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#i just wanna be funny plant mom

digitalfootprintdiary · 4 months

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Wanna know why my lamp's light is pink? I was so angsty when I was 14 that my mom thought I was depressed so she was like, "You are a flower. You are wilting" so she proceeded to force me to go outside (the middle of a dry lakebed) and bury my feet in the dirt and stay there for an extended period of time, then bought rgb (full color spectrum) PLANT LIGHTS and replaced all the lights in my room with those [to help with my depression I guess????? Or make me less angry? "Stagnant" as she put it?]

Anyways we moved so now my room is back to having normal lights except for the lamp I took with me lol

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stervrucht · 5 days

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“Dude, it says right there” — Steve points at a sign in the grass — “Don’t step on it.”

Steve must be in his soccer mom mindset because he took the kids to the park, and now Eddie is facing the brunt of it.

He sometimes forgets that Steve can be particular about rules.

Eddie shrugs in response. “I’m a rebel at heart, Steve. If someone says ‘Don’t do this’ I wanna do it all the more.”

Steve just looks at him.

At his shoes that are firmly planted on the forbidden grass.

Then up to his face.

Steve’s expression becomes unreadable.

“In that case, you definitely shouldn’t kiss me,” Steve says, his tone dead-serious.

Whatever rebellious little joy Eddie feels from rule-breaking is quickly replaced by shock and a very treacherous flutter in his chest.

Because surely, Steve — the most heterosexual dude to ever heterosex — wouldn’t say that to Eddie.

Eddie lets out a nervous chuckle.

Haha, very funny Steve. You sure got me.

He swallows the words forming in his mind. Makes them disappear before they can manifest.

Before Eddie can make a fool out of himself.

And something changes in Steve’s face.

He mirrors Eddie’s chuckle and then looks towards the other side of the park where the kids are playing a card game on a picnic blanket in the grass.

The grass they are allowed to touch.

Safe grass that wouldn't have made Eddie have a crisis right here on the spot.

Eddie is sure it must have been a joke.

But that doesn’t help him sleep that night.

#steddie fanfic #steddie fanfiction #steve x eddie #steddie fic #steddie #my fics #ficlet

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kindaqueerngl · 1 day

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pjo characters as weird and dumb things me and my friends have said

Percy: what the fuck is cockblocking like I can't block ur cock on Snapchat

Will: UUUUUUUGH MY ASS HURTS- ooh look a butterfly

Leo: I CANT FIND MY PRETTY STICKER- AW FUCK- SHIT- MY VAGINA- OOAOoOoOOooAHAHHAgh

Jason: I can't actually believe I just agreed with you but hey here we are

Reyna: why the fuck am I friends with any of you hoes

Piper: should I...? too late I did it

Will: the best way to rizz someone up is by rizzing them up *turns to friend, winks horribly* hey baby girl

Rachel: one sec getting my anger out *aggressively splatters paint on canvas*

Annabeth: sometimes I'm smart. When I'm smart, I'm smart. *awkward thumbs up and grimace*

Octavian: fuck the gays they should all die ... I mean I could fuck some gays

Hazel: I'll make you tea but not in a sweet way I'll make it so hot in burns your tongue and you can't speak for a week

Frank: hey guys check me out I'm a furry on drugs *WOOOF WOOF BARK BARK BARK WOOF WOOF*

Grover: I love plants :3 specifically magic mushrooms but like

Leo: I mean I would totally fuck you but like respect man

Will: Ugh fuck my life I hate everything *coldplay starts playing* I retract the previous statement I fucking love life

Jason: UGH UR ALL SO DUMB but I'm in

Nico: if u wanna kys clap ur hands *rapidly claps hands*

Piper: *hypnotizes u with my beautiful blue orbs* come over to my house

Hazel: respectfully hope you die <3

Frank: I'm on acid what's it called when a ton of cats jump on each other a dog pile or a cat pile

Reyna: OH THANK GOD- sike I don't believe in that motherfucker hahahha

Annabeth: I'm so smart *holds up the one good test I got in school* see the teacher even gave me an 11/10 because I wrote my name in a cool font

Leo: UUUUUGGGGGHHHH IM SO HORNY- *mom walks in* oh hi mom how are you

Will: we can just... fuck. as friends though no homo.

Rachel: IF I DON'T DRAW SOMETHING IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES I AM GOING TO MAUL SOMEONE

Octavian: you all suck and I hate you *silence* no wait come back

Someone: haha ur gay

Nico: yeah??? and ur not?? like don't knock it until you try it dick is yummy man

Hazel: someone just told me what smearing is and honestly I kinda wanna die *fix you by coldplay starts playing* LMAO WTF

Frank: you sad ass emo dog just be happy

Percy: I Am OnE wiTh ThE oCeAn AnD HopEfuLLy aLL oF ThE hOt MerPeOpLe In iT

Leo: *talking to literally nobody* hey guys!! gonna go get my top surgery! *shows up at claires*

Reyna: I only wanna die sometimes and that's normal right

RIGHT

Will: *playing guitar* haha look guys I'm fingering A minor *strums violently*

Jason: screw men *eyes widen* I should start taking my own advice ngl

Will: *listening to a playlist that Nico made him* ugh my emo ass boyfriend and his stupid music I hate him *proceeds to write his name over and over again in diary with hearts around it*

Nico: what if I strangle someone with a pair of earbuds

Will: please don't

Leo: *in demonic voice* LeAf *eats it*

Nico: *pulls gay flag out of pocket* omg it's u

Will: *shuffles around in pocket, finds condom* ... it's u, vanilla flavoured

Leo: my name's Leo

Percy: and I like jugs

Nico: I'm mentally ill

Leo: and I'm on drugs :D

Jason: is there anything better than pussy

Piper: I thought you where gay

Jason:

Jason: my boyfriend's trans?

Will: the temptation to fuck an emo boy rn is killing me

Leo: the masculine urge to

Leo:

Leo: I forgor

Will: that's good!

Nico: like me in bed

*silence*

Leo: smash or pass Ryan Gosling

Nico: SMASH

Will: PASS

Solangelo: *glares at each other*

Nico: omg stop with that song

Will: but

Will: but you can take me hot to go :(

Annabeth: yeah

Percy: yeah

Annabeth: *in funny voice* yeah

Percy *hentai moan* yEEEAAAaaH

Leo: *pointing at Nico* EEEEEEWWWW AN EMOOOOOO EWWW

Jason: never ever look up what an eyesha erotica lyric means

Reyna:

Reyna: oh you poor soul *pats back*

Nico: I can't breathe

Will: just

Will: breathe air

Nico: I breathe drugs

Piper: I'm gonna go play basketball

Leo: haha play with my balls

Jason: already do

Leo: *chokes on air*

well that's all sorry for the torture, thanks to @localcosplaymushroom, @crowwolf8, @justagremlinoncaffeine, and @secret-mewtwo for all of the funny convos that went into this

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melanieph321 · 2 months

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What about a Ruben one shot where he and the reader are a bit older and their oldest daughter is like 17 and she goes out to a party with some friends and ends up getting drunk for the first time and calls Ruben in the middle of the night, crying and feeling so bad about getting drunk and asking him to pick her up and he and the reader take care of the girl? Pleaseeee i love your writing 🙏🏻

Ugh, such a good request!

Please, let me have your babies, Ruben 😩😩😩

SEVEN DAYS OF REQUESTS (DAY 5)

Ruben Dias x Reader - Our Little Women

Enjoy!

Ruben is a girl dad and loves his job more than anything in the world. He had nine months to prepare for it. And even when you had your second child, he was there, prepared to be the best dad to two beautiful girls. He couldn't imagine a life where he wasn't a girl dad, and perhaps that's where he went wrong, his lack of imagination. Ruben had never imagined that his girls would one day become little women, and the realization hit him pretty hard.

"Dad?"

He was in your bedroom sleeping, when a crack of the door reveled your youngest daughter Emilia, with the homeline in her hand.

"What?" He groand, a bit grumpy to be disturb in his sleep, especially with you, fast asleep in his arms.

"Gigi is on the phone." She said. "But why is he she talking so funny?"

"What?" Ruben sat up, rattling the bed as he did. Gigi, short for Giorgina, was your oldest daugter. It was late. Very late for her to call, especially if she was having a sleepover at her friends house. "Come here." Ruben waved for Emilia in the dark. She was quick to rush over with the homeline, raising her arms for Ruben to lift her up into your bed, unhanding her the phone as he pressed it to his ear.

"Hello, Gigi?"

His heart raised when there was no response. However, there was a dimmed sound of music playing in the back.

"Gigi, can you hear me? This is your dad."

"Dad?"

Ruben exhaled. "Yes, dad. Where are you?"

"Dad." His daughter sobbed.

Panic struck Ruben, but he fought to remain calm for Emilia's sake. She was still by his side, her head pressed to his chest.

"Daddy?" She whined, perhaps reacting to how his muscles had tensed.

"Shhh, it's okay." Ruben assured. "I'm trying to talk to your sister. Gigi, can you hear me? Where are you?"

"Daddy." Giorgina sobbed. Ruben did everything not to fly out of bed and run down the stairs.

"Just tell me where you are baby and I'll come get you. Daddy will come and get you."

"I'm at some guys house." She sniffled "My friends and I thought it would be fun to go to his party since him and his friends are a bit older than us..."

"Define older." Ruben said through clenched teeth.

"I dunno, eighteen? They told us that they were seniors."

"Seniors!" He snapped but put a hand to his mouth so as not to wake you up.

"Yes, seniors. Dad, I know that I messed up by lying to you and mom, but can you come and get me? I've had too much to drink and I can't find my friends...."

"Okay, okay...." Ruben said, calming her down.

"Please dad, I'm so scared."

"I'll be there in a minute. Just text me your address and try to stay out of trouble."

Ruben got out of bed.

"Daddy, is Gigi gonna be okay." Emilia asked.

"Yes, baby. She's gonna be fine." He planted a kiss on top of her head. "You stay with mommy and try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

With that Ruben got dressed and rushed downstairs. He grabbed his car keys and drove to the adress that your daughter had texted him. She was seen standing outiside of the house, on the sidewalk, waiting for him in the nights cold. Seeing that your daughter was okay, Ruben did nothing more than to open up the passenger door for her, driving off as she got in.

"Dad, I'm so sorry that I...."

"We'll discuss this in the morning."

"But I wanna...."

"I said in the morning Georgina! When your mother is awake."

Ruben kept his hands on the wheel, ignoring the way his daughter crumbled in the seat beside him. He was never the one to raise his voice at the girls. You were often the one more comfortable doing so, but tonight....tonight Ruben doesn't know what he would have done if he hadn't found your daughter waiting for him by the sidewalk. He would have probably stormed the house, threatening every teenage boy up in there to tell him where she was.

Pulling up to your driveway, Ruben was surprised to see you and Emilia waiting.

"Is she okay?" You asked, your expression laced with worry.

"She's fine." Ruben got out of the car and walked around it to open the door up for your daughter. She could barely walk on her own two, Ruben had to help her inside.

"Where was she? What happened to the sleepover at Talia's house?" You asked.

"Apprently they decided that it would be fun to sneak away to a party."

"What?"

"We'll have to give Talia's parents a call in the morning and inform them."

Ruben walked passed you and into the house. Just then your daughter looked to be hit with sudden nausea.

"I think I'm gonna...."

She rushed to the nearest bathroom, and you could only hope that she made it to the toilet in time. Nevertheless you saw the expression on Ruben's face and reached for his hand as you approached him. "You did good baby."

He looked to you, a bit taken aback.

You smiled reassuringly. "Why don't you take Emilia upstairs, tuck her back into bed for me? I'll make sure Gigi is okay."

He nodded his head and beant down to pick Emilia up in his arms. She was halfway asleep by the time he got her tucked into bed.

"Am I in trouble daddy?"

Ruben was on his way to the door when she had him turn back around. "Why would you be?" He said, stroking her hair as he sat down by her bedside.

"I woke up mommy and told her that you went to get Gigi."

Ruben smiled. "That's alright baby. You did what you thought to be right."

"Is Gigi gonna be alright?"

"Of course she is." Ruben assured. "She is just feeling a little sick at the moment. She'll be all good tomorrow, you'll see."

"Okay, daddy."

Ruben bent over to kiss her cheek. "You have a good sleep now."

"Goodnight, daddy."

"Goodnight baby."

Ruben stood and walked over to the door. However he did not shut it until he was sure that his daughter had fallen asleep. He returned to your bedroom, running a hand down his tired face. He could hear you downstairs, taking care of your daughter as she was throwing up whatever she and her friends had consumed that night. Ruben felt betrayed. His daughter knew how he felt about alcohol. Not to mention that she was only sixteen years old, drinking should be the last thing on your daughter's mind.

"Hey?"

Ruben jumped as your arms wrapped around him. He had been sitting on the edge of your bed, deep in reflection. To deep to notice you slip back into your bedroom.

"How are you holding up?" You asked, moving to sit down beside him.

He pulled you in for a hug. "How is Gigi?"

"She's fine." You assured. "At least she will be in the morning."

He nodded.

"How are you doing?"

"Me?" He looked to you and frowned.

"Yes you? You seem a bit shook up."

Ruben sighed. "I don't know. I guess I'm just..."

"Yes?"

"I'm just...."

"Ruben?" Your hand stroked his cheek. "It's okay to be disappointed at her."

He looked to you, surprised that you had read his mind.

You smiled. "She's still our little girl even if she messes up sometimes."

"Yes, but..."

You pressed a finger his lips, silencing him. "No buts. You have the right to be disappointed at her."

He exhaled, admitting defeat.

You leaned in to kiss him, and despite his initial hesitation he warmed up to it, a hand traveling to the back of your neck, deepening the kiss.

You pulled back breathless, happy to see that Ruben didn't look so deep in thought anymore.

"I guess I never thought about it." He said, pulling his t-shirt over his head.

"Thought about what?"

You did not hesitate to lift up your arms as Ruben then tugged the hem of your own shirt.

"I never thought they'd grow up on me." He said, helping you undress. He pulled you down to lay beneath him, loving the way you giggled when he traced soft kiss up your body. He traced them all the way to the crook of your neck, moving on to the edge of your jaw.

"But they will." You said, cradling Ruben's face between your hands, meeting his eyes. "Our little women."

He smiled. "Yes they will, our little women."

#fanfiction #football imagine #ruben dias #man city #manchester city #footballer imagine #footballer x reader #football angst #ruben dias x reader #ruben dias imagine #seven days of requests

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faithshouseofchaos · 3 months

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Lydia Verstappen Princess of the paddock series part eight

Tagged— @ashy-kit @astraeaworld @67-angelofthelordme-67 @a-casual-romantic @amatswimming @alwayzbeenale @badassturtle13 @bblouifford @bbtoni @barcelonaloverf1life @charlesf1leclerc @crashingwavesofeuphoria @clowngirlsstuff @dark-night-sky-99 @dudenhaaa27 @eugene-emt-roe @embrosegraves @faithsotherhouseofchaos @formulas-bitch @f1ln4dr3cl16mv33 @hollie911 @hangmandruigandmav @hrts4scarr @ironcowboycopnickel @jeffs77 @lipringlrh @llando4norris @lollypop90907 @laura-naruto-fan1998 @moss-on-tmblr @natailiatulls07 @norrisleclercf1 @omgsuperstarg @oconswrld @otako5811 @purplephantomwolf @scotlynaurora @starkwlkr @taylorswifts-cardigan @toasttt11 @vellicora @venusisnothere @vivwritesfics @fordlita

“Ok lydia your dad and I have to go to split up for work today so who would you like to spend the day with?” You asked the seven year old girl.

“I wanna go with you mama” Lydia says, making Max gasp and place a hand over his heart.

“You don’t wanna spend the day with me?” Max asked

“No daddy I wanna spend the day with mama and grandpa” Lydia says smiling.

Max lets out a small chuckle at her answer, his daughter choosing her mother and her grandfather over him. He didn't take her answer personally, but he did find it a little funny.

"Ouch." he says as he places his hand over his heart, acting like the answer hurts him. But Max was willing to share his little girl with others.

“Okay Lyds just remember to have” Max said, holding out his fist and Lydia bumped her tiny fist against his much larger one.

She bumps her fists and gives Max a big toothy grin.

"I promise." She says, her cute little voice giving Max butterflies in his stomach.

"Make sure you behave too" Max jokingly says and gives her a tickle right beneath her arm and laughs.

"I will!" She squeals.

“I love you daddy” she says giving him a hug, “I love you too baby” he says, planting a kiss on her forehead and smiling widely at his daughter.

“Okay I am leaving you with mama I love you” he says kissing her cheek one more time and leaving.

The 7 year old giggles with her mom as they watch him leave, her mothers hand on her shoulder making her feel safe.

“Mama can I go see uncle Lewis and Roscoe?” Lydia asked.

“Of course you can” You say looking down at your daughter.

“They will be so happy to see you” you say, as she grabs her coat off of a hook and puts it on, she’s very independent for such a young girl.

“Oh and Lydia” you add.

“Yeah mama?” She turns to look at at you and puts her hands on her hips.

“Stay out of trouble okay?” You say with a smile, knowing that she’ll go ahead and get herself in trouble.

She giggles and nods her head, her eyes lighting up at the mention of Lewis and Roscoe.

“Okay mama! I promise I won’t get in any trouble” she says with a big smile.

You can never be sure with Lydia though, so you remind her once more.

“And no trouble with Lewis and Roscoe either?” You say, looking down at her.

She giggles. “Okay mama I promise, you shouldn’t worry about me I’m a big girl” she says confidently.

“I know you are sweetie but can’t help it” you say, giving her one last kiss on the forehead and sending on her way to Lewis’s and Roscoe’s room.

She walks to the room with her head high and her shoulders back, clearly enjoying the freedom she’s been granted as a free independent girl.

Lewis and Roscoe’s room is just down the hall and when she reaches the door she knocks twice.

The door is answered almost immediately by Lewis, he has a huge grin on his face when he sees your daughter.

“Oh look who’s come for a visit!” He says excitedly as he steps aside to let her come in.

“Hi uncle Lewis” Lydia says with a big grin

“Can I play with Roscoe?” Lydia asked wanting to play with the bull dog

“Of course you can!” Lewis says enthusiastically, he is the kind of uncle who likes to spoil his niece.

“Roscoe is excited to play with you too” he says and leads her over to the dog who is already wagging his tail in excitement and ready to play!

Lewis watches as his niece and his dog play together happy that they are getting to spend time together.

#formula one x reader #f1 x reader #formula one imagine #f1 #formula one x you #f1 x y/n #formula one x y/n #max verstappen x reader #formula one x oc #max verstappen #max verstappen x you #max verstappen fluff #max verstappen drabble #max verstappen fanfic #max verstappen f1 #max verstappen au

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jellazticious · 10 months

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Meet this chucklefuck

His name is Pascal Short for Giuseppe Pascallis Jaleppino Edvard Stefano Dimitri Jaloro Pepperman-Spaghetti

That's right, you read the surnames correctly. He is a Pepperino fankid

ramble and more drawings under the cut if you managed to survive the first part

If I had a nickel for everytime I made fankids, I would have two. Which isn't a lot but it is weird that it happened twice.

And brother? I'm happy about it jsrgksrb

Pascal is a jaloro pepper and since his parents are so shit at naming him, they straight up put his pepper type as a name. but yes, they're a real thing and they're so cute. Jaloros are just yellow jalapenos

I also tried to make him simultaneously look like a pepper and a mango to complement how Pepperman looks like an apple. but also while drawing the sprite mock ups, I realized that at a certain pose he sorta looks like a pizza slice. I win either way bfsjbgksjr

He does not want to be an artist or a chef but he does have the inherited naturality of both which landed him a job as a barista. and of course, he could only work for one place which is the Noisette Cafe. It kinda gave him a little trouble getting hired cuz 1.) Peppino does not like how his son is about to work for his rival's girlfriend and 2.) Noisette is fucking terrified of Pepperman. You think she's gonna let his son who is one foot taller work for her 😭

But still, Noisette is way too kind that Peppino forgets why he has a problem with her and Pascal is way softer than both his dads surprisingly. It's ironic how Peppino and Pepperman are these barbarians of people and their kid ended up being the forestcore aestethic. He is never beating the allegations lmao, he's gonna be THAT softboy

But don't get me wrong, he can be a combination brutal and berserk when pissed off. He still has the same strength as his dads, mind you. Mostly Pepperman's brute and Peppino's street smarts

And their patience too.

People expect him to be as manly lol but like nahh he just wanna chill and be a nerd dork

And if anyone's wondering, it was obviously Pepperman who spawned him. In the human au tho? I have a perfect answer for that lmao. ahem

My Pepperman has and always been intersex lmao. That is it, that is all you need to know how Pascal can theoretically be made

Plants being plants man, they're really weird. Pepper is simultaneously mom, dad, uncle, and aunt lmao. Tho Pas calls him both mom and dad because it would be so fucking funny and he calls Peppino papi

He's very tender mostly cuz he did not inherit Pepperman's narcissism but he did inherit that kindness that Pepperman tries so hard to hide. And of course, Peppino's anxiety and impulses.

As a kid, Peppino is the brooding hen between him and Phil. He'd be the one who double checks triple checks if it's safe to let baby Pascal do his thing.

Pepperman on the other hand, he holds baby Pas like a rubber ball. Peppino tries not to get his kid killed because of how his wife holds it 😭

Oh also in a few of em, you can see little interactions with @beefy-the-stronk's Jude. They're simultaneously cousins and siblings. Also don't question it. Just imagine there's two Peppermans gbsjbgrksj

Also Gustavo is the godfather. I only had Pascal for three days but I would die for him

Anyway, if you made it this far, I thank you but alas. That is all for now bgjsbgjksr

#Pizza Tower #i drew this #Pepperman #Manpepper #Peppino Spaghetti #okay how do I tag him #Pascal Jaleppino #fleshed out Pas #Jude the Forksmith #yeah making his middle name look like his last name fbsjbgksr #Pepperino #Spicah Meatball

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thetopichot · 2 months

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The Yuuriboys but they're camp counselors.

Alphonse (The Popular Camp Counselor):

He's the fav of the fandom, he's the fav of the kiddos mostly because he's hip & has similar humor to them. He also has pink hair so points for that. He also reminds me of those popular teachers who are also coaches that alot of the class likes so yeah.

Auron (The Strict One):

Yeah, he's no fun to the kiddos. He looks scary & has like this resting bitchface which you can tell that he'll be strict & hold everyone accountable to the rules. (Even though he's a rulebreaker himself) Well at least the moms that bring their kids to the camp thinks he's hot, I guess. Dark hair, bedroom eyes, moody demeanor, I totally get it/ref.

Biggs/Lucien (Probably Big Foot or sum djdjiensj 😭😭):

Kids think my mans big foot or those scary campfire story creatures that they would talk about. Seth would talk about this creature in the woods to scare the kids & Biggs just pops out to take a shit in one of the bathrooms at the camp. Mf goes like "Oh uh, Gwrah!" The kids scream & run. Finn & Auron are disappointed in both of them for scaring the kids but Auron would lowkey find it funny ajajnsjdj.

Charlie (The Sacrifice):

When one of the counselors or when one of them are trying handle a fight between kids, Charlie is the one that will be sacrificed for the greater good of just saving some counselor's time. He's also the lab rat on doing field trips or camp activities such as going on a climbling rope. If no one wants to pet the snake at the zoo, he would be the one to do it because you know damn well that Auron is NOT touching a snake cause FUCK THAT. Luckily, he's always praised for just helping kids have courage even though he doesn't want to do none of these things but hey he gets paid a extra 2 dollars so I guess sure why not?

Faust (The One That Talks Shit):

Yeah, Faust would talk shit behind a kid's back & he would gossip about everything at the camp. Like Auron has weak ass bones & if you poke his shoulder, he would be immense pain or he would gossip about a kid's crush on another camper with the camp counselors. Similar to Auron, he's also a asshole too which not many of the kids like either.

Finn (The Father Figure Of Camp):

In my experience when I was a kid, there would be always that one camp counselors that acted like a sweet parent who genuinely want those kids to grow & have a amazing experience at camp. Yup, that's Finn. I dunno anyone at camp that wouldn't like him since he does his job at being a camp counselor very well because he actually loves his job & he's a nature boy so, hell yeah! Even more of a bonus for Finn is that he could go hours & hours about talking plants & their origins & the kids absolutely find it so cool. Finn would absolutely make food for the kiddos if they were on a hike. Finn is just a wholesome boyo honestly 😭😭 I WANNA MARRY HIM NOW-

Jack (The Hype One):

Whenever the sport activities come around, he's the man for the job. Man is hype asf when it comes to team activities. Well, Jack is the guy who throws hype ass college parties & team activities are no different. Sir is the definition of YOLO & would probably bring like a speaker & fuck it up as he should‼️‼️🗣🗣

Seth (The Camp Counselor):

He is literally the definition of Camp Counselor. He hikes, he cooks meal on a camp fire, scary stories to tell at camp, swims in mountain lakes, knows things about dangerous plants, lives without fear, BRO IS HUGH JACKMAN NAME ME ONE THING THAT WOULDN'T MAKE HIM A PERFECT CAMP COUNSELOR-

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dave-me0wstaine · 7 months

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YOUR POST ABOUT BAD BOY!DAVE MADE ME FERAL... LIKE IK THE SHELTERED GIRL TROPE IS OVER USES BUT IMAGINE HIM GUIDING YOU THROUGH YOUR FIRST ORGASM AND BEING SO GENTAL WITH YOU... HIM MOUTHING YOU FROM OUTSIDE YOUR PRETTY PINK PANTIES TO GET YOU READY FOR HIM 🫶🫶🤭🤭🤭 HIM TAKING YOUR VIRGINITY IS SO HOT TO ME I NEED HELP. 🙏🙏🙏

honestly i love bad boy!dave and im so so happy that a lot of you guys seem to like it too!! like i lowkey want to flesh out a whole au about it omg.

this scenario though!!! dave would fucking ruin you for anyone else. he wouldn't want anyone else to touch you, and by god he's gonna fuck you so good you'll be forced to marry him just for the sex alone lmao. he's so obsessed with you.

i imagine he'd have snuck into your bedroom through your window, like he always does because your parents hate him (which makes him want to stay with you for the rest of his life even more, as a "fuck you" to them). and the two of you are sharing kisses, until things get a little more heated. you're whining underneath him, although for what, you're not exactly sure. all you know is that you feel something in between your legs. honestly, it's something that you feel a lot whenever dave is around, but you're too embarrassed to say anything about it.

dave, however, always knows whenever he's made you wet. you start whining, getting a little antsy, maybe trying to press yourself to him, and he thinks it's adorable. especially because he can tell that you're unaware of your actions. usually, he can hold off, take care of himself in the bathroom once you fall asleep, but tonight, he decides to make you his. he starts kissing down your neck, and pushes his warm hands up your pajama top.

"can i show you somethin, baby?" he asks between kisses. he pulls away to look you in your eyes, and you nod gently. he grins wolfishly, and starts trailing kisses down your stomach, leading toward your heat. as he gets closer and closer, you begin to squirm even more.

"be a good girl and stay still for me." he whispers, stilling your hips with his hands. he leans down and plants a kiss in-between your legs, right on top of the bow on your pink panties.

"lemme make you feel good, yeah?" he says, and begins mouthing kisses over your clothed cunt. eventually, your panties are soaked through, a combination of your arousal and his spit covering the material. he's barely touched you yet, and you're a whining mess. your whining turns into full-on moaning when he drags your panties to the side, and slowly inserts a finger into your cunt as he continues mouthing at your now exposed clit.

your fingers card through his hair, bunching it up in your hands as you squeal and moan, and dave, despite loving your reactions, pulls away from you momentarily. before you can whine about the loss of contact, he takes off his jacket and places it over your mouth.

"don't wanna wake up dear old mom and dad, huh baby? what would they think of you like this? squealin', all 'cause my tongue's on your pussy." he smirks as you hide your embarrassed face in his jacket. the embarrassment soon fades away though, as he picks up where he left off, slowly stretching out your cunt on his fingers and lapping at your clit with his tongue. it doesn't take long for your tummy to start feeling... funny. its something you've never felt before.

"d-davie, i feel f-funny," you stutter, the weird feeling only intensifying. instead of slowing down, like you thought he would, dave instead only speeds up his actions, sucking your clit harder and plunging his fingers in deeper. before you know it, you're cumming hard on his face and fingers. your brain is all fuzzed out, and as you're coming down from your high, you feel dave's weight on top of you. you look up at him, and his face is flushed, his lips are pink and swollen, and he's almost out of breath himself.

"i wanna make you do that again, on my cock this time, okay pretty girl? think you can handle that for me?"

#this scenario lowkey turned into a fic??#but i regret nothing #ily bad boy! dave <33 #may or may not be my new dave hyperfixation #pls send in more asks about bad boy! dave #or alternatively dilf! dave #dave mustaine #dave mustaine smut #dave mustaine x reader #dave mustaine fanfiction #megadeth #megadeth x reader #megadeth smut #megadeth fanfiction #asks #bad boy! dave

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mxlktxa · 1 year

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wouldn't trade her for the world

☁️🌱🕊 modern!au pairing; abby anderson x fem!reader c/w; a/n; just like the ellie fic, i did this in abbys pov cuz i wanted to see if i could capture her behavior except abby isnt obsessive and i just wanna push out more abby content (and joel maybe idk yet) ☁️🌱🕊

What would this world be like without her? Where would I be right now if she hadn't found me on that god awful bathroom floor? Would I be alive? Would I even meet her later on? Why did she get sent my way? Whatever answers you have, I don't really care to hear them. I'm happy with everything she's given me. I wouldn't trade her for the world.

She's everything I could have ever hoped for.

"Baby, baby, baby!" Y/N yelled, running up to me, arms outstretched and smile bigger than ever, "I have the best news you'll ever hear from me!"

She's so beautiful, I damn near forget to actually listen to her sweet voice, "What's that, gorgeous?"

"Okay, okay. So, you remember how I was working hard for promotion? Well, guess what?"

"Seriously?!" I gasped, watching her nod like crazy as she jumped up and down.

"And! And I got those two weeks off that I will be getting paid for! Which means we can go on vacation."

"To Sweden?"

"Correct!"

My landed on her lips as she gnawed on them and placed her hands on either side of my face, pulling me down so she could rub her nose against mine. I chuckled at her excitement while my hands found their way to her back.

"Why do you do this? The nose rubbing?" I asked, backing away so I could look into her eyes and place a kiss on the tip of her nose as well.

"I don't really know. I mean, I always did it with my mom when I was a kid whenever she wanted to show me some love. I guess I was kind of conditioned with it, y'know?" she explained herself, rubbing her thumbs on my cheeks, "you can always ask me to stop if-."

"No! God, no. I love it, don't stop. I was always just curious is all."

Our eyes met once again. She seemed so happy and comfortable with me as if she never had never felt like this with anyone else before me. Her eyes narrowed hands sliding down to my shoulders and a devious smirk replaced her innocent grin.

"Now what's on that nasty old mind?" her voice dropped down to her familiar flirtatious tone, head tilting as she questioned my thoughts. I scoffed, shaking my head and looking away in slight embarrassment.

"Nothing, really," my voice came out much more nervously than I wanted it to, Y/N raising a brow, "I mean... Maybe a little something but... I don't want-."

"Just ask me, Abby. What do you want?"

It was like she could read my thoughts as her cold, dainty hands were sneaking under my shirt, forcing me to flex at her touch. Her eyes obviously stared at my lips, gradually making their way to my chest which was rising and falling like crazy. I hadn't even fully realized I was breathing so quickly.

"I just wanted to ask if you wanna head upstairs and celebrate your achievements."

Now, I wasn't lying about wanting to celebrate but I didn't want to celebrate like this. But ever since she had run up to me so happily, I couldn't help but want to just fuck her like crazy. I just wanted to listen to her whine and complain. It was all I wanted really.

"And you thought that I would say no to this request?"

"Sort of. We could always just go out. If you want to of course."

"Aww, how sweet," she pouted for a split second before playfully pat my ass and planted a kiss as high as she could reach to my chest, "I'll meet you upstairs, I need to do something."

"Nope, do it later, you come first. Both figuratively and literally," I joked, bending down to lift her over my shoulder and carry the damsel up the steps.

"Abigail! You're not funny!"

"You're literally laughing!"

"That doesn't mean that you're funny!"

Yes it did. She thinks I'm absolutely hilarious.

What would I do without this little angel? Where would I be right this very second if she hadn't found me? I probably wouldn't even be here if it weren't for her. Either way. She's one of a kind and I wouldn't trade her for the world.

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keerysquinn · 2 years

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Coffee Cups and Unconditional Love

Summary: Wayne Munson has been there for his nephew since before he was born, and he'll be there for him for the rest of his life - a.k.a. an explanation of why Wayne Munson owns so many coffee mugs as told through his relationship with his nephew

CW/TW: alcoholism, mentions of child neglect, death, illegal activities, dismissal of mental health issues because it's the 70s/80s, season 4 spoilers if you haven't finished yet

Word Count: 17.6k

A/N: I'm just gonna apologize in advance for this one. It was a labor of love, and I hurt my own feelings writing it.

April 1965

Wayne Munson was a simple man with simple tastes. It didn't take much to make him happy. A couple cigarettes from his pack of smokes, a cold beer, and a working radio were the only things he needed to unwind after a long shift at the plant. He mostly lived off of TV dinners, cold sandwiches, and cereal, and that was fine with him. He had never been the greatest cook, and not wasting his time in the kitchen gave him more energy for work anyway.

At the age of twenty-three, he only had a few more payments left to make on his trailer before he owned it outright, and he had a foldout bed for his younger brother Richard to use when things weren't going so great with their parents. He'd made it clear that his home was always open to him, no questions asked.

However, that didn't mean he wasn't surprised to find his brother and a crying girl sitting on his front step when he got back from the grocery store.

Wayne was a man of few words, and the few he did have did not equip him with the skills to handle a clearly distraught, sixteen year old girl. He and his brother exchanged a look before he wordlessly ushered the two inside.

He put on a fresh pot of coffee before busying himself with putting away his groceries, occasionally glancing over to where his brother was attempting to calm down the crying girl on his sofa.

"Everything is gonna be okay, Linda," he heard his brother say. "Wayne'll know what to do."

Once his groceries were put away and the coffee was finished brewing, he realized that he only had the one coffee mug. He found a couple of plastic juice cups in the back of one of his cabinets and poured the coffee into those and the lone mug. He set the mug in front of the girl and then handed one of the cups to his brother. He held his own cup as he sat down in the chair across from the couch.

Before he could ask what in the world was going on, the girl gave him a funny look.

“Where are your other mugs?” she asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“I’ve only got the one,” he replied.

“Who only owns one coffee mug?”

Wayne shrugged.

“My mother owns three entertaining sets in different patterns with eight mugs a piece. I can’t imagine someone only having one mug.”

She sniffled a bit, but it seemed as though she’d stopped crying for now.

“Don’t really need more than one when you live alone,” he said before taking a sip of his coffee. “Now, does someone wanna tell me why you were crying on my porch?”

Wayne looked back and forth between the two as they shared a look, both hesitant to come right out and say it.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on, Richie.”

“Linda’s pregnant,” Richie blurted out as he started talking a mile a minute. “We didn’t plan for it to happen or anything, but it did. And then her parents found out, and all hell broke loose. You shoulda heard what they said about me, Wayne. About us. About our family.”

Even without being there, Wayne could imagine it pretty perfectly. Their parents weren’t exactly the greatest people, and there was a reason he’d left home as soon as he could, a reason why he had a spare bed specifically for his brother. Their dad was a mean drunk and took it out on everyone around him. The neighbors would hear him yelling, and the next morning, broken furniture would be sitting on the curb waiting for the next garbage pickup. Their mom just made excuses for him and watched as it happened. A bystander in her own life sweeping up broken glass and scrubbing beer stains out of the carpet. They weren’t exactly the kind of family that you’d want your daughter to involve herself with. Wayne had some firsthand experience with that fact.

“It was just awful,” Linda said as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “They told me I could either stay with my cousins in Kentucky until I had the baby and gave it up, or I could get out of their house. So, I got up, and I marched out with Richie.”

“I didn’t know where else to take her,” Richie continued. “There’s no way I’d leave her at mom and dad’s, and I just panicked and brought her here. We could help pay your bills or buy groceries or anything else you need. I got that job that I was telling you about - the one as a bag boy down at the grocery store.”

“And I’m going to pick up as many extra shifts at the diner as I can until I’m too pregnant to work,” Linda added, talking over Richie. “And we’ll help out around here with anything you need. You’ll barely even know we’re here.”

Wayne ran a hand over the back of his neck and abandoned his coffee on the table.

“Where’s all your stuff?” he asked. “You’re gonna need stuff if you’re moving in.”

“They didn’t give me time to pack when they threw me out,” she replied. “But I still have my house key, so Richie was going to take me back over there to get my things tomorrow when I know they’re both out of the house.”

“And I was gonna head over and grab my own stuff after we talked to you,” Richie continued. “Didn’t want to show up here with a bunch of stuff if we were gonna have to go somewhere else. I figured she could use the fold out I usually sleep on, and I can sleep on the couch.”

“No, you’ll take my room,” Wayne said as he moved to get up from his seat. “I’ll be fine out here. Just gotta straighten it up a little bit for you.”

Before he could leave the room, Wayne was practically knocked over by the force of Linda leaping up to wrap her arms around him in a tight embrace.

“I can’t thank you enough,” she said.

He awkwardly patted her on the back.

“It’s fine,” he replied. “I’d do anything for my brother.”

The next day, Wayne busied himself with getting his room ready for Linda and Richie to move into while they were out collecting Linda’s things. When the couple returned, Linda handed a brown paper bag to Wayne.

“These are for you,” she said with a smile. “A little thank you for all that you’re doing for us.”

Wayne opened the bag, and inside, he found three different coffee mugs - one dark green, one light blue with pink rosettes, and one yellow and white striped.

“I snagged a mug from each of my mother’s entertaining sets. It’ll drive her nuts, and now you have enough mugs for us all to have a cup of coffee. Everybody wins.”

The gift of coffee mugs wasn’t the only way Linda started to improve his life. She actively scolded him about the way he’d been eating and told him that she was going to fix his diet even if it killed her in the process. And so his TV dinners were reserved for the nights when Linda was working the dinner shift at the diner and hadn’t planned for leftovers that Wayne and Richie could easily reheat on their own.

She’d promised that he’d barely even know that they were there, but she made her loving presence known.

October 1965

Wayne ducked out of his shift at the plant several hours early when he got the call that Linda had gone into labor. His brother wanted him there for support, and he wanted to meet his niece or nephew the second they were born, so he was happy to do it. He sat in the waiting room for hours until his brother came to grab him.

“Ready to meet your nephew?” Richie asked him as they entered the hospital room.

Wayne’s attention was immediately drawn to Linda sitting up in bed cradling her tiny son. She was sweaty, and her wavy, dark hair was even messier than it normally was, but he didn’t think he’d ever seen her look happier in the six months he’d known her.

“Do you want to hold him?” Linda asked, never looking away from the baby in her arms.

Wayne nodded and made his way to sit in one of the chairs by her bed. Richie carefully took the baby from his girlfriend’s arms and placed him in Wayne’s awaiting hold.

“Wayne, meet Eddie. Eddie, this is your Uncle Wayne.”

"Hey Eddie," Wayne whispered, as he cradled the newborn. "It's nice to meet you."

"His full name is Edward Wayne Munson," Linda said, causing Wayne's gaze to snap up from the baby in his arms to look over at her.

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you?"

Wayne's heart swelled, and he would have been lying if he said that he didn't get a bit choked up.

Wayne was often awake with Linda during the late night feedings. With Richie still going to school and working extra shifts whenever he could to support his little family, he needed all the sleep he could get, so Linda would take Eddie into the living room whenever he got fussy.

"Are you sure this is alright?" she'd asked the first time she accidentally woke him up.

"Don't worry about it," he reassured her. "I've always been more of a night owl anyway."

So the two would sit together at the tiny kitchen table as Linda fed her son, a light blanket draped over her chest to protect her modesty. Not that Wayne would have ever stared at his brother's girl. He'd come to think of her as the sister he never had, and he was fiercely protective of her. He'd make her tea, and she'd tease him about how nice it was to have more than one mug to share between them.

"If I didn't steal my mother's mugs, we wouldn't be able to have nights like these," she said. "And wouldn't that be a shame?"

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" he asked with a small laugh.

"The handle was chipped, Wayne. You only had one mug, and it wasn't even in good condition."

"I've never needed much."

"Well, you'll never have to drink out of a chipped mug again. I'll make sure of it."

On the nights where Eddie was particularly fussy and wouldn't go back to sleep after being fed and changed, Linda would move over to the couch and pass the baby over to Wayne. Wayne would sit in the worn out rocking chair that he'd picked up at the Goodwill, and he'd slowly rock with him as she made herself comfortable. By the dim light of the lamp on the end table, she'd read aloud from her beat up copies of the Lord of the Rings novels, and Eddie would fall asleep to the daring adventures of hobbits and elves with his uncle’s finger in his grasp.

December 1965

Eddie was only a little bit over two months old for his first Christmas, and he could barely hold his own head up, but Linda still went over the top to make it as special as she could on her limited budget.

They couldn’t afford to get Eddie’s photo professionally taken with the Santa at the big department store in the city. It was just too expensive if she wanted to put any gifts under the modest tree that they were all pretty sure Richie had chopped down illegally. Instead, she placed her son in the Christmas stocking that she’d found at Goodwill and stitched his name onto and had Wayne take pictures of him with his beat up polaroid camera. They didn’t have anyone that they wanted to send the pictures to, so every single one was hung up on the refrigerator until Linda decided it was time to add them to her photo album.

“Next year, I want pictures of him playing in the snow,” Linda said as she looked at the collage of photos on their fridge. “And I’m getting a picture of him with Santa even if I have to force one of you to dress up to make it happen.”

On Christmas morning, the three of them sat in a circle on the floor in front of the tree with baby Eddie laying on his stomach in the middle. They all knew that he was too young to know what was going on, but Linda made a point of setting each of Eddie’s gifts in front of him so he could marvel at the brightly colored comics that she’d wrapped them in. There weren’t many presents under the tree, and they were all for Eddie anyway, so everyone was content to sit there with their morning cups of coffee for as long as the baby wasn’t fussy.

“Oh, before I forget,” Linda said as she popped up from her seat leaning against the sofa. She headed back to the bedroom and returned with a small parcel wrapped up in newsprint. She handed it over to Wayne as she sat back down and pulled her son into her lap.

“I thought we agreed on no gifts?” Wayne asked. “Save all our money to make things special for the kid?”

“It’s not from me,” Linda said as Eddie gripped her finger. “It’s from Eddie, of course, and you can’t expect him to follow our rules. He’s just a baby after all.”

Wayne sighed and carefully unwrapped the gift. Inside the crumpled newspaper was a coffee mug with “World’s Best Uncle” hand-painted on the side along with a bright blue baby handprint of Eddie’s.

“It’s not much,” Richie said. “But we hope it shows even a little bit of how thankful we are for everything you’ve done for us.”

“It’s perfect,” Wayne replied. “Really. Thank you.”

April 1967

For Wayne’s twenty-fifth birthday, he insisted that he didn’t need any gifts, and he didn’t want them to make any sort of a fuss over him.

“You’re being absolutely ridiculous,” Linda told him. “We can’t just skip your birthday.”

“I’m happy with what I have,” he said with a shrug. “We don’t need to bring more stuff into this trailer, and I’d much rather just spend the day playing with Eddie and maybe listen to the ball game on the radio if there is one.”

“That’s fine, I guess. But I’m making you your favorite dinner. And a cake. I’ll maybe even get some ice cream to go with it. And we’re singing to you while wearing party hats made out of newspaper whether you like it or not. It’s been decided, and I will not fight with you on this one, Wayne.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a laugh.

So, on his birthday, Linda made a pot roast slow roasted with carrots and onions and a side of mashed potatoes with extra, extra gravy. For dessert, there was a double chocolate chip cake with vanilla frosting and strawberry ice cream. Wayne didn’t fight about the newspaper hat that Linda made him wear, and he pretended that he didn’t hate being the center of attention when they all sang to him if only because he got to hold Eddie while it was happening. The eighteen month old tried to feed him a handful of cake before shoving it in his own mouth and giggling wildly.

He shouldn’t have been surprised when Linda set a small gift in front of him. He knew what it was without even opening it. Every time she thought of giving him a gift, it was a coffee mug, and he had started giving the same to her. They’d started an almost competition of sorts, seeing who could find the most interesting mug at Goodwill or one of the small thrift stores in the city. This one was beige and had the words Ohio University Grandma printed in green on the side. It might have been the best one yet.

“We have something else for you,” Richie told him after sharing a look with Linda. “A gift we couldn’t really wrap.”

“I expected the mug, but I told you guys that you didn’t have to give me anything.”

“We know, but this is a really important gift,” his brother continued. “We’re giving you your bedroom back.”

“You don’t have to do that. I don’t mind sleeping in the living room. We’ve been over this a hundred times. You need your privacy more than I do, and with the kid, you need the extra space.”

“We know that’s how you feel, Wayne,” Linda said. “But it’s time for you to start sleeping on a real bed again.”

“Which is why we’re moving out,” Richie blurted out.

“You’ve been so good to us these past two years,” Linda continued. “And we are so grateful for everything you’ve done for us and the life you helped us build. It’s because of everything that you did that we know we’re ready to take this step.”

“I finally grew a pair and asked her to marry me, and we found an apartment that’ll be ready for us to move into next month. It’s not going to be easy, but we’re excited. Really excited.”

“Well, I’m really happy for you guys,” Wayne told them. “Truly. But you’re gonna leave the kid with me, right? I’m way too attached to him to let him leave.”

As if agreeing with Wayne, Eddie reached up and pressed a sticky, chocolate-covered hand onto his uncle’s cheek. Wayne dug his fingers into the boy’s side and smiled down at him as he giggled and squirmed.

“I don’t know,” Linda said. “I think I’d miss him too much.”

She looked at her son as if he was the whole world, and to her, he probably was.

“You’re probably right.”

“But you’ll still see us all the time,” she promised. “We’ll be over here bothering you every chance that we get, and as soon as we’re settled into our place, we’ll be having you over for dinner every single Sunday night. You’ll get sick of us and be longing for some peace and quiet before you know it.”

Wayne didn’t know how to tell them he didn’t need peace and quiet anymore. He’d grown used to coming home from work to see his nephew playing in the living room and laughing as he toddled around the trailer. He was used to Linda singing loudly and off-key along with every song on the radio as she busied herself in the kitchen. He was used to his brother cracking jokes and making loud comments about every single sport he watched on TV. He was used to there being too many people in his tiny trailer, and he didn’t want that to change.

But he was proud of them. So extraordinarily proud of the two of them and the life they were building together. In the past two years, he’d watched them grow from a couple of scared kids into the loving parents that neither of them had ever had themselves. It would hurt to live apart from them, but he knew that it was what was best for all of them.

May 1970

“Munson residence,” Wayne said as he answered his ringing phone.

“Wayne, it’s Linda,” the voice on the other end of the phone replied.

“I was just about to head over to your apartment. Need me to pick up anything on my way?”

It wasn’t unusual for Linda to ask him to pick up something on the way to dinner. Especially now that she was in college. She’d gotten her GED the year before and was about to finish her first year of schooling to become a teacher. Now that Eddie was a little older and getting ready to start preschool, she was ready to give up her waitressing job and work towards something more stable that fit better with her life as a young mom. Something that would allow her to be home for his bedtime every night.

“Actually, I was calling to ask you for a different sort of favor. I hate to cancel our dinner so last minute, but Richie got called into work for an extra overnight inventory shift at the grocery store, and I have a huge group presentation for one of my classes due tomorrow. Normally, I would give you more notice, but I was wondering if I could maybe drop Eddie off over there for a sleepover? Richie would be able to pick him up first thing in the morning when he gets off work, and this way I can meet up with my classmates to put the finishing touches on our project. I’d owe you a huge favor.”

“You know he’s always welcome over here. Are you heading over now?”

“In a little bit. I still have to pack an overnight bag for the kiddo. One of the girls from my group is going to pick me up, and then we’ll drop Eddie off with you before we head over to the library.”

“Sounds good to me. See you soon.”

While waiting for his sister-in-law and nephew to show up, Wayne looked through the kitchen to see if he actually had anything that he could feed Eddie for dinner. He hadn’t been expecting to have to cook that night, and he usually did his weekly grocery shopping on Mondays before he came home from work. He supposed he could make the kid a TV dinner if it came down to it, and he maybe had a can of soup or two in the cupboard, but neither were up to the standards of the food that Linda normally made him.

But, when Linda arrived with Eddie, she entered the trailer carrying dinner for them.

“I’d already started cooking before Richie got called into work,” she said as she set the lasagna down on the table. “I knew you wouldn’t have had a solid dinner plan, and I wasn’t going to let two of my favorite boys get stuck eating what I’m sure would have been TV dinners.”

“You know me too well.”

Before Linda could respond, Eddie took a running leap at his uncle who caught him easily.

“Uncle Wayne!” Eddie said as he clung to his uncle’s chest. “We get to have a sleepover! And mama said I can stay up an extra half hour ‘cause it’s a special occasion!”

“She did? Well, that’s a good thing because I was thinking we could have a campout in the living room, and maybe if it’s okay with your mama, we could even make some hot chocolate.”

Eddie shifted in Wayne’s arms to face his mom and fixed her with his best pleading gaze, all puppy dog eyes and pouty bottom lip. The kid had them all wrapped around his little finger, and he knew it.

“How could I say no to this precious face? It’s fine with me,” Linda said with a small laugh at her son’s excitement at her answer.

Wayne set Eddie down on the counter next to the sink.

“Why don’t you wash your hands while I talk to your mama, and then you and I will have some dinner, okay?”

Eddie nodded vigorously and turned on the water, so Wayne turned his attention back to Linda.

“Alright, so bedtime is anywhere between seven thirty and eight tonight. He’s gonna be home with Richie all day tomorrow, and I know it’s going to be a lazy sleepy day anyway, so he’ll get plenty of rest if he doesn’t sleep enough tonight. His pajamas and clothes for tomorrow are in his backpack, but if you don’t have him dressed before he gets picked up, that’s fine, too. If he wants a bedtime story, Peter Pan is his favorite right now, and he usually falls asleep around the second chapter. That’s somewhere in his bag with Mister Lion. I gave him a bath earlier, so you don't need to worry about that, but make sure he brushes his teeth. He will try to convince you that he doesn’t need to, but he wants to be just like his Uncle Wayne, so if you brush your teeth when it’s time for him to, he shouldn’t put up too much of a fight. I don’t think I’m forgetting anything, but it’s not like you’ve never watched him before. You know how to handle my little hellraiser better than anyone.”

She looked over towards her son who was now laying with his stomach flat against the counter as he clapped his hands under the running water repeatedly trying to make the biggest splash he possibly could. She moved to turn off the sink before sitting her son upright on the counter and drying his hands off with the dish towel.

“Were you making a mess of the kitchen, you little stinker?” she teased as she skittered her fingers across her son’s belly.

“No,” he replied through his giggles as he curled in on himself. She stopped tickling him and ruffled his messy curls that matched her own.

“You be good for your Uncle Wayne, okay? Daddy will be here to pick you up first thing in the morning. Now give mama big hugs and kisses.”

Eddie stood up on the counter and flung his arms around Linda’s neck. Once she’d wrapped her arms around the boy, he moved his hands to squish her cheeks as he smothered her with as many kisses as he could give.

“I love you so much, Eddie Bear,” she told him, laughing as he kissed one of her eyes.

“I love you more,” he replied.

“And I love you most.”

She gave him one last big squeeze and kissed his forehead before setting him down on the ground.

“Alright, I’ve kept Sandy waiting out in the car long enough. Don’t have too much fun without me!”

Wayne and Eddie had a relatively easy night together. They ate dinner, and Eddie didn’t fuss when Wayne had to wash the sauce off of his face afterwards. He sat at the kitchen table drawing pictures with the crayons and notebook paper they kept at the trailer for him while his uncle cleaned up the kitchen, and he narrated all of his art as he drew. They had the hot chocolate that Wayne promised with extra marshmallows, and there were no complaints about brushing teeth since Wayne was brushing his teeth, too. Wayne set up the foldout bed in the living room with an extra set of sheets and the fuzzy yellow blanket that was Eddie’s favorite. They both changed into their pajamas, and then they read four chapters of Peter Pan before Eddie fell asleep on the couch curled up against his uncle’s side with his fingers threaded through Mister Lion’s mane. Wayne carefully moved the sleeping boy to the bed and placed a kiss on his forehead. He fell asleep on the couch shortly after.

Wayne always woke up at five without an alarm clock no matter what time he went to bed the night before. It was both a blessing and a curse. Being careful to keep quiet enough that he wouldn’t wake Eddie, he made his way to the bathroom to take a quick shower before his brother got there. He didn’t know when his brother would be there, so he wanted to be ready to head to the plant early just in case he’d be racing out the door.

When he was finished getting ready, he headed into the kitchen where he found a very sleepy looking Eddie with the fuzzy, yellow blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He was dragging Mister Lion by his tail behind him.

"What are you doing up, Eds? Did I wake you?" he asked.

"Bad dream," Eddie replied, sniffling a little. “‘Mnot scared, but Mister Lion needed a hug.”

Wayne scooped Eddie up, and the boy immediately wrapped his arms around his uncle’s neck.

“I got ya, buddy,” he said as he rubbed the boy’s back. “I got ya.”

Wayne continued to hold Eddie as he moved around the kitchen and started his morning coffee. Once he’d poured himself a cup, he headed to sit down on the couch.

“Why don’t you try to get a little more sleep, Eds?” he suggested. “I’ll start making breakfast after I finish my coffee, and then I’ll get you up, okay?”

Eddie nodded a little and moved to curl up next to his uncle on the couch not wanting to stray too far from the comfort that he’d found.

By the time Wayne had finished his coffee and used the little he had left in his kitchen to make some scrambled eggs and toast for the boy, it was close to seven. He had to be at the plant by seven thirty, so he was going to have to call in sick if his brother didn’t show up soon.

Eddie was not a morning person, so it took a few minutes for Wayne to get him up and seated at the table, and when he glanced at the clock on his wall, he knew he wasn’t going to make it to work on time.

“Mr. O’Grady? It’s Wayne Munson,” he started when his boss at the plant finally answered the phone. “I’m gonna be a little late for my shift. I’m watching my nephew. My brother was supposed to pick him up by now, but I’ve still got the kid, and I can’t leave him here alone.”

“It’s fine, Munson,” his boss answered. “In the ten years you’ve worked here, you’ve never taken a vacation, and the only times you’ve ever called off were when your nephew was born and when he broke his wrist last year. Take the day to spend with the kid. Sullivan has been asking for more hours anyway, and I can call him in to cover for you this time.”

“Thanks, Mr. O’Grady,” he said as he lunged to take the ketchup bottle away from Eddie before he could empty the entire thing onto his plate. “I really appreciate it.”

Wayne poured himself another cup of coffee and sat down across from Eddie who was more interested in eating ketchup than the eggs on his plate. He figured that inventory took a little bit longer than expected. The grocery store opened at nine, so they’d have to be done by then, and if his brother wasn’t at the trailer by nine thirty, he’d start calling their apartment.

Nine thirty came and went, and the phone call to Richie and Linda’s apartment went unanswered. The same happened every other time he called between then and noon. Wayne was starting to get worried, but he was trying his best not to let it show. His focus was on Eddie who didn’t seem to mind that he got to spend extra time there.

Finally, when Wayne was getting ready to set the table with the TV dinners that he’d ended up making for their lunch, someone answered the phone at the apartment.

“Hello?”

“Is everything okay over there?” Wayne asked, skipping the pleasantries. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all morning.”

“Everything’s fine. I was sleeping,” Richie replied. “What time is it?”

“For the love of god, Richie.” Wayne lowered his voice and glanced into the living room to make sure Eddie wasn’t paying attention to him before he continued. “I was starting to think something bad had happened. I called you at least a dozen times. Scared the shit outta me.”

“I’m sorry. I came home from work and passed out immediately. Didn’t hear the phone until just now.”

“But you were supposed to pick up Eddie before you went home.”

“I stopped on the way to change my clothes. Smelled like sweat and pickle juice after someone dropped a box and the shit splattered everywhere. I figured Linda changed her mind and was picking him up since she wasn’t home when I got here.”

“Well, she definitely didn’t come here.”

“She had a group presentation due today, and she was really hounding the other girls to make sure it was perfect. She probably just caught the bus and headed over to campus early. Do you want me to come over and get Eddie?”

“Don’t worry about it. You should get some more sleep. One of you can come and grab him after Linda gets home from class.”

“Are you sure? I know he can be a handful.”

“We’re fine. I’ll take him to the park or something, and he can do my grocery shopping with me. Besides, I just made him lunch, and I kinda like having him around.”

“You wanna keep him?” Richie asked with a laugh.

“Don’t tempt me,” Wayne responded with a laugh of his own. “But I don’t think Linda would be too happy about it.”

“You’re probably right. We’ll give you a call when we’re on our way to get him, okay? Most likely right around dinner time?”

“Sounds good to me.”

After lunch, Wayne finally got Eddie dressed and took him to the playground across town. Since they’d done nothing but sit around the trailer all morning, the kid had a lot of energy to burn, and he chose to burn it by giving his uncle a heart attack every time he went to leap off of something he probably shouldn’t have climbed in the first place. Eventually, he got tired of scaring years off of his uncle’s life, and Wayne agreed to push him on the swings as long as he promised not to jump off of those, too.

Once he’d successfully tired out the kid, Wayne loaded Eddie into his truck and headed to the grocery store. His usual get in, get what he needs, and get out trip took a lot longer than normal with his nephew riding in the cart, but debating about breakfast cereal and lunch meat with a kid who wasn’t even going to be eating them was wildly entertaining. In the end, he only ended up with three things that Eddie had wanted in his cart, and he was taking that as a win.

Standing in the checkout line, Wayne couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between the two housewives behind him. He wasn’t one to pay attention to town gossip, but he couldn’t ignore them.

“I’m sure you’ve heard about the accident last night,” the first woman said.

“News travels fast in a small town like Hawkins,” the second replied. “It’s a shame really. Those poor girls.”

“Oh, I know. I wonder if they’ve been able to find their families by now. Eleanor said that they weren’t sure who to call.”

“How did Eleanor get so much information about this anyway? It wasn’t in any of the papers today.”

“Her husband was on duty, and you know he went home and told her every detail. The man can’t keep a secret to save his life.”

“Can you blame him? A drunk driver crashing into a car full of girls leaving the community college library is probably the most exciting thing he’s ever seen working around here. Not that a tragedy is exciting mind you. It’s just more interesting to talk about than the occasional traffic violation.”

Wayne almost dropped the milk that he was holding on the ground. Their conversation meant nothing to him. To him, or his brother, or the little boy who was currently fighting to stay awake in his shopping cart. The fact that no one had seen Linda since last night was merely a coincidence. She was probably at home with Richie right now telling him all about how her presentation went and getting ready to pick up her son. She had to be.

But, when Wayne pulled up to his trailer to find his brother sitting on his front step looking more scared and alone than he had when he came to tell him that Linda was pregnant, he knew that wasn’t the case.

Wayne held Eddie throughout the funeral. Richie was an absolute wreck and could barely hold himself together let alone take care of his son. But he had his older brother to help pick up the pieces, and that was a comfort in such an upsetting time.

Wayne hadn’t expected such a large turnout for the funeral. With the way she lit up every room she entered, the fact that she had had an effect on so many people in her short twenty one years shouldn’t have been a huge surprise. There were groups of girls from all of Linda’s classes, and the diner had closed for the day because all of the waitresses and cooks wanted to be there. There were high school friends who had just arrived home from college, and there were families from their apartment building. All there to pay their respects. The only notable absence was Linda’s own parents. Not that anyone had really expected them to show up anyway. They hadn’t tried to contact her at all in the time since they’d kicked her out, and Wayne would have forced them to leave if they’d tried to show their faces.

After the services, Wayne took Eddie straight back to the apartment. He and Richie had discussed it beforehand, and they figured that the whole situation would be too overwhelming for him. They’d explained to him what had happened in a way that was simple enough for a child to understand, but the boy was still so young and confused about why his mother wasn’t coming home. He didn’t need to be surrounded by a bunch of people he didn’t know talking about what a shame it was that his mother was gone.

So, while his brother stayed behind to receive condolences, Wayne reheated one of the many casseroles people had dropped off at the apartment for them, gave Eddie a bath, and put him to bed. But throughout it all, he couldn’t help but notice that his usually bright and talkative nephew was the most quiet and reserved he’d ever been since he learned how to talk.

When Richie finally came home, he didn’t say anything. Just grabbed the casserole dish that Wayne had left on the counter along with a fork and sat down on the sofa where Wayne was pretending he cared about whatever was on TV.

Without saying anything, Wayne got up and grabbed a drink for his brother. Nothing fancy. Just a glass of the iced tea from the fridge. But there was an unspoken meaning behind it that they both could feel. That Wayne was always going to take care of them and get them what they needed. No matter what, he would always be there.

“Thanks,” Richie said as he accepted the glass. “For everything.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Wayne replied. “It’s what I’m here for.”

August 1970

Sunday dinners had remained the norm for the three Munson men, but Linda’s absence was always in the forefront of their minds. Not just because she was the best cook out of the three, but because she was the one who really got them to talk to each other. Wayne and Richie were never big talkers, and she had bridged their gap in communication.

And maybe that was why Wayne had accepted the Sunday overtime shifts that were offered to him. He hated missing the time with his family, but he hated the awkward silences more.

After not attending Sunday dinner for nearly a month, he figured that it was time to start going back. Eddie was starting school soon, and he felt guilty for the time he was missing with the kid. He felt even more guilty once he saw the state of their apartment.

He’d let himself in like he normally did, and the first thing he noticed was his brother passed out on the couch. There were empty beer cans strewn across the floor around him, and the room was in complete disarray. The kitchen wasn’t any better. The sink was overflowing with dirty dishes, and the trashcan was filled with enough beer cans to show that this probably wasn’t the first time this had happened.

He made his way back to Eddie’s room since the kid was nowhere to be found in the front of the apartment, and he found his nephew happily playing alone. It wasn’t exactly a comforting sight though. While the room was in relatively decent shape, the laundry hamper was overflowing to the point where there were small piles of clothes surrounding it, and there was a distinct odor hanging in the air. But the worst part was Eddie himself. The boy looked dirty. This definitely wasn’t the first day that he’d worn those clothes, and his hair was a tangled mess that obviously hadn’t been washed anytime recently.

“How’s it goin’, Eds?” Wayne asked, finally alerting his nephew to his presence.

“Uncle Wayne!” Eddie leaped up from his spot on the floor to give his uncle a hug.

As Wayne picked up the boy, he was hit with another wave of that stench, and his suspicions about said stench coming from Eddie were confirmed.

“So, when was the last time you had a bath?” he asked.

“We don’t have to do that anymore.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” Eddie said with a little shrug.

“And I’m guessing you’d have the same answer if I asked why the kitchen isn’t clean?”

“Yep.”

“And why the laundry isn’t done?”

“Yep.”

“Do you know anything?” Wayne teased.

“I know we’re eating TV dinners tonight!” Eddie said, excited that he could tell his uncle something.

“And how do you know that?”

“‘Cause we eat ‘em every night. Daddy puts ‘em on a plate so I won’t know, but he never throws out the box cause he’s too busy sleeping on the couch.”

“Does he do that a lot? Sleep on the couch like that, I mean?”

“Yeah. He’s no good at bedtime anymore.”

Wayne couldn’t tell if he was more heartbroken for his nephew or angry at his brother at that moment. All he knew was that he needed to do something.

“How do you feel about coming over for a sleepover?” Wayne asked. “We haven’t had one of those in awhile, and I miss hanging out with my favorite kid.”

Eddie’s response was an enthusiastic yes, so Wayne set him back down.

“I’m gonna go talk to your daddy, and then we’ll get your stuff ready to go, okay?”

“Okay!”

Part of Wayne wanted to be thankful that at least Eddie still seemed happy. He was okay on the inside even if it was clear that his dad had dropped the ball. But a much larger part of him was consumed by his anger. Angry at his brother for letting his home get this messy. Angry at his brother for clearly not taking care of his child. Angry at his brother for picking up their father’s bad habits.

But, most of all, Wayne was angry at himself for avoiding the awkward silences. If he’d kept going over for Sunday dinners, he would have caught the warning signs sooner. He could have kept things from getting this bad. He could have done something to help, and he was going to live with the guilt of not helping sooner for a very long time.

When Richie didn’t respond to his name or being shaken, Wayne grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and dumped it over his brother’s head.

“What the hell, Wayne?” Richie sputtered as he came to and glared up at his brother.

“Don’t what the hell me,” Wayne replied. He was trying to keep his volume down so Eddie wouldn’t hear them. “It’s barely five o’clock on a Sunday, and you were passed out drunk.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal. I shouldn’t have to tell you that with the way we grew up. Do you really want to put your kid through that?”

“I’m not turning into dad.” Richie sat up and laid his head in his hands. “I will never be anything like that man. I’m just not doing the best right now, okay? After everything, I lost my job. Missed too many shifts. It all spiraled from there. I just need some time to get back on my feet so we don’t lose the apartment.”

“You can’t take time when you’ve got Eddie to think about,” Wayne said as he took a seat next to his brother. “I’m bringing him home with me. This isn’t good for him, and you know it.”

“You can’t take my kid away from me.”

“The boy stinks, and I’m guessing he barely has any clean clothes left from what I saw in his room. This place is a wreck, and you don’t seem to care because you’re too busy drinking. He told me all you do is sleep on the couch like you were when I got here.”

Wayne ran a hand over the back of his neck. He hated putting this out there, but he had to open his brother’s eyes, and he didn’t see any other way.

“He starts preschool next week, Richie. If he gets there looking and smelling the way he does now or tells anyone anything about the way you’re living, someone is going to come here and take him away from you. He needs a safe and stable living environment, and this isn’t one right now. So you can either let him come with me while you pull yourself together, and you can still come and see him everyday. Or you can keep living like this, and you could wind up losing him for good. The choice is yours, and one of those options seems a lot better than the other to me.”

“Shit.”

Richie kicked the coffee table in frustration and sent empty beer cans flying.

“So, I can come see him everyday?” he asked after a moment.

“Whenever you want. I promise.”

“Okay . . . I’m not really turning into dad, am I?”

“No. I just think you went through some shit that you’re way too young for, and it made you make some bad choices. You’ve at least acknowledged it, so you’re doing better than he ever did.”

Wayne didn’t wait for a response from his brother. He just grabbed a garbage bag from the cabinet under the sink and headed back to Eddie’s room where he started shoving all of the dirty clothes into the bag.

“You can’t throw away my clothes,” Eddie pouted. “I need those.”

“I’m not throwing them away. I’m gonna do your laundry. Your daddy is awake, so why don’t you go talk to him while I get your stuff ready to go?”

Once Eddie’s clothes were taken care of, Wayne moved around the room grabbing whatever he saw that he thought his nephew would maybe want at his house and loading it into the duffle bag he found under the bed. He took the dinosaurs and toy cars that Eddie had been playing with when he came in. He took the stack of books and photo albums that were sitting on the tiny nightstand by his bed. He even grabbed the toy guitar that he was sure he was going to regret bringing with him. And, of course, he grabbed Mister Lion.

After a quick trip into the bathroom to grab Eddie’s toothbrush and other toiletries, he headed back into the living room where Eddie was giving his dad a goodbye hug.

“You be extra good for your uncle, okay?” Richie said as he pulled away from his son. “And I’ll be over to see you every day.”

“You promise?” Eddie asked.

“Cross my heart.”

Once they were back at the trailer, the first thing Wayne did was give Eddie a bath.

“I thought I didn’t need to do this anymore,” Eddie pouted as his uncle worked the shampoo into his hair.

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Eds,” Wayne replied. “You smell, and I can’t have you stinking up my trailer. So, it’s either you take a bath on a regular basis, or you’re sleeping on the porch.”

Eddie looked up at his uncle with wide eyes.

“You’d make me sleep on the porch?

“Never. Which is why we need to get you cleaned up.”

Getting Eddie bathed was the easy part. Tackling the tangled mess of his hair was an entirely different beast. Wayne tried to be as careful as possible as he worked through the knots, but Eddie was especially tender-headed, and his hair was a mess from the neglect, so there were plenty of complaints and tears.

“Mama never made it hurt,” Eddie said between his sniffles.

“I’m sorry, Eds,” Wayne replied. “I’m being as gentle as I can.”

“I miss her.”

“I know. Me, too.”

Wayne made grilled cheese and tomato soup for their dinner. It wasn’t anything special, but it was better than a TV dinner, and he made himself a promise that he’d never feed his nephew one of those for dinner ever again if he could help it. And, after the table was cleared and the dishes were done, he put the kettle on the stove to start heating up some water to make tea for himself and hot chocolate for Eddie.

When Wayne’s mug collection started to outgrow the small cabinet shelf, he’d moved most of them into the living room to put on display, but his favorites were kept in the kitchen for easy use. He pulled out the mug from Eddie’s first Christmas for himself, and then he grabbed Linda’s favorite mug - the light blue one with the pink rosettes - for Eddie. He carefully carried the mugs over to the coffee table before going through the bag of Eddie’s things to find the book he was looking for.

“Hey, Eddie, can you come over here?” he called over to his nephew as he sat down on the couch.

Eddie abandoned his crayons and the picture he was drawing to climb onto the couch with his uncle.

“You were too little to remember it, but did your mama and daddy ever tell you that you all lived here with me when you were a baby?”

“We did?”

“You did. The three of you shared my bedroom, and I slept out here. Whenever you were up at night, your mama would come sit in the kitchen, and we’d have tea together while she fed you. And then, when you still wouldn’t go back to sleep, she’d hand you over to me. We’d sit over here, and she’d read her favorite book to you until you fell asleep in my arms.”

Wayne grabbed the mugs off of the table and passed Eddie’s to him before picking up the copy of The Hobbit that he’d set aside.

“I know you miss your mama, and I know this isn’t the same as having her here, but this is a little piece of her that I can share with you.”

Eddie curled up against his uncle, and they sipped their drinks as Wayne started to read Linda’s most favorite adventure out loud to her son. It wasn’t much, but it was all Wayne could do to make Eddie’s first night in his trailer a little bit easier.

December 1970

Richie had made good on his promise to come and visit every day for the first two months that Eddie was staying with Wayne. But right around Halloween, he started missing days. And then multiple days in a row. It broke Wayne’s heart every time he saw Eddie realize that his dad had forgotten about him again, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Richie had either stopped answering his phone at the apartment, or he was never home no matter what time of day Wayne called. Nor did he answer the door any of the times Wayne dropped by to check on him.

On Christmas Eve, Wayne realized that his brother hadn’t been over to see them since Thanksgiving, and he wasn’t sure if they’d be seeing him at all the next day. Wayne wasn’t going to let his brother’s screw ups ruin the holiday for Eddie though. It was going to be hard enough on him to spend his first Christmas without his mom. He didn’t want the whole day to be miserable.

Wayne had hidden all of Eddie’s gifts from Santa in the cabinet over the fridge - the only cabinet that Eddie hadn’t found a way to climb to yet - and he had gotten a small tree to prop up in the corner. It wasn’t very impressive, but Eddie was all smiles when he got to put the star on top, and that was good enough for him. He’d even picked up everything he needed to make cinnamon french toast for breakfast and a roast for Christmas dinner. It was shaping up to be a fairly decent holiday.

But, when he asked Eddie if he was excited for Santa to visit them that night, he was met with frustrated tears instead of the happiness he’d expected. Wayne stopped what he was doing and went over to where Eddie was sitting on the couch. The boy had tears streaming down his cheeks, and his tiny hands were balled into tight fists.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Wayne asked as he knelt down to get on Eddie’s level.

“I forgot.”

“Forgot what?”

“I forgot your present, and now it’s too late.”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to get me anything. I promise.”

“No, I gotta,” Eddie said as he wiped at his tears. “Mama said it wasn’t special if you didn’t get a mug, and I wanted it to be special.”

Wayne moved to sit on the couch and scooped Eddie up in his arms, allowing the boy to cry into his shoulder and get his feelings out.

“I was going to ask daddy to take me, but he’s never here.”

Wayne could pinpoint a lot of things about his brother that had angered him lately, but he didn’t know if he could ever forgive him for hurting Eddie like this. Still, he didn’t want his nephew to end up hating his dad. When Richie pulled it together, they’d be a family again, and he didn’t want moments like this to sour that.

“It’s my fault, Eds,” Wayne lied as he rubbed Eddie’s back in an attempt to soothe him. “Your daddy gave me some money so you could buy me a Christmas gift and told me that I should take you, and I got so busy with work that I just forgot about it. But if we leave right now, I bet we can make it to the Goodwill in time for you to pick out something real special.”

The opportunity to go present shopping cheered Eddie up immediately, and before Wayne knew it, the boy was pulling at his arm to get him to help grab his coat and shoes.

The Goodwill was still open when they got there, and nobody was inside except for the very bored looking teenager running the cash register.

“Now, you go pick something out, and I’ll wait here until after you’ve paid so whatever you pick can be a surprise,” Wayne said as he handed Eddie a few dollars.

Eddie took the money and wandered off towards where the homegoods were kept, and Wayne busied himself by looking at a rack of kids clothes near the front of the store. He wasn’t necessarily planning on buying anything, but if he could maybe find something decent that would fit Eddie, he might as well look. He only turned his attention back to the checkout counter when he heard his nephew’s voice.

“Excuse me,” Eddie said as he reached up to set his purchase on the counter. The counter was taller than he was, so he had to stretch just a little bit. “I want to buy this as a Christmas gift for my uncle, please. I have my own money and everything.”

“Well, aren’t you the cutest,” the girl working the cash register said as she picked up his mug. “Are you sure this is the one you want to get him though?”

“Yes, it’s the best one.”

“Okay, that’ll be one dollar. And for an extra quarter, I can even put it in one of these fancy gift bags for you if you’d like.”

“Yes, please.” Eddie set his money on the counter and waited as the girl got his change and wrapped his purchase.

“Here you go, sweetie,” the girl said as she handed Eddie his things.

“Thank you! Merry Christmas!”

Eddie raced back over to his uncle, and it was apparent that the tears from earlier were long forgotten.

When Wayne unwrapped his new “Virginia is for Lovers” mug in front of the tree on Christmas morning, he couldn’t contain his laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Eddie asked.

“It’s nothing Eds. I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“Did I pick a good one then?”

“You picked the best one. I love it.”

And he did. Not just because it was Eddie that gave it to him, but because he knew it was the exact mug Linda would have chosen if she was there.

June 1973

Wayne and Eddie had settled into a routine together. During the school year, Wayne put Eddie on the bus before heading to work, and then he picked him up from after school care on the way home. Wayne made them dinner while Eddie did whatever homework he had to do, and then it was bathtime and books before bed. There wasn’t really enough room for two beds in Wayne’s bedroom, but he’d rearranged the furniture enough that they could just barely fit the fold out bed in his room when Eddie had expressed that he didn’t like sleeping out in the living room alone.

The only difference during the summer was that Eddie went to daycare instead of school. It was a little too expensive, but Wayne was doing his best to make it work.

Richie’s visits were few and far between at this point. They were lucky if he came to visit Eddie once a month, but it was usually a longer absence than that. They didn’t even have a way to contact him when he was gone anymore because he’d lost the apartment, and the only reason they knew he lost the apartment was because he’d told Wayne that if there was anything of Eddie’s still there, he should probably get it before the landlord changed the locks. When Wayne had showed up to grab the rest of Eddie’s toys and books, he’d grabbed the rest of the photo albums and a few of Linda’s things that were still around that he thought Eddie might like to have one day. Richie was supposed to give them his new address and phone number once he’d settled into a new place, but that had been nearly a year ago, and Wayne wasn’t holding his breath. His brother had broken so many promises since Eddie had moved in with Wayne, that he had a hard time believing anything his brother said.

So, when Richie showed up that morning and said that he wanted to take Eddie for the whole day, Wayne couldn’t have been more surprised. Even when Richie did remember to show up, he never spent the whole day with his own kid. But his brother said he had a new job, and he wanted to celebrate with his son. Wayne was reluctant to let it happen, but he knew the kid missed his dad, and if Richie wanted to step up, it would at least give him a chance to get some work done around the trailer without any distractions.

But when they came back around dinner time, Wayne regretted letting them go alone. Physically, Eddie was fine, but they returned in a different car than the one they’d left in. A much nicer car that Wayne knew his brother wouldn’t have been able to afford. He’d heard some rumors about cars getting stolen around Hawkins and getting brought to a chop shop somewhere outside of the town, but he hadn’t given it much thought since no one wanted to steal a car from someone who lived in a trailer park.

“Uncle Wayne!” Eddie said as he climbed out the car and ran to his uncle. “We had the best day!”

“You did?”

“Yeah! First, we went to the arcade, and then we got hot dogs, and after that, dad showed me how I can get any car I want for free!”

“Oh really?” Wayne glanced over at his brother who was leaning against the hood of what Eddie had all but confirmed was definitely a stolen car. “That sounds like a really great day, Eds. Why don’t you go inside and get washed up for dinner while your dad and I have a little chat, okay?”

Wayne waited until Eddie was out of earshot before he walked over to his brother.

“Seriously, Richie? Is that what your new job is? Stealing cars?”

“Lighten up. Do you know how much money I get for each car I bring in? I might actually be able to afford a decent apartment again, and I can quit sleeping on people’s couches. Eddie could even come stay with me.”

“Oh yeah. Sure. Being enmeshed in illegal activities is exactly what every seven year old needs. Do you even hear yourself?”

“Don’t tell me how to raise my son, Wayne. I think I know what I’m doing here.”

“Well, that’s rich coming from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Since when are you the one raising him, Richie? The last time I checked, we haven’t seen you since March.”

“He’s still my son.”

“Then act like it. Because I’m the one who gets him to and from school and makes sure he gets his homework done. I’m the one who makes sure that he’s fed and clothed and has a roof over his head. I’m the one that he cries out for whenever he has a bad dream or he’s sick. And I’m the one who comforts him and distracts him every time you say you’ll be here and then don’t show up because you’re too drunk or you overslept or just forgot and didn’t care. And I am sick of you coming back around for a day and lying to him about how you’re going to be around more often and promising to spend more time with him because every time you break that promise, his heart breaks all over again. He deserves better than that, and you know it.”

“Shut up.”

“You can’t just tell me to shut up when you don’t want to hear the truth, and frankly, I’ve stayed quiet long enough. This is something you should have heard a long time ago.”

“I said shut up.”

“If she could see the way that you’re treating her boy, Linda would be so ashamed of you right now.”

“Fuck you!”

Richie launched up from where he was leaning on the car to post up to his brother. For a minute, Wayne was convinced that Richie was going to take a swing at him from the anger burning in his eyes, but nothing happened.

“You want me to be a better dad? Fine. I’ll be a better dad,” he spat as he stormed toward the trailer door. “We don’t need any help from you anymore.”

Before Wayne knew it, his brother was marching out of the trailer pulling a very confused looking Eddie behind him.

“Say goodbye to your uncle, Eddie,” Richie said as he opened his car door. “You’re not going to be seeing him for a while.”

“Richie, be reasonable.”

“You can’t have it both ways, Wayne. Either I’m the dad that you want me to be, or I leave him here with you. So I’m taking my son, and we’re leaving because I will not stand here and listen to you insult me. And if I ever hear Linda’s name leave your mouth again, that’ll be the last time you ever speak.”

Richie climbed into the car and slammed his door shut. Once Eddie was inside with him, he sped away and out of the trailer park leaving Wayne to spend the night alone for the first time in years.

February 1976

It was after midnight when Wayne got the call. He'd been asleep for a few hours at that point, and he'd been woken up by the phone. At first, he'd tried to ignore the call, but the person on the other end of the line was persistent, so the phone just kept ringing. He stumbled out of his bedroom and into the kitchen to grab the phone.

“Hello?” Wayne answered the phone, his voice hoarse from barely being awake.

“Have we reached Wayne Munson?”

“Speaking.”

“Mr. Munson, this is Chief Carver with the Hawkins police department. We currently have your brother in custody down at the station. His bail hasn’t been set just yet, and he declined his one phone call, but I’m calling to inform you that we also have your nephew here. He was asleep in the back of the car when my officers picked up your brother, and we’ve been told that you’re the only other family the boy has. We were hoping to place the child in your care as we’d rather contact family than anyone else in situations like these.”

“I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

Wayne didn’t need to hear anything else before he was putting on real pants and racing down to the station. He’d barely seen his brother and nephew since their fight as Richie had cut him out of their lives. He only saw them in passing, but Richie would quickly leave whatever public space they were in when he noticed Wayne was there, too. And even if he had a phone number, he doubted Richie would take his calls. He didn’t want to say that he was afraid of what he’d find when he got there, but he wasn’t expecting anything good.

“I got a call from the chief about my brother,” Wayne said as he walked up to the officer sitting behind the front desk. “I’m supposed to be picking up my nephew.”

“Wayne Munson, right?” the officer asked. “I’ll take you back to see your nephew shortly. Just gotta go over some official business first. You know how it is. Now, your brother will be staying here overnight because we won’t be able to get him arraigned until morning.”

“What is he facing in the way of charges?”

“Well, for starters, he was already wanted for multiple counts of grand theft auto and the possession and selling of stolen merchandise. Tonight, he was picked up on a DUI with multiple traffic violations, expired plates, and child endangerment to sweeten the deal. There was also a startling amount of liquor in the car with him. When he was pulled over, he attempted to assault an officer, and he resisted arrest. We don’t expect you to stay here until he’s arraigned, so we can call you and let you know what his bail is set at after the hearing occurs.”

“Don’t bother,” Wayne replied. “I won’t be posting his bail. All I care about is my nephew. Is he okay?”

“As far as we can tell, the boy is fine. A little shaken up, but okay. He was asleep in the backseat when the car was pulled over, and he only woke up when your brother started to get belligerent. We have reason to believe they were living out of the car from the sheer amount of stuff loaded into the trunk and backseat. Because the car was one of the ones he’s accused of stealing, everything inside it was admitted into evidence. However, we’re hoping someone will be able to sort through it after the weekend, so we can set aside anything that belongs to the boy and get it to you then.”

“Can I see him now? I just want to take him home.”

Finally, the officer led him back to the station’s break room where he found Eddie sitting on the sofa with his knees hugged to his chest.

“Alright, Eddie,” the officer said. “Your uncle is here to take you home.”

Eddie got up from the sofa and headed over towards where they were standing without saying a word. It was the quietest that Wayne had ever seen the boy other than when he was sleeping, and he hated it more than he could say.

Eddie stayed quiet the entire way back to the trailer despite Wayne asking him how he was doing, telling him he missed him, and just trying to get even the smallest bit of a conversation going. He tried not to read too much into it. It had most likely been an overwhelming night for him so far, and he was probably worn out.

It was only once they were back at the trailer that Wayne realized he didn’t have any pajamas or extra clothes for Eddie. He still had most of the clothes that had been left behind when his brother had taken the boy back, but he’d grown in the three years since he’d worn any of that stuff, so Wayne doubted he’d be comfortable in any of them. He grabbed one of his own t-shirts out of the basket of clean laundry he’d neglected to put away and offered it to Eddie.

“I know it’s not pajamas, but you might be more comfortable sleeping in this.”

“I’m fine,” Eddie replied, not bothering to take the shirt. “I sleep like this most of the time.”

The boy moved to sit on the edge of the couch, and Wayne set the shirt down on the coffee table just in case Eddie ended up changing his mind.

“How long do I get to stay here?” Eddie asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Am I gonna have to go stay somewhere else?”

“No, Eds. You’re here with me for good.” Even if Richie didn’t end up in jail for any of the charges he was facing, Wayne was never letting Eddie out of his sight again. Even if that meant spending what little money he had on a custody battle for his nephew’s wellbeing.

Wayne noted the confused look on Eddie’s face at his response, but he didn’t press the issue further. It had already been a long night for the both of them, and he was surprised that Eddie wasn’t already passed out.

“I’ve still got all of your stuff here from before, so I figure we can go through it tomorrow. See if any of your clothes might still fit or if there are any toys you might still want, and then we can go to the Goodwill and maybe get you some new things to replace what doesn’t work anymore.”

“You kept my stuff?”

“Of course, I did. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know,” Eddie said as he looked down at his shoes. “Figured you wouldn’t want my stuff here either.”

It was the either that struck him. How Eddie was so quiet when he said it as if he didn’t want to voice his fears out loud. Wayne moved to sit next to Eddie on the couch.

“What do you mean?” he asked gently.

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing, Eds. You’re upset, and I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

Eddie refused to look at his uncle, continuing to stare at the ground instead.

“Dad said you didn’t want me here anymore. That there wasn’t space for me, so I had to go back with him.”

Wayne thought that being punched in the chest would have been less painful than hearing that. As much as he wanted to sit there and call his brother a liar along with a slew of much harsher names, he couldn’t let himself do that. Eddie had already been through so much that night, and he wasn’t going to be responsible for worsening the boy’s opinion of his own dad. Instead, he placed a comforting hand on Eddie’s shoulder.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth. There was not a day that went by that I didn’t wish you were here with me. Your dad and I had just had a fight, and it made more sense for you to be with him than it did for you to stay here. That’s all it was.”

Wayne got up from the sofa and moved over to where the old foldout bed was pushed into the corner. Behind it was a small, wooden chest. He picked up the chest and set it back down in front of Eddie. He encouraged Eddie to open it, and when the boy did, the first thing he saw was his old stuffed lion. He pulled the plushie out and hugged it to his chest before looking back to find many more of his childhood play things. Toy cars, dinosaurs, and little army men mixed in with crayon stumps, notebooks filled with his drawings, and his mother’s well-loved copies of Tolkien’s epic fantasy. The boy looked up at his uncle with wide eyes.

“I’m sorry if my mistakes ever made you feel unwanted,” Wayne started, “because the truth is that I would still want you here and have the space for you even if this trailer was the size of my bathroom and nothing bigger.”

“You swear?” Eddie asked. He held out his pinky, and his uncle immediately gripped it with his own.

“I swear.”

Wayne moved to set up the fold out bed.

“You don’t have to go through any of that tonight. It’s late enough as it is. Let me get your bed set up, and we can deal with all of that tomorrow.”

“I’m fine on the couch.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m not gonna let you sleep on the couch when I’ve got a perfectly good bed for you.”

“It’s really okay. When we weren’t sleeping in the car, I slept on a lot of couches at other people’s places. The floor sometimes, too. But I always liked the couches best."

The boy seemed eager to please as if he'd been told not to be difficult about where he slept in the past. To accept what he was offered without complaint. Wayne didn't want to fight him on this, but he also didn't want Eddie to think that this was any trouble for him. He'd give him the choice and let the boy do whatever he was most comfortable with.

"Well, I'm just gonna go ahead and set up the bed anyway. You don't have to sleep on it if you don't want to, but I want you to have it as an option."

Wayne barely slept that night. Eddie had looked at the fold out bed as if it was a trap before curling up into a ball on the sofa. It was then that it occurred to him that his nephew hadn't had his own room or any space to really call his own since the first time he'd come to live at the trailer. He'd always shared his uncle's room or the living room or whatever space his dad was able to provide.

Wayne had never needed much space. He didn't have a lot of stuff, and he figured he could fit most of his things in the tiny closet outside the bathroom if he did a little rearranging. Most of his drawers had been taken up by Eddie’s clothes when he lived there the first time anyway. He could take the fold out bed in the living room and give up his bedroom for his nephew. And if Eddie had his own space, maybe that would silence whatever was telling him that he was unwanted and allow him to relax.

So, instead of sleeping, he went through his closet. The boxes filled with Eddie’s old clothes were emptied onto the bed so he could load them up with his things. Moving it all into the hall closet and drawers could wait until morning since he didn’t want to accidentally wake his nephew, but he could get the room mostly ready for the boy to move into it.

By the time it was a reasonable enough hour for him to go and make his morning coffee, he had all of his stuff piled in boxes in the corner and another box of things he was planning on donating to Goodwill. He figured he could wash the sheets and put a fresh set on the bed later, but everything else was ready.

Eddie was still curled up asleep on the couch when Wayne exited the bedroom, so he tried to be as quiet as possible as he started the coffee. He woke up before the coffee was done though, and soon enough, he was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he stood next to his uncle in the kitchen.

“You sleep okay, kiddo?” Wayne asked as he pulled out a couple cereal bowls.

Eddie nodded before moving to take his normal spot at the small table. Wayne didn’t want to pry too much, but he was clueless about what Eddie’s life had been like over the last few years, so he tried to get the boy to talk to him without it seeming like he was interrogating him.

Over bowls of Cheerios, Eddie shared that most of the time, his dad had him hang out at the comic book shop after school and on the weekends. He wasn’t supposed to get in the way while Richie was working, so every week, his dad gave him two dollars, and he could spend that on whatever comics he wanted even if the only ones he really cared about were the X-Men ones. The guy who ran the shop was really nice and let Eddie sit there for as long as he needed to even on the days that he wasn’t buying anything. He never missed school, and his dad always made sure he was fed, so at least he hadn’t been lacking in those departments. Richie was neglectful in a lot of ways, but he had managed to do the bare minimum. He could be thankful for that at least.

After breakfast, Wayne had Eddie help him sort through the boy’s old clothes. None of the pants were going to fit him anymore, but he had a handful of shirts that had been a little big before that he could still fit into. Wayne just hoped that they’d be able to find a few pairs of jeans in decent shape while they were at Goodwill because he definitely didn’t have the money to drop on new pants.

Eddie wanted to keep his dinosaurs and the one little car that had been his favorite, and of course he was keeping Mister Lion, but the rest of his old toys joined the Goodwill boxes. He just wasn’t interested in those things anymore. Wayne made a mental note to pick up a new box of crayons the next time he was at the grocery store since Eddie was very adamant about keeping all of his old drawings, and his old crayons were barely usable anymore.

Their trip to Goodwill was a successful one. Wayne had to use up a good portion of his cigarette budget for the month on a new wardrobe for Eddie, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. He’d been meaning to cut back anyway.

“Why don’t you go and put your clothes away in your room?” Wayne told Eddie when they returned to the trailer.

“My room?”

“The bedroom is yours, Eds. I just have to move a few things into the other closet and change the sheets, and then it’ll be ready.”

“You don’t have to give up your room for me.”

“I know. But I want to. Figured you should have a space of your own if you’re gonna be staying here permanently.”

Eddie dropped the bags he was holding and went to give his uncle a hug.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“No need to thank me. You deserve this.” As Wayne was moving the rest of his stuff out of the room, Eddie was drawn to one item in particular.

“You play guitar?” he asked, eyeing the old acoustic in his uncle’s hands.

“I used to. I don’t think I’ve actually played it since before you were born. I was about your age when I learned though.”

“Could you teach me?”

“Sure can. I was just gonna stick it in the closet, but you can keep it in your room if you want and you promise to be real careful with it.”

Eddie nodded enthusiastically before taking the guitar from his uncle and carrying it back into his bedroom.

The rest of Eddie’s first day back at the trailer passed by without any incident. Eddie was slowly warming up to being there again even if he still seemed cautious about what he was and wasn’t allowed to do. It wasn’t until bedtime that Wayne was certain things would be okay between them.

By then, he was exhausted from having stayed up all night and all the work he did to get the bedroom ready for him. He’d just tucked Eddie in and was getting ready to set up his own bed in the living room when he heard the bedroom door open.

“What are you doing out of bed?” he asked. “Thought you were going to sleep?”

“I was,” Eddie said as he looked down at the ground. “But I was just thinking maybe you could set up your bed in my room like we used to? Just for tonight?”

“I think that can be arranged.”

Wayne squeezed the fold out bed into the cramped bedroom. Without saying a word, Eddie handed his uncle the copy of The Hobbit that was sitting on the nightstand, and even though he was ready to crash, Wayne settled in and read until his nephew was softly snoring beside him just as he had so many times before.

December 1976

Wayne was not spoiling Eddie for Christmas this year. If anyone asked, he insisted he wasn’t. He was staying well within his budget for the holidays, but he was buying pretty much everything secondhand, so his money went a little further. He’d picked up a few board games and an assortment of mismatched legos from the Goodwill, and he’d managed to get a good deal on a new set of strings for the guitar. He’d even picked up the 64 pack of Crayola crayons that had a sharpener built into the box and some plain, unlined paper for him to draw on. Eddie's Christmases with his dad hadn't exactly been great ones, and he wanted to do what he could to make up for that. There was just one last thing he wanted to get.

It had all started when Eddie had spent an entire day drawing at the kitchen table. Wayne hadn't been paying much attention to him because anything that kept Eddie occupied and quiet for more than five minutes meant he could get some cleaning done around the trailer without his nephew getting underfoot or making more work for him. He loved the kid as if he were his own, but he could be a handful at times. When he went to put another load of dirty clothes in the washer and figure out what he was making for dinner, he got a good look at what Eddie had been drawing.

Wayne gathered up the papers and shuffled through them, and he was amazed by Eddie's work. They were good drawings. Not just good for a kid drawings where you could tell what they were supposed to be but they still looked clumsy. These were actually good, and they were all dragons. Different shapes, sizes, and colors. Some breathing fire, some flying, and some sleeping, but all recognizable as dragons.

"Did you draw all of these?" he asked.

Eddie nodded without looking up from his current drawing.

"And you didn't trace 'em or copy them from something or anything?"

"Nope. I just drew what I pictured."

“These are really great, Eds. Best drawings I’ve ever seen.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Don’t know where you got all this talent from. No one in our family can draw more than a stick figure.”

Eddie was absolutely beaming from all of the praise.

“Which one is your favorite?” the boy asked.

Wayne flipped through the stack of drawings in his hand before pulling out one of a purple dragon asleep on a pile of gold coins and jewels.

“If I had to pick, it’s this one,” he said as he held up the picture. “Would you mind if I hung it on the fridge?”

“You wanna hang up my picture?”

“Of course, I do. Gotta display it like the masterpiece it is.”

After the first drawing was in its place on the fridge, Eddie wanted to hang the rest of his dragons up in his room, so Wayne carefully taped up each and every one of them exactly where Eddie told him to. The entire time, Eddie was sitting cross-legged on his bed monologuing about how cool dragons were and why they were his most favorite fantasy creature. It was then that Wayne knew he had to find a way to get his boy something dragon-related for Christmas.

The problem he was facing was that there seemed to be absolutely nothing dragon-related in all of Hawkins, and he was running out of time. He didn’t know what he was going to do until he spotted something on one of the shelves in the comic book shop.

Wayne couldn’t give Eddie as much money as his dad had been giving him to spend on comics, but every Saturday, they took a trip there after lunch and before they did their grocery shopping for the next week. Eddie was allowed to choose one comic to take home, and Wayne would let him take as long as he needed to make that decision. Usually, he’d just stand and wait with Eddie, but a box with a large red dragon on the front had piqued his interest, so he went to examine it. It didn’t take long for him to realize that it was the perfect gift for his nephew.

When Eddie ran up to him with the comic he’d chosen, Wayne told him to go wait in the truck while he paid. As soon as his nephew was out of his sight, he grabbed the box and bought it along with the comic. It was a little more than he wanted to spend, but he knew it would be worth it to see Eddie’s face when he opened it on Christmas morning.

Wayne had barely opened his eyes before Eddie was shoving a gift into his hands on Christmas morning. He’d insisted that he didn’t need anything like he had for every single Christmas of his adult life, and he had been ignored as usual. When he opened the gift bag, he was presented with four different coffee mugs.

“There’s one for this year, and one for every Christmas I missed,” Eddie said, looking very proud of himself.

“How’d you get the money to pay for these?”

“A group of kids on the playground bet me their milk money that I wouldn’t eat a worm.”

“You ate a worm?”

Eddie shrugged. “It didn’t seem like a bad idea at the time.”

Wayne snorted and moved to ruffle a hand through the boy’s curls. “We’ve gotta work on your impulse control, kid.”

“Do you like them?” Eddie asked.

“I love ‘em. In fact, I’m gonna have my morning coffee in one of them, and I’ll make you a special Christmas hot cocoa in one, too.”

After the drinks had been passed out, Wayne pushed his bed to the side so he and Eddie could sit on the floor together with the tiny fake tree that Wayne had found at a garage sale. It wasn’t much, and it looked even tinier when the small pile of gifts for Eddie was almost the same height, but Eddie had just been excited to have a tree which was good enough for Wayne.

As Eddie opened his gifts, Wayne made sure that the one he was the most excited to give him was the last one he opened.

“Dungeons and Dragons?” Eddie read off the front of the box.

“It’s a fantasy roleplaying game,” Wayne told him. “I don’t know much about it, but the guy down at the comic book shop said it’s pretty fun, and I know how much you like dragons and fantasy stuff, so I thought this could be fun. I figured you could read the manual and maybe teach me how to play? If that’s okay with you, of course.”

It was more than okay with Eddie. Wayne watched as Eddie did nothing but read the manuals and plan out a small campaign for them to play for pretty much his entire winter break. On New Year’s Eve, he sat his uncle down at their kitchen table and walked him through creating a character before diving into their fantasy adventure. Wayne tried his best to understand what was going on, and Eddie often had to remind him which die to roll and when, but the boy’s excitement and enthusiasm for the game was apparent the entire time. He never got frustrated with him for forgetting what he was supposed to be doing, and he put every bit of his dramatic, over the top personality into painting a picture of this fantasy world.

There were plenty of days where Wayne was convinced that he was doing everything wrong when it came to raising Eddie, but as he watched his nephew fall in love with his new game, he knew that he’d done at least one thing right.

May 1980

When Eddie started middle school, Wayne had decided he was old enough to take the bus home from school and be alone at the trailer until he got home from work. For the most part, this hadn’t been a bad idea, and Eddie had only almost flooded the trailer once. But, towards the end of eighth grade, there was one big hiccup.

“I messed up,” Eddie called from the bathroom the second Wayne had walked in the door.

"Messed up how?"

"Can you just come here?"

Wayne made his way back to the bathroom where he found Eddie leaning over the sink. Sitting on the edge of the sink was a pair of scissors, and there was a very obvious chunk of hair missing from the left side of his head. Considering the fact that Eddie had just told him a week before that he was planning on growing out his hair in an attempt to emulate his favorite musicians, Wayne was more than a little bit confused.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" he asked.

"I was just minding my own business and talking to my friend Jeff about how awesome Corroded Coffin was gonna be at the talent show next week when the kid in the seat behind me smashed his gum in my hair."

"Is this the same kid who called you a freak and ripped up your notebook last month?"

"Yeah . . . I've been ignoring him like you said, but he just won't leave me alone."

Wayne had never considered beating a child before, but there was a first time for everything.

"And I'm guessing the scissors are out because you were trying to get the gum out by yourself?"

"I tried everything. But I couldn't get it out with my hands, and trying to pick it out with my comb only made it worse. And I didn't know what to do, so I figured I could just cut it out, and no one would notice. But I ended up cutting off too much, and now I look like this."

"Why didn't you wait for me to get home? I could've helped you."

"I was embarrassed," Eddie said. The boy looked like he was about ready to cry. "I don't like talking about this stuff, so I thought maybe I could do it alone, and then I wouldn't have to tell you."

Wayne sighed before squeezing past Eddie to pull his clippers out of the bathroom cabinet.

"I can fix this," he said. "It's not going to be what you want, and it's going to take awhile for your hair to grow back, but I can at least even it out and make it look like you wanted your hair to be shorter, okay?"

Eddie nodded.

"Good. Now take a seat and let me take care of you."

Eddie sat down on the edge of the toilet, and Wayne got to work. To make it easier for the clippers to do their job, Wayne started out by using the scissors to cut off Eddie's curls in chunks that he tossed aside in the sink. Once his hair was a more manageable length, Wayne turned on the clippers and started evening out the cut. It definitely wasn't what Eddie wanted, but soon enough, the boy was sporting a fresh buzz cut.

“I’m going to clean up in here, and then you can take a shower if you want. After that, meet me in the kitchen. I think you and I might need to have a talk.”

After sweeping up Eddie’s hair, Wayne headed into the kitchen and put on the water for hot chocolate. That was their routine. Whenever they had to talk about something even remotely upsetting, they did it over cups of hot cocoa in the hopes that the sweetness of the drink would soften the blow.

Eddie came out of the bathroom and took his usual seat at the kitchen table just as Wayne was finished making their drinks. He set Eddie’s mug down in front of him before taking his own seat. It was obvious to him that the boy had been crying while he was in the bathroom from his red-rimmed eyes, but he didn’t comment on it. He didn’t want to make Eddie feel worse than he clearly already did.

Wayne couldn’t get a word out before Eddie started talking.

“I don’t think I wanna do the talent show anymore,” he said as he stared into his mug.

“Why not? It’s all you’ve talked about for weeks.”

“They haven’t even heard me play yet, and I’m already getting picked on for it. What if I suck, and it gets worse?”

“So what?”

“What do you mean so what?” Eddie asked. “You just had to shave my head. I don’t want anything like this to happen ever again.”

Wayne sighed and took a sip from his mug.

“I know we don’t talk about your mama very often, but after you, music was her favorite thing in this world. When you all lived with me, there wasn’t a moment of the day that she wasn’t singing along with whatever was playing on the radio, and she might have been just about the worst singer I’ve heard in my entire life. Couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket if her life depended on it, and we all teased her about it constantly. But that didn’t stop her from singing her heart out whenever she heard her favorite songs.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“People around here are small-minded, and they’re raising their children to be a bunch of small-minded idiots. No matter what you do, there’s always going to be someone who’s gonna try to make you feel small. That’s just the way life is. And if you stop yourself from doing the things you love just because someone else is making fun of you for it, you’re only letting the bullies win. You’ve gotta be a bigger and louder version of yourself and not let them affect you.

“You are so much like your mama in a lot of ways. Practically a little clone of her at times. Especially when you smile. But the biggest difference that I can see is that you have talent. I may not understand the kind of music you like, but I can tell when something sounds good. I hear you practicing, and you’ve got a gift. I won’t lie to you and pretend that everyone is going to love your performance or that the bullies will magically disappear, but what I can tell you is that it would be a damn shame if you didn’t share your gift with the world just because some little shit stain on your bus clearly wasn’t raised right.”

Wayne got up from the table to put his mug in the sink, but he’d barely taken a step before Eddie had jumped up and wrapped his arms around his uncle in a bone-crushing hug.

“Thank you,” Eddie whispered.

“You’re welcome,” Wayne replied as he hugged him back. “I probably don’t say this enough, but I hope you know that I love you, and I’m always going to be in your corner.”

“I know. I love you, too.”

“Good. And if you have any more trouble on that bus of yours, you let me know, and I’ll kick that little punk’s butt. No one is gonna get away with treating my boy like crap.”

Eddie snorted as he pulled away from his uncle.

“I’m sure he’ll be terrified. You’re basically the least intimidating person I know.”

“Okay, smart ass. I’m plenty intimidating.”

“You’re about as scary as a teddy bear.”

It was Wayne’s turn to laugh.

A few weeks later, when Father’s Day rolled around, Wayne woke up to a gift and a homemade card waiting for him next to the coffee maker. He opened the card first, and printed in Eddie’s messy scrawl, it read:

I feel like this is probably long overdue, and I should have been honoring you today for at least a few years now. You’ve been more of a dad to me than I ever remember mine being, and I feel like I don’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me enough. So thanks for always being there. Happy Father’s Day from your boy.

Feeling a little choked up, Wayne pulled the gift towards himself next. It was wrapped up in the comics from the day before’s newspaper with way too much tape. He knew what it would be before he'd even unwrapped it, but he was always happy to see whatever mug Eddie had picked out for him. This one was dark green and patterned with sunflowers, and he knew that it was going to become one of his new favorites immediately if only because of the circumstances in which he received it.

March 1986

Wayne Munson was tired. Tired of people judging Eddie without really knowing him, tired of people not listening to him, and tired of people defacing his missing posters instead of actually helping him look. He was tired of having to keep his guard up when anyone tried to talk to him because he didn’t want to lose his temper and attack someone for spouting vile nonsense at him, and he was tired of spending every waking moment - and most of his sleeping ones - worrying about Eddie. Tired of sleeping in the high school surrounded by people who had actively been hunting down his boy to do who knows what to him. He was just tired.

So, when Dustin Henderson came up to him and gave him the news that Eddie was gone, he could feel himself crumbling from the inside out. At first, he didn’t want to believe it. It couldn’t be true. His boy was out there somewhere and hiding until someone could find concrete evidence that cleared his name. He had to be. But the guitar pick necklace that Dustin held out to him and the apparent pain plastered across the kid’s face had sealed it. His boy was dead, and he was never going to see him again.

Wayne had never been one to outwardly express his emotions. He tended to keep things tucked away until he could have a moment in private, and he certainly never cried in public. But hearing the way that Dustin spoke so fondly about Eddie broke him. Because Dustin was saying everything that he already knew to be true. If Hawkins had really taken the time to get to know his boy, they all would have been able to look past his outer appearance, and they would have loved him just as much as Wayne did. He was certain of it. He just never thought he’d hear someone else say it.

Shortly after he spoke to Dustin, Wayne and the other trailer park residents were given the all clear to go back to their trailers and gather their things. The relief workers had marked it as safe for them to enter briefly, but no one was going to be allowed to stay there for very long. They were instructed to gather up anything important and head back to their temporary housing at the school as soon as possible. Eventually, they’d be able to come back and grab the rest of their things when more permanent housing was found for them, but for now, they were limited in how much they could take.

Wayne didn’t know how much of his stuff was going to be worth saving. Frankly, he was surprised that his trailer had even been left standing when he saw the fault line that ran through what had once been his living room. Out of an abundance of caution, he had entered through the door down near the bedroom instead of the main entrance. He moved quickly, shoving as many of his clothes in his bag as he could. He’d much rather wear his own stuff than the donations that people brought into the school.

After that, he grabbed the sentimental things. For once, he was thankful that he didn’t keep things in conventional places because that meant that all of his photo albums were safe. The notebooks full of Eddie’s childhood drawings and his favorite dragon picture were safe. Eddie’s beloved stuffed lion was safe. All of these were carefully added to his bag. But the one thing he couldn’t take was what hurt the most to leave behind.

He’d known the second that he saw the fault line running through his home that his mugs wouldn’t have made it. What was left of his living room display was now smashed on the floor, and he could tell just from the look of it that there was nothing he could save. He knew it was stupid for him to be so upset about them. They were just a bunch of mugs and nobody else would find them important. Anybody else wouldn’t give them a second thought because they could be replaced.

But they were important to Wayne. Those mugs tied him to better times with people he would never be able to see again. He could buy a new mug, but he couldn’t buy the mugs that Linda had stolen from her parents for him, he couldn’t buy the mugs that Eddie had eaten a worm to pay for, and he couldn’t buy the mug that Eddie gave him the first time he recognized him on Father’s Day. He couldn’t buy back the happiness that looking at those mugs and remembering their stories gave him. That was gone forever.

He didn’t want to set himself up for even more disappointment, but a part of him needed to know if the mugs that he stored in the cabinet had made it through the earthquake. Those were the ones that he used the most often. His favorites. He would be heartbroken if they were all destroyed, but he needed that closure.

When he opened the cabinet above the coffee maker, he was met with a shelf covered with the broken pieces of his mugs that had smashed against each other in the enclosed space. He knew not to get his hopes up, but it was still a painful sight to see.

But, pushed into the very back corner of the cabinet, there was one mug that appeared to still be intact. He carefully pulled it out of the debris to inspect it. Sporting a new chip on the handle, the mug featured the phrase “World’s Best Uncle” hand-painted on the side along with a bright blue baby handprint. The mug from Eddie’s first Christmas.

As he carefully wrapped the mug in a sheet of newspaper that was sitting on the floor underneath the kitchen table, Wayne felt himself choking back tears for the second time that day. It wasn’t his whole collection, but at least it was something. After all, he was only one man. He always said he didn’t need more than one mug.

#wayne munson fic #eddie munson fic #wayne munson #eddie munson #stranger things fic #my writing

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icycoldninja · 7 days

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What's keeping you up? (Dante x Reader angst)

You and Dante lay in bed, surrounded by darkness and thick blankets that formed a cocoon of warmth and safety. Despite this, neither of you could sleep. Dante just lay there on his back, arms behind his head, blue, bloodshot eyes staring up at the ceiling wearily. You could feel his unease; his tension. It made you worry about him, and that concern kept your mind from shutting off, thus keeping you awake. After an hour of pondering, you eventually gathered the courage to speak.

"Hey, Dante, what's keeping you up?" Dante let out a low groan and rolled over to face you, though you could barely see his face in the darkness of your room.

"Everything."

His voice sounded so tired, so done with life. You quickly realized that right now, you were getting to see a side of him no one else had ever seen before, a broken side that was more depressed than he let on. Exhaling softly, you shifted your position so you could reach over and cup his cheek, gently stroking the rough skin.

"Talk to me." Dante heaved a sigh, exhausted eyes blinking slowly a few times before he answered.

"Just...memories, you know? Bad memories...of Mom...of Vergil....of every shitty thing I've seen in my life. I've tried to forget, but I jus' can't. I can't get them out of my head. Then they come for me late at night when I'm tryna sleep..."

Dante's voice trailed off as he let out another, miserable sigh. You smiled encouragingly at him and gently pulled him closer so you could plant kisses on his forehead and run your fingers through his hair.

"It sucks," He mumbled into your shoulder, voice uncharacteristically brittle. "It...really...sucks. Sometimes I feel like I deserved all this, like I'm worthless. Sometimes I don't even wanna be here...sometimes I wanna die..."

"Don't say that," You said, tightening your hold around him. "Don't ever say that, Dante. You...you're perfect, you're amazing, you're legendary."

You felt Dante's arms snake around your waist, clutching at you like a scared child holds his teddy bear.

"Am I really, or are you just saying that to make me feel better?"

"You are!" You insisted, feverishly kissing the top of his head. "You're strong, smart, funny, charming, handsome as hell and the love of my life. You've been through a lot, but you never deserved it. You never deserved any of that trauma. You're not worthless, you're priceless. You're the dearest thing in the world to me, and that will never change."

You said all this while rubbing your palm up and down his back, occasionally tangling your fingers into his hair or gently squeezing his shaking shoulders. Seeing Dante like this broke your heart, but it also sparked a dormant urge to protect and care for him like no other. You just wanted to wrap him up in blankets, hide him away from the rest of the world, feed him pizza and just smother him with love and affection until the end of your days. That's how much he meant to you, and you weren't afraid to show it.

When he broke down and started sobbing in your arms, you were even more compelled to coddle him like he was your baby, regardless of the fact that he was a grown man. You pulled the covers up over his shoulders and covered his tear-stained face with kisses, all while assuring him everything was okay, and that he would always be loved and you would always care for him, no matter what.

It took a while, but eventually, Dante fell asleep in your arms, tears finally dried, a content, genuinely happy smile on his face.

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anoopsiedaisie · 9 months

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My Fionna and Cake episode 7&8 tangent

Lets start it off with the score. 20/20 it was fantastic. my stupid theory post will happen eventually, and I will ABSOLUTELY TALK ABOUT PETRIGROF

The star - Cake thinking Fionna was upset cause her fling died was silly, Fionna was clearly upset before about the candy people. The fight with the vampires was funny but intense, I love how Cake and Fionna care a lot about eachother. Also why does Simon know what holy water taste like. Pb and "Star" was so cute, and I was so right when I talked about us getting more Bubbline on tiktok (Tiktok account is not linked anywhere btw) The vampire world is super sad though, cause they had really been eating for so long, that a potential thousands of people died. Marshall and Gary really lit up the episode from the sadness once again, Gary's tangents of his candy kingdom are so cute. AND HIS HAMBO THINGY IN HIS CAR. Marten and baby Finn are so cute, I wanna legit cry cause HES MEANT TO BE A GOOD DAD BUT HES SO STUPID IN THE OG UNIVERSE. Also imma say this now, Prismo gets in trouble for breaking the rules once and ignoring a few beeps, BUT Scarab ignores several beeps and his entire job and doesn't get in trouble, that boss better have a good reason. Second date (potentially) and Marshall already introducing his boyfriend to his mom, damn. Marshall's mom matches og Hunson perfectly somehow, duche parent club. And Marshall's little blush of embarrassment from his mom acting all weird infront of Gary. Billy's corpse is messed up, like reall messed up, and the reminder of how tall he is is also crazy. I was also wondering the entire time if Pb was human in this universe until she bit off half her arm basically. The Star's outfit is so good, but I wonder how she turned into a vampire now, maybe she was bit in front of that worlds Simon's body and thats why she screamed at something. Already long section so I'll end it here with, I LOVED THIS ENTIRE EPISODE, Huntress dying was sad though, and Gary Marshall kiss was adorable. Closing thought of this episode, Bubbline but toxic yuri. Jerry - Simon and Betty better get a happy ending or I will legit be so sad, they love each other so much, and Betty just legit became part of a god over her Fiance once celebrity crush. I love how gorgeous everything is in this show, Orbo is also a funny character. I feel like someone could narrow down where things and places they go in this Lich's wish universe it'd seem fun at first then spiral though. Simon does NOT know how to draw though get this man an art class. The tree house being naked though, all its leaves gone. Lich's wish to kill all life, really just unironically killed ALL life, down to plants. Fun little references to old episodes, and including one that revolved around Ice king, hmm. Also I wonder the age gap between Betty and Simon, I like to see it as they're like a year apart but Simon just skipped grades cause hes a smart cookie. Also Simon had slides ready for people to be loud, HE WAS READY. Nerd girls in love. I am also guessing Bmo has been alone for awhile now, at least since season 5ish times since thats when the Lich would have made this wish. All the references in Ice King's junk from the melted ice kingdom. Ninja guide books, kunai, vhs tapes and the camera, the pink diary, his bed has the wishing amulet that Gunter used to break bottles. I was RIGHT

Fionna see's how unhealthy Ice King was, and changes her mind and wants him to not become this sad sad man again. Simon would genuinely be such a sweet and wonderful parent, he loved taking care of the babies in the baby universe, and he sees Fionna get happy when he tells his story with Betty and keeps doing it to keep her happy. Neddy is also guaranteed dead, already obvious but the candy kingdom doesn't have the juices being produced. Bmo has done a lot in his isolation, a lot of stuff is changed or moved, I feel so bad for bmo. But the lines "Help me zip up my bra" and "Ooo, butt stuff" Wow. The Simon and Betty stuff makes me so happy, they're so cute and I love them, they need to have a happy ending or I will be so sad. The lesbians ever, I love these lesbians, let the lesbians be happy. Simon struggling to say he loves her is so CUTE. Poor Bmo, I feel so bad, but he was probably so sad being alone, sad in someway. Petrigrof moment was so cute and adorable please, I want them so happy, they deserve to be happy. Now for the bombshell, Jerry. The Lich's wish monkey paw aspect is that he gets depressed and has nothing to do now that all life is gone. Billy's body decomposing as the Lich parasites it. SO, imma theory my reason for the portal finally opening to GolBetty, either it was because the Lich was used as the battle and influenced it in a way to allow it to finally work, OR Betty's wish to keep Simon safe truly included the crown being worn. Like the crown really did trigger GolBetty like "BITCH, NO" or the third that makes probably the most sense, The Scarab was literally about to kill Simon and go against what Betty wants, meaning she is going to interfere. I saw someone say that GolBetty likely wont remember Simon and this could cause something. BUT I REALLY HOPE THEY DONT DO THAT, I WANT THEM HAPPY SO BADLY

#long post #adventure time #simon petrikov #fionna and cake #atimers #I waited all day for this and now I am already too excited to wait until next thursday #I dont want it over #but I do wanna see my favorite characters happy #please please please please let them be happy

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phantomskeep · 1 year

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Another hot take because I can't get the idea of queer moms ivy and harley out if my head;

So dannys on the run from the GIW (shocker) and ends up in Gotham because of Reasons™ (aka plot). He's tired, exhausted, and overall not having A Good Time. So he does what any half-dead teenager with combined mommy and daddy issues does - he finds an alley, sits down and cries a little.

Totally normal teenage super hero stuff.

When suddenly there's like a loud cackling near the entrance of the alley as well as some sus grunting noises. Danny, being a curious cat with a half life left, investigates (read: he sticks his head through a dumpster). What he sees shocks him a little bit. There's a wanna-be clown holding a green lady against a wall! Oh no! Shocker! This must be that joker guy everyones worried about, right? Because as a teenage superhero from the Midwest danny toooootally keeps up with all the other hero drama. Like an adult. He totally does, he swears it.

(or maybe alternative dimension? Or timeline?)

But so this joker lady is holding green lady hostage, right? So he steps out heroically (again, read: he falls through the dumpster and awkwardly stands there) and tells the joker lady to stop joking around and to let the hostage go!

Totally heroic.

But then joker lady and green lady look at him and kind of laugh, like "haha kid, that's funny" but dannys dead serious. Man goes "like no but seriously stop harming an innocent woman" which causes ivy to laugh and tell him he's cute. Ivy and Harley lead him on a bit to see if he's really just THAT clueless before realizing that, oh wait yeah, this kid has no idea who we are. They think it's very adorable that this child is trying to stand up to protect Harleys girlfriend/wife/lover? (idk I don't really keep up with the DC stuff) but so they kind of off hand ask Danny if he's new in town. Ofc being a (lovable) idiot he says yes. They ask if he has a place to stay. He says no.

So they abscond away to the dead mall with Danny in tow! Because if all else fails hed make a good goon.

Bonus of king shark and Danny legit getting on like a house on fire. Like he already knows a lot about plants because of Sam, but the ocean? And a talking shark? That isnt dead and wanting to fight him? The coolest thing since the Apollo 13.

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abcketchup · 1 year

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This is just something random that i wrote years ago. Just thought to make small slow burn drabbles out of this, what do you think??

Drabbles, best friends to enemies to lover ???

Warning : mentioned of cheating.

Jimin x Reader

you hate this. you really really hate this. “can you be disgusting and suck faces somewhere else?” and you snap. the two of so called as homo sapiens in front of you finally detach from each other faces. ew, is that string of- saliva? yuck. “aww, come on y/n. live a little, have fun, fall in love, suck faces, makes babies. you only live once. right, baby?” jimin smooch his girlfriend’s little nose and she giggles while you gag. jimin has this fond look on his face while he stare at his girlfriend. it’s disgusting and a little itty bitty tiny hurts a bit. you did love jimin, as more than friend, but before you get to confessed, suddenly he has a girlfriend and now you have to swallow down all the feelings you have into your guts and make it platonic. move on. the question is, do you?

you shut the book and pack your bag. “where you going?” jimin asked while his arm around his girlfriend, head rest on his girlfriend shoulder. he looks so content that it made your stomach feels funny. his girlfriend just show that side glance which means she is glad that you gone now. yes, she hates you but girl, you don’t care. “i’m going to ‘live a little’ as you ask me to” standing up you give him last look, “bye.” and you gone.

few days later, you’ve been studying for your test in the library. it’s quiet, yes obviously but you know, when the library is pack with people, there will be a lot of little hush and whispers here and there, but no. today is literally quiet, like a graveyard. and it’s pleasant, you love it. not until you heard someone moaning. ugh, these motherfuckers, you swear. “ahh- mngh” wait, why does it sounds, familiar? “mngh-“ that familiar girl moaning again. you slowly stand up, trying your best to not make any screeching noise from the chair, and each of your steps are careful. you swear you’re not a pervert. it’s just the girl sounded so familiar but the man is- different? you hide behind the shelves near to them and slowly you level down, by now you’re crawling. peeping from behind you saw a boy, broad shoulders which wrapped with your college baseball team jacket, hovering the girl. that girl arm tightly wrapped around that boy’s neck, she is scratching the boy’s hair and you squint to see the bracelet. it’s jimin’s bracelet. his precious lucky charms hang on it. with his initial name that clearly spell PARKJIMIN. that’s jimin’s girlfriend. you gasp. “fuck, someone’s here” the boy hastily turn around, “no, baby. there’s no one.” jimin’s girlfriend whine, coaxing the boy’s attention back to her. “come here.” and the kissing noises continue, while you tightly hold your mouth against your hand. body tightly planted on the shelves behind you. what the hell ?

throwing your bag to the side and you dive face down on top of your bed. what will you do now? what are you gonna do now? how are you gonna tell jimin ? do you wanna tell jimin ? but jimin needs to know, he deserve to know. fuck, what the hell is wrong with her? jimin is perfect, he’s loyal, handsome, a good dancer, cute, funny. why that bitch have to-, “arghhhh!” you groans out loudly into your pillow. suddenly you sit up. “whatever it is, jimin have to know”

you call jimin, and he still at the dance studio. he just finish his practice and you said you want to meet him, real quick. thankfully it just 5 minutes away from your house which is right now you feel like you are racing with your mom’s car. afraid if you wait any second, you will change your mind and be stupid. is this okay? what if he’s not going to believe you? maybe you should just- shaking your head to shoo away that thought, you determined.

“hey y/n! you’re here!” he beamed. he’s sweaty, the fact he just finished his practice, and out of breath -which is hot, - which is not the matter right now. “well, i just need to tell you something.” you fidgety, “if you have some time to spare”

jimin’s brow furrowed, confused. “of course.” he nodded, “let me grab my bag real quick” he rush and pick up his bag, say few goodbyes to his others members and coach before he walk out with you. “what’s wrong y/n? you have problem?” he looks at you, concerned. god, he is an angel. caring about people, yet his witch girlfriend- you shake your head. “no, jimin. let’s talk inside the car.”

and now, you sitting in driver seat while jimin beside you. how the hell are you gonna start? ‘okay jimin, your girlfriend cheated on you’. that’s too straight. ‘okay jimin, i somehow saw your girlfriend kissing this boy. you know what it meant?’ god no! that’s too, ugh. oh my god, how are you supposed to- “y/n? what’s wrong?” jimin’s voice snapped you from your train of thoughts that about to collides. you take a deep breath, hands tightly grip on steering wheel while eyes intently staring ahead, and “jimin, i saw your girlfriend in the library” one of his brow’s quirk. “and?” another deep breath you take in, “and she was kissing this boy from the baseball team.” silence. not a good sign. deep breath “she cheats on you” silence, then a laugh breaks out from his lips which made you turn to him instantly, “wh- what are you- are you kidding me?” he said in between his laugh. confused, you tried again, “god, jimin! i’m serious! i saw her today, at the library! clearly! she was kissi-“ “stop!” he cut you off. his face morphed in seriousness that you rarely see on him. “you say that one more time y/n, i swear i-“ he didn’t finish his words and you don’t even want to know the rest of his words. “you know what y/n? i know you love me, more than a friend should.” your eyes wide, how did he- “i saw in one of your notes, a scribbled. but i shut it down. and i know you love me, you like me, and that’s why right now you’ve been making this stupid scheme to me because you’re jealous.” he stare you down, like you some kind of meat, that he disgust. it’s hurts. tears welled up in your eyes which you try so hard for it to not fall down. “i don’t like you y/n. i love you, but just as a friend. i respect your feelings that’s why i didn’t say anything after i found out. but right now, you’re making up a lie just because i have a girlfriend and you are jealous. i hate a liar. and you know that, since you grew up with me” he makes face, that face when he hates someone. he hate you. oh no, you shake your head. “wait jimin, no! i’m not jealous, i’m not lying! it’s true! i saw-“ “STOP !” he yell and you flinch. he never raise his voice to you. never. and to think of it, he never let you explain. he is fulls with rage, and you know how jimin’s get with loyalty issue. both of you just stare at each other with different feelings in each of your both eyes. one with hates, another one with sadness. “don’t come to me anymore. don’t talk to me. we’re done.” he open the door and left you there. in your mom’s car. the tears you’ve been holding all the time, streams down. like a faucet when it’s tap open. it never stop.

you staring at the rabbits in their cage. somehow you feel the rabbits must be really uncomfortable from your staring. that’s why it keeps turning around, you guess. but you don’t care, you skip the sport festival -which is compulsory for your batch-, not wanting to see jimin with his so called girlfriend eye fucking each other because they were somehow thought it is sexy to wear sport clothes. whatever. it’s been a week now since the last time that you and jimin- you sigh. when jimin said, ‘we’re done’ somewhat it feels like your relationship is over with him. yes it is, your friendship. your friendship keychain on his phone also gone. -you still keep yours, pathetically- it’s a keychain where you both bought it together- jimin likes this stuff, that’s why his girlfriend has that bracelet, so fucking lucky- when you went to a mini trip to his friend’s grandmother house, taehyung. it’s a little strawberry with a carved name around it, yours is jimin while jimin is yours. fuck that sounded so good. but no, it’s over now. you sighed once again. “rabbits, it’s over” you tap on their cage which somehow make them startled a bit, earning a small smile from your lips. “erm, p-pardon?” sudden voice from behind, shock you to death. hastily turning around, you see a boy. a cute one at that. doe eyes that eerily remind you of that rabbits behind you. fuck, does the bunny suddenly turn into a human? but you don’t kiss any of it! “yes!?” your voice embarrassingly in high pitched that makes you winced. “i mean, yes?” you tried again, and he looks frazzled, “um, i need to- to feed the rabbits- it’s, it’s time for- um for their food. i, it’s urm it’s my turn to- feed them.” he cutely stuttering, eyes frantically move, avoiding your eyes. you smile, he must be a year or two younger. you step aside, “yeah sure. go on.” he carefully walk forward and open the cage, “can i feed them too” he jumped at your sudden voice so near to his. eyes wide, and he is so close to jump inside the cage. you stifled a laugh, instead you hold his arm, muscly one, the heck? - okay focus, so you hold his arm to make sure he’s not fall down. bet his knee is weak by how frightened he looks. “you okay there?” his eyes wide staring at you, “yeah, i’m good!” clumsily he stands and trying to get away from your touch. oh god, bless your soul. he is so fucking cute.

after that clumsy yet cute incident with that bunny guy, you learnt his name is jungkook, and he is two years younger than you. your junior and he pursuing his study in photography. he loves to feed the rabbits and spend most of his time there, even though somehow you barely can breathe with the rabbits stools makes you gag. but he has his way with the gardener to make some schedule with their turn to feed and clean the cage. surprisingly, you see yourself sometimes, beside jungkook, helping with the rabbits. it helps you with the jimin’s issue, to get you move on and forget the pain from the fight you both had. okay, to make it clear, you really don’t use jungkook to get you move on and forget jimin, that’s really cruel. right?

“-ooking so good, and hot, y/n!” somi’s voice snap you away from your guilt (?) thought about jungkook, “sorry, what were you at again?” hands reaching for another snacks on the table. you now at some of your classmate birthday party, not sure what’s her name again, you know her in some of your classes together , not bother to remember anyone’s name since you just going to say ‘oh hey you! yes you! oh party? of course i’m coming!’ and end up giving her a gift of one of your perfume that you don’t use yet- because the smell remind you of jimin, and you bought that before you had the fight and not using it yet so now you give it away- but hey, she’s happy after all, so that’s win-win. “you’ve been ignoring me all this time. what the hell?” she give you this, ‘oh you get some man’ look, you groan, “no! ew no, not like that.” walking away from the table with plates full of the snacks, “looking at all of the macarons, sweets, cupcakes and what is that?!” her hands snatch the chocolate ball on your plates, “hey! get your own balls girl!”

#bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts fanfiction #bts angst #bts yandere #bts romance #bts park jimin #bts jeon jungkook #bts #bts jimin

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crash-bump-bring-the-whump · 8 months

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Day 5 - Held at Gunpoint/Hostage

I couldn't help myself at this point. Starting a new little thing for whumptober!! New little mini-series!

Ping list: @ailesswhumptober and @whumperofworlds

TWs: hostage situation, guns, robbery, kidnapping, threats of collars

Maybe his mom was right, Mariano thought. Maybe bad things did happen in threes. At this point, it was almost funny.

He felt the hard metal press to the side of his head and took a deep breath. If he walked out of this bank alive he'd have quite a story for his therapist. "All you have to do is relax and do what I say, and you'll be fine." The man said. "I don't wanna hurt you."

"I understand." Mariano said. His heart was racing as the man looped an arm around his neck. At least, Mariano thought, if the guy had a shaky trigger finger then it wouldn't be his problem for very long.

"I've got you big guy. Just don't do anything stupid." The robber said, calling back towards his partners. "Hurry the fuck up, Tommy, the police are probably just a minute or two away!"

"Jasper--you fucking took a hostage?"

"I need to make sure the guards don't do anything stupid!"

"Well now he's coming with us, since we're gonna get charged with kidnapping anyway!"

Mariano felt himself get tugged along. "Actually, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't get kidnapping if you just let me go now--" He tried before Jasper, the one with the arm around his neck, tightened his hold to cut him off.

"Shut up." He snarled into Mariano's ear. They hauled him to the back, through the emergency exit, and towards a little sedan with someone already sitting in the front seat. He was shoved inside and onto the floorboards, and Jasper climbed inside, one foot planted on his upper back and one on his thigh.

The driver sent the car screeching out onto the street and Mariano grimaced as they lurched and swung around. They didn't know how to handle a car with an engine like this one--it'd be a miracle if they didn't fishtail at least once. At least if they crashed, he wouldn't go through the windshield.

"What're we even gonna do with him?" The driver barked. "Kill him? Because I'm not about to do that."

"If anyone kills me you'll all be charged with murder." Mariano spoke up. "Even if you didn't kidnap me to kill me. You might get lucky and get second degree with a plea deal though."

"I'm not about to be charged with any degree of murder!" The driver squawked, throwing the car into a turn too quickly. Mariano felt the chassis roll and threaten to tip over. "You fucking idiots, why didn’t you just leave him?!"

"I tried!" Tommy shouted, his voice filling the small space. "Jasper fucked us!"

"Shut up!" Jasper shouted louder. He pressed down on Mariano's back with his foot, forcing a wheeze out of him. "It doesn't fucking matter anymore, we can't un-kidnap him. Do we still have that shit from your dog, Darrel?"

"Uh, I think so? Jasper--shit, you aren't gonna put--" Darrel, the driver said.

"If he behaves, it won't even hurt him, and it'll give us time to think." Jasper growled. "Now Darrel, slow the fuck down so we don't get pulled over before we swap cars. And you," He started unbuckling his belt. "Hands above your head, palms together. You are gonna be quiet and not try anything, 'cause I can hit a beer can from a hundred yards away with this gun."

Mariano took a breath and did as he was told. He felt leather wind around and around his hands. The pressure from the boots never let up. No sense in destroying goodwill on an escape attempt that might just get him shot or turned into a smear on the road anyway. He was going to just have to wait and see what he was working with.

#ailesswhumptober2023 #ailesswhumptoberday5 #day 5 #held at gunpoint #hostage #mage of violence #bank robbers arc #Modern au

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