gasping while Han and Chan looked like they might have tears in their eyes. Hyunjin and Jeongin did have tears leaking from their eyes and Seungmin was quickly taking photos of the reddening hand print on the side of Changbin's face before he bent do to grab your bag to hand it back to you.
"Thank you Seungmin" you smiled at him looking every bit the innocent sweetheart they had always thought you to be, causing another round of chuckles to erupt.
"C'mon inside" Changbin groaned wrapping his fingers around your wrist and tugging you behind him toward the doors into the building "I can't believe you just hit me" he grumbled as the others followed along behind the pair of you still trying to get over their amusement.
"I can't believe I overheard someone trying to kidnap me but here we fucking are" you grumbled right back causing Changbin to loosen his grip on your wrist and let his hand lower to grab your hand in his.
"Well if I knew you were going to turn into a psycho I might have let them" he continued but in a teasing tone which you instantly felt a tiny spark of relief over.
"If I knew my best friend was a shady dipshit I might have gone with them voluntarily" you teased right back feeling him squeeze you hand "But you are going to explain what is going on, right? I mean why does anyone want to take me? I'm no one" you almost sobbed still only seeing his back as he led you through the corridor and up a flight of stairs until you finally come out into a very luxurious looking large entryway.
"This is the company, I'll take you upstairs we just need to talk first then I'll come get you ok?" Changbin finally turned to you the red mark on his cheek was already fading slowly and he looked apologetic as each of the others passed by the pair of you towards a large set of dark wood doors. You nodded feeling to overwhelmed to do much else it had been a very intense few hours and you were now starting to feel the strain of it all.
Changbin led you to what you had assumed would be some kind of guest room where he said you could either just rest or get cleaned up but turned out to be his. As soon as he opened the door to the dark navy painted room you could smell his cologne still hanging in the air.
"I'm sorry that this happened Doll, I really am, but make yourself comfy and I'll come back soon" He murmured before closing the door behind him leaving you alone. The emotions of the past few hours finally came out as the door clicked shut as you covered your mouth to muffle the first of what would be many sobs. Tears tracked down your cheeks quickly dripping salty makeup tinged drips onto your top you didn't hear the door open or someone enter the room until a soft cough and a small hand full of tissues came into your blurry line of sight making you almost shriek.
"Mr Seo asked that I check on you, maybe we should get you into the bathroom a nice hot shower will make you feel better I'm sure" she soothed helping you so stand "they will be in a meeting for quite some time so you have time to relax and sleep if you wish I can get you some food if you like" she guided you gently towards the bathroom turning on the light for you and pulling some plush looking towels from the cabinet and placed them on the counter for you.
"thank you" you croaked your throat sore from crying taking in her appearance she mast have been at least in her late 40s but she was being very kind so you instinctively remained polite.
"I will get you some food while you shower dear" She smile once more before disappearing as silently as she arrived.
You took her advice and had a very long hot shower washing your hair, with what you knew instantly was Changbin's shampoo having grown so used to the scent over the years, and washing away any steric of grime that may have remained on your skin from your time at the club. You must have been in the shower for a long time because by the time you had towel dried your hair and wrapped yourself in a fluffy robe, there was already a tray of food waiting for you. You went into the large closet that was next to the bathroom and pulled out one of Binnie's shirts, hoodie and some sweats you found and dressed yourself to make sure you were decent incase Binne or Felix came back for you.
Sitting on the bed you picked up a strawberry and started to nibble on it not feeling hungry enough to actually eat, when you really couldn't force yourself to eat any more fruit you moved the tray from the bed and laid down hoping against the odds that you would wake up to find it all a crazy dream that you could tell Changbin about and you could laugh about.
"Wakey, wakey doll" Changbin whispered lowly as he shook you awake gently, your eyes opened slowly taking in his tired face and sad eyes.
"What's happening?" you groaned slightly groggy from sleep.
"We need to talk about things" he sighed sitting next to you on the bed as you sat up bringing your knees to you chest to lean on as he watched you carefully. You nodded waiting for him to start as you blinked yourself more awake. "I guess we start on the first lie, I don't work in music production I work for Chan, or more so with Chan, and we are more like..."
"Mafia? murderers? drug lords?" you interrupted sarcastically, your fear at all of the nights events still sitting in your gut like lead, watching his face fall slightly.
"The group of us, we're the SKZ Syndicate so you have every right to call us any of those things" he trailed off looking down from your face to the bed "I'm sorry I've lied to you, I never wanted to, but I had to" his voice sounded sadder with each word he uttered making you feel bad for being annoyed about things that weren't your secrets to keep in the first place "Lix feels terrible too but we understand that you are probably going to never want us around you again"
"Why?" you whispered lowering you knees so you could reach out to him and get him to look at you again. "Do you not trust me?" you nearly felt sick thinking that maybe he never cared about you the way you did him.
"With my life doll, I just never wanted you dragged into this. It isn't a safe life, I'm selfish because I still wanted you in my life and I always hoped that you wouldn't find out which is stupid but still" Changbin sounded almost broken as he explained his fears to you and as he did you realized you didn't actually care as long as he was still Binnie you didn't care what he did, not really.
"How long?" you whispered again still not trusting you voice to work properly
"Years a lot of years, the things you read about in the papers, the bloodshed and stuff. I was part of that and before you ask so was Felix we have been in this life for longer than you have known him" Each word was piercing your heart not because you were scared of him or Felix, or even because you were repulsed by it in truth you didn't actually care, but because they both thought you would hate them for it.
"Binnie, I don't care if your a criminal, I only care that you are still my Binnie. Is it selfish I don't want to lose you?" you smiled cupping his cheek as he smiled at you again. "same goes for Lixie I only care about my friends who I have known for so long"
"You won't lose me doll or Felix, promise, now lets go downstairs the boys want to talk to you a little bit more" You nodded sliding out of his bed and following him down the stairs to the large double doors you had seen earlier opening them for you to step into.
You weren't sure what to expect really, some dark wood board room with guns all over the walls? some kind of high tech room filled with spy gear like a James Bond film? To your surprise it turned out to be a very large room filled with couches, televisions playing video games and a pool table. Skateboards, posters and large works of art littered the walls and a fridge behind one of the couches was filled with soda and beer.
"Hi bubs, can I still call you bubs or do you not want me to anymore?" Felix asked sadness in his eyes as he watched you walk further into the room.
"It's still fine Lixie, as long as you promise you are still Lixie" you whispered as he grinned back at you brightly moving around the others to hug you.
"I see you didn't bother finding her actual spare clothes" Jeongin giggled looking over the very baggy shirt that adorned your top half.
"He's not marking his territory at all" Hyunjin hummed teasingly winking dramatically at Changbin making him roll him eyes and curse under his breath.
"You are feeling better? Did Mrs Choi get you anything to eat?" Minho asked softly looking closely at your face "Why are your eyes so red? Did Bin upset you? We can beat him up for you if you want"
"I feel kind of the same, I ate some fruit, I was sleeping that is why my eyes are red, please don't be mean to Binnie" You smiled at Minho watching him smirk in return.
"How about we all take a seat and talk about a few things" Chan sighed trying to diffuse the teasing before it really started up "Seungmin is going to show you a few photos and I would like you to look at them and tell us if any of them are familiar to you" you nodded as Seungmin began taking a small pile of photos out of a black folder and laid them on the coffee table for you to see.
Your eyes widened as you saw that they were all young looking and standing in front of places you knew like your office building, a café near your apartment, the mall you went to. Staring at them you began to think about anyone you had seen in the last week while you were out on errands or going to work, picking up one of a guy in a black backwards cap you looked at it carefully placing it back down again and picking up another of a guy with a cigarette hanging from his fingers sitting at a table you weren't sure if it was the location that was familiar or the man frowning you put it down too.
"It is completely fine if you don't recognize any of them" Chan prompted kindly trying to make you less nervous.
Your frown only intensified as you picked up another photo this guy was standing outside a convenience store that was a few blocks from your apartment he looked like he was checking his phone but it wasn't him that caught your attention it was you inside the convenience store, standing by the counter, probably chatting the cashier that you saw every few days. You remembered that day you had rushed down there when Changbin called to tell you he and Felix were going to come round to watch movies with you after cancelling so many times and you wanted to make sure you had their favorite snacks. It had been a pain too because there had been moving trucks outside the building since lunchtime that day a new tenant was moving in down the hall from you and his stuff had been everywhere almost making you trip on your way out. The new tenant that you met on your way back out of the store as he bumped into you and you nearly dropped your bag of snacks.
"Him" you blurted out handing the photo to Chan "he moved down the hall from me and he knocked into me not too long after this was taken. I nearly dropped all the snacks I bought for Binnie and Lix, we had a movie night"
"This was last week then?" Felix asked coldly looking to Seungmin for confirmation who just nodded in return.
"He touched you?" Changbin snapped he eyes getting darker quickly.
"He bumped into me and apologized Binnie" you explained simply patting his leg to calm him down more so for you than him, because you felt like you were going to need him for what Chan looked like he was about to tell you.
"Well done sweetheart" Chan smiled at you proudly giving the photo to Han "I am going to assume you have some questions" his voice trailed off as you met his eyes and half smiled nervously taking a deep breath.
"Why is this happening?" you asked in a small voice not wanting to seem demanding.
"Well how much did Bin tell you already?" he prompted as the others all watched Changbin
"That you are the SKZ Syndicate and that he has been part of it for a long time, that he didn't want to lie to me but had to" you answered nervously Chan nodded as Felix grabbed on of your hands instinctively squeezing it like he always did when you were feeling nervous or sad.
"That's true, we are the SKZ Syndicate, and Bin and Minho are my seconds in charge, Bin has been with me for a decade now since we were still kids and none of us ever wanted to lie to our families but we need to to keep them safe otherwise we need to keep them as close as possible to ensure they are safe at all times" Chan's voice was soft trying to keep to keep you as comfortable as possible you guessed as you felt yourself relax slightly now that your hand was in Felix's and Binnie's arm was over your shoulders.
"We think this is happening because either some little fucking upstarts want to make a name for themselves or a deal is about to go sideways and they need a bargaining chip" Han answered easily still seeming too sweet natured for the words to be leaving his mouth "Not that you are a bargaining chip, your important to Bin and Lix so your important to all of us, we look after our own"
"What is it you do?" you asked tilting your head "How does this work?" Chan chuckled watching your expression slowly turn from scared to confused as you comprehended that you were safe from any of them.
"Minho and Changbin look after our entertainment businesses, Felix handles our digital businesses, Seungmin and Jeonjin are our eyes and ears and Han and Hyunjin are our arms in the outside world" Chan began again carefully watching his words.
"Basically, Felix is a hacker, Seungmin does our spy and undercover stuff, Jeongin covers surveillance, Minho runs our gambling ring, Changbin runs our clubs and Han and I eliminate threats while Chan keeps everything all lined up and running" Hyunjin grinned at you as Chan cursed under his breath and Minho cackled with laughter.
"Yeah tell her everything Hyunjin, that's going to go well" Seungmin rolled his eyes "If you freak her out Bin will probably punch you"
"Not to mention the liability factor" Jeongin sighed looking at the ceiling.
"Hey she is not a liability Jeongin" Felix growled in a voice so much deeper that you had ever heard causing the air to turn thick in the room.
"Innie didn't mean it like that Lix" Chan groaned rubbing his eyes tiredly. Jeongin sat wide eyed staring at Felix while the others had all either arched their eyebrows or openly gaped at the boy next to you.
"What happens now?" you interrupted hoping to cut the tension that was not forming again in the room
"Well that is complicated we need to figure out what exactly their motivations are then we will deal with it however we need to" Han answered watching you again.
"So what do I do until then?" you whispered sadly and almost inaudibly but they all still managed to hear you.
"You stay here with us, you will have to call in sick to work until this is done, but I can guarantee you are safe here" Chan shrugged like it was nothing.
"Will this happen again with someone else?" you knew you sounded emotional and tired but you didn't care if they were happy to indulge your questions you were going to ask them
"Honestly" Jeongin looked at you sympathetically "It might never be an issue again but it also could happen very easily as soon as someone tweaks to the idea that you know Bin and Lix in a more than casual sort of way"
"Jeongin" Binnie almost snarled at the younger man "Don't start"
"Stop it Binnie" you snapped finally "It is confusing enough trying to follow the cryptic shit without you adding to it, I know you can't tell me things and that's fine, I know you are trying really hard to make me feel like I'm safe but really your just giving me a massive headache and making me miserable so just fucking stop it" you seethed at him again in all your years of friendship you had never snapped at him as many times as you had in the last 24 hours but you couldn't help it you were just emotionally drained and exhausted.
"Shh bubs, its alright" Felix pulled you out from under Changbin's arms and wrapped you up in a cuddle like he always did when you were upset "Binnie and I are just protective of you, we don't mean to make this harder for you, it's just that we would never want to lose you and it's hard for us to talk about it in case you want out afterwards" he continued rocking you as you hid your face in his neck to hide how difficult this was for you.
"Fine, you want to know the how's, why's and who's" Changbin seethed at you "Some little piece of shit thinks that the best way to get back at me is through you and now we have to figure out exactly what deal has gone wrong or if they are trying to rival us and then I have to go kill him! Happy now? I have to go kill yet another man because he's threatening you and I'll fucking die before I let some motherfucker come anywhere near you" His breathing was ragged by the time he finished and you could feel the anger rolling off of him, swallowing loudly you stood slowly trying to steady yourself from how truly frightening he looked in this state. You looked at Felix who was looking murderously at Changbin .
"I'll take you back upstairs bubs, you definitely need some rest" His voice was still far too deep for what you were useful but he intertwined his fingers with yours so gently making you feel slightly better "We can talk more in the morning when no one is emotional" his last sentence was obviously and pointedly directed at Changbin as the rest of the room was silent.
You followed Felix all the way upstairs without really registering anything until you reached the door to Changbin's room but Felix kept leading you further down the hallway and into the next one. Opening the door for you he ushered you into a different bedroom which you realized must have been his room, following you in he quickly turned on his wall lamps and turned off the main light leaving the room bathed in a soft golden glow which went perfectly with the soft blue walls and white furnishings.
"You can stay in here tonight bubs and I'll go stay with one of the others if you like, so you aren't with Changbin until he calms down" he soothed his voice now back to normal and his eyes shining sweetly, he sat you on the end of the bed as he began rummaging through his things to find his sleep stuff.
"Can you stay with me? you don't have to Lix..." you murmured shakily looking at him with doe eyes.
"Of course bubs. I'll just get washed up and I'll be back did you want me to find you something to sleep in?" he interrupted reaching out to pet your hair. You nodded as he started pulling out clothes for you and handing them to you before disappearing into the bathroom, you changed quickly and slipped yourself into Felix's bed sinking into the soft mattress. You must have started drifting off because when the bed dipped under Felix's weight you jumped making him chuckle as he turned off the lights and got in next to you, rolling over you burrowed yourself into his side and drifted off quickly nestled in blankets and Felix's arms.
a/n: This is the first mafia au I have attempted so I'm sorry if it isn't as good as it could be I wanted to challenge myself. Thanks for reading it reblogs are always appreciated and if you have any comments or criticisms let me know.
Taglist (open): @christopher-bangnaldoskzz
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kindleaf · 8 months
Text
in rolan's head, he invites rand to come with him to chicago. at the beginning of senior year, as he secretly fills out applications he has tucked in between his character sheets, while rand rambles about some movie he'd caught playing in the cinema, hanging upside down, feet dangling over the top of his couch next to rolan's head. (he's high, of course, because when is he not, nowadays? rachel's gone for good; what's the point of being sober?) when winter break comes, and they catch some alone time in between the festivities at the rands'. hanukkah has fallen late in december this year, and rolan is always welcome to join in on the festivities, even if they aren't particularly festive anymore, it's nice to be there, with warmth, and food, and music, and rand, wrapping an arm around rolan's shoulders as he recounts some story about mr. dickman in the janitor's closet. in those last few weeks, before graduation, before the plan goes into place; he and rand are in his car, sharing a cigarette and laughing in the back seat. if rand turned his head a little, he'd see the duffle bags hidden under a blanket in the trunk, stuffed to bursting with clothes and shoes and the books he couldn't bare to part with, and he'd ask what it was, and rolan would have the perfect chance to open his mouth for once and grab rand's hand and beg him to come with him; they'd find a way! rand would get a job, writing that novel he'd always talked about writing late at night, when the high mellowed out and the air got colder in between, and rolan would find them a place and smooth things out with the landlord, and they could be together, and most importantly, get out. out of galloway, out of the bayou, out of the sharp, gleaming teeth that line the jaws of the town border, waiting to clamp down on whoever gets stuck in between.
of course, this is all in rolan's head. it doesn't actually happen. maybe he's scared, scared of rejection, scared of rand saying no, or even worse, telling (he never would. rolan knows that. but the very notion grips onto the back of his head and doesn't let go, whispering turns to shrieking whenever he's close enough to rand to smell the camels on his breath.) so, rolan goes alone. he ditches his cap and gown in the back seat and rolls down willot street, towards that town border. of course, he catches the rands' in the review mirror, unpainted shutters and donna's milkweed patch shrinking as he gets farther and farther away. and he thinks about what gets left behind. he thinks about running. and he thinks that maybe this time, when he turns over his shoulder to merge lanes on the freeway, that somehow, miraculously, he'll be in the backseat, a camel held loosely in his teeth and a notebook in his lap, jotting down things he sees on the road, things he's never seen before, like bright corporate lighting and nicely upholstered sedans and a dry taste to the air.
he always had liked to write, after all. maybe he'll still start that novel. rolan knows he'll never call to ask. he wishes he would.
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findafight · 8 months
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Building onto Jonathan and Nancy just leaving the kids while spooky stuff is happening. Steve is just in the background like hey, is anyone going to look out for the kids?
Other adults in the know, they'll be fine! We're SOLVING the goddamn problem
Steve, yeah no? Do you not know these kids? They need direct supervision otherwise they'll end up in the upside down without anyone else knowing until it's too late!
Robin, after joining the crew, yeah Steve is right! They are children whose favorite game is just finding loopholes in dnd law and exploiting them for profit.
Steve and Robin knows those kids are gonna cause trouble because they were kids who would be all up in it. (or at least, Robin for sure is. Too curious for her own good. I think Steve with life guarding experience would possibly be a bit more cautious, but he was still a boy in the 80s and probably went on little adventures.)
It's so funny that most of the adults and teens are like. it's fine. If we leave these kids with a history of not listening to instructions to stay put in order to do what they think will help to their own devices will surely not do anything drastic if they think there's something to be done! And Steve is going :( they shoved me in a car when I was unconscious I don't think you understand what they're capable of? Robin back me up. It was Dustin's idea to use the vents. Those kids are going to find trouble and apparently it's up to us to prevent them dying. again.
To be fair to nancy and jonathan, they don't really know what's going on in s3. They did team up when they ran into them. But in s2 Jon kinda ditches his family, which is wild (as he also has no reason really to help nancy?) and was also shown the gate. And they decided yeah no this is fine. no way our siblings, notorious for sticking their noses in government shit (at least mike was), will also discover something is wrong with this. it's fine. And then so do Joyce and Hopper? bonkers!
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starwarmth · 28 days
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feel free to ignore this if you don't feel comfortable, but I saw that you said the second sight ran in your family and was curious, do you have any stories about that you'd be willing to share?
sure! i always explain things in a boring way so apologies in advance
one that comes to mind was when my uncle was in a car accident in the middle of winter. my sister woke up from a sound sleep in the middle of the night, gasping, “he’s in the ditch. he’s in the ditch.”
So she calls my mom and says “they need to find him, he’s in the ditch” and my mom calls her mom (my grandma) and says, “He was in an accident, he’s in the ditch” and then the police call my grandma and go “Hey your son was in an accident, he was upside down in the ditch. We couldn’t even see his car from the highway.”
just stuff like that. my mom regularly has dreams of the future that come to pass, my brother can tell when someone is pregnant before they know (and the sex of the baby), just silly things 😂
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writer-in-theory · 2 years
Text
Complete Me — harringrove
One month after Neil died, Billy gets mail.
It was two weeks after the funeral—a measly affair organized by Susan and attended only by him and Steve. Billy is sure Steve wouldn't have gone if he hadn't insisted, but he also knows his boyfriend would follow him to the ends of the world if he asked. He'd gone farther, even, traveling through what Billy now knew was the Upside Down to return him home.
The dread the clung to Billy's chest as he grabbed the envelope should have clued him in. It should have warned him, should have done anything to prepare him for what was contained within.
We cordially invite Mr. William Hargrove and one guest to the union of Mr. Roger Danielson and Mrs. Lily Hargrove.
It was a wedding invitation for a ghost, for the parent who felt more dead than his father even now.
He'd held the cardstock tightly in his hands, sitting unmoving on the couch long past when his joints had gone stiff. All he could do was run his fingers gently over the name, like that could somehow ease the storm brewing within. That was how Steve found him, five hours later when he'd gotten off of work.
"We don't have to go, you know," Steve reminded him months later from the passenger seat of his own BMW, having allowed Billy to drive most of the way because he wanted the distraction.
Billy just gripped the wheel tightly when they passed the shiny 'Welcome to California' sign. "Yeah we do, Steve."
That was how Steve knew just how badly his boyfriend was hurting. It felt like he hadn't called him by his actual name in ages, not since he'd taken down the Mind Flayer all on his own, not since that first strange flicker of light that clued Steve in that he was still alive.
Steve knew they had to go. He knew from the moment he'd leaned over Billy's unmoving shoulder that day, read the words and felt his heart sink into his chest. He knew when Billy had finally broken down a week later, sobbing into Steve's arms because she had known where he was all along, and she never came. Not when Neil moved them out of California after people became too suspicious of the bruises, not when there was a highly publicized funeral for the son who was killed in a tragic mall accident, not when that son made a miraculous return to life eight months later.
She never showed up, and yet Billy would be there on her day. Steve wished he could beg Billy not to go, to stay in Hawkins and help Lucas practice for the big basketball game coming up, help El with her high school homework and Max with her driving. He wanted to tell him that she wasn't his family anymore, hadn't been since she'd abandoned him with a monster, that his family was in a small fucking town in the middle of Nowhere, Indiana. Steve also knew, though, that he would have to decide that for himself. So he helped Billy pack up the car and set out across the country to chase a ghost, because where wouldn't he go for his love?
The wedding wasn't a small affair like Billy had pictured, but rather a full church of people he didn't know, all celebrating a woman he didn't know. It hurt worse to find that he didn't even recognize his mother when she came through the big double doors. She'd dyed her hair a darker hue in the last decade, no longer matching his blond curls. She'd ditched the carefree, free-flowing outfits for what looked like a sophisticated, traditional dress. He could have sworn he remembered a sparrow tattooed on the back of her left shoulder, but there was nothing left to show for it.
This wasn't the woman he remembered. This wasn't the woman from the beach that had saved him from the Mind Flayer. This was a woman who was no less a stranger than the man she was marrying.
Billy wanted to retch. He smiled and clapped when they kissed instead.
"We don't have to go to the reception, we can leave," Steve offered, always checking up on him at the right times, like Steve could see straight into his chest and pick through all the emotions swirling there that even Billy couldn't identify by name. Maybe he really could.
"I have to go," Billy answered back just as softly, softer than his voice had been in years. He thinks it might be the salty California air. They weren't far from the beach now, weren't far from the waves he had once considered his freedom. He used to survive solely on the image of returning here someday, but now he thinks he might die if he ever came back, like a fish once they've acclimated to new water conditions.
So they went to the reception. Billy didn't drink, hadn't since El had cried to him that the excess beer was making her sad, so he didn't now. Steve did, slim fingers wrapped around a champagne flute that he barely sipped at, maybe there more for looks than anything else.
Billy didn't think Steve had let go of his hand once since the start of the wedding ceremony, suspected that he wouldn't until getting to the hotel.
On any other day, he might've told himself it was because Steve was capitalizing on their time in California, in the state that was okay with people like them more than anywhere else. Today, though, he knew it was because his boyfriend thought he'd crumble to pieces without the physical grounding. Billy thinks that might be true.
"William! Oh, I'm so glad you made it," a familiar voice sent ice through his back, paralyzing him faster than the Mind Flayer's sickening tendrils had. He didn't turn, knowing she was behind him. He squeezed his eyes shut and wished it was pretend, wished this was all a bad dream and he'd wake up in the shitty apartment him and Steve rented after the Harringtons kicked their own son out. But then a soft hand was on his shoulder and a breath he'd been holding since he was eight years old finally eased out because he still knew the touch of his mother's hand.
So he turned when that hand guided him to do so, hearing Steve say something about getting another drink as an excuse even when his flute was still full. He was giving him time, letting him commune with ghosts.
"Oh, you're so grown up," she cooed, face melting in what could only be described as adoration. "My baby's so handsome."
And that. He wanted to snarl, wanted to lift his tucked in shirt and show her the vine-like scars that wrapped around nearly every inch of his body. He wanted to rip into his chest and pulled out the heart that she'd marred herself, the one that Steve had carefully hand-sown back together a decade after she'd torn it.
Instead, he forced out, "It's Billy."
"Right, I remember reading that in the newspaper." This was his mother, standing there in a white dress and talking to him casually as if no time had passed, as if she hadn't left him. "I'm so happy you made it, Roger thought it was silly of me to even try inviting you but I knew my baby boy would come."
"You left," Billy answered dully, wishing he had a glass or a hand to wrap his fingers around but instead finding purchase in the fleshy part of his palm. "You left me with him."
His mother's entire expression fell. She at least had the sense to look guilty, eyes tilting down to stare at the bottom hem of her dress before looking back at him. "I don't want to talk about such sad things on a happy day, Willi—Billy."
"I didn't want to spend ten years of my life getting the joy beat outta me either," Billy snapped, unsure where the anger was coming from. He normally had a good handle on it these days, working it out through exercising or punching a pillow as Steve had so thoughtfully suggested. This though, resembled the rage from before. The all-consuming rage that threatened to destroy him, made him the perfect host for that Thing, made him nearly burn himself to the ground.
"Billy, please. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. I'm sorry I didn't take you with me."
"Steve was right, I shouldn't have come," Billy forced out, turning his head because she didn't get to see his tears, not after everything she hadn't been around to see. Instead he looked at his darling boyfriend, leaning against the bar and nervously talking to who Billy thinks is his Great Aunt Karen. He was running a hand through that perfectly styled hair, sipping at his champagne at a rate Billy could only call rapid. His shoulders were shaking in a laugh, but it wasn't the real one that made his entire head tilt back and his face brighten like a star.
"I saw you with him. You two look happy together," his mother brought him back to the conversation. He still didn't look at her, didn't know if he ever could again. "Can I meet him?"
Billy used to dream about this exact question. When he'd been in the hospital after coming back from the Upside Down, when Steve gave up his life of wealth and influence for a shitty apartment with him, when Billy felt like the Mind Flayer had carved out a piece of him he'd never get back, he used to picture his mother coming back, asking to meet Steve. They'd have dinner together, and she'd love Steve too because she could see how happy he made her son. He thought it would be the moment that would complete him, but as he stood there in front of his mother with everything playing out perfectly like a movie, he can't help but stare at Steve and think he was completed long ago, by someone who smelled of Farrah Fawcett hairspray and whose lips tasted like honey and cigarettes.
"No, you can't," Billy supplied simply, "Goodbye, Mom."
He ignored her shouts for him, striding easily over to Steve and taking that hand back in his. Steve's brown eyes searched his own but the weight he'd carried for a decade had been lifted already.
"You ready to hit the beach, Pretty Boy?"
And Steve was, God he was ready, because where wouldn't he go for Billy?
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