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maglorthecrab · 2 months

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🌅 rainbowmiku Follow

Ok so who was going to tell me not ONE but TWO chief prosecutors for my district have been arrested for murder

💿 makosharko Follow

Hey op do you live in fucking night vale

🕰️ athelas Follow

I did the research for y’all in the notes going wild wanting to know where op lives (and also bonuses of being a law student yay) so the only area I can find where a chief prosecutor has been arrested for murder is L.A. then I reckon they said two because the present chief prosecutor for L.A. is Miles Edgeworth, who has been accused of murder twice but cleared of both charges

🔮 ghosthunters Follow

fellow LA denizen here, fun fact! chief prosecutor edgeworth is married to a defence attorney

🌅 rainbowmiku Follow

He’s WHAT

🎈skyrensics Follow

said defence attorney has also been accused of murder before.

🪜ladderhosen Follow

Oh yeah that defence attorney is Phoenix Wright btw- he defended me for a murder charge once

🎈skyrensics Follow

oh nice! he defended my sister once :) she got accused of murdering someone in her offices parking lot lmao

🛒guiltylove Follow

@skyrensics wait is your sister fucking Lana Skye

🫧 pearlescent Follow

The former chief prosecutor’s sister uses tumblr????

🦔 wrongbird Follow

*opens door of reblogs to whisper* the current chief prosecutor also uses tumblr folks

🐚 demaskmasque Follow

WHAT

🍄 magisteel Follow

apparently he likes the samuraiverse! I wouldn’t be surprised if he was lurking in fan circles on here. Evidence btw- he has a steel samurai figure on his windowsill + a signal samurai keychain.

🌅 rainbowmiku Follow

these updates just get wilder and wilder. I’m learning more about my city’s lawyers than I ever thought I would.

🔮 ghosthunters Follow

everyone really skipped over the fact that it seems like half of LA’s legal system is on tumblr. god forbid they find this post

⚖️ calidistrictattorneysoffice Follow

hey

🛒 guiltylove Follow

NO. THEY HAVE AN OFFICIAL TUMBLR???

🌻 wrightandcolaw Follow

Is this a good time to say hello?

🌅 rainbowmiku Follow

never did I think one of my tumblr posts would attract the literal state of California prosecutors office or the wright and co law officef ashnduhjsjkkshg

342,107 notes

#ace attorney #miles edgeworth #phoenix wright #phoenix wright ace attorney #ace attorney dashboard simulator #dashboard simulator #ok tbf this is only one post but the idea wouldn’t leave me alone #pwaa #edgeworth ace attorney #phoenix ace attorney #please please let this be seen by more people than usual #maglortextposts

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loveinhawkins · 1 year

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For a few weeks, Claudia thinks that she’s collecting her son from the hospital after he’s visited Max Mayfield.

Then she finds out that’s only partly the truth.

Usually Dustin’s already waiting in the parking lot for her, Steve by his side. They chat, Steve insisting that he could drive Dustin home, it’s no trouble, and Claudia thanks him for the offer, kindly refuses; the poor boy looks run ragged these days.

One day neither of them are there, so she heads inside. There’s still a long line at reception, the aftermath of the earthquake, so she finds a nurse in a corridor, describes Dustin—my boy, about this high, curly hair (smiles like the sun, she wants to add)—and the nurse smiles, says, “Follow me, ma’am.”

She has a passing thought that this isn’t the direction to Max’s room, but reasons that she must’ve been moved. The nurse leaves her at the door before being called away.

Claudia opens the door quietly.

It’s not Max who’s in the bed.

She recognises him from the posters—his eyes first, then his long hair. He’s holding a battered copy of The Hobbit, the spine broken, and he’s reading so softly that she can’t quite make out the words.

And there, lying so peacefully against Eddie Munson’s shoulder, is Dustin. He’s fast asleep.

Eddie’s got an arm around him, and he’s slowly running his fingers through Dustin’s hair the way she used to when he was little, to help him drift off.

He looks up from his book at the sound of her entering the room, and his face goes as white as the bedsheets.

She takes one step forward.

Eddie inhales, breath stuttering, and it’s a fragile, heartbreaking sound.

Dustin stirs. “Hmm? Wha’s wrong?” He lifts his head up from Eddie’s shoulder, and his eyes meet Claudia’s, and he’s suddenly wide awake, scrabbling upright. “Mom.”

Eddie’s mouth keeps moving, like he’s desperately searching for words. “I-I’m not—” His breathing catches again, eyes wide; Claudia realises, with a heavy heart, that he’s deeply afraid of her. “It’s just a stupid board game, I swear.”

“Mom,” Dustin says again. Pleading.

And of course, Claudia never once believed the frenzied cries about Satanic rituals. Still, throughout that awful Spring Break, knowing that her son was lying to her, all she could think was that she was once a teenager, too—remembered how easy it could be to get caught up in something scary, something beyond your control.

She looks into Eddie Munson’s eyes, and knows deep in her bones that she has nothing to fear from him.

She beckons Dustin over, hands him the car keys.

“There’s a pillow on your seat, hon,” she says softly, because there’s a sleepy haze returning to his eyes despite his obvious concern for Eddie.

Dustin blinks, so unsure.

She smiles reassuringly. It’s okay. I promise.

“Okay,” Dustin says slowly, and he looks back at Eddie, raising his eyebrows like he wants to convince him of something. “See you tomorrow, Eddie.”

Eddie nods, but doesn’t speak.

He lifts his hand in a weak wave as Dustin leaves. It’s shaking. Claudia sits down by the bed. Puts her hand in his.

Eddie stares at her.

“I’m so sorry,” she says. “I’m so sorry for what we did to you.”

Eddie shakes his head, like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “You didn’t—” He clears his throat. “It wasn’t you.”

Claudia shakes her head, too, slowly—prays that he can really hear this. “No, no, please. Listen to me. I’m so sorry.”

It would be an easy thing to say, that the town of Hawkins wronged Eddie Munson. But that would make it sound so impersonal: like it was inevitable, just one of these tragic things that happened, nothing to be done about it. Like earthquakes.

But that wasn’t true. People were behind this, and Claudia knows that they are all the town, every single one of them. And what did it say about them, that the fear and mistrust and cruelty spread like wildfire? That not one adult in the town hall stood up, begged people to stop, to think again?

“Th-thank you,” Eddie says. It sounds so uncertain, almost like a question.

Claudia squeezes his hand. “You were with Dustin, weren’t you?” she asks. “When the earthquake…”

His hand is shaking again.

“Yes,” he whispers. “I-I’m sorry, I—” He swallows. “I didn’t want a-anything to happen to him.”

“Oh, honey.” She reaches out cautiously, and when he doesn’t freeze up, she cups his cheek; her heart breaks at the rough indent of a scar beneath her palm. “You’re not God.”

Eddie reaches up, pressing her hand further against his cheek. He’s crying.

Claudia wipes his tears away as much as she can. She keeps up a steady murmur: “Shh, shh. I know you kept him as safe as you could. I know, I know. Shh.”

When he starts to calm, she thanks him again, but for something lighter.

“Dusty… he was so nervous, starting high school. But his first day, when I picked him up, all he could talk about was getting invited to have lunch with… well, a club.” Claudia smiles. “Oh, he was talking a mile a minute, I could hardly keep up. But I… oh, Eddie, I understand now. That was you.”

Eddie grins back. His cheeks are still wet.

“I didn’t do much,” he says. “You’ve…” For a moment, his eyes fill up again, but they look like happy tears. “You’ve got some kid, Mrs Henderson. He’s—he’s a real gem.”

She laughs. “Oh, I know.”

It’s one of the many things she loves about Dustin: that he’s always been so unashamedly, so joyously himself.

And Eddie had clearly seen that in him, had taken him in and nurtured everything that made him so.

The door abruptly slams open.

Steve’s in the doorway; he must’ve been running, is still gasping for breath as he says, panicked, “Claudia, I can—”

“Steve,” Eddie says softly, and that’s all.

But it’s clearly enough, because Steve’s shoulders drop in relief, and then he’s shutting the door, coming to Eddie’s bedside like he belongs there, and Eddie’s smiling at him, so tenderly…

And oh, she was young, once. She knows what she’s looking at.

Of course, she doesn’t mention it, can still sense some residual anxiety radiating from them.

Instead she looks around the room, spots a pile of laundry in the corner. It’s been stuffed into a bag; she recognises that as belonging to Steve, but there’s some shirts in there that are definitely Eddie’s, entwined with Steve’s things.

She stands, but before she can even pick up the bag, it seems like Steve’s read her mind, because he’s stepping forward, stopping her with a touch to her forearm.

“Oh, you don’t have to—I’m taking care of it, Claudia.”

She pats his cheek, lingers there until he smiles. “I know, sweetheart. But… would you let me? It’s the least I can do.”

Eddie reaches up from the bed, squeezes Steve’s elbow. Steve sighs, briefly leaning into him.

“Okay,” he says. “That’s… thank you.”

“As long as you do one thing for me.”

“Of course,” Steve says immediately. “Anything.”

Claudia brings out a notepad and pen from her bag. “Write me a list? Anything you’d like, I’ll be shopping anyway.” She looks Steve in the eyes, adds firmly but with a smile, “It’s no trouble.”

Steve takes the notepad, twirls the pen hesitantly.

“Anything you’d like,” Claudia repeats. She glances at Eddie, says, “You know, if you want a different shampoo than what they have here, things like that, or—”

“Oh, uh, it’s okay,” Eddie says quickly. “Whatever’s on sale is—”

“I know, honey,” Claudia says patiently, “but what would you actually like?”

The last extended hospital stay she’d had was fifteen years ago; Dustin had been a preemie, and one of the few things that kept her calm was the familiar: scents, food, people…

Steve chuckles. “I’ve got it.” He writes on the notepad, and Eddie must be able to read it, because he suddenly turns a little pink.

“How did you know that?”

Steve shrugs, smiles. “I notice things.” He writes down just a couple more things, then hands the list back. “Thank you so much, Claudia.”

“Any time, sweetie, I mean it.” She hugs Steve goodbye, then reaches one last time for Eddie’s hand on the bedspread. “It was lovely to meet you, Eddie. Hope you can go home soon.”

“Yeah, me—me too. Thank you, Mrs Hend—” Steve squeezes Eddie’s shoulder, and Eddie stops. Smiles. “Thank you, Claudia.”

She looks back once to shut the door behind her. Steve’s pulling up a chair, as close as he can get, and as the door closes, she hears him tut softly, gently swiping at the remaining trail of tears on Eddie’s face: “Hey, what—?”

They look like they belong together. Dustin’s boys.

Dustin’s asleep in the car, pillow pressed against the window. Claudia puts the bag of laundry in the trunk before quietly slipping into her seat.

Dustin wakes anyway as they drive out of the parking lot. “Eddie… okay?”

“He is, honey. Steve’s with him.”

“Mm… good.” There’s a pause, and Claudia thinks he’s fallen asleep again, but then he says, tentative, “Mom?”

“Yes, Dusty?”

“If I tell you something… d’you promise to keep it private?”

“As long as it’s not hurting anyone.”

“It’s not,” Dustin says firmly. “Um. Steve and Eddie, I think… I think they’re…”

Claudia smiles, nods encouragingly. “Oh, that’s lovely.”

Dustin hums in agreement. “They’ve not told me. Did I… do something wrong?”

“No, baby. You just keep doing what you’re doing.” Claudia feels a lump in her throat. “You’re a good friend.”

Dustin makes an uncertain noise.

“You are, baby. They love you very much, you know that, right?”

“Yeah.” Dustin sighs. “I know.” His eyes are closing.

“Sorry, baby, just before you sleep—are there any candies Steve and Eddie like?”

Dustin nods. “Eddie likes anything sweet. An’ Steve…” He yawns. “Anything w’peanut butter.”

“Great. Thank you, honey.”

Dustin’s already asleep.

Claudia knows that even with what she’s learned today, she still only has half a story, if that. That there’s something more to Dustin’s exhaustion, to just how Eddie ended up in a hospital bed.

Today, she’ll do all she can. It’s not a lot, but it’s something. Laundry and shopping, reading the brand of shampoo Steve wrote with a careful eye. She’ll fill her cart up with treats, things that won’t solve anything; they might make staying in that hospital room just a little easier, though. Make it feel a little warmer, a little more like home.

But first, she’ll take her boy home; she’ll park the car as close to the front door as she can get, and when he doesn’t stir, she’ll run a hand through his hair, gently put him to bed.

#one line from my current Dustin fic wouldn’t leave me alone & then this happened ❤️#claudia henderson fic #eddie and dustin #dustin and claudia henderson #henderfam #steve and dustin #steddie ficlet #steddie fic #steddie #eddie and claudia #steve and claudia #claudia henderson #dustin henderson #eddie munson #steve harrington #steve x eddie

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improbably-luminescent · 3 months

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DP x DC prompt idea

Danny’s space powers are coming in. Because those are something he has, apparently.

He just moved to a new city for college. According to Frostbite, setting out from one’s initial haunt/deathplace long-term, to train or learn, is an important developmental stage for ghosts who are strong enough to do so. Which means his core has now developed enough to be clearly identifiable as a space core.

And also to give him new space powers, of course. Can’t forget that.

Thing is, of all the challenges he’s facing trying to make good first impressions at college while going through New Powers Puberty Part 2: Electric Boogaloo, Danny really thought the newfound ability to see whether someone’s been to space would be pretty low on his list of concerns.

Like, how often is that even relevant in everyday life, right? Hopefully he’ll meet astronauts through his Aerospace Engineering program, but it’s not like it should affect his ability to act normal around people day-to-day, right?

So how, exactly, did he manage to pick a regular study spot in a café also frequented by a group of random people who somehow each have more hours in space than literal crew members of the ISS?

And, more urgently, how long can his sleep-deprived brain resist asking them if they have any insights that will help with his homework?

#dpxdc #haven’t done this much before but I had a thought and it wouldn’t leave me alone #who are the heroes? what’s the assignment? can they actually help? did the barista switch Danny to decaf 30 minutes ago?#up to you

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fistfuloflightning · 7 months

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Mistakes… were made.

#svsss #liushen #liu qingge #shen qingqiu #i have no excuse for this lmao #only a mental image that wouldn’t leave me alone #scum villain #my art #svsss art

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soars22 · 3 months

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Missa knows souls.

He’s a reaper-of course he does. He may not be much of one at the moment, but that’s one thing that has never, can never, leave him.

Missa knows souls, and even though it’s been years since he’s had to use the talent, the knowledge sticks with him. They underestimate him on this island (not a lot, granted, but mortal bodies are hard to control and he’s more than a little out of practice) and he’s known Roier for long enough that whatever has taken root inside of his friend’s body can’t fool him.

When Missa sees him for the first time since the island’s reset, he thinks he’s seeing things at first; the stress of starting over must have gotten to him because he has to be imagining what he’s seeing. It’s only after he’s spent a little time with Roier that he realizes that his first instinct was right: he may be looking at Roier’s body, but he’s no longer speaking with his soul.

He’s careful not to let the knowledge slip out, playing up the jokes and banter with the imposter like he normally would, but inside his mind is reeling. There’s no one he can tell who would believe him, except maybe Phil, but Missa doesn’t want to involve him in this. His partner may be a reaper in his own right, Angel of Death as he is, but he’s got enough on his winged shoulders without Missa’s problems adding to them.

He gets his chance eventually, with a slipped comment to Cellbit. He frames it as just another joke in a bantering argument, but there’s a little too much sincerity in the way he focuses on Cellbit as he speaks that lets the other man realize the truth of his words:

“There’s something wrong with Roier.”

And by the widening of Cellbit’s eyes as he speaks, Missa knows his message has been received. After all, above anything else, Missa knows souls.

#qsmp #qsmp missa #reaper Missa #qsmp philza #qsmp doied #qsmp cellbit #that throwaway comment wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote this #Missa as a reaper is ultimate wet cat and also semi-competent #both can be true even if he’s only competent mostly by accident #I headcanon Missa as knowing more than he knows and having no idea what to do with his information

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withclawandvine · 8 months

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today i am thinking about helping hawks with those hard-to-reach pinfeathers

it’s the ones closest to the base of his wings that get him; that tricky place where flesh meets feather, and his very human rotator cuffs can only twist so far. so despite the itchy discomfort, he can only wait for the protective sheath around the new feathers to chip away on its own, aided by the obscenely high water pressure in his penthouse shower. but that was before you.

you, leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed and eyebrows raised as you take in the sight of him — still dripping from his shower, arm contorted awkwardly behind him, reaching up from beneath his left wing, falling mere centimeters short of the spot that was bothering him. as he turns to look at you, his frustrated grimace shifts into a bashful smile.

your smile, meanwhile, is imbued with amusement. “need some help?”

unsurprisingly, you’d never heard the term pinfeather in your life, but listen raptly as he explains that the white needles are new feathers, coated in a shell of keratin until they’re done growing. you catch on quick, gently pinching one between your thumb and forefinger, gasping a little when the sheath turns to dust with the slightest bit of friction and reveals a vibrant crimson feather.

a task that had seemed so insurmountable to keigo takes you only a few minutes. he rolls his shoulders and ruffles his wings with a sigh of relief before turning around to thank you. that’s when he sees it, that melancholic look in your eye you get when he knows you’re thinking about him — his stolen youth and solitary existence. he also knows that no amount of it’s not that big of a deals or i’m fine now, reallys will ease your mind, so he opts for diversion instead.

“you know,” he starts in a drawl, “in the wild, preening is a way birds bond with their mates.”

it kind of works. at the very least, it gets you smiling again, “is that so?”

“yeah. it’s a…” he trails off, suddenly shy. and he knows he’s trying too hard to sound casual when he continues, “it’s a show of trust.”

you roll your eyes with affection, taking his aversion to vulnerability in stride and leaning in to kiss him. “i love you too, keigo.”

#anyway there’s probably plenty of fics about this but i saw a tiktok about bird maintenance and this wouldn’t leave me alone #i’m trying to get into my hawks bag #he's been on the brain lately #even tho i'm actually kinda freaked out by birds believe it or not #mha #hawks x reader #keigo takami x reader #my writing: mha

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mmm-bbaq · 2 years

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let her in

#my art #double life #dlsmp #smajor1995 #zombiecleo #pearlescentmoon #sad wet raccoon vibes #this thought wouldn’t leave me alone until it was drawn

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thiswaytwoinfinity · 3 months

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it’s a bad idea, right? — a jake x reader story inspired by sleeping with other people

Jake Seresin doesn’t do commitment. He’s happy to love ‘em and leave ‘em, making it clear from the jump that he only wants something casual. But with his 35th birthday just behind him and a new, permanent assignment keeping him in one place, Jake is starting to chafe against the “playboy” label he used to embrace. So, he makes himself a promise: the next time he dates (or even hooks up with) someone, it’s going to be for keeps.

Just after making that declaration, though, he runs into you — a former fling who has returned to San Diego after yet another agonizing situationship has left your heart broken and your pride wounded. Apprehensive of the dating scene and suspicious of Jake’s new vow of singledom, you decide to befriend him so you two can help each other on your respective journeys of self-discovery.

And despite your history, you both promise that everything will stay completely and totally platonic. Seriously. You mean it. There will be no funny business of any kind. In fact, you’re barely even attracted to one another …

What could go wrong?

Coming soon

#tgm fic #top gun maverick #top gun maverick fanfiction #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin fic #hangman x reader #top gun hangman #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin x you #idk when i’ll even get to this but the idea wouldn’t leave me alone #so pls enjoy this thrown together moodboard #so I have it down somewhere

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cheridraws · 2 years

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has this been done yet

#danganronpa #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #trigger happy havoc #chihiro fujisaki #leon kuwata #mondo oowada #mondo owada #kiyotaka ishimaru #takaaki ishimaru #(that’s his dads name right)#comic #chdoodles #hehe #I love how silly they are #I saw this for another fandom a couple weeks ago #and #it wouldn’t leave me alone until I drew it

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j2h5b5 · 1 year

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There was only one thing that could have dragged Steve out of bed at two in the morning when he was nursing a booze-induced headache and an Eddie Munson-induced heartache.

“We need you,” she said.

He didn’t even bother putting on a jacket.

***

Dustin was sloppy, red-eyed and so unsteady that when Steve thunked a strong hand down on his shoulder, he almost lost his balance turning away from the group of asshats he’d taken up with to see who had grabbed him. Some of the drink in his hand sloshed over the sides of the cup and dribbled down the front of his shirt and onto the already filthy kitchen floor.

“Hey, what the—” he began, and then he dragged his gaze up to land on Steve.

There was a time, not so very long ago, when those same eyes would’ve lit up at the sight of his babysitter slash idol slash best friend. He would wrap him in a hug if it had been a day or two since he’d seen him, or sling a companionable arm around him, or punch him good-naturedly in the arm in hopes of initiating a play scuffle, which inevitably ended with him in a headlock getting his mop of curls aggressively tousled because he was just never going to have any kind of athletic edge on Steve.

But now.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” the younger boy asked in a tone so sharp and cold and so very NOT-Dustin that it made Steve’s heart squeeze painfully in his chest.

“Hey, man,” Steve said, aiming for casual if only to keep Dustin from embarrassing himself in front of his new asshat friends. “Can I talk to you? Step outside with me for a sec, okay?”

“Um, no,” Dustin bit out. “This’s my party, i'ss my house. It would be rude to leave my guests.”

“Yeah, since you brought that up … who are these people?” Steve swept his gaze over the Henderson kitchen, which was almost unrecognizable with all of the clutter, displaced furniture, and wasted teenagers. “And Dustin … where’s your mom?”

“Not here.”

“Well yeah, I kind of gathered that. Listen, Dust…”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Are the others here?”

“Oh, you mean the traitors who called and ratted me out to YOU? Who the fuck cares?” His voice lowered to what he seemed to think was a conspiratorial level but was really just an extremely loud stage whisper. “Maybe they tripped and fell and landed their buzzkill asses back in the Upside Down.”

“Okay, that’s it.”

Before Dustin could protest, the cup was plucked from his hand and tossed expertly across the room, over the heads of several unwary drunken youths and into the crusty-dish-crowded sink and he was being towed along behind Steve through the kitchen, the living room, out the front door.

“What the fuck, Harrington? Let go of me! Let go!” Dustin struggled against the vise grip on his bicep but only succeeded in ensuring he’d probably have finger-shaped bruises there tomorrow.

Steve paid him no mind until he had deposited the boy into the passenger seat of his car, slammed the door, and locked it. Then he walked around to the driver’s side, unlocked it only long enough to get in, relocked it, and turned to Dustin.

“First of all,” he began loudly, drowning out Dustin’s sputtering attempts to find the words he wanted to hurl at Steve in his outrage at being manhandled out of his own party. “First of all. Joking about the Upside Down in a room full of strangers? NOT OKAY.”

“They don’t even know what—”

“Not. Fucking. Okay. SECOND, if you ever imply again that one of ours should BE in the Upside Down, you will find yourself with my foot so far up your ass you’ll choke on my shoe, and if you think I’m joking about that, Dustin, try me.”

This time there was only an eye-roll from Dustin, because he kind of didn’t want to try Steve on that point and because he kind of felt bad about saying it.

“Third, your friends are not traitors. They care about you and they’re worried about you; they called me for help because you’re treating them like shit and shut down every attempt they make to help you. Listen, I know I’m not your favorite person right now, Dustin, but you have to let someone help you. You’re not okay, buddy. This isn’t you. And all this shit you’re doing, the drinking and the partying and the pretending not to give a damn? It isn’t going to fix anything. It … it won’t bring him back.”

“Shut up!” Dustin shouted, flinching so hard at the words that he smacked the back of his head against the side window. Steve winced at the sound of skull meeting glass and resisted the urge to reach out and check for blood, or a bump. Dustin seemed not to have noticed that he’d nearly brained himself, infusing his next words with all the venom he could muster. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Steve. Even if you were right, it’s none of your business what I do! I am none of your business.”

“Don’t say shit like that, Dustin. Of course you’re my business.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! What are you saying?”

Dustin barked out a humorless laugh. “As much as I’d like to sit here with you and have a heart to heart right now, I have to get back to my guests.”

“No,” Steve snapped, reaching over Dustin to slap down the peg lock when the teen yanked it up. “We’re not done here. Now I can go inside and clear out your house and we can talk there, or you can drop the bullshit and talk to me right now.”

“You’re not shutting down my party.”

“Then we talk here.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Right, sure you don’t. Maybe I can give you some words, then. How about this, Dustin? How about: ‘Hey, Steve, you useless idiot loser, you promised to keep us safe and then you fucked it all up like you always do. The plan didn’t work and Max got hurt and Eddie fucking died, and you couldn’t stop it. I hate you for that, for lying and making us feel safe and telling us it was going to be okay. I can’t even look at you anymore and I hate my friends because they don’t hate you for some reason, but we know, don’t we? We know whose fault it is that we came back a man short. It’s yours, Steve. Yours.’” Steve’s voice was cracked and painful, like he’d been eating gravel and chasing it with cheap whisky and cigarettes. It hurt, that voice. “How’s that, Dust?” he finished, staring unflinching into Dustin’s shocked eyes. “Am I in the ballpark?”

Before Steve could react, Dustin unlocked his door and flung himself out of the car. He was drunk and it was dark, though, and he only made it a few yards before tripping and landing hard on the grass. Steve was on him almost instantly, hauling him up by the arms and scanning him for injuries.

He didn’t see the punch coming, wouldn’t have believed Dustin Henderson capable of such an effective hit, right in the mouth, knocking him back a couple of feet. “Jesus, Dustin!” he shouted, touching his lip and staring dumbfounded when his fingers came away wet with blood. “What the fuck, man?”

“Hit me back.”

“What? No! Dustin, what’s—”

“HIT ME BACK, STEVE! You have to!” Dustin’s voice cracked, the sudden violent burst of emotion threatening to unleash something big and scary and unforgivable. A tidal wave that had a name.

Steve grappled wildly with the boy, trying to grab his flailing arms so he could pin him, but Dustin was surprisingly swift in his current state, and he launched another punch, this one landing heavy in Steve’s gut and socking the breath right out of him.

“HIT ME, STEVE! I KNOW YOU WANT TO, JUST DO IT!”

Fueled by a burst of frustration and a sharper burst of fear (what is this?), Steve recovered enough to trap Dustin’s arms against his body, using his own weight to twist the boy around until he was trapped with his back against Steve, the hold immobilizing him so all he could do was squirm and shout out his fury. “LET ME GO FUCK YOU STEVE WHY WON’T YOU JUST FIGHT BACK YOU ASSHOLE?!”

“Dustin, stop. Stop it. Breathe, Dustin. Take a breath. No, hey, stop. You’re not going anywhere until you calm down for me. Breathe. Shhh, buddy. Breathe,” Steve’s hold was unbudging, his tone stern but soothing. Dustin’s violent struggles gradually slowed, and it took a couple of minutes for Steve to realize that the boy was shaking with silent sobs. And then the sobs became words, almost indecipherable in the wrecked, wretched voice that was rough and strained from screaming.

Every sentence Steve parsed from the stream of horrible self-accusations added another crack to his heart, which couldn’t have been more than a mess of spiderwebbing at this point.

It’s my fault.

He’s dead because of me.

I couldn’t save him.

You loved him, I know you did.

Why don’t you hate me?

Finally, finally, the words stopped and Dustin sagged, exhausted, in Steve’s arms. Only then did Steve ease up on his hold, but only long enough to turn the boy around and hug him properly. He bent down to bury his face in the unruly curls, his own tears falling unchecked and inconsequential.

“Dustin,” he whispered into the mop of hair. “Oh, Dustin, never.”

And when he realized he didn’t have the right words, he just stopped. He just picked Dustin up and carried him to his car, buckled him into the passenger seat, and told him he would be right back. He had a party to break up, some kids to chase away, and a boy—his boy—to mend.

“You loved him, I know you did.”

With a soul-cleansing breath that sounded more like a sob, Steve made his way back up to the Hendersons’ house.

#stranger things #found family #protective steve harrington #mama steve #dustin henderson #fanfiction #steddie #mom steve harrington #steve harrington #steve and his children #grieving over Eddie #survivor guilt #poor dustin #poor steve #unhealthy coping mechanisms #arm wrestling for the blame #angst #oh the angst #in my heart Eddie survived but this scene wouldn’t leave me alone

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